TEXT - Romans 8:14
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
We have read correctly, it is all about God and His Spirit, to reign over us and to be the children of God. Even if this seems constrictive, Apostle Paul speaks of freedom.
With this statement Apostle Paul breaks a taboo by telling the Christians in Rome about freedom. As it is clearly shown in the next verse Number 15, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Apostle Paul showed with the parable of the married woman (Romans 7:1-6) that the people were bound by the law until Christ would die on the cross for them. From this point on, they only belong to Christ. They live in Christ and are now able to bring fruit of their faith to God, provided they believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The law was necessary to know what sin is (Romans 7:7-11) This law was also made by God. Now Apostle Paul wanted to escape the bondage of sin because he could not fulfill God’s law. He came to the conclusion through our Lord Jesus Christ we are already free.
Everyone wants to be free. Freedom to think, to act, to judge which is the way to live without fear and care, life is worth living. This is what Apostle Paul says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”(Romans 8:1-2).
There is a new law of God’s Spirit which should guide our lives. God’s Spirit gives all people peace and life if they accept it. Accepting God’s Spirit gives people a peaceful life. By receiving the Holy Ghost, we become children of God. We belong to His creation. Christ said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again’. (John 3:7). A new covenant was made between God and the people, a covenant signed by God by sending His son, now we are asked, are you willing to sign this covenant, too, without reservation? If yes, we are as a child of God included in the freedom in Christ.
Apostle Paul had heated arguments with the Jews who always wanted to force the Christians to them that neither Jewish descent nor circumcision made one a Jew. “But He is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.”(Romans 2:29).
Afterwards he said, “Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.” (Romans 3:30).
Apostle Paul’s mission was to bring the people out of the yoke of the law into the freedom of Christ and to convince them that their faith was a gift from God. Apostle Paul’s mission was also to call the people to freedom, which is always possible if we trust in God’s Spirit.
APOSTLE NORBERT SCHAEFFER
FRANCE
TEXT - Acts 2:6-8
"Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?"
To understand what happened on the day of Pentecost, we need to go back almost 2,000 years. (Genesis 11:1-9) A period of build up again in this world after the great flood. Man at that time spoke one language and was of one mind, and God could see that nothing he could imagine, would seem impossible to him. The people on the earth had the memory of the great flood and they knew that God had given this great power and destroyed the earth, saving only eight souls. But they also knew that God had made a covenant that this could never happen again, they soon forgot that covenant and decided that they should build a way to God that was man made, not Godly made, and they set about to build this tower, which was known as the Tower of Babel. God saw what they were doing and He said, "Let us go down and confound them", meaning Himself, Christ and the Holy Ghost, and they came down and they confounded the people on that day, so that they could not speak the one language, and we can have a vision of a building trying to be built today, with all the tradesmen speaking a different language, we can imagine the aggression and how it would be impossible to even work together, so they stopped building and God then scattered them throughout the whole earth. In other places in the Scriptures, after they had been scattered into their different languages, God then moved the earth, and they witnessed that great day when the earth as we know it today, was set about in the places where it stands today. Science today, has found after much investigation, that if all countries of the earth were put back together like a jigsaw puzzle, that it was all one, at one time. Reading the Scriptures should tell us that anyway. We then had a situation on earth where all were in their different countries, speaking their own language and no unified co-operation. When Christ was on earth, He promised that He would send the Holy Ghost, for we must understand that Satan did not sit back and do nothing during that period of time. He went out into all nations of the world and even though they worshipped God, slowly but surely, he turned their worship around to idol worship. Christ said that He would send the Holy Ghost and He would reprove the world of sin, for the prince of this world will be judged. Now the prince of this world was Satan, who had been allowed to go out into all the nations of the world and divert them away from the true worship of God. God had chosen one people, the Jewish nation, to show Satan that this nation, or this people would follow the ways of God, and we know that it was not possible and it came to an end with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who was the second created man of God born into the world. He proved that man could do God's will. Now there was a change to be made in the world, and once again all mankind was to be brought back together, each and everyone in every nation, was to have the opportunity of this universal salvation that God
offered man, woman and child. That is why He promised to send the Holy Spirit to reprove the world of sin, because if we are sinners we cannot place ourselves before God and His mercy and His blessings. This Holy Spirit has the power to intercede between mankind and a High Priest placed for us which is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and then this Spirit would then have the role to go forth and judge this prince of the world, it would have the role to go forth and show by the teachings of God and the workings of God, that the teachings of Satan or this prince had been wrong. It would have to go forth and motivate men everywhere in the world, to testify that this teaching of this prince was wrong, and we have to now revert to the teachings of the King of Kings, which is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We can imagine on that day of Pentecost, how all the people must have felt from all these different nations, when they heard this Gospel message being preached in their own language, it was such an impact on them. Many of the doubters said that they were drunk, but the Apostle Peter assured them that it was the fulfilling of the promise of God, and a new way was now in the world, where everyone was to be given this opportunity to be drawn back to the Love of God, and once again become His sons and His daughters and be prepared in this life to receive that raiment, that will allow us to stand before the Glory of God at the end of this life. The Glory of God is beyond our under-standing and fleshly man cannot stand before it and live. Through the preparation of the Spirit, through bringing the blessings from our High Priest, we are prepared little by little, and our soul is prepared so that when it comes to the day of closing earthly eyes and opening spiritual eyes, we are then prepared to stand before the Glory of God and live. Once again God was drawing all back to the one language, that is Jesus Christ. One again all can be of one mind and realise that in this oneness, nothing again will be impossible.
APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND
TEXT - Titus 2:11-14
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
The work of redemption which God started by sending His beloved Son down to earth, is a work of love and grace, making possible for all mankind the salvation of their souls. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16-17).
Jesus Himself said that God's grace is worth far more than all the riches and treasures of this world (Matt.16:26). This healing grace is there for all, but it is up to us to acknowledge and accept it. The Apostle John testified to this: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14). When this grace is properly acknowledged and accepted with a repentant heart, its wonderful effects can be seen in words and deeds.
There is only one way to recognize the truth, free ourselves from sin and accept salvation through God's beloved Son. This is why Jesus said: "For if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." (John 8:24). The Apostle Peter also said: "For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12). When the spirit of love and mercy corrects, it is not because He wants to cause fear and terror, but because He wants to help us. Correction leads us to peace, not suffering. He wants us to be happy.
Blessed are those who acknowledge and accept the grace God is offering. "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him." (2.Cor.5:19-21). Such an experience makes us happy and grateful, because it gives us the strength to give up that which is bad for us, making us just and kind.
Bad company and conduct tend to degrade us. Alone it is difficult to rid ourselves of bad habits.
May all those who have been led by God's love to the house of His Son, accept God's healing grace. Blessed are those, who can truly say: "Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth." (Ps.26:8).
LATE APOSTLE ERNST DUNKMANN
EUROPE
TEXT: Ephesians 4:25-32
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour; for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Our passages come from the letter of St. Paul to a group of Christians in Ephesus. It shows the loving kindness and concern that Paul had for the new converted Christians and followers of Christ. In a way, the letter is also addressed to us, believers of Christ.
Paul wants to talk about the day today living of those Christians. We can notice that his ideas are very practical and down to earth, he uses words that are easy to understand. The Apostle also wrote about deep and difficult ideas, about lofty doctrines and sublime concept. But in these passages, he is more like a father teaching his children on how to live lives according to Christ's example and His teaching.
Even in the time of Paul, people were living un-whole some lives. All this was common, stealing, falsehood, anger, laziness and bad talk, Paul’s words are clear, the Christians must 'PUT OFF' all these evil ways and follow the way of the Holy Spirit. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit he says, for the Holy Spirit is the source of a new life. Through Him Christian life flows to men from Trinity, through Him the love of God enters our heart, in Him all are baptized as one body in Christ. The Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit, his lifestyle is a sign of the Spirits presence.
Paul is actually asking for a change of life, a conversion from sin to a newness of life, a decision to transform one's old way of living into the Christian life style. That is what Paul refers to when in the same letter he talks of the ‘NEW MEN' or when he tells Titus that Christ saved us through the baptism of the new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:3-5.
Changing ones life is not easy, the devil is always at work, and he must not be allowed to gain a foothold in our lives, not even in our day to day routine. Paul reminds us that all those who believe in Christ and follow him, carry the seal of the Spirit. Apostolic Christians are marked with this seal, in turn, their thoughts, words and deeds must correspond to this seal.
This Word of life from
Northern District of Church in Philippines
Under the care of ELDER DAGSI DALUNAG
WORD OF LIFE No. 13 - 2007
TEXT - John 17:3
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent".
Mostly, we only see what is right before our eyes, without properly recognizing what has happened. When one sees a man, one is likely to judge him first by his exterior, but it is only by living together with him, that one gets the chance to know him. "By their fruits ye shall know them" said Jesus.
A layman will not be able to correctly name every tree. If the tree is bearing fruit, and edible fruit particularly, even the ignorant person will be able to say which tree it is and whether the fruit is sweet or bitter. Similarly, by their fruits and deeds it can be seen if a good or evil spirit dwells in a man. In no other man was God the Father seen as clearly as in Jesus. He could truly say: "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father," and "The words, that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself; but the Father, that dwelleth in me." (John 14: 7-11).
It took even the disciples a long time until they could recognize Jesus as the Son of God in the son of man. Finally Peter affirmed on behalf of all the disciples: "And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of .the living God." (John 6:69).
Jesus was a man like all men, and from His exterior nobody could recognize the Son of God. Only by His testimony, His words and His deeds (fruits) it was possible to see and recognize
the Lord.
When Jesus met the woman of Samaria, she did not recognize the Lord at first. Only when Jesus talked to her and told her the truth, recognition dawned slowly. When she spoke of the coming of the Messiah and Jesus said: "I that speak unto thee, am he," only then she knew
whom she had met. (John 4:5-26).
To many who recognized the Son of God in the flesh, the Lord appeared after His resur-rection, but always in a different form, not as they had known Him. The first to meet the resurrected one was Mary, but she did not recognize the Lord, thinking it was the gardener. Only when Jesus addressed her by name, she recognized Him, saying "Rabboni" (Master).
(John 20:11-16).
At Lake Tiberias, Jesus, the resurrected one, showed Himself to the disciples, but they did not know that it was Jesus. Only when He said: "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find," and they followed His advice and got a big catch, then they knew it is the Lord. (John 21:4-7). The two disciples at Emmaus had a similar experience. They thought that they had found a companion whom they could tell their sorrow, but Jesus started to talk about Moses and all the prophets and to explain Scripture to them. When they sat at the table together He broke the bread and gave them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew the Lord. (Luke 24:13-35).
If we have the right recognition, then let us take good care that we do not lose it. John the Baptist had a wonderful recognition. When he saw Jesus approaching be gave witness: "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29). Later on he had almost lost this recognition, sending two of his disciples to Jesus to ask "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" (Matth.11:3).
Abram could recognize the Lord always, even in his ripe old age. When the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, he recognized Him in the three visitors. When Abram saw them, he ran to meet them and bowed himself towards the ground saying: "My Lord, if now I have found favour in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray Thee, from Thy servant." (Gen. 18:1-3). May this attitude of Abram be found with us too, that we recognize the Lord at all times, even if He meets us in the form of a servant.
LATE APOSTLE WERNER KAHLERT
EUROPE
TEXT - 11 Samuel 22:29
"For thou art my lamp, 0 Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness".
All of us have experienced at some time in our life, the experience of finding ourselves in complete darkness. As a young person, I can remember being dropped off at the gate, late at night, to walk the 1 kilometre track to home. In the country of course, there are no lights visible. I had walked that track hundreds of times before in daylight, and of course was sure the walk would be a breeze. What a shock! As soon as the car lights had disappeared, total darkness enveloped me, not a star in the sky, not a light anywhere to give a direction. What a frightening experience. Hands stretched out in front, feet shuffling to try to hear if one was still on gravel, stumbling and kicking every stone and dip. This experience has probably been shared by us all. What a relief when from behind me appeared a dim torch light, from an almost flat battery, as my brother rode his bike home-ward and I was then able to jog behind him and arrive home safe and sound. Unfamiliar and unrelieved darkness can be frightening and even a dangerous thing. As I reflect on this experience, it now dawns on me how little light we need in pitch darkness, to lift our spirits, take away our fears, and give us direction. We all experience this with a black-out on a pitch black night. We have no direction, we bump into everything and get confused, but as soon as a candle is found and lit, what a difference it makes, just like that bike lamp did. These lights do not flood-light the whole area, they do not instantly take away all the darkness, but they illuminate the immediate area sufficiently for us to get our feet moving in the right direction. Our text tells us that 'The Lord is My Lamp'. It does not declare him as a bright light, but my lamp to cover my darkness. The Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ became that living word and become our Lord. The Bible is very much like the lights we have written about. It doesn't light up everything instantly. It doesn't provide all the answers at once, but it does give enough light to let us see the right path we tread, and it will, if we use it to strengthen our faith in the Lord, as our lamp, lighten the way that will lead us to find our way home.
APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND
TEXT: Psalm 31:7
“I will be glad for he has considered my trouble.”
What we read in the bible bears witness in some way how God leads His people, His children and even each individual. His actions reflect His great mercy to His children. When Moses wrote his books and David his Psalms, it was not to record all the great things they had done. No, both tell us about their weaknesses and failures. It is all about the Lord, His ways to give us courage, to have faith and to follow Him. That is how God leads His children and that is how He wants to lead us all.
In this psalm we find that David had suffered great pain and temptations. “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.”
Years ago there was a film titled ‘Fear eats the soul’. The feast or grief of the soul is depression. Today, this is not a strange concept anymore. What does seem strange is, that men in the bible had already suffered from depression. Even a great man such as David of whom God had said “A man after mine own heart.” (Acts 13:22). Here we find the comfort from God that servants called by Him were people like any of us with weaknesses, temptations and crises. Compare the prophet Elijah in 1.Kings 19:4 onwards and even Christ Himself was tempted just like we have been (Hebrew 4:5).
Let us see how David behaved in situations such as this. At a moment when he caught his breath he spoke to God, “In Thee, Oh Lord, do I put my trust, let me never be ashamed, deliver me in Thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me, deliver me speedily, be thou my strong rock for an house of defence to save me.” (Verse 1-2).
David talks to God. That is the first step, and that should be our first step.
This indicates clearly that David was in big spiritual and natural trouble, but it also expresses his hope. Hope in a hopeless situation. “For thou are my rock, and my fortress, therefore for my name’s sake lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me, thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my Spirit, thou hast redeemed me, Oh Lord, God of truth.” (Verse 3-5).
By trusting God implicitly, David is encouraged to say: “I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy.” (Verse 7). He is ready to rejoice and trust in the goodness and grace of God. David had wavered but this served to stabilise his trust in God. How much of God’s grace have we experienced in our lives. Should God’s grace and goodness cease in times of crisis? No! ‘My life is in God’s hands, even in times of great temptation and depression. God is Almighty.’
The second step has been taken, it is God’s step. “I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast known my soul in adversities.” (Psalm 31:7). “Yes, the Lord has acknowledged my problems. I am worthy.” (Verse 8).
Now we can rejoice because He meets the needs of His children and never leaves them. A man once dreamed: “I walked along the beach with God and my life passed in front of my eyes. After the last image, I looked back and saw that the hardest times of my life only showed one set of footprints. I was confused and asked the Lord, “When I promised to follow you (confirmation etc.), you promised to be with me always. So why did you leave me, when I needed you most?” God took my hand and said, “dear child, I have never left you alone, least of all in times of fear and trouble. Where you can only see one set of footprints, that was when I carried you!”
“And hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemies.” (Verse 8)
God does not abandon us. In time of inner struggles we feel helplessly abandoned, but – NO- God does not desert us, even if we sometimes lose faith. “Thou hast set my feet in a large room.” (Verse 8).
God opens our eyes, gives us a fresh outlook. He loves us. He is our God.
APOSTLE DETLEF LIEBERTH
GERMANY
TEXT- Isaiah 46:9-10
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
This text shows us clearly that only God can foretell the future without error. A recent book published by one of the most renown archaeologists with years of work in the Holy Lands stated, “it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference.
Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible.”
The prophets indeed foretold Gods’ plans for nations, countries, cities and Gods’ plans for mankind. Many have fulfilled themselves, while others are now happening and yet to happen in the future. Our text reminds us, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”
We look at the prophet Ezekiel’s prophecy of what would happen to the great trading city of “TYRE” found in Ez:26, which was given 588 year BC and compare it with historical events as recorded in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
| Prophesy | Historical Records |
| Verse 3 – Many Nations Shall be against thee. | Nebuchadnezzar sieged the city for 13 years and in 573 BC took the city. |
| Verse 4 – Made flat as rock. | In 332 BC Alexander pulled down all the buildings and made a causeway into the sea and scraped up all the soil to put a road on the causeway. This was 256 years after the prophesy. |
| Verse 5 – States it will be a place of Spreading Nets. | Even to-day it is a popular place for fishermen to spread their nets. |
| Verse 12 – Foretold its stones and timbers will be laid in the Sea. | To-day tourists visit to see all the destroyed city under the sea. |
| Verse 15 – Other Cities to fear because of its fall. | History shows all other cities round about out of fear surrendered without a fight. |
| Verse 20 – Tells that the city would never again be inhabited. | Up to to-day no city has ever been rebuilt on that site. |
We see that although 250 years passed before the prophesy was fulfilled and is still valid to-day, that Gods words are indeed sure. Our Lord when on earth referred to this teaching and events in Matt 11:20-22. “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because thy repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
Our text tells us that God has the power to declare the end from the beginning and in Jude 14 we find “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.” We must never doubt that this will happen in the Lords’ time.
APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND