Believing the Gospel is our Greatest Challenge (Judah Smith Sermon Jam)

Saving ourselves and setting ourselves free is a complete illusion and lie. Though we wish we had this kind of power, the reality is that we don't have this kind of power and we never will, apart from Jesus that is. 

"It's always been Jesus. It will always be Jesus. It will never stop being the power of Jesus. His blood is sufficient for your salvation. His blood is sufficient to sustain you through every challenge, through every sin and every temptation. Jesus is enough." 

If you call yourself a Christian, a Jesus follower, than we need to be continually checking ourselves in and when we are relying on ourselves, rather than in Jesus. 

"I got saved by grace, but now that I'm in this deep dark place of bondage I better work hard to get myself out. What? That's the opposite of the Gospel....There's no answer within yourself." 

"The greatest challenge is not your discipline, your devotion, your focus. Your greatest challenge is believing the Gospel." 

Hands down, the Gospel is the greatest news of all time, period. There has been and will never be any greater news, ever. Do you believe this? 

What I've come across time and time again is when we end up relying on ourselves in anyway, where we start thinking that our freedom, healing, deliverance, restoration, redemption, even salvation is dependent on something we need to do or on us working harder, than the Greatest News of all time will slowly becomes just OK News. The more we think it's about us, the less we allow the Good News to be Good News. 

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me, Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:29-30 (MSG) 

Is the Gospel the Greatest News ever or is it just OK News?  When talking to people about the Gospel, the response we should be hearing from people is "Wow! This is too good to be true" because when it comes to the Gospel, it is too good too be true because Jesus has done it all. 

"For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him." John 3:16-17 (NLT)

Simple Truths about the Gospel: "The way to the Father is open"

Something that I've been reflecting on lately has been, looking to see what Scripture means for God in His relation to people. Christians are very good at understanding Scripture in what is means for us in relation to God which is right and good. But, what has really brought me even greater breakthrough and understanding has been the former, in understanding God's perspective towards people in light of Jesus' death and resurrection. At first glance, they may seem the same, but in reality are actually two different sides of the same coin. Gaining an understanding of both sides will truly help bring even greater clarity and understanding of what it means to be in relationship with God.

As a qualifying statement before I get into this blog today, I want to say that I am still in process, ever growing in greater revelation of the Gospel and Christ. These are my thoughts and rumblings as I engage with Holy Spirit and the Word of God. But hear my heart, my starting point in all of this is Christ. He is the ultimate revelation of God and my conviction is that we must look to Him first and allow His life and ministry to be the lens we use when reading Scripture because He is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3).

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I used to only understand this verse from the perspective of man looking up towards God, meaning we now have access to God through Christ's sacrifice on a Cross for sin which I still think is right and true. But, on the flip side, this also means that from God's perspective: Right now God the Father is actually looking to the earth and what He sees is Christ's sacrifice for sin and is calling people home.

Understanding God's current perspective brings another dimension to our understanding of the Cross and has some important implications which I will expand on.

Now, what started me down this path was a Holy Spirit inspired revelation to simply ask a couple questions (because questions are always good, but asking the right questions in the right moment/season is crucial): 

• When did Christ actually die for sin? 
• Did Jesus actually die for all sin, for all time?

These simply questions have helped me to begin to see this verse and others from God's perspective because if Jesus paid the price for all sin, for all time 2000 years ago, this means that the sin barrier that blocked the way to the Father was opened and unblocked the day Christ died. I think this is the significance of the veil in the Temple that blocked the way into the Holy of Holies which represented the place where God's Presence dwelt was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51). 

This means that since this time way back when, from God's perspective there has been no barrier between Him and Man. 

Pause and think about that for a moment. Come Holy Spirit!

Yes, we all still need to put our faith and trust in believing the Gospel because this reality is not automatically imparted to us. This only happens through believing in the Truth. And rather than the traditional understanding, that when we believe in Jesus the gates of Heaven are opened for us to enter; what I am starting to see is that from God's perspective, after Jesus became sin on the Cross (2 Corinthians 5:21), He died, was resurrected and then ascended into Heaven. In so doing He has opened up the gates to Heaven and has since left these gates open. Are you tracking with me? The way to the Father is open. 

If this is true, than the ramifications of this are huge because this means that since Christ's sacrifice (for roughly the last 2000 years) God has stopped being the "so called" Punisher of Sin because all of God's wrath towards Sin has been propitiated or atoned for. Let me pause here and give you a little food for thought. There is a line of thinking that actually relates the wrath of God to the built in consequences of sin (kind of like reaping and sowing) in which God allows to happen (some may call this the passive wrath of God), rather than a direct emotional response from God Himself. Hmm, interesting thought eh?

1 John 4:10 "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (NKJV). 

I would also add here that the wrath of God was never directed towards Christ Himself, but only at Sin, in which Jesus became (2 Corinthians 5:21). This again changes our understanding of the goodness of God. On the Cross, the Father was not punishing the Son, but rather Sin alone. Maybe He was even allowing the built in consequences of Sin to happen where He redemptively withdrew and in so doing opened the way for evil and the Enemies of God to mete out their punishment because the "wages of Sin is death" (Romans 6:23). 

2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

I mean think about, if you believe that God is still punishing people for sin, than what you are implying is that God is both Punisher and Savior. It's like me punishing my daughter Seraphina, so that she would cry out to me to save her. That's kind of twisted, a whole lot manipulative and quite frankly not a very good father. No, God the Father can genuinely call and invite people to Himself because He was never the "so called" Punisher of Sin, but is and has always been our Savior from Sin, who is continually showing us love, grace and mercy, especially if and when we do sin. I will probably also blog on this because it is quite the dichotomy: is God the Punisher of Sin or our Savior from Sin? Can He be both? 

What we need to understand is that there is enough sin and evil running rampant in the world to bring about more than enough pain, suffering, sickness and punishment to people. We must fully believe that God is the author of life and not death; and that we can have complete confidence in the Truth that the death and resurrection of Jesus has fully paid the price for all sin, for all time and that His sacrifice is enough, and we don't need to go on paying for the price of sin with our lives. Is God our Savior or not? Sometimes, is not good enough. He either is or He isn't.

On the Cross Jesus said "it was finished" (John 19:30) and quite frankly I believe Him! Jesus is our Savior always and forever.

Be Encouraged! Embrace the Truth of the Gospel and Stand Free! You are deeply, deeply loved by God. 

Simple Truths about the Gospel: "I will remember your sins no more"

Today, I'm starting off with a banger of a question, so brace yourself: Do you believe God is waiting to punish you for your sins?

I can't tell you how long I used to believe this and was even taught this in some of the churches I have been a part of. But today, I stand free in the Truth of the Gospel.  

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." 

This is God's promise of the New Covenant. On the Cross, Jesus paid the price for all sin, for all time. And as this verse states, God no longer remembers our sins. I'm going to pause here, to let the Holy Spirit help you get your mind and heart around this Truth. It is almost too good to be true, right? But hold on there is more....

2 Corinthians 5:19 "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them..." 

Now hold on a minute there buddy, are you saying that God is not counting our sins against us, and that He has even forgotten our sins? Yes sir, rebob! That is exactly what the Word of God is saying.

This simple Gospel Truth truly blows me away and continues to astound and amazing me as I embrace this more and more and deeper and deeper within me. It has literally dissolved away every distorted view of God that I've ever held. 

But the sad reality is that the way many Christians live out their faith (as I once did) is in the fear of being punished for their sins. They see an angry God who is just waiting to bring judgment onto people for their sins. And when leaders preach this, they reinforce this distorted image of God as an angry Judge, rather than a loving Father. They preach a God who is holding to the Law of the Old Covenant, rather than a God who has made a New Covenant free of the Law (Hebrews 8:13).

What I understand of the Gospel is that Jesus paid for it all, so we don't have to suffer the judgments and consequences of sin any longer. He became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became our curse (Galatians 3:13). He took our punishment for sin (Romans 3:25). 

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." 

God is all about salvation and life, not condemnation and death. God is not out to get you, but is for you. His desire is to release greater and greater abundant life to you, but the Enemy of God is the one wants to steal, kill and destroy your life (John 10:10). God is love.

1 John 4:19 "...God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 

We no longer need to fear, "because fear has to do with punishment" and we no longer need to fear punishment! "We will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus." If you are a Christian, when God looks to you, He sees the perfect life, work and sacrifice of Jesus. Has it clicked yet? Has the light switch been flipped inside of you? Come Holy Spirit!

Now, there maybe some natural consequences from when we sin (for example, if I steal there is a good chance I will get caught by the police), I do think we reap what we sow at times, but God is not the one dishing these consequences out. There are systems and laws already set in place that function in this way, not to mention principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12) who are also ready to mete out punishments.

No, I believe it's in these moments that God is actually the One who is showing us love, grace and mercy because from His perspective, Jesus has already paid the price for all sin for all time, so God no longer holds our sins against us, nor does He even remember them!

Wow! Jump up and down! This is the Gospel! It's like it's too good to be true, but that's why it's called The Good News.

Remember Jesus paid for all our sins even before we were born. Think about that for a minute. Even before you were born Jesus paid for all your sins. But that doesn't automatically save us in a universalist kind of way. No, we each need to personally believe in the work of Jesus as John 3:16 states.

The Gospel is all about believing in Jesus. And it's really important that we are believing the right things because what we believe will influence our thinking about who God is and our behavior in how we approach Him. We are no longer standing before God as a Judge, but can now run into the arms of God as our Father.

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." 

God is not angry with you, He loves you so much. And if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus, you can rest in this simple Gospel Truth, that each and every day God remembers your sins no more. Some may think this is dangerous teaching, that people will run wild into sin, but the Gospel was never about control but about freedom. God is never afraid because He knows what His perfect love has already accomplished and will continue to accomplish in the world. It's man who fears and controls. God's desire is that we would fully live in His perfect Love, never in fear.  

Be Encouraged! Embrace the Truth of the Gospel and Stand Free! You are deeply, deeply loved by God. 

Simple Truths about the Gospel: "Joined to the Lord"

I've decided to spend some time talking about the Gospel. I've recently had some revolutionary revelations about the simplicity of the Gospel and want to share what I believe the Holy Spirit has revealed to me with you. 

With each blog post, I will start with a Scripture and then expand on it.  Not too long, I will try my best to be short and concise. My aim is to speak the truth in love and then allow the Holy Spirit to confirm within you the things I am saying.

1 Corinthians 6:17 "But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him."

When a person becomes a born again Christian, they have 1) believed that Jesus has paid the price for all sin with His very life, 2) have surrendered the control of their life to Him, and 3) received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit supernaturally transforming them into a new creation in Christ. It is in this moment that they are welcomed back into God's family as a once lost but now found beloved son or daughter of God. 

As the verse states, they become "joined to the Lord" in the most intimate of ways by becoming "one spirit with him." This means there is no longer any gap between a Christian and God. They have in fact become one. Just pause here a moment and meditate on this amazing truth. If, you are a Christian you must believe that there is no separation between you and God now. This is really, really Good News. 

I've felt the need to emphasize this Gospel Truth because this Truth should describe and define our reality, and not our current experience. Trust me I have been there and done that when it comes to sinning and then feeling the shame or guilt and then feeling distant or separate from God. But, this goes directly against what this verse says. You see, our feelings of separation are just that "our feelings." But we mustn't allow our feelings to supersede this Truth. 

Why I believe this is such an important Gospel reality is because this means you are never ever alone, but are always, always in the Presence of God, period. You no longer need to cry out to God to come near you or beg God to love you. God loves you and has already come near you.

And there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God in Christ (read Romans 8:31-39). Practically speaking this means there is nothing you could ever do to cause God's presence to leave you because you are "joined to Him, you are one spirit with Him."

Be Encouraged! Embrace the Truth of the Gospel and Stand Free! You are deeply, deeply loved by God. 

Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?

If you are a Christian for any amount of time, you will undoubtedly be confronted with this question. "Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?" Usually most Christians may stumble in giving a loving, compassionate truth-filled answer. Oftentimes, we may dance around the question, even try and dodge the question or we may react with an overly heavy-handed response. Is there a better way? I believe there is. 

First, we need to clearly define the word heaven. What is heaven? Most people believe heaven is a place of happiness, where there is no pain or suffering. A place of bliss and peace. A place where we escape the trouble and heartaches of this world and enter into a place of continual pleasure and endless celebration. All of which do describe some truthful aspects of heaven. 

Some may even go so far as argue that if God truly was a God of love, how could He withhold heaven from people because they failed to believe, trust and follow Jesus. How could this be loving? In all of this, the one crucial thing that people fail to understand and recognize is that what makes heaven, heaven is the presence of God. If we were to boil it all down, we could say that heaven equals forever living and being with God, for all eternity. 

I mean if you really think about it, if those people who don't want anything to do with God here on earth, do you really think they could stand living and being with God for all eternity? I really doubt it. In fact, I think heaven would probably be the last place they would want to be because that is where a holy God lives. And heaven is a place for people who have through Jesus Christ died to sin and have become alive to God (Romans 6:11). 

I've heard it said that, "the fires of heaven may well be hotter than the fires of hell" (Dallas Willard). In heaven there is no sin, and the bible says that "no one can see God's face and live" (Exodus 33:20). There is a great and grand holy purity that permeates all of heaven because it is a holy God's dwelling place. All through the bible whenever a person encounters an angel from heaven, they faint and fall to the floor like they were dead and this is just an angel. Just imagine what being in the presence of the Almighty Creator and Judge of all things would be like. (If it wasn't for Jesus in my life, I would be absolutely terrified.)  

I've also heard it said that "the door to hell is locked from the inside" (C.S. Lewis). Meaning, the people in hell have exiled themselves to be there and in essence what they seek is to lock God out. They've lived there whole life on earth denying God, blaspheming His Name, cursing Him, ignoring Him, etc. because they want nothing to do with Him. You see, what the people who ask the question "Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?"  fail to understand is that there is no getting away from God in heaven and if a person hated God here on earth, what would make you think that that would change in heaven? For a person like this to be in heaven would probably be eternal torture. 

Here's a excerpt from a teaching by John Ortberg which has influenced my own thought, but also further expands on this: 

Jesus > Religion (What is the Church really about?)

Jon Jorgenson nails it as he compares religion and Jesus (relationship). The sad reality is that in many churches today, a person can get so easily distracted and sidetracked from the basic truths and motivations of what it means to be a Christian. A term that has been coined recently is "churchianity" where there is a greater focus on the church, rather than on Jesus, where there is a greater focus on building the church, rather than being on mission with Jesus and making disciples, where the emphasis is on doing for God, rather than being with God. Please don't get me started on this. The sad reality is many churches are better at making religious people, than true disciples of Jesus. 

There needs to be more prophetic voices that rise up, like Jon Jorgenson, who are bold enough to challenge the status quo of religion for the sake of Jesus, for the sake of the Gospel. Listen, be challenged, but enjoy these words of truth.  

Sarah McLachlan: Blackbird

Whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of redemption which naturally makes me think about my own redemption in Jesus and the amazing miracles He's done in my life. More specifically, when I hear the lyrics "Take these broken wings and learn to fly - all your life." I am reminded that as God has healed and redeemed me of my drug addiction, He has in every way healed my broken wings and has now taught me to fly. Also, when I hear the lyrics "Take these sunken eyes and learn to see - all you life." I am reminded that I was once blind, but now I can see the light! Jesus has given me an eternal perspective on life where before all I saw was pain and suffering, but now I can see hope and healing.

Jesus has set me free to live, move and dance in the freedom of being a beloved child of God, who is loved completely and who loves freely. But, He has also invited and empowered me to bring the hope that He has placed within me to share with a lost and broken world. "Blackbird fly, blackbird fly into the light of the dark black night." That's how these words effect me. I am to take the light of the Gospel into dark places, "into the dark black night."

Nefarious Merchant of Souls trailer

Exodus Cry is a ministry based out of Kansas City and has ties with The International House of Prayer. I love this ministry and others like it because it takes Gospel light to dark places and exposes and drives back evil with the justice of the Kingdom of God. Go Jesus!

receive this...

Do you love your neighbor's music?

This is my first time hearing Richard Twiss from Wiconi International. At the heart of what he's saying, the celebration of diversity, got my heart racing. I don't know about you, but for him to put voice and vision to what worship around the throne of God (Revelation 7:9-17) will be like made my heart leap with joy. He's right in his assessment that "no one language could ever capture the fullness of who God is or no one music style could ever echo the sounds of heaven." This video has challenged me to search my heart to see where I default to my own cultural preferences to the the exclusion of my neighbor and to repent for my narrow-minded ways. Richard Twiss has helped me to expand my vision and understanding of the worship that God delights in. God is worthy of all our (every nation, tribe and people's) praises in every language!

&*%@#!*+&#@!!!

There are very few things that anger me to the point of swearing and cursing, this is one of them. Just thinking about men who travel to foreign countries as sex tourists literally makes my stomach turn. It also makes my heart ache and yearn all the more for Jesus, the Savior King, to come with His iron scepter to judge and make war against those who would sexually abuse children and to come rescue the abused and discarded.

But lately, as I have been praying and interceding for these women and children, something strange has been happening - in the midst of my prayers of judgment upon these men, I have also started praying salvation and redemption for them as well. This has gotten me all kinds of sideways because who wants to pray mercy for &#@!!! child molesters (but, I regress: forgive me, Lord). Jesus has been impressing on me that the Gospel is for everyone and if anyone needs the power of God to enter into their lives, it's sex tourists and traffickers.

"Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT).

God can save and redeem anyone (my own life is proof of that). We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and until the final judgment, there is grace and mercy for all. So, until that day comes, this is my prayer: That the Lord of the harvest would raise up laborers for the harvest (Luke 10:2), people who were once sex tourists and traffickers - to His glory alone.

Busting it Back to the Basics

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16, 17).

Entrusted with the Hope of the World

Walter Brueggemann comes with the goods. He made me really examine myself and the place of the Gospel in my life. It made me reflect on how deep the Good News of Jesus has gone in my heart. Do I view the Gospel as the greatest and most exciting news I've ever heard? As you watch this video, reflect on this question: "When you share the Gospel with people, do they walk away believing the Gospel is just everyday news or do they walk away believing that the Gospel is the greatest and most exciting news in the history of the world?" - Why is that?

One Field of the Harvest

[for those hypersensitive to swearwords, there are two near the end of the video].

My heart yearns to bring the Gospel on the road. It yearns to be a train hopping evangelist. But, until then, this is my prayer: that the Lord of the Harvest would raise up laborers for this field of the harvest (Luke 10:2).

The Gospel Coalition

Gospel Coalition conference next week: "Entrusted with the Gospel - 2 Timothy"

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/