This afternoon Corinne and I joined Mike and Donna and attended an afternoon matinee showing of Les Miserables. It is an excellent movie, one I would recommend to every Believer. I'm not going to write a review on the film as it's way too deep and I'm still chewing on the content. I have to admit that I was greatly moved by it! However, this flick made a strong statement about the difference between law and grace.
Throughout the film the hero was being haunted by his past in the form of a law officer who was very intent on following the letter of the law no matter what. On the other hand the hero continued to show the love of Jesus in his life.
Throughout the film I kept thinking of Galatians 5:1, "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law." Paul continues to warn his readers of the grave consequences of mixing law with grace. He states in 5:4, "For if you are trying to make yourself right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."
Now, I fully understand that most reading this will say, "I don't keep the law!" Yet...here is a truth that many miss....If you claim that you still sin you are placing yourself back under the law! Ouch! To be "fallen away from God's grace" means that one no longer has Christ's power within them making them holy! These people are on their own, doomed to failure and condemnation. Then their sins become active and they are deemed guilty, no longer having the tremendous advantage of God living in them! This is serious business!
Friends, all of your sins, past, present and future have been taken care of by Christ. He poured His blood over the mercy seat and he then sat down. There is no more sacrifce for sin! None! It's been done!
The law will always chase you, try to hunt you down and condemn you. Christ, on the other hand, lives within you. His mighty power works in you perfecting you into true holiness. It's not by your work, but by His!
Check out Les Miserables. Be forewarned, it is a musical, but the acting is excellent and the message from Hollywood is powerful! I only wish every church would be preaching the same thing!
Here it is January 2, 2013 and all of this morning's news is dealing with the "Fiscal Cliff" issue in Washington,DC. What a mess! I could spend hours writing about how much better our nation would be if we had an entirely new group of national leaders...both Republican and Democrat! Yet I am more concerned about more important issues.
I am a Christian. I live in a much Higher Kingdom than the United States of America. Even though I love the country God placed me in, I know that my ultimate calling is in the Kingdom of God where my King, Jesus, has everything in control!
Certainly I am concerned about the things that effect America. However, my greater concern and the calling on my life deal more with spiritual issues than the natural. Therefore lately my focus is more on the "Religion Cliff" than on the "Fiscal Cliff." What do I mean by the "Religion Cliff?"
The "Religion Cliff" is best described by the greatest lie propagated upon the Church. I know this lie well as I used to preach it. Here it is: "The more you please God, the more He will be pleased with you, thus the more prayers you will get answered!" Have you heard this lie before? Actually the lie comes in many different forms, so you may have heard something like this, "God saves you by faith, but once you are saved you have to do good works." It seems that the "Religious Cliff" deals with our performance and completely negates the finished works of Christ!
The other day I wrote about listening to a leader of a large, popular, national ministry teach about grace. He was speaking more on how to avoid the abuses of grace than anything else. Yet the Church has been abusing Christians for years by teaching and preaching a works orientated Gospel, the "Religion Cliff';" Do more! Give more! Go more! Sacrifice more! Pray more! Worship more! Fast more! and the list goes on and on! The "Religion Cliff" directs us to always do more, it seems we just never measure up to God's standards. "Come to the altar more and repent more," oh yes, I forgot those orders by the preachers of religion!
So I am really upset! I know that there are those who do abuse grace. I don't like that as they leave a poor testimony to those who are sincere in their seeking New Covenant life. However, I am upset more about the many, many more who abuse religion. who preach that we must "perform" in order to please God! These are they who are pushing the Body of Christ off the "Religion Cliff!" I want to see this end this year! How about you?
Hebrews 10: 9, 10 (NLT), "So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their own labors, just as God did after creating the world!"
Since Friday's horrific school shooting I've been hearing of all types of solutions from arm chair quarterbacks. I've heard this statement several times from Church People, "We need to post the 10 Commandments in every school house in America!" When I hear this type of thing I immediately slap my bald head with the palm of my hand and utter a...."Duh!" When are we ever going to get it???
Once again we see the Church in complete ignorance of what God has done for her through the cross of Christ. Many might think that I'm a heretic when I say this, but Friends....let's take the 10 Commandments down! If you have a plaque of them hanging in your home, take it down! It is not only not necessary, but to try to apply the 10 Commandments to your life will place you under law that will eventually bring you to condemnation! How's that for a totally rebellious statement?
You might want to read II Corinthians chapter 3 to begin, but let's take a look at a couple of verses for the sake of time...
3:6, "He has enabled us to ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant NOT OF WRITTEN LAWS but of the Spirit. The OLD WRITTEN COVENANT ENDS IN DEATH; BUT UNDER THE NEW COVENANT, THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE."
Did you read that correctly..."The old written covenant ends in death!" So why would we want that haning in our home, our churches, our court houses or our schools? We need life, not death!
3:9, "If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, WHICH MAKES US RIGHT WITH GOD!"
Of course this 3rd chapter of II Corinthians continues on speaking of how the veil covers the hearts of those who read the Old Covenant. Friends, this is very important reading for all who claim the blood of Christ as their way to salvation. We must understand these things in order to live in the fullness of the New Covenant. Yet, I'm so sad to say that many in the Church just don't get it!
I believe that the Book of Galatians is the most mis-understood and neglected book in the entire New Testament! I wish every pastor or Bible teacher would spend months of study personally and then teach it to their congregation. Wouldn't be awesome if in this coming New Year, 2013, that the message of New Covenant Grace would spread through every church in America. I can almost see pastors getting up some Sunday morning and begin their sermon with words like this, "Folks...I've been teaching you wrong all of these years!" Then go on with, "There is nothing you have to do in order to make God pleased with you! From now on you can stop all works and efforts because the Lord Jesus Himself has done it all for you! Now all you have to do is simply believe and walk out this new life of holiness that God has given you...after all, He makes you holy and it's not anything you can do!" Wow!!!! Talk about change coming to America!
2:16, "Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. FOR NO ONE WILL EVER BE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD BY OBEYING THE LAW."
So many try to mix Grace with law. That's bad too. You have to be either hot or cold, not luke warm!
Church...the answer for America is NOT the law or any form of it. The answer first belongs to you and I and we, the Church of Christ, must get it! It is imperative that we leave the Old Covenant behind, and that means any mix of the Old and the New, and walk fully into the glory of the New Covenant. The result will be a spiritual awakening that will sweep over us and then spread over America from shore to shore! We are heading into the most exciting times of Church history. You and I are on the verge of a powerful wave of awakening. Even now it is beginning to spread through the Church. Of course those with religious spirits don't like what is happening, but this move of God cannot be stopped! The Revelation of Christ is spreading like wild fire, a fire that cannot be extinguished, and God's people are entering into true freedom, thus walking closer to the Lord than they have ever walked before. This thing is building up pressure that cannot be contained much longer... The True Gospel of Christ is about to spread over America changing the very values of a nation! I'm thrilled to be a small part of this move of God. How about you?
In light of this week's election results there is one very important point that we Christians have to remember.....50% of us voted Biblical!!!! Remember God spared Sodom for 10 righteous people, then He removed them before He rained fire and sulphur down upon the city. (see: Gen. 18 & 19)
Now many are very upset with the choice that America made Tuesday night. I am getting inundated with email, social media posts, etc., talking about all of the judgment and bad things that are about to befall our nation. Once again, I have to emphatically state that the judgment has already been completed by Christ. He didn't come to judge the world but to bring it to salvation! (John 3:17) Now we as God's ambassadors need to go forth and declare this salvation to all who will hear.
Those who seem to oppose Christianity do so because they really do not know what true Christianity really is. Many of them have been exposed to a legalistic, intolerant Church, being told that they are sinners and that they have to perform to please a God who seems to require so much from them. These people have never seen the true Grace of God. God has only been presented to them in an Old Covenant way.
OK... we now sit on the brink of one of the greatest times in world history. God is allowing us to live when "those who know their God will do great exploits!" (Daniel 11:32) Whether you see it or not, a "New Church" is coming to the forefront. It's a Church with power, love and a stirring mandate to advance the Kingdom of God. This Church is no longer living in the past, the Old Covenant, but is filled with the full knowledge of what Christ has done for Her. This Church is no longer trying to please God by Her good works, but lives in a constant faith that the glorious works of Calvary are complete, indeed! This "New Church" is not going to be full of show and glitz, rather She will be known by Her simplistic love; for God, for each other and for the world around Her, no matter how they vote!
Indeed, "Old things have passed away and all things have become new!" God has called my wife and I to raise up the finest church in our region. To be honest, I'm thinking we've come a long way in this task, yet we have a great distance to go. I'm excited by the position that our group here in Citrus County, FL finds ourselves in. We are at the right place and the right time. We are on the launching pad and the countdown has begun! So, I'm declaring to the world a new vision....that vision is "Mission Field: America!"
Through the message of New Covenant Grace we are about to change our nation, one person at a time! Helping us is the Holy Spirit. Please expect divine, supernatural provision along with a vast increase of signs, wonders and miracles! In the midst of darkness there is a bright light shining! That's the light of the true Gospel, Good News message. That message is.....Our sins no longer exist! To the lost world we no longer call them sinners, rather we tell them of all that Christ has already done for them. He took the judgment so that they too can be saved!
Yep...that's my call on things. Allow me to close with a few words from Rich Mullin's song, "Our God is an Awesome God."
Now before you get excited and say, "Amen, Larry....the Church failed to vote for the Bible, etc." you better read the rest of my post, because you may not like what I'm about to say!
Months ago I felt the Lord expressly state that I was supposed to stay out of the political fray this year. There was no problem stating my position to my church or to those who sought my opinion, but I was not to get so totally consumed with politics like I have in past years. I think, for the most part, I did a pretty good job of following the Holy Spirits directive for my life, even though there are many who would not agree with me on this at all. You know, I've noted a truth again this year as I've observed so many get totally consumed and eaten up by the politics of this election year; the truth is that if one is not careful politics will enter a person and almost control them! I think I've witnessed that among many of my Christian Brethren again this year!
One news commentator stated this morning, "America is no longer your Father's country." He stated that the demographics of our nation are such that strong division is all that remains. A good example is the racial issues; America is no longer a Black or White nation. America is now a Brown nation! Social issues such as abortion and gay marriage are equally split right down the middle, last night verified this.
So some would agree with me in my statement that the "Church failed" by saying, "Yes, the Church should have done a better job attacking these moral issues!" Where I'm probably going to be criticized here is that is NOT the Church's job to attack the moral issues of our Land. Our job is to be Ambassadors of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying people! Plus get this.... our old ways of preaching won't get it done either! As long as the Church preaches against sin we will continue to fail in our divine mission and mandate! That mission and mandate is to tell the world that Christ has already taken care of the sins of the world and that our faith in Him will change our lives forever! Until we as the Church begin to preach the New Covenant, we will continue to be the dog chasing our tail! Church....we cannot legislate morality. True morality will only come by us bringing one person at a time into the wonderful saving knowledge of their God of Love!
Reading Facebook and Twitter posts last night and this morning I've noted a lot of hurt and bitterness in many posts of my Brothers and Sisters. I like the prophetic word that Kenneth Copeland brought just a few days prior to the Election. He stated, "Church, you are going to like the results of this Election!" He quickly clarified that this did not mean that Romney would win! He felt that the Lord was saying that either way, we as the Church of Jesus Christ will like the results. I agree! I'm thinking that we are on the verge of the greatest ground swell move of God that America has ever seen! So I'm calling out to my Brethren...Get over it! Let's regroup, reform and go forth preaching the Real Gospel of Jesus Christ...that is New Covenant Grace! America... God is NOT judging you! You have already been judged by God and found not guilty, now come forth in no condemnation, into the total love of your God and Savior, Jesus Christ! One person at a time coming to Christ will eventually change our Land!