Daily Bread - September 19, 2017

Written by Pastor Mark Spitsbergen

Tuesday, 19 September 2017 07:35

John 17:23 - I in them, and You in Me, so that they may be perfect in one; that that the world may know that You have sent Me, and loved them, just as You have loved Me. Imagine this for just one moment: that Jesus Christ would come and live on the inside of you -that the glory and the splendor of His presence can be experienced by you right now. Now, this is a living faith. This is actually the miracle of salvation described in the Bible, whereby the Holy Spirit will come upon you and form the life of Christ in you (2 Corinthians 13:5; John 14:23, 17:21; Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20, 3:27, 4:6; Ephesians 3:17, 4:24; Romans 6:3, 8:10, 13:14; 1 John 4:13). God gives you and new heart and a new spirit -creating in you His nature. He imparts the divine nature of Christ Jesus and makes everything about your life totally new -a complete new creation (2 Peter 1:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18). You will be able to say, "Christ is in me", because it will be a living reality and experience. You will have the proofs that Jesus Christ is in you, and that you have been given the same glory that He possesses (John 17:21; Colossians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 13:5). You will find yourself abiding in Him, and you will find that He is dwelling in you (John 15:4-5, 17:21-22). You will discover oneness with the Almighty, and call God your Father, and Jesus Christ your Brother (Romans 8:27). This is a living faith, not concepts and philosophies. This is the miracle of salvation that will make you a new creation. All you have to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and God the Holy Spirit will come upon you and change you into another person! Jesus has come to dwell in us by the Spirit, which He has given us. (1 John 3:24; John 14:26, 16:13) This is the faith! It must be in your mouth and in your heart(Romans 10:9-10). It should be the confession that you hold on to, and do not let slip. One of the most important fundamental Christian realities is, "Christ in us, the confidence of Glory" (Colossians 1:27). The result of Jesus coming and bringing the Father with Him to indwell the saints would prove to the world that Father's family love was available to those who would believe. Will you accept this unspeakable gift, and believe the good news that Christ Jesus is alive in you if you have been begotten of God?

 

Daily Bread - September 18, 2017

Written by Pastor Mark Spitsbergen

Sunday, 17 September 2017 21:00

Romans 8:29 - Who knowing beforehand, and having predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. The calling and purpose for which God has predestined all who will believe is to be in every way just like Jesus (Isaiah 60:1; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; Galatians 1:15-16; John 17:22, 1:16). Jesus is the express image of the Father; and we were created in Christ Jesus to be conformed to His image (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus is the pattern Son. He is God's example that is set before us, and we are called to live and to overcome even as He did (1 Peter 2:21-22; 1 John 2:29, 3:7, 4:17; Revelation 3:21). It is the Spirit of the Son that has come into our hearts and imparts the divine power and authority to walk in the image of the only begotten Son, Christ Jesus. God desires absolute conformity (1 Peter 1:15-16) -will you participate (2 Peter 1:3-11)? All we must do is yield to the Spirit of Grace, and God will do the work (Philippians 2:13, Colossians 1:29)! Being conformed to the image of the Son is the work of Grace that is realized in the new creation when we were born from above (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; John 3:6). Today, speak it out with your mouth and believe in your heart that you are conformed to the image of the Son (Galatians 4:6; John 1:12; Romans 8:14, 10:9-10)!

 

Daily Bread - September 16, 2017

Written by Pastor Mark Spitsbergen

Saturday, 16 September 2017 11:54

Jude 24 - Now to the One Who is able to keep you from stumbling, and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. God is the Maker of our salvation. It is Jesus Who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. All we have to do is to be willing; for should we only be hungry and thirsty, He will fill us. If our hearts leap like the priest Zachariah at the announcement of the Savior, knowing that now we can live without fear in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives, then we will discover that God will both will and do of His good pleasure in us (Luke 1:74-75; Philippians 2:13). We must learn to depend upon Him, and to receive all that He supplies. Once we have been born of the Spirit, then we can receive all of those things that are freely supplied to us by the Spirit (Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 2:12). When we consider that His grace supplies us with those things that reach beyond what we are able to think or ask, according to the power that works within us, we should be able to be confident of His perfecting power in our lives (Ephesians 3:20-21; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Psalms 18:32; Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Peter 5:10-11). Jude says that He will keep us from stumbling. Although there are many translations that use the word 'falling', the difference between the two words is demonstrated for us in Romans 11:11. He not only will keep us from falling, but will also keep us from stumbling; so that we may be faultless (Colossians 1:22; Ephesians 1:4). Peter also revealed this truth to us at the outset of his second epistle, and made it clear that since we have been born of God and made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4), if we would now give ourselves to the eight pillars of divine success that he named in 2 Peter 1:5-9, then we would never stumble! The one transition that seems hard for many to make is the transition from human effort and discipline, to relational dependency upon Jesus. We will never be able in our own ability to walk so perfectly before our God; but there is One Who will work in us by His power, and will keep us from stumbling. All we must be willing to do is to learn how to be led. If we are going to learn how to be led by the Spirit, then we must learn how to yield to Him (Romans 6:13, 16, 19, 8:1-14). Jesus made it very clear that without Him we can do nothing; but if we dwell in Him, then we can do all things through the strengthening power of Christ Jesus (John 15:1-5; Philippians 4:13). How do we learn to yield to Him and rely on Him? Through a love relationship where we, as the redeemed, adore the Redeemer. It is here we discover the very meaning of our life, and the exceeding greatness of His power that is at work in us (Ephesians 1:17-20; Colossians 1:29; Philippians 1:11; 2:13, 4:13; Philemon 6). It is through this relationship that we receive from Heaven, and learn to yield to the Holy Spirit, Who teaches us all things; and shows us how to make the transition from human dependence and self-reliance, to a dependence upon Him (Jeremiah 17:5-8; Romans 8:14). Transition today from all human dependence to entire dependence on God!

 

Daily Bread - September 15, 2017

Written by Pastor Mark Spitsbergen

Thursday, 14 September 2017 18:21

1 John 3:3 - And everyone that has this expectation in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure. It is of the utmost importance that we recognize how a person is purified. It is only by the blood of Jesus Christ that one is made pure (1 John 1:7, 9, 2:2). The word 'hagnizein' is a rare word in the Greek New Testament. It is used in the Old Testament for ritual purification, one example being in Exodus 19:10-11. God commanded Moses to make the people pure, because the Lord was going to appear before all of the people. The Levites also had to purify themselves before going into the presence of the Lord (Numbers 8:21). The concept of ritual purification is further emphasized by the following word used to describe the ritual purity of Jesus, 'hagnos'. The idea being related is that once a person is made pure by the blood of Jesus, then they are to continue in that purity, even as we are to be holy because he made us holy (1 Peter 1:13-17; Ephesians 4:17-32; 2 Peter 1:3-11). We are called to live consecrated lives so as not to be contaminated by yielding our members to sin; for he was manifested to take away our sin, and in Him is no sin (1 John 3:5). As Paul said in a parallel verse of Scripture, "Having these promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the spirit and flesh, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). What is important to recognize is that Paul said this in light of us being righteous, not unrighteous; light, not darkness; Christ, not Belial; the Temple of God, not the house of idols; and the sons of God who touch not the unclean things (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). The word describing Jesus' purity here, 'hagnos' (ritually pure), is never used in the Gospels to describe the purity and holiness of Jesus. A closely related word, yet distinctively different, is 'hagios' (holy). The first time that 'hagno' appears in the New Testament is in 2 Corinthians 7:11 to describe the true heart and repentance of those at Corinth. Paul used it in 2 Corinthians 11:2 and elsewhere in the context of that which is pure or chaste (2 Corinthians 7:11, 11:2; Philippians 4:8; 1 Timothy 5:22; Titus 2:5). The way that it is used by both James and Peter also denotes that which is chaste, being of pure thoughts and clear of any immorality (James 3:17; 1Peter 3:2). We are called to walk in the same obedience and purity that Jesus walked in (1 John 2:6, 1:7; 1 Peter 2:21). The blood of Jesus purified us from all sin and iniquity, and now we are to remain pure and chaste -free from the contamination of immorality and unholy behavior (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 Peter 1:3-11; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Matthew 5:48). Perfect Holiness in the fear of God!

 

Daily Bread - September 14, 2017

Written by Pastor Mark Spitsbergen

Thursday, 14 September 2017 11:46

1 Corinthians 6:11 - And this is what you were (vs 9-11); but now you are washed, but now you are sanctified by the Name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Without the active work of the Holy Spirit, the redemption of Christ Jesus and all its effects would not be realized by anyone. But, by the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, we have received all of the benefits and blessings of being made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:17-18). The Ethiopian could scrub his skin night and day, but his color would remain the same (Jeremiah 13:23). A garment once dyed with the stain of scarlet and crimson will always remain red -no matter how it is washed. The leopard may wish away his spots and the man of flesh may hope for the life of the Spirit, but the nature of it will always remain the same. Preachers and those who have perfected the art of religion may toil night and day to change flesh into spirit, but their efforts will not produce one measurable change; for that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and it cannot come into the Kingdom (John 3:3-6). However, one touch of Jesus and the sinner will be made a saint. Just as Jesus touched the blind man who immediately received his sight and the leper who was immediately cleansed, the life of a sinner is washed, justified, and sanctified by the power of His Name and the power of the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Holiness of heart and life is not the perfection of human nature, but the holiness of the divine nature dwelling within (A.B. Simpson). Men vainly attempt to perfect themselves to make themselves better and worthy of something more from God, but all such efforts are futile. The righteousness of men is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Man does not know the way of righteousness; the holiness of God is completely out of reach. It is only by the mercy and the love of God that the miracle of salvation can come, and the Holy Spirit can become our guide to show us the paths of righteousness and teach us the ways of God! What we all need to understand -very clearly- is that unholy, unregenerated, and unsanctified men will not dwell in the presence of a Holy God. We must be changed; and that change takes place not by the efforts of religion and ritual, but by the miracle touch of God. God made a way for us to step into this miracle by providing us with the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-22; John 10:9, 14:6). By Christ Jesus we enter into a realm where the Spirit of God comes and overshadows us, and the divine nature is created within (Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Peter 1:4; Titus 3:5; Colossians 2:11). The new creation, created in righteousness and true holiness, and washed from all the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, must then be willing to submit to obedience unto God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:23-24; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Romans 8:14, 12:1-2; 2 Peter 1:3-11). The former manner of life, with all that belongs to the world, must not be allowed to come and ruin and mar that which has been made new in Christ Jesus (1 John 2:15-17; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Galatians 5:16,25; Romans 8). Oh, dear saints, the riches of God are so precious that we must give all attention to making our calling and election sure! (2 Peter 1:3-11; Hebrews 2:3; Ephesians 1:17-18, 3:8-21)