Grace Achieved By Law...!?

This is an interesting note written by Bertus Oosthuizen in Facebook...

"Jesus is what God believes about us! We do not need to conjure up our own faith when we can have God’s faith; we only need to know what God believes."

This statement appeared on my wall ,that is in my "living room". It is a one way teaching like in a church. I can't comment on it where it originated. Therefore I will politely and respectfully and in sincere love share what is on my mind here in my own "living room" and the living rooms of those who have the courage to be my friends. 

Do I understand this correctly? 

"when we CAN have God's faith "  -  A possibility only 

"we ONLY NEED to know " -  The requirement 

"We do not need to conjure up our own faith" - The dilemma we are in before the possibility can become a reality, when we fulfill the requirement.

This premise and conclusion suggest DIVISION between God and man. A division which can only be crossed by man fulfilling a requirement. 

In this case that requirement is completely out of the reach of any man or woman outside the intimate unity with God. Normally the defense will be, "no it is not meant to be outside the intimate unity with God. I am talking about someone that is in God already through Christ".

If that is true what you say, is it possible that there can exist unfulfilled requirements in the unity you suggest. If your answer is yes, then what will happen if they are not fulfilled by man?  Did Christ deliberately left some of the requirements to be IN Him (God) for man to bring his/her part to fulfill it? 

The moment man is required to do something to bridge an openly stated or subtle implied distance, how small it may seem, between man and God, then it is not Grace, but Grace-achieved-by-law  teaching.

It creates more questions than answers. 

Often the package comes as a "Grace-made-possible-by-subtle- law-requirement-fulfilling, which doesn't make it obvious that Grace and law are mixed.

True Grace can never be a possibility. It is an awesome completely fulfilled Truth that can never be made conditional in any way whatsoever.

I love this statement made by Brother Bertus ~ True Grace can never be a possibility. It is an awesome completely fulfilled Truth that can never be made conditional in any way whatsoever.

A Wise Gardener and His Trees

I love my church SIB Grace… and I honor her pulpit, not because of the height of 9th floor at Crown Tower, but this is a well guided pulpit that only the message on the grace of God can be ministered through this pulpit.

I also respect my Elder… he is a skillful gardener faithfully looking after the trees that are planted by Father God in this garden called SIB Grace. He is not the kind of gardener that emphasize on fruits bearing … He does not stand under the tree, with one hand on his hip, the other pointing to the tree, going from tree to tree, scolding the trees for not bearing fruits. He is more concerned on the roots rather than the fruits. At this point, I just cannot help myself but to add in this phrase… Grace deals with the root while religion deals with the fruit!

Week after week, he would concentrate on loosing the ground and taking away all the “STONE” that are hidden in the ground. He makes the ground loose and gracious for the trees to grow. He would allow the "RAIN" of the Holy Spirit to water the trees and he is also making sure that the trees have sufficient “LIGHT" from the Son of righteousness. As the strong light of Righteousness continue to shine on the trees, the self righteous leaves will dry up and fall on the ground. With these self righteous leaves falling to the ground, they make good fertilizer… because according to Apostle Paul, our self righteousness is nothing but smelly stuff called DUNG! With these elements of gracious soil, sufficient “WATER” and “SON” light, plus the organic fertilizer, the trees just cannot help but grow and bear fruits… thirty fold, sixty fold and hundred fold.

I am one of the trees that grow in this garden. For the past four years, I have grown to be quite a big tree. Why do I know that I am quite a big tree...? This is because from times to times, I can see people coming to me looking for shade as resting place and to be ministered to by my fruits. I have also notice that the Word of God has come to past in my life and I have already been blessed to be a blessing.

I am writing this not to boast about my glory but to boast about what my Father God has prepared for me in this garden. As a tree, if I do not have such a good and gracious environment, I would not be a fruitful tree at all. As a fruitful tree, I am just a witness to the ministry that bring everlasting righteousness.

Before this, I was once a fruitless tree… but then, I was also a witness, a witness to the ministry that brings condemnation. Though that ministry of condemnation has glory, its glory is fast fading away. Therefore, I was a victim of that condemning ministry which glory is fast fading glory.

If that ministry of mixture of law and grace which brings confusion is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of grace that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory from the ministry of grace. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since I have such a hope, I am very bold...

Psalm 92
12 ~ The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 ~ Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 ~ They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 ~ To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

So let this fruitful tree who boasts boast in the Lord.

Confusion

The Book of Daniel begins with the tale of two kings, Jehoiakim king of Judah and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This scenario gave me a contrast of two different forces in this universal and I am lured to picture  Jerusalem as the Church and Babylon represents the world. The name "Jerusalem" is a compound of two Semitic roots, "s-l-m" meaning wholeness, peace, harmony or completeness, and "y-r-h" meaning to show, direct, instruct, or teach. Jerusalem means "Abode of Peace," "Teaching of Peace", or "Whole or Complete Instruction". The word "Babylon" in Hebrews mean "confusion" (of languages), from the verb balbal, "to confuse by mixing". So, King Nebuchadnezzar is a king of confusion. 

During Daniel’s time, when Jerusalem was being besieged, some of the articles of the temple of God were also being delivered to king Nebuchadnezzar and he carried them off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. Some of the articles  of the temple of God were with king Nebuchadnezzar and king Nebu indeed had made full use of these articles by mixing them with the teaching of the world.

King Nebu told Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to get some Israelites from the royal family and nobility, young men who were healthy and handsome, intelligent and well-educated, good prospects for leadership positions in the government, perfect specimens, and indoctrinate them in the Babylonian language and the lore of magic and fortunetelling. The king then ordered that they be served from the same menu from the royal table the best food, the finest wine. After three years of training they would be given positions in the king's court.

The redeemed have all the criteria this king Nebu is looking for. The redeemed are from the Royal family and nobility. The redeemed are healthy and handsome, intelligent and well-educated, good prospects for leadership positions in the government, perfect specimens, all because of the redeeming quality of our Redeemer, Christ Jesus. King Nebuchadnezzar takes pleasure in indoctrinating the redeemed with Babylonian language (Message with mixture of Law and Grace) and conspires to fascinate them with the lore of magic and fortunetelling of which he calls prophecy...

This king Nebu is no fool to dispense the worldly teaching alone; he mixes the worldly teaching with the truth from God (Remember he got the articles of the temple of God?). He would indoctrinate the redeemed to work hard for God for it is good that we work hard for God because He had already delivered His begotten Son just for us and save us. Now that we are saved, we have to work hard for Him. In case (well, most of the cases) if we do not have the strength to go on, ask for His grace as His grace is sufficient for us…

To sum up, Babylonian teaching emphasizes on our commitment with self effort plus Jesus’ effort; our hard work plus Jesus’ finished work; our obedience plus Jesus’ obedience; our sacrifice plus Jesus’ sacrifice; we nailing ourselves on the cross plus Jesus’ crucifixion at the cross! That’s not all, he would indoctrinate us to focus on Moses who represented the Law and Elijah the prophet, so as to divert our focus on Jesus, our Savior and water down the Gospel that we first received.

Mind you, the Father in Heaven rebuked Peter for suggesting on making three tabernacles. Peter himself gave the testimony on how he witnessed Jesus receiving from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory saying: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" The Bible also clearly proclaims that the Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John the Baptist and Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for EVERYONE who believes. 

Well, have you ever wonder whether this king Nebu is in your Jerusalem? Are you confused in your Christian walk? For the Bible says, know the truth, the truth will set you free. Are you free? Or are you still wondering for the truth?

I tell you the truth, the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The Truth is with Grace and Grace is Jesus Personified… This Grace that we share a lot is the glory of the Gospel of Christ! For the Gospel of Christ  is the power of God to SALVATION [(so-tay-ree'-ah) means rescue or safety (physically or morally): - deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.] EVERYONE who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek... Salvation here is not only save us from hell but our every situation in life! If you are confused, the Gospel of Christ can save/deliver you from your confusion!

Outside The Box

The new covenant of grace had opened up an ultimate gateway for the gentiles to approach God without having to observe Jewish Law. The Gospel was designed to bring good news to the poor in spirit, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, bring freedom to the oppressed and to claim the year of the Lord’s favour.

Luke 4:18 ~ 19  "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Ironically, despite of its harshness, the law offers the proud religious people the opportunity to sing their praises to their self-righteousness. To these law observers, the notion of free grace is far too cheap and is “outside the box”. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were a good example of this scenario. Bold souls who think "outside the box" have often been dismissed as eccentric, burned as heretics or even "stoned to death". Even in our time, those sincere and good intent Christians appear to have little tolerance for those who stray too far from their denomination traditions - no matter how biblically sound their arguments are…

To many, the offer of grace seems far too confronting to their logical mindset. They are reluctant to be reminded of their own spiritual nakedness and poverty. Like Adam, they look for fig leaves to hide themselves from God and creating religions to make convenient fig leaf.

In fact, it is observable throughout Church history and even it is observable in our day. Time and time again when God’s grace has visited the Church, the church institution has often either neglected it or sought to nullify it. They have paid too much attention on signs and wonders; their self-righteousness blinded  them from seeing that these signs and wonders are the pointers to His grace!

The Gospel of grace has not been fully realized widely by many Christian. Though shafts of light have periodically cut through history, the Church has remained in the shackles of mixture of law and grace, plus unhelpful traditions and denomination rulings. As such, the Gospel of grace which make up of two third of our New Testament Bible, remain classified as “outside the box” in many churches.

New Covenant Prayer Life

The Old Covenant Saints were not born again and they did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. They were looking forward to the Cross prophetically and they had to seek, ask and knock at the door for answer. Begging prayer is Old Covenant prayer.

The New Covenant Saints are born again and we have the Holy Spirit living in us. That is why the Bible says no one ever born on this earth is greater than John the Baptist. But whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. We, as a born again believers, our Daddy has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. So instead of seeking, asking or knocking, we have to look back to the Cross for the revelation of what Daddy means by having blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

In this context, we are to listen to the preaching anointed by the Holy Spirit that unveils Christ and His Finished Work because every answer for our needs is found in the Person of Jesus. In this dispensation of grace, I think it is wise for us to use our ears more than our mouth… for the Bible says: faith comes by HEARING, and hearing by the word of Christ. Through faith then, we confess what we already have. It is the word about what Christ had done that bring forth faith, and surely, without faith it is impossible to please God. We do not have faith because we do not believe the word of Christ. We cannot produce faith from our Law keeping.

In the Book of John, the crowd was asking Jesus: "What must we do to do the works God requires?" And Jesus answered them that: "The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent." So believe His Finished Work is the key to our faith.

In order for people to believe, Apostle Paul asked this question: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

God is pleased through the foolishness of preaching the word of Christ (the good news of the Finished Work of Christ) to save those who believe. Jesus’ Finished Work is a stumbling block to those who seek their own righteousness, but is the power of God and the wisdom of God for those who believe.

What kind of preaching have you been listening to?
- Preaching that points you to the Cross and unveil Jesus and His Finished Work or preaching that points you to yourself and what you should do?
- Preaching that points you to Jesus’ righteousness or preaching that points you to your sinfulness? Preaching that preaches the unearned and unmerited favour of God or preaching that preaches on what you must do in order to be qualified for God’s blessing?
- Preaching on the Bread of Life or preaching from the “stone”?
- Preaching from the Tree of Life or preaching from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?
- Preaching that preaches the grace of God or preaching that preaches legalism?

Grace minsters to our spirit while law ministers to our flesh. Christ centered preaching edifies our spirit man while legalistic preaching edifies our flesh. Preaching of grace balanced with law confuses us; we call this Babylonian teaching. If that is the case, have you been edifying your spirit or your flesh? Are you feeding on the Bread of Life or on the stone tablets? Are you climbing the Tree of Life or the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?

Matthew 7:9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Matthew 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

See what the Bible is actually implicating - Which of you, if his son asks for GRACE (Manna, bread from heaven), will give him LAW (Two tablets of stone taken down by Moses)? Or if he asks for JESUS (Fish – A symbol for Jesus), will give him Satan (Snake – who tempted Eve in the Garden)?

We need to listen to the grace (word of Christ) of God and faith is responsible for the growth of a Spirit filled, born again believer. Our ear therefore, is an important channel for the growth of our spirit-man. New Covenant believers feed their spirit-man through their ears…

I think it will be wise for us to humble ourselves and listen to Him. Find out what Jesus’ Finished Work is all about. All the answers that we ever need are in Him. I also think it makes sense when revelation makes us understand that the act of listening is actually part of our prayer life in this grace dispensation.

The Aftermath

I was asked by my Elder to share on the subject of fasting (a revelation which I received from the Lord in the month of February this year) in the main service last Sunday. Indeed, I was blessed by the experience and this is the aftermath of the sharing… (I use the word aftermath because in farming, it means “new grass glowing after mowing or harvest”). Praise God…!

I quoted Romans 14:17 i.e. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” to start off my sharing. Then I quoted Matthew 4:4 i.e. the famous scripture on Jesus went fasting for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness and immediately tempted by the devil. I then went on to Jesus’ answer on fasting in Mark chapter 2 when He was asked by the Pharisee. To end my sharing, I quoted Daniel’s example on his decision not to partake King Nebuchadnezzar’s royal table and wine, which is the typology of Babylonian teaching (teaching that mixes grace with law).

The moral of this sharing is to encourage you to fast from partaking any teaching that is not pointing us to the Finished Work or any teaching that is not Christ centered.

While I was driving to my office this morning (I used to have my quiet time with the Lord during my half an hour journey to my office every morning), the Lord linked these verses together to show me yet another precious revelation that expounds His Finished Work. So, lets fasten your seat-belt... !

Romans 14:17 ~ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

Matthew 4:4 ~ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Daniel 1:12 ~ "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.

For the kingdom of God is not about our doing or anything that concern with our effort or our flesh. The used of the term “eating and drinking” is to show us our daily activity which is necessary in our living. But the kingdom of God is all about righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit are the “by products” of His Finished Work! These “by products” are given by grace and are New Covenant stuff!

The NIV version of this verse (For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit) misled me, for this version does not have an “and” in between righteousness and peace. So it gave me the impression that righteousness, peace and joy are three different issues in the Holy Spirit. From the NIV version, my religious mind also tells me that I must have righteousness first then I can have peace and then the joy in the Holy Spirit. The Lord prompted me to look at NKJV, and I then realized that all these three issues are one in the Holy Spirit for the NKJV has an "and" in between righteousness and peace. (For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit). The Lord has to clear this religious blockage so that His revelation can flow through me. Hmmm... I'm still religious, ok?

In Matthew 4:4, the Lord answered the devil: “It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The verse in Romans 14:17 and this verse started to connect when the revelation flows… Is “Man does not live by bread alone” having the same meaning of “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking”? And on the phrase of, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God…, what do you think the kind of word will come out of the mouth of God? At this point is before the Cross, but after the Cross, is our Daddy not proud of what His Darling Son had done at the Cross? Is He not going to boast of the Finished Work of His Darling Son? Now, is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit the every word that comes from the mouth of God?

In Daniel 1:12, Daniel said to the guard: “Give me nothing…” Nothing of what??? Nothing on the matter of eating and drinking, nothing of the royal food and wine i.e. the Babylonian teaching that edified self effort and provoke his flesh…! What did Daniel resolved to partake then? Of course, he asked for vegetable and water… In the KJV, the word “vegetable” is “pulse”, and the meaning of the word “pulse” is the word “seed”. From the Book of John on the parable of the sewer, Jesus used seed as word of God. Seed by itself is already a finished product. A seed by itself is completed. We have the whole tree and its fruits in a seed! Is Daniel not mentioning about the Finished Work again? We all know that water speaks of the Holy Spirit! Is it not that vegetable and water speaks of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”? No wonder Prophet Daniel could prophesy on the coming of Messiah and the end time events…

Now, the Lord prompted me to line up all these three verses in the sequence of the times the Books were written…

Daniel 1:12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Oh Hallelujah..., see for yourself what the Lord is telling us... Give us nothing, but vegetable and water, for it is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God!" and the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit!

Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

No wonder Jesus is hungry after fasting for forty days and forty nights… :) Praise Your mighty Name, Lord… Thank you for this precious revelation… Man…, I find myself more and more hungry. Give me more….!

Listen To Him!

The famous account of the Mount of Transfiguration signified the universal Summit between the God Head and the Ministry Heads of mankind. It was intended for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the Summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult decisions. The news of this Summit had considerable media exposure as this event was well covered in the Good News of Matthew, Mark as well as Luke.

In this account, our Lord Jesus was bringing His disciples Peter, James and John up to Mt. Hermon, the venue of this Summit. As Peter speaks of Stone, James speaks of Supplanted while John speaks of Grace in Greek respectively, Jesus was in actual fact, attending this Summit with a walking agenda of “To replace the Law with Grace”.

During the meeting, Moses, the Ministry Head of the Law Ministry and Elijah; the Ministry Head of the Prophetic Ministry appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus, who is grace personified. They spoke about the Jesus’ departure, of which He was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. Jesus’ death was always and still is, the centre theme of Heaven. Peter, the Head Boy from the School of Disciples, witnessed this splendid moment and with amazement, out of his religiosity he voiced out his suggestion of making three tabernacles: one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

Our friend Peter, was like anyone of us who is religious, like to put Jesus, Moses and Elijah on the same level. It is out of our religiosity that we start the Sunday Service by allowing Elijah to point out our sins and subsequently followed by our confession, then followed by praise and worship. Moses will then take over the pulpit to tell us what wrong with us, how and what we should do. To end the service, we will then allow Jesus to step up for the altar call…

While Peter was suggesting of putting Jesus, Moses and Elijah on the same level, the Holy Spirit descended as cloud and enveloped them which made them very much afraid, and they were interrupted by a voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him." Listen to who? When the voice had spoken, they found no one but Jesus… Moses was gone and so as Elijah.

This meeting adjourned with a warm affirmation of "do not be afraid" from the Lord. The resolution of "LISTEN TO HIM" i.e. "Replacing law with grace" was agreed...

In this dispensation of grace, are we really in tune with our Heavenly Father’s will? The Old Testament prophet calls out our sin to remembrance while the New Covenant prophet calls out the righteousness of Christ in remembrance. The law of sin and death tell us how and what we should do while through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free and tell us what the Lord had finished doing at the Cross. Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Him.

We are to LISTEN TO HIM from the start to the end of our service not Elijah and Moses…

LISTEN TO HIM... listen to Grace!!!

Fasting

I was quickened by the Spirit to realize that I have been fasting for the past five years ever since the Lord has enlightened me with His teaching on grace. This revelation shocked me a bit but I was immediately comforted by a fresh insight on fasting.

Please bear with me for awhile and if you feel this is misleading, you are welcome to throw stone at me at the end of this sharing. So be cool…

With this fresh insight for a rather controversial topic in the body of Christ, I went around asking for answers from the average believers with charismatic background, the purpose for fasting. The answers I gathered are as followed:-

1) To restrain and weaken our flesh so that our spirit can grow stronger.
2) Spiritual discipline.
3) To be closer to God and hear His voice.
4) To obtain spiritual power.

Hmm… what is your answer?

I don't think fasting is what we used to think as restraining ourselves from eating our meals for certain period of time and achieve the purpose of weakening our flesh to gain spiritual power or to make God obligated to move in the area of our needs. If this is so, any other religion that practices fasting would also achieve the same purposes. In fact, they claimed to have the same result too!

The only thing that sets Christianity apart from the rest of the religions is God's grace. Grace is not natural but supernatural. We need the Holy Spirit to understand grace and most of all, Christianity was born by the grace of the Father through the death of the His beloved Darling Son. If only we can have the revelation knowledge of this truth, we will be led by the Spirit to understand more including the meaning of fasting.

Those of us, who are so much into grace, are very familiar that our flesh is edified by legalistic and performance oriented doctrine which is self centered and based on law abiding. It is this self righteousness doctrine that give strength to our flesh! The preaching of law is the food to our flesh!!! The moment we embark ourselves on Christ centered, grace based doctrine, that is the moment we start our FASTING!!! Because we have restrained ourselves from exposing to legalistic and performance oriented teaching, we have stopped supplying “FOOD” to our flesh. I think this is a more biblical way to define fasting in the light of the New Covenant.

Can you find evidence in the bible to support your claim? (You may ask…)

Let’s go on…

Matthew 4:1~4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.' "

So, after being baptized at the River Jordan and before Jesus started His earthly ministry, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry…!

Jesus was born under the law and was brought up in a legalistic, law abiding Jewish society. This was the darkest era in the history of Jewish culture. After the baptism, He was immediately led to the wilderness to stay away from the law abiding, legalistic environment. He restrained for forty days and forty nights. John the Baptist was growing up in the wilderness and was isolated from Jewish legalistic society. Paul, the Apostle of Grace to the Gentiles, was led to Arabia to be away from Jerusalem which was their religious center and Judaism's stronghold.

The number 40 here is the representative number for one generation. It was not what we literally think as our forty days and forty nights. The Israelite were wandering in the wilderness for forty years while Moses was up in Mt. Sinai for forty days and forty nights.

The devil was quick to draw Jesus’ attention back to the “stone” again right after Jesus' fasting by saying, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus said, “It is written: ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”

Do you think this kind of dialogues are dialogues of our human nature? I don’t think so… A spiritual being was talking to a SPIRITUAL BEING; I think these dialogues are spiritual!

The devil was quick to point Jesus in turning the Ten Commandments (Two tablets of stone) into His food. The devil was asking Jesus to feed on Law... How did Jesus reply him? Jesus said man does not live on bread only (the bodily man), but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (the spirit-man). As far as the devil is concerned, if our flesh is strong, our spirit will be weak. As such, Jesus expounded the existence of spirit-man in man that the spirit-man lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God. He was in the wilderness, being far away from the legalistic environment, He was there to receive words direct from the Father.

What kind of word did the Father minister to Jesus? At Mt. Sinai, God was showing Moses the beautiful story of the Tabernacle which is a typology of Jesus. The Father was ministering grace to Jesus in the wilderness just like Jesus Himself ministered grace to Apostle Paul in Arabia.

However, as I continue with this passage, the phrase “He was hungry” caused a bit of doubt in my mind… What about you? Hey, the Bible says He was hungry you know...? Well, I was "asked" to put this phrase aside and continue with the reading... So, let’s go on.

Let us look at what Jesus talked about fasting in replying to the Scribes and Pharisee...

Luke 5: 33~38 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?" And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days." Then He spoke a parable to them: "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.' "

In this passage, Jesus interchanged in referring the man with flesh and spirit-man. Jesus was saying as He (the Bridegroom) was with them in flesh, it was time for celebration. How could the Bridegroom make them fast in the time of celebration? When the time had come for Him to be glorified at the Cross, they (their flesh) would have to fast because grace dispensation only came into effect when the Holy Spirit was poured out at the Feast of Pentecost. Under the grace dispensation, His disciples were already made righteous by His blood and were justified by His resurrection. They were to live by faith not by law. So by then, they were to fast from partook the Law and to live by the Spirit.

It is funny that Jesus did not continue to expound on fasting but changed the subject from fasting to the famous parables of new and old garment, new wine and old wineskin. Eh..., very interesting!

We all know that the parables of old and new garment together with new wine and old wineskin are talking about the doctrine on grace and law dispensation and is telling us that grace cannot be mixed with law. Jesus is not interested in how we abstain ourselves from eating our meals as a way of fasting. He is interested in the feeding and the health of our spirit-man. Babylonian teaching (confuse by mixing grace with law) mixes up our flesh and spirit-man which causes confusion in our Christian walk. While legalistic and law abiding doctrine edify and strengthen our flesh.

Christ centered, grace based doctrine is LIVING and ACTIVE (because of the witness of the Holy Spirit). The message of grace is sharper than any double-edged sword, can penetrate even to dividing our souls and spirits, joints and marrow and judge our thoughts and the attitude of our hearts. Grace divides our souls and spirits so that we can be sharp when Holy Spirit prompts our spirit. Grace divides the joints and marrow so that the life supply to our flesh is cut off. Grace judges our ungodly thoughts and the religious attitude of our hearts!

If the purpose of fasting is to stop feeding our flesh and build up our spirit-man, I think it is wise for us to sit under a Christ centered Ministry. In order to stop feeding our flesh, we are to restrain ourselves from sitting under a Ministry that emphasizes legalism with law abiding preaching and Babylonian teaching that causes confusion in our midst. As born again believers, we are Spirit filled and we need the Gospel of Grace expounded in the light of the New Covenant Spirit, as food for our spirit-man... Amen!

Oh ya... now back to my doubtful phrase: "He was hungry"…

The Lord told me, “You have been sitting under a Christ centered Ministry for so long, do you still feel hungry…?” Ha...ha...ha... If you know what He means…

So, how long have you been fasting? As for me and my household, we are not going to fool around but to steadfast with our FASTING for the rest of the "generation" and continue to sit under an anointed Ministry that preaches Christ centered message and glorifies the Finished Work of Christ.

Who say those who are under grace are not fasting?

Melamine

In many parts of the world, milk products are found contaminated with Melamine. Melamine by itself is non toxic in low doses, but when combined with Cyanuric Acid it can cause fatal kidney stones due to the formation of an insoluble Melamine Cyanurate. In view of this, the affected countries have intensified their checks on imported products and their locally manufactured products which used milk as part of the ingredient.

The people in the world are concerned with the food they are consuming and they do not tolerate any mixture of toxic substance in their dietary. The Health Ministries concerned are protecting their people by bringing in high tech instruments and best researchers to putting up a high standard in scrutinize all milk related products.

The Health Ministries in this world are doing a far better job than the “Health Ministries” in the body of Christ in term of dietary scrutinization. Today, Christians under the dispensation of grace are still being fed with the deadly mixture of law and grace as their main course for spiritual dietary.

The preaching is not Christ centered but self centered. The preaching is not righteousness consciousness but sin consciousness. The preaching is not emphasizing on resting in the Lord because of His Finished Work on the Cross, but emphasizing on working for the Lord as if Jesus had not died on the Cross. The preaching is not pointing the believers to Jesus, who is all able, all powerful, and full of grace and mercy, but pointing the believers to themselves who are unable, powerless, and full of hatred and unforgiveness. The preaching is not hot but lukewarm. The preaching is not of the Tree of Life but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Spiritual dietary for the believers in this dispensation has not been fairly scrutinized. This lukewarm dietary has brought much harm to the new covenant believers in term of the growth of their faith and leaving them in the state of spiritual malnutrition. It is high time for the “Health Ministers” in the Body of Christ to refer to the instruction written by Apostle Paul and bring in the Ultimate Instrument i.e. the Cross, to scrutinize what has been accomplished by the Lord, which covenant has been expired on the Cross and perform their duty of rightly dividing the Word.

Luke 16: 8 ~ The Master commanded the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

... -_-???

Grace and truth is on the side of Jesus. When you appreciate His grace, you will see His truth. Then you will know what is good for eating and what is not...

Grace ~ The Aroma of Our Lord

"The Story" is the gospel and is also called good news. News is about an event that had already happened. The good news is not a good prophecy. A prophecy is about thing that is yet to happen.

The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 1:6~7 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

I am wondering how many of us on this earth were saved by hearing the Ten Commandments. The Story is not about the Ten Commandments, it is about the good news of what Christ had done! We heard of "this" gospel on Christ’s suffering and what He had done for us on the cross. We believed in "this" gospel and accepted Him as our Savior. We were saved by His grace through faith and even that little faith in us was giv en by Him through grace. As a born again Christian, we are supposed to grow in the Lord by f aith.

Unfortunately, after I was saved, I was turned to a different gospel. The "gospel" of law abiding, self modification, and I had to work hard to maintain my salvation through law keeping (work out my salvation), self effort (for faith without work is dead), so that by doing all these, I could be justified in front of man to please leaders and of c ourse, God. But this, according to the Apostle Paul, is no gospel at all.

I was more and more confused as times went by and everything seemed dry and lifeless because I was seeking my own kingdom and my own righteousness instead of His kingdom and His righteousness. When I failed from my good behavior, some good "intention" brothers would come to me and say the grace of God is sufficient for me and I turned to His grace again. When I started to depend on His grace, I was strengthened. After I have been strengthened, I started to seek my own righteousness again. I stepped in and out of the old and new covenant without knowing that this is called “spiritual adultery”. Spiritual adultery means married to Jesus (Mr. Grace) and still have relationship with Mr. Law.

Whatever results I could achieve were sustained by my own effort. In time, I could see myself more and more “cold” in the Lord, the church termed this is as “back-sliding”, “lost of the first love” and even the bible verse like Matthew 19:30 “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” was used to condemn those who were crowned with the label of “back-sliding” or “lost that first love”. I knew something was wrong and I fasted, prayed and sought God’s face but to no avail. I never knew that everything had been taken care of by Christ on the cross until I was enlightened by grace.

In John 19:30, Jesus cried out,“It’s finished!” Ha, ha... man could use Matthews 19:30 to condemn me, but my wonderful Lord used John 19:30 to set me free! Praise God for His mercy and love, that He enlightened me with His grace at His own timing and set me free from that legalistic environment and all those religiosity which the Apostle Paul said is not gospel at all!

Jesus used this anointed message tape by Pastor Joseph Prince of New Creation Church to set me free from my legalistic background. This tape was given to me by a lovely brother who bought me to Christ in the year 1999. This message tape was recorded in a Sunday Worship Service on 18th of July 1999.

Message by Joseph Prince on 18th July 1999

He gave me a "NIV" positive bible on the 21st of September, 1999 and this message tape on the day I came to Christ, and that was 1st of October 1999.

This is the best gift I could ever have in my life

However, I leave this tape on my shelf for three years before I listened to it. The reason for not listening to it was because I could not afford to waste any precious time but to work for Jesus. I was to "not be distracted", I did not want to look to the left and look to the right, because I was told that to work for God is part of the reason why Jesus saved me and died for me on the cross! I was told not to listen to other preachers as they are not my spiritual father. And I was supposed to eat what I was fed in my own spiritual house. I could only say that I was very very obedient then...

It was until I was totally down and out in my spirit; by then, the Lord by His grace, prompted me to listen to this tape which has been leave behind on the shelf for three years. Man, I tell you, faith come by hearing, hearing by the words of CHRIST! The grace of God just melted me and the rest is History. Here I am, first running after the Aroma of our Lord and now, running in the Aroma of Christ!

Come to think of it, I was actually being set free when I started to be disobedient. I mean to disobey man... Hmmm... He who has ears to hear, let him hear !

I suppose this is called Gospel Revolution! How many of us were from that sort of environment, stepping in and out of the old and new covenant, living in Babylon (in Hebrews means confused by mixing)? We should be living our life honoring and glorifying the good news, which is after the cross and in the dispensation of grace under new covenant, instead of living our life honoring and glorifying the good prophecy, which is before the cross and in the dispensation of law under old covenant. We lived a confused life as if Jesus had not yet died for us on the cross.

Because of all these confusions, many of us are still ignorant trying to help Jesus to accomplish His finished work.

Do you know how finished is His finished work? Look for Grace, Grace can tell you...

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