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Not Of This World

You'll know as well as I that if we have Jesus in our hearts we are not of this world. I found this in one of my old books and want to share with you some thoughts as the Resurrection Sunday draws near.

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

John 17:14

During His last night, our Lord took great effort to make clear to His disciples the impassable gulf between Him and the word, and between them and the world. He had said of the Spirit, "The world cannot receive [Him], because it neither sees Him nor knows Him" (John 14:17). "Because you are not of the world....therefore the world hates your" (John 15:19).

One great characteristic of the disciples was that they were to be as separated from the world as Christ had been. They and Christ had become united in the Cross and the Resurrection; they both belonged to another world, the kingdom of heaven. This separation from the world is to be the mark of all believers who long to be filled with the Spirit.

Why is faith in the Holy Spirit so seldom preached (not in AACC) and practiced in Christendom? The world rules too much in the lives of Christian. Christians rarely live the heavenly life to which they are called in Christ Jesus. The love of the world--"the lust of the flesh [pleasure in eating, drinking, ease, and comfort], the lust of the eye [delight in all that the world offers of beauty and possession], and the pride of life [the self-exaltation in what the wisdom and power of man has accomplished]" (1 John 2:16)--robs the heart of its desire for the true self-denial that enables a man to receive the Holy Spirit.

If you wish to pray the Pentecostal prayer for the power of the Holy Spirit, examine yourself. Is the spirit of the world the reason that you do not love to pray the prayer that is absolutely necessary to receive the promise of the Father? May the Lord write this thought deep in every heart: the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit!

"[You, put your name here] are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

Love to all,

Pastor Sonny & Gloria

Merry Christmas

May the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ bring you great joy and deep peace this Christmas season. May you come to know Him in a whole new way this coming year!

Forgiveness

Has anyone ever mistreated you? Of course they have! If you're alive that has happened to you. You are going along, minding your own business, being some-one's friend, being honest, doing the right thing, and all of a sudden, for no reason, someone treats you wrong, Whether it is saying something mean to you or about you, or your family, or they cheat you in a business deal, or they lie about you, they mistreat you somehow. Maybe this isn't the first time they've done this, either. You have every reason to be bitter. Everyone who knows what happened agrees that you have every reason to be bitter, and justifiably so. Everyone that is, except Jesus.

You see, when you became a Christian, you gave up the RIGHT to be bitter. At the cross, when you exchanged your sins for His righteousness, you gave up the right to be bitter. He took the sin of the wrongs done TO you as well as the wrongs done BY you. It is just as wrong for you to carry bitterness and unforgiveness as it is for someone to mistreat you. You have NO RIGHT to remain bitter and unforgiving.

It's not up to the other person to change. It is up to you to release and forgive that person.

Sometimes, we don't want to give up our right because the bitterness makes us feel powerful, like we can never be hurt again. That is not true. It just makes things worse. Before you know it, you've spent years being hurt and angry at someone, and it hasn't affected them at all. It only affects you and your relationship with Jesus.

Maybe you are dealing with bitterness right now. In Mark 11:25-26, Jesus says, "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Choose to forgive and release the person and the bitterness to God and let Him deal with them. Just pray right now. "Father God, I choose to be obedient to Your Word. I choose to walk in love and forgiveness. I release this person to You now. I choose to forgive them. Thank You for forgiving me. In Jesus' name. Amen."