A Matter Of The Heart

The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. No religious order is perfect. And no ethnic group or language is totally pure. There is no garden without weeds.
The Word of our Heavenly Father is not a thing as the Bible or Quran. The Word cannot be fully contained in a book. It is a Person. This Person is always alive. He spoke yesterday and is still speaking today. You can hear and obey Him no matter where you are. He speaks to all His creatures and can speak through anyone and anything. He does not regard ethnic or religious boundaries. He is everywhere and in everything. He is neither a Christian nor a Moslem. His Truth is found here and there. He is the Father of all He created. Though, not an ethnologist nor an anthropologist, I believe that all humans are of one origin. One true nationality is mankind.
In our spiritual pursuit, our ultimate destination is not a place but a Person. The Messiah is not the person. He said, “I am the Way” to the Father. Avoid religious wars and bigotry. History may paint the Moslems black and portray them as killers. I think the history account depends on the inclination of the historian. History is nothing but “his-story”. The story as he told it. His story (history) will only favour his own side. It is high time we realized that stories are not innocent. They undergo expurgation en-route delivery, and receive flavouring from different individuals. Not everything in history is true. Some wrote to be interesting, not to tell the truth. We should adopt the policy of compromise and accommodation but not this doctrine of slaying the prophets of baal. Truth without grace is the gospel that Satan preaches when he comes as angel of light. It is the unkind that tell stories unkindly. With their mouth they carve the image of a monster out of their brother. They toe this path just to make themselves appear more righteous than others. They are experts in tailoring stories to their own favour. Who said Christians are not killers also? If Jihad is evil, so also is crusade. No war is holy. Pick the holy book and drop the sword or pick the sword and drop the holy book. Is it Moslems that killed the millions of Jews Massacred in Germany according to history? What of the many other killings in the early A.D.s? Be careful what you tell people; if you lead people into error, and come out of it alone, you are still in error. Our world today is filled with people who are willing to kill and not to die for what they believe. Natural man, whether a Moslem or a Christian is wicked. Being a Christian or Moslem is not the problem. It is wickedness of the human heart. The heart of the matter, is the matter of the heart. Religion is not bad but the people in it. One remains wicked if he changes his religion and not his heart. You will never change your actions until you have changed your mind. It is from a pure heart that the harvest of a good life comes. If the desire of our hearts have gone astray, it is inevitable that our actions will reveal the lack of inner strength and also miss the way. There can be no more conclusive evidence that we possess the spirit of Satan than the disposition to hurt and destroy those who do not appreciate our work, or act contrary to our ideas. I look askance at any religion that teaches the destruction of it’s opposers as a virtue; and people who pray for the death of others. Every human being is a property of the Creator. Nothing can be more offensive to our Maker than for men, through religious bigotry, to bring suffering upon men made in the divine image. The aggressive instinct in man is what disturbs our relationship with our neighbours, and it has disintegrated the society through hostility of men towards one another. This untamable wolf in man is destroying us. Let us be honest; recognize our condition and admit how far we are from what we pretend to be. This we must do if we are to introduce life into our religion. What I am saying is: love him, he is your brother. Since we all belong to the same Father, we belong to one another.
They said, “Let us build a tower and make name for ourselves”. This was in Babel’s beginning, when the Almighty came down and confused their language so that they could not understand one another. And so it has been, and so it is today… Men at one another’s throats, trying to destroy each man, his neighbour, because they cannot understand each other’s language. But now we are living at the time of the destruction of Babel’s great tower, and the Most High shall turn to the people a pure language. And there shall be peace; For we shall believe the same thing and speak the same thing.
May be you are a Christian or Moslem. I don’t even know what I am. I only know that I obey and worship the Creator. It maybe I am not a Christian or Moslem. I may not even be a Hindu. What am I then? Call me whatever you like but I know that I am our Father’s child and you are my brother for He is the Father of all. Himself does not know me by any religion. He only knows that I am His child. He knows those who are His. I refuse to belong to any religious political party (R.P.P.). I support neither James nor John. I support only the right. For whosoever does the will of my Father in heaven, the same is my brother and my sister. Our heavenly Father hates party spirit. The Champion of truth has broken down the middle wall of partition; don’t rebuild it. There is nowhere divine grace cannot enter to seek and save the lost. And the grace that saves is for the unworthy not for the worthy. In fact, it is man’s unworthiness and weakness that qualifies him for grace. He who is strong and can do it does not need grace. The Physician is for the sick. Practice religion of reality. Don’t let words or letters deceive you. Don’t stay in the sphere of words and names. They are not recognized beyond here. The name of one of the high priests who killed the King of glory was Annas, which means in Hebrew “pity”. But what a ruthless man he was. Absalom, son of King David, had a name meaning, “father of peace” but he was full of wickedness. See beyond words. Not by its name but by its fruit is the value of a tree determined. A nice name cannot save a tree from destruction if the fruit is bad. Let us stop being busy setting traps for rats while lions are busy destroying our land. No one leaves his house that is on fire to go and pursue rats. Religion is not spirituality.
Universal sin consciousness is the parent of all the religions of the world. Man has ever sought to rid himself of the sense of guilt and sin. Sin manifested in Adam’s fear to meet with the Creator and his desire to cover his nakedness. Religion is as a result of the urge of the heart of man to search for reality; that universal quest of the ages – the soul’s search for the Holy One; a return to the lost fellowship with his loving Father. But no religion of man as good as it may be can solve this problem. It is a man-made well organized confusion.
I used to pride in the fact that I am a Jew, but I have found out that it is wrong. Even the Jews too are killers. They condemned the most righteous man that had ever lived on earth and the gentiles killed him. The whole world is guilty. Do you think it is enough being a Jew? I say that I practice Hebrew faith which Abraham the Hebrew practiced. But I have found out that Adam, Seth, Methuselah, Noah, Enoch and others were not Hebrews yet they worshiped this ETERNAL TRUTH successfully. Wait! Don’t accuse me yet of being in a quandary. I am focused. Now, I say, am just a follower of “THE WAY”. But who is out of the way? Are they out of the way because they are not following your method? Just because you think that your way is right does not mean all people most follow it. What assurance do you have that the way you are in is the best or only way? There is a way that seems right to a man but the end of it is the way of death. How are you sure that what you think you know is correct? Our earth view blinds our understanding of the spirit world. We have a set of assumption about the world around us which affects or even controls our thinking and beliefs. Our materialism blurs our perception of the spiritual. There are many ways (methods of operation) inside THE WAY.
After Adam had sinned, man became a wanderer, a pilgrim. His place in perfect fellowship with his Maker was shattered. His home in the garden denied. A great angel was put at the door to deny him entrance. Ever since then man has been a wanderer – striving to find out who he is and where he belongs. Not being able to discover our place in our Creator, we try to localize Him. So we build a building and call it “House of God” – (Beth-El). The Creator created man in His Image, now man wants to create Him in his own image and put Him in the house he has built. And if any man refuses to worship in that house with him, the man has gone astray – he is an unbeliever. Nothing divides us as religion. It has become an instruments of authority and influence in the hand of man. People believe and practice as taught and directed by their religious leaders who they also serve. Those religious slaves have been caged by they mind controllers and they are blindly and boldly defending the narratives of their mind manipulators whom they have idolized. People who are deceived do not believe they are deceived. That is part of the deception. The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he is in prison. You can deceiver him with a bogus title. In the kingdom of heaven, the elder serve the younger, the senior serve the junior, the higher server the lower and the stronger, the weaker.
It may be you are suffering from short sight. You believe he has repented and is a brother only when he joins your religious political group. Is like you need real repentance. That your mother is an excellent woman does not make her the only mother on earth. If we are only interested in spiritual merry-making with other members of our “spiritual clique”, and are unable to fellowship with believers who do not see eye-to-eye with us, then we are indeed in a state of spiritual stagnation. It dwarfs the mind and narrows the orbit of our lives. It is a spiritual miasma; it is itself an evil spirit of which a man must become dispossessed, before he can become spiritually well clothed. It is also spiritual homosexuality – having relations with only those who are of your kind. One of the issues on which the Creator will judge us is our lack of openness to those who are different from us.
We should know that diversity is a divine act. Variety is the beauty of our world. Human temperaments vary, and the Holy Spirit at times adapts Himself to the temperament of the individual He wants to use. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not act in the same way. Abraham was spiritual and active, Isaac was a passive believer, while Jacob was active but carnal. Yet the Almighty identified Himself with all of them. Let us recognize and appreciate our differences. A man will never become one with his wife by trying to make her a man. He who would be a friend of the Almighty must either leave the world or make all men his brothers. You are in trouble if you cannot get along with other people, because you cannot get along without them. I am not preaching ecumenism but I am against religious war. I believe the Creator enjoys varieties. You are right as I am right. Only the Judge, at the appointed time will point out faults if there be any. But in the eyes of grace and love, I believe that all are correct though there be imperfections and different methods of operation. Let each man peacefully preach the gospel of love and not hatred. Stop building unnecessary boundary walls. Promote that which you believe in the fear of the Almighty. Let us stop fighting for the truth while destroying the people for whom the truth is made. I believe that all groups are defending levels of truth they are made for. Treat them with deference. They are part of your success. We are helping each other to win. One who says that he has received a higher revelation from heaven and has a proud and haughty spirit, is actually manifesting that he has not seen the real message of life. He may be suffering from religious acromegaly. There may be something that some of your brethren are preaching that you cannot receive because you do not believe it is the truth. If you let your own spirit become contaminated because of this, with bitterness and malice, then you are out of order, and in trouble with the Creator. The same piece of diamond looks different from different angles. Facts may be the same, but may differ in interpretation. If you are not careful, your attitude towards someone you think has made a mistake may be also a mistake. We may enjoy good relationship even when we are unable to resolve our differences. There is enough propinquity in our beliefs to help us do so. What we need is unity not uniformity. True vision and real revelation will produce fruit of love and compassion. Stop avoiding your brothers as if they are lepers to be shunned. You are wrong. To say that something is incomplete is not to say that it is bad. One who has not known all the truth should not be thrown into hell. In a family, acceptance is not based on how smart or beautiful or talented or honest one is. It is based on the fact that we belong to each other. Walking arm-in-arm without seeing eye-to-eye on every issue is possible. We must not indulge this narrow, exclusive spirit. It causes defect in the spiritual pituitary gland which produces necessary hormone for growth. Know that the kingdom of heaven is like a big tree that has many branches. Don’t be a bigot. Bigotry means being obstinate with one’s belief and attacking those who are contrary to it; neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faith. When the Son of man was arrested, Peter followed Him from afar, but I praise him that he followed at all, even from afar, because others ran away.
This does not rule out the fact that there are bad people and bad religious groups which must be avoided, but avoid prejudice. Be spiritual. Be well guided. Be sure that we should not save the house by destroying the people inside it. The people are more important than the house. The house was made for the people and not the people for the house. Be wise. The wisdom from above is peaceable, loving, caring and easy to be entreated. Do not speak against any evil done by anyone in relation to his religion. It is an individual offence. Correct or rebuke him as an individual and your brother. Wicked and good people are found in all religions. Unhealthy generalization is rashness. Leaping from observed evidence to a conclusion which is logical but unproven about a large group is a mark of immaturity. The misbehavior of a few sick individuals among a group of people is not enough reason to condemn the whole group. Learn to isolate the case. Everybody is not the same let not what one or two people did to you to infect every other relationship in your life. There are many healthy ones among them who reason and behave well. Condemning the righteous with the wicked is injustice. Nevertheless every devotee is duty bound to exemplify his faith. The light that shines upon him, he should reflect upon others in works that are luminous with divine love. Everyone who has received the divine illumination is to brighten the path way of those who do not know the Light of life. Contempt and hatred must give place to sympathy and empathy.
An ancient teacher once asked his students how they could tell when the night had ended and the day was on its way back. “Could it be” asked one of the students, “when you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or dog?”. “No”, answered the teacher. “Could it be when you can look at a tree in a distance and tell whether it is a mango or orange tree?” “No”, said the teacher. “What is it then”, they demanded. “It is when you can look on the face of any man and see that he is your brother. Because if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, it is still night”, he replied. Love dissipates darkness. He that does not love his brother is in darkness until now. And that darkness blinds his eyes that he does not know where he is going. I mean divine love, not religious love that loves only members of one’s religious group; encouraging divisive altars and rival priesthood.
The worship of the Creator is a matter of the heart, not the group one belongs to, though one’s religious order can influence his behaviours to a great extent. It is law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature, that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. We become by beholding. How are you living your life? Do you love the Creator and the created? Are you controlled by the “Law of Love?” Keep your heart pure. Only the pure in heart shall see Him. Seek a clean heart. Seek a new heart. Seek love. Love is the summary sermon.
I think that the main thing people should go to church to learn is how to love, and then go home and practice it. Let him who thinks he has the Holy Spirit produce his evidence. Here is the conflict that prompted the writing of this book. He that names the name of the Holy One should depart from wickedness and do works befitting repentance. And love one another as He gave us commandment. This is the thing He commanded you to do, and His glory shall appear to you. Faith, hope, working of miracles and prayerfulness are good but LOVE IS THE GREATEST. My Interpretation to every verse of the scripture is love, and the plan and ground of every divine work is love.
One may claim to be religious, even spiritual. He says, “I am a good Christian”. “I am a good Moslem”. “I do this, and I don’t do that”, good and fine. But at times, it is under this blameless exterior that the most criminal and deadly purposes are concealed. Zoologists tell us that it is the cool blooded animals that give poisonous bites. “Even so, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. How can you escape divine condemnation?” Practicing self righteousness (human religion) is like eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden of Eden. Both the good and evil of this tree are deadly because they come from the same root. Human religion, with all its decency, zeal, goodness, organization and popularity, is a forbidden tree. Those who eat of its fruit are spiritually poisoned and sick, and prone to spiritual death. It is not within the power of any man in Adam’s fallen nature to present himself acceptable before the holy Supreme Being. Humanity, altruism. Philanthropy etc that does not have it’s foundation in faith in the blood of the LAMB that was slain, has no eternal value. The Messiah is the substance.
There are but two religions in the world. The one class of religion are those which men have invented, in all of which man tries to save himself by ceremonies and good works; the other is that religion which is revealed in the Holy Book, and which teaches men to look for salvation solely to the free grace of the Creator. Blessed is the man who turns from the traditions and commandments of men, to the glorious liberty of the sons of the Most High. And not to cling with blind persistence to the creed of the dark age. Flagrantly violating the ancient prohibition against idols and repeating the old sin of the golden calf. Salvation is not a matter of trying but trusting. The simplicity of our Creator’s dealings with man has made it difficult to man whose heart is heart of law. In the divine arrangement, full of grace; whoever has the Son, has eternal life. He who has the Holy Spirit (the promise of the Father) has all the other promises; and he who has love (the new commandment) has kept all the law. There is no division of labour in soul salvation. It is entirely the work of divine grace. Grace is the garment which everyone who will enter the kingdom of heaven must wear, and without it none will gain entrance. Just because you were taught something from childhood does not make it to be true. I was taught as a child that masquerades were spirits that come from ant holes but it is not true. Satan’s strongholds are ancient and modern lies that people believe. And as more people believe it, the stronger it becomes. I am not an expert in things of the Spirit. But I do not agree with some who say; “it doesn’t really matter where you worship, as long as you are sincere”. No, it does matter. It is like saying that it doesn’t matter what you eat, as long as you are hungry. But it does. Poison will kill you, no matter how hungry or sincere you are. If you are sincerely wrong, you will be sincerely punished. In spiritual growth, where you worship and who you follow matter a lot. As in corruption, nobody corrupts himself. Everybody is corrupted by environment. Someone must sow the seed in you. Be careful with your associations.
There are many who hold the idea that a pure motive safeguards them from deception. Little do they realize that the people most deceived in the world are those with good intentions. Never count yourself above deception. Unless a person is humble enough to acknowledge the possibility of being deceived, and keeps watch, he shall be deceived. Ignorance makes way for deception. Only true knowledge is the safeguard against deception. We need knowledge of the operations of the kingdom of light, and also that of the kingdom of darkness. A man who knows only what is happening in his room may be killed by someone who has already penetrated into the next room with the intention of murdering him. Since Satan assails the saint with lies, the saint therefore requires knowledge of mostly the truth and also the devices of agents of evil in order to overcome. A wise man is not cowed by knowledge rather he uses it to guide himself. Nothing is so sacred that Satan will not invade it. In fact, the more sacred it is, the more he desires to profane it. He even invades the fellowship of the saint and his heavenly Father during prayer. If you really want to understand how Satan works, go to the wilderness where the Holiest Man that had ever lived on earth fasted and prayed for forty days. This champion of evil delights in tempting giants of the faith.
The Creator warns; “these people draw near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me”. Vain worshipers teach for doctrine the commandments of men. And they practice the tradition of elders in lieu of divine commandments. They have a form of godliness but denying its power. They profess to know the Holy One but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient and disqualified for every good work; enemies of the faith. THE ALL SEEING-EYE searches the heart. These six things He hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him. (1) A proud look (2) A lying tongue (3) Hands that shed innocent blood (4) A heart that devices wicked plans (5) Feet that are swift in running to evil (6) A false witness who speaks lies, and (7) One who sows discord among brethren. People who do such things are spiritually depleted. If you take away purity from an angel he becomes nothing but a powerful demon. Two lifestyles are possible for embracing by us: living for the Holy One or living in the opposite direction of the LIGHT. All messianics follow the Messiah. Searching for the truth is easy; many people do it. But accepting the truth and doing it is difficult and only a few do it.
A good heart is the secret of a good life. A real worship of the Almighty starts with obtaining a good and clean heart, a heart that does not device evil plans. So while you are getting a new house, a new car or a new job, there is need to be trying to get a new heart. Stop trying to fix the old, let our Maker give you something new. “And He that sat on the throne said, behold I make all things new”. Yes, all things really need to be made new for they have sadly been battered and worn out by sin. But no one else can do it except He who made them at first, for it needs as much power to make out of evil now as to make out of nothing as in the beginning of creation. Only him can make the “new man” out of the “old man”. What a joy to belong to a kingdom in which everything is being made new by the power of it’s King. Hallelu-Yah!. This is time for “CHANGE”. Growth demands change. Change demands movement, sometimes across the trackless sands of the unknown. There may be sides of the Almighty which you have not known but others know it vividly. What is far from somebody, is near to another. Anyone who is a child must strive for maturity. Maturity helps us to differentiate between what is of us and what is of the Holy Spirit, what is soulical and what is Spiritual. Only that which is by the Spirit is acceptable to the Father of glory. Godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and that which is to come.
In the worship of our Creator – that invisible and yet the most visible One, the condition of our heart is more important than our words and actions, though these should also be taken care of. He judges the motive not just what you have done. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Some preachers are like touch light bearer who shows light to others while himself remains in darkness. They preach the truth themselves have not practiced. They, like a catalyst quickens chemical reaction but remains unchanged at the end. There is an eloquence far more powerful than the eloquence of words. What a man is has more influence than what he says. A gospel we preach for the saving of souls must be the gospel by which our own souls have been saved. Many preach a gospel that is a stranger to their experience.
A wrong motive disqualifies a good act. The worship of the Almighty Father is a matter of the heart. If you can rejoice in what Heaven is recording about your life, you are blessed indeed. There are unseen witnesses to all we say or do. In every gathering of people for business or pleasure, in every gathering for worship, there are more listeners and observers than can be seen with human eyes. There are invisible agencies observing every word and deed of all human beings. They are always in open and secret places. We will discuss on how to obtain a good heart or a purified mind in our future publications.
Man, in all religions and in all times past or present, believes there is a POWER greater than him. This power has been given different names through the ages, but regardless of what you call it, this POWER is the Ruler of the universe. I have chosen to avoid the usage of different versions of the divine name in this book for a reason you may understand later. The value of our work for the kingdom of heaven does not consist in making a show or being active and zealous in our strength. It depends on our reliance on the Holy Spirit. Is not how much we did for HIM but how much HE used us to do. May the grace from above save you from spiritual myopia, diplopia, photophobia and xenophobia. The form of language, concept, theory and belief system available to us in our culture or religion becomes our means of interpreting our world. Certain kinds of words, or concept may prevent us from seeing or comprehending what others may see or know. They may distort our perception of life and give us false signals. If man would release human potentiality, if he is to nurture progress and peace, his belief system must be soundly built on accurate knowledge of the Creator and His creatures.
In an orchestra, there may be many instruments, but one music; and it is in harmony that they can produce a nice music. We are many instruments but one music. Our Father in heaven had promised to punish all who make His people to take sides against their brothers. The disciples at Pentecost were one only in the things of the Spirit; in everything else they where one hundred and twenty in number. They even spoke in different languages. Harmony may be defined as oneness at the point of contact. Nothing, not even religious acts should be allowed to prevent us from cultivating good relationships as well as avoiding bad ones. This matter is one of urgency considering the civil war currently going on among the believers.
We have one faith, one love, one baptism, and one family. There is only one flock, one Shepherd and one Lord over all. It is written, “the part of the righteous is as the rising sun that shines more and more until the perfect day”. While it is true that the part of each individual just mind is a shinning one, yet the special application of this statement is to the just as a class. Patriarchs, prophets, apostles and in fact, all saints of the past and present have walked in this ever increasing light, and the light will continue to increase beyond the present – “unto the perfect day”, when we shall know as we are known. You must endeavor to keep pace with time. Be teachable that you may “grow in grace and in knowledge”. Let no novel idea be repugnant to you. There is what you know that I do not know, and there is what I know that you do not know. It is in sharing that we shall grow in knowledge. No single part of the body can be complete without the others. No single ministry has all the dimensions of the awesome ONE. Even the parts that seem to be weaker or less honourable are very necessary. There is a time and season for the proclamation of every truth. In every generation there is a new development of truth. For His people in every age, the Almighty has a special truth and a special work.
Too many preachers build their walls about a certain doctrine, and settle down to defend that “city”. Years later, when the Almighty moves His people on to greater truth and experience, you still see these little city walls here and there with the inhabitants trapped behind the strong exclusive and sectarian walls, starving to death for lack of fresh bread – the present truth. Truth of this age comes to us in garments of humility and weakness and will find little or no acceptance at the hands of the learned. It is strange but true that those who lead the masses in the religious world are often the first to cast the truth aside. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; but the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. The church today is plagued with the lust for prosperity, power, fame and acquisition of religious titles and positions. Empty titles which heaven has not recognized, and even hell is not aware of……….. P-R-I-D-E! Be careful lest you fall from the pinnacle of the temple. In the kingdom of heaven, there is no place for earthly rank and dignity. It promotes religious envy, personal animosity and mutual recrimination which is a threat to spiritual growth. More intelligent ones use negative campaigning. Avoiding frontal attacks, they employ nipping off bits of attributes until established packaging and reputation collapse … holy murderers. They knowing that reputation is the cornerstone of power, destroy their brother by opening a hole in his reputation, and then stand aside and let public opinion hang him. To have one’s name written in the Lamb’s book of life should be the heart’s greatest desire. And to continue to strive to enter till the end of the journey. Only those who endure to the end shall be saved. Know that, there is a way that leads to hell from the gate of heaven. The earlier labourers with the Messiah did not work for pay. It is the introduction of salary and other pecuniary benefits that brought in hired labourers and wolves into the ministry and destroyed it, so that now, we desire to carry bags of money instead of carrying the cross. The way of the cross is the only way to fullness of life. The rock must be smitten before it will give water. Divine call, not graduation from a theological seminary is the only qualification for divine service. If this is the standard of the church today, what a spiritual revolution we would cause throughout the length and breadth of this world. Let every individual who stands upon the pulpit be the man who has divine stamp of authority upon his life. It is better to be clothed with the authority of heaven than to be clothed with earthly tittles and vestments. Crucifixion is a true coronation. When Moses’ face shone with shekinah glory, others saw it but himself was ignorant of it. Even when he knew of it, he did not go around saying: see how anointed I am. He covered his face with a veil instead of advertizing himself. Do not connect the kingdom of heaven with worldly aggrandizement and honor. The cross is a symbol of shame and death. A Spirit filled man does not care for honour of man. Israel rejected their Saviour because they longed for a conqueror who would give them temporal power. Reality has been defeated by materialism. Materialism has called bad good, and the unholy holy. It has made you to say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not lack anything”. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Don’t be a religious man who is as bad as a sinner.
“Saved by grace” or “saved by faith”, is an irrefutable doctrine that has been over emphasized by the gentle men in suit. To them, grace means, disobedience to the laws of the kingdom of heaven, (hypergrace) and faith means folding of hands. Remember that the Saviour came to us full of grace and truth; not grace alone. We are saved by grace that we mighty practice the truth. I will show you my faith by my works. We are saved by grace to do good works by faith that works through love. It is always dangerous to isolate a truth and then press it to it’s limit without regard to other truths. It is not the teaching of the scripture that grace makes us free to be disobedient. The gospel contains promises to be believed and commandments to be obeyed. Faith leads to obedience; obedience springs from faith. Faith works together with works. It is by works that faith is made perfect. Works are expression of faith. Faith is the source of works; hence, the work is called “the work of faith”. Grace is the power of the Almighty Father over man – the power in which He through mercy and forgiveness completes what man cannot complete. Grace is the divine power in man (through the Holy Spirit) by which man receives new resources for life and finds his life transformed. What we need is conversion, not a change of label, but a change of heart; not leaving of one method of worship to another more civilized or popular but a change from the inside. Not having voice of Jacob but hands of Esau. Put off the old man and put on the new man. His purpose in calling us is for us to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Who is wise and understanding among us? Let him prove it by his good life. Let his good deeds be done with humility which is the great attribute of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, sensual and demonic. The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. This is what it means to be spiritual—having a Spirit controlled temperament. “Wisdom is justified by all her children”
If day by day, in contrast with our violent spirit, we behold the tenderness and forbearance of the Son of man through reading His words, and hearing lessons of humility and benignity, and learn to practice them, we will become transformed in character and be able to “have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way”. Let us follow the footsteps of the Champion of truth who said: “I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE THAT YOU SHOULD DO AS I HAVE DONE”
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD
-BKC YAHKA