GIVE ME A SIGN

 

"Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven. Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side."
Mark 8:11-13

We see a plethora of signs every day: traffic signs, billboards, business signs, ads, pop-ups, etc. The purpose of signs is to communicate information like the speed limit, an animal crossing, distance to a destination, shark-infested waters, contaminated water, etc.

Doing 90mph in a 55mph zone is a traffic violation whether you get caught or not. Just because one decides to reinterpret the HWY sign as a speed limit sign doesn't change the meaning or underlying law. Neither the officer nor the judge will listen to some nonsensical argument about "objective truth," or what the sign meant to you.

When we come to Mark 8:11-13, what we find are the religious elite demanding a sign from Jesus. The Messiah, the Jews' long prophesied Anointed One of God, could have obliged them by turning water into wine or blood... raining down fire from heaven... blotting out the sun... making time stand still... or any number of other signs. Instead, Jesus simply got back into His boat and left them.

The Creator gave the sign of the rainbow in the clouds (Gen 9:12-17) to communicate to all of creation His promise of enduring and unyielding covenantal love. God Almighty gave a sign to Abraham regarding His willingness to die for humanity (Gen 15:17-20). God gave Israel countless signs before, during, and after their exodus from slavery in Egypt: plagues, pillars of fire & cloud, water from a rock, manna from heaven, etc. God established the Tabernacle (later the Temple) and the sacrificial system, as countless signs communicating His power, fidelity, mercy, grace, and boundless love for ALL humanity.

God also provided prophets and direct propositional revelation through the Scriptures as a sign for Israel to remember their calling and commission from Exodus 19:6, i.e. a kingdom of mediators set apart for God's mission and ministry in a broken and corrupt world riddled by sin and demonic forces.

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel continually and repeatedly rejected The Almighty's laws, statutes, commands, and commission until God's prophesies were fulfilled. Foreign nations (Assyria and Babylon) invaded and ended the kingship, destroyed the temple, seized the land, and subjected Israel to slavery once again.

But rather than repent... rather than seek The LORD with humble and contrite hearts, Israel decided to erect new "high places" of pagan idols. They established synagogues to replace the Temple. In place of priests, they appointed intellectuals and religious philosophers. In place of divine revelation, they invented their own writings and countless oral traditions... All of which established the backdrop for King Jesus' incarnation and earthly ministry.

So in Mark 8, when The LORD was approached by a pack of religious dogs demanding a sign, Jesus was under no compulsion to oblige. The Lamb of God knew full well that there was no sign He could offer that would compel them unto faith. Even when He healed people, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the mute to speak, and cast out demons, the Pharisees said, "Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons."

When the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 found himself in Hades, separated from God and in the fires of torment, there was no remorse or repentance. Instead, he merely cried out to "Father Abraham" for some cool water and an opportunity to warn his family. Abraham responded, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead."

The issue, as the Apostle Paul reveals in Romans 1:18-20, isn't a lack of information, but the intentional suppression of God's revelation, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of humanity who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them..."

Scripture reveals in Genesis 12:3 that the true offspring of Abraham will be a blessing to all the nations, tribes, and peoples of the earth by modeling Abraham's faith. Isaiah 8:18 reveals that the true children of Isaiah will be those who are signs and symbols of the LORD Almighty who dwells on Mount Zion. King Jesus reveals that the true children of God are the peacemakers, those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth by actively participating in His Great Commission:

"...disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 

Therefore, let us reject the contemporary notion that "personal salvation" is the fullness of the Christian life. Instead, let us take seriously the privileged commission as The LORD's living and breathing testimony of His unfathomable love for us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, the members of His Body & Bride!

Blessings and love,
Kevin M. Kelley

unstoppablekidsbooks.com

Pastor Adam's sermon on Mark 8:11-13

WHAT'S IN THERE?

 

"For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12

A friend recently asked me to explain the difference between the human soul and spirit. I'd never really given it much thought, so I began to investigate. I started with Hebrews 4:12, where Scripture makes a clear distinction between them, as it does between joints and marrow, and the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

I love teaching kids because if you can't explain something to little ones such as these, then you don't understand it yourself. The illustration I landed on was a coffee mug. A coffee mug is distinct from coffee, just as our soul (coffee mug) is distinct from our spirit (contents).

There is only one eternal Spirit, and that is the Holy Spirit, who is a wholly distinct member of our God of Holy Triunity. Every other spirit is always the expression of a relationship with the Holy Spirit. That spirit can either be degenerate, rebellious, prideful, corrupt, foolish, antagonistic, bitter, contentious, and destructive -or- it can be regenerate, submissive, humble, contrite, joyful, wise, discerning, peaceful, and constructive.

To avoid authentic submission, many choose counterfeit spirituality. Many pursue a spirit of self-improvement rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to conform them to the image of Christ. Others seek solace via a spirit of religious legalism rather than rebirth by the Spirit of God. Still, others embrace a spirit of information and intellect rather than a spirit of godly sorrow that leads to repentance.

Lucifer, aka the deceiver, the accuser, the Devil, etc., is neither an eternal nor omnipotent being. The Bible reveals that the Devil and his followers are always subject to God's sovereign authority. Like a dog on a leash, Satan must come and appear before God when called (Job 1), has limits imposed by God (Luke 4:5-7), is cast out from heaven (Isa 14:12; Luke 10:18; Rev 12:7-9), is only capable of counterfeiting rather than creating (Exodus 7), and will all ultimately be tossed into the lake of fire like garbage (Rev 20:10).

While the Bible doesn't explicitly state that spiritual beings (angels and demons) have souls, we should recall they are never the focal point of the biblical narrative. If our analogy of the soul as a receptacle and the spirit as its contents is plausible, then souls would be essential.

The Bible reveals various types of spirits. Some are the expressions of the Spirit of God as pure, just, wise, discerning, good, patient, courageous, honorable, and true. Meanwhile, others are the expression of the world and flesh that are corrupt, impure, evil, wicked, deceitful, and inclined to selfishness, vengeance, bitterness, dizziness, stupor, and folly.

God created both angels and humans as good. The Bible reveals in Isaiah 14 that the king of Babylon is referred to as "Lucifer, son of the dawn." It seems that Satan's sins of pride and vanity drove him to establish a throne "above the stars of God." Meanwhile, Ezekiel 28 seems to establish a correlation between the king of Tyre and a "guardian cherub" who was "the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty... blameless in your ways—until wickedness was found in you." The point is that the spirit of Lucifer, the spirit of unbridled hubris, vanity, rebellion, and autonomy, rather than the Spirit of the LORD, was present in these earthly kings.

1 Timothy 4:1 states, "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons..." Demons are great teachers because they have a profound comprehension of the material. The deceitful spirits are the impact and interaction of those teachings within the human soul. When we choose to entertain those teachings of false doctrines, myths, endless genealogies, and empty speculations rather than God's plan which operates by faith, we take that which is pure, just, wise, discerning, good, patient, courageous, honorable, and true of the Holy Spirit and discard it from our souls like garbage and replace it with that which is corrupt, impure, evil, wicked, deceitful, and inclined to selfishness, vengeance, bitterness, dizziness, stupor, and folly.

The Bible reveals that the physical bodies we now inhabit are corruptable and perishable, but at the last trumpet, "the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality." Like the resurrected LORD, we will all have imperishable and immortal resurrected bodies housing our souls. For those souls filled with and sealed by the Holy Spirit, they will be the sheep of Matthew 25 inheriting the kingdom. For those souls filled with anything and everything else... they will be the goats of Matthew 25 going away into everlasting punishment.

We can have all the right information and have our souls still filled with deceiving spirits. We can have all the morality, externals, and all the religious rituals and ceremonies down and have our souls still filled with deceiving spirits. Striving to honor Christ Jesus by edifying His Body doesn't save us; it merely exposes what's in our cup.

King Jesus said it like this in John 12:47-48, "As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The Word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day."

The Word of God is living and active. It's sharper than any double-edged sword and pierces even to dividing soul and spirit. So what's in your soul's mug? Will the Word find the Spirit of God - a beautiful and unbridled compulsion desiring to honor Christ Jesus for His extravagant grace and mercy displayed at the Cross?

Will the Word find a spirit of endless thanksgiving expressed in humble service as a commissioned, foot-washing, Gospel testifying, slave of righteousness to the ends of the earth? Or, as with the Pharisees, will the Word find a soul mug that's only clean on the outside but filthy within? As with the kings of Babylon and Tyre, will the Word find your soul filled with the byproduct of demonic teachings compelling you, like Lucifer, to establish a throne and kingdom above the stars of God?

The final trumpet will sound. One day soon every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father. The Word will be the judge regarding the contents of our souls. The Shepherd's sheep will inherit the kingdom. Meanwhile, the goats will inherit everlasting torment. If that trumpet sounded right now, are you ready?

Blessings,
Kevin M. Kelley

unstoppablekidsbooks.com

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

 

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time."

1 John 4:1-3

The Bible makes it clear that everyone who has ever lived always operates under the influence of something beyond the material realm. We are all constantly under the influence of a "spirit" of some variety. What many don't realize is that there are only two categories of influence: it's either The Holy Spirit of God or deceitful spirits.

1 Timothy 4:1-3 reveals, "Now The Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth."

One of the telltale signs of deceiving spirits is religious legalism. In the New Testament, the Pharisees and Teachers of The Law thought of themselves as genuine followers of YAHWEH with all their rules, regulations, rituals, and countless oral traditions. But when Jesus arrived, in fulfillment of Scripture as the prophesied Messiah, they chose to follow deceiving spirits rather than Him.

Deceiving spirits will readily convince us that lies are truth: that God doesn't exist, that withholding generosity is prudence, that withdrawal from community is beneficial, and that our closet sin is perfectly acceptable. Deceitful spirits will also entice us to reject anything and everything that doesn't give us warm fuzzies, anything challenging or corrective, as religious legalism.

Both the Old and New Testament writers taught that we are all operating under the influence. That influence is either A) The Spirit of The Lord or B) deceitful spirits. There is no third category. Galatians 5:16-25 clears it all up for us.

Deceitful spirits are very real and they operate in opposition to The Holy Spirit. There is great error and tragic consequence in assuming deceitful spirits manifest as the dark entities of fiction and fantasy. They don't. Instead, Scripture teaches us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and that his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness (2 Cor 11:14-15). 

Ultimately those deceiving spirits manifest as one or more of the seven deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth), which are contrary to the seven heavenly virtues (humility, charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience, and diligence). The Apostle Paul stated it like this in Galatians 5:

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and manipulation; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will -not- inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.

Many religions and organizations referring to themselves as churches today are nothing more than masquerading frauds. Many have King Ahabs at the helm: leaders, pastors, teachers, preachers, evangelists, prophets, apostles, bishops, elders, and others under the influence of deceitful spirits.

The litmus test isn't whether or not a leader or representative simply states, "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh." Mormons will tell you that Jesus Christ came in the flesh... but they'll also tell you He was not the eternal Son of God. Muslims will tell you that Jesus was a real person... but they'll also tell you He was a prophet with little to no credibility. Many Jews believe that Jesus came in the flesh... but they boldly reject Him as the prophesied Christ/Messiah.

2 Chronicles 18 tells a story of the reality of deceitful spirits. Ahab was the corrupt and evil king of the northern kingdom of Israel while King Jehosephat ruled the southern kingdom of Judah. Ahab was so wicked the egregious sins of his predecessors were trivial to him. He sacrificed his firstborn and youngest sons as offerings for favor in his building projects. When Ahab decided to go to war against another country, he wanted King Jehosephat's blessing and support.

Jehosephat agreed with the condition that Ahab would first seek the counsel of The LORD. Ahab brought forth his four hundred payroll prophets who proceeded to give him resounding approval regarding his plan of attack. Jehosephat wasn't convinced. Reluctantly, Ahab brought in Micaiah, the one true prophet of The LORD. Knowing that Ahab had no interest in the truth, Micaiah initially quipped, "Attack and be victorious, for they will be given into your hand!"

Ahab wasn't happy with Micaiah's sarcastic prophesy and demanded he tell the truth. Micaiah then not only told Ahab about his inevitable defeat but also about his prophetic vision:

I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and left. And the LORD said, "Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?"... Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, "I will entice him." The LORD asked "By what means?" He said, "I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets." The LORD said, "You will succeed in enticing him; go and do it." 

The point is this: We're all under the influence. We can either intentionally and willfully yield to The Holy Spirit of God -or- choose to remain under the influence of deceitful spirits. Those deceitful spirits will entice us, just like King Ahab, with all the juicy lies we desire. They will lead us to reject not only sound doctrine but Christ Himself, to pursue myths, endless genealogies, and fruitless discussions, to follow the teachings of demons as substitutes for the righteousness of Christ, and to gather a multitude of experts around us to tell us precisely what our depraved hearts are dying to hear.

The way we test both message and messenger isn't by how we feel about it or whether it fits our life goals, customs, traditions, or worldview. Instead, testing comes by meditating on the Word day and night, calling out to God Almighty, our Creator, Redeemer, and LORD for understanding, discernment, wisdom, and correction, and through repenting of our sins - not merely to avoid the unpleasantries of Hell - but in joyful surrender to honor our resurrected King as slaves of righteousness!

We're all constantly under the influence without exception. The question is, who's influencing you?

Blessings,
Kevin M. Kelley

Listen to my podcast and sermons >HERE<

unstoppablekidsbooks.com

INTEGRITY

"Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us."

1 Peter 2:12

They're everywhere: "Pray for America" signs. My guess is that people who are going to pray sincere prayers for anything, including our country, probably don't need a roadside sign to either remind them how depraved, corrupt, and woeful things are in America, or that we desperately need to seek God's will, presence, and supernatural power to properly remedy the situation.

The real issue is one of integrity.

Several years ago Steve Harvey opened a stand-up routine with, "Let's bow our heads in prayer." When finished, he said, "All right! Now we got that $#!T out of the way, let's have some fun!" The crowd demonstrated its overwhelming approval of Mr. Harvey's approach to prayer with raucous applause and laughter. I imagine Israel's kings opened their ceremonies in much the same way: a prayer, a psalm, and maybe even the reverent reading of Scripture... right before they broke out into idol worship and child sacrifice.

There are hordes of duplicitous Christians today just like that Steve Harvey crowd - briefly offering flashes of superficial, disingenuous reverence while the idolatrous monster lurking just beneath the surface froths and drools in anticipation of resuming its unimpeded narcissistic autonomy.

The deplorable depths of darkness and depravity are often exposed through our Burger King and McDonald's prayers: "Have it your way!" and "You deserve it!" That's the mindset and motivation behind lip service.

The person with the Easter cross in their yard is often the same one trampling their neighbor for a sale... often the same one coaching his Christian middle school basketball team to drive the opposition into the dirt by a score of 70-11... the same one surfing porn and committing adultery in their heart... the same one enduring a blizzard for their team yet skipping church for the slightest chance of snow... or rain... or fog... or sunshine.

Rather than putting an Easter cross or a "Pray for America" sign in the yard... rather than checking the prayer box before getting back to doing whatever we see fit to do in our own eyes... What if we led lives of integrity that made our testimonies regarding Christ believable?

What if our Christian school administrators, teachers, and coaches had integrity? What if they not only told our kids that honoring God is more important than test scores, report cards, scholarships, and winning - but demonstrated it in how they live their lives? What if our neighbors got a very real sense that we care about them rather than merely uttering a one-time half-hearted invitation to church out of some sense of guilt or obligation? What if our online social media presence communicated an unyielding love for King Jesus rather than the love of money, success, food, vacays, and self? What if we sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and trusted Him to take care of everything else? What if our homes, schools, fields, courts, and churches truly were the "Home of The Saints"?

America doesn't need pathetic, distant, disconnected, and disingenuous prayers amounting to nothing more than "getting it out of the way" before getting back to our idol worship. The world needs the Body & Bride of Christ to be people of faith and integrity because the world needs the Jesus of Scripture - not the cheap imitation He's portrayed as through the lives of many Christians today.

"Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner."

-Proverbs 13:6

Blessings and love,

Kevin M. Kelley

unstoppablekidsbooks.com

TRANSFORMATION!

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”
-Jeremiah 23:5

Beginning with the book of Genesis, the whole Bible not only foreshadows Messiah, but it reveals why Messiah, God’s Anointed One, would come.

Our rejection of God in Eden resulted in our literal death - just as the Lord warned. Sure, our ancestors still walked around with blood coursing through their veins, but based on God's definitions of life (abiding in His Presence) and death (separated from Him), we truly died when we were expelled from Eden.

Being helplessly hopeless, all humanity requires divine intervention. Then... that first Christmas, Messiah, born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling cloths, fulfilled God's promises. Immanuel, God with us, Jesus came not merely to save us from sin, but to create an unstoppable force of light and life in the world.

His Bride, the Church, is His gift to us. It’s not a place, but rather a people wholly committed to Him. Before Jesus ascended to heaven (with a promise to return) He commissioned us. He said the way we’d know we truly love Him would be through our participation and promotion of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. He said His disciples would die to self, pick up our cross, and follow Him.

Christmas isn’t about trees, stockings, decorations, and presents. Christmas is about the Advent of Immanuel. He came once to save us from an eternal prison of separation. He’s coming a second time to bring home those who are intimately identified with Him and His mission of blessing all families on earth with the Gospel.

Transformation doesn’t come from within. Transformation comes exclusively by grace through faith in Christ. It caused the Apostle Paul to look back on his former life and say, “More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them filth, that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8).

If you’ve never experienced that real, radical, permanent and divine transformation, walk with King Jesus as a devoted and dedicated member of His Body & Bride.

Grace & Peace
-Pastor Kevin

unstoppablekidsbooks.com

WORK OUT!

 

Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

-Philippians 2:12

When you hear “workout,” it probably conjures up some vivid imagery. Maybe it’s of The World’s Strongest Man competition - with ginormous men doing feats of strength that boggle the mind. Maybe it’s of the local gym - crazy crowded in January but back to normal in February. Maybe it’s of the 80s aerobics phenomenon - with Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, or Billy Blanks decked out in spandex leotards, big hair, and leg warmers.

When the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the church in Philippi, he did so from prison. After letting the church know how grateful he was for them, for his privileged ministry to them, and his philosophy of ministry in 1:21 (“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”) he went on to challenge them in 1:27, saying, “As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

Paul didn't leave how that task is accomplished up for subjective interpretation. In 2:1-11, Paul compels followers of Christ to make his joy complete (v.2) by adopting the same attitude of humility that defines King Jesus.

Christ’s humility is tangibly evident in numerous ways:

Creation - Unlike the (false) gods of other world religions and fantastic mythologies, King Jesus didn’t create humanity from pre-existant stuff to perform mundane tasks too undignified for Him. Instead, Christ created the entire material cosmos from nothing so that humanity could benefit from a relationship with The Almighty.

Revelation - Despite humanity’s rebellion, which didn’t surprise God in the least (see Gen 2:17; Rev 13:8), God promised to sacrifice Himself to crush the Serpent and his blasphemous rebellion (Gen 3:15). God chose to reveal Himself through Scripture, mediate, and immediate revelation.

Incarnation - The Son of God became the Son of Man through the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.” He came as The Light of The World and the New Genesis. He came to fulfill all The Law and The Prophets, not just to make a way, but as The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

Identification - When Christ Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John (see Matt 3:13-17), He wasn’t doing it as an “example” for humanity. King Jesus is The Spotless Lamb of God. He wasn’t going through some hollow ritual of pseudo-repentance to demonstrate what we need. Instead, King Jesus’ baptism was to demonstrate His intimate identification with us, fallen humanity.

Crucifixion - We read in Luke 9:51, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” King Jesus never shied away from the Cross. Elsewhere, Scripture reveals “He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of Him.” The brutality and shame of the Cross did nothing for God. It’s beneficiaries are repentant sinners turned saints through our Lord’s humility.

Submission - In John 13 we read that on the night King Jesus was betrayed, “He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.” Afterward, He explained to them, “I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” There is no humility without submission.

We can’t imitate Christ’s humility in creating something from nothing, but we -can- be humble in inviting -and- allowing Him to create new life in and through us.

We can’t imitate Christ in creating new revelation, but we -can- be humble by being intentional about studying, submitting to, and sharing His revelation with others.

We can’t imitate the atoning work of Christ’s crucifixion, but we -can- be humble in denying ourselves, picking up our cross daily, and following Him. We -can- be intentional about being crucified with Christ by not living for ourselves or running after all the vapors the world pursues.

We -can- imitate Christ’s humility through our public identification with Him in the sacrament of baptism. Not merely a superficial sprinkling or pouring, but in total identity immersion. That’s what King Jesus meant in His Great Commission, saying, “...baptizing them in the Name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit…” Baptizing is about inviting people fully into the culture of authentic Gospel Community.

We -can- imitate Christ’s humility by literally washing others’ feet, but also understanding what our King was teaching: we must humble ourselves in the undignified and glorious service of others.

Some would pilfer and ravage Scripture for its promises and blessings. They selfishly mine the Word of God for material, spiritual, and psychological prosperity. Then some would listen to and obey The Word… repent… deny… pick up… follow… humble… disciple… baptize… teach… live worthy… make every effort… and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Are those more than novel or empty words? Do they accomplish anything more than conjuring up images of Bible stories? Are we merely spectators peering in from outside, as if watching old Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, or Billy Blanks videos, or are we truly working out our salvation with fear and trembling?

Is The Word of God actually accomplishing in us what Christ Jesus intends: our considering others more important than ourselves to reveal the life-giving and life-changing power of The Gospel in us?

Work it out.

Grace and Peace,

Kevin M. Kelley

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REVEALED

 

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.”
-Ephesians 4:17-19

You might have heard a popular slogan commonly heralded among non-Christians that goes something like this, “I don’t like the God of the Old Testament.” What typically follows is a list of perceived character flaws - things like anger, wrath, impatience, or injustice.

The misguided perception is typically based either on some tragic event or traumatic personal experience, some offensive content of Scripture (genocide for example), or both. Those uttering such statements have rightly inferred that a truly good, perfect, and holy God cannot possess inherent character flaws. In fact, a deficient, flawed, or imperfect God is fatally incoherent. Then, they wrongly surmise the God of The Bible cannot, and therefore does not, exist.

The faulty analysis of accurate inferences inevitably results in erroneous conclusions.

As R.C. Sproul stated in his book, Essential Truths of The Christian Faith, “Everything we know about God has been revealed to us by God.” Sproul was not only referring to the revelation of The Bible itself, but also referring to us as divinely created beings, and referring to the physical cosmos we inhabit. These three aspects of divine revelation are referred to as Scriptural, Mediate, and Immediate revelation.

Scriptural Revelation, from the Latin scribere, which means to write, is theopneustos, (God-breathed) revelation in the form of the sixty-six divinely inspired and superintended works that comprise The Bible. Think of Scripture as the signal or message sent out on radio waves.

Mediate Revelation, from the Latin mediatus, which means in the middle, is our divinely created and ordained surroundings of nature, culture, history, and language. Think of mediate revelation as a radio designed to faithfully receive and reliably convey the message sent out on the radio waves.

Immediate Revelation, from the Latin immediatus, which means in- without, and mediatus- middle or between, is the innate and irrevocable awareness of our divine Creator without anything between us - no mediator required. Think of immediate revelation as an ear perfectly designed to receive the message of Scripture, which is transmitted directly to us from God and indirectly to us through the radio of mediate revelation (nature, culture, history, etc.).

Imagine how ridiculous it would be to hide a gift if the intended recipient had no idea of who you were, and no idea you had purchased anything for them. Imagine how nonsensical it would be for the gift-giver to become angry with the intended recipient for not saying “Thank you!” Imagine buying a painting for someone blind or a windchime for someone deaf and then becoming angry if they didn’t rave about the painting and its colors or the windchime and its notes.

Scripture is God’s gift to humanity. It would ridiculous if we had no awareness of God or His gift. It would be malicious, in fact, sadistic if we had awareness of, but no ability to comprehend God or His gift. Romans 1 reveals that mediate revelation (nature, culture, history, and language) is perfectly sufficient to elicit an excuse-free awareness and comprehension of God’s existence, unmatched power, and divine nature. Meanwhile, Genesis 1:26 reveals that immediate revelation, our having been created by God, for God, and in the image and likeness of God, is irrefutable evidence of both God’s eternal existence and His perfect love.

God has not only given us the Gift of The Word (Scripture), but He has also given us awareness of the Gift and Himself as the Giver. Additionally, He’s given us the ability to grasp and comprehend it. It turns out that God has not only given us the Gift of The Word, but He is, in fact, revealed as the Gift Giver (God The Father), the Mediator of the Gift (God the Holy Spirit - see Rom 8:26), and the Gift itself (God The Son)!

The fundamental issue isn’t one of our lacking awareness or ability, but one of autonomy. Autonomy literally means self-law. Scripture reveals in Romans 5:12 that in Adam we all sinned because of what Jesus referred to as our love of darkness (John 3:19). We’re all guilty of transgressing not only against theonomy, i.e. God’s Law, but transgressing against God Himself. We’ve all chosen and decided for ourselves that we know better than our Creator. But in Christ Jesus, God has given us the opportunity to make a new choice (see 2 Tim 1:9-11).

People who flagrantly go on parading statements such as, “I don’t like the God of the Old Testament” openly expose their wanton ignorance. The fact that we have an Old Testament is evidence of God’s unfathomable love. Not only does God reveal Himself to us in and through history, nature, culture, and Scripture, but He is under zero obligation to do so. When Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit of Eden and ate it… that could have been the end of the story (see Gen 2:15-17). Instead, King Jesus, our resurrected Savior and Sovereign, ensured the story would end the way He wrote it:

“...the marriage of The Lamb has come, and His Bride has prepared Herself. She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the Saints.”
-Revelation 19:7-8

He’s coming back soon for His Bride. The question is, will He find you hiding in the darkness behind the shame and sin of foolish statements like, “I don’t like the God of the Old Testament,” or will He find you revealed as a member of His Bride in the glorious light of His gift of righteousness by grace through faith?

Grace and Peace,

Kevin M. Kelley

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FEAR THE LORD

 

“...what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”
-Deut 10:12-13

Over the past several decades, many televangelists and megachurch pastors have found themselves in hot water for their words and actions. From Jeffress to Hagee, Osteen to Copeland, Robertson to Bakker - these allegations have run the gamut, ranging from hate speech to sexual misconduct. Quite often, the allegations have absolutely nothing to do with sufferings for Christ, evangelism, faithfulness to God’s Word, or The Great Commission. Instead, the most common allegations pertain to moral impropriety.

From behind prison walls, Jim Bakker was asked, “When did you fall out of love with Jesus?” Bakker responded, “I didn’t. I loved Jesus, but I didn’t fear God.”

Therein lies the rub. Bakker, with all his memorized verses, all his charisma, all his abilities, gifts, talents, and skills, all his influence and affluence - even while under God’s divine discipline - still believed in some artificial distinction between legitimate love for Jesus and the Fear of The Lord.

This mythical discontinuity is rampant throughout Christian churches, ministries, sermons, missions, and culture today. Some would blame televangelists and megachurch pastors for tarnishing the reputation of Christianity. But what we should be asking is, “How do the likes of Osteen, Bakker, Duplantis, Copeland, Jakes, Hinn, Dollar, Hagee, and Swaggert rise to notoriety and fame in the first place?” Maybe even a better question than “How?” is the question “Why?”

Scripture exposed the underlying issue thousands of years ago.

“For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but - with itching ears - they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” -2 Timothy 4:3-4

We live in an age of wanton biblical illiteracy. The issue isn’t inability, it’s apathy. Many who claim to be followers of Christ can tell you every minute detail about their job, love interest, new hobby, or favorite TV show - but are completely ignorant regarding rudimentary terms, fundamental principles, and the basic teachings of Scripture. As Ephesians 4:14 states, they are instead “infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.” Why? Apathy.

They are those, as 1 Timothy 1:4-7 reveals, paying attention to myths and endless genealogies, which promote endless speculations rather than God’s plan. They’ve turned aside to fruitless discussions and have even become teachers although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. They are, in fact, those whom the Apostle Paul exposes in 1 Tim 4:1, who have willfully departed from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons.

We live in a culture today where people want “new and improved.” The world craves - even demands - a “fresh word” from God. They want the updated, modernized, and revised Bible 2.0. They’re quick to jump on the latest social media “revival” bandwagon like junkies chasing their next fix. They’re the ones supporting and elevating false teachers, false prophets, charismatic motivational speakers, and morally destitute televangelists. Then, after the idols they’ve erected inevitably fall, they exclaim, “See! Christians are no different!” Scripture reveals it is the pagan “Jesus lovers” who run after all these things while followers of Christ seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness - and in doing so - true revival, the fire of the Holy Spirit, and the abundance of Christ all spill forth from heaven’s floodgates thrown open!

In Numbers 20:2-3 we read, “Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron…” Then, beginning in v.7 we read, “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.’”

Rather than being obedient to the LORD’s explicit instructions and merely speaking to the rock, we read, beginning in v.10, “Moses said to them, ‘Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.”

Through his outburst, Moses demonstrated he’d lost his fear of the Lord. Somewhere along the way he fell victim to his own ego and pride. Moses allowed himself to fall away from absolute desperate dependency upon God and wound up in a place where he saw himself as the arbiter, rather than a mere conduit, of divine provision: “Must we bring you water out of this rock?”

Who was Moses referring to in this first-person plural? Who’s the “we?” Was Moses putting himself on the level of God or was he referring to himself and Aaron? All we really know is that God was having none of it. It resulted in immediate divine discipline. In Numbers 20:12 we read, “But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.’”

After being disqualified from entering the Promised Land, Moses, Israel’s greatest prophet and servant-leader, had one final message for God’s people: “This is the command - do this so that you may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life… Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

There can be no discontinuity between our genuine love for Jesus and our Fear of The Lord. Even Paul, the greatest missionary the world has ever known, the man who suffered beatings, relished imprisonment, endured starvation, and who found contentment in unending persecution, conveyed his very real fear of The LORD in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “No, I batter my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

If we have no legitimate fear of the Lord, then we have no legitimate love for Jesus. If the people in our churches are merely attending rather than devoted members… if merely volunteering rather than faithfully serving… if merely tithing rather than joyfully giving everything… if we love experiences, programs, productions, church traditions, and a sense of community rather than loving the LORD with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength… rather than having a very real and tangible Fear of The Lord… then we’re embracing Satan’s lie, “You can love Jesus without any fear of The LORD.”

Embracing that lie landed Jim Bakker in a worldly prison, and it leaves countless others in a permanent prison that continues even beyond physical death.

“Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His Name.”

-Deut 6:13

Grace and Peace,

Kevin M. Kelley

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WHAT FRUIT?

 

Now the serpent was more -crafty- than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ”
-Genesis 3:1

Crafty. It's the Hebrew adjective awroom from the verb awram, meaning to be shrewd, cunning, or crafty. The characteristic isn't the issue, for as Proverbs 15:5 states, “A fool despises instruction, but he who guards his father's correction is awram.” Even the Lord, Jesus Christ, instructed His disciples in this, saying, “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd (Greek phronimos) as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

The crafty Serpent (later identified in Rev 20:1-3 as The Dragon, The Devil, and The Adversary), seized a God-ordained attribute and then twisted, mangled, misused, and perverted it for his own seductive agenda. Prudence, shrewdness, discernment, in fact, craftiness, are neither saintly nor deplorable attributes of themselves. Motive, the intentions of the heart, is the underlying issue.

“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
-Hebrews 4:12

When adherents of false religions like Islam, Judaism, Baháʼí, Sikhi, Druze, and Mormonism lure people into conversations by saying, "We believe in Jesus too," they're acting shrewdly. But unlike the shrewd manager of Jesus' parable in Luke 16:1-15, rather than leveraging it for the advancement of the Gospel and Christ's kingdom, they follow the crafty Serpent's lead in leading others astray. They evidence what King Jesus stated in John 8:44:

“You belong to your father, The Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Christians, followers of The Way, indeed those who worship the Heavenly Father in spirit and in truth, cannot believe in a Jesus of human invention. Unlike the infamous dinner table scene from the movie Talladega Nights, we don't get to reinvent a version of Jesus that accommodates our personal preferences and flighty fancies. We either accept Him as the Eternal Son, the Exclusive God-Man revealed through the sixty-six books of canonical Scripture, or we don't.

As C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

King Jesus revealed (through the Apostle Paul in Gal 5:22-23), that when we truly are born-again by the Holy Spirit... when we truly deny self, pick up our cross daily, and follow Him... when we truly have been crucified with Christ and buried with Him in baptism and no longer live... certain attributes become evident in us as the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Just as The Serpent twisted prudence, shrewdness, discernment, indeed craftiness, for his own seductive agenda in Eden, he continues to lure us with striking facsimiles and counterfeit versions of the truth:

LOVE: The biblical definition of love is found in 2 John 1:6, “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.” God is love and our loving response to Him is obedience to Christ by walking in love. Meanwhile, humanity redefines love as appetite, hormone, and emotions-driven preferences. We love everything from pretzels to puppies; sports to spaghetti; and vacations to vodka. The ease with which we prostitute ourselves for the things of this decaying world is why King Jesus rebuked the church in Revelation 2:4, declaring, “You have abandoned your first love.”

JOY: The biblical definition of joy is something only found in the abiding Presence of God. Psalm 16:11 reveals: “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your Presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” There is no true or lasting joy apart from Christ. Meanwhile, humanity redefines joy as personal happiness and our right to pursue it even at the expense of others.

PEACE: The biblical definition of peace flows from the Sabbath rest God established in Genesis 2:2, “And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work,” and then re-established in the work of Christ at the Cross, “After this, Jesus, knowing all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” There is no peace, no Sabbath rest, apart from Christ. Meanwhile, humanity redefines peace as the absence of armed conflict, live and let live, meditative seclusion, and uninterrupted progress regardless of destination.

FORBEARANCE: The biblical definition of forbearance, or long-suffering, and not merely patience as it is often rendered, is a hopeful, peaceful, eager, and joyful contentment regardless of present fleeting circumstances. Romans 8:19 states, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” Then Paul goes on to write in v.22, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.” Meanwhile, humanity redefines patience as tolerance without getting angry or upset.

KINDNESS: The biblical definition of kindness comes from the Hebrew word khesed. It depicts God's covenant love, peace, forbearance, and loyalty to humanity despite our ongoing rebellion and sin. Ephesians 2:4-5 paints a beautiful picture of God's khesed love, “But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy (khesed), made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved!” Kindness cannot be defined apart from God because there is no kindness, no mercy, no compassion, and no covenant love without Christ. Meanwhile, humanity redefines kindness in subjective terms, random acts of human kindness, paying it forward, and voluntourism.

GOODNESS: The biblical definition of goodness is from the Hebrew word towb. It means that which is beautiful, good, and pleasing. Matthew 10:16-30 portrays a wealthy young man approaching Jesus to inquire, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain everlasting life?” “Why do you ask Me about what is good?”Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” The man wanted Jesus to affirm his self-righteousness by adhering to selective commandments. What Jesus did instead was to point out: 1) God alone is good, 2) adherence to the Law won’t get anyone there, and 3) following Christ requires giving up everything. Goodness exists and flows from God alone. Apart from rebirth by and the Presence of the Holy Spirit, we are incapable of anything good. Meanwhile, humanity redefines good as comparative vs. superlative, and subjective vs. objective.

FAITHFULNESS: The biblical definition of faithfulness is from the Hebrew word emeth. It means unwavering fidelity in truth. Lamentations 3:22-23 is one of the clearest pictures of God’s faithfulness: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” God’s unwavering devotion to His promises through His merciful covenant loyalty (kindness) is available to us exclusively in and through Christ Jesus, our promised, incarnate, crucified, and resurrected Savior. Faithfulness apart from Christ is an irreconcilable contradiction. King Jesus revealed, “I am The Way and The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Meanwhile, humanity redefines faithful as merely being loyal to personal convictions. The transgender pedophile-rapist-murderer-gang-banger-serial killer may remain loyal to their convictions, but that’s not unwavering fidelity in truth. Subsequently, Scripture reveals the wages of our loyalty to anything but Christ is death (Rev 21:8).

GENTLENESS: The biblical definition of gentleness is from the word anvah, which means humble meekness. Historically, gentleness has been grossly misrepresented as weakness and pacificism. Proverbs 16:33 reveals, “The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility (anvah) comes before honor.” In Matthew 5:5, King Jesus reveals, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Gentleness encompasses God’s love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. In John 18:6 we read an entire band of armed Roman soldiers and Jewish officers stumbled back and fell to the ground when Jesus gently stated, “I AM.” Gentleness is not merely the appropriate restraint of power. It is our desperate dependency upon the Holy Spirit to show up and exercise God’s omnipotence for His glory.

SELF-CONTROL: Not surprisingly, the biblical concept of self-control exists nowhere in the Old Testament. For it wasn’t until after Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came to indwell born-again believers. The Greek word for self-control or self-mastery is egkrateia. The word only occurs four times in the New Testament, but the concept is present throughout. Judaism is ripe with hundreds upon hundreds of laws, rules, regulations, and traditions. When Immanuel came and preached, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” True repentance stands in stark contrast to the former ways of unending sacrifices and perpetual rituals. Many false churches and misguided cults still try adding works to Christ’s work for salvation (see 1 Tim 4:1-5).

We live in a nonsensical and fallen world of misguided, self-motivated, self-proclaimed, self-made, self-help, self-taught, and self-righteous fools, which we all were at one time (Eph 2:1-3). Just turn on the news for two minutes and you’ll see how that’s working out. The crafty Serpent is still stealing, killing, and destroying. He’s still luring, tempting, and deceiving with close facsimiles and convenient counterfeit truths. King Jesus came as The exclusive Way back into Eden, back into the Presence of God.

Many will reject Christ and embrace The Serpent’s lies. Many of them will be churchgoing, Bible-reading, hymn-singing, tongues-speaking, demon-rebuking, miracle-working, prophecy-uttering people who never truly repented… never truly died to self… were never born-again… never prayed in desperation, “He must increase; I must diminish,” and who never gave up anything to actually follow The King of Kings.

King Jesus said we’d be known not by our doctrine, confession, or budgets, but by our fruit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - not the counterfeit varieties redefined by the world, but the Fruit of the Spirit - and in increasing measure.

We all chose the wrong fruit from the wrong tree in Eden. The question now is whether we're manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit from The Tree of Life.

“Faithful love belongs to You, Lord.
For You repay each according to their works.”
-Psalm 62:12

Grace and Peace,

Kevin M. Kelley

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