“Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36, my italics).
Jesus told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). This word had to amaze the disciples. In their eyes, it was almost an unbelievable promise: Christ's peace was to become their peace.
These twelve men had marveled at the peace they'd witnessed in Jesus for the past three years. Their Master was never afraid. He was always calm, never ruffled by any circumstance.
Every Christian is called to ministry. The Bible makes this very clear. Paul writes, "We [all] have this ministry" (2 Corinthians 4:1).
Yet most Christians' concept of ministry today isn't very biblical. We often see ministry as something that's done only by ordained preachers or missionaries. We think of ministers as seminary graduates who marry and bury people, build churches, lead worship meetings and teach doctrine. We see them as spiritual doctors who are meant to heal the wounds of the sick and hurting.
The writer of Hebrews tells us, "We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:14-15).
Whatever happened to repentance? You rarely hear the word mentioned in most churches today — even in Baptist, Pentecostal or evangelical circles. Pastors nowadays seldom call for their congregations to sorrow over sin — to mourn and grieve over wounding Christ by their wickedness.
Instead, the message we hear from many pulpits today is, "Just believe. Accept Christ, and you'll be saved." The text used to justify this message is Acts 16:30-31.
What I am about to say may shock you - but I believe it with all my heart: The hardest hearts in this world are not among the ungodly - but among God's people!
I want to talk to you about two very important aspects of repentance:
The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I am convinced repentance is not just for sinners, but also for believers. It is not simply a one-time thing, but something God's people are called to do until Jesus returns.
One of the most often-heard phrases in the church is, "God answers prayer!" Yet that is only half the truth. The whole truth is, "God overanswers prayer!"
I want to act now as a lawyer before you. I'm going to build a case that will prove to you that in every generation - all through the Bible and continuing to the present day - God always overanswers the prayers of His children. He continually gives much more than we ask for - and often things we wouldn't think to request!
I am learning something very wonderful about the Holy Spirit. He has a very unique characteristic: He does not like to talk about Himself. He does not make Himself the primary object of our attention.
Nothing baffles me more than Christians who remain fickle, even though they sit under a clear, strong gospel message! I can't understand how some of God's children can be so committed to Him one moment, and then turn around and become so cool the next.
This sin actually baffles God! It both bewilders and frustrates Him! In His Word, God speaks His mind to a people who had received a very clear call to repentance. The Lord sent the prophet Hosea to Israel with this message:
