Tuesday 13 March 2007

The Point of the Parables

The point of each of those parables I made up, is to illustrate that just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we won't live-up to the intent or principles inherent in the Law. It's just that we arrive there through a more effective means.

  • Automatic set-up installs the same program on your computer as step-by-step set-up.
  • Whether you take the New England Highway from Brisbane or the Pacific Highway, you can still arrive at exactly the same desired destination - Sydney.
  • A husband who is in love does all the right things for his wife - just as if he was following some list of do's and dont's.
  • Using a template can give you the same finished look as if you were a skilled HTML programmer.

For example, the Law said, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse". Now some believers say that since we are no longer under the Law, we no longer need to pay tithes.

But when Moses commanded Israel saying, "Bring your tithes", that was really just an extension, or explanation, or application or just another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour".

Because if they loved God, they would honour His house; they would keep His commandments; they would pay His priests; and they would consider the poor.

The intent or principle behind the Law was to show Israel how to apply the law of love to every area of their lives, including their finances.

So now that we are under the New Covenant instead of the Law, and under Christ's new commandment of "Love one another", we will still fulfill everything that was intended or foreshadowed in principle, by the Law - because we are walking in love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Therefore if I love God and honour His house and love my neighbour as myself, I will support my local church, the ministers of the Gospel and the poor with my finances, as God has enabled me, just the same as if I were following a written law - and by doing so (by walking in love) I will, in effect, be keeping the commandment.

But by what strength or power did I keep it? By my own? By the power of the commandment itself? or by a new and living way? By a new and living way. By the power of Christ in me. It is no more I that does it, but Christ that liveth in me. Hallelujah!

When God introduced a New Covenant, He didn't drop or totally discard the standard inherent in the last Covenant. To do that would be to discard Himself - for God is love. He just gave us a more effective way of becoming capable of actually doing it, of actually being able to walk in love, from our very heart.

If you are driving down the road and you come to a sign that says, "Road Closed - Detour" - well the detour is going to take you to the same destination.

Or if a new road has been opened, replacing an old road, the new road is not going to take you to some different destination: it will take you to the same destination as the old road, only more effectively.

The Point of the Parables

The point of each of those parables I made up, is to illustrate that just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we won't live-up to the intent or principles inherent in the Law. It's just that we arrive there through a more effective means.

  • Automatic set-up installs the same program on your computer as step-by-step set-up.
  • Whether you take the New England Highway from Brisbane or the Pacific Highway, you can still arrive at exactly the same desired destination - Sydney.
  • A husband who is in love does all the right things for his wife - just as if he was following some list of do's and dont's.
  • Using a template can give you the same finished look as if you were a skilled HTML programmer.

For example, the Law said, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse". Now some believers say that since we are no longer under the Law, we no longer need to pay tithes.

But when Moses commanded Israel saying, "Bring your tithes", that was really just an extension, or explanation, or application or just another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour".

Because if they loved God, they would honour His house; they would keep His commandments; they would pay His priests; and they would consider the poor.

The intent or principle behind the Law was to show Israel how to apply the law of love to every area of their lives, including their finances.

So now that we are under the New Covenant instead of the Law, and under Christ's new commandment of "Love one another", we will still fulfill everything that was intended or foreshadowed in principle, by the Law - because we are walking in love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Therefore if I love God and honour His house and love my neighbour as myself, I will support my local church, the ministers of the Gospel and the poor with my finances, as God has enabled me, just the same as if I were following a written law - and by doing so (by walking in love) I will, in effect, be keeping the commandment.

But by what strength or power did I keep it? By my own? By the power of the commandment itself? or by a new and living way? By a new and living way. By the power of Christ in me. It is no more I that does it, but Christ that liveth in me. Hallelujah!

When God introduced a New Covenant, He didn't drop or totally discard the standard inherent in the last Covenant. To do that would be to discard Himself - for God is love. He just gave us a more effective way of becoming capable of actually doing it, of actually being able to walk in love, from our very heart.

If you are driving down the road and you come to a sign that says, "Road Closed - Detour" - well the detour is going to take you to the same destination.

Or if a new road has been opened, replacing an old road, the new road is not going to take you to some different destination: it will take you to the same destination as the old road, only more effectively.

The Point of the Parables

The point of each of those parables I made up, is to illustrate that just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we won't live-up to the intent or principles inherent in the Law. It's just that we arrive there through a more effective means.

  • Automatic set-up installs the same program on your computer as step-by-step set-up.
  • Whether you take the New England Highway from Brisbane or the Pacific Highway, you can still arrive at exactly the same desired destination - Sydney.
  • A husband who is in love does all the right things for his wife - just as if he was following some list of do's and dont's.
  • Using a template can give you the same finished look as if you were a skilled HTML programmer.

For example, the Law said, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse". Now some believers say that since we are no longer under the Law, we no longer need to pay tithes.

But when Moses commanded Israel saying, "Bring your tithes", that was really just an extension, or explanation, or application or just another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour".

Because if they loved God, they would honour His house; they would keep His commandments; they would pay His priests; and they would consider the poor.

The intent or principle behind the Law was to show Israel how to apply the law of love to every area of their lives, including their finances.

So now that we are under the New Covenant instead of the Law, and under Christ's new commandment of "Love one another", we will still fulfill everything that was intended or foreshadowed in principle, by the Law - because we are walking in love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Therefore if I love God and honour His house and love my neighbour as myself, I will support my local church, the ministers of the Gospel and the poor with my finances, as God has enabled me, just the same as if I were following a written law - and by doing so (by walking in love) I will, in effect, be keeping the commandment.

But by what strength or power did I keep it? By my own? By the power of the commandment itself? or by a new and living way? By a new and living way. By the power of Christ in me. It is no more I that does it, but Christ that liveth in me. Hallelujah!

When God introduced a New Covenant, He didn't drop or totally discard the standard inherent in the last Covenant. To do that would be to discard Himself - for God is love. He just gave us a more effective way of becoming capable of actually doing it, of actually being able to walk in love, from our very heart.

If you are driving down the road and you come to a sign that says, "Road Closed - Detour" - well the detour is going to take you to the same destination.

Or if a new road has been opened, replacing an old road, the new road is not going to take you to some different destination: it will take you to the same destination as the old road, only more effectively.

The Parable of the Website Template

Here is a parable to illustrate the Gospel truth that being under grace doesn't mean we are allowed to live lawlessly - it means we are empowered to live right.

A certain person wanted to post a personal page on a free web hosting site. The free site gave him two options for creating and uploading his page:
  1. He could use HTML to create his page, or
  2. He could opt to use one of the site's free web-page templates - which required no knowledge of HTML [recommended for beginners]
At first, the person tried his hand at HTML. But he soon discovered that every little detail he desired for his web page required its own HTML "command". And if he got one command or code slightly wrong, the whole thing didn't look right, and it looked unacceptable.

He soon realized his inability, so he changed his mind and opted to use one of the easy-to-use templates instead. All the features he wanted on his web page were already built-in, including colour, font and style because the HTML codes or "commands" were automatically written into the template. No HTML knowledge or skill on his part was required. All he had to do was select and click "upload" - easy. The final result looked exactly how it would look if an expert made it using computer programming commands.

There were two methods: programming commands (HTML) or template (pre-programming). Both could achieve the same result in theory - however, only the last method was able to be used by an unskilled person.

Because of sin, all of us were unskilled at righteousness. But thank God, the Gospel has the same power in our lives as that template! When we were under the Law, we were unable to keep the Law, due to sin dwelling in our bodies - like a person who doesn't know the HTML commands. But now through the New Covenant, God has programmed our hearts to keep His laws, to walk in His ways, to fulfill the righteousness of the Law - causing us to achieve the same result, just like the man who opted for the website template. All we had to do was accept Christ (select and click "upload") - then we received His righteousness as a free gift, and we were empowered to walk in God's ways.

"...this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts..."

Through the New Covenant, through the power of the cross, and the blood, through the new birth, through Christ and through the indwelling Spirit - God has given us a brand new heart which bears His nature. God is love, and we are made partakers of the divine nature, therefore we are now able to walk in love. And love is the fulfilling of the Law. Therefore by a new and living way, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

The Parable of the Website Template

Here is a parable to illustrate the Gospel truth that being under grace doesn't mean we are allowed to live lawlessly - it means we are empowered to live right.

A certain person wanted to post a personal page on a free web hosting site. The free site gave him two options for creating and uploading his page:
  1. He could use HTML to create his page, or
  2. He could opt to use one of the site's free web-page templates - which required no knowledge of HTML [recommended for beginners]
At first, the person tried his hand at HTML. But he soon discovered that every little detail he desired for his web page required its own HTML "command". And if he got one command or code slightly wrong, the whole thing didn't look right, and it looked unacceptable.

He soon realized his inability, so he changed his mind and opted to use one of the easy-to-use templates instead. All the features he wanted on his web page were already built-in, including colour, font and style because the HTML codes or "commands" were automatically written into the template. No HTML knowledge or skill on his part was required. All he had to do was select and click "upload" - easy. The final result looked exactly how it would look if an expert made it using computer programming commands.

There were two methods: programming commands (HTML) or template (pre-programming). Both could achieve the same result in theory - however, only the last method was able to be used by an unskilled person.

Because of sin, all of us were unskilled at righteousness. But thank God, the Gospel has the same power in our lives as that template! When we were under the Law, we were unable to keep the Law, due to sin dwelling in our bodies - like a person who doesn't know the HTML commands. But now through the New Covenant, God has programmed our hearts to keep His laws, to walk in His ways, to fulfill the righteousness of the Law - causing us to achieve the same result, just like the man who opted for the website template. All we had to do was accept Christ (select and click "upload") - then we received His righteousness as a free gift, and we were empowered to walk in God's ways.

"...this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts..."

Through the New Covenant, through the power of the cross, and the blood, through the new birth, through Christ and through the indwelling Spirit - God has given us a brand new heart which bears His nature. God is love, and we are made partakers of the divine nature, therefore we are now able to walk in love. And love is the fulfilling of the Law. Therefore by a new and living way, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

The Parable of the Website Template

Here is a parable to illustrate the Gospel truth that being under grace doesn't mean we are allowed to live lawlessly - it means we are empowered to live right.

A certain person wanted to post a personal page on a free web hosting site. The free site gave him two options for creating and uploading his page:
  1. He could use HTML to create his page, or
  2. He could opt to use one of the site's free web-page templates - which required no knowledge of HTML [recommended for beginners]
At first, the person tried his hand at HTML. But he soon discovered that every little detail he desired for his web page required its own HTML "command". And if he got one command or code slightly wrong, the whole thing didn't look right, and it looked unacceptable.

He soon realized his inability, so he changed his mind and opted to use one of the easy-to-use templates instead. All the features he wanted on his web page were already built-in, including colour, font and style because the HTML codes or "commands" were automatically written into the template. No HTML knowledge or skill on his part was required. All he had to do was select and click "upload" - easy. The final result looked exactly how it would look if an expert made it using computer programming commands.

There were two methods: programming commands (HTML) or template (pre-programming). Both could achieve the same result in theory - however, only the last method was able to be used by an unskilled person.

Because of sin, all of us were unskilled at righteousness. But thank God, the Gospel has the same power in our lives as that template! When we were under the Law, we were unable to keep the Law, due to sin dwelling in our bodies - like a person who doesn't know the HTML commands. But now through the New Covenant, God has programmed our hearts to keep His laws, to walk in His ways, to fulfill the righteousness of the Law - causing us to achieve the same result, just like the man who opted for the website template. All we had to do was accept Christ (select and click "upload") - then we received His righteousness as a free gift, and we were empowered to walk in God's ways.

"...this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts..."

Through the New Covenant, through the power of the cross, and the blood, through the new birth, through Christ and through the indwelling Spirit - God has given us a brand new heart which bears His nature. God is love, and we are made partakers of the divine nature, therefore we are now able to walk in love. And love is the fulfilling of the Law. Therefore by a new and living way, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

The Parable of the Teenager in Love

Here is a parable which illustrates the Gospel truth that God's grace empowers us to live righteously, rather than excuses us to live lawlessly.

There was a certain teenager, and of course his parents wanted to teach him how to be a pleasant person to live with. So they wrote a list of chores for their son, including all the dos and don't dos. The list included such items as: take the garbage out, tidy your bedroom, wash the car, always shut the gate behind you etc.

But their son still lacked the necessary motivation to complete any task adequately, despite his parents reminding him again and again and again. His parents were almost in despair to know what else they could do.

But one day when their son came home from school, without even being told, he went straight into his bedroom and tidied it up; then he came out to the kitchen and took the garbage out to the bin; while he was out there he cleaned the car; and when he came back inside, he even made sure the gate was nicely closed behind him - and he hadn't even got himself anything to eat yet, hadn't even turned the TV on. His parents wondered what had gotten into him! After a short time the doorbell rang, and then his parents understood - there at the gate stood a beautiful girl from school.

When your heart falls in love, it's a different story! There is hardly any need for a list of chores once a person is in love - for his own heart tells him what needs to be done; and not only does it tell him what needs to be done - it also gives him the motivation to actually do it. The list of chores is replaced by one new principle, love.

In the same way, Christ replaced the Law of Moses with His grace, which teaches us the one, new, all-encompassing principle - love one another. Love doesn't do anything bad to anyone: therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

The New Covenant creates a new heart within us, a heart that has God's nature and God's Spirit dwelling inside, a heart of love. Therefore like the teenager in love, we automatically fulfill all righteousness - we fulfill our "chores" without even needing the list (the Law). When you fall in love, it's like the list gets written in your heart instead of on a piece of paper. When we were born again, God plunged us into love; in fact, He shed abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. It's natural to walk in love when you're in love - and love is the fulfilling of the Law.

We who believe in Christ are no longer under the list of dos and don'ts (the Old Covenant, the Law) but God has given us a new heart in which He inscribed His laws. Since Christ instituted a new commandment, "Love one another, as I have loved you", and God wrote it in our hearts, now we automatically do what the Law wanted us to do all along - that is, we walk in love. That is what the Law was aiming at all along - that we know how to walk in love. It's just that the Law couldn't empower us to walk in love - but God's grace does.

We fulfill the righteousness of the Law (like the list of chores, with its dos and don'ts), not because we are under the Law, but because it is only natural for us to walk in love now, since God poured out His love into our very heart by His Spirit the very moment we were born again and received God's grace.

"The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

The Parable of the Teenager in Love

Here is a parable which illustrates the Gospel truth that God's grace empowers us to live righteously, rather than excuses us to live lawlessly.

There was a certain teenager, and of course his parents wanted to teach him how to be a pleasant person to live with. So they wrote a list of chores for their son, including all the dos and don't dos. The list included such items as: take the garbage out, tidy your bedroom, wash the car, always shut the gate behind you etc.

But their son still lacked the necessary motivation to complete any task adequately, despite his parents reminding him again and again and again. His parents were almost in despair to know what else they could do.

But one day when their son came home from school, without even being told, he went straight into his bedroom and tidied it up; then he came out to the kitchen and took the garbage out to the bin; while he was out there he cleaned the car; and when he came back inside, he even made sure the gate was nicely closed behind him - and he hadn't even got himself anything to eat yet, hadn't even turned the TV on. His parents wondered what had gotten into him! After a short time the doorbell rang, and then his parents understood - there at the gate stood a beautiful girl from school.

When your heart falls in love, it's a different story! There is hardly any need for a list of chores once a person is in love - for his own heart tells him what needs to be done; and not only does it tell him what needs to be done - it also gives him the motivation to actually do it. The list of chores is replaced by one new principle, love.

In the same way, Christ replaced the Law of Moses with His grace, which teaches us the one, new, all-encompassing principle - love one another. Love doesn't do anything bad to anyone: therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

The New Covenant creates a new heart within us, a heart that has God's nature and God's Spirit dwelling inside, a heart of love. Therefore like the teenager in love, we automatically fulfill all righteousness - we fulfill our "chores" without even needing the list (the Law). When you fall in love, it's like the list gets written in your heart instead of on a piece of paper. When we were born again, God plunged us into love; in fact, He shed abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. It's natural to walk in love when you're in love - and love is the fulfilling of the Law.

We who believe in Christ are no longer under the list of dos and don'ts (the Old Covenant, the Law) but God has given us a new heart in which He inscribed His laws. Since Christ instituted a new commandment, "Love one another, as I have loved you", and God wrote it in our hearts, now we automatically do what the Law wanted us to do all along - that is, we walk in love. That is what the Law was aiming at all along - that we know how to walk in love. It's just that the Law couldn't empower us to walk in love - but God's grace does.

We fulfill the righteousness of the Law (like the list of chores, with its dos and don'ts), not because we are under the Law, but because it is only natural for us to walk in love now, since God poured out His love into our very heart by His Spirit the very moment we were born again and received God's grace.

"The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

The Parable of the Teenager in Love

Here is a parable which illustrates the Gospel truth that God's grace empowers us to live righteously, rather than excuses us to live lawlessly.

There was a certain teenager, and of course his parents wanted to teach him how to be a pleasant person to live with. So they wrote a list of chores for their son, including all the dos and don't dos. The list included such items as: take the garbage out, tidy your bedroom, wash the car, always shut the gate behind you etc.

But their son still lacked the necessary motivation to complete any task adequately, despite his parents reminding him again and again and again. His parents were almost in despair to know what else they could do.

But one day when their son came home from school, without even being told, he went straight into his bedroom and tidied it up; then he came out to the kitchen and took the garbage out to the bin; while he was out there he cleaned the car; and when he came back inside, he even made sure the gate was nicely closed behind him - and he hadn't even got himself anything to eat yet, hadn't even turned the TV on. His parents wondered what had gotten into him! After a short time the doorbell rang, and then his parents understood - there at the gate stood a beautiful girl from school.

When your heart falls in love, it's a different story! There is hardly any need for a list of chores once a person is in love - for his own heart tells him what needs to be done; and not only does it tell him what needs to be done - it also gives him the motivation to actually do it. The list of chores is replaced by one new principle, love.

In the same way, Christ replaced the Law of Moses with His grace, which teaches us the one, new, all-encompassing principle - love one another. Love doesn't do anything bad to anyone: therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

The New Covenant creates a new heart within us, a heart that has God's nature and God's Spirit dwelling inside, a heart of love. Therefore like the teenager in love, we automatically fulfill all righteousness - we fulfill our "chores" without even needing the list (the Law). When you fall in love, it's like the list gets written in your heart instead of on a piece of paper. When we were born again, God plunged us into love; in fact, He shed abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. It's natural to walk in love when you're in love - and love is the fulfilling of the Law.

We who believe in Christ are no longer under the list of dos and don'ts (the Old Covenant, the Law) but God has given us a new heart in which He inscribed His laws. Since Christ instituted a new commandment, "Love one another, as I have loved you", and God wrote it in our hearts, now we automatically do what the Law wanted us to do all along - that is, we walk in love. That is what the Law was aiming at all along - that we know how to walk in love. It's just that the Law couldn't empower us to walk in love - but God's grace does.

We fulfill the righteousness of the Law (like the list of chores, with its dos and don'ts), not because we are under the Law, but because it is only natural for us to walk in love now, since God poured out His love into our very heart by His Spirit the very moment we were born again and received God's grace.

"The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

Do Christians Keep the Standard of the Law?

There are two roads from Brisbane to Sydney: the Pacific Highway or the New England Highway. No matter which highway you take, the destination is still Sydney.

God gave Israel two covenants: the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Both Covenants were designed with the same objective - to show us the way to righteousness; and the lifestyle under both Covenants can be summarized the same way - walking in love.

The Law covered many facets and topics in life, showing Israel practically what it means to walk in love - both toward God and toward one's fellow man.

The Gospel empowers believers to fulfill the righteousness of the Law, for God diffused His love-nature into our new hearts by the Holy Spirit when we were regenerated, enabling us to walk in love, which is the fulfilling of the intent or principles of the Law.

Therefore being in Christ has empowered us to walk in the lifestyle that was modelled for us by the Law.

If our vehicle isn't strong enough to take the first highway to Sydney, thankfully there is a newer, better highway we can take - but the destination is still the same.

In the same way, being free from the Law doesn't mean that God scrapped the original standard that He has for us: His standard for life is the only way of life that works. It just means He gave us a better and more powerful way to actually be able to live that lifestyle - which is the lifestyle of love.

Do Christians Keep the Standard of the Law?

There are two roads from Brisbane to Sydney: the Pacific Highway or the New England Highway. No matter which highway you take, the destination is still Sydney.

God gave Israel two covenants: the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Both Covenants were designed with the same objective - to show us the way to righteousness; and the lifestyle under both Covenants can be summarized the same way - walking in love.

The Law covered many facets and topics in life, showing Israel practically what it means to walk in love - both toward God and toward one's fellow man.

The Gospel empowers believers to fulfill the righteousness of the Law, for God diffused His love-nature into our new hearts by the Holy Spirit when we were regenerated, enabling us to walk in love, which is the fulfilling of the intent or principles of the Law.

Therefore being in Christ has empowered us to walk in the lifestyle that was modelled for us by the Law.

If our vehicle isn't strong enough to take the first highway to Sydney, thankfully there is a newer, better highway we can take - but the destination is still the same.

In the same way, being free from the Law doesn't mean that God scrapped the original standard that He has for us: His standard for life is the only way of life that works. It just means He gave us a better and more powerful way to actually be able to live that lifestyle - which is the lifestyle of love.

Do Christians Keep the Standard of the Law?

There are two roads from Brisbane to Sydney: the Pacific Highway or the New England Highway. No matter which highway you take, the destination is still Sydney.

God gave Israel two covenants: the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Both Covenants were designed with the same objective - to show us the way to righteousness; and the lifestyle under both Covenants can be summarized the same way - walking in love.

The Law covered many facets and topics in life, showing Israel practically what it means to walk in love - both toward God and toward one's fellow man.

The Gospel empowers believers to fulfill the righteousness of the Law, for God diffused His love-nature into our new hearts by the Holy Spirit when we were regenerated, enabling us to walk in love, which is the fulfilling of the intent or principles of the Law.

Therefore being in Christ has empowered us to walk in the lifestyle that was modelled for us by the Law.

If our vehicle isn't strong enough to take the first highway to Sydney, thankfully there is a newer, better highway we can take - but the destination is still the same.

In the same way, being free from the Law doesn't mean that God scrapped the original standard that He has for us: His standard for life is the only way of life that works. It just means He gave us a better and more powerful way to actually be able to live that lifestyle - which is the lifestyle of love.

Monday 12 March 2007

A Parable about Tithing

What place does the Law have for the believer?

Here is a parable to explain my attitude toward Moses' Law:

Somebody wants to install some Video Chatting Software on his personal computer.

So he buys the CD.

The CD is perfect - it contains all of the programming information that's needed.

He inserts the CD into his computer's CD drive.

Now a Wizard guides him through the installation process.

At some point, the Installation Wizard asks him to select which set-up type he wants to proceed with:

  • he can choose either the step-by-step set-up (in which he can select which components of the Software he wants to install)
  • or the Automatic set-up (recommended).

At first, he fancies himself as a bit of a computer wiz, so he opts for the step-by-step way. A whole list of all the components which are included in the software comes up on his screen. It asks him to select options. But to do so, he must first read and consider and understand so much information. He is afraid that if he neglects to include just one important component, some feature of the program won't end-up working how he wants - or the entire program might not work at all.

It all becomes too mind-boggling - the person realizes the inadequacy of his ability. So he hits the "back" button, and opts for Automatic set-up (recommended) instead.

The Set-Up Wizard now takes-over for him. In just a few minutes, Windows has installed all of the Software for him. When it's all done, the CD even automatically pops out of the drive. He had to do nothing. All he has to do now is restart his computer, and then he can start his Video chatting. Easy!

Notice that by choosing the Automatic set-up instead of the step-by-step set-up, he is still installing the same software. Either way, the result is meant to be the same - the functionality and usefulness and the performance of the software ideally should end-up precisely the same. It was only because of his inability that he could not have achieved the optimal result on his own, using the step-by-step approach.

So instead of relying on his own ability, he opted to rely on the automatic set-up - relying on the perfect ability already written into the CD - that way he can be sure everything will work just right when he starts video chatting.

In no time, it's all installed, and off he goes, video-chatting with all his friends.

But either way - either through step-by-step or automatic set-up - the result should be the same; the intention is the same; the function of video chatting is meant to end-up just the same.

God's ultimate objective for us - like the person's desire to start video chatting - is that we walk in love - that we walk in love and fellowship toward God and our fellowman - that we become a partaker of the Divine nature. Walking in love is true functionality.

There have been two ways of "set-up" that the Bible talks about, to get us to this functionality of walking in love.

The first way - like the step-by-step way, with all it's components and requirements - was Moses' Law.

Moses' Law, like the
step-by-step approach to installing software, emphasized each of the individual components of what it means to walk in love towards God and our fellow-man. With regard to walking in love in the matter of our finances, the Law taught us:

  • how much to give - 10%;
  • where to give - to the House of God;
  • who to give to - to the priests and to the poor;
  • consequences for failing - curse;
  • promises of compliance - blessing;
  • late payment fee - must add 20%,
  • additional requirements - the occassional second and third tithe, etc.
  • pay all your bills - don't rip anyone off

But all of the above details were simply another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour as yourself" - because, if a person living under the Old Testament truly loved, he would want to do all of those things with his or her money.

The
only problem with the step-by-step approach to set-up, was the man's lack of computer know-how. Similarly, the problem with the Law (as a means to creating hearts and not just actions of righteousness and love) was the weakness of our flesh because of indwelling sin.

So the person in the parable opted for automatic set-up (recommended). Automatic set-up represents the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the Gospel is the second way of "set-up" that has been provided, in order for us to achieve the same desired functionality of walking in love.

The power of
the Gospel - like automatic set-up on a computer - has given us a brand new heart; God has given us His nature, His Spirit and His love. Christ's new commandment of "love one another" has been inscribed in our heart. Now - because of His love and His Spirit in our born-again heart:
  • now our sin has been removed;
  • now we have received a righteousness not our own;
  • now we want to give to the house of God;
  • now it is our joy to give to the poor;
  • now we delight to support the work of the Church;
  • now we can't wait to support the workers of the Gospel who told us the way of salvation;
  • now our heart (and not just our actions) pleases God
  • now we don't keep any outstanding debts except to love one another
It works like preprogrammed software!

Because God's love has been poured-out in our heart through the Holy Spirit - bypassing the step-by-step approach, but achieving the same result - now we find that we fulfill the same goal that the Law intended for us - now we can walk in love.


Having opted for automatic set-up, all the person had to do was restart his computer. Since God has accomplished righteousness for us through the cross of Christ, now all we have to do is be born again and receive God's new nature of love into our spirit (like restarting our computer) - and then we automatically begin fulfilling the righteousness of the Law (like beginning to enjoy the functions of the new software).

Either approach (step-by-step or automatic) was intended to lead to the same functionality on the computer. In the same way, even though we are no longer trying in our own ability to keep the Law, we nevertheless arrive at fulflling the same principles inherent in the various points of Law, which is to walk in love - through the power of the Gospel which is working in us.

By coming to God through Jesus Christ (instead of through the Law), we won't end-up caring any less for our financial obligations; and we won't end-up giving any less to the poor; we won't stop honouring God and His house (Paul calls a local church the "house of God").

Instead, by walking in the Spirit and by walking in love (instead of walking in the flesh), we will find that we will actually pay our dues and give our gifts in accordance with exactly the same principles that God was trying to show us through Moses' Law.

But this time we will be doing it not on our own ability, but we will be doing it because God has preprogrammed His love into our new heart. Now we want to walk in love. Now we can walk in love. Now we do walk in love - because God wrote His Laws into our hearts, in Christ.

If we sit down to calculate it, and actually added up all the giving that we do, we would find that we have been automatically fulfilling all of the principles in Moses' Law about tithing, if we have been walking in the Spirit, and walking in love.

Now if a person had trouble with the step-by-step set-up, he can't throw the CD out, and yet still expect to be able to start video chatting.

In the same way, just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we can just indulge the flesh, mistreat one another, fail to honour our financial obligations, fail to honour God, His House, His ministers, and fail to consider the poor etc - and still be righteous before God. Treating your neighbour with love, will still require the same action (in principle), no matter what period of history you live in. Love is still love.

So instead, like the person who achieves getting the software on his computer through opting for automatic set-up - we will achieve the same objective that all the details of the Law set for us, but this time, through the automatic set-up method of having accepting Jesus Christ into our heart.

Our conduct will fulfill the same principles of the Law, because Christ's new commandment, "love one another", is actually the same objective that the Law set. Love works no ill to his neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Christ's Law of love is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, with the result that we now love God, and love our neighbour as ourself - in heart, in word, in deed.

God performed this operation in our heart.

Now we can walk in what James called, "The Royal Law".

By walking in love, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

So being in Christ does not mean that we now have a license to throw out the objective that the Law set for us, which was to walk in love. Instead, we find that living that objective is now a possibility. Now we can walk in love - not just in deed, but in heart.

Because God has given us a new heart through Christ, we now love to honour God, His house, His ministers, and the poor - with our finances.

You don't have to remind a man who loves his wife that there are laws against domestic violence. do you? Because the man loves his wife, he automatically behaves in keeping with any such laws.

Therefore, because God has poured out His love into our own hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5), we now find that by our action and by our heart, we fulfill the same principles that Moses was trying to show us through the details of the Laws regarding tithing. The principles behind the Laws of tithing were to show us what it means practically to love God and your fellowman, with regard to our money.

In conclusion: Love God and your fellowman with your heart and with your money - and you will fulfill anything that the Law intended - and nothing less.

A Parable about Tithing

What place does the Law have for the believer?

Here is a parable to explain my attitude toward Moses' Law:

Somebody wants to install some Video Chatting Software on his personal computer.

So he buys the CD.

The CD is perfect - it contains all of the programming information that's needed.

He inserts the CD into his computer's CD drive.

Now a Wizard guides him through the installation process.

At some point, the Installation Wizard asks him to select which set-up type he wants to proceed with:

  • he can choose either the step-by-step set-up (in which he can select which components of the Software he wants to install)
  • or the Automatic set-up (recommended).

At first, he fancies himself as a bit of a computer wiz, so he opts for the step-by-step way. A whole list of all the components which are included in the software comes up on his screen. It asks him to select options. But to do so, he must first read and consider and understand so much information. He is afraid that if he neglects to include just one important component, some feature of the program won't end-up working how he wants - or the entire program might not work at all.

It all becomes too mind-boggling - the person realizes the inadequacy of his ability. So he hits the "back" button, and opts for Automatic set-up (recommended) instead.

The Set-Up Wizard now takes-over for him. In just a few minutes, Windows has installed all of the Software for him. When it's all done, the CD even automatically pops out of the drive. He had to do nothing. All he has to do now is restart his computer, and then he can start his Video chatting. Easy!

Notice that by choosing the Automatic set-up instead of the step-by-step set-up, he is still installing the same software. Either way, the result is meant to be the same - the functionality and usefulness and the performance of the software ideally should end-up precisely the same. It was only because of his inability that he could not have achieved the optimal result on his own, using the step-by-step approach.

So instead of relying on his own ability, he opted to rely on the automatic set-up - relying on the perfect ability already written into the CD - that way he can be sure everything will work just right when he starts video chatting.

In no time, it's all installed, and off he goes, video-chatting with all his friends.

But either way - either through step-by-step or automatic set-up - the result should be the same; the intention is the same; the function of video chatting is meant to end-up just the same.

God's ultimate objective for us - like the person's desire to start video chatting - is that we walk in love - that we walk in love and fellowship toward God and our fellowman - that we become a partaker of the Divine nature. Walking in love is true functionality.

There have been two ways of "set-up" that the Bible talks about, to get us to this functionality of walking in love.

The first way - like the step-by-step way, with all it's components and requirements - was Moses' Law.

Moses' Law, like the
step-by-step approach to installing software, emphasized each of the individual components of what it means to walk in love towards God and our fellow-man. With regard to walking in love in the matter of our finances, the Law taught us:

  • how much to give - 10%;
  • where to give - to the House of God;
  • who to give to - to the priests and to the poor;
  • consequences for failing - curse;
  • promises of compliance - blessing;
  • late payment fee - must add 20%,
  • additional requirements - the occassional second and third tithe, etc.
  • pay all your bills - don't rip anyone off

But all of the above details were simply another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour as yourself" - because, if a person living under the Old Testament truly loved, he would want to do all of those things with his or her money.

The
only problem with the step-by-step approach to set-up, was the man's lack of computer know-how. Similarly, the problem with the Law (as a means to creating hearts and not just actions of righteousness and love) was the weakness of our flesh because of indwelling sin.

So the person in the parable opted for automatic set-up (recommended). Automatic set-up represents the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the Gospel is the second way of "set-up" that has been provided, in order for us to achieve the same desired functionality of walking in love.

The power of
the Gospel - like automatic set-up on a computer - has given us a brand new heart; God has given us His nature, His Spirit and His love. Christ's new commandment of "love one another" has been inscribed in our heart. Now - because of His love and His Spirit in our born-again heart:
  • now our sin has been removed;
  • now we have received a righteousness not our own;
  • now we want to give to the house of God;
  • now it is our joy to give to the poor;
  • now we delight to support the work of the Church;
  • now we can't wait to support the workers of the Gospel who told us the way of salvation;
  • now our heart (and not just our actions) pleases God
  • now we don't keep any outstanding debts except to love one another
It works like preprogrammed software!

Because God's love has been poured-out in our heart through the Holy Spirit - bypassing the step-by-step approach, but achieving the same result - now we find that we fulfill the same goal that the Law intended for us - now we can walk in love.


Having opted for automatic set-up, all the person had to do was restart his computer. Since God has accomplished righteousness for us through the cross of Christ, now all we have to do is be born again and receive God's new nature of love into our spirit (like restarting our computer) - and then we automatically begin fulfilling the righteousness of the Law (like beginning to enjoy the functions of the new software).

Either approach (step-by-step or automatic) was intended to lead to the same functionality on the computer. In the same way, even though we are no longer trying in our own ability to keep the Law, we nevertheless arrive at fulflling the same principles inherent in the various points of Law, which is to walk in love - through the power of the Gospel which is working in us.

By coming to God through Jesus Christ (instead of through the Law), we won't end-up caring any less for our financial obligations; and we won't end-up giving any less to the poor; we won't stop honouring God and His house (Paul calls a local church the "house of God").

Instead, by walking in the Spirit and by walking in love (instead of walking in the flesh), we will find that we will actually pay our dues and give our gifts in accordance with exactly the same principles that God was trying to show us through Moses' Law.

But this time we will be doing it not on our own ability, but we will be doing it because God has preprogrammed His love into our new heart. Now we want to walk in love. Now we can walk in love. Now we do walk in love - because God wrote His Laws into our hearts, in Christ.

If we sit down to calculate it, and actually added up all the giving that we do, we would find that we have been automatically fulfilling all of the principles in Moses' Law about tithing, if we have been walking in the Spirit, and walking in love.

Now if a person had trouble with the step-by-step set-up, he can't throw the CD out, and yet still expect to be able to start video chatting.

In the same way, just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we can just indulge the flesh, mistreat one another, fail to honour our financial obligations, fail to honour God, His House, His ministers, and fail to consider the poor etc - and still be righteous before God. Treating your neighbour with love, will still require the same action (in principle), no matter what period of history you live in. Love is still love.

So instead, like the person who achieves getting the software on his computer through opting for automatic set-up - we will achieve the same objective that all the details of the Law set for us, but this time, through the automatic set-up method of having accepting Jesus Christ into our heart.

Our conduct will fulfill the same principles of the Law, because Christ's new commandment, "love one another", is actually the same objective that the Law set. Love works no ill to his neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Christ's Law of love is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, with the result that we now love God, and love our neighbour as ourself - in heart, in word, in deed.

God performed this operation in our heart.

Now we can walk in what James called, "The Royal Law".

By walking in love, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

So being in Christ does not mean that we now have a license to throw out the objective that the Law set for us, which was to walk in love. Instead, we find that living that objective is now a possibility. Now we can walk in love - not just in deed, but in heart.

Because God has given us a new heart through Christ, we now love to honour God, His house, His ministers, and the poor - with our finances.

You don't have to remind a man who loves his wife that there are laws against domestic violence. do you? Because the man loves his wife, he automatically behaves in keeping with any such laws.

Therefore, because God has poured out His love into our own hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5), we now find that by our action and by our heart, we fulfill the same principles that Moses was trying to show us through the details of the Laws regarding tithing. The principles behind the Laws of tithing were to show us what it means practically to love God and your fellowman, with regard to our money.

In conclusion: Love God and your fellowman with your heart and with your money - and you will fulfill anything that the Law intended - and nothing less.

A Parable about Tithing

What place does the Law have for the believer?

Here is a parable to explain my attitude toward Moses' Law:

Somebody wants to install some Video Chatting Software on his personal computer.

So he buys the CD.

The CD is perfect - it contains all of the programming information that's needed.

He inserts the CD into his computer's CD drive.

Now a Wizard guides him through the installation process.

At some point, the Installation Wizard asks him to select which set-up type he wants to proceed with:

  • he can choose either the step-by-step set-up (in which he can select which components of the Software he wants to install)
  • or the Automatic set-up (recommended).

At first, he fancies himself as a bit of a computer wiz, so he opts for the step-by-step way. A whole list of all the components which are included in the software comes up on his screen. It asks him to select options. But to do so, he must first read and consider and understand so much information. He is afraid that if he neglects to include just one important component, some feature of the program won't end-up working how he wants - or the entire program might not work at all.

It all becomes too mind-boggling - the person realizes the inadequacy of his ability. So he hits the "back" button, and opts for Automatic set-up (recommended) instead.

The Set-Up Wizard now takes-over for him. In just a few minutes, Windows has installed all of the Software for him. When it's all done, the CD even automatically pops out of the drive. He had to do nothing. All he has to do now is restart his computer, and then he can start his Video chatting. Easy!

Notice that by choosing the Automatic set-up instead of the step-by-step set-up, he is still installing the same software. Either way, the result is meant to be the same - the functionality and usefulness and the performance of the software ideally should end-up precisely the same. It was only because of his inability that he could not have achieved the optimal result on his own, using the step-by-step approach.

So instead of relying on his own ability, he opted to rely on the automatic set-up - relying on the perfect ability already written into the CD - that way he can be sure everything will work just right when he starts video chatting.

In no time, it's all installed, and off he goes, video-chatting with all his friends.

But either way - either through step-by-step or automatic set-up - the result should be the same; the intention is the same; the function of video chatting is meant to end-up just the same.

God's ultimate objective for us - like the person's desire to start video chatting - is that we walk in love - that we walk in love and fellowship toward God and our fellowman - that we become a partaker of the Divine nature. Walking in love is true functionality.

There have been two ways of "set-up" that the Bible talks about, to get us to this functionality of walking in love.

The first way - like the step-by-step way, with all it's components and requirements - was Moses' Law.

Moses' Law, like the
step-by-step approach to installing software, emphasized each of the individual components of what it means to walk in love towards God and our fellow-man. With regard to walking in love in the matter of our finances, the Law taught us:

  • how much to give - 10%;
  • where to give - to the House of God;
  • who to give to - to the priests and to the poor;
  • consequences for failing - curse;
  • promises of compliance - blessing;
  • late payment fee - must add 20%,
  • additional requirements - the occassional second and third tithe, etc.
  • pay all your bills - don't rip anyone off

But all of the above details were simply another way of saying, "Love God, and love your neighbour as yourself" - because, if a person living under the Old Testament truly loved, he would want to do all of those things with his or her money.

The
only problem with the step-by-step approach to set-up, was the man's lack of computer know-how. Similarly, the problem with the Law (as a means to creating hearts and not just actions of righteousness and love) was the weakness of our flesh because of indwelling sin.

So the person in the parable opted for automatic set-up (recommended). Automatic set-up represents the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the Gospel is the second way of "set-up" that has been provided, in order for us to achieve the same desired functionality of walking in love.

The power of
the Gospel - like automatic set-up on a computer - has given us a brand new heart; God has given us His nature, His Spirit and His love. Christ's new commandment of "love one another" has been inscribed in our heart. Now - because of His love and His Spirit in our born-again heart:
  • now our sin has been removed;
  • now we have received a righteousness not our own;
  • now we want to give to the house of God;
  • now it is our joy to give to the poor;
  • now we delight to support the work of the Church;
  • now we can't wait to support the workers of the Gospel who told us the way of salvation;
  • now our heart (and not just our actions) pleases God
  • now we don't keep any outstanding debts except to love one another
It works like preprogrammed software!

Because God's love has been poured-out in our heart through the Holy Spirit - bypassing the step-by-step approach, but achieving the same result - now we find that we fulfill the same goal that the Law intended for us - now we can walk in love.


Having opted for automatic set-up, all the person had to do was restart his computer. Since God has accomplished righteousness for us through the cross of Christ, now all we have to do is be born again and receive God's new nature of love into our spirit (like restarting our computer) - and then we automatically begin fulfilling the righteousness of the Law (like beginning to enjoy the functions of the new software).

Either approach (step-by-step or automatic) was intended to lead to the same functionality on the computer. In the same way, even though we are no longer trying in our own ability to keep the Law, we nevertheless arrive at fulflling the same principles inherent in the various points of Law, which is to walk in love - through the power of the Gospel which is working in us.

By coming to God through Jesus Christ (instead of through the Law), we won't end-up caring any less for our financial obligations; and we won't end-up giving any less to the poor; we won't stop honouring God and His house (Paul calls a local church the "house of God").

Instead, by walking in the Spirit and by walking in love (instead of walking in the flesh), we will find that we will actually pay our dues and give our gifts in accordance with exactly the same principles that God was trying to show us through Moses' Law.

But this time we will be doing it not on our own ability, but we will be doing it because God has preprogrammed His love into our new heart. Now we want to walk in love. Now we can walk in love. Now we do walk in love - because God wrote His Laws into our hearts, in Christ.

If we sit down to calculate it, and actually added up all the giving that we do, we would find that we have been automatically fulfilling all of the principles in Moses' Law about tithing, if we have been walking in the Spirit, and walking in love.

Now if a person had trouble with the step-by-step set-up, he can't throw the CD out, and yet still expect to be able to start video chatting.

In the same way, just because we are no longer under the Law, does not mean that we can just indulge the flesh, mistreat one another, fail to honour our financial obligations, fail to honour God, His House, His ministers, and fail to consider the poor etc - and still be righteous before God. Treating your neighbour with love, will still require the same action (in principle), no matter what period of history you live in. Love is still love.

So instead, like the person who achieves getting the software on his computer through opting for automatic set-up - we will achieve the same objective that all the details of the Law set for us, but this time, through the automatic set-up method of having accepting Jesus Christ into our heart.

Our conduct will fulfill the same principles of the Law, because Christ's new commandment, "love one another", is actually the same objective that the Law set. Love works no ill to his neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Christ's Law of love is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, with the result that we now love God, and love our neighbour as ourself - in heart, in word, in deed.

God performed this operation in our heart.

Now we can walk in what James called, "The Royal Law".

By walking in love, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us.

So being in Christ does not mean that we now have a license to throw out the objective that the Law set for us, which was to walk in love. Instead, we find that living that objective is now a possibility. Now we can walk in love - not just in deed, but in heart.

Because God has given us a new heart through Christ, we now love to honour God, His house, His ministers, and the poor - with our finances.

You don't have to remind a man who loves his wife that there are laws against domestic violence. do you? Because the man loves his wife, he automatically behaves in keeping with any such laws.

Therefore, because God has poured out His love into our own hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5), we now find that by our action and by our heart, we fulfill the same principles that Moses was trying to show us through the details of the Laws regarding tithing. The principles behind the Laws of tithing were to show us what it means practically to love God and your fellowman, with regard to our money.

In conclusion: Love God and your fellowman with your heart and with your money - and you will fulfill anything that the Law intended - and nothing less.

Friday 9 March 2007

New Car


Last December when my car's Registration was due, I felt led to pay it. And the Lord provided the exact amount of money at the exact time.

However, despite paying my rego, I also sensed in my spirit that by some time early in the new year I would be driving a different, newer, blue car.

By the time March 1st came around, I started wondering what would become of my vision.

That very day, when I set out from Ipswich to drive home to the Gold Coast, I knew it was right that I'd planned to leave Ipswich and set out to drive home, however I couldn't get it clear in my spirit that I would actually drive all the way home to the Gold Coast.

So I wondered whether I should first visit a friend in Brisbane on the way home or something - however that didn't feel right either. I didn't feel led to go anywhere else on the way home.

So I just kept doing the one thing that I knew I was meant to do, and that was to keep driving as if I was going home. Meanwhile, I was wondering what would end-up happening.

And minutes later, my car broke down, and had to be towed back to Ipswich. I walked to Redbank Station, caught two trains and a taxi home to the Coast.

The mechanic phoned the next day with the verdict that it wouldn't be viable to fix the engine. So I sold the car to the wreckers. Over the phone, the wreckers had offered me between $50 and $150 for the car. But in prayer, I claimed $200. When I arrived, the wreckers changed their tone and offered me $200!

A couple of days later, when I arrived home after having been at the beach with some friends - parked in front of our house was a newer, blue car - just like what I'd seen in the vision.

It so happened that some friends of my sister's who had been using her car got a new job that included a company car - so they had no use for her car anymore - and they delivered it to our house.

God's timing was as usual, perfect - without any effort on my part.

Hallelujah!

Now I know why the Lord had led me some time ago to add my vehicle to my father's RACQ Membership - the Lord knew I was going to need a tow.

Also, the $200 I got from the wreckers, plus the refunded unused Rego, plus the refund of the RACQ membership - added up to the exact amount and came in such perfect timing for me to be able to do something else which the Lord gave me opportunity to do.

What is more, I had been feeling some concern that I had only been able to teach my nephew David to drive using my automatic car - but now I can teach him to drive a manual.

God is perfect in all His ways!

And He is perfectly concerned about everything that has to do with you too.

New Car


Last December when my car's Registration was due, I felt led to pay it. And the Lord provided the exact amount of money at the exact time.

However, despite paying my rego, I also sensed in my spirit that by some time early in the new year I would be driving a different, newer, blue car.

By the time March 1st came around, I started wondering what would become of my vision.

That very day, when I set out from Ipswich to drive home to the Gold Coast, I knew it was right that I'd planned to leave Ipswich and set out to drive home, however I couldn't get it clear in my spirit that I would actually drive all the way home to the Gold Coast.

So I wondered whether I should first visit a friend in Brisbane on the way home or something - however that didn't feel right either. I didn't feel led to go anywhere else on the way home.

So I just kept doing the one thing that I knew I was meant to do, and that was to keep driving as if I was going home. Meanwhile, I was wondering what would end-up happening.

And minutes later, my car broke down, and had to be towed back to Ipswich. I walked to Redbank Station, caught two trains and a taxi home to the Coast.

The mechanic phoned the next day with the verdict that it wouldn't be viable to fix the engine. So I sold the car to the wreckers. Over the phone, the wreckers had offered me between $50 and $150 for the car. But in prayer, I claimed $200. When I arrived, the wreckers changed their tone and offered me $200!

A couple of days later, when I arrived home after having been at the beach with some friends - parked in front of our house was a newer, blue car - just like what I'd seen in the vision.

It so happened that some friends of my sister's who had been using her car got a new job that included a company car - so they had no use for her car anymore - and they delivered it to our house.

God's timing was as usual, perfect - without any effort on my part.

Hallelujah!

Now I know why the Lord had led me some time ago to add my vehicle to my father's RACQ Membership - the Lord knew I was going to need a tow.

Also, the $200 I got from the wreckers, plus the refunded unused Rego, plus the refund of the RACQ membership - added up to the exact amount and came in such perfect timing for me to be able to do something else which the Lord gave me opportunity to do.

What is more, I had been feeling some concern that I had only been able to teach my nephew David to drive using my automatic car - but now I can teach him to drive a manual.

God is perfect in all His ways!

And He is perfectly concerned about everything that has to do with you too.

New Car


Last December when my car's Registration was due, I felt led to pay it. And the Lord provided the exact amount of money at the exact time.

However, despite paying my rego, I also sensed in my spirit that by some time early in the new year I would be driving a different, newer, blue car.

By the time March 1st came around, I started wondering what would become of my vision.

That very day, when I set out from Ipswich to drive home to the Gold Coast, I knew it was right that I'd planned to leave Ipswich and set out to drive home, however I couldn't get it clear in my spirit that I would actually drive all the way home to the Gold Coast.

So I wondered whether I should first visit a friend in Brisbane on the way home or something - however that didn't feel right either. I didn't feel led to go anywhere else on the way home.

So I just kept doing the one thing that I knew I was meant to do, and that was to keep driving as if I was going home. Meanwhile, I was wondering what would end-up happening.

And minutes later, my car broke down, and had to be towed back to Ipswich. I walked to Redbank Station, caught two trains and a taxi home to the Coast.

The mechanic phoned the next day with the verdict that it wouldn't be viable to fix the engine. So I sold the car to the wreckers. Over the phone, the wreckers had offered me between $50 and $150 for the car. But in prayer, I claimed $200. When I arrived, the wreckers changed their tone and offered me $200!

A couple of days later, when I arrived home after having been at the beach with some friends - parked in front of our house was a newer, blue car - just like what I'd seen in the vision.

It so happened that some friends of my sister's who had been using her car got a new job that included a company car - so they had no use for her car anymore - and they delivered it to our house.

God's timing was as usual, perfect - without any effort on my part.

Hallelujah!

Now I know why the Lord had led me some time ago to add my vehicle to my father's RACQ Membership - the Lord knew I was going to need a tow.

Also, the $200 I got from the wreckers, plus the refunded unused Rego, plus the refund of the RACQ membership - added up to the exact amount and came in such perfect timing for me to be able to do something else which the Lord gave me opportunity to do.

What is more, I had been feeling some concern that I had only been able to teach my nephew David to drive using my automatic car - but now I can teach him to drive a manual.

God is perfect in all His ways!

And He is perfectly concerned about everything that has to do with you too.

Wednesday 7 March 2007

Waiting on God is an Act

It certainly was amazing what God had in mind regarding my house.

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who wait for Him (those who love Him)."

All He was waiting for was for me to step out on His word.

Just think: if I had taken the approach of getting a job to earn the necessary funds to do the repairs, I would still be working to this day, and yet I still would not have saved enough money to commence the repairs.

God meets every believer's needs supernaturally - not just mine.

It happens to every believer. God leads all His children supernaturally - not always spectacularly - but supernaturally none-the-less.

We were having a prayer-time at Adam and Michele Walker's parents' house years ago, when Leanne Slinger saw a vision that I am like a crab.

She prophesied, "Just because you walk sideways (instead of forwards like most other creatures), does not mean that you do not get to cross the finish-line!"

The vision made Leanne laugh because the prophecy was somewhat of a vindication of the way I functioned at the time, even though it was different.

God gives to each of us a calling that is as different to each other's as God's creatures are different to each other: some creatures walk forwards, crabs walk sideways, others fly, some swim, kangaroos hop.

But regardless of our diverse and unique functions, there is a modus operandi that I think is common to all of us - and that is, that each of us has the privilege of hearing and acting on direct instructions from our Master.

That's the beautiful key we've all been given. We can all hear from God.

What
we do will be different for all of us, but why we do it can be the same for all of us. We do it because Jesus told us. What we do, we can do because we've heard from the Lord.

That privilege is for all of us - no matter what our calling in life is.

So this reconciles the "hands on" way to meeting your needs with the waiting on God way.

It's not a question of either/or: it's neither the "hands on" way nor the "wait for God to do it" way - it's the "hear from God and act on His Word" way that yields supernatural results.

And hearing from God and acting on it is something all of us can do!

For some, God may lead them to get a job or to start a business.

At one phase of my life, God's will for me was to work full-time in a Customs and Freight-forwarding Agency in Brisbane.

During those days, I didn't need to hear God say to me again every morning, "I want you to go to work today".

I only needed to be led once, at the beginning; and then, after that, I just kept working every day - until six years later when He moved me on.

Then there came a phase in my life when the Word of the Lord came unto me to give notice in my job and do other things, and trust Him. I acted on His instruction - and to this day He still meets all my needs.

Either way - at either phase of my life - I was acting on His Word - and it was still God who provided my needs.

At one time, He met my needs primarily through my salary. Now, He meets my needs primariliy from extraordinary sources. But at both times, my provision began with acting on a word from my Lord.

As brother Hagin said, "Some people look for the spectacular and miss the supernatural".

The way God provided for me whilst working in that job in Brisbane wasn't spectacular but it was supernatural - because God helped me get that job (that's another story); God helped me do it, and through it, God provided my needs.

The way God met my needs after I left my job was perhaps more spectacular, but not any more supernatural.

I was equally dependant on God in my job. The only thing that changed was what He asked me to do.

When God met all my needs in Ipswich recently, I didn't exactly do nothing.

In the first place, it took faith not to go get a job! You understand how people pressure you to get a job in such circumstances. It would have been easy for me - with my Edwards DNA (lol) - to go get three jobs and save the money. But an inner witness stopped me.

To refuse to get a job was every bit as much an act, as getting a job would be an act.

It took moral choice to instead wait on God and eventually make those appointments to start the repairs even though I had no resources.

And I actually had to step out and go to Ipswich. Nothing would have happened if I was still sitting around waiting for the resources to come to me supernaturally before I stepped out. The resources only started flowing after I started making steps.

But when I stepped out, they were steps of faith, not of independance. I wasn't making plans in my own mind or strength, but I was acting on His instructions which I received whilst waiting on Him. I was acting on a word from Jesus - I wasn't acting independantly.

My objective by going to Ipswich was to do what He said as much as to seek a result.

Faith is an act. Faith is acting on the Word. Faith, like love, is not known except by word and deed.

We have the privilege of hearing His Word as much through an inner guidance as through the written Word. Every believer has the inner witness.

In the Scripture below, Peter threw the net twice.

Both times, he had the same desire: to catch fish.

But both times did not yield the same result.

The first time, he was acting independantly. And he caught nothing.

The second time, he was acting on an instruction from Jesus - which is faith. And he caught a great number of fish.

What made the difference was becoming intimately intwined with the words of Jesus.

You and I have the privilege of becoming intimately intwined with the words of Jesus - and act out of that - with thrilling results.

Neither the "hands on" approach nor the waiting on God approach can yield supernatural results on its own. Living a life that acts out of being intertwined with Jesus' specific and unique instructions to us, is what yields supernatural results.

Luke 5:4-6


4 Now when he [Jesus] had left speaking, he said unto Simon,
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled
all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I
will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude
of fishes: and their net brake.

Peter had worked all night and caught nothing. He had tried the hands on approach, and discovered it has its limitations.

But then he acted on a direct word from Jesus - he did the same action - but this time he got a different result.

Notice, Peter still had to cast the net. Peter couldn't sit around waiting for Jesus to make all the fish jump into the boat. He still had to do something. In this case, he did exactly the same action. But this time he was doing it because Jesus said to do it, and not because it made sense, and this time it worked.
  • he had come to the end of his own effort
  • now he heard directly from Jesus
  • what Jesus asked Peter to do didn't necessarily make sense to Peter
  • but he acted on it anyway, just because Jesus said so
  • and the result: a great catch of fish
Each of us has the privilege of hearing from Jesus and acting on it then reaping the results - whether we are called to go to work, to start a business, or to preach the Gospel.

Many people who claim to be "waiting on God" are not "waiting" for Him at all. God is waiting for them. Because waiting on God is an act. Some of these people are like a boat rusting on the beach above sea level, waiting for the tide to come in.

Waiting on God means that we take time-out to hear His plan, and then ACT ON ANY INSTRUCTIONS HE MAY GIVE US. Waiting is not the opposite of action - it is the opposite of independant action.

Waiting on God is an Act

It certainly was amazing what God had in mind regarding my house.

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who wait for Him (those who love Him)."

All He was waiting for was for me to step out on His word.

Just think: if I had taken the approach of getting a job to earn the necessary funds to do the repairs, I would still be working to this day, and yet I still would not have saved enough money to commence the repairs.

God meets every believer's needs supernaturally - not just mine.

It happens to every believer. God leads all His children supernaturally - not always spectacularly - but supernaturally none-the-less.

We were having a prayer-time at Adam and Michele Walker's parents' house years ago, when Leanne Slinger saw a vision that I am like a crab.

She prophesied, "Just because you walk sideways (instead of forwards like most other creatures), does not mean that you do not get to cross the finish-line!"

The vision made Leanne laugh because the prophecy was somewhat of a vindication of the way I functioned at the time, even though it was different.

God gives to each of us a calling that is as different to each other's as God's creatures are different to each other: some creatures walk forwards, crabs walk sideways, others fly, some swim, kangaroos hop.

But regardless of our diverse and unique functions, there is a modus operandi that I think is common to all of us - and that is, that each of us has the privilege of hearing and acting on direct instructions from our Master.

That's the beautiful key we've all been given. We can all hear from God.

What
we do will be different for all of us, but why we do it can be the same for all of us. We do it because Jesus told us. What we do, we can do because we've heard from the Lord.

That privilege is for all of us - no matter what our calling in life is.

So this reconciles the "hands on" way to meeting your needs with the waiting on God way.

It's not a question of either/or: it's neither the "hands on" way nor the "wait for God to do it" way - it's the "hear from God and act on His Word" way that yields supernatural results.

And hearing from God and acting on it is something all of us can do!

For some, God may lead them to get a job or to start a business.

At one phase of my life, God's will for me was to work full-time in a Customs and Freight-forwarding Agency in Brisbane.

During those days, I didn't need to hear God say to me again every morning, "I want you to go to work today".

I only needed to be led once, at the beginning; and then, after that, I just kept working every day - until six years later when He moved me on.

Then there came a phase in my life when the Word of the Lord came unto me to give notice in my job and do other things, and trust Him. I acted on His instruction - and to this day He still meets all my needs.

Either way - at either phase of my life - I was acting on His Word - and it was still God who provided my needs.

At one time, He met my needs primarily through my salary. Now, He meets my needs primariliy from extraordinary sources. But at both times, my provision began with acting on a word from my Lord.

As brother Hagin said, "Some people look for the spectacular and miss the supernatural".

The way God provided for me whilst working in that job in Brisbane wasn't spectacular but it was supernatural - because God helped me get that job (that's another story); God helped me do it, and through it, God provided my needs.

The way God met my needs after I left my job was perhaps more spectacular, but not any more supernatural.

I was equally dependant on God in my job. The only thing that changed was what He asked me to do.

When God met all my needs in Ipswich recently, I didn't exactly do nothing.

In the first place, it took faith not to go get a job! You understand how people pressure you to get a job in such circumstances. It would have been easy for me - with my Edwards DNA (lol) - to go get three jobs and save the money. But an inner witness stopped me.

To refuse to get a job was every bit as much an act, as getting a job would be an act.

It took moral choice to instead wait on God and eventually make those appointments to start the repairs even though I had no resources.

And I actually had to step out and go to Ipswich. Nothing would have happened if I was still sitting around waiting for the resources to come to me supernaturally before I stepped out. The resources only started flowing after I started making steps.

But when I stepped out, they were steps of faith, not of independance. I wasn't making plans in my own mind or strength, but I was acting on His instructions which I received whilst waiting on Him. I was acting on a word from Jesus - I wasn't acting independantly.

My objective by going to Ipswich was to do what He said as much as to seek a result.

Faith is an act. Faith is acting on the Word. Faith, like love, is not known except by word and deed.

We have the privilege of hearing His Word as much through an inner guidance as through the written Word. Every believer has the inner witness.

In the Scripture below, Peter threw the net twice.

Both times, he had the same desire: to catch fish.

But both times did not yield the same result.

The first time, he was acting independantly. And he caught nothing.

The second time, he was acting on an instruction from Jesus - which is faith. And he caught a great number of fish.

What made the difference was becoming intimately intwined with the words of Jesus.

You and I have the privilege of becoming intimately intwined with the words of Jesus - and act out of that - with thrilling results.

Neither the "hands on" approach nor the waiting on God approach can yield supernatural results on its own. Living a life that acts out of being intertwined with Jesus' specific and unique instructions to us, is what yields supernatural results.

Luke 5:4-6


4 Now when he [Jesus] had left speaking, he said unto Simon,
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled
all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I
will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude
of fishes: and their net brake.

Peter had worked all night and caught nothing. He had tried the hands on approach, and discovered it has its limitations.

But then he acted on a direct word from Jesus - he did the same action - but this time he got a different result.

Notice, Peter still had to cast the net. Peter couldn't sit around waiting for Jesus to make all the fish jump into the boat. He still had to do something. In this case, he did exactly the same action. But this time he was doing it because Jesus said to do it, and not because it made sense, and this time it worked.
  • he had come to the end of his own effort
  • now he heard directly from Jesus
  • what Jesus asked Peter to do didn't necessarily make sense to Peter
  • but he acted on it anyway, just because Jesus said so
  • and the result: a great catch of fish
Each of us has the privilege of hearing from Jesus and acting on it then reaping the results - whether we are called to go to work, to start a business, or to preach the Gospel.

Many people who claim to be "waiting on God" are not "waiting" for Him at all. God is waiting for them. Because waiting on God is an act. Some of these people are like a boat rusting on the beach above sea level, waiting for the tide to come in.

Waiting on God means that we take time-out to hear His plan, and then ACT ON ANY INSTRUCTIONS HE MAY GIVE US. Waiting is not the opposite of action - it is the opposite of independant action.