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The Present
Truth Magazine (Email)
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FROM THE EDITOR’S HEART
Before the holidays, I saw news stories on how to have conversations, dress, fold sheets and napkins, etc. I’m sure glad these “experts” showed me how to…uh…chat...er…you know, talk, dress, and decorate around my in-laws and out-laws. Of course, I also heard many journalists advising on other more serious issues, yet I found little hope in their words. So many scientists, news reporters, politicians, medical doctors, lawyers, and religious leaders claim they have solutions. Yet only one Team has all the answers, the truth: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They have given us the Manual—the Bible—and Holy Spirit fills the role of expert consultant. He works through individuals, but they must be totally yielded to Him to “rightly divide the word of truth.” Apostle Paul’s word to Pastor Timothy: Remind them (the church) not to strive about words to no profit…Be diligent to present yourself approved to God…rightly dividing the word of truth…shun idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness (2 Tim. 2:14-16). Recently the Holy Spirit had me “dissect” and memorize Ephesians 1:15-19. This text reveals how much God wants to give His covenant people all the wisdom, revelation, hope, riches, and power they could ever need or want. No matter where we live or what our occupation, those of us in Christ must not see ourselves as “red” or “blue.” We are clothed in purple royal robes—kings and priests to our God, a holy nation rightly dividing the word of truth. I’m no expert, but here’s what the Holy Spirit has put in my spirit for 2007: …Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper (2 Chr. 20:20).
Sincerely in Christ,
THE LAST DISCIPLE is a well-written novel that
is a good alternative to the left-behind series. It is written from
what we consider a partial-preterist viewpoint; i.e. that the
great-tribulation and most of the book of revelation was written about and
fulfilled in the first century. Reading it is an excellent way to both
enjoy a novel and gain a scriptural understanding of how Jesus' and His
apostles prophecies were fulfilled in the first century.
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We are glad to have you as a subscriber to our Present Truth Magazine. Below you will find articles from individual authors who have written for our magazine. Our prayer for all who receive read these articles is that the Lord "...may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).
UNFORGIVING SYSTEMS Saul of Tarsus was a very religious man in Judaism who lived during the times of the earthly life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Saul’s parents brought him up in Judaism, and he was well trained in understanding the law of Moses. His conscience was formed from the womb by his parents’ instruction and the environment of the Greco-Roman world. He even had graduate training in Jerusalem by the highly respected rabbi named Gammaliel. By the time he was about age 30, Saul was a highly touted religious leader in the Pharisee sect of Judaism. The Pharisees were one of the most influential groups of moral leaders in Judaism when Jesus Christ was anointed by the Holy Spirit for His public ministry. Because the Pharisees were strict adherents to the law of Moses, they became known as a separatists group. They fasted twice a week, paid tithes to the very detail of the alms giving, gave beyond their tithing, delivered long prayers in public gatherings, and loved the best seats in the synagogues as well as temple meetings. Under Roman rule, the Pharisees held great political power in civil affairs as well as religious affairs. Jesus continuously had intense controversial encounters with them. He spoke very clearly, charging them with sin and hypocrisy as they sat in their place of authority judging grievances in their justice system. About three or four years after Jesus Christ was led willingly to a cross to die for the sins of God’s covenant people, God sovereignly chose to stop Pharisee Saul, the religious zealot, from his persecution of Jesus and His followers. Saul sincerely believed he was doing Jehovah a favor by endeavoring to stamp out Jesus’ followers—for he saw them as heretics upon Judaism and their system of justice. After all, Saul had the backing of the high priest, a civil and religious authority. God’s system of justice was going to change dramatically for His covenant people after He changed Saul’s heart. Saul had his conversion experience on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus, and three days later the Lord sent a disciple named Ananias to lay hands on Saul and pray for him. The Lord removed Saul’s blindness and filled him with His Holy Spirit (Acts 9:9-18). Saul was later referred to as “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” Through Paul’s conversion experience, his spirit was reborn, his conscience made alive, and, through a process of time, his mind and conscience would be completely renewed. This transformation would give him an understanding of the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:1, 2). By divine inspiration, Paul and the other apostles would later teach through their letters that God’s new covenant people were to live covenantally in local churches. This was God’s new justice system. Immediately after Paul was enlightened, his head knowledge of the law and prophets began to change to heart knowledge as he preached Christ in the synagogues. The Jews plotted to kill him. Little did they know this premier disciple of Jesus Christ would become a “wrecking ball” to the Jewish system of law and justice. Paul’s understanding of his Lord’s teaching “You cannot pour new wine into old wineskins” would become foundational in the new covenant of Christ. The old structure, system, could not contain the new covenant life. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin so that the new creation people of God could live covenantally as Jesus of Nazareth did—as true sons and daughters of Father God (2 Cor. 5:21). Sin was put away. By the death, burial, and resurrection of the substitutionary Lamb of God, God’s system of justice would be established on planet earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men (Ps. 115:16). Like the Pharisaic mindset of Paul’s day, we have unforgiving, legalistic systems of justice in the American church and civil government. Our political campaigns and church scandals continue to remind us of the unforgiving legal systems of justice. When there is godly sorrow and true repentance, we should not continually bring up the past. Extra biblical policy written as creeds historically has developed into legalistic unforgiving systems of justice. The civil government with uninspired constitutional law also develops into an unforgiving system of justice. How then shall we live in a society where that society sets the standard for what is morally right and wrong? The answer is the principle recorded when the Lord’s disciples Peter and John were forbidden by the rulers of the elders of Israel to preach or teach in Jesus’ name. They said, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard (Acts 4:19-20). All who are in Christ belong to a spiritual nation within all the nations on planet earth (1 Pet. 2:9). It’s time for the silent majority in America to stand up and speak up concerning the morality of our local communities. Spoken through lips of love, God’s Word from the mouths of His covenant people will prevail in our warfare of words (Acts 19:20). Words of spirit and life are essential to bring hope to our children and grandchildren. The converted legalistic Pharisee known as Apostle Paul left us God’s inspired, living words of hope. And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:4-6). This challenge is to all
believers in Christ in their local churches. We must have
As believers in Christ, do we want our world to become better? If so, we must learn to live covenantally with responsible, accountable relationships in our local churches. A. Wilson Phillips is the co-founding and senior pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.
I KNOW WHAT I KNOW I only know what I know (by revelation). Conversely, I don’t know what I don’t know. God’s Apostle Paul prayed: …that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1:17). Our world today is overwhelmed with information. So-called experts abound. We are told that “knowledge is power.” Our problem is that very few of these “knowledge-filled experts” agree on any given topic. Do they really know what they claim to know? I have come to the conclusion that there is no true knowledge apart from revelation from the all-knowing God. Adam’s sin against God infected all humanity with the notion that we can attain to knowledge apart from the Lord. Even “common sense” (that which can be learned through the natural sensory processes—seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling) is granted by God Himself. The “Albert Einsteins” of history could have known nothing apart from the graces of God at work. Paul addressed this issue in writing to the Corinthian church in the first century. Quoting Isaiah, he says, For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached (the cross of Christ) to save those who believe (1 Cor. 1:19-21). Through the “world’s wisdom,” we cannot know God.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the
world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of
the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things
which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh
should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who
became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and
redemption—that, as it is written, “He
who glories, let him glory in the Lord”
(1 Cor. 1:27-31). In reality, Jesus is our wisdom! And the only pathway to receive Jesus and His wisdom is His cross. Through the cross of Christ, all society is leveled. Thereby the marvelous wisdom of God disallows any to glory except in the Lord. We do not argue against the pursuit of education, we just need to keep straight what comprises education and the only source from which it comes. Richard K. Clark is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.
Laws and Lawlessness As Americans, we live in a culture of continually increasing laws. These ever-increasing laws permeate our government, business relationships, and educational establishment. I was personally reminded of this culture recently when I had to rent a car. As with most people who rent a car, I was anxious to get on my way. However, before that could happen, I had to initial five different places and sign three times. Mingled between all these initials and signatures was a profuse amount of tiny letters explaining all the restrictions and things that could go wrong, and that I am totally responsible. After declining the extra insurance package (which effectively doubles the daily rate), I sheepishly drove away realizing there was enough legal lettering in that contract to exhaust my credit card for a long time to come if anything goes wrong. Scripture states that “the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate” (1 Tim 1:9). The apostle John echoed this principle when he said, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4). In the context of Scripture, the apostles were speaking of the religious Law of Moses, which was also the civil Jewish law of their land. People who study history discover that America’s founding fathers used this religious law in crafting the foundation of our current laws today. The founding fathers understood that no amount of civil law could, by itself, restrain harmful human passions. As John Adams wrote: We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. As I was reading Scripture to my son for our daily devotions the other day, I was reminded of a time when the people of Israel chose to abandon their inward relationship with the Lord for increased civil law. They said to the prophet Samuel: “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5) This request disturbed Samuel and the Lord. But the thing displeased Samuel… so Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them… Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
So Samuel…said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will…set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment…He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields …and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage…And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants” (1 Sam. 8:6-18). Even with this warning, the people insisted Samuel give them a king. The result was King Saul who did take their best from them and further led them away from the Lord. Many young people grow up in America today thinking, “Nobody has the right to tell me what to do.” Our culture of continually increasing rights without responsibility fosters this type of thinking. In order for society to deal with the lack of inward restraint that this causes, we continually pass more laws.
Benjamin Davis is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.
NO ALARM You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day (Ps. 91:5). I awoke later than usual. It was Saturday morning, and we had been out late the night before taking part in the New Creation House ministry. We didn’t have any early morning commitments, so I allowed myself to sleep a little later than I normally would. As I arose and began my usual morning trek down the hallway, I noticed that the door that went into the garage was unlocked. This was unusual, so I opened the door and looked into the garage. The garage door was wide open! An immediate rush of fear came over me. I instantly remembered that our neighbor’s house had recently been broken into. Almost as quickly, I recognized that both cars were still in the garage, and the garage did not appear to have been disturbed. As I began to look through the house for any signs of disturbance, the following words dropped into my spirit—“no alarm.” I realized that the Lord was assuring me that everything was okay by the words from the hymn “Living by Faith.” Living by faith in Jesus above, Trusting abiding in His great love, From all harm safe in His sheltering arms, I’m living by faith and I feel no alarm. On this night, our house had not been broken into, but rather we had failed to get the garage door closed and the inside door locked (our usual routines). The angel of the Lord had encamped all around us (Ps. 34:7), just as is my usual prayer on most nights as I go to bed.
The watchman stays awake in vain (Ps. 127:1). Since that night, we continue to close the garage and lock the doors. And I continue to be thankful for the Watchman who guards our house at all times, the same Watchman who continues to resound in my spirit all night and all day, in every circumstance… “No alarm!” Jonathan Clark is an elder of Abundant Life Covenant Church and a physician in Springfield, Missouri.
The Great Exchange of the
Cross This year on my birthday, I have lived with my Lord Jesus as long as I was in the world. It’s a great life I have now. I was reminded again of the transformation God has accomplished in my life when a high school student made some comments to me. This young person felt God did not appreciate my dedication to Him. This youth feels that God has punished my obedience, devotion, and commitment with suffering, instead of rewarding me. The teenager went on to say I would be better off if I lived in the world. This sounded like Job’s wife who said: “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9). Apostle John wrote: And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:5). Let me share with you the great wealth God has brought into my life through suffering. Peace: I now have peace with God and people and peace internally—in my mind, will, and emotions. Before Christ, my life was filled with “drama.” It is through much training I now live with peace. Stability: I have lived
in the same place, gone to the same church, and been married to the same
person for 20 years. For some people this is not a big deal, but for me
this is victory in Christ. My pattern outside of Christ was moving from
place to place and relationship to relationship. God has caused me to
“build houses and dwell in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit” (Jer.
29:5). Integrity: I have been becoming the same person through and through, day in and day out. Security: Covenant living brings security in relationships with God and with people. I have a knowing that God has provided, is providing, and will provide. He is faithful and will never change. This beats doubt, fear, and insecurity any day of the week. Humility: In my previous life and early in Christ, I was very proud. I thought I knew everything. There is nothing like a little difficulty to bring one to his/her knees. Many times over the years I have had to say, “I cannot do this without You, Father. Please, help me.” While circumstances of life were swirling all around me, the center of my universe had to be Jesus. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. This is where “my” stability, peace, security, humility, real relationships, and integrity were developed. This is true wealth. I get to keep these things no matter what is in my wallet! I can now say with Apostle Paul: Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8; see verses 8-14). And I can say with Job: I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You… I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You (Job 42:2,5). I pray that this youth will learn these truths by revelation and value them as great treasures. I also pray that God will one day speak to this young person the words He recently said to me: But when He knows the way that I take, When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food (Job 23:10-12). Liz Frater is the office manager at MTS Contracting, Incorporated, in Springfield, Missouri. She and her husband James are leaders in the Kingdom Kids ministry at Abundant Life Covenant Church.
JIGSAW PUZZLE
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accountability
in local church relationships or truth will get lost. For this cause we
were born, and everyone who is of the truth will discern the truth that is
spoken through lips of love. The ball is in our court. The best is yet to
come in our world. 
…
Unless the L