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Morning

701ecilana:
Amen.

amen

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jiggaz:
cited...

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jiggaz:
evening

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bloodofthelamb:
CHRIST JESUS IS BRINGING HIS GOSPEL BACK THROUGH THIS MEN, PAUL ELLIS AND JOSEPH PRINCE AND SO MANY GRACE[JESUS] PREACHERS.. BLESSED BE MY SAVIOUR JESUS FOREVER.. AMEN

Yeah.... Amen.

Frankenstein:
Oh. You like and share the post with the story 'Ikorodu Guard'.

Thanks.

Alright... Done...

Frankenstein:
I have been reading, very elaborate teaching.

Please click, like and share my story at the literature section.

I need your likes and shares to qualify.

Alright. Just checked it out now, didn't see where to like and share your story.

By Paul Ellis

Two men go to see the doctor. The first is suffering from advanced cancer and needs a life-saving intervention. The second is completely healthy and is going for a routine check-up. The doctor is a perfect physician and prescribes the appropriate medication in each case.

However, the pharmacist bungles the prescriptions and gives each man the other’s medicine. The man with cancer is given multivitamins and told to exercise daily while the healthy man is given an extensive course of chemotherapy. Unsurprisingly, the sick man dies from taking the wrong pills while the healthy man suffers unnecessarily.

In this parable the perfect physician represents Jesus. Jesus understands every single person and always prescribes the perfect medicine.

For the self-righteous sinner that medicine might be a judicious application of the law. The Bible tells us that the law is good if used properly (1 Tim 1:. Its purpose is to break our pride, silence our self-righteousness and reveal our need for a Divine Savior. Ultimately the law is meant to lead us to Jesus (Gal 3:24) that we may receive the gift of his righteousness (Rms 5:17).

But the law is of no use to the saint who has already been set free from the cancer of sin. The observance of regulations, which has an appearance of wisdom, will enslave the free and do nothing to promote godly living (Gal 5:1, Col 2:23). The best medicine for saints is a healthy dose of God’s grace supplemented with the daily exercise of faith in the One who is able to keep us from falling (Jud 1:24).

The parable explained (in case you haven’t already figured it out)

In the parable the confused pharmacist represents the preacher who mistakenly dispenses grace to sinners and law to saints. The result is that both will be made worse off. The sinner will wrongly believe that all is well even as death and hell reach out for him. The saint will wrongly believe that eternity hinges on his ability to deliver a righteous performance for Jesus. Instead of walking in the freedom that Christ brings, he will come under guilt and condemnation as he strives, and fails, to live at Christ’s level. He will be miserable and his hair will fall out from stress.

The Bible can be considered a repository of life-saving medicine. The entire Bible is useful for training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). But confused preachers sometimes prescribe the wrong medicine. With the best of intentions they may do more harm than good.

Let me give you an example from the three chapters of 2nd Peter.

In chapter 1 Peter discusses the forgiveness, grace and power that comes from God.

In chapter 2 Peter warns the church about the false prophets and false teachers who are “among you” (v.1). What do these guys look like? How do we recognize them? Peter says they are those who follow the way of Balaam (v.15), are “slaves of depravity” (v.19), and who know about Jesus but “never stop sinning” (v.14). In short they are sinners who know about the things of God (like Balaam did), who are acquainted with the “way of righteousness,” but they’ve turned their backs on it (v.21) and so remain under condemnation (v.3). Peter clearly distinguishes these “unrighteous” men from the “godly men that God rescues from trials” (v.9).

In chapter 3 Peter turns his attention back to the saints four times referring to them as his “dear friends.” If chapter 2 is full of fury at the ungodly infiltrating positions of leadership within the church, chapter 3 contains fatherly exhortations for the saints.

So where’s the danger?

Problems arise when the medicine-dispensers (preachers, teachers, bloggers) confuse the “dear friends” of chapter 3 with the “slaves of depravity” of chapter 2. Harsh, condemning words meant for wicked men are spoken over those whom Christ calls righteous. Instead of being warned about the dangers of listening to false teachers and prophets, saints are treated as if they were somehow false themselves.

Inevitably the misguided pharmacist concludes with an appeal for greater human effort thus insulting the grace of God and denying the finished work of the cross. Instead of finishing with praise and thanksgiving for Jesus who has qualified them, Christians are likely to leave feeling worse than when they came in.

Like Peter, Jude similarly draws a line between “godless men” and his “dear friends” who are loved and kept by Jesus. It’s important to note that both types of people are found inside the church. Jude says of these godless men who deny Jesus Christ as Lord that they have “slipped in among you” (v.4).

Again, in the hands of a confused preacher, Jude’s warning to the saints can be twisted into a doctrine of human effort. The punch-line might contain Jude’s words but not his meaning: “Contend for the faith, keep yourself in the love of God, lest you end up like them.”

But Jude’s message is “woe to them” (v.11), not “woe to you.” Jude’s medicine of rebuke is specifically for the godless who remain under condemnation, not the saint who is made righteous by Jesus.

The punch-line of Jude’s letter is one of the clearest assurances a Christian can have that they are justified, sanctified and kept by Jesus:

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (v:24-25)


https://escapetoreality.org/2010/02/04/whose-medicine-are-you-taking/

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Morning

Tradition has taught that Job endured unimaginable suffering with poise and noble patience. He was a giant of the faith who never said anything wrong, and he is a great example for us all to follow.

Baloney.

As we have seen in this series, Job was, at times, a self-righteous whiner who complained to high heaven. He blamed God for his troubles and even accused the Lord of being unjust.

Yet somehow this makes me like Job more because I have gone through tough times and when I did I wrestled with the same sorts of thoughts he had.

“God where are you? Lord, do you hate me? Why have you forsaken me? Do you even care?!”

Silly stuff really, but understandable. In our moments of weakness we are all tempted to speak like this.

The Book of Job records the dumb things people say when they go through hardships, ignorant statements like “God gives and takes away.” Sadly, we have paid more attention to the words of hurting men than the healing words of the Lord, and what he says in the Book of Job is, quite simply, amazing.

What did God say?

And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8, KJV)

As we have seen, Job was far from perfect, yet God calls him “a perfect and upright man.” Job was fearful and superstitious, yet God says, “That’s my guy.” A few verses later the Bible – God’s book – makes one of the most outrageous statements in history:

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:22)

Are you kidding me?!

Job charged God with wrongdoing again and again. He said God was unjust (Job 27:2), had shot him full of poison arrows (Job 6:4), and made his life bitter (Job 27:2). He said so much dumb stuff that Elihu called him a nonsense-spouting ignoramus (see Job 34:35 and 35:16, especially in the Message Bible). Yet the official verdict, according to the Judge of all men and as recorded in scripture for all to see, is that Job said nothing wrong. According to the Bible Job didn’t blame God, even though he did.

What’s going on? Is God mistaken in his assessment of Job? Is the Bible in error?

Grace rewrites history

God sees all things from the perspective of eternity. He sees the end from the beginning and he knows that Job is going to come through his trial and be radically changed by grace. Job is not righteous and perfect because his behavior is impeccable or because he speaks well or sacrifices animals. Job is righteous because God says so and what God says comes true.

Think of Gideon cowering in the wine-press. “Mighty warrior,” says the angel of the Lord and even though it’s not true it becomes true because God says so.

Why does God’s Word say Job did not sin even though he sinned again and again? Because love speaks to our true identity rather than our circumstances. Clothed with the righteousness that God gives, Job is not judged a sinner but a righteous man, even though his deeds were far from righteous.

(If you find this hard to swallow, the Bible does the same thing in Hebrews 11 when it looks back on a bunch of murderers and adulterers and calls them heroes of the faith and makes no mention of their sins. Love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Cor 13:5))

Job did not sin… (Job 1:22)

This verse says little about the flawed character of Job and much about the gracious character of God whose story this really is.

God does not treat Job as his sins deserve but relates to him on the basis of grace. This is good news for those of us who have sinned, like Job, and missed the mark. Your story may be one big disaster movie – one epic fail after another – but grace will change your story and give you a better ending than the one you deserve.

Religion versus grace

Not once through all this did Job sin; not once did he blame God. (Job 1:22, MSG)

There are two ways to read this passage. DIY religion says, “See Job. Study Job. Be like Job.” But that way lies self-trust and disaster. Job wasn’t the self-made hero religion makes him out to be and neither are you. You’re simply not strong enough to face life’s trials on your own.

But read this passage through the lens of grace and the message is, “See the love of God! Look what God does for sinners like Job!”

It’s important you get this because if you put Job on a pedestal you’ll miss the grace of God. Sadly, that is what has happened in much of the church. By turning Job’s story into a flesh-glorifying pep talk, we have cut ourselves off from Christ and positioned ourselves for failure.

To the degree we exalt Job we diminish grace.

If Job was a perfect man, he had no need of God’s aid. But Job was an imperfect man with a very great need and when he finally saw this – after 40 long chapters of introspective pity-partying – he was greatly blessed. What the devil stole, God restored twofold. Don’t you love this? The devil knocked Job down, but God lifted him up. The devil sifted Peter, but God made him into an apostle.

The devil may take your job, your health, your life, but God has the last word and ALL THINGS work out good for those who know his love. How do I know? Because God said so.

The Book of Job isn’t about a good man going through bad times, but a good God who loves us through thick and thin and who desires to bless us no matter what we’ve said or done.

That’s the real message of Job and that’s the good news of grace.


https://escapetoreality.org/2015/11/04/jobs-grace-encounter/

Grounded

Morning

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jiggaz:
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GodsMopol:
I love those two verses you used. I have not really been reading much of Paul Ellis's material but I was touched seeing him combine Psalms 115:16 and 1 John5:19. I was sharing the same with Akintom lifeispeace and veegeecee some while ago

Jesus said, am the way, the truth and the LIFE, the same Jesus is the prince of PEACE, so JesusisPeace and LifeisPeace

Thank you.

The problem with manmade religion is that it views the Bible in a distorted way that glorifies self and diminishes grace. This can be seen in the way religion portrays Job as a good guy and God as a bad guy who sends the devil to do his dirty work.

Contrary to popular opinion, Job was not a giant of faith but a superstitious and fearful whiner, and God certainly did not send Satan to make Job’s life miserable. (Before you write to tell me I don’t know the Bible, please click on those links and read the relevant posts.)

Why are so many confused about Job? Because they’ve only read the first chapter. They’ve read the bit where it says:

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. (Job 1:1, KJV)

And the other bit where it says…

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:22)

If you only read chapter 1, you will conclude that Job was perfect, blameless, and an all-round saint. But keep reading and you will find that he was anything but perfect. But that’s okay because none of us is perfect and all of us need grace.

I’m not here to knock Job down – the devil already did that – but to lift God up. I want you to see that God is far greater than the devil and far better than religion makes him out to be.

So that you might appreciate the grace God gives to imperfect people, I want to look at three ways Job missed the mark. Job messed up. He got three things wrong about God and, if we are unacquainted with the gospel of Jesus, we will repeat his mistakes.

And because people sometimes write in and say “You’re adding to scripture” when I say things like “Job messed up,” we’re going to see how God responded to Job through his servant Elihu.

1. Job blamed God for his suffering

Job did not hesitate to attribute his suffering to a Lord who gives and takes away (Job 1:21), who gives both good and trouble (Job 2:10), and who had made his life bitter (Job 27:2). In Job’s understanding the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune come from the Lord’s bow:

Why do you shoot your arrows at me? (Job 7:20, NIrV)
The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison (Job 6:4)

When hard times come there is a temptation to point the finger at the Lord, but was Job correct in blaming God for his hardships? No. Near the end of the book he is confronted by a young man called Elihu. Elihu is the voice of wisdom and sanity and he says:

Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong. (Job 34:10)

If you think God gives and takes away, stop listening to Job and listen to Elihu. God won’t kill your kids or steal your wealth or make you sick. God gives good gifts, not bad gifts like cancer, and his gifts are without revocation. God doesn’t give us sickness to teach us character and he doesn’t take away things we are enjoying.

2. Job thought God was hostile towards him

Like many people who are going through hard times, Job thought God was out to get him:

Why do you avoid me? Why do you treat me like an enemy? … You bind chains on my feet; (Job 13:24,27)

Have you ever been in so much hurt that you thought God was trying to kill you? Then you’re in good company, because that’s what Job thought (see Job 30:21-23). But Job was wrong. Elihu, who had a much better understanding of God’s good character, spoke up to correct his misperception:

You have said in my hearing–I heard the very words… “God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.” But I tell you, in this you are not right, (Job 33:8, 10-12)

Religion says, “God is mad at you, God hates you, God is sick of you.” But the gospel of Elihu declares that God loves you and is for you:

He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food (Job 36:16)

God doesn’t give us pain and trouble but he delivers us in our suffering and speaks to us in our affliction (Job 36:15). He does this because he’s our Father who loves us and cares for us.

3. Job accused God of being unjust

As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter (Job 27:2)

Read the Book of Job in one sitting and you’ll see Job’s descent into madness. At the beginning it’s all roses and religious soundbites, but by chapter 27 the mask has well and truly come off and Job is fed up.

God-Alive! He’s denied me justice! God Almighty! He’s ruined my life! (Job 27:2, MSG)

This is a serious accusation yet it is one we may be tempted to make. “God allowed this to happen. This is all his fault. IT’S NOT FAIR!”

What does Elihu say in response to this accusation?

Is there anyone like Job, who drinks scorn like water?… It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice. (Job 34:7,12)

God did not ruin Job’s life and he won’t ruin yours. Life is unjust. Life will beat you up. But God is never unjust.

If you are going through tough times, don’t follow Job down into the dunghill of self-pity and finger-pointing. Listen to Elihu:

Oh, [insert your name here], don’t you see how God’s wooing you from the jaws of danger? How he’s drawing you into wide-open places– inviting you to feast at a table laden with blessings? (Job 36:16, MSG)

Be like David who saw, in the presence of his enemies, a banquet table prepared by the Lord (Ps 23:5). Your heavenly Father is for you, not against you!

I hope you can see that Job was not the sweet-smelling saint that religion makes him out to be. Although we have this perception that Job said nothing wrong, Elihu said, “Job, you talk sheer nonsense–nonstop nonsense!” (Job 35:16, MSG).

And this brings me to the best and final part of our series. Even though Job got it wrong in so many ways, God was for him and God brought him through to a spacious place. How did that happen? We’ll find out in the next post.

https://escapetoreality.org/2015/10/30/gospel-of-elihu/

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