Journey 4: Grace

Through the searching of healing teachings, I was lead to hear this guy by the name of Andrew Wommack. I think it was on you tube. I was hearing him on the topic of "God wants you well". He had a strange voice, mid Texan maybe, sound a little like Zig Ziglar when I first heard him! The message was very encouraging. Reinforcing the notion that, sickness does not come from God, it is not there to make you learn anything, it is sent to steal from you, destroy your family and to kill you. John 10:10. Then I found his site, and to my amazement, he has an abundant of teaching, for FREE! it has really interesting topics, so I started downloading his podcast, and started listening to them again, all free, and available if you just search for Andrew Wommack. There are a few that are there, some are his radio stuff, which is shorter, but if you are after a full teaching, search for the pod cast that is named "audio teachings", I couldn't encourage you enough, his stuff is all good news.

So whats so cool about this guy? well the perspective that he has on topics is really new to me, but more so than that, it again makes a lot of sense. its crazily simple, and as the content was really thought intriguing. Slowly I have started to find out that there are different flavor of Christianity as we know it. Obviously God didn't mean it to be in various flavors. But the spread of Christendom is so wide that on one end, you have people who are believing in things which the other end is not believing in at all. I had no idea this was so, and thought all brothers and sisters, were in fact connected by one common belief. but in fact we are not. I didn't understand this, and only on hindsight, did I figure out that some preachers talk about this, and I didn't understand what they were talking about. Nicky Gumble from Alpha course talked about a hypothetical story about two christians discussing what they believe, and until they get to one very minute difference in point, they started to fight. And then Curry Blake was talking about, I can't comment on why people do what they do, because he don't know what they believe. this was such an eye opener. I had no idea Christianity was at such a gap. I thought okay you have the baptist, the methodist, evangelicals, the pentacostals/charismatics. but basically they believe in the same stuff! but NO this is not where the dividing line is. But an understanding of what the Gospel really entails.

So where am I trying to get at? well lets approach it this way, I will explain what I used to believe, and then now what I believe, and why I believe in it.

I have been a "Christian" for more than 20 years. and I thought I knew what Christianity is all about, but now looking at it, I had no idea what believing Jesus is about. This was my believe; that as a Christian, when we believe in Jesus, we get to go to heaven when we die. we spend eternity with God. all sounds good so far. So when you believe, all the sins you have committed up to that point, are all forgiven! Horray! Now you start this road of santification, where you leave your sinful ways, and start stepping towards the holiness that God has called you to be. if this is you read on! if not, share what you believe is Christianity.

God was a distant character, big, vague, and loves me, with a love I don't really understand. But more so than this, He is Holy. holy like, if us sinful creature touches him, we are zapped. like Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6:7, you can do it with best of intentions, but God is holy and humans just can't touch this. The relationship with God was, God is big, his ways are mysterious, because his ways are higher than my way, what he said is good, must be good. and I don't understand it, because he is God and I am human. There is a longing to please him, first because he has some goodies for me, if I am good, but also he is a God who zaps, if I fall out of line, not only I lose my goodies, but man there is PUNISHMENT to teach me a lesson, so that I can be "good", for the general good in an utilitarian term, but more so good for my ownself. My relationship with God was, based on the basis that I am to strive and do good, this pleases God, after all he provided the ultimate sacrifice, if he did this much, shouldn't it be right for me to do my best in turn to honor him, please him? He is holy, therefore I must be holy. So here I am trying to do my best to please God, but God damn it, I really fall short, I promise to read the bible, the devil steps in, and instead of reading the bible, I started playing my Playstation. At that stage, I repented, felt sorry for myself, God forgave me, and I am on the okay page with God again. Then I did the same thing the next week, and God was patient with me, and I was forgiven and then the week after that I did the same. I promised God I will read the bible in a year and in December I am hardly over Samuel. Falling short for the 50th time in the year, I started thinking God, you better not forgive me, I deserve to have this sin on me for a while, so I can reflect, contemplate, be serious about my promises to God. and after a while, I would ask God for forgiveness, but at that time, feeling shameful in front of God.
Then on some good days, I would be doing really well, reading 10 chapters a day, completing these amazing fasts that goes for days, and feeling I am getting pretty high on the holy scale, and I would be praying to God, asking God for things, bargaining with God, saying I have sacrificed so much, I have performed so well, in the past week, I must be getting holier, and hence God, I ask, and I shall receive! trying to bend God's arm to do what I think God wants us to pray for. This was my perspective of God, and my understanding of his relationship with me. Its about us wanting what we think God wants. After all, arn't we suppose to seek his "kingdom" first, and his "righteousness", then ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED UNTO MMMMEEEE!!! But wait there is more, apart from this performance based idea of pleasing God, in Mathew 7, there are those who did all these wonderful things, casting out demons, doing miracles, prophesying, but at the end of the day, they get to Heaven, and Jesus said, I never knew you. and castes you out to where there is gashing of teeth. Holy! that better not be me! So I must obey God, and all his commandments, better not judge others, then thinking in my mind, but that prick of a brother over there, he gets me to do all the work, then he shows up to take all the glory. and that sister over there, always comes late to lead bible study, doesn't she know that there are unbelievers here trying to learn about God, where is her heart? This guy, why does he always sleep in services? that is so disrespectful to the pastor, but more over disrespectful to God. and him, sold me this dud of an insurance plan, got me stuck at these non-performing crap, and say I am your brother I will take care of you. Wait Wait, all these thoughts, so wrong, God is not pleased when I am having these thoughts, must repent. So this is a glimpse of the relationship I had with God. Trying to improve myself with the help of Jesus. not being very successful. But all in all, God looks to the heart, he knows I try, but I am only human.  So here I am going to people trying to "Convert" them to Christianity, with this really bad news, which I called the gospel. and I was so blind that I don't even see why non-christians are not interested. If you do not understand what I am talking about, its a dud insurance plan that claims to payout at the end of your life, but there is no evidence that it has the power to follow though, and what it is selling has as high a chance of achieving this goal as flipping a coin.

Ok, so this was my past. Thank God, I now live different, and really would like to let others know of the amazing life that I now live. Ready to hear the good news?

This is the start of my understanding.
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Hebrew 10:14,

if you are reading this, and it doesn't impact you. Read it Slooowwwly...
Here is the break down.

By one single offering:
Which offering is this?
Answer: Jesus

He has perfected:
Who is He who has perfected?
Answer Jesus

Perfected:
What means perfected:
Answer: Perfected, like the father's perfect.

For all time
What is ALL time mean?
Answer: All the time that is called time.

Those who are being sanctified.
Who are those being sanctified?
Answer: Believers!

What is sanctified?
Answer: Being set apart.

Okay still don't see it? If you see this as nothing out of the ordinary. You have missed the magic.
We are PERFECT!  Like the Fathers' perfect! in Matt 5:48.

How did we do that?
Jesus is the atoning sacrifice, He himself paid for my Sin. this is why I am perfect!

you may say, so what? I know this! Check out the scope of coverage.

Check out the tense, the time frame: We have been Perfected. Its a done deal. It was done at the time the sacrifice was made 2000 years ago. and the scope of coverage is for eternity. For All Time!

to give you a scope of this, it is forever till the heavens and earth will fade away, I am perfect.

Its all done! its Finished!

This is the goods news of Jesus Christ! This is the Gospel!

We are not trying to get to perfection, we are perfected needing a revelation of who we are, and then walking that perfection out. 

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