Many Sons!

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”

Hebrews 2:10, ESV

“God is the One who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory, so he made the One who leads people to salvation perfect through suffering.”

Hebrews 2:10, NCV

There is a definite complexity is embedded in this verse. It’s a regular “theological minefield.” But that shouldn’t stop us, but we should work our way through it with cautiousness and awareness. But there is the compelling question.

How did Christ learn obedience through suffering when he was already perfect?

Christ was human and “tempted in all points as we are and yet perfect and without sin,” and thus Christ was sinless.  The humanity of Jesus can be seen throughout the gospels. He hungered, and he got thirsty. We see him very tired, and sleeping in the back of a boat in a storm, which reveals his humanity. “He committed no sin, neither was their deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).

Only humans need to learn obedience. And all of us have faltered. Yet he didn’t. He had to learn, but He didn’t fail. As a man, He met every issue and every obstacle with a solid and a profound obedience. He learned how to obey, but without any failure, or fault.

In every person’s life, we are challenged to obey. There are so many twists and turns, and each of us has stumbled. It can be quite painful. We are also learning “obedience through our suffering.” It seems trials and suffering are the tutors teaching us about out Father, and His kingdom.

A Christian believer in Iraq.

This thought, “bringing many sons to glory” is of significant consideration. It reveals the intent and purpose of Jesus coming and doing all of this. He wanted to open the doors for all those who come to salvation. In a direct way, His intention was to become our escort, or safeguard to make a way for us into the Presence.

The words, “many sons,” shows the breadth and width of His work. It is considerable. The idea of “sons” is just as astonishing. We are not slaves, forced to labor in the quarries or mines. We are sons and daughters, His children. Eternity is too short of time, I suppose, for us to hold and occupy this kind of glory.

“They strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”

Acts 14:22, NLT

“If we accept suffering, we will also rule with him. If we say we don’t know him, he will say he doesn’t know us.”

2 Timothy 2:12, NCV

Our Great Physician

I wrote this poem the other day for Thankful Thursday on my own blog. Knowing that many who visit Broken Believers struggle with illness and pain, I thought this would be good to share here as well.

There are plenty of cracked clay pots around this place, and God is in the business of using and healing cracked pots.

Our Great Physician

Illness comes to everyone –
pain, fever, fatigue, and tears
Chronic or acute, it’s such a trial –
these clay pots we inhabit
are so incredibly fragile
even in the hands of the Potter

But our Great Physician
provides strength, comfort –
Sometimes He brings doctors,
nurses, and medication –
Wisdom and talents used
to do His will, to heal, to mend

Sometimes all it takes
is to touch the hem of His robe –
Like the woman who bled
for twelve long years, outcast
one moment, then healed
completely and wholly

The greatest good –
spiritual health and salvation
for the least of us, for all –
each clay pot used to help others
as grace leaks out of cracks –
Cracks that never seem to heal

Sometimes what the Physician
has in store is our ultimate healing –
A new body, new life eternal
in a place of no more pain,
no tears, energy galore –
as death brings everyone home

 

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NIV).

The Blood: A Crash Course

I believe there are three things contained in the Blood of Jesusforgiveness, deliverance and protection. Many Christians only know about the first one – forgiveness. They have no idea that there are two other things available to them that will enable them to live a victorious and overcoming life in the Lord while still living down here on this earth. I will briefly discuss each of these three things.

1. Forgiveness

As Christians, we all know there is definitely forgiveness in the Blood of Jesus. This is the basic central message of true Christianity – that God the Father sent His one and only begotten Son Jesus Christ down to our earth in the flesh to physically die on a cross in order to save us and give us total and permanent forgiveness for all of our sins.

Without Jesus dying and shedding His blood on the cross, there would be no forgiveness and no remission of any of our sins. Here are some extremely powerful verses from Scripture specifically telling us this:

  • “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)
  • “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)
  • “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
  • “For the life of the flesh is in the blood … for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11)

Notice the emphasis on the word “blood” in these verses. There is no question that in these verses, and others in the Bible, that the blood that Jesus personally shed for us on the cross, which caused His physical death, is what leads us to being able to receive eternal salvation, the forgiveness of all of our sins, and entrance into heaven when we die and cross over.

2. Deliverance

Now what are the Scriptural grounds that will give us the legal right to be able to use Jesus’ Blood when taking on any attacks that may come our way? As you will see in some of the stories in the Testimonies section of our site, you can Plead the Blood of Jesus against specific types of attacks such as attacks from demons or other evil people, any kind of physical illness or disease, or any kind of addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Many Christians are not aware of this second component that is in the Blood of Jesus which will entitle us to be able to use His Blood to go on the offensive against any adversity that may come our way.

Something else happened that day when Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins. The Bible tells us that Jesus also defeated Satan and all of the powers of darkness that day! Here are several good verses from Scripture proving this point to you:

  • “… that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14)
  • “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13)
  • “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15)
  • “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)
  • “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Revelation 12:11)

What defeated Satan and all his dark powers? The physical death of Jesus on the cross. And what did Jesus do when He died that day on the cross for all of us? He shed His Blood!

This is why Pleading the Blood of Jesus works so well in real life combat situations when it really is needed to defeat attacks that are coming against us from the dark side.

Many Christians are not fully aware of this second fact about the Blood of Jesus – that the Blood of Jesus can also be used to engage with our enemies when they do try to launch any kind of an attack against us. I believe that all of the above Scripture verses definitely tell us that the blood that Jesus shed that day on the cross has totally defeated Satan and all of his dark powers.

The only thing remaining is for all Christians to fully realize this incredible fact, and to grab a hold of this powerful truth and not to be afraid to use when they need it – especially when demons or other bad and evil people are attempting to come against them with any type of unjust action or attack.

Here are four more powerful verses from Scripture showing that all Christians now have God’s supernatural power and anointing available to them to use when they will need it to engage with the dark side of this life:

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

Notice in this verse we have God’s power over all the power of our enemies, not just against some or part of their powers. This means we have the ability to come out completely victorious in some of life’s battles and struggles, but only if we learn how to properly use what is now available to us.

“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1)

Notice in this verse that Jesus gives the twelve apostles power over all demons, not just some of them. If we have God’s power available to us to defeat all demons, then I believe that we also have God’s power to defeat any and all humans that may try to come against us with any type of unjust action or attack.

“… but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32)

“Knowing their God” means that we have spent quality time in establishing a good, intimate, personal relationship with the Lord. If we do this, then this verse is telling us that God will strengthen and empower us when we need His power to be able to carry out great exploits and great adventures for Him.

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

This verse is telling us that God is actually looking for people that He can anoint with His power and show Himself strong through, but the implication appears to be that He really cannot find many people who are willing to pay the price to be able to really walk with His anointing.

As you can see from the way all of the above Scripture verses are worded – true Christianity is not a weak, wimpy, or passive religion. As born-again believers, we all have the Holy Spirit literally living and dwelling on the inside of us.

As a result, all of our bodies have now become the temple in which He now lives in. His supernatural power is now fully available to all of us in order to help us handle some of the storm clouds that can come against us in this life.

Learning how to properly Plead the Blood of Jesus for any deliverance and protection that you may need is just one part of our arsenal. I will be doing other articles in the future covering some of the other aspects on this part of our walk with the Lord.

3. Protection

As you will see in the next section, you can also Plead the Blood of Jesus on specific things that you want protected before any kind of adversity could strike them – like your body, your house, your car, your finances, etc. The goal is to Plead the Blood of Jesus on those things in order to protect you before any kind of adversity could ever come your way.

If the above verses are showing us that we can Plead the Blood of Jesus against any attacks that may have already come our way when we need God’s deliverance and/or healing power to set us free, then I also believe it only stands to reason that we can also go one step further with the Blood of Jesus – and that is to use it for protection before any actual attacks could come our way.

In this case, you simply Plead the Blood of Jesus on whatever you want God’s full protection on before any attacks could possibly come your way.

I believe there is something else in the Bible that gives us another clue that entitles us to be able to Plead the Blood for this specific purpose. In the Old Testament, God the Father had it arranged with His chosen people, the Jews, that in order for them to be able to enter into a covenant relationship with Him, they had to have some kind of temporary covering for their sins. Jesus had not come yet, so there was no full remission for any of the sins that had occurred back at that time

What God the Father had set up was the sacrifice of blemish free animals such as bulls, goats and lambs. Their blood had to be shed once per year on what was called the Day of Atonement. The shedding of these animals’ blood was what gave the Jewish people a temporary covering for their sins so as to enable them to enter into a covenant personal relationship with God the Father.

This is why Jesus is called the “Lamb of God.” He is an extension of the lambs used by His Father in the Old Testament to give the Jewish people a temporary covering for their sins. Once Jesus had come to shed His own blood on the cross, there was no more need for any more animal sacrifices. His death on the cross had completed and fulfilled what His Father had started in the Old Testament with the sacrifice of these animals.

Now watch this analogy. In the shedding of the lamb’s blood on the Day of Atonement, there was a temporary covering for the sins of the Jewish people. Then Jesus comes in the New Testament, and the shedding of His blood now gives all believers complete and total forgiveness for all of their sins.

Now here is where I feel that something else occurred back in the Old Testament that may entitle us to be able to use the Blood of Jesus for divine protection. In the story of the Passover, God had sent His servant Moses to rescue the children of Israel from their captivity to the Egyptians. God had thrown ten whopper plagues at the Pharaoh in an effort to try and get him to release His people from his rule.

On one of those plagues, God tells Pharaoh that He is going to allow an angel of death to come through their camp to kill all of their firstborn children. However, before God sets all of this up to occur, He tells His people to shed the blood of a blemish free lamb and to put that shed blood on the doorposts and lintels of their houses.

God tells His people that the angel of death will bypass their house if he sees this shed blood put on their doorposts and lintels. This angel of death will thus not kill any of the Israelites’ firstborn – but only if he sees the blood properly applied to the doorposts and lintels of their houses.

In other words, the blood of this blemish free lamb was being used for divine protection before this attack would come their way. Had each person not properly applied this blood on their doorposts, their firstborn children would have also been killed, along with the rest of the firstborn children of the Egyptians.

Here is my argument on this. If the shed blood of the Old Testament lambs used for the temporary covering of sins eventually leads to the shedding of Jesus’ blood for permanent and total forgiveness of all of our sins – can we also use that same analogy and say that the shed blood of the lambs used in the Passover for divine protection could also lead to the shed Blood of Jesus having divine protection in it?

I personally believe the answer is yes, and that is why God the Father seems willing to honor and work with any believer who will plead the blood on whatever he wants protection on before any attack can come their way – just like He did in the story of the Passover with His own chosen people.

Taken from “The Blood of Jesus for Deliverance and Protection”.  Much more can be found at this site:

http://www.bible-knowledge.com/Blood-of-Jesus-How-to-Plead-for-Protection-and-Deliverance.html

What Good are the Miracles of Jesus?

His touch makes the difference

But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 

–John 10:38

The healings Jesus performed boldly attest to his claim to be God.  When we read about them, as recorded in the Gospels, we cannot doubt their supernatural flavor.  A normal person cannot give sight to someone who has been blind from birth.  I cannot raise a dead person, it’s simply not in the realm of even remote possibility.

Jesus performed hundreds and hundreds of healings, many not recorded in the Scriptures except through a vague and veiled reference to them.  There were not just healings, but he also did miracles over natural laws.  Water turned into wine, walking on the Sea of Galilee, feeding 5000 people with a little boys lunch.

You would think that the presentation of each miracle would bring a person to faith.  But that is not the case.  We assimilate them and process them to the point where we can nullify them.  “Sure Jesus raised a widow’s son from the dead,” we say, but we inoculate ourselves against the truth of it.  We deafen our selves, and silence the miracle. We roll right over it.

I need, I must re-visit these supernatural events again and again.  They are a tonic to my jaded soul.  These miracles require that I pick them up by their handle and make them my own.  Jesus Christ is waiting for us to accept him as supernatural, because that is what he is.  Does your Jesus work miracles?

“Remember the wonders he has done,
       his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,”

–Psalm 105:5

A Chariot Ride Into Teachability

We live out our lives making decisions.  Many are like ‘forks’ in the road.  They are made and they shunt us in another direction.  Some are dramatic, we see very quickly that the road is going to take us in a radically different path.

Sometimes, if we’re honest, we will admit to backtracking, retracing our route back to the point we turned.  A lot of time it is too late, and the moment has past.

I think I have been learning to receive correction and rebuke from others.  I’m thinking of that Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30-31,

“So when Philip ran toward the chariot, he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

 31 He answered, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him.”

There is a humbleness, a teachableness that this eunuch possesses.  He is confident enough to acknowledge that he just doesn’t know.  He is so eager to be set on the right course that he invites Philip to a Bible study in the chariot.

We are responsible for our receptivity to truth.  It is our personal decision to either seek or not seek.  No one else can make this decision for us.  We come to a decision point and we go the way things seem to direct us.  And we learn; God and how we learn!

The book of Proverbs is saturated with ideas on being guided by our humility when it comes in contact with truth.  Furthermore, there are many warnings about receiving correction and reproof gracefully.  If we believe what we are reading, at that point all of a sudden our stubbornness and rejection become a very bad thing.

I have learned that scriptural truth is almost always negative when it is first encountered.  It will not sit well, and I will try to shake it off.  But truth can be remarkably persistent.  ‘Forgive your brother’, the Holy Spirit says.  And you say right away, ‘Not a chance!’  But give it time, and the Word will soften rock.  If you respond properly, humbly, you be able to make the right decision.

One more thing, Jesus told us in Matthew 18:3,

  ” I promise you this. If you don’t change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.”

There will need to be a complete alteration in our hearts if we are to accommodate this command.  Becoming a child is more difficult as adults as becoming an adult is for a child.  It takes a great amount of brokenness to make the transition.

God fully intends to work with you on this.  He doesn’t seem to ever give up.  He is wonderfully persistent, and for some reason, He loves you. LOL

Afflictions That Heal Us

Today I especially wanted to share a message the David Wilkerson shared on his blog a few years ago.  It is probably one of the better messages I’ve read in quite awhile on the issue of pain and affliction in a believer’s life.  I hope this helps!

“Curse the scalpel if you must; but kiss the Surgeon’s hand.”

–unk.

________

“Before I was afflicted I went astray: BUT NOW have I kept thy word”

Psalm 119:67

“I believe in healing. I believe in affliction. I believe in “healing afflictions.” Any affliction that keeps me from going astray—that drives me deeper into his Word—is healing. God’s most gracious healing force spiritually and physically can be afflictions.

To suggest that pain and affliction are of the devil is to suggest that David was driven by the devil to seek God’s Word. I have suffered great pain. I have called on God for deliverance and I believe him for complete healing. Yet, while I go on believing, I continue to thank God for the present condition and let it serve to remind me how dependent on him I really am. With David I can say, “It is good for me” (Psalm 119:71).

Pain and affliction are not to be despised as coming from the devil. Such burdens have produced great men of faith and insight.

“Casting ALL your care upon him…”

1 Peter 1:5

Paul spoke of the “cares” of the churches that were thrust upon him (see 2 Corinthians 11:28). Every newborn church was another “care” on his shoulders. Growth, expansion, lengthening of stakes always involve new cares. The man God uses must have broad shoulders. He dare not shrink under the challenge of numerous cares and responsibilities. Every new step of faith God leads me to take has brought with it numerous new cares and problems. God knows just how many cares he can trust us with. It is not that he seeks to break us—in health or strength; it is only that willing laborers are few and the harvest is so great. Cares are taken from those who refuse them and given as gifts to those who are not afraid of them. Forget the load of cares you carry—can we not cast them all on him?

Every new blessing is related to a family of cares. They cannot be divorced. You cannot learn to live with the blessing until you learn to live with the cares.”

 

Source: http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/