Archive for the ‘Previous Messages’ Category

Last week we concluded that every born again Christian has received THE measure of faith from God (Rom 12:3). God has given us His faith as a gift (Eph 2:8) and it does not vary or falter. A person that has “great” faith does not possess a larger quantity of faith than other believers; they simply have more faith operative than others.

Now of course our next question would be: “If I have God’s faith, why doesn’t it produce for me at the level that God promises in His Word?” Well firstly because faith has to be acted on & released, which is what it says in James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You can actually have the faith of the Son of God inside you, but if you don’t act on it, it’s as good as dead.

Another reason why we don’t see our faith work for us is because of our unbelief. The soul (mind), just like the body, lives by what it feeds on. If we saturate our minds with the doom & gloom on TV, the newspapers and what we see happening in the world around us, we won’t have our minds renewed according to the truth of God’s Word. Then when you pray, even if you do pray with faith, the unbelief in your mind will counter that faith. So the Christian life is a pursuit of intimacy with God, experientially learning to know Him as He reveals Himself through His Word, which has the wonderful side effect of transforming your mind and purging it of unbelief.

In Luke 9 Jesus had sent out His disciples Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. They then went out and did it, and they were actually seeing great results! Luke 9:6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where. But then came a father whose son was possessed by a unclean spirit, whom they could not heal. Luke 9:38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

The disciples asked Jesus afterwards why they could not drive out the demon, and Jesus answered them (the same passage from Mark 9): Mark 9:29 And He said to them, This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer and fasting. Now Jesus didn’t mean that they had to specially go praying and fasting so that they could drive out this demon. He also didn’t mean that this was a “type” of demon that the only way to cast it out was to pray and fast about it, because if that’s what you believe then just about every second demon or disease you encounter will say to you “I am the kind that only goes out by prayer and fasting.” If you look at what Jesus said to the disciples first off when He heard they could not cast the demon out: Mark 9:18 … So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” 19 He (Jesus) answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” Jesus called his disciples (who had just come back from their trip, having seen great results) “faithless generation”.

And then also we see the father of the demon possessed boy confessing that he had a problem with unbelief: Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. 24 And immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.

You see the biggest problem is not that people don’t have faith. We all have faith, it’s just that we have a tremendous amount of unbelief that is countering our faith. Jesus said if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we can say to a mountain to cast itself into the sea. Let’s read this same passage from the book of Matthew:

Matt 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 20 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

So why did Jesus tell them that they could only do it with prayer and fasting? Well, what do you think happens when you pray and fast (and worship, and go to church, and read the Bible, etc)? You get rid of your unbelief!! Your faith doesn’t increase, because remember that we already have the faith of God and that faith the size of a mustard seed will move a mountain. But we fill our minds and thoughts with so much garbage everyday, focusing on our depressing circumstances and NOT on God, that it’s no wonder we don’t have any power.

Just one last point that we should clarify in the body of Christ: It is very cruel to tell a sick person they can not get healed because they have too much unbelief. In the Bible we see that Jesus as our perfect example, healed ALL who came to him, regardless if they had unbelief or not. Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing ALL that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. Yes He did not heal many people in His home town Nazareth, but it was not because their unbelief countered or neutralized His faith. No it was because many of them were offended at Him, seeing Him only as “Joseph’s boy”, and not many came to Him for healing. But those that came still got healed!! Thus we can see that He still did mighty works, but only for those that came to Him. Matt 13:54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Now with what we just discussed above, read the following 2 verses:  Mark 6:5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marvelled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. Did you see he STILL healed those who CAME TO HIM?

Therefore we can conclude that if we don’t see the promises of God fulfilled in our lives, or if we don’t see the sick healed when we pray for them, it’s because of OUR unbelief & unrenewed minds. God’s power is always switched on; He’s already provided healing, prosperity & deliverance in the atonement. This message however is not a call for Christians to go back into works to try and rid themselves of their unbelief, because it does not happen through striving or self-effort. Remember we are all still learning & growing. Unbelief eradication & mind renewal is something that happens as we simply enjoy God and turn our affections toward Him, resting in Him, living from our secure position of victory. Don’t forget to enjoy the journey…

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe
www.NewCovenantGrace.com

When we pray prayers like the disciples prayed in Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith”, we often pray it because we don’t know what we have already been given. There are 2 kinds of faith:

Firstly there’s the kind of faith that says “I will believe it when I see it”, like with Thomas in John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. We call this physical or natural faith, faith that is based upon what we can see, taste, hear, smell & feel with our 5 senses. Then there is the kind of faith that is anchored firm in the Word of God, that does not falter because we don’t see the answer to our prayer, faith that keeps on believing “I AM healed” because the Word says so, even though I don’t “feel” healed yet. John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Do you know we have the same faith as the apostle Peter that did mighty signs & wonders? 2 Pet 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. In fact do you know we have the same faith as Jesus? Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. All believers have been given THE measure of faith: Rom 12:3 … according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (KJV).

This faith was given to us by God the day we were born again, it was a gift: Eph 2:7 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it (the faith) is the gift of God (emphasis my own). Now since we have received this faith as a gift in the first place, we can rest assured that God will maintain perfect & perfect it for us as well. Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith… Some translations say “author & perfector”. When Jesus said someone had “great faith” or “little faith”, He wasn’t referring to the quantity of their faith, He was referring to the level of faith that they were operating in.

Now some would try to counter this by quoting 1 Cor 12, saying that the Spirit gives only SOME gifts to each of us individually. 1 Cor 12:11 But the one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing separately to each one as He desires. Well did you ever consider that you have inside you the Holy Spirit that has ALL the gifts? This verse doesn’t say He only gives “some gifts”, no the Spirit will give to a person ANY of the gifts that is needed in that specific situation. Also see just a few verses before this one: 1 Cor 12:6 And there are differences of workings, but it is the same God working all things in all.

When we are new in the faith, we need the Holy Spirit to come and empower us with these gifts from time to time as we may require in our specific situation. In Paul’s epistle to the church at Corinthians (who was a “baby” church) he wrote this: 1 Cor 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. And it was this same “baby” church that Paul was speaking to when He wrote about the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Cor 12.

But when we come into maturity in Christ, we will realize that we have all the gifts at our disposal since we have received FULLNESS in Christ. Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. And also Jon 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

You see the biggest problem is not that people don’t have faith. Born again believers all have the faith of God. The faith of God is simply this: Faith that enables you to believe in things that you cannot perceive with your 5 senses. You needed this faith to be saved in the first place – how else would you KNOW that your sins have been forgiven? You had to believe it!  Sins that have been forgiven and blotted out is not something you can see, but through the faith God has given us, we can believe it and KNOW we have been forgiven. I encourage you to download this sermon from one of my heroes of the faith: Andrew Wommack. Click on this link: http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/a01

Well if we have God’s faith, why doesn’t it produce for us in the area of finances, health, etc. at the level which God promises in the Bible? Next week we will be answering this question, so stick around!!

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

All people on the face of the earth that have not put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are guilty of the only sin that Jesus could NOT die for at the cross: Unbelief in Jesus.

However contrary to popular belief, God is NOT angry with unbelievers for not accepting Him. At the cross 2000 years ago the sins of the whole world were forgiven [Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men…], BUT we have to put our faith in this grace to receive it. God has already reconciled the entire world to Himself through Jesus, He has made provision for every single person on the planet to be saved: [2 Cor 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation]. God has already punished the sins of everybody on Jesus, but people have to believe in Jesus to receive this forgiveness. Unbelief in Jesus is the only sin that Jesus could NOT die for, and therefore all who commit this sin cannot be forgiven.

Now God is not in the punishing business anymore, because He has already punished our sins in the body of Jesus. In these days, God is extending His goodness towards everybody on the planet (believers & unbelievers alike) because He wants them to see that He is good and that He loves them. It is the GOODNESS of God that leads people to repentance, not a fear of punishment. [Rom 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?] That is why atheists and sinners are not our enemies, but our friends, because if God loves them then how can we not? Our job is to show them the love of God, not judge them.

However by their continued unbelief they willingly reject this offer of peace from God, and in the process trample the blood of Jesus underneath their feet, and their hearts all the while becoming more and more hardened. [Rom 2:5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God].

On that 1 single day of judgment (not years and years as some say, see Rom 2:5 above again) these unbelievers will be judged for NOT believing in Jesus. And they will have to face the dreadful consequence of spending an eternity separated from God, not receiving forgiveness for their sins and being tormented in hell, which is NOT God’s will for ANYBODY on the earth, because God loves ALL people! [1Tim 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 5 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth].

Therefore since God loves unbelievers and wants all people to be saved, it is our mandate to extend this same love to our unbelieving neighbors, since we are God’s hands & feet in the earth. Most unbelievers have hearts that have grown very hard, not necessarily against God, but mostly against Christians who have misrepresented God as being a harsh God who allows sickness, violence, injustice & punishment to reign on the earth. And then on top of this, if an unbeliever wants to join the church, they now have to start obeying all types of laws as well and they had better make sure they change their lifestyle, else they will be kicked out by the church or God will punish them. Come on!!!! What kind of logical thinking person would want to sign up for that?

Let’s show them the kind of love that God showed us when we first came into Christ. [Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us]. None of us deserved it in the first place, why then should we try to make others feel that they have to measure up to some perfect standard?

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Because of an unfortunate misinterpretation in some translations of the Bible of the Greek word “sarx” (which directly translated means “flesh”), the doctrine of the sinful nature or indwelling sin has been propagated and preached with amazing conviction for centuries. It has caused sincere believers to try and live up to manmade moral standards, but not realizing that in doing this, they only subject themselves to endless frustration, lack of confidence before God and an expectation of punishment to come their way.

In the original Greek language the New Testament was translated from, the word “sarx” was used to describe over a dozen different concepts, such as the sinful nature, human flesh, sexual intercourse, carnality, etc. The W.E. Vines expository dictionary of Bible words lists 14 different meanings for the word “sarx”. The only way to determine the meaning of “sarx” in that particular part of scripture was to look at the context. Some Bible translations attempted to translate “sarx” into what they thought it meant in that particular context, but many got it wrong. Only the literal translations (e.g KJV or NKJV and a few others) did not change “sarx” into what they thought it might mean, but left it in the verses simply as “flesh”, allowing the reader to interpret the context. That’s why Rom 7 and some other passages appear to be so confusing in some translations, because “sarx” which means “flesh” was replaced with “sinful nature” the whole time! Here’s an example:

Col 2:1 I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally (sarx). (NIV)
Col 2:1 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh (sarx), (NKJV)

Now, when the Bible talks about the “inward man”, the “new man” or the “new nature” it speaks about the born-again spirit of a believer. The “sinful nature” or “old man” refers the evil nature every person is born with, being at enmity with God and alive to sin. But “flesh” means something else. “Flesh” in this context refers to the un-renewed mind of the believer, a topic we’ll dig into deeper next week. “Flesh” in this context does not refer to something spiritual; it refers to the realm of the mind (soul, will & intellect). Soul = mind. You can read our previous message on this topic by clicking this link: http://www.newcovenantgrace.com/spirit-soul-body/

At salvation, a Christian’s sinful nature is crucified & buried with Christ. Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old man (sinful nature) was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. After we are born again, we are NOT “sinners” anymore, even though we sometimes make mistakes. There is not 1 verse in the entire New Covenant that calls a born-again believer a “sinner”. The term “sinner” refers to a person that has not been born-again yet, and yet you’ll find most Christians today think: “I am just an old sinner.” No you are not!!

Under the Old Covenant people had to be circumcised on the 8th day in obedience to the laws of Moses. Under the New Covenant God circumcises the heart of the believer, removing (cutting out) the old evil nature, and giving us a new resurrected spirit that is created in 100% perfect righteousness like Christ. Col 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh (old sinful nature), by the circumcision of Christ. God also writes His laws on our hearts which simply means He gives us the desire to please Him (but of course we know He is actually already pleased with us because of what Jesus did on our behalf). Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. This means that our new reborn spirit desires to please God and delights in Him.

The following comparisons between a literal and conceptual Bible translation clearly illustrate this misconception (please note we’re not bashing or criticizing certain Bible translations, rather we’re addressing the misconception in the church about a born again believer’s inner nature, and the translation of the word “sarx”):

Rom 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature (sarx) (NIV)
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me, that is in my flesh (sarx) nothing good dwells; (NKJV)

Rom 8:4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature (sarx) but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature (sarx) have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (NIV)
Rom 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh (sarx) but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh (sarx) set their minds on the things of the flesh (sarx), but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (NKJV)

Gal 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature (sarx); rather, serve one another in love. (NIV)
Gal 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh (sarx), but through love serve one another. (NKJV)

Gal 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (sarx). (NIV)
Gal 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (sarx). (NKJV)

There are many more examples to illustrate this point, but I think we get the idea. Now consider this: The above verses, coupled with the fact that most people today believe whatever they read (without thinking about it) in whatever translation of Bible they have, plus the fact that the modern church has taught for centuries that Christians DO have a sinful nature (and that we have to deny this nature, fight it and put it to death!) it is easy to see that we can be conned by texts read out of context. Conned by text, get it..?

Now you may ask: “Why then do Christians still sin? If we don’t have a sinful nature, why do we still keep on making mistakes, feeling like we are disappointing God, and falling short of what we think God expects from us?” And this is what we will be talking about next week. In the meantime we encourage you to think about whether you may have been deceived by this doctrine, to repent (which simply means to change your thinking) and be open to receive more truth next. Has God left us with a remnant of our old, evil nature (which would mean He did an incomplete job), or did He do a complete work and remove the whole thing?

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe