Whether you are a long time believer in God or a new believer, there are fundamentals at the core of faith that unite us to God in a profound way. It is these fundamentals of our faith that hold our relationship with God together and equip us to do even greater things for Him. In our walk with God we need to revisit these fundamentals frequently to keep our relationship with God fresh and vibrant.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus counseled the Ephesian church by reminding them of these fundamentals of faith they had neglected. He commended them for their good works of service to Him, but also warned them about the sin of Orthodox religion without love, and that true faith begins with a deeply personal relationship between God and us.

Like the Epehsian Church, we sometimes get so caught up in our service to God that we neglect our relationship with Him. In this class we will rediscover our relationship with God and go straight to the core of what faith is and the fundamental principals of faith that empower us. Here are some of the topics covered in this class:

What is true saving faith?

How worship and prayer enhance our relationship with God

The amazing healing power of forgiveness

Loving those who are hard to love

The unmatched awesome power of repentance and righteous living. (A study of Ephesians 6: 10 – 20, the armor of God)

Living a Dynamic, not Static, life for God.

Practice sharing the gospel and our testimony (Its not as scary as you might think)

Although there is a structure to this class, we have found that allowing people to speak freely about what is going on in their heart enriches everyone’s experience in this class. Be prepared for lively interactive conversations and spontaneous inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

Watermark  #1

God’s love for us is greater than any other. Nobody is excluded.

No doubt, most of us have heard that God loves us. However, this amazing truth has become for many, an apathetic cliché statement. Key to understanding salvation is understanding the depth of God’s Love for us. It isn’t enough just to say God loves us. Consider the following scriptures, which God uses to tell how passionate and concerned He is for us.

Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

            Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

This Parable tells us that there is nobody that God is willing to leave behind and that nobody is beyond His Love. NOBODY! The Pharisees had no sympathy for anyone who struggled with sin. This is evident from their scowling at Jesus because of the company He kept. God tells us that everyone is priceless to Him.

Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Coin

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Again, God wants everyone to know that He is desperately pursuing us and places great value on each and every life.

Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Son

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’  “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

The last parable of the “The Lost Son” assures us that even when we are far off in our hearts that God does not give up hope that one day we will make a choice to return to Him. Every day He is looking for us to return home. We may think at times that God has forgotten us but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Notice that the father spotted his son while he was “a great way off”. This is the picture of a father who is constantly scanning the horizon for his lost child. He is Looking intently and hoping earnestly for his return. Jesus tells these three stories sequentially all in the same sermon. There can be no doubt that God is in desperate pursuit of us.

With God however, it is not enough just to tell how much He loves us. He proved His love for us at the cross. In this next passage of scripture, Jesus is close to death. His body is wracked with pain while he stands nailed to the cross. Many of those gathered around Him hurl insults at Him while He is suffering. Earlier in the day, while He was hanging on the cross, both of the two men who were also hanged with Him on their own cross’s, hurled insults at Him. However, at the end of the day, when they are almost dead, one of the men hung with Him has a genuine change of heart.

Luke 21

The Thief on the Cross

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”  But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”  And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

How many of us in our most desperate hour of pain and suffering would take the time to so gently and lovingly forgive an enemy and even go so far as to encourage them not to worry because better things are coming soon? No one that I know.

The Apostle Paul so clearly stated this love God has for us in Romans 5: 6 - 8

Romans 5: 5 - 8

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Many times in our lives we ask the question “I wonder if God even cares about me”. The next time you ponder this, I want you to recall the picture of Jesus’ bloody yet loving face and tender heart as he looked at the thief who had turned his heart to Jesus for comfort on the cross. In spite of the incredible agony Jesus was experiencing and the fact that this same man earlier in the day was insulting Him, He still had the heart to forgive and love him. That my friend is true love in the highest!

So our first Watermark is that God loves everyone and there is nothing he won’t do to reconcile us to Him. I saw a bumper sticker once that said it perfectly. “He died for us so He wouldn’t have to live without us.”

You might be saying now, “why didn’t you just say the first watermark is that God loves us all?” Two reasons. First, this is no ordinary love and second, God wants to make you part of His family and start an ongoing personal relationship with each and every one of us.  It is vitally important to our salvation to understand that He doesn't just want to save us and then leave us. He wants to establish a personal relationship with us. The scriptures we just read make this point very clear. The importance of this will be clearer in the next three watermarks. Sometimes saying I love you isn’t enough. God has clearly proclaimed His love for us and nobody is excluded from that Love.

Watermark # 2

Sin Separates us from God and Everyone of us is a Sinner

Romans 6: 23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Often, we take for granted Gods magnificent love for us and think that if God is so loving then there is nothing he wont forgive us and we can just go on with our lives as usual.  Often we forget about, or are not familiar with God’s holy nature. We also forget that His main objective is to make His nature, our nature. Consider this verse in the Bible from Matthew 5: 48.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect

Or these verses from Romans 3 and 1 John 1

Romans 3: 9 – 12

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written:
   "There is no one righteous, not even one;
    there is no one who understands,
      no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
      they have together become worthless;
   there is no one who does good,
      not even one."

1 John 1: 10

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

No doubt, the word of God is quite clear that every one of us is a sinner. It also tells us that there are two possible destinations for every person after death. Consider this story Jesus told in Luke 16: 19 – 31

The Rich Man and Lazarus

 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

 " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Jesus tells us without a doubt, there is one of two destinations for us when we die. There is much to be said about this story but for now all I want to establish is that when we die you either go to Heaven or Hell. Immediately, there is no lingering around after you die.

Revelation 21: 8 further describes hell as:

“their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Matthew 22:13 further describes hell like this

Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth

So as you can see, God is in a difficult situation. He loves us dearly, but has a holy nature that will not tolerate sin and must punish any and all rebellion.

Watermark #3

Salvation comes through faith in Jesus and Only Jesus

Watermark #4

and cannot be bought with any good works.

The next two Watermarks are hard discuss separate from each other so we will discuss #3 and #4 together.  Make no mistake. Our God is a holy and just God and will not let sin go unpunished. The good news is that God knew we could not bare our own punishment and did not want us to be separated from him forever. So He made a way for all of us to avoid the fate of eternal punishment in hell. Remember, God loves us and wants to reconcile us to Him. God is on our side!

Earlier I shared only part of Romans 6: 23 which tells us that the payment for our sins is death. But consider what the rest of this verse has to say.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God wants to offer you a free gift. Eternal life. A full pardon for your sins. There’s one catch. Just like with any gift, you cannot buy it. You cannot earn this gift. You receive it by faith. Not by good works. Consider the following two men in this next passage. One was confident in his good works. The other knew he could never pay for his sins.

Luke 18

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

   
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Many people believe that they can pay their way to heaven by performing acts of good works and service to God. Certainly God is impressed when anyone does something for Him out of love. However, it is insulting to God if we think that we can atone for those sins by our good works.  It’s important that we don’t become self-righteous like the Pharisee. Notice that Jesus never disputes that the Pharisee did all the things he boasted about. Also notice that he doesn’t deny that the Tax Gatherer was guilty for all the terrible things he had done. The point Jesus is making is that we must not trust in our own good works to gain God’s forgiveness. A price had to be paid and you and I are not capable of paying this debt to God. All the good works in the world cannot buy your way into heaven. If Good works could earn you a place in heaven then Jesus would not have needed to suffer.

Consider what Isaiah 64: 6 says:

But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags

 So how are we reconciled to God?

How do we get His forgiveness?

How do we become clean again and acceptable to Him? Consider the following verses from the Bible:

John 3: 16 – 18

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Romans 10: 9 – 10

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Ephesians 2: 8 - 9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

God is offering every one of us the free gift of eternal life. All He asks in return is our HEART FELT confession of faith and trust in Him. However, many people don’t understand what God means by “believe in your heart”. Lets consider for a moment that what God is really after is to have a personal relationship with you. That he is after your heart. I want you to recall for a minute a few things we have already read.

First, lets consider the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15. Pay close attention to the son’s attitude towards his father. Is it an attitude of selfishness whereby he just wants to go home and be comfortable again? Or is it an attitude of repentance and fondness for his father where he comes home in his heart?

Lets consider now the thief who died on the cross next to Jesus. Was he just hedging his bets and trying to get in good with Jesus? Or did he reach out with his heart to God? This man had no time to do any good works. No time to follow any ordinances of the Church like being baptized. He had a date with a cross and was dying for his crimes. He approached God with a contrite heart and INSTANTLY God responded and saved him.

Now consider the tax gatherer from Luke 18. Back then tax gatherers were notorious for cheating people. Most hated them and were highly suspicious that they would gather more money than they should. This tax gatherer prayed an entirely different prayer than the Pharisee priest did. He recognized he was not perfect. He was so ashamed of his life that he could not look up. Beating on his chest and reaching out with his heart to God he asks for mercy. Jesus tells us that this man, not the priest, went home justified and forgiven by God of his sin. So the story could be told of a righteous man (that is, righteous by our standards) that went to hell and a sinner that went to heaven.

Ask yourself this question. In each and every example we have looked at, did anyone get Gods favor by impressing God with his or her awesome good works? That was a rhetorical question. The answer is no. There is a common thread that runs through each story. They all realized they had fallen short and reached out to God with their heart and asked for mercy and received salvation.

The picture here is quite clear. As Ephesians 2: 8 – 9 so clearly states, we are saved by grace through faith. Further that our good works have nothing to do with God’s free gift. The definition of grace is the “freely given, unmerited favor and love of God”. You can’t earn it and you don’t deserve it. It is given to you by grace.

Understanding what real saving faith is.

Many people throughout church history have misunderstood what real saving faith is. They think, ok, Ill just confess my sins and pledge faith in Jesus and I will be saved and then I got my ticket to heaven and I don’t need to do anything else. WRONG! DEAD WRONG! Consider this passage of scripture from James 2: 15 - 17

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.   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 believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Consider the types of relationships we have here on earth. I can tell my wife I love her. But how can my wife know that I really love her? You must admit its possible to say, “I love you” and not really mean it. The evidence of my love for her is in my deeds. My wife is pretty smart too. She can tell if I’m just going through the motions or if my love for her is genuine.  Because I love her I am always looking for ways to please her. Now think about what position I would be in if I betrayed her love or had hurt her deeply. If I wanted to repair my relationship with her I would need to get down on my knees and beg her for forgiveness and pray she would have mercy on me. She will know if my plea for forgiveness is real or not.  Likewise, it is possible for people to ask for God’s mercy and salvation and not really mean it with their heart. God knows if you are being phony or if you are serious and will not accept anything less than a genuine heart of repentance reaching out to Him.

Some in the early church missed the point of what some call “True saving faith”. Someone told them to confess faith in God without explaining what a confession of faith in God really is. Then they try to claim they are saved but they never gave their heart to God. They never made a personal connection with God. Salvation to them was nothing more than repeating some words someone told them to say in order for God to save them. James is telling them its not head knowledge God is looking for. It’s a heart-felt connection where we are begging God for forgiveness. If your confession of faith was nothing more than reciting out loud that you believed in Jesus then you have done nothing and you are STILL dead in your sins. As James says, even the Demons have that kind of belief.

What James is pointing out is that in your confession of faith to God, you reach out to Him with your heart. At that moment you are going to experience something amazing. Something that every real believer in Christ can testify of. You feel God’s love sweeping over you, and He seals your heart with His Holy Spirit, and you have no doubt at all that your sins have been forgiven. It is a feeling of liberation, love and peace all at the same time. Once you undergo this spiritual transformation, God comes to live in your heart in the form of His Holy Spirit. Your heart is changed forever and you could no sooner turn away a brother or sister in need than you could turn off your love for God.

James saw people who claimed to have saving faith that had means to help others, but completely ignored their needs. He recognized right away that their faith was not distinguishable or detectable by their actions, or in this case, their inaction. In other words, a real believer has a much different heart once they believe. James is saying, you tell me you’re a believer but I can’t tell you are by the way you live your life.

At the beginning of the church and even to this day, some people do not understand that what God wants from them is a relationship. This personal relationship with God transforms our lives and makes us like Him by giving us His son Jesus’ righteousness and indwelling us with His Holy Spirit.

Consider the following verse from Matthew 7: 22 - 23

Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Clearly, doing good deeds is not enough. God wants to know us. In this passage, these people claim to have done incredible things for Jesus. Jesus simply says, “I never knew you” I think Jesus would further say to them:

I wanted to know you.

I tried to get to know you.

My Spirit visited you a number of times. But you would not let me in.

Consider what Jesus says in Revelation 3:20

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Or this verse from John 14: 6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me

God wants us to have a relationship with Him built on love and trust. It was our breaking of faith with God in the Garden of Eden that caused all of humanity to be cursed. Adam and Eve chose to believe the devil rather than God. God is now giving us a chance to establish our faith again in him by believing that he suffered and died for us. In doing so He paid the price for all of our sins. He is not looking for lip service. Without a doubt he wants your heart. He wants you back in His life and was willing to sacrifice his Son to make it happen. Only the sacrifice of an innocent pure and righteous life would pay for the sins of us all. There was only one person who could be our substitute for the punishment we deserved. That was Jesus.

It was not an easy task for Jesus. Luke 22: 44 says that in anticipation of His crucifixion Jesus was in anguish of the thought of His torture:

44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground

In verse 42 He said:

42" Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.

Out of love Jesus went forth and suffered so that we could be reconciled to God.

Romans 5: 18 – 19 explains it best:

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

            Adam brought a curse to us all. A rebellious and sinful nature. Now through faith in Jesus we can be made righteous again. Notice that it DOES NOT SAY, “by one Man’s obedience and lots of good works from us, all will be made righteous.

John 6:44

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day

Have you given your heart to Him yet? He will accept nothing else from you. Anyone at any moment can reach out to God with their heart and ask for forgiveness and receive it. There are no magic words. Just you and God, heart to heart. He is waiting now. If you feel the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart now, drawing you to Him, reach out to Him now.

Many people think they need to clean up their lives before God will accept them. This is not true. Remember the story of the Tax Gatherer and the Pharisee. The Tax Gatherer was ashamed of what he was and yet God forgave him. Come to God right now, just as you are. He is waiting for you now.

If you don’t know what to say to Him, think about some of the things others have said.

“God be merciful to me a sinner”

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son/daughter”

“I know I am a sinner and cannot save myself.”

I believe that You love me so much that you sent your one and only Son Jesus to suffer in my place. I now reach out to you with my heart in faith and ask for you to forgive me of all my sins.

Please come into my heart and life and live with me.

Please help me to change.

I confess with my mouth Jesus is Lord and believe with my heart that You raised Him from the dead.

Show me how to love you.

I trust you now completely

Please reconcile me to you through the life and death of your Son Jesus

In the name of Jesus you’re Son and my savior

Amen (Amen means “Truly” or “for sure”)

Again, if this isn’t from your heart, it has no meaning to God at all. However, If you just prayed a prayer like that from the heart, God is right now reaching back to you as He promised and is sealing you with His Holy Spirit. And your life will never be the same from this day forward. Remember, it’s not the words you say that save you but the heart behind your words.

Also, you only need to make this heart felt decision for Christ one time in your life. Its good to reaffirm it from time to time but once you are saved and sealed by Him with His Holy Spirit you are forever His.

Once we are His, we now wear the righteousness of His Son Jesus and death is no longer something to fear. He now sees us the same way he sees Jesus. II Corinthians 5: 17 – 21 says it best:

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,  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.

 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

And now we begin our life with Him and are able to transform our everyday lives on earth into what he wanted us to be without fear of punishment if we should make a mistake. Having His Holy Spirit to gently guide us in paths of righteousness. Slowly transforming us so that our practice comes in line with our position with God. A true believer is perfect in the eyes of God.

Well, those are the 4 Watermarks of true Christian faith. Next week we will see how some familiar false teachers we run into (knock, knock) stack up against these 4 Watermarks. As you grow in your faith you will find there are other Watermarks of your faith but these 4 are undisputable. Well, I’m sure some will try to dispute them but you get the picture I think.

Blessing to you

I had a wonderful time with all of you this past Sunday. Welcome to Lazlo and James the new people and to everyone else.  I hope you didn’t mind the trickery I pulled on you with the counterfeit $100 bill. For those that were not there we did a poll to see which you thought was real, and which you thought was counterfeit. Half of the class said the $100 bill on top was a fake and the other half said it was real. For those who said the top $100 bill was a fake I made a strong persuasive argument that the top $100 bill was the real one.

Which is Fake?

 

I asked those who said the top bill was fake why they concluded it was fake. They replied that the watermark on the bill didn’t match Benjamin Franklin’s image. I then told them that the water mark on the top bill was in fact Ben Franklin and that it was a special security feature that the Treasury Department used. I further stated, quite forcefully, that the image used for the top $100 bill was from a rare portrait of Ben Franklin before he died of cancer and that he looked very gaunt before he died. I also said that he had grown a beard and started wearing a toupee at the end of his life.

Of those that originally thought the $100 bill on top was a fake, I was able to persuade half of them that the top $100 bill was the real bill. The other half of those who originally thought it was a fake, still thought the top bill was a fake but didn’t know enough about water marks to refute my claim, so they kept silent.

This is a good example of how most Christians handle false teachings they are confronted with. Many haven’t given much thought about the water marks of their true Christian faith and fall into one of three categories.

1)      They have no idea if what they are hearing is true and believe what they hear because it sounds and looks like the truth.

2)       They suspect that what they are hearing is false but after a lot of smoke and mirror trickery, and insults too their intelligence, they reluctantly accept what they have heard.

3)       They are still sure in their heart that what they are hearing is false and continue to hold to what they believe but are silent because they don’t know how to refute it.

By the way, the $100 bill on top was the fake and the $100 bill on the bottom was the genuine bill. The bill on top was once a real $5 bill. The counterfeiter bleached the color out of a real $5 bill and then copied the front and back image of a $100 bill onto the now bleached $5 bill. This allowed the new counterfeit $100 bill to pass the pen test that people use to tell if the bill was made with real Treasury Department paper. Special marking pens are provided to vendors by the banks to help vendors know if the money they are receiving was made with real Treasury Department paper. If a bill was made with real Treasury paper, then the mark from the pen on the bill will show up brown. If it is a fake the mark on the bill will be black.

 
In the end we learn that it's not enough to verify that the paper is genuine. Likewise, when you try to verify if the message someone is presenting you is real, it’s not enough to rely on selective quotes from the Bible. You must still make sure they are accurately representing what the Bible really says.

Sadly this is exactly how many false teachings come to us. The person trying to sell us false teaching will mix in enough real scripture with their false teaching that it would appear they are telling us the truth. Just like with the counterfeit $100 bill, you can’t tell that their gospel is fake until you shine a light through it and look for the tell tale watermarks of the real gospel. Even then, if your not sure what water marks to look for, you will have a difficult time refuting what they say.

In the end, just like counterfeit money, a counterfeit gospel has no value at all. If you accept a counterfeit $100 bill from somebody and then try to present it to the bank, the bank will not honor your counterfeit money and you will have lost a lot of money. If you decide to follow false teachings, you may be sadly disappointed on the day you meet God. I think you are getting the picture now.

There are so many false teachings out there that it makes knowing each one of them quite a difficult task. The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert on every religion in the world. You only need to know the watermarks of the true Gospel as taught by the Bible.

There are only 4 basic watermarks you need to know about God’s plan of true salvation. If you know these 4 key points, then you can easily and quickly determine if what you are hearing is the true gospel or a counterfeit gospel.

In our next meeting we will begin to identify these 4 water marks of true Christianity as deifined by the Bible.

Blessings to you,

Jay Tomlinson

Which is Fake?

Hello my friends!

I hope you had a restful and blessed holiday season. We are eagerly looking forward to the next session of our small group. God has placed it on my heart the last few years to do a study on comparative religion. There are so many systems of religion out there that make incredible claims about God and Salvation that are contrary to what God’s word teaches us. Many of these systems of religion often masquerade as true Biblical Christianity but are in fact nothing more than elaborate counterfeits to the real gospel of God’s Love.

Counterfeit gospels are nothing new. They have plagued the Church almost from the time it was established. Take for instance this verse in Galatians 1: 6 – 10.

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Soon after the Apostle Paul established the church in Galatia, others began to try and deceive the Galatians. Most believers often can sense when they are hearing “a different gospel” but can’t always put their finger on what’s wrong with what they are hearing. Other times people know when they are hearing “a different gospel” but find it difficult to explain or refute what they are hearing.

As I was praying and planning this next study of ours I kept having visions of counterfeit money, watches etc, as well as memories of conmen in the past that had ripped me off. So I would like us to keep this theme in mind as we study this topic.

Our first meeting this coming Sunday, January 25, 2009 will be devoted entirely to the real gospel. Before we can spot a fake, we need to be well acquainted with the real gospel. We will be pointing out some of the most important tenants of our faith.

In the weeks that follow we will do side-by-side comparisons with the real gospel and a few false religions we commonly encounter. There are so many false religions out there that it would not be practical for us to try and help you know all of them. Our goal is to make you masters at knowing the key points of the real gospel which in turn will help you to spot fakes very easily no matter where they come from.

Proverbs 14: 12 tells us:

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

We are really excited about this new session and hope that everyone is able to return and join us. I leave you with one more verse to think about:

1 John 4:1

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

God bless you all

Jay and Cathy.

So many of my friends lately are experiencing hurt in their lives. It pains me to see them suffer. These lyrics by Rob Thomas put into song what I'm feeling for them and I like to think its what our Lord Jesus would say to them as well. Just want you all to know Im thinking of you and your in my prayers.

Little Wonders

Let it go
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours
These small hours
Still remain

Let it slide
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine,
Till you feel it all around you
And I don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These small hours
Still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away somehow
But I cannot forget
the way I feel right now

Hello Friends

Right after our last meeting I went into the Worship Center and to my surprise I discovered that The Thorn tickets were on sale online. So I went ahead and got some really nice seats for us. As usual I always get extras so if you come across anyone you would like to bring to see a stunning theatrical presentation of the Gospel let us know.

The date for our tickets Is Saturday April 4, at 1:00 pm. Perhaps we could all go out to dinner after if you like.

Also, I spoke to Steve E. last night and he says he really wants to join us so please pray that he can be in town that weekend.

Jay

Hello friends

I found the following scripture this week and would like to have you read it and decide this Sunday where it belongs in your timeline. I would also like to know your observations, questions and opinions about what this scripture is saying to us.

Isaiah 65: 17 - 25

17 "Behold, I will create
       new heavens and a new earth.
       The former things will not be remembered,
       nor will they come to mind.

 18 But be glad and rejoice forever
       in what I will create,
       for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
       and its people a joy.

 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
       and take delight in my people;
       the sound of weeping and of crying
       will be heard in it no more.

 20 "Never again will there be in it
       an infant who lives but a few days,
       or an old man who does not live out his years;
       he who dies at a hundred
       will be thought a mere youth;
       he who fails to reach ^[a] a hundred
       will be considered accursed.

 21 They will build houses and dwell in them;
       they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
       or plant and others eat.
       For as the days of a tree,
       so will be the days of my people;
       my chosen ones will long enjoy
       the works of their hands.

 23 They will not toil in vain
       or bear children doomed to misfortune;
       for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,
       they and their descendants with them.

 24 Before they call I will answer;
       while they are still speaking I will hear.

 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
       and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
       but dust will be the serpent's food.
       They will neither harm nor destroy
       on all my holy mountain,"
       says the LORD.

Hello

Let me start by saying how incredibly pleased we are to see how well everyone is doing comprehending this intriguing and difficult topic of eschatology. Cathy and I continually thank God in our prayers for how well He has taught you.

This coming Sunday we are going to spend our entire time having everyone write their time lines for the events we have read about in the Bible these past 6 weeks. Don't sweat the details too much though. This is suppose to be fun. I don't expect everyone to be experts and we will be telling you which events we want to see in your time line. Also, since this topic is so confusing, even to people who have studied this topic for decades, there are no wrong answers, only opinions.

Lets also make a promise to be respectful to each others opinions on such topics as the rapture. Thus far we have tried our best not to influence your opinions but at the same time have sought to provide you with as much information about this topic in hopes you would develop a theory apart from our personal opinions. No doubt you have started to talk to others about this and have found eschatology can be a contentious topic to discuss.

The doctrine you have been consuming these past weeks is very meaty. And you consume it like you have known it all along. I am amazed. I think every one of you could join just about any Bible study at New Life Church and be very comfortable. You are no longer children in your knowledge of the Word of God. However, my hope is that you continue to have tender hearts as you continue to grow.

See you Sunday

Blessings

Jay and Cathy

October 16, 2008

Sometimes you hear the most profound thoughts in poetry or song lyrics and you feel you just gotta share it. Being a believer in Jesus is not always easy and its certainly not always popular. After he touches our lives we are never the same. Its hard to explain our faith to others. They often times look at us like pitiful fools. We struggle for words to help them understand the hope that lives in us. People want to believe there is a God who loves them. They struggle to make that leap of faith. These words describe that most difficult thing we call "saving faith". I hope you will share some of your most profound and moving poetry and song lyrics:

Hello

just a reminder of what we will be studying this coming Sunday. Read Revelation chapters 5, 6 and 7.

Also read Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. The book of Daniel is an amazing book and I would encourage you to read the whole thing but you have a lot to read already.

Also, by the end of our study on October 12, you should start to begin trying to put together your time lines for the end times as well as start forming your opinions on the Rapture and the Great Tribulation.

There is an event called the Rapture in which God physically converts those who are still alive on the earth at His return to Immortality. The three main "Great Tribulation" views are Pre, Mid, and Post. By no means are these the only ones. If you have an opinion that is outside of these please write it down and get ready to share it with us. What I want you to do at the end of this study is to articulate when you believe the rapture happens in realtion to the Great Tribulation. Does it happen before the Great Tributlation (Pre Trib), somewhere in the middle of the Great Tribulation (Mid Trib), or at the end of the Great Tribulation (Post Trib). Be ready to articulate your position by the last day of this study.

Also, be ready to show us a time line of end time events as you believe they will happen chronologically. For instance:

How long is the Great Tribulation.

When is the man of lawlessness revealed.

When is the battle of armagedon

When is the second coming of Jesus

How long will Jesus rule the earth when He returns

When is Satan locked up

How long is Satan locked up

How long does the Second coming of Satan last?

The new heaven and earth

What are Daniels "70 weeks or years"

How many of Daniels "weeks of years" are remaining

Who are the persons who make up the "unholy trinity"

What do you think the different parts of the great image Nebuchadnezzar saw in his terrible dream represent

At what point do the seven seals break

At what point do the seven trumpets blow

At what point do the seven bowls of judgement get poured out.

Who is the fig tree

On what day does Jesus return

Who are the 10 prudent virgins

When was the Temple of God torn down and by who

Who are the 144,000

Does the Temple ever get rebuilt

The scope of scripture we have been studying that apply to our study are as follows:

Matthew chapter 24 and 25

1 Corinthians 15: 51 - 55

The whole book of Revelation

Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12

1 Thessalonians 4: 13 - 18

1 Thessalonians 5: 1 - 11

I am so amazed how all of you so quickly pickup on these topics.  Your hunger for His word is astonishing!!!

Love and Blessings to all of you.

Jay and Cathy