I have decided to write a series about  the very important concept of the Kingdom of God . Without true knowledge of the Kingdom of God you cannot be succcessful in this life ,even if you think now that you are successful . I will write and publish it daily on the website . I will write a fresh episode each day in order to make sure that the revelation of the Kingdom of God are fresh and relevant to your circumstances every day  .  Be blessed by what you read and understand . Remember to leave a comment on the website before you leave . We need your comments . We appreciate it if you honour us by leaving a comment .

Greetings,

In Christ

Bertus       

Part 1

Hey boet, (brother and sister ) this is no joke ! Christ Himself declared that this Kingdom is the reason why He came to earth . Luke 4:43 BBE

(43) But he said to them, I have to give the good news of the kingdom of God in other towns, because that is why I was sent.

Your present from Him is not , to save you from your sin. You get many people that is saved from sin but they are still unfulfilled , full of frustration and anger . They are afraid of life , they fear tomorrow , they lost hope in many things that they relied on in the past . They fear death , they expect death to come at any moment . They fear sickness and disease . They fear that relationships which are dear to them may break down unexpectedly . To sum it up , they are afraid because they see many things that they know they have no control over .

Now if Jesus came to earth to tell us about a Godly Kingdom that is ours to enjoy , then surely the earth is not the right place for this Kingdom to come ,because of all misery and hatred and crime and pollution and corrupt governments , killings etc. that exist here on earth .

Wrong !. Earth is the perfect place God chose Himself for this Kingdom to exist . Earth is the place that God love very , very dearly . Look at it how beautiful it is . The wrong that exist on the earth is absolutely no match for the kingdom of God . The Kingdom of God is infinitely more powerful than anything on earth that can come against it .

Jesus demonstrated that to us ,over and over again . Even before His birth there were so many things wrong . There were many many very strong indicators that it wasn't a good time or place for Jesus to be born . Herod was head of one of the most destructive and corrupt governments that ever existed on the face of the earth . There was no room on earth , no place on earth to accept the Son of God . Even God had to stand in the que to beg for a place where His Son could come into this world . He was shunted to an unpleasant ,unwanted place nobody else wanted . There was no mercy for His tiredness and stress to find a place ,knowing that this Baby is due and that they must be helped . They needed help . There was no mercy and friendliness . No there was even a purposeful infliction of humiliation on God . Yes if you do that to the ones that He chose to carry out His will ,then you do it to Him .

But these corrupt situations was soon to be completely overshadowed by the power of the Kingdom of God . By the One who carried the seed of the Kingdom of God inside of Him .

It did not happen by means of a magic wand . It did not happen by a lightning bolt that came down from heaven and reduced Herod to ash . No it came by knowledge and hearing and obeying what God said .

Jesus could be killed at that stage of His Life . The knowledge and hearing and obedience was still immature at that time . The power of the Kingdom was still not understood .That is with Jesus of course as well as His parents .That made even Jesus vulnerable . God could only speak, speak , speak ,to guide that family and friends through the killing fields of Palestine . Matthew 2:13 BBE

(13) And when they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into Egypt, and do not go from there till I give you word; for Herod will be searching for the young child to put him to death.

God did not gamble with His Son's life . God chose Joseph and Mary very carefully . God knew that they would obey His words . God was so sure about their obedience that He could put the Life of His Son in their hands . There is a tremendous amount of power in your obedience to the words that God speak to you .

This went on for thirty years of His Life . We see Joseph and Mary very worried about Jesus which was still subjected to the power of death when He was twelve years old . Luke 2:48-50 BBE

(48) And when they saw him they were surprised, and his mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? see, your father and I have been looking for you with sorrow.

(49) And he said to them, Why were you looking for me? was it not clear to you that my right place was in my Father's house?

(50) And his words seemed strange to them.

Then the time came where the hearing and knowledge and obedience was mature . It took a while but Jesus did not substitute the Words of His Father for anything else , no , not even in the face or distraction to become famous in an earthly church . No He stayed obedient to His Fathers voice .

The Glory of heaven , the Power of Heaven came down on Jesus at the right time . After that they could not kill Him anymore , He was filled with the full power and Glory of the Kingdom of God .

John 1:31-33 BBE

(31) I myself had no knowledge of him, but I came giving baptism with water so that he might be seen openly by Israel.

(32) And John gave this witness, saying, I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove and resting on him.

(33) I had no knowledge who he was, but he who sent me to give baptism with water said to me, The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting, it is he who gives baptism with the Holy Spirit.

From that moment on His Name changed from Jesus to Christ . The Christ could not be killed . He had full dominion over the earth and all the things on the earth . He reigned over all governments and people . He had full control over everything , absolutely everything ,diseases ,sickness,the elements , everything was under His dominion . His Kingdom was established . This Kingdom is still established on earth and will never end . Do you believe it ?

Luke 1:33 BBE

(33) He will have rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Only after He was declared Christ ,people start to follow Him . They could sense the power and Truth in Him .

John 1:34-38 BBE

(34) This I saw myself and my witness is that he is the Son of God.

(35) The day after, John was there again with two of his disciples;

(36) And looking at Jesus while he was walking he said, See, there is the Lamb of God!

(37) Hearing what he said, the two disciples went after Jesus.

(38) And Jesus, turning round, saw them coming after him and said to them, What are you looking for? They said to him, Rabbi which is to say, Master, where are you living?

John 1:40-41 BBE

(40) Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two men who, hearing what John said, went after Jesus.

(41) Early in the morning he came across his brother and said to him, We have made discovery! It is the Messiah! which is to say, the Christ.

Nobody could kill Him after He became Christ . He could only lay down His life Himself ,by His own

decision .

John 10:17-18 BBE

(17) For this reason am I loved by the Father, because I give up my life so that I may take it again.

(18) No one takes it away from me; I give it up of myself. I have power to give it up, and I have power to take it again. These orders I have from my Father.

Christ was so confident in the power of the Kingdom that He had as something very precious in Him ,that He could prophecy very accurately about the effect it would have on those following Him , listening to His words ,obeying Him , following His example . On those who were willing to become His disciples because they could see His power while others saw it but choose to ignore it . Chose to go on with their life's as usual .

You are in the very same hotspot as everyone of the disciples were . Life , unfulfilled life as usual ,or a new Life in the Kingdom of God on earth . The fact that Christ cleansed you from all sin makes you eligible to become a King with the full power and dominion of the Kingdom of God available to you . Your heritage , your present from Christ .

John 1:47-51 BBE

(47) Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, See, here is a true son of Israel in whom there is nothing false.

(48) Nathanael said to him, Where did you get knowledge of me? In answer Jesus said, Before Philip was talking with you, while you were still under the fig-tree, I saw you.

(49) Nathanael said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are King of Israel!

(50) In answer Jesus said to him, You have faith because I said to you, I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than these.

(51) And he said to him, Truly I say to you all, You will see heaven opening and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of man.

What a marvelous day for all of them . What an amazing future opened up for them by Christ . You have the same privilege ,are you going to take it up ?

I rained today while I was on the beach ,enjoying fellowship with God . I was drenched at one stage . I actually enjoy it to walk in the rain . Rain does not deter me from going down to the beach at all . I has spiritual meaning for me as well . I experience the falling rain as showers of blessings that come down on me . Very often it happens just before spiritual and practical opportunities opens up for us . Well I enjoyed it thoroughly this morning . I realized what I would have missed by not going out in spite of the rain .

I have a wonderful party in 1 John 1 today again . Let's go there , if you please .

I have a great desire to have fellowship with other people . Fellowship however must come from two sides otherwise it cannot be considered as fellowship . My desire is not to have a big church with many members . My desire is not to have 60 or more activities on the weekly program of the congregation . My desire is not to preach to people for an hour or so and let them just leave again . No my desire is have deep spiritual and practical fellowship with people .

Fellowship without two way communication is just not possible . I gave it some thought over the weekend . We are heading for very shallow and unsatisfying “fellowship” even on the website if there is no two way communication . It is not optional in my opinion . You cannot grow spiritually if there is no in depth fellowship with someone who are a reliable witness of Jesus Christ , of the Cross ,and how it will influence your daily life . You need to comment on what you have experienced after reading an important article on the website . You are invited . The invitation is the way the website is constructed . It is constructed in such a way that you are invited to talk back to us .

Don't enter and then just silently leave again . Tell us you were here and what you have experienced . You say hello by entering the website , please say goodbye to us when you leave . Please ! . What will happen by doing that, is that you will open up a very important fellowship with us . We need it and you need it as well . It is a Godly thing . It is the right thing to do . God set the scene for fellowship . Let us not belittle the importance thereof . There are more than a billion websites available at this moment . We consider it a provision of God when you visit our website . You are very important to us . God said to us before we started the website that He will send people here to experience Him . We consider you as God sent when you enter .

We arrived at John's party now . Thanks for the chat on our way here ! .

1 John 1:1 MKJV

(1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life,

There was a Word of Life right from the start . It is a Word of Life ,not just any word . That means that when you give your undivided attention to it ,it WILL change your life as well . We know there is change in your life when your practical circumstances change as well .We heard it ,we have seen it with our eyes . We did not only see it we BEHOLD it as well , we refused to take our eyes of the Word of Life . It wasn't just a spiritual experience for us ,we could also handle it practically, physically with our hands , John said .

1 John 1:2 MKJV

(2) for the Life was revealed, and we have seen it and bear witness, and show to you the everlasting Life, who was with the Father and was revealed to us .

This Life is everlasting

It is in God

It was concealed to our experience at first

But then it was revealed to us

When it was revealed we saw it was a better Life than what we had so far . It cannot perish . We cannot perish when we have it in us .

We witnessed this Life ,now we want to SHOW it to you .

Says John and those who had fellowship with him .

Man this is preaching I want to listen to . It is good news ,very ,very, good news .

1 John 1:3 MKJV

(3) that which we have seen and heard we declare unto you, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

We don't only want to tell you about it . We are willing to put our full integrity behind it . We are willing to declare it ti you . By our declaration to you ,we enter into a deeper relationship with you

This declaration from us as witnesses will open up the reality of our FELLOWSHIP with you . If you of course REPLY to our declaration by accepting it and tell us that you did accept it . If you don't answer to our declaration then fellowship is not established .

Something very important happens then . Our established fellowship with you also bring you into fellowship with Christ and the Father . We are established as sons and daughters of the same household of God . Wow how many times have you struggled to enjoy full fellowship with God ,because you did not realize how important it is to establish true ,declared fellowship with people you know that you know are true witnesses of the Christ Life . You have sure proof that they spent time in His presence . The Holy Spirit lead you to them . You enjoy their presence . It lightens up your day when you talk to them .

This FELLOWSHIP thrive and blossom in His Presence . This make this fellowship we TRUE ,because our witness and experience of Him are true . . Like the true Life . It stays true because our fellowship is all in Him .

This is good stuff ! Let's go further ! .

1 John 1:4 MKJV

(4) And we write these things to you so that your joy may be full.

Your joy can never be FULL without TRUE FELLOWSHIP .

I know for sure my joy will never be full if I don't open myself up to come into true fellowship with other people in Christ . They will never judge me , always have time for me ,be a blessing to me ,enrich my life . I can depend on them . I can depend on their words . I can depend on their witness . I can depend on their declaration . I can depend on their Life in Christ . I can depend on them not to leave me behind ,but take me with them ,deeper end deeper into the Glory of God . I can depend on it that that is the way to make my joy full . I can depend on it because the Word say so . John showed me now what to look for in their witness . If I can see it ,then I know ,here is an golden opportunity for fellowship . True fellowship . True Life giving ,un-perishable Life giving fellowship .

1 John 1:5 MKJV

(5) And this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

God gave us a message for you . He sent us with this message to you . John said . We have the ability to hear Him . We hear Him so well that we can put our whole life and honour on the line ,by make it a declaration before we deliver it to you ,a declaration by which you can hold us fully accountable for what we have declared to you . We can do it because we know for sure what we have witnessed ,there in His presence . We come to you with great confidence .

Now you must listen very ,very carefully . If you understand the next sentence from 1 John 1 :5 ,then you are free . Your freedom in Christ is absolutely stunning ! . No more successful hacking into your life by malicious people and circumstances .

:5b God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

Our true fellowship with Him ,and our true fellowship with you ,and your true fellowship with us opens our life's up to the LIGHT . To the full impact of the God Life . It fills our whole life . We can only live LIGHT . When you live it is all Light ,because you are in God by fellowship .This makes your joy FULL . Our true fellowship in the true Life establish us in the True Light , establish us IN God . He does not give you some light . No He IS light , pure radiant light . It is so pure and intense , NO darkness can exist there .

My goodness , Glorious God how could we ever missed this truth ? Thank you Father for your grace and mercy that allow us to understand this truth from your Word !!

1 John 1:6 MKJV

(6) If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Please take note that everything comes from God via the sacrifice of the Cross of Jesus Christ to us . He initiated it all . It is a tremendous act of pure Love from God . It comes to us through His Grace and Mercy . His gifts are always pure , are always perfect ,are always much higher in value and meaning and impact than what we can comprehend initially . One of the greatest dangers is that we belittle His gifts to us , How ? . By comparing what we read in the Word with our existing circumstances and then say “it will never be true for me” . You are absolutely right .The moment you speak those dreaded words it will not happen for you ,till you believe it as it is written in the Word and SAY it ,DECLARE it ,to God and to those you are in true fellowship with

No we say today . He put me in Him . Here is only pure Light and there is no darkness in me now . My word I am in the pure light of God now . There is nothing that lack here . There is no wrong that I do here . The Light ,not my own effort ,no the Light burned all my inequities away , not some of it ,all of it , I don't have to clean my house He did it for me ,I believe it ,I declare it , I have witnessed it in His Word today , I will keep on saying it “I am in the Light ,I am in the Light ,I am in the Light ” . There is no darkness in me , because He longed to be in me and He is in me now . Thank you Jesus , thank You Jesus ,thank You ! .

Verse 6 : We only have to say “I have fellowship , not only knowledge ,but fellowship with Him . How did I get into this fellowship with Him . Somebody who were in true fellowship with Him invited me to have fellowship with them. I answered to their invitation a then we all found ourselves in the True Light , in God . The true Light was always there but our obedience to His call to have fellowship with one another ,made it possible that I could truly experience the Light in my life ! .

I cannot walk in darkness while I am in the Light . It is impossible . All my sins are forgiven that is why God could invite me to have fellowship with Him . I do not only declare this truth ,I also practise it . I cannot practise anything else while I stay in the Light . I have friends that are in fellowship with me that will help me to stay in the light . That will tell me when I declare any darkness ,that will cause me to stumble and bring me under my own condemnation again .

If I leave this Light and walk in darkness ,then I will experience full darkness by my own doing . The Truth will stay , will be unaltered by my stupidity . It will wait for me to take up my glorious position in Him again . I have wonderful people that are in fellowship with me . They will help me . I am never alone . Thank you Jesus . I will not lie if I im in the dark . I will confess it and the all darkness will disappear immediately ,because I can see the Light again .

1 John 1:7 MKJV

(7) But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The Blood of Jesus cleansed me fully on the Cross ,that is why I could enter the Light with fellow believers in Christ . But I have some walking to do every day, you say . I am in the Light so my walking is in the Light . I have fellowship with Him . What a glorious God given position I find myself in . Fellowship ,fellowship ,fellowship ! , Glorious fellowship . Here in the Light the Blood of Jesus KEEP cleansing me in the event where I may momentarily stumble ,but I will not fall . Not because I am so good ,but because He is so faithful and good to me . I will not leave the Light . I will think Light all the time . I will speak Light all the time . I will not allow condemnation to disguise this Light for me . I stay pure in the Light all the time . Even if satan and other that have no fellowship with God themselves try to convince me that I am not good enough .

1 John 1:8-10 MKJV

(8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

(9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.

Over these last three verses many people have stumbled . Many false doctrines were formed from a distorted view of what is meant by these verses . The context of the previous verses in this chapter is very important to understand what they mean .

One of the false doctrines that were derived from these verses are : “ We are all sinners .I ,the dominee or pastor are just as sinful as you are . In this life we will always be found sinners , you cannot be sinless in this life ,you are always guilty before God ,you always have the filthy rags of sin covering you , you need to say that you are sorry for all the sins you do everyday . You need to confess your sins every day . You must listen to the law of Moses every Sunday in order to know how sinful you are .When you know how sinful you are then you will seek Christ for forgiveness.

So I (the pastor) proclaim to you (after the reading of the law ,and everyone in the pews feel guilty and look down ) the forgiveness of sins ( Till only a few minutes later then you will start to sin again in thoughts and deeds .in sins of commission and sins of omission ).

You look somewhat upset . This is no joke , this doctrine is still alive and well in many denominations in our country . What a dreadful and very dangerous doctrine . It conveniently keeps you under the control of the church or denomination . They proclaim that if you belong to their church and were baptised by them , then you also receive the promises of the covenant to be forgiven .

Here is the interpretation that will fit neatly into the complete message of the Word and into the context of this chapter and the following chapters .

We have learned from the previous verses that there are only two positions. It is either darkness or Light . We have also learned that you are fully in the Light but you may choose to WALK in the darkness . The fact that you are in God which is Light cannot be destroyed or nullified by your stupid choice to walk in the dark . That does not change your very substance from Light to darkness , but what is changed is your perception of your own life and circumstances from observing it in the Light of God to seeing it in the darkness of your own shortsighted stupid understanding .Everything looks dark now ,because your Godly spiritual understanding is swopped for a worldly ,very dark understanding . Now you suffer under your own decision . Don't blame God for things that go wrong when you walk in the dark and stumble like a blind man just about over everything in your way . You could have walked the same way without stumbling at all ,by staying in the Light . The Light will go where you go to . Here is the two previous verses again that confirm it .

1 John 1:5 MKJV

5: And this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:6 MKJV

(6) If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

There is no darkness in Him . You are in Him , therefore the Light in you is complete without any flaw of darkness at all .

Now in the light of the above context, let us quickly look at the last three verses which is a stumbling block for some people because of wrong doctrine .

When you want to judge your own life , whether you want to determine yourself exactly where you find yourself ,then you will have unsurmountable obstacles in trying to do it . The very same principle applies when you try to judge other people . It is impossible to judge yourself . The first reason is that the Word forbid you to judge anybody at all . The second reason is that you are not competent to give an accurate judgement of your own life or the life of someone else . You will always be wrong . You could of course judge accurately from your position in Christ ,in the Light . The truth is that when you operate in the Light ( remember you are fully in the Light because it is the work of Christ that has put you in Him ,it can therefore never be incomplete ),anyway when you find yourself in the Light then your desire to judge cannot exist there . Simply because there is no more judgement ever in the Light . If your heart try to judge you , rather take the judgement of Christ pertaining your life . What will the verdict always be !

Romans 8:1-6 KJV

(1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

(3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

(4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(5) For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

(6) For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Yes you are absolutely right . The verdict of Christ concerning your life and tresspasses is always NOT GUILTY . It will never change ,simply because God accepted this verdict from His Son on the Cross when He said “ It is finished “ . God will never opt for any other verdict .

Ok ,now it is easy to understand the three verses .

Let me refresh them here for your convenience .

1 John 1:8-10 MKJV

(8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

(9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.

If you walk in darkness , there is no truth in you ,because the Truth is only in the Light . Remember this verse :John 14:6 KJV

(6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

When you walk in darkness there is deception there . There can be no deception in the Light at all

So verse 8 explain your position when you walk in the dark only . In the dark judgement and sin will flourish . You can never walk in darkness and say that you have no sin . Your very

visit to the dark will bring condemnation for yourself and for other people .

It also explains verse 10 . It is clear that you can only make Him a liar when you walk in the dark ,that is outside the Word , outside Him because He IS the Word as well . If you deny the sin you see in the dark then you lie because even your very position outside the Word is sinful .

Verse 10 says : When you are willing to acknowledge your stupidity to walk in the dark and therefore become aware that you are naked ,and other people are also naked ,like Adam and Eve discovered in their fallen ,dark state. In other words when you become aware of your and other people's sins and are willing to confess it , are willing to get out of there immediately . Then Christ is always faithful and just to forgive you your sin of walking in the dark and to restore your position in the Light ,by taking all thoughts of your own unrighteousness away till your awareness of the pure righteousness that you enjoyed before you left your position is restored .

In a nuttshell . He takes your awareness of sin away . He also restores your awareness of your righteousness in Him .

The following verses from the next chapters show your thinking in the Light . The opposite of the first three verses which described your walk ,not position in the dark . Darkness is a WALK . Light is a position ,you abide there not only walk there . I hope you can see it .

In the darkness there is nothing but sin conciousness and condemnation and unrighteousness .

But in the Light where your rightful dwelling place is every day , there is NO sin or sin conciousness or unrighteousness ,because He is the very Light that you dwell in . Absolutely liberating !

Look at this !

1 John 3:6 MKJV

6:Everyone who abides in Him does not sin. Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him.

1 John 3:9 MKJV

(9) Everyone who has been born of God does not commit sin, because His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:21 MKJV

(21) Beloved, if our heart does not accuse us, we have confidence toward God.

Be Blessed

Bertus

When you want to buy an expensive new car you will immediately start looking for a witness that have experienced the car in depth . I mean if such a person cannot answer your questions satisfactorily like, “is spare and maintenance parts locally available ? “ , you will look for a new witness . If you want to send your children to a specific school ,you will look for a witness that can testify about the quality of education that the school provides .

Very peculiar, to me at least, is the fact that Christians will go to church on a Sunday morning , taking all their children with ,to go to Sunday School ,without even giving it a thought whether the people that are going to speak to them and their precious children , are indeed true witnesses .

The information they give from the pulpit or Sunday School is only reliable as far as they have experience of what they proclaim to you and your children.

People don't ask this very important question ,because they have been taught not to question what the church does .

Maybe you have only started the process .You will not need very much at the start . You see , when you start looking for your expensive car a mere lifeless picture or even a dull sentence or two written in a newspaper article will satisfy your need for information at that stage . But as you progress to the point where you are actually going to write out the cheque for a large amount ,then your need for in depth information increases tremendously . Well I walked out of a motorcar dealer's showroom once . I had all the money ready to buy the car . I just needed a last bit of information on some of the accessories and technical status of the car . They said they don't have the information and they don't know if they will get brochures in . Needless to say I thanked them , walked out and never bought that car from them . The reason is obvious . There wasn't a reliable witness in that dealership .

I wasn't prepeared to depart of the money I had available without a reliable witness assisting me in my need for reliable information . I wasn't prepared to to be misled on some points of what is available and whether it is included in the deal or not .

In a court of law it is not sufficient if a person calls him or herself a witness . No, they will not accept the testimony of that person if it is not thoroughly tested on a very crucial point ,namely is it reliable ,is it beyond all reasonable doubt that he/she is indeed a true witness of circumstances .

Then you will also get a situation where somebody have indeed witnessed something ,but it happened a long time ago . For example when a salesman say to you , “yes Ford's are very good car's ,I owned one in 1940 for several years . Let me tell you how good that car was “ .

Man ,when that witness comes forward it is time for you to run . What you need is a fresh ,relevant , quality witness . What you are going to experience is dependant on such a witness .

Spiritually it is working exactly in the same way . It amazes me that people neglect it so easily .

You need a witness of the Power and Glory of Christ . You need a witness with fresh knowledge of his or her experience of Christ . It doesn't help if they know something about Christ . They must be a witness of the power of His Spirit IN them . The practical effect it has in their lives . Their knowledge must be refreshed very often hourly ,daily ,whatever . They must know Him and be a witness of it .

Look at this :

1 John 1:1-7 MKJV

(1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life,

(2) (for the Life was revealed, and we have seen it and bear witness, and show to you the everlasting Life, who was with the Father and was revealed to us),

(3) that which we have seen and heard we declare unto you, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

(4) And we write these things to you so that your joy may be full.

(5) And this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

(6) If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

(7) But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

What an important aspect of my and your spiritual life in Christ . We must find ourselves in the company of reliable ,fresh witnesses . I will not listen to witnesses any longer if they don't have a reliable ,believable ,convince able witness ,not of theology or church politics and needs ,but of Christ only . I will not listen if they don't speak of Christ ONLY . The Cross only . The rest that I need will always fall into place ,will always be answered if they can witness what happened when they visited the Cross that morning . If they don't come from there ,I will not listen to them. If they talk hours on end about many church things ,but don't come forward with a true witness right from their first words. Then they waste my valuable time in Christ . God put me in a position IN Christ . If you are a witness of your position IN Christ as well , then we can have fellowship . Then we can make a deal . Then I will do my bit ,make the investment in your “company” . Because you have a witness of what you proclaim . If you're not sure ,say so ,then I can help you ,have fellowship with you till you become sure . But don't pretend to know Christ ,but you have no witness to confirm it .

If you are a preacher don't claim what you are not . The fact that you belong to a big church , the fact that you are a leader in a big church does not automatically mean that you have a true witness of the Cross .

1 Corinthians 2:2 MKJV

(2) For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Wow , Paul's preaching and teachings consisted only of a true , fresh ,reliable witness of the Cross

That is what we need so desperately . If your preacher can't provide proof of his/her experience at the Cross it is time for you to move on to a place where you can experience the power of true witness . Time is wasted in your life . Don't linger where there is waterless clouds . I will not even waste one hour listening to a dead sermon . If there is no life and power , you will not find me there .Those times are forever gone. There is much ,much more to enjoy .

Be Blessed

Bertus

Baie lanklaas regtig aandagtig gegee wat in 'n koerant staan .Op pad see toe orals teen die pale is baie vroeg vanoggend , toe dit nog half donker was, die slegte nuus van Swartruggens , Graaf Reinet , van Suid Afrika opgeplak . Ek ry maar verby , my gedagtes is in die Woord wat ek vandag nodig het .So sewe kilometer teen die strand af toe begin Jesus weer vir my hierdie baie belangrike beginsel verduidelik .Ek kan maklik lees terwyl ek stap . So ek het 'n Bybel by my en kan in diepte oordink wat daar regtig staan.

Ek lees verder in 2 Petrus . Wat 'n openbaring toe ek weer opnuut begryp wat die krag en implikasie is van wat daar staan . Ek rapela so effens toe Jesus vir my sê om daaroor te praat . “Ek het al “ probeer ek versigtig protesteer . “Lees wat daar staan ,dan besluit jy” , sê Jesus vir my . 2 Petrus 1:13 AOV

(13) En ek beskou dit as reg, so lank as ek in hierdie tentwoning is, om julle deur herinnering op te wek,

Hierdie vers boul my middel pen skoon uit die grond . Ek moes onthou het dit help nie om slim te probeer wees as Jesus naby is nie . “Herinner hulle” sê Hy , “dit sal hulle wat wil hoor opwek “ .

“Opwek , opwek “ dink ek . Skielik kom die lig deur .

Mense is pap ,voos , lam in die bene ,bedruk en maklik irriteerbaar in Suid-Afrika . Hulle doen mekaar in . Ry bo-oor mekaar , neem mekaar se parkeerplekke af . Hulle kuier nie meer maklik bymekaar nie ,skryf nie meer vir mekaar nie , wonder miskien vir 'n oomblik maar gee nie meer regtig om hoe dit met mense gaan met wie hulle 'n paar jaar gelede nog dik gekuier het nie . Die rede : Daar is nie meer energie oor nie . Die dinge wat nou in Suid-Afrika gebeur tap soveel geestelike energie uit mense dat hulle net nie meer kan nie . Daar is by 30% van Suid-Afrikaners 'n van buite identifiseerbare alkohol probleem . Dit sluit dus nie eers die gevalle in waar daar 'n probleem is ,maar niemand van buite weet dit regtig nie . Mense gebruik alkohol om die pyn te probeer stilmaak . Die koerant het al donkernag begin om die plakate wat die pyn en mismoedigheid bring op te sit . Jesus is by my . “Hulle het jou voorgespring Bertus “ . “Jy het goeie nuus bring dit “ . Die land is besig om te sterf . Suid-Afrika is terminaal siek in baie mense se oë . “Help hulle Bertus” .

Ek ken die krag van die Woord en hier kom 'n ontploffing binne in my vanweë die krag daarvan.

Kilometer vir kilometer gaan verby terwyl ek stap . Die Woord is groter as enigiets , ek verstaan dit , dit is vir my werklik .