Current Word of the Month

April 2011: The Lord is risen indeed!

Easter is the feast of the Resurrection. Although everything seemed to have come to a bitter end after Christ’s death on the cross and His subsequent entombment, Easter morning brought a great turn in the tide. The message: “The Lord is risen indeed!” (cf. Luke 24: 34) began to spread like wildfire among the disciples. First it was the women who brought the news of the empty grave to the disciples. Immediately there was a question as to whether one believed in the resurrection or not. According to the account by Luke, the first reaction of the Apostles to the message of the women that the Lord had resurrected was a complete lack of acceptance: “And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24: 11). There was only one among them, namely Peter, who could not let the matter lie. He ran to the grave in order to see what had happened for himself. From then on there was a constant debate – today we would call it a controversy – surrounding the question: “Did the Lord truly resurrect or not?” It was only gradually that belief in the Resurrection began to take root among the disciples. They first had to come to terms with everything that had happened. Although the Risen One appeared to them repeatedly and even ate and drank with them in order to convince them of the fact that He had physically resurrected, they still had their doubts even at His ascension – forty days after Easter! It says in Scripture: “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted” (Matthew 28: 16-17).

This means that the disciples and Apostles also had a struggle when it came to believing in the Resurrection – some more than others. They did not simply set out zealously on Easter Sunday with flags waving to proclaim to the whole world: “The Lord is risen indeed!” They too first had to fathom these events and come to their own personal decision about where they stood.

We can feel with them somewhat. What had just happened was so unfathomable, so inexplicable, and so incomprehensible that they had their doubts at first. And that is exactly how it was with many others when they first heard the news: “The Lord is risen indeed!”

Paul preached about the Resurrection when he was in Athens. Scripture relates the following about the reaction of the inhabitants: “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter’” (Acts 17:32). Again, the Resurrection provoked various reactions. Later in his life, when Paul had to give account of his actions before Agrippa and Festus, he said: “Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26: 8). In other words, Greeks, Romans, and Jews alike all had their problems with the notion that the Lord had resurrected and actually conquered death.

And how do things look today? It is a tragedy: the Resurrection, the core element of Christian faith and message, is no longer relevant for most people.

It must never come to the point that the Resurrection is no longer a relevant topic for us! I have complete understanding for one or the other who has a little trouble with this, even if they doubt here and there. That is not all that tragic. What would be tragic is if the resurrection of Christ, the events of Easter, and the wonderful hope for our own ascension and transformation associated with it were no longer a topic of interest for us. It would be a great tragedy if we no longer knew what to make of it. This must always be a topic of greatest relevance for us! It is simply part of human nature for doubts to arise here and there. But those who remain with the Lord will also gain certainty and clarity. The Lord will not abandon those who battle for faith, but will grant them victory.

This is the foundation of our faith and our future: “The Lord is risen indeed!” When He returns we too will partake in His resurrection!

(From a divine service by the Chief Apostle)

Newsletter - February 2011

Click here for the February issue of our newsletter.

Newsletter - January 2011

According to plan, our monthly newsletter has been restarted and revamped with the hope of sparking renewed interest. Click here for our January issue.

Current Word of the Month

November 2010: The path of humbleness and obedience

The Gospel of Matthew describes how the Lord Jesus called His first disciples to follow Him. The brothers James and John were at work. They were in a boat, mending nets with their father. Then Jesus came up to them and called up

on them

to follow Him (cf. Matthew 4: 21). They left everything without hesitation and followed the Lord. Scripture reports of many incidents in which Jesus called upon people to follow Him – and today too He calls upon us to follow Him. While Jesus was on earth His disciples were very close to Him and stayed with Him all the time. But He is no longer here in person, so how can we follow Him? This image of the boat, which the disciples left behind, is to be understood on a spiritual level. The boat is a metaphor for spiritual fellowship. Those who seek to fo

llow the Lord Jesus must leave one or the other thing behind. One of these things is unbelief and doubt: many people do not believe in Jesus Christ. And they certainly do not believe that the Lord Jesus reveals Himself in His s

ervants today. When they are called to follow Jesus, they must first abandon the boat of unbelief.

Another boat in our days is the boat of personal opinions. Many people have their own firmly held opinions and say: “I will not accept anything but what I think.” This is particularly true with regard to future-oriented things and spiritual matters. Such people prefer to persist in their own theories and ideas, and are not prepared to follow. We cannot insist on our own ideas, however. Rather let us be prepared to follow the Lord Jesus.

There is something else that could bind us and prevent us from following, namely hopelessness and despair. Let us get out of this boat and follow the Lord Jesus! Children of God have no reason to despair, but every reason to hope.

There is another boat which carries those who only strive for natural things and who have no interest in spiritual matters. If we want to follow the Lord, we must get out of this boat to strive for – and reach – our eternal goal. So let us leave this boat and follow the Lord Jesus.

There is another aspect to following. One must take the same direction as the person one is following. The path of the Lord has two notable characteristics: it is the path of humbleness and obedience. To follow the Lord we must take this path of remaining humble and continually heeding the word of God. It is easy to say that we are humble toward God. But showing humbleness toward others is more difficult by far. Even in this respect the Lord Jesus was our example: He even washed the feet of His disciples. Let us look to His example and likewise be humble.

There is another thing that is important when following someone. One must be careful not to let any distance grow, because following at a distance is not possible. Let us stay close to the Lord! We can accomplish this by attending the divine services, by being close to Him in prayer, and by having fellowship with one another and with God’s servants, particularly the Apostles. Let us always remain very close to Him. When He returns to take His own unto Himself, those who have followed Him will not be left behind but will instead be with Him eternally. That is the goal for which we strive!

(From a divine service by the Chief Apostle)

Cartoon of the Day

Current Word of the Month

Septmber 2010: God’s covenant and His law

Already in the Old Testament the Lord promised to make a covenant through Jeremiah. He also described this covenant in greater detail, saying: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts.” Then He gave the promise: “… and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” This is a reference to the covenant of the Holy Spirit: on the day of our Holy Sealing, we were accepted by God and incorporated into His covenant. Thereby we became His people and were given His promise: “I will be their God.” Here it says that His law is written in our minds. The people of Israel in the Old Testament had a law too, namely the Ten Commandments, as well as further prescriptions given by the Lord. These had been chiselled into stone. Things are different with the new covenant which the Lord has made with us: He has written His law into our minds and hearts.

Let me describe this divine law. The first important element of it is the law of love. God loves us and He wants us to love Him in return. This is a law He has written into our hearts. If we truly love the Lord, we will not have the heart to disappoint Him. We will want to have fellowship with Him, to be close to Him. And we will bring our offerings, not out of obligation or duty but because our heart urges us to do so. That is the law of love. And this law of love also dictates that we love one another. We will then endeavour to support one another and try to make things easier for each other. We will also pray for one another and have empathy for those who are sad.

There are still other aspects to the divine law, notably the law of faith. The Lord once expressed that if we truly have faith, we can move mountains. Faith is a real power. Nothing can hinder us if we are truly motivated by a strong faith. In the Bible we read of many people who turned to the Lord Jesus because they had health concerns and other problems. And in many cases they were helped. Often the Lord Jesus told them: “Your faith has made you well!”

Still another aspect is the law of divine grace. In the Scriptures it says that God gives grace to the humble. If we turn to Him in humbleness and in the knowledge that we cannot accomplish anything without Him, then we can receive grace.

There is also the law of forgiveness. The Lord Jesus once told His Apostles: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” If we stay with the Apostles, we too can have our sins forgiven.

Finally there is also the law of hope. We know that the Lord Jesus will come again in order to take us to Himself. This law has been written into our hearts, and we expect the fulfilment of this promise daily. All of these laws have been written into our hearts. Let us never forget them. After all, they constitute the covenant which God has made with us. He is our God and we are His people!

(From a divine service by the Chief Apostle)

Separate Churches?

"Is it wrong for a Christian husband and wife to attend separate churches?"

A husband and a wife attending separate churches is a situation that is more common than one might think. It’s also common for the children of such a couple to be divided between the two churches, thereby creating a rift in the family that is never healthy. In order to determine whether or not it is “wrong” for a husband and wife to attend separate churches, we must first look at marriage as a relationship instituted by God.

Genesis 2:24 tells us God created man and woman to become “one flesh” when they marry, not two separate beings who go their own separate ways. There is a unity in marriage which is unique and holy. Moreover, marriage is the picture of Christ and His church (believers) as described in Ephesians 5:31-32. The marriage covenant between a man and a woman is symbolic of the covenant between Christ and those for whom He died. His is an everlasting covenant and one that is holy and sacred, just as marriage is to be holy, sacred and unbroken. This unity of two people into one reaches its most sacred in the spiritual realm, where the two are to be of one mind regarding the basic doctrines of Christianity – God, Christ, sin, salvation, heaven/hell, etc. This unity of understanding through the ministry of the Holy Spirit unites a husband and wife in a bond unlike any other on earth.

While it’s possible for a husband and wife to have differing tastes as far as music, preaching or worship styles, children’s programs, etc., none of these things are significant enough to break up the family into two parts so they can attend different churches based on tastes. It is clear that if both churches are Bible-based and Christ-honoring, there is no reason why one spouse can’t bend a little and put his/her personal preferences aside. An even better alternative is for the couple to join together to seek a church where the Word of God is preached as the only guide for faith and practice, where the entire family can learn the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and where the family can fellowship with like-minded believers. In this, the husband, as the spiritual head of the family, should take the lead and make the final decision, lovingly taking his wife’s input into consideration.

Sadly, the two-church family most often crops up in marriages where one spouse was raised Roman Catholic and the other was raised in a Protestant denomination. In situations such as these, it would have been wise for the couple not to marry. Please read the following article: Should Christians of different denominations date or marry? If a marriage has already taken place, the couple should strive for spiritual unity. Two people entrenched in their different doctrinal positions often find it very difficult to compromise and reconcile, but with God, all things are possible. A couple in such a situation may be forced to attend different churches, especially if one or both spouses consider the other spouse's beliefs to be unbiblical. In such a situation, both spouses should commit to praying that truth be revealed and spiritual unity be achieved.

These doctrinal conflicts must be resolved in a family before true unity can be achieved. A couple attending different churches must be willing to hold everything they are taught up to the light of Scripture and be ready to discard anything that is contradicted by the Bible. They must “test all things and hold fast to that which is true” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Recommended Resource: Fit to Be Tied: Making Marriage Last a Lifetime by Bill Hybels.

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NAC Men's Conference 2010

Walk-a-Thon 2010 Update

Current Word of the Month

May 2010: The finger of God

The Lord wanted to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt through Moses. The Hebrews suffered greatly there. Exploited by the Pharaoh, they were forced to work in the fields, manufacture clay bricks, and build cities and grain reserves for the Egyptians. Despite all their hard work, the Hebrews lacked even the barest of necessities.

But then the Lord intervened. Moses was to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt and away from the Pharaoh’s sphere of influence. But he did not want to let them go. Then God sent ten plagues upon the land. But each time a plague had passed, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not let the people go. Many of the plagues could also be replicated by the magicians of the Pharaoh, and perhaps this gave him the impression that they were not particularly difficult feats. But then the plagues became more and more severe, and the magicians could no longer replicate them. They told the Pharaoh that they could do no more, because they recognised the finger of God in these events. In other words: God had intervened, and human beings could do nothing more. We all know the outcome of the story: the day came when Pharaoh had to let the people of Israel go after all (cf. Exodus 1-12).

Let us take a look at ourselves and see what this might mean for our time. Is the finger of God still at work today? I say: “Yes indeed, the Lord still intervenes today!” Any of us can experience this when we approach the Lord with a believing heart. The finger of God still reveals itself today. But there is nothing magical about it, as the magicians of the ancient Egyptians supposed. Rather it is God’s powerful will to save that is at work here!

Following are two examples. Many have been invited to attend divine services in the New Apostolic Church and have thus come into contact with the work of God. Therein I see the finger of God. Later on, one or the other has also been sealed and has thus received the gift of the Holy Spirit. This too is the finger of God. The finger of God is also revealed in our everyday lives in many different ways. All we have to do is open our hearts.

The magicians of old recognised the finger of God by the fact that it restricted their own power. Today we recognise the finger of God when we are together in the divine service. Suddenly we hear something that moves us deeply and we feel that the Lord is trying to touch us. He is speaking to us directly. That is the finger of God in His word. If we recognise the finger of God in this and act in accordance with it, our faith will be acknowledged. We can also discern the finger of God in prayer. When we pray in a truly intensive fashion we can feel just how close the Lord really is, and we can be sure that He hears us. Then the finger of God becomes evident in His presence. If we pray superficially we will not be able to perceive the finger of God. To feel it we need to pray intensively and wrestle for the help of God – then it will indeed touch us and we will find that our prayers are answered. The Lord guides us, and everything He does is for our good and our blessing.

The finger of God is to be found everywhere, even in our time! Imagine the moment when the Lord will complete His work. The finger of God will be manifested again and we will hear His voice that says: “Now come, you blessed of the Lord, and inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you!”

(From a divine service by the Chief Apostle)

NAC Men's Conference 2010

Cartoon of the Day

Staying Focused

Question: "How can I stay focused on Christ?"

In our fast-paced world, it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind and lose sight of our true purpose in life - the worship of God. Each believer, in striving to remain focused upon God, has his or her own way of keeping that focus. Each individual's needs are different. One person might memorize a Scripture verse each week; another might have a private Bible study each morning; yet another might have a goal of sharing the Gospel message with at least one person every week. Each of these things keeps Christ at the forefront of one's mind. Also, each of these activities has something in common. Each is something that believers can do in order to keep their focus where it needs to be. This is surrender—surrender to Jesus Christ, to God. Surrendering one's whole life: needs, worries, pains, joys, praises. Surrendering the physical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual. Consider the following verses: Romans 12:1 (NLT): "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?" Luke 9:23: "Then he said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.'" Romans 6:13: "Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God." A surrendered life is all about trust. It is trusting that God has your best interests at heart. It is trusting that His Word can be believed and taken at face value. It is trusting that all of your needs will be met. Surrender takes the focus off of self and places it upon Christ, and is demonstrated by obedience. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, writes, "Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment and self-destruction." I personally can think of no better way to stay focused as a believer than to completely surrender my life to my Lord and Savior.

Recommended Resource: The Keys to Spiritual Growth by John MacArthur.

Attention ALL Youths

Youth Walk-a-Thon 2010