The New Life, Inc.

I had an interesting experience a while back.  I was in a restaurant and I asked the waiter if he knew Jesus, he said: “Yes, he is right over there!” and he pointed to another man working at the bar.  Then I realized this was a Mexican restaurant and many of them are named Jesus.

What made me think of this was a scripture reading in 2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

There are many people that believe in Jesus, they do not believe that He is the Christ. They use the name Jesus to sway you to their kind of religion. When we were in Egypt, the Arabs made a point of telling us that they believed in Jesus, that He had come to Egypt and spent some time there. I have had people come to my door and say we believe in Jesus.  The only problem, they don’t believe he is the Christ; he is just another prophet.

In Corinthians 1: 2-2 Paul wrote; “for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” Again in 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no man can lay a foundation other then the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Any Jesus that is not the Christ can do nothing for us because it bypasses the crucifixion. There is no atonement for our sins which separates us from God. The cross and the crucifixion are a stumbling stone, an offence, to some people. I have had people ask me: “Why do I need Jesus?  I answered; “Because you are a sinner! They were insulted that I called them a sinner. These people stumble over the cross. It is an insult to them to imply that they need a Savior, a Christ, just someone named Jesus is good enough for them.

Romans 9 :33 “Just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And He who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

There is another Jesus preached in some churches, he is powerless, he cannot help anyone. You can recognize this Jesus because no one is changed.  They try to change themselves and fail. They practice religion and law, they are unchanged inside where it counts. This other Jesus does not deal with the sin issue and we remain separated from God.

Controversy 

No matter what church or group you may belong to or in your home or workplace there is a certain amount of controversy that springs up. It is very easy to get caught up in it. I would encourage you to stand back and not be hasty to get involved in this sort of thing.  When we get involved we have to take sides and all too often when we take sides, it brings division.

There our times when we need to be involved and choose to make a stand. There are other times when we need to listen and observe and not be too anxious to tell others what we think. Sometimes our silence or lack of action speaks louder then words. Webster’s dictionary; “Turned opposite” A discussion of opposing views; A dispute; Quarrel; Strife. 

An interesting aspect of not picking sides gives us the opportunity to look at the whole picture and see the whole controversy and maybe make some wise decisions by listening to the Holy Spirit; gaining some wisdom to eliminate the controversy.  

In the spiritual realm we are not a democracy; all too often we function that way. Democracy is not spiritual.  Democracy is of this world and it is filled with controversy. How much controversy is there in your life?

In the spiritual realm the question is not what the majority votes. It is a matter of discernment of what the Holy Spirit says. For example, a group of people may be voting on who the next pastor will be.  All of them vote for the same man except one. The one person may be the only one listening to the Holy Spirit and as a result they land up with the wrong man for the job. They did not have good discernment and did not realize that the church is not a democracy but a spiritual body that has a King.