April 2014 – jeffersonvann

altered

“No longer will there be anything accursed…” (Rev. 22:3).

Tomorrow will change all reality.
This age we are living in today is limited.
Christ will return, bringing change with him.
Christ will redeem us from the ultimate curse – death itself.
Christ promises new life.
We should live up to that promise by living backwards.
Our living the altered life is his plan for evangelism

The Bible teaches that Christ has done something for us that we could not do for ourselves. He was the sinless sacrifice needed to bring us forgiveness and restore our relationship with God. But the hope that we have expands beyond that of forgiveness. We believe that Jesus plans to change us, to transform us into the glorified beings that we were meant to be. He also plans to change the very fabric of reality, so that this universe as well will be free from the consequences of humanity’s rebellion. The LORD has revealed that in our future “any accursed thing will be no longer.”[1]

bondage to decay

When we think about all the accursed things that make up the universe around us, it becomes even more clear that a radical alteration will be necessary to fulfill this promise. The apostle Paul wrote of that future time when “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”[2] That bondage to decay is not simply a set of aberrations that plague the universe. It is built into the essence of what the universe is. Modern science cannot explain the universe without involving the principles by which things decay, break down, malfunction, mutate and die.

My wife and I travel to the Philippines occasionally, and each time we are amazed at how quickly things – new things – fall apart there as a result of exposure to the harsh tropical climate. We have learned to expect buildings and items which are comparatively new to not be the same as the last time we saw them. To their credit, the Filipinos take this reality in stride. They do not seem overly anxious when things stop working the way they should. They have learned not to expect perfection, but to make do with what life gives them.

In a way, all of us have learned that. As a result of the creation being “subjected to God’s curse,”[3] we have had to adjust to things not happening as expected. “Happily ever after” just does not happen. The best that we can hope for is some good things happening mixed in with all the bad things. We are not all pessimists, but most of us are realists, in that we have learned to expect a certain amount of disappointment.

The insurance and health care industries thrive on this realism. As much as we strive to live simply and remain healthy, we all live with the specter of a reversal in health, leading to at least a reversal of fortune, and at most a catastrophic injury or terminal illness. So, we invest in the potential or the likelihood of something going wrong in this world. So many of us do that because we know the odds are stacked against us. Of all the things that can possibly happen in a lifetime, it is rather likely that some bad things will happen.

The metaphor that the apostle uses to describe this reality is bondage. He says that God has subjected the universe to that curse of futility. This is where modern science gets it wrong. The popular scientific ideas suggest that the universe itself has somehow and for some reason brought upon itself its current state. Paul says, no. The current bondage to decay, malfunction, disease and death is God’s work. Because of what God has done, “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”[4]

But the good news the apostle shares is that this bondage is only temporary. The future he predicts is one where the universe will be set free from this present state of bondage, and experience the new reality – a reality which he calls “the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”[5] The same God will has put together the world we are living in now has a future prepared for his children which will be dramatically different.

A famous, often quoted Bible verse comes in the context of this revelation. I have seen this verse displayed prominently in many people’s homes. Paul said “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”[6] What is that purpose? That purpose, ultimately, is the future in which we, the children of God are totally conformed to the image of his Son, Christ. We are called to conform to Christ, and all the good and bad things that happen to us in this life are being orchestrated by God to prepare us for that life. Paul does not say that everything that happens to us will be good. He says that God is at work in our lives in this temporary reality, getting us ready for the next reality, when it will all be good. Paul does not even promise that we will see the good that comes out of our complicated lives today. In fact, he teaches us to expect trouble and calamity and being persecuted , going hungry, becoming destitute, being in danger, and getting threatened with death.[7] Oddly enough, I have never seen that verse displayed prominently in anyone’s home!

freedom today

We can praise the LORD that there is already a great deal of freedom we can experience today when we come to Christ. Disciples who remain in Christ’s word are set free from their previous slavery to sin.[8] We have the freedom to live outside of the dominion of sin, and to enslave ourselves to God’s righteousness.[9] We have the freedom to reject legalism and religious bondage, and live as children of the free woman (Sarah), rather than the slave woman (Hagar).[10] We have the freedom of living with the veil removed from our hearts, so that the Spirit can transform us into Christ’s image from one degree of glory to another.[11] We are free to live as servants of God by serving others, even if that servanthood involves suffering, and includes pain and the occasional failure.

freedom tomorrow

But none of those freedoms we might experience today can be compared to the glorious freedom we can expect when our king returns. He has told us that he is making “all things new”[12] and that includes us. The freedom we will experience at the coming of Christ will be unlike any liberty we have ever experienced. It will be the freedom of metamorphosis. It will be the freedom of realizing for the first time what we truly were intended to be. All our present frustrations will suddenly make sense because we will have experienced the new selves that we always wanted, but could not attain.

It will be a freedom of universal potential. Today, I might say I have the freedom to write and perform a musical masterpiece. I do, but I lack the ability and the skills necessary. I cannot carry a tune in a bucket. Some people do have that skill today, but I am not one of them. Tomorrow, things will be different. The limits put upon me by my own present identity will have been stripped away. Today I am limited even in my potential. Tomorrow, I will be set free from that limitation.

One of the things that limit us now is pain. I have recently went through the ordeal of a tooth extraction, and my mouth is reminding me of that ordeal. I am finding it harder to concentrate as I write, and feel less confident of what I am writing. I am being tempted to stop – but I want to keep going. I want to say some important things, and I do not want my present discomfort to prevent those things from being said. Usually, when I set my mind to doing something, it is accomplished rather quickly. But I must confess that this article is taking longer than expected. Pain is keeping me from doing what I want. Tomorrow – when Christ returns – I will be set free from that limitation.

Worries and disappointments also weigh us down today, keeping us from being ourselves. Relationships, families, church fellowships, work environments – so many facets of our lives are prone to be messy, dysfunctional, and can distract us from living life the way we want to. Sometimes we bring those distractions upon ourselves by the choices we make. But many times that world of brokenness is thrust upon us. We cannot avoid it. It is what it is. Today Jesus encourages to reject those worries and concentrate on his kingdom.[13] Tomorrow – when Christ returns – we will be set free from that distraction.

freedom from death

Christ’s coming will redeem us from all the cursed things in this present age. This includes the ultimate curse, and the ultimate limitation — death itself. Deliverance from mortality is presently something that believers seek.[14] Christ has brought the potential for overcoming our present mortality to light through the gospel.[15] But, presently, only God is immortal.[16] We still die and rest in the grave until our redeemer comes again to restore us to life. But when he does come, he will be bringing our reward with him.[17] Part of that reward is the glorious freedom from the prison that presently awaits everyone: a dark, silent, unconscious wait for life in that grave which the Old Testament calls Sheol, and the New Testament calls Hades.[18] Jesus is the key to freedom from death and Hades, and he will be bringing that key with him when he comes.[19] He plans to empty this prison and then destroy it in the lake of fire.[20]

new life

Having been delivered from the curse of mortal existence, believers will enjoy a new life. This new life is the eternal life that Jesus promised.[21] The apostle Paul explained to his readers that this new life is not the present possession of believers, but part of the harvest at the end of the age which believers will reap. He spoke of believers seeking immortality today, but being given it by Christ at his return, in the same way that unbelievers are storing up God’s wrath for end-time judgment.[22] Just as sin is currently reigning in this life, leading to eventual death, so grace is reigning in this life, leading to a resurrection unto “eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”[23] This reward comes not at the beginning of our Christian life, but at the end of the sanctification process of this age, and is a gift given to us by God only to those who are in Christ Jesus.[24] At death, we reap what our ancestors sowed in the flesh, but at Christ’s coming, we will reap what we have sown to the Spirit.[25] We will put on this new immortal life like a new garment.[26]

The other side of the “new life” coin is emphasized by the apostle John. He agrees with Paul, but emphasizes the difference that the promise of eternal life has for believers now. He writes of this eternal life as a present possession, resulting in fellowship with the Father and the Son today.[27] He is not negating the truth that the new life will be given at the second coming. He still speaks of it as a promise.[28] But he shows how this promise inside us is going to make a difference within us. As a result of the promise of eternal life, believers are not going to hate their brothers, or seek to murder them.[29] As a result of the promise of eternal life, believers are going to want to tell others about Jesus, the giver of this hope.[30] Our confidence is not in some immortal element within ourselves. It is not in surviving death. Our confidence is in him. Because we have him, we have eternal life. Knowing him is the same thing as living forever, because he is the “true God” and the source of the promised “eternal life.”[31]

living the altered life today

We do not know a great deal about the life we will live then. But perhaps we know enough so that we can begin living the God-centered life that we can expect to live then. We can imagine that eternity is going to be lived in an unselfish way, as contrasted with the way we tend to live life now. It would not hurt us to pay more attention to the people around us. Jesus gave us some insight into living the life of the coming sky kingdom in his sermon on the mount. Here are some principles he taught there about living the new life:

Seek God’s will for others, not my will for myself[32]
Reflect the glory of God in my life before others.[33]
Affirm the Law of God by how I live before others.[34]
Prioritize a flawless relationship with others.[35]
Be trustworthy in what I say to others.[36]
Let God’s grace, not judgment, determine your relationship with others.[37]
Love all others.[38]
Do not criticize others.[39]
Be genuine, producing real righteousness for others to see.[40]

The context of the sermon on the mount is this age, and this life. In eternity, there will be no sin or sinners to bump up against to identify us as true, compared to their false. But the words of Jesus challenge us to live – as it were – backwards. He lives in heaven, beyond space and time. He already knows us as we will be. He challenges us to live our present mortal lives with the same intensity and “newness” that we will experience in eternity. He wants us to prove who we will be by what we say and do now. He wants us to start living out the “not yet” in our “already.” That is his plan for drawing the world to himself. That is his plan for populating his future kingdom from the sky.

He has no plan “B.” If we fail to represent him as we should, eternity will be populated with fewer immortal beings. If we allow the world’s brokenness and sin to define us, it will make an eternal difference for those whom only we could have reached. Christ is drawing people to himself who are longing for the righteousness of the eternal kingdom. He is using you and me to show them the way. That is why it is absolutely essential to his plan that his people repent and live changed lives. He does not just want to gather sinners for heaven. He wants to bring his righteousness to the universe. He plans to alter all reality. Where do you fit in with those plans?

[1] a literal translation of pan katathema ouk estai eti (Revelation 22:3).

[2] Romans 8:21 ESV.

[3] Romans 8:20 NLT.

[4] Romans 8:22 ESV.

[5] Romans 8:21 ESV.

[6] Romans 8:28 ESV.

[7] Romans 8:35 NLT.

[8] John 8:31-32.

[9] Romans 6:7-18.

[10] Genesis 21, Galatians 4-5.

[11] 2 Corinthians 3:13-18.

[12] Revelation 21:5.

[13] Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:29.

[14] Romans 2:7.

[15] 2 Timothy 1:10.

[16] 1 Timothy 6:16.

[17] Isaiah 62:11; Revelation 22:12.

[18] Job 17:3; Psalm 6:5; 31:17; Isaiah 38:10-12; Revelation 6:8.

[19] Revelation 1:18.

[20] Revelation 20:13-14.

[21] Matthew 19:29; 25:46; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; John 4:14, 36; 5:24; 6:27,40,47,54; 10:28; 12:25,50.

[22] Romans 2:7-8.

[23] Romans 5:21.

[24] Romans 6:22-23.

[25] Galatians 6:8.

[26] 1 Corinthians 15:53-54.

[27] 1 John 1:2-3.

[28] 1 John 2:25.

[29] 1 John 3:15.

[30] 1 John 5:11.

[31] 1 John 5:13, 20.

[32] Matthew 5:1-12.

[33] Matthew 5:13-16.

[34] Matthew 5:17-20.

[35] Matthew 5:21-32.

[36] Matthew 5:33-37.

[37] Matthew 5:38-42.

[38] Matthew 5:43-48.

[39] Matthew 7:1-12.

[40] Matthew 7:13-27.

a church led by the Holy Spirit

It is a thrill to be back here at Maranatha Bible Church. Pastor Jessie invited me to speak this morning. The Lord has put 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 in my heart to share with you. These words are particularly important for churches to keep in mind, because, like the Corinthian church in Paul’s day, it is very easy for us to be led by the flesh, and not by the Holy Spirit.

¹Brothers I do not want you to be misled about spiritual gifts. ² You know that when you were pagans whenever someone led you, they were leading you off the path, and making you follow voiceless and useless idols. ³ That is why I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one is able to say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

A CHURCH LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT STAYS ON THE RIGHT PATH

Paul tells the Corinthians that they were formerly led off the right path. When he brought the gospel to them, it gave the chance to get back on the right path. But he warns them that even a church who thinks it is obeying the Spirit can be operating in the flesh. The difference is the focus on Jesus.

⁴ Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives each kind. ⁵ There are different ministry gifts, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are different manifestation gifts, but it is the same God who activates them all in everyone.

A CHURCH LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT DEMONSTRATES UNITY

The unity of the church is designed to come from the top down. When we seek unity of the flesh, that is uniformity, and it does not work. It comes from the wrong source. Legalism destroys churches as well as people. Our unity must come from God. It is not rule by democracy, and it is not rule by tyranny of the most powerful or most popular.

⁷ In each believer the Spirit manifests for the good of everyone. ⁸ To one the Spirit gives something insightful to say, and to another the same Spirit gives something intelligent to say, ⁹ to another the same Spirit gives extraordinary faith, to another the one Spirit gives power to heal, ¹⁰ to another he enables the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak various kinds of languages, to another the explanation of things said in other languages. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who gives to each one individually exactly the gift he wants him to have.

A CHURCH LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT DEMONSTRATES DIVERSITY AT THE SAME TIME

One of the reasons flesh unity does not work is that the Holy Spirit works within us in different ways, so we are automatically going to be different from each other. God wants to reach the community through all of us, and our diversity is his means of doing that.

When the flesh leads, either insight or intelligence will prevail. But when the Holy Spirit leads, both insightful and intelligent words are spoken.

When the flesh leads, someone’s individual ministry becomes the measure of the church’s success. But when the Holy Spirit leads, everyone’s ministry is given its proper place, and the Lord of the church is glorified instead of one of his servants.

In 2 Corinthians we discover that a group of leaders within the Corinthian church had hijacked it, and were teaching another Christ, a different spirit, and a different gospel![1] The LORD gave us these epistles because we are susceptible to idolizing others, which can lead to apostasy as well.

¹² Because just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ Because one Spirit immersed us all into one body- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free- and all of us were given a drink of that one Spirit.

A CHURCH LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT DEMONSTRATES EQUALITY

Paul emphasizes the fact that the Corinthian church is made up of a diverse lot of people. Some of those people were Jews, and some of them were Greeks. Some of them were slaves and some of them were free – in fact some of them employed slaves who were also Christians.

But from the standpoint of the who they were in Christ, they were one body. In a body, every member has the same status as every other member. The Corinthians were all equal, not because it was a democracy, but because it was a church.

The Corinthians had taken this truth and distorted it, because they were being led by the flesh. So they began to build authority pyramids, to determine who the top dogs were. Paul wrote them to explain that in the church, there are no top dogs. The Corinthian fellowships were dysfunctional because they were seeking to establish a hierarchy.

Hierarchies destroy churches because churches were designed to function like bodies. In a body, each member is equal in worth, because the body can only function properly when each member does its work.

Our challenge today is to stop being led by the flesh. It will mean that we have to humbly accept that God is going to do some things without getting permission from our church leadership. It will mean that we are going to have to trust each other to be what God says we all are. The temptation is to stay within our comfort zones, and we can do that. But the price that we pay for doing that is that some of the things that God’s Holy Spirit wants to do will not be done. As a result, some of the people within the church will stay hurting, and some outside the church will stay unreached.

Being led by the Spirit may mean launching out into a new ministry. It may mean that God will call on you to say something that you know others are going to oppose. It may mean doing something that others will criticize. Real church ministry is a messy thing. I cannot promise you that your new ministry will be accepted. I cannot even promise that you will always have success.

All I am saying is that we often get it wrong, and our Lord wants us to get it right. Following Christ is not the same thing as playing “follow the leader.”

LORD, give us courage to follow you into the right path. We know you want to speak and act through us. Show us how to follow your leading, to accomplish your will, to be your church.

[1] 2 Corinthians 11:4-5.

Oro Bible College commencement message 2014

Nineteen years ago, I came to Oro Bible College as a seminary intern. My wife and I were thinking that the LORD could use us here as instructors, and that we might possibly make it as missionaries. Since I survived that internship, we brought our family here in 1996. What followed was the best 13 years of our lives. We are deeply grateful for the privilege of serving at OBC, for working alongside some truly remarkable educators, and for the privilege of investing ourselves in the training of hundreds of young people for the Christian ministry.

Today I get to share a few words of encouragement with you, the class of 2014, as you conclude your time of preparation here. Your friends and family join me in honoring you for the work you have done, and we rejoice with you that this phase in your education is now completed.

My message today will be short, because none of us will remember most of it anyway, and we all have a lot on our minds. I will give you the outline up front, and you can decide which parts you feel are important enough to listen to. If I start to see everybody’s eyes glazing over, I will just skip that section because I do not want to bore you.

The first thing I want to do is correct a possible mistaken assumption about the purpose of Oro Bible College. Then, I want to explain how you may best use the skills you have obtained in the past few years at OBC. Finally, I want to suggest your next field of study, and give you some guidance on how to obtain your next degree.

THE REAL PURPOSE OF OBC

I mentioned that I want to correct a possible mistaken assumption about the purpose of Oro Bible College. Lots of people think that a person goes to Bible college to train for church leadership. They think that once a person has spent a few years in academic training at a school like OBC, they are automatically qualified for spiritual leadership. There is a name for Bible College graduates who walk down these aisles and get their diplomas and then think that that qualifies them to lead the church. That name is wash-outs. If you think that your time at OBC is the end of your leadership training, you will wash-out in the ministry, and you may even drop out of the faith altogether. So, I am here today to seriously warn you not to think that the purpose of OBC is to qualify you for spiritual leadership.

Just in case you are thinking about suing the board for your money back, I think it best to show you that we have been telling you that all along. From your very first orientation and the first time you read the OBC manual, you have encountered a sort-of motto for OBC. It is taken from two verses in the Bible, and I will quote those verses now:

^“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV).

I know how some of you have been reading those verses. You were thinking that once you got through with this silly time of studying, and taking tests, and going to chapel, and doing your ministry skills assignments and your internship that you would finally graduate, and you would be equipped for the ministry. You were thinking that OBC was training you for church leadership, and once you were finished you would have all the spiritual authority that you need. Sorry, that is incorrect.

Let me explain why. First of all, Ephesians 4:11-12 was not written about OBC, or any other place where one gets a theological education. We use Ephesians 4:11-12 as our motto, not because it explains what OBC does, but because it explains what OBC graduates are supposed to do.

The subject of Ephesians 4 is unity in the body of Christ. Paul teaches that Jesus has given certain believers to the church for the purpose of helping all the members of the church to function in the ministries that the Holy Spirit gave them. When these people do what God called them to do, the church is built up, and this one whole body glorifies God.

Who are these special people? They are not the OBC staff. They are not the OBC faculty. They are not the OBC administration. Ephesians 4 is not about qualifying people academically for church jobs. You may go directly into a job in a church or para-church ministry soon, or you may not. What we have really been training you to do is to serve as missionaries, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. It is important to understand that these are not job titles. They are functions in the equipping ministry. They are the way that you can use the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you to help others in the church use the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to them. You are the equippers.

In my experience, there have always been students at OBC who never got that. They thought they were training to be qualified for a job, so they paid very little attention to learning how to help people within the church. Some of these were very gifted students, who passed all their classes. But they are not in ministry today.

HOW TO USE YOUR OBC EDUCATION

I want to explain how you may best use the skills you have obtained in the past few years at OBC. I don’t want you to be one of those students who get your degree at OBC, and then waste all your gifts and skills and training on something else besides the equipping ministry. Some of you might not really want to be equippers. That would be a shame. It would be a waste of several years of your life.

I am speaking now to those of you who dare to accept the challenge. You are saying that you will agree to focus your time and talents and energy and resources by investing them in the lives of other people – people in the church.

Some of you will be called to cross-cultural apostleship. You will invest yourselves in the lives of people who are different from you. They may live in another country, and speak a different language. They will not think the way you do. It will not be easy for you to cross those cultural barriers. But you will be determined to do it, because deep inside of you beats the heart of an apostle. For you, fighting the good fight will mean establishing the church where it isn’t now, and not building your work on anyone else’s foundation.

Some of you will be called to speak God’s heart to a people and a church that is unwilling to hear him. You will dare to stand up and tell people that what they are doing is wrong, and that God is going to judge them. You are not going to have many friends, and you are not going to have an easy life. But deep inside you beats the heart of a prophet. For you, fighting the good fight will mean correcting the church, based on the eternal standard of righteousness found in God’s word.

Some of you will be called to share God’s good news to a hurting world, and win many people to Christ and his kingdom. Deep inside you beats the heart of an evangelist, and woe unto you if you do not preach the gospel. For you, fighting the good fight will mean finding just the right way to communicate the message of God’s love so that you melt the hearts of a stubborn, rebellious and sinful generation. You will live to see just one more soul won for Christ and his coming kingdom.

Some of you will be called to shepherd others. You will be a counselor for those who keep going astray. You will preach and teach, providing regular spiritual nourishment from God’s word to his flock. You will be there to pray for them when they need healing, deliverance and restoration. Deep inside you beats the heart of a pastor, and you will be that for them, whether you have the official position or not. For you, fighting the good fight will mean walking beside one or two or three generations, and helping them be what they are, the sheep of God’s pasture. You will be the under-shepherds. You will not own the church, and you will resist the temptation to feed upon them. You will live to see an entire community under the safe protection of God.

Some of you will be called to train others. You will take what you have learned in your personal studies, and what you have learned at OBC, and the teaching skills you have developed here, and you will utilize that training by training others. Some of you may teach on the church level, others may go on to further academic studies. Believe it or not, some of you might end up back at OBC as faculty. It has been known to happen. Just ask professor Reniel, or professor Billy, or pastor Art or pastor Jessie, or Dr. Nely. Deep inside of you beats the heart of a teacher, and you do not just share the text, you have to explain it. For you, fighting the good fight will mean investing yourself in studies long after you have taken your last exam. You will live to see the expression on people’s faces when they finally understand what that text actually means.

YOUR NEXT STEP

I want to suggest your next field of study, and give you some guidance on how to obtain your next degree. I do not mean your next academic degree. That might happen, or it might not happen. But I’m talking about your next step in the process that Ephesians 4:11-12 describes. Now that you have been given a fairly good education in biblical, theological, and ministerial studies, what next?

When you came to OBC, you submitted to a process of sequential study that was intended to expose you to all the academic disciplines you would need to graduate. Your curriculum covered all the general education requirements for a bachelor’s degree. It also introduced you to foundational courses in all the professional categories. You had Bible survey courses and basic doctrines. You had some courses that went a little deeper than that, just to give you a taste of the skills needed for more advanced study. You also had courses focusing on particular professional ministries. You also had courses which bridged the gap between theory and practice: you ministry skills practicums. You learned how to preach teach and counsel, and you learn what to preach, teach and counsel.

So, where do you go from here? I suggest that you go back to the basics, and develop a lifelong curriculum centered around three things that Jesus taught. This is self-study, and you will not be graded, and you will never graduate with this degree in this life. But I guarantee you that if you focus the rest of your life trying to master these three things, you will have a successful life and a productive ministry as well.

What are these three things? The two greatest commandments: love God and love your neighbor, and the great commission: make disciples.

I recommend that you intentionally use the next fifty or sixty years of your life falling in love with the LORD your God. Learn how to love him with all your heart, soul and mind and strength. Jesus said that of all the law’s commands, that is the greatest. That is what we are promised eternal life for.

To assist you in your studies of this topic, I recommend three things. First, immerse yourselves in the systematic reading and devotional meditation on God’s word: the Bible. I guarantee that if you do this, your mind will be changed. The more you learn about your LORD, the more you will love him.

Second, spend quality time in prayer. Don’t just pray for your needs. Don’t even limit your prayers to other peoples’ needs. Pray because you have a relationship with God. People in a relationship spend time with one another. Sometimes they even talk to one another. Go figure.

Third, God, the Holy Spirit manifests himself when the church fellowships together. You cannot have a personal relationship with God apart from fellowship with other believers. Don’t try it. It doesn’t work.

The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. The people in Jesus’ day thought that their neighbors were the people like them, and people that loved them in return. But Jesus said, no. We should love even our enemies. they are our neighbors too. Even the Samaritans and the Muslims. Love of God the creator naturally extends to all his creatures, so we have a lot of loving to do.

Finally, Jesus commanded his church to get involved in one major activity and keep working at it until he returns. He told us to make disciples. He told us to make disciples here, and other nations as well – in fact all of them. When Jesus returns, he is going to bring his kingdom from the sky with him. But we can make citizens of that kingdom right now.

We do that by baptizing them the way John the Baptist did. He challenged people to repent and give their lives over to God. Those who accepted that challenge were baptized, and that confirmed them as disciples. We also make disciples by teaching. A disciple is a student. The content of discipleship is everything that Jesus commanded.

These three things. Love God, Love people, and make disciples. If you learn nothing else for the rest of your lives, learn to do these three things. That is my challenge for you today. Thank you.

Jefferson Vann

Oro Bible College Commencement,

Cagayan de Oro city, Philippines

March 27^th, 2014.