Resurrection Worship

Resurrection Worship

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Jesus, beautiful Redeemer,

You who bore the agony of Calvary,

Pierced by the thorns,

Scourged,

Wounded,

Forsaken,

Reviled.

Your passion paid sin’s price.

Your death opened the veil.

Your tomb is the key to freedom

From death and the grave.

Your resurrection sealed our covenant

with the Father.

Your return will be the culmination of creation,

The restoration of Eden,

The doorway to eternity.

You are the way, the truth and the life.

May We Remember the Finished Work of Calvary

May We Remember the Finished Work of Calvary

By Rev.  Lonnie C. Crowe

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, spoke a prophetic word more than 100 years ago, that should call the church today into repentance. He said, “The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance,

salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.” 

It is time for the resurrection of the Church.  May we never forget that it is the power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, convicts us of sin and brings us to the cross for salvation.  May we never forget that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.  May we always remember that in salvation we are transformed by the renewing of our minds and that we are called to be holy because He is holy.  May the church awaken to the understanding that politics without Godly principles leads to deception and anarchy.  May we fully embrace the fact that Jesus paid, in agony, our wages of sin so that we may be delivered from the clutches of Hell into the hallowed halls of Heaven.

“Jesus, keep us near the cross.  There a precious fountain free to all, a healing stream flows from Calvary’s mountain.”  (Fanny Crosby)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control

The Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
^“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

In the Authorized King James Bible, the Greek word enkrateia is translated as temperance.  In the New King James Version it is translated as self-control.  Enkrateia connotes mastery over one’s self.

  

Solomon warned, “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28 NKJV).  Lack of self-control makes us vulnerable to attacks from every source and every direction.  Lack of self-control leads to weakness, emotional instability, disease, poverty, addiction and psychosis.  If one thing is true, its opposite is also true.  Therefore, self-control leads to physical and emotional strength, immunity, sufficiency and peace.  “Against such there is no law.”

Paul used his own life as an example to the Church at Corinth: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV) 

Often we become frustrated in our attempts to control others.  We should become frustrated in trying to control others.  We were not created to control other people.  We were created and empowered by the Holy Spirit within us to control ourselves.  Our struggle for self-control should keep us so occupied that we should have no time or inclination to control our peers.  We can give advice, but we cannot force others to follow that advice.  We can, however, choose to follow the advice of our Lord.

God gives us direction in His word, but He has also given us free will.  He does not force us into obedience.  He is in control of the overall plans for time and eternity, but He does not micromanage our lives.  He desires disciples rather than puppets.

Paul explained the pattern and purpose of discipleship:  “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV)

As Christians, we have been redeemed from every lawless deed.  Through Holy Spirit empowered self-control, we can walk worthy of our calling. (Ephesians 4:1) The list of the fruit of the Spirit begins with love and ends with self-control.  It becomes a cycle.  Our love leads us to self-control.  Our self-control leads us to love.   

Walking in the fruit of the Spirit, we become like Jesus who “being found in appearance as a man, humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”( Philippians 2:8 NKJV)  The cross demonstrates the agape love of God which led to the obedience, the self-control of Jesus on Calvary.

The Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

The Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
^“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Dictionaries list many synonyms for “gentleness”.  The synonym that touched my heart at this time is “courteous.”  We live in such a discourteous world that even Christians often display a lack of gentleness.  “Please” and “thank you” are no longer commonly used phrases.  I can’t remember the last time a newly married couple sent us a “thank you” note for a gift received.  Some people are hesitant to come to church for fear that they might sit in someone else’s pew. Too many Christians separate themselves from other Christians over ways of worship that have nothing to do with salvation. 

The word of God directs us: “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.” (Titus 3:1-2 NKJV)   That is gentleness.

 

 We often sing “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild”.  What a wonderful message penned by Charles Wesley.  One verse reads:

“Lamb of God, I look to Thee;
Thou shalt my Example be;
Thou art gentle, meek, and mild;
Thou wast once a little child.”

 

Jesus is gentle, meek and mild.  Jesus is courteous. He describes Himself in Matthew 11: 28-30: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (NKJV)

Jesus ate with hated tax collectors.  He forgave a woman caught in adultery.  During the Passover dinner before His crucifixion, He knelt before Peter and washed his feet even though He knew that Peter would deny Him.  That same evening, He also knelt before Judas and washed his feet even though He knew that Judas would betray Him.  Knowing that I am unworthy, He went to the cross to pay the price for my sin. That is courtesy—putting others before Himself. 

Jesus called the sinners unto Himself and rebuked the actions of the Pharisees, the self-righteous, condemning hypocritical religious leaders.  Yet, when one of them, Nicodemus, came to Him under the cover of darkness, Jesus received him and taught him. The last time Nicodemus is mentioned in the Bible, he is helping Joseph of Arimathea to prepare the body of Jesus for burial.

From the depths of prison Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus:  “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Graham Cooke writes: "There is no law, circumstance or power that can successfully work against the fruit of the Spirit. In it we are empowered to overcome the enemy. Relationships are renewed. Our emotions become stable and powerful. We change the atmosphere, upgrade the climate of faith and become empowered by the Presence of God.”

We must remember that, as Christians, the Holy Spirit of God indwells us. Because of that indwelling, the fruit of the Spirit is already present in our lives.  It is important for us to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and to empower us to manifest that fruit.

Gentleness, courtesy, is a fruit of the Spirit.