homeward bound newsletter v14n03

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Volume 14 Homeward Bound Number 03 Our Fourteenth Year! “For other foundat ion can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Chr ist.” (I Corinthians 3:11 ) Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460 (203) 449-6190 – john@HomewardBoundMinistrie s.Org This Important War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3 Do You Deserve Happiness . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Not All Believe Him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 Son of Man- Something You Will & Won’t See . . Page 9 The Gift of Prophetic Insight . . . . . . . . . . Page 10 It Is Finished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12

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Volume 14  Homeward Bound  Number 03

Our Fourteenth Year!“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 3:11)

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

This Important War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3Do You Deserve Happiness . . . . . . . . . . Page 4Not All Believe Him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 Son of Man- Something You Will & Won’t See . . Page 9The Gift of Prophetic Insight . . . . . . . . . . Page 10It Is Finished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

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This very timely and important article is reprinted with theexceptionally kind permission of and is © 2010 WORLD magazine.

WORLD magazine is published bi-weekly and is available through

their web site at www.worldmag.com . Further subscription andother information on this exceptional publication is available by

calling (828) 232-5260. This article appeared in their July 17th issue.

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

3

Editorial Comment: This Important WarJohn Payne

First off, I would like to thank WORLD magazine for their permission to reprint this article WORLD magazine puts today’s news issues into a Christian perspective. Editor Mindy Belz travel

the world digging up these important and relevant stories and burrowing to the root issues. A hearty  well done for all her hard work. I recommend WORLD magazine knowing that you will enjoy it fo both its reading pleasure that it brings as well asthe understanding and edification within the  body of Christ for its coverage of both Nationaland worldwide events.

I have watched over the past few years thegrowing persecution of the Christian church in  Afghanistan. A few individuals who receive thisnewsletter there have written to tell of it. One haseven forwarded videos of the beheadings of bravemen who stood firm in their faith in Jesus Christrather than turn back, facing death rather than  betray the One Who has redeemed them fromdarkness. I watched them with disgust yetknowing these men found peace moments later inthe arms of a loving and comforting God.

It is easy here in a country where we have the freedom of speech, freedom to assemblefreedom to worship, freedom of religion, to call ourselves “Christian”. Yet even here in the UnitedStates of America very slowly some of these precious rights that we as believers and followers of theLord Jesus Christ possess have been eroded over time by our Government, secular men and women AND by those who claim to be “Christians”. “Nominal” Christians that is. (That’s a topic for anotheday!) AND the church has stood by and permitted it to happen. Were the same sort of persecution to

 begin happening here in this Country, the churches would empty over night. There’d be so much reaestate on the market!

I have read very few articles in the press and seen little ornothing on cable or broadcast television news about their sufferingThis article by Mindy Belz, Editor of WORLD magazine, brings tothe surface the ugly facts that our government, our tax dollars areresponsible for allowing the government of Afghanistan to kill thesepeople, our brothers and sisters in Christ. And, not only do we allowit and pay for it, but we protect their right to do it and stand by andlet it happen.

 Where is the voice for these people? Oh I know I hear som

of you saying where is the voice for the other millions of Christiansaround the world who are being persecuted? This is fundamentallydifferent! We have empowered the Afghan people by funding theirgovernment, funding the writing and enactment of theirconstitution. We have bought and paid for the guns andammunition for and trained their army. We have spent billions odollars to prop up a corrupt regime that is this hour attempting to

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

4

 bargain with the enemy they are fighting against! And now we find they are calling for the killing oChristians and apparently have done so. THIS MUST STOP!

I have made a commitment to fast and pray for these brothers and sisters. I have also made acommitment to place a copy of this Newsletter with a cover letter before the President and VicePresident of the United States, each United States Senator and Representative in Congress, each

member of the Supreme Court of the United States, a list of over one hundred cable and broadcastnews organizations, a list of over sixty news and political commentators and finally a list of over onehundred recognized national Christian leaders.

This cover letter will explain what is happening to the Christians in Afghanistan, will point outhe excellent work done by WORLD magazine and the focus article by Editor Mindy Belz in particularI will ask them all to help. Publicize the cause, let the world and our Nation in particular know otheir plight. Governmentally to bring the persecution to a halt if possible, if not to extract thesepeople safely so no harm may come to them. Ask for Christians to pray and support the effort. Andlastly, that all true Christians should be aware of their rights and freedoms and be on guard that they be not taken away.

Do You Deserve Happiness?John Payne

I was listening to a radio advertisement this morning where a woman boldly proclaims that youdeserved to be happy. She went on to say that her company had the ability to help you personallyachieve this. I’ve been listening to her do this now, on my favorite news station, for a number o years.

  Where does anybody have the authority to make such a statement? Who, anywhere on thearth, has the authority to grant anybody any period or length of happiness? Where does somebodyhave the authority to claim that you deserve to be happy? Think about it for a moment.

I began thinking about her statements and then after visiting her web site gave her a phone call. After working m  way through various sales and management people I wafinally put through to her. We were able to speak for about anhour. Through her organization, not Christian in foundation oroperation, she believes that she can help people develop theability and power to have the happiness she knows they werealways meant to have. Her program operates from purelypsychological and self-help platforms, leaving out any optionthat Jesus just might be an avenue to deliver you from yourproblems and bring you into a position of peace and happiness

in this life.Do you know anybody in this life that lives this way or

exhibits these life characteristics all the time? Half the time?Ten percent of the time? With the exception of the last half

century or so, for the most part, with the exception of an exceptional few, the world has lived in abjecpoverty and under miserable living conditions. “Happiness” as you and I know it today was, and is fomany millions living today, an extremely transient thing. (continued on page five)

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

5

Do You Deserve Happiness?  (continued from page four)

 As a limousine driver working to support my ministry I have had the privilege of driving manyfamous and wealthy people over the past fifteen years and for many developed an intimate relationship with them. Let me tell you that

 being famous or having money and all the things that it can purchasedoes not always bring you happiness. I can tell you many hundredsof stories of ongoing sadness and grief in the lives of these people. Of all these men and women I can tell you with all truth, I would nottrade places with any one of them, no not one. I would not classify the vast majority of the lives of all these that I came to know as being happy . . . even part of the time.

In my desktop Random House Dictionary of the EnglishLanguage the definition of “happiness” is: 1. The quality or state of   being happy. 2. Good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy. 3. Aptness or felicity, as of expression. We’d have to refer back to the

definition of “happy” to understand this better. For “happy” my dictionary says: 1. Delighted, pleased or glad. 2. Characterized by orindicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy. 3. Favored by fortune, fortunateor lucky.

It is interesting to note that these terms are all relative, meaning that  you would need some point of reference to understand what they aresaying, some place to begin with to know whether you were happier or lesshappy than you were before. Let’s say, for example, you had lived most of  your life, perhaps thirty years or more, living in a dark and filthy dungeon  without clothes, no decent food or clean water, deprived of sunlight andfresh air. Now suddenly you were permitted to come up to a higher level inthe facility and have just slightly better conditions, yet still living in a filthy dungeon . . . you might be able to call yourself happy, knowing nothing better. But, is that really happiness compared to others who live in luxury?See what I mean?

“Happiness” is transient, depending exclusively upon the state of   your position and conditions in this life. They change from day to day and therefore does youhappiness. One day you are up, the next you are down. Oh, sometimes there are extended period where you might be happier overall, but unless you are able by some means to keep the harsh realitie

of life at bay, this happiness will dwindle away.Let me relate an important life fact for you, one that

most will never realize. In reality when you examine theauthority of the Bible and the Truth that it represents, the

entire world, with the exception of those who have beenredeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, are standing under the

 wrath of God. These people are awaiting such a complete andtotal punishment and destruction of eternal consequences that

 were they to understand and comprehend what is facing themthat I doubt happiness would ever enter their minds againPerhaps it and words like it would be forever expunged from thedictionary. (continued on page six)

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

6

Do You Deserve Happiness?  (continued from page five)

Satan has done such a wonderful job of convincing us that we deserve to be happy, livecomfortably, have luxuries, live better than we ought and put thoughts of worry and fear far from ouminds. Satan has provided, through the creative efforts of man, the finest in the way of conveniences

entertainments and medications that can perform these miracles for us. Yes, Satan has done a verygood job. He has blinded the world, the heart and mind of man, from the Truth of the Gospel.I am not saying that there is anything wrong with living comfortably. What I am saying is tha

 when you allow all of this to insulate and isolate you from being savedand then from serving God then this has indeed done its job ofseparating you from the authentic realities of this life . . . according to theBible. Satan has his agenda and the world has bought into it andcontinues to do so at such a rate that the mere mention that you ought tolook into the Bible and see what God has for you often meets with fearconfusion and rejection. And, it is getting worse with time. The Biblehas foretold this.

Truth be told, the Bible says, “Blessed is every one that feareththe Lord; that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou beand it shall be well with thee.”  (Psalm 128:1-2) True happiness is only for those who fear God and walk in His way . . . not in their own . . . and certainly not according to the world’s or Satan’s! Want tgo one further? King Solomon had it figured out. He tried to find happiness his whole life throughand had the money to do it. The women, the wine, the finest and the most exotic of everything thamoney could buy. He had everything . . . literally. And what did he have to say? Listen well,“Let ushear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is thwhole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whetheit be good, or whether it be evil.”  (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) Read the whole chapter, you’ll see it all incontext, Solomon knew what he was talking about. Better yet, read the whole Book of Ecclesiastes you will see that Solomon sought happiness at every point in his life once he attained power . . . andfound it all meaningless.

  What the Holy Spirit through Solomon is telling us is that obedience to God is the mosimportant thing that any man, woman or child can do in this life. It will produce the peace and joythat will endure here in this life and will pave the way for the eternity with Him to come. Obediencto God, which produces joy for His people, is one of theenduring messages of the entire Bible from beginning toend. Joy is that perfect place we find in Him that remainsconstant. Not affected by our worldly state, but given to us by Him as a gift that leads us onward in love, strength andpower towards Heaven and home! Do not forget,Nehemiah wrote, “ . . . the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10) It is His joy that wil

get you through this life, not happiness. Joy will see you through until the end of days.The apostle Peter himself, writing in his first epistle speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ who has

so perfectly redeemed us from this world, “Whom having not seen, ye love, in Whom, though now yesee Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end ofyour faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:8) Yes, joy unspeakable, more than we cancontain in these fragile earthly bodies until we meet Him face to face and then are released eternallyand forever to worship and praise Him and experience that perfect joy for which we were indeedcreated by Him and to share with Him.

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

7

Not all believe Him . . .John Payne

John 12:37-43, “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on himThat the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed ou

report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believebecause that Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that theyshould not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heathem. These things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Nevertheless among thechief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lesthey should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise ofGod.” 

I have chosen the above portion of scripture to make several points. First, even though Jesushealed all who came to Him, and there are many passages of scripture that support this, not all who  were healed nor all who witnessed these miracles believed. They did not believe that He was th

Messiah. They did not believe that He is the Son of God. They did not believe that He came to bringthem back into relationship with the Father. For whatever reason, many did not believe.Secondly, we see that it is God Himself who spiritually blinded some of those who were healed

or had witnessed these miracles. He did this because He knew, from the beginning of all things, those who would believe and those who would not. He knew the hearts andthoughts of all men. It may seem cruel to us that a loving God wouldforever blind certain men so that they would not, could not be savednor delivered unto the Kingdom of His dear Son. It is in His almighty wisdom that this was done. We need to understand that in His mercyHe has saved whom He would save, those who He knew, again fromthe beginning of all things, out of all souls, who would indeed besaved. We are so limited in our understanding of all things Divineespecially with regard to the wills of men, that we often adamantlyrefuse to accept that one individual or another, especially loved onesor friends, are not nor will not to be saved and we persist, often  beyond reason or the leading of the Holy Spirit. in attempting tpresent the Gospel to those we seek that God would save. May Godgrant us wisdom, peace and understanding as we minister the Truthtrusting that He will do the right thing. We see in Genesis chapter 18 wherein Abraham, interceding on behalf of his nephew Lot, says tothe Lord, "That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay therighteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do

right?" (verse 25) We, as did Abraham, must know and trust that God will always do the right thing.Thirdly, we can plainly see that today, as in centuries past, many will not be saved because

their fear of man is far greater than their fear of God. We know from Paul’s Epistle to the Romanthat, “ . . . if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart thaGod hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth untorighteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saithWhosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 10:9-11) (continued on page eight)

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

8

Not all believe Him . . . (continued from page seven)

Salvation is simply not a mental belief, it is something that requires an action on our part. Withour heart we believe in Jesus the Christ, Who He is, what He came here to doand that He rose from the dead in victory over death and sin. When we are

illuminated by the Spirit of Truth of all He has done for us, we will open ourmouths and confess before God and man that He has done this great thing forus, for me personally. We will not be ashamed to confess Him before men orHe will be ashamed of us and will not confess us before the Father, sealing ourdoom. We see in Matthew 10:32-33, “Whosoever therefore shall confess mebefore men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Our confession is not just in the words that wespeak with our mouths but also by the lives that we live before God and man which speak far more loudly than any words we ever could possibly speak.

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

9

Son of Man: Something You Will and Won’t SeeDemian Farnworth

 Which is easier to prove: that some one’s sins have been forgiven or that an ex-cripple can now walk? You can’t say “forgiveness of sins” since it’s invisible. So you must vote for the healed cripple. Or d

 you? That’s the question Jesus answers when we find him in Capernaum, circa Mark 2:1-12. Who Is the Cripple?

Seated on a mat inside a crowded house Jesus paused during his sermon to watch a dead man on a bier get lowered to the floor through a hole in theceiling. And this is what people came to see - a miracle. And indeed, that’s  what they got. But in a way none imagined. The man was not dead. Justlame from the neck down. Four men who peered through the roof possibly said as much. Jesus told the man, “Your sins are forgiven.” The Phariseesflinched, murmured. Jesus asked why they flinched and murmured. Heasked “Why do you think I blaspheme? Would it be easier for me to heal the

man? Would that satisfy you?” Why They Flinched and Murmured

The forgiveness of sins belongs to the realm of God alone. That was why the Pharisees balked aJesus’ statement. Jesus was claiming he could work as God worked. Knowing that the act oforgiveness was an intangible one, Jesus shifted gears. He would demonstrate that he had the poweto forgive sins because he possessed other God-like powers. Namely the gift of life. He ordered thelegs and arms of the cripple to warm with life. He spoke, and the cripple stood. By the Word of GodThe Son of God. The Creator. The Word Who was from the beginning.

 What You Do and Don’t See

The events unfold and all you see is a rabbi tell a lifetime cripple to pickup his pallet and walk home. All you see is a cripple climb to his feetgrab the pallet and walk out of the crowded house. All you see is a mobof people hollering, clapping and singing. What you don’t see is thestorehouse of sins emptied in an instant. Nor the dark clouds of wa  with God evaporate. Nor peace descend on the soul of a man onccrippled by guilt and fear and worry. All you see is an ex-cripple climbout of a house of people and walk - for the first time in his life - down adusty street.

 Where You Feel This

For you, like the ex-cripple, you simply believe what Jesus told youThat through his death your sins are forgiven. That through his death  your entrance into heaven is cleared. That through his death you arnow at peace with God. You believe you are healed from the wages osin. And you feel this in your spirit. And in that moment you commit tohis will for your life. Forever.

Demian Farnworth can be followed on his Blog, Fallen and Flawed, at: http://www.fallenandflawed.com/

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

10

The Gift of Prophetic Insight A. W. Tozer

Excerpted from Of God and Men

 A prophet is one who knows his times and what God is trying to say to the people of his times What God says to His church at any given period depends altogether upon her moral and spirituacondition and upon the spiritual need of the hour. Religious leaders who continue mechanically toexpound the Scriptures without regard to the current religious situation are no better than the scribeand lawyers of Jesus' day who faithfully parroted the Law without the remotest notion of what wasgoing on around them spiritually. They fed the same diet to all and seemed wholly unaware that there

  was such a thing as meat in due season. Thprophets never made that mistake nor wastedtheir efforts in that manner. They invariablyspoke to the condition of the people of theirtimes.

Today we need prophetic preachers; notpreachers of prophecy merely, but preachers with a gift of prophecy. The word of wisdom imissing. We need the gift of discernment againin our pulpits. It is not ability to predict that weneed, but the anointed eye, the power ofspiritual penetration and interpretation, theability to appraise the religious scene as viewedfrom God's position, and to tell us what isactually going on.

There has probably never been anothertime in the history of the world when so many people knew so much about religious happenings asthey do today. The newspapers are eager to print religious news; the secular news magazines devoteseveral pages of each issue to the doings of the church and the synagogue; a number of presassociations gather church news and make it available to the religious journals at a small cost. Eventhe hiring of professional publicity men to plug one or another preacher or religious movement is nolonger uncommon; the mails are stuffed with circulars and "releases," while radio and television jointo tell the listening public what religious people are doing throughout the world.

Greater publicity for religion may be well and I have no fault to find with it. Surely religionshould be the most newsworthy thing on earth, and there may besome small encouragement in the thought that vast numbers of persons want to read about it. What disturbs me is that amidst allthe religious hubbub hardly a voice is raised to tell us what Godthinks about the whole thing.

  Where is the man who can see through the ticker tape andconfetti to discover which way the parade is headed, why it startedin the first place and, particularly, who is riding up front in the seatof honor?

Not the fact that the churches are unusually active thesedays, not what religious people are doing, should engage our attention, but why these things are soThe big question is Why? And no one seems to have an answer for it. Not (continued on page eleven)

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

11

The Gift of Prophetic Insight (continued from page ten)

only is there no answer, but scarcely is there anyone to ask the question. It just never occurs to us thasuch a question remains to be asked. Christian people continue to gossip religious shoptalk withscarcely as much as a puzzled look. The

soundness of current Christianity is assumed by the religious masses as was the soundness of Judaism when Christ appeared. People know they are seeing certain activity, but just what itmeans they do not know, nor have they thefaintest idea of where God is or what relation Hehas toward the whole thing.

  What is needed desperately today isprophetic insight. Scholars can interpret thepast; it takes prophets to interpret the present.Learning will enable a man to pass judgment on

our yesterdays, but it requires a gift of clearseeing to pass sentence on our own day. Onehundred years from now historians will know  what was taking place religiously in this year of our Lord; but that will be too late for us. Weshould know right now.

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation it must be by other means than any now being usedIf the church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the firsthalf, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never doNeither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questionsnor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to

everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among usHe must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen

  visions of God and has heard a voice from thThrone. When he comes (and I pray God there wil  be not one but many) he will stand in fla

contradiction to everything our smirkingsmooth civilization holds dear. He wilcontradict, denounce and protest in the nameof God and will earn the hatred and oppositionof a large segment of Christendom. Such aman is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spokenand a little bit angry with the world. He wil

love Christ and the souls of men to the point o  willingness to die for the glory of the one and th

salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath.

 We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the churchand it is my belief that the one gift we need most now is the gift of prophecy.

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

12

"It Is Finished"Arthur W. Pink 

"When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he gave up the ghost ." (John 19:30)

How terribly have these blessed words of Christ been misunderstood, misappropriated and misapplied!

How many seem to think that on the cross the Lord Jesus accomplished a work which rendered it unnecessary

for the beneficiaries of it to live holy lives on earth. So many have been deluded into thinking that, so far asreaching heaven is concerned, it matters not how they walk provided they are "resting on the finished work of

Christ." They may be unfruitful, untruthful, disobedient, yet (though they may possibly miss some millennial

crown) so long as they repudiate all righteousness of their own and have faith in Christ, they imagine they are"eternally secure."

All around us are people who are worldly-minded, money-lovers, pleasure-seekers, Sabbath-breakers

yet who think all is well with them because they have "accepted Christ as their personal Saviour." In theiraspiration, conversation, and recreation, there is practically nothing to differentiate them from those who make

no profession at all. Neither in their home-life nor social-life is there anything save empty pretensions todistinguish them from others. The fear of God is not upon them, the commands of God have no authority over

them, the holiness of God has no attraction for them."It is finished." How solemn to realize that these words of Christ must have been used to lull thousands

into a false peace. Yet such is the case. We have come into close contact with many who have no private

 prayer-life, who are selfish, covetous, dishonest, but who suppose that a merciful God will overlook all suchthings provided they once put their trust in the Lord Jesus. What a horrible perversion of the truth! What a

turning of God’s grace "into lasciviousness"! (Jude 4). Yes, those who now live the most self-seeking and flesh-

 pleasing lives, talk about their faith in the blood of the Lamb, and suppose they are safe. How the devil hasdeceived them!

"It is finished." Do those blessed words signify that Christ so satisfied the requirement of God’s holinessthat holiness no longer has any real and pressing claims upon us? Perish the thought. Even to the redeemed God

says, "Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:16). Did Christ "magnify the law and make it honorable" (Isa. 42:21)

that we might be lawless? Did He "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15) to purchase for us an immunityfrom loving God with all our hearts and serving Him with all our faculties? Did Christ die in order to secure a

divine indulgence that we might live to please self? Many seem to think so. No, the Lord Jesus has left His

 people an example that they should "follow (not ignore) His steps."

"It is finished." What was "finished? The need for sinners to repent? No indeed. The need for turning toGod from idols? No indeed. The need for mortifying my members which are upon earth? No indeed. The need

for being sanctified wholly, in spirit, and soul, and body? No indeed. Christ died not to make my sorrow for

hatred of, and striving against sin, useless. Christ died not to absolve me from the full discharge of myresponsibilities unto God. Christ died not so that I might go on retaining the friendship and fellowship of the

world. How passing strange that any should think that He did. Yet the actions of many show that this is their

idea."It is finished." What was "finished?" The sacrificial types were accomplished, the prophecies, of His

sufferings were fulfilled, the work given Him by the Father had been perfectly done, a sure foundation had been

laid on which a righteous God could pardon the vilest transgressor of the law who threw down the weapons of

his warfare against Him. Christ had now performed all that was necessary in order for the Holy Spirit to comeand work in the hearts of His people; convincing them of their rebellion, slaying their enmity against God, and

 producing in them a loving and obedient heart. (continued on page thirteen)

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Homeward Bound Ministries – Volume 14 – Number 03.

Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

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“It Is Finished” (continued from page twelve)

O, dear reader, make no mistake on this point. The "finished work of Christ" avails you nothing if your

heart has never been broken through an agonizing consciousness of your sinfulness. The "finished work of

Christ" avails you nothing unless you have been saved from the power and pollution of sin (Matthew 1:21). It

avails you nothing if you still love the world (I John 2:15). It avails you nothing unless you are a "new creature"in Him (2 Cor .5:17). If you value your soul, search the Scriptures to see for yourself; take no man’s word for it.

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Homeward Bound Ministries – P. O. Box 3351 – Milford – Connecticut – 06460

(203) 449-6190 – [email protected]

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“I'm sick to death of the so-called Christianity of our day. What'ssupernatural about it? When do people come out of the sanctuary

awed and can't speak for an hour because God has been in glorythere? Dear God, as soon as they get out, they're talking football, orsports or something or there's going to be a big sale downtown orsomewhere. We are not caught up into eternity!” – LeonardRavenhill

Homeward Bound is published by Homeward Bound Ministries, Post Office Box 3351,

Milford, Connecticut, USA, 06460. Homeward Bound is a teaching ministry

attempting to edify the body of Christ, prepare men and women to serve in the Great

Commission and furnish articles of timely interest and content relevant to our day and

the issues we face in our daily walk with Christ. We invite you to write to us and askquestions regarding the Bible and matters of faith, and submit articles, testimonies or

other pieces for publication that glorify God. Thank you for taking the time to read

this issue of Homeward Bound! 2010 Homeward Bound Ministries