Encouraging Others in Faith

Dear Weekly Readers!

This week I am traveling along almost the entire East Coast of the USA.  I am doing church visits on this journey, together with a beloved Pastor from India who will be with me!   Please pray for our journey! 

Please enjoy this week’s article written by Pastor Orval!  

May God Bless your week!    John

Dear friend,

If you knew you only had a short time to live, what would you tell your children, your loved ones? You and I would share those matters of utmost importance concerning life, namely spiritual life. In our text of meditation, Apostle Paul, who shortly will be martyred for his faith, is writing from prison (possibly the last letter that he ever wrote) to Timothy, a young man who was converted through Paul's ministry. He is concerned about the Gospel being handed off to Timothy intact so that it may continue to bring salvation through Christ to multitudes. Let us read the first 7 verses of 2 Timothy.

KJV 2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
　
Paul, vested with the authority of Christ as one who was sent by Christ, pours out his heart to his dearly beloved son, reminding him first of all that God through Christ has been and is yet gracious, merciful and peaceful toward Timothy. Paul then shares with his son his prayers for him, his longings for him, and his joy in him. Then before Paul shared of his main concern for the writing of the letter, the source, foundation, guarding, teaching and preaching of the Gospel, he focused on four things that were instrumental in the bringing of Timothy to where he was now in his Christian faith.

The first was his upbringing:
Biographies never begin with individual themselves, but with parents and grandparents as well for they bring/have brought/will bring to bear the greatest influence on our lives. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. (2 Timothy 1:5)

The second influence on Timothy was his spiritual friendship.
After our parents, it is our friends who influence us most. Through Paul's ministry, Timothy had been led to Christ, and Paul did not desert, forget, or abandon him. Paul constantly remembered him. Three times in our text we see the bond of friendship between Paul and Timothy. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. (2 Timothy 1:3-5)

The third influence in Timothy's life was a special gift of grace. Even though the gift that Timothy received most likely was a call into the ministry, nevertheless, in general we all have been uniquely gifted by Christ according to his grace and for His purposes, so that glory would be brought to Him and salvation to lost souls. We may not have as of yet fully realized our special calling of the Lord, but in time we will. We are members of His Body, therefore that which He has given us has been and will continue to be used to strengthen, protect, nourish and enhance His Body, the Church. All gifts and talents that are given to us are for the purpose of bringing glory to God by being used directly or indirectly gather people to a saving relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. KJV 2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6

The fourth influence on Timothy was personal discipline
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir (rekindle, stir into flame) up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,(word for dynamite) and of love, and of a sound mind.(sound judgment, self-control) (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

We are called to rekindle, reignite the gift that is within us/in others so that we/they may not only live in the benefits of the Gospel, but so that we/they may also teach and preach the Gospel. We that are in a place of influence need to recognize the Timothy's among us, such as the younger ones in our congregations, and especially the graduates this year. May we follow the example of Paul so that the Timothy's among us will be loved, appreciated, prayed for, sympathized with, rejoiced over, challenged, equipped and supported. May we continue in this training, teaching and transition process that already has begun from from our/their infancy be continued so that the Gospel will be taught and preached in the grace and in the truth of Jesus Christ until the end.

May we ask today: Who do we know that we could take "under our wing" in order to bring them encouragement and direction for their life today and tomorrow?

May God bless you.

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

The Living Water

Dear Weekly Readers!  God’s Peace!

I would like to thank those who prayed because you heard that our youth leader Leona has been very sick for the past 2 weeks.  She has been in the hospital in the Philippines suffering from malaria.   Today she is finally feeling better, so we are praying that she will improve quickly and be released from the hospital soon.    James 5:16: …The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

It seems that the calendar texts for these weeks after Easter have been often about the bearing of fruit, showing of love, and such topics.  In a previous article we recently covered the True Vine and the branches. 

 

I would like to share with you a picture that God has shown me about this concept of the Love of Jesus Christ flowing through His children on earth.

In the part of the world, Israel, where Jesus was born, where He lived, and where He died, the Jordan River flows from north to south.  In the north, it flows into the Sea of Galilee, providing rich nutrients for that body of water.   Because of this, in Bible times, many entire villages and cities were able to make their living and catch fish for food from the lively waters of this small sea.

The Jordan River then flows south out of the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea.   This same exact river with all the nutrients and minerals flows into this second sea, but the results are much different.  Why could this be?  Well, you see, the Dead Sea has no outlet.  The river comes in, but does not go out. Therefore, all the minerals keep piling into the sea, but can never leave.  The sun evaporates the water, but all the minerals, salt, and nutrients get left in the sea, causing it to be so heavy with these substances that nothing can live in the water.

Dear Heavenly Father, allow us to be like the Sea of Galilee with the Living Water of the Lord Jesus flowing into us and then out of us unto the world, so that we can be Living Bodies!    Romans 12:1:  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Lord, keep us from being lazy, arrogant, self-righteous, lukewarm, uncaring, or unloving.   Allow us to not be enticed into worldly lusts and desires.

Mark 4:19:   And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 

We surely do not want to be the type of Christian that only wants to receive the good gifts of God, while at the same time thinking we can live however we want in this world, forgetting where all good gifts come from. 

 

Let all of our being and doing, the actions of our life, and the words of our tongue confess as we are told in Philippians 2:11:  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

None of the glory comes to us; it is all to the glory of the Father!  Just as in our picture of the two seas, the nutrients and the life of the lake comes from the river.  Let us remember that water could soon become stagnant and begin to die, if we do not lay hold of all the wonders of the Living Water, our Lord Jesus Christ! 

He has prepared it all in our behalf; salvation is complete in Him!  Let us believe by faith in the complete redemptive work of Jesus Christ for our salvation!

When we believe by faith, then we will be like we are told in  Matthew 5:14:  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Lord, work this in each of us today!  Show us the new and living way!   Hebrews 10:20:  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

John 14:6:  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Let us be found in Him and He in us until He comes again!   1 John 4:13:   Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

Have a Blessed Week! 

John Ruotsala

The True Vine

Dear Weekly Readers!

Jesus is the True Vine!  John 15:1-8

Have you ever pondered this statement?  Why would Jesus, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, compare himself to a vine, a plant that grows in the ground, here on earth?  Let’s turn to scriptures:  Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

The Lord of all the universe came to this earth, to feel what we feel, so He could know what we go through.  Have you ever taken shade under a tree or enjoyed the fruit of the vine?  We can in a natural sense enjoy the picture and appreciate its wonder!  Now we have the Great I AM making another one of His many I AM statements:  I AM the true vine.  He has also made known to us who He is with these statements:  I AM the Living Water.  I AM the Bread of Life.  I AM the Way The Truth and the Life.  I AM the Living Bread.  I AM the Light of the world.  I AM the Door.  I AM the Good Shepherd.  I AM the resurrection and the Life.  Imagine that, the Great I AM has come to this earth for you and I.  Why?

Because just as the husbandman in our text planted and takes care of the vine, God the Father has in His Mercy, Love, and Grace seen fit that His Only Son would come to this earth as a payment for sin.  Jesus only did what was the will of the Father.  John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. So we can see that Jesus came at the will of the Father, and He compares himself to a vine, and His Father the husbandman.  The husbandman not only plants the vine, but takes care of it as well.  Christ came to earth, sent by the Father, to provide us the way back to the Father.  God is over all, and above all.

Our Father is the husbandman, the one that takes care of us, and works on us so that we can bring forth fruit as He would see fit.  In Verse 5 where Jesus explains the parable, He says "...ye are the branches..."  Let’s look at what it means to be a branch.  First, the branch, in order to be alive, must be attached to the vine.  No branch can live without the vine.  Without Christ we are dead.  You can never find a branch living with its own life.  No fruit will ever grow on a branch that is not attached to the vine.  Let us humbly turn to our Father, the husbandman, asking that we would always be attached to our Lord Jesus so we can be partakers of the Living Water, The Living Bread, and all the good things that He provides for us so we can go to heaven.

The next very important words we see are in verse 5: ...he that abideth in me, and I in Him...  When a husbandman grafts a branch into a tree, he very carefully does all the proper steps.  The job cannot be rushed and shortcuts cannot be taken.  Then the grafted branch will begin to grow little tiny finger-like attachments into the main vine.  The main vine will also do the same into the branch.  1 John 4:13 tells us:  Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of His Spirit.  See, we become one with Jesus Christ when we are adopted, or grafted in!  This is amazing, that we are ONE with Jesus!

Now, when we are abiding in Him and He in us, the nourishment, the life blood, flows from the Vine, Jesus, into us, and then and only then can we bring forth fruit.   Notice it says fruit, not works.  It is not many fruits, but only one!  That is because only the Fruit of the Spirit is the acceptable fruit.  Only the fruit that comes from what Jesus has done to make us acceptable is worthy fruit.

Dear Beloved, let’s not leave our Jesus.  He said: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

I have not covered much of our text in this short article.  But I will finish with verse 8:  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Without Christ the Vine, we cannot bear fruit but are in fact dead.  However, because Christians are grafted-in branches, getting all we need for salvation by Christ, then the Father is glorified.  No glory to ourselves, only to our Father in Heaven!  We cannot be followers or disciples, in any other way, but to have the Life Blood of Jesus flowing through us.  We must have the Living Water feeding and nourishing us.  We must be one with Him in order to be a partaker of Him and all the Wonderful things He has for us, both in this life and in eternity. 

  

May God Bless your Week!

John Ruotsala

Kept By the Power of God

Dear Weekly Readers!


We in the USA are praying that each of you have had a wonderful Spirit filled week. We always need to be in prayer that the Lord would fill us to overflowing, so that we would be encouraged to go forward through this world that often is so hurtful, sad, and trying. All Christians, however, can be so thankful that we learn from the Bible in 1 Peter 1:5 that we are those “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

We are kept by the same God that has all the power! The one that created the entire world, universe, and everything ever created. God’s power has never been diminished, but rather He is still as powerful as ever. God sent His Son Jesus to save all the people in the world from sin. He wants to recreate us, to place our feet upon the Rock, Christ Jesus!

We cannot stand on our own, we will surely fail. We are so thankful for scriptures that say things such as Lamentations 3:22: It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

We are as it says in Isaiah 53:6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.


We have nothing to boast of ourselves. We deserved punishment and death. We need to be thankful we have such a merciful God! The compassions of our Lord fail not. Let us turn toward the Saviour in our time of trouble.

Every morning He desires to give us His Faith! Great is Thy Faithfulness! Even Faith is not our own, it is a gift of God! Ephesians 2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Here the Word of God teaches us that even faith is a gift of God! We have nothing good to offer of ourselves, it is all from the Lord! We therefore have nothing to boast of in ourselves!

We also need to take note of verse 10. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works…! When we are in Christ and He in us, we are recreated unto good works! God has ordained that we should walk in them. I believe the reason it says this is that in these last times, (the time after Jesus dying and rising again, and the end of all time) the Lord works through His servants on earth so that others can come to Jesus! He has…committed unto us the word of reconciliation...2 Corinthians 15:19

The most important thing for our Lord Jesus who died for the sins of the entire world is that man would be saved. This is even shown to us by the fact that all of creation and all the books that could be written about that are recorded in only a few pages in the beginning of our Bibles. The rest of the Bible is really about the Redeemer, the way of salvation through Christ Jesus!

That is how important the salvation of man is to our God! He wants that man would be saved! He knows our hopeless state without Jesus! He knows that fallen mankind needs to hear His Holy Word in order to be saved! Here is a portion of scripture that very clearly shows the importance of preaching and hearing!

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.


14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?


15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

"The Love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen could ever tell," is what is written in one of our songs.

God Loves the World so much!

John 3:16 King James Version (KJV) 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. This applies to you and me and everyone in the world! Let’s ask God to allow us to see this fact for ourselves through faith, and then ask that He would use us to share this message with those we come in contact with.


May God Bless your week!
John Ruotsala
FM Administrator

Scriptural New Birth and Justification

Dear Weekly Readers!

Here is the follow-up to last week’s teachings.    May God Bless your week!

Scriptural New Birth

In like manner, the power of the resurrection of Christ from the dead is manifested by the Holy Spirit through the preached Word of the Gospel to a sorrowful and sin-burdened soul:

...be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee (the essence of the Gospel being the forgiveness of sins - Matthew 9:2).

It is by believing this Word that a repentant person receives a spiritual new birth, as Peter writes:

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which Iiveth and abideth forever (1 Peter 1:23).

Also, at the beginning of his epistle:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (I Peter 1:3).

Jesus likens the travail of spiritual new birth to that of a woman about to deliver a child:

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you (John 16:21,22).

Thus, a person who has died spiritually needs to be begotten again in order to be restored to life, that is, to be spiritually born again. Nicodemus, to whom Jesus said,

Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again (John 3:7)

...is an example of such a person. Despite the fact that he was esteemed among the Pharisees as a great religious leader, as Jesus made reference to this in His question to him:

... Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? (John 3:10)

...nevertheless he was spiritually dead. This was because of unbelief, as Jesus said,

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? (John 3.12).

Another example of a spiritual death is where one has, as the prodigal son, taken

...his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living (Luke 15:13).

Having lost his spiritual life (the "substance" which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost), and thus having died, he needed to be born again spiritually in order to be made alive again.

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry (Luke 15:24).

The word of the Gospel of Christ to a thirsting soul is a

...voice as the sound of many waters (Revelation 1:15)

... which, together with the Spirit, brings forth a spiritual birth:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

This is the living water of which Jesus told the woman of Samaria, who could understand only the natural water that she had been drawing from the well of Jacob.

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:13,14).

Children having parents (or guardians) that are true Christians are indeed blessed. Such parents have in them these wells of water springing up into everlasting life.

...Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37,38).

...the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts (of believing parents) by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:5).

This love constrains them to bring their children up in the

...nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Children (as well as adults) need this wholesome spiritual nourishment in order to grow in grace and to remain alive and healthy spiritually, and to be

...rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith... (Colossians 2: 7)

...as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

Jesus said of the little children:

… for of such is the kingdom of God (Mark 10:14).

Therefore, a childhood Christian, not having departed from the true faith, has no need to be reborn to enter into the kingdom of God from whence he has never departed.

...I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one (I John 2:14).

The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20,21)

But as it is with all true believers, children in their early years of life also become conscious of the infirmities of the flesh. For this reason, they too find a need to hear the reassuring word of the Gospel, as the Apostle John has written:

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake (I John 2:12).

This is possible as it is written:

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalm 1:3).

Justification

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1,2).

As it was with the disciples of old, so it is today with a person who has been born again

...unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (I Peter 1:3).

He is now able to see and understand with his heart, by the light of the Holy Spirit, that his sin debt was truly paid by Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God, as the Prophet Isaiah writes:

... the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

He died to atone for the sins of fallen man,

Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification (Romans 4:25).

And having fulfilled the righteous and holy demands of the Law,

He said, it is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost (John 19:30).

The understanding of a person who has thus been raised with Christ is no longer the product of the fleshly mind of man. It is replaced with that which Jesus gives by His Spirit:

Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day (Luke 24:45,46).

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that He may instruct him! But we have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16).

The TOPIC for the next time we use these writings will be Sanctification and the Holy Spirit.