In Search of Peace Magazine

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Vol. 15 / Issue 28 / January 19 2012

Contents of this issue

Editorial

John MacArthur is Wrong! - Gospel is Veiled ! - Part 27

Join us in Facebook

Standing in the Gap - Fasting prayer on 13th Mar. 2012

Download Articles in Handheld Computers

Please Join us in "Peace Prayer Room"

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Hindi / Malayalam/Tamil Bible Online

Through the Valley of Death

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Allah and Elohim - Are they the same God? Book

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Online Games for you!

Editorial

By Sherly Isaac

Jesus gave some very amazing statements to His disciples that how faith works. In John 15:7 He said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

The first thing you need to do in order to receive your desired things is to abide in Jesus and His words abide in you. How can a person abide in Jesus? God is holy and unless a person's sins are forgiven, he/she cannot come near His holy presence. So we need to repent from our sins and turn to God. Jesus said in Rev 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."

Once we open the door for Jesus, the second thing we need to do is to allow the word of Jesus to abide in us because Bible tells us in Rom 10:17, "then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." And Jesus said that when these two things happen in one's life and when he asks for his desired things God will fulfill them.

Once a father brought his epileptic son who suffered severely who often fell into fire and often into water, to the disciples of Jesus but they could not heal him. So he brought him to Jesus and He cast out the demons and healed him. Now His disciples came to Jesus and asked Him secretly why they could not cast out the demons. And Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you" (Mat 17:20).

Once I was watching Pastor John Hagee on TV. He told about his daughter who was a very small child at that time. She wanted to bring home a puppy. Day after day she spoke to her dad that she wanted a puppy but Pastor John Hagee told her that it is too expensive and so on. But she believed for a puppy, prayed for a puppy, dreamed of a puppy, made drawings of puppy and she believed that Jesus will give her a puppy. Then a few days prior to her birthday, suddenly a phone came from a church member and she asked to her, "Honey, what do you want for your birthday?" Without any hesitation, she spoke, I need a puppy! And she received exactly what she believed for, exactly what she dreamed of.

Yes, if we believe and ask Jesus nothing would be impossible. Jesus can bring it to pass. What are your desires today? What are your dreams today? Had your dreams been shattered to pieces and had been buried deep? No matter what your situation is today, Jesus can bring those shattered pieces of your dreams together and can fulfill the dream. Only believe in Him. Only trust in Him and He will do it.

Jesus even said, "if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." You can imagine that how much big a mountain is in front of a mustard seed, yet it can be moved just by faith as small as a mustard seed. And do you know how difficult it is to move the whole mountain? There is no technology in this world to move a whole mountain from one place to another but there is only one way that they put dynamite and blow up a portion or cut it with machines to make a way in between mountains. But here Jesus says, 'you can accomplish what science and technology cannot do with all their modern equipments by just having faith as small as a mustard seed'. Is it not amazing! So come to Jesus and trust in Him, He will do great and awesome things.

John MacArthur is Wrong! - Gospel is Veiled ! - Part 27

By Sherly Isaac

To read previous or next parts please click on these links:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29

John MacArthur writes in his book titled, "Hard to Believe: The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus" (Chapter 3, page 49, Title "Truth in a privy pot" under subtitle, "Paul's Gospel Strategy") that, "Third, we will not manipulate people to get the desired superficial results, because we know, as 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 affirms, that "even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

The problem is not the seed, it's the soil. It's the unreceptive, barren condition of the human heart. Paul said he would not use words and techniques that manipulated the results, because he understood that when people don't believe, it is because they are in the condition of spiritual deadness. They are perishing and blind, thanks to Satan. If our gospel is veiled to someone, it is veiled because that person, like all sinners, is unable to understand.

Changing the message, manipulating the emotions or the will, is useless, since no one can believe unless God grants him understanding."

It is very sad and very strange that John MacArthur is giving thanks to satan for blinding the eyes of people who are perishing. Neither Paul nor God of the Bible ever wished them perishing without knowing Christ nor were they happy seeing them dying. In the Old Testament God says in Eze 18:32, "For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

And Jesus said the same thing in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

But John MacArthus has once again misunderstood the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ which Paul preached. Paul never said that it was his Gospel strategy that he may preach in a way that people may perish. No, but if we read in other places Paul was ready to become anything and everything to somehow save anybody.

John MacArthur further writes in Page 49, "Paul's fourth strategic point is that we will not seek popularity.

Verses 8-12:
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.

Here is the key in verse 13: "Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what is written [in Psalm 116:101, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak."

We shouldn't expect popularity. What should we expect Paul gave us the list: affliction, crushing, persecution, being knocked flat, and always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus. That doesn't describe some mystical asceticism; it simply means that he was always on the brink of death, always ready to die, always being pursued by some who were plotting death. He knew that every day He awakened could be the day He died. Death was working in Him as a daily experience, a constant anticipation. In His mind He had to live daily through His own funeral because He could die any time."

Well, Paul never preached against popularity nor do we see any hint of it in the above verses but he was explaining to believers about his sufferings and how in the midst of sufferings he got strength and faith through Christ. Paul was very popular even many kings wanted to meet him. In short popularity can come and it has nothing to do with gospel strategy but we need to look towards the goal and run the race without wavering. Paul is also not telling us to expect the list what John MacArthur gives. Those things can come or may not come.

Further we read, "Strategic point number five: "We will not look at earthly success."

Earthly success is not sin but God has promised success to those who walk in His ways. Yes, earthy Success! When Joshua took over, God spoke to him and said in Josua 1:5, "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Josua 1:8, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

So you can see that God is very much interested in our success. Earthly success is necessary! God does not want His children to be broke, beaten down and unsuccessful. Paul was very successful and even it made the Pharisees and the Sadducees very nervous so that they were thinking how to stop him from preaching the Gospel.

And if God is with us success will automatically come. You need not to seek it. You do not need to run after success, popularity or money, it will automatically come.

To my amazement, those who preach against popularity, success and worldly possessions they themselves seek after those things and live in luxury just as John MacArthur does. If John MacArthur believes that all these things are not from God then why he cannot leave these things and why can't he go to live in slums?

In short John MacArthur is trying to mislead people by not preaching the true message of Jesus Christ.

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Standing in the Gap - Fasting prayer on 13th Mar. 2012

As the Bible says in Ezekiel 22:30 "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it." And also the Bible says in Numbers 16:48, "And he (Aaron) stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped." We have fasting prayer every second Tuesday of each month. Our next fasting prayer meeting will be conducted on 13th Mar. 2012

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Through the Valley of Death

As many of you know that in the year 2005, our dad was very sick even unto death. God miraculously healed him. We have compiled it in a book form. I sure believe that it will inspire you and encourage you greatly.

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Allah and Elohim - Are they the same God? Book

Now available "Allah and Elohim - Are they the same God" Available at JasmineCorp Store, and "Is Jesus God?" Available at JasmineCorp Store,

Both books compares the Bible and the Quran and read eye opening facts about Jesus, God of the Bible, Allah and Islamic faith. I am sure that you want to read this.

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Book Title: Is Jesus God?
Author: Sherly Isaac
ISBN: 0759628092
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