Let Hope Arise!

Read Mark 10:46–50.

And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. —Mark 10:50

Blind Bartimaeus spent his life sitting by the roadside, blind and begging. He had fallen into a repetitious lifestyle with no hope and no change. One day he heard that the Word was passing by, Jesus of Nazareth. Immediately hope rose in his heart that a change might be in order. He cried out, hungry for a response from the Word, or a change out of his blind, poor lifestyle. People told him, “Shut up! You’ll never change! Be quiet! You will be blind forever!” But there was something about hearing that the Word was passing by, that the Word was near. Many people get saved and then fall into a rut their whole lives, putting up with faults and failings because they have not heard the Word; they have not heard that change is available, that deliverance is near. Many sit under a preacher who is constantly putting on the old man in their mindset: you are a sinner—unholy, unrighteous, blind. “Just do your best and then, when you die, everything will be better.” But better arrived the day you said yes to Jesus. That day in Israel, the identity of being “blind Bartimaeus” started to come off, and begging became a thing of the past. Notice that before blind Bartimaeus received his new life, his new identity, to be no longer a blind beggar but a seeing Bartimaeus, he had to cast away his old garment, the symbol of his old condition! You, too, by hearing the Word, can deny and cast away all your old, ungodly garments. You are not a recovering alcoholic, a reformed drug addict, an angry man, a loser, a sinner who always fails God. Cast away that garment; arise and come to the Word! Your faith will change you and make you whole (Mark 10:52).

Pastor Tom Kehres

You Can Do It!

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. —Titus 2:11–12

Many in the Church world believe that you will never live a holy and godly life until you die and go to heaven. But here the Word declares you can live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. God, through grace, has given you all you need to live like He lives. He has crucified your old, ungodly man, buried him, and raised you up, a new person. This new man you now are is created in righteousness and holiness, after God (Ephesians 4:24). You have been given the divine nature of almighty God, with the ability to partake of that nature (2 Peter 1:4). Now, in order to live a godly life, you must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts—not deny that they exist, because they do, but deny their right to be part of you and your life. Insecurity, anger, offense, unforgiveness, weakness, unworthiness, sin, sickness, and depression will all come at you, trying to get you to claim to be these things. Deny them access into your thought life, keep them out of your meditations and speech, put up your shield of faith, and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16)! You have a choice to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts by faith or to receive them and claim them because of your feelings. Grace has provided a life of victory and power, but it must, like salvation, be received through faith. You can live godly, soberly, and righteously in this present world! This salvation has appeared to all men, including you.

Pastor Tom Kehres

Throw Him Out!

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. —Romans 13:12

Here it states that the night is over and a new day has begun. Your old life of darkness, sin, failure, and weakness is long gone. It was defeated, then buried with Christ. Now a new day is here; a new life has begun. You now can put on the armor of light. You can live like the Word declares: you can walk in the light as He is in the light. Sin is a thing of the past. You are to “cast off ” the works of darkness; they are not part of the new you. You can cast them off, throw them away, put them far from you. No longer identify with or remember the former life. Forget those things that are behind and press toward the mark of the high call in God (Philippians 3:13–14). The high call is your Christlikeness—your ability, by faith, to believe, receive, and identify with who you are today. You are thinking on the promises, thinking about your new identity, seeing yourself alive to God, to righteousness, to health, to wealth, to power. A new you is at hand! The old life is far spent; it is worn out, outdated! You are now a person of light, and through association with your new identity, you are letting your light shine, so that men see your good works and glorify God in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Your new day is at hand!

Pastor Tom Kehres

Where Are Your Sights Set?

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. —Colossians 3:1–2

If you are risen with Christ, made alive with Christ, and seated with Christ, then you are told to set your mind and keep it set on things above. Your thought life has the ability to take you places. It can take you and seat you in heavenly places, where you rule and reign in the earth, or it can take you to the place of being a victim and a person under the worries and cares of life. It can think on your new identity of being righteous, holy, powerful, and free. It can also keep you living as an old, powerless sinner. Paul says “if ye be risen with Christ,” and you have been, then don’t think like the old man. You must set your mind and keep it set on things above. Think on and meditate on what Christ has provided for you; think on His performance and who He made you to be. Never focus on your old, low life, your performance, your sin, or your failings, because then you will resurrect them in your life. You are dead (old man), and your life (your true life) is hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). “See” Christ living, Christ walking, Christ talking in and through you (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:4, 11; Philippians 1:21). See yourself healing the sick and casting out devils. See yourself as a raised love creation in Christ. Set your mind and keep it set on who God declares you to be, not on who your performance says you are. You are risen with Him.

Pastor Tom Kehres