Today, I am writing my 402nd Partner Letter. I wrote the first letter in February 1986, and this is now July 2020. Every one of these letters has been a joy to write!
Those who have been with us, all, or almost all, those years, please let us hear from you. Those who have been members of this Holy Ghost team for less time than that are just as special to Gloria and me—even if you became a Partner just yesterday. We are a soul-winning, WORD-preaching team of believers, doing our very best to be like Jesus in Matthew 9:35:
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
That’s us! Teaching, preaching and healing, through the message of “HAVE FAITH IN GOD.”
What is Redemption? From what has the believer been redeemed? Sin? Basically, yes. But that’s not the answer. What have we been redeemed into? No one is simply redeemed out of something.
Let’s look at Galatians 3:13:
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.
We've been redeemed from the curse of the Law. Now verse 14 tells us what we’ve been redeemed into: THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM! The Greek word translated redeemed in verse 13, means “by payment of a price to recover from the power of another; to ransom, or to buy off.”
Look at it like this: Someone’s only child has been kidnapped. The kidnapper is a serial killer. He has demanded a price so high, it cannot be paid. What if that were your child, or mine? There’s just no question about it. My child is going to die! Then something wonderful, and almost beyond belief, happens. Remember, I’m not dealing with just a kidnapper. Only killing someone’s child will satisfy this maniac. I am contacted by someone saying, “I’ll get your child back. My son has offered to become the ransom for yours. He will die in your child’s place.”
Of course, no natural human being would ever do that, but Jesus did! He was born into this world a human being.
Let’s look at Philippians 2:7-8, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition:
7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
That’s staggering! Now look at 1 Timothy 2:5-6, also in the AMPC:
5 For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
6 Who gave Himself as a ransom for all [people, a fact that was] attested to at the right and proper time.
Jesus took our place. We had to die! We had to go to hell! But Love did that for you and me. Love Himself did that for the whole world!
The LORD led me to say all that, to say this: One of the greatest hindrances to receiving from God is a sense of unworthiness. What does that mean, anyway? Unworthiness means “not deserving.” Well, that’s absolutely the truth. We don’t deserve to be healed. We certainly don’t deserve to go to heaven. Someone took our place! We have the worthiness of Jesus. The killer could not keep Him in hell. He bore my sins. He bore your sins.
Let’s look at Isaiah 53:4-5, AMPC:
4 Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
There you have it. We were unworthy, but He did it anyway. When we accepted Him, we received the whole package. I’ll close with one of the scriptures at the bottom of all my letters to you.
Ephesians 3:14-20 says:
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our LORD Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
We’ve been named after our Father. We’re family! Jesus, our elder Brother, made this happen. Read those seven verses again, slowly and carefully. Spend time meditating on them. Remember, you are a joint heir with Jesus. What He bought is just as much yours as it is mine. In verse 16, this is granted according to His riches in glory. In verse 17, is the key that opens the door: faith, and being rooted and grounded in Love. And not just rooted, but grounded in Love. The word translated grounded means “to lay the foundation.” The Love of God must be the solid foundation of faith, for verse 20 to come to pass: “According to the power that worketh within us”!
As Partners, that’s our job. There are so many wonderful people out there who are hurting and looking for the answer to all this mess we’re in. His Name is Jesus! We know that. However, someone needs to connect the how-to dots of faith, hope and Love. You and I have been called into that mission. Sowing your BLESSING seed puts the wind in our sails and the fuel in our tanks with which to get it done.
THANK YOU! Don’t forget: We pray for you every day. Jesus is LORD!
Love
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