Hey Uncle John,

     I was talking with a young person a few weeks ago, and he asked me, “Why should I learn this?  What’s the point?  I know I won’t use this later in life.”

     The subject I’m teaching him has some benefits, but as I started to try to explain those benefits, I felt I was going the wrong direction with the conversation.  I remembered a section of your Solomon’s Wisdom book that I had read with the young people about a year and a half ago that has always stood out to me (attached PDF).

     I explained to him, “God has a secret for you and you don’t know where it’s hidden.  You, like everyone, are going to have things to learn that feel hard or that you don’t enjoy.  But if you don’t put your whole heart into those things, you’ll miss God’s secret for you somewhere along the way.  You can’t only work hard at learning subjects you love from the beginning.”  

      Then I told him about how when I started learning Biblical Hebrew, I didn’t love it.  It was difficult!  But as I worked at it, over time (weeks or months), it’s like a light switch flipped and I loved it.  If I hadn’t put in the work, I would never have found God’s secret for me.  I certainly didn’t think I would ever use Biblical Hebrew.  But look at what God’s done!

     It wasn’t a long conversation, but I pray it had an impact on that young man, and maybe it will be a good reminder for other young people in similar positions.  You don’t know where God’s secret for you is, if you did, it wouldn’t be a secret.  Do your work with your whole heart and see what Jesus will do!

Aaron

God’s Secret Concerning Each Young Person

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Fulfilled

“Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets.

I DID NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFILL.

Matthew 5:17

     There is at the present a rise in anti-Paul sentiment on the internet, specifically, against his teaching that the New Testament does not include keeping the law of Moses. It is good that some people can see that Paul taught his Gentile converts not to submit to Moses’ law, but it is not good that they oppose that teaching. To understand Paul, we must understand what it means to fulfill a thing, for Jesus fulfilled the law, as he said. But what does it mean to fulfill something? Considering how the Bible uses the word

“fulfill” will help us understand what it means.

      Let’s begin by looking at the one of the first times the Hebrew word for “fulfill” is used. This has to do with Isaac’s wife, Rebekah:

      Genesis 25

24. And when her days to deliver were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

      Rebekah’s time of pregnancy ended when she gave birth to her twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Their birth fulfilled the purpose of her pregnancy. It did not mean that her pregnancy had been worthless; rather, that fulfillment meant that the purpose for her pregnancy was complete, that its usefulness was ended and the pregnancy was over.

     Another example of what it means to fulfill something is from Solomon’s prayer of thanksgiving to God concerning His promise to give David a son who would build a temple in Jerusalem:

     “1Kings 8:

14. The King turned his face about, and blessed all the Assembly of Israel, and the  whole Assembly of Israel stood up.
15. And he said, “Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, who spoke by His mouth to David my father, and by His hand has fulfilled it.”

      By “fulfilled it”, Solomon meant that since God’s promise to David had come to pass, there was no longer any need for God to keep promising David that it would happen. What would be the point of God continuing to promise that He would give David a son who would build His temple, when it was already done? As Solomon said (v. 20): “Jehovah caused His word to stand which He spoke, for I have risen up in the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah said, and I have built the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.”

      Jesus’ revelation to Paul was that his fulfilling the law meant there was no longer a reason to continue in it. Jesus did not destroy the law or condemn it as worthless. On the contrary, his fulfilling the law proved beyond all question that it was from God. Paul honored the law of Moses by honoring Jesus and receiving his baptism of life, which was the law’s entire purpose. “The love of God”, wrote Paul, “is poured out within our hearts by the holy Spirit which is given to us,” and “love is the fulfillment of the law, [for] love does not do wrong to a neighbor” (Rom. 5:5b; 13:10).

      It is as impossible now for people to continue in the law as it would have been for Rebekah to continue to be pregnant after she gave birth to Jacob and Esau. And what use would there have been for God to continue promising David a son who would build His temple after David was long dead and Solomon had done it? Just so, it is useless for anyone now to try to keep Moses’ law after the law’s purpose has been fulfilled.

      Dear friends, do not believe those who are saying Paul was wrong. It is my sincere prayer that God will open the eyes of your understanding, as He opened Paul’s, to see the surpassing glory of what Jesus accomplished for us all! The law of God is now written on our hearts by the Spirit, and because that is done, Paul rejoiced that

      Romans 8:

2. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death!
3. For what the law could not do, in that it was powerless because it was of the flesh, God did, after He had sent His Son in the form of sinful flesh to deal with sin. He condemned sin in the flesh
4. so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit.

      Let us rejoice with Paul that because of Jesus, “we are released from the law so that we now serve God in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of a document” (Rom. 7:6).

Pastor John D. Clark

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What a wonderful way to explain the law, Pastor John. I feel like people can understand this! Its purpose was fulfilled.( and now their is life!)  I really like this blog!

“Genesis 25
24. And when her days to deliver were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Rebekah’s time of pregnancy ended when she gave birth to her twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Their
birth fulfilled the purpose of her pregnancy. It did not mean that her pregnancy had been worthless;
rather, that fulfillment meant that the purpose for her pregnancy was complete, that its usefulness was
ended and the pregnancy was over.”

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

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Whew! I feel such liberty and love while reading this blog. It makes me feel just like Barbara says, “What a good God!”

Donna

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John,

These Blogs are a wonderful gift to wake up to.   Thank you….I literally lifted my hands to God and thanked Him for allowing me to understand (and to love) what you have passed on to us.)  Like you said Sunday morning.  We are so loved. 

Gary

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Morning!  I really like this blog on Fulfilled.  To understand and have examples of the meaning of things and certain words or phrases in the Bible really helps put things in perspective.   I also like that you are explaining Paul’s stance.  I watched a video yesterday on what you were saying here about the anti-Paul sentiment.  I sat there with my mouth open for most of it.  It’s amazing how the flesh will come up with anything to get around the truth and the men God sends to tell it.  They were basically saying Paul was just a renegade who made himself an apostle, and it went downhill from there.  The excuse not to believe Paul was “Jesus didn’t say that,” and “Paul didn’t walk with Jesus”; therefore, he could not have been sent from God.

One thing I noticed when watching that video on Paul’s agenda was that Christian teaching would have us to go backwards in time to where Jesus was.  But with Jesus’ teachings, even in following the law and then fulfilling it, he was always pointing forward.  He was always pointing toward the goal.  Paul was also doing that.  And true men of God now do that, encouraging one another in Christ that we should still be looking to fulfill our life in the Spirit to obtain a crown of life in the end. 

There is no telling what the future holds with new doctrines and phrases and word-meaning changes, but the one thing that will hold true is the Spirit that Jesus died for us all to have.  You can trust that.  And if you have a kinship through the Spirit with Jesus, you and Paul are in perfect agreement.

Amy B.

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So clear!  Pure scripture and word definition!  No opinions!  Thank you Jesus for John’s anointing as a teacher.  May children of God all over the world benefit from this wisdom.

Allison

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Pastor John,

I love this!  You’ve made it so clear and easy to understand.  I wish God’s children everywhere could take this in!

We are so blessed!

Michelle

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I like the way you defined fulfilled in this blog.  The examples you used really make it clear.  I particularly like this one, “It did not mean that her (Rebekah) pregnancy had been worthless; rather, that fulfillment meant that the purpose for her pregnancy was complete, that its usefulness was ended and the pregnancy was over.”

The law was not worthless, and its purpose was completed (fulfilled) by Jesus. 

“Paul honored the law of Moses by honoring Jesus and receiving his baptism of life, which was the law’s entire purpose.”

I love that.

Thank you for writing this blog and sharing it with us.

Tom  

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John,

 I really love this and how you explain it.  I love the gift Jesus has given you.  Just the other day a man in my class, he was finally alone with me in the classroom and Jesus came up!  He mentioned how he isn’t feeling going to church and how God wants his children to follow him.  He’s looking for the “how”, and I spoke to him of the very same thing of the fulfillment of the law!  I hope this gives him some understanding.  He may or may not come to a meeting, but if he does, I hope he feels his “how”, and the fulfillment comes to life in understanding.  

I hope all of God’s children get the understanding.

Naomi

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Pastor John,

I was thinking about the love and the wisdom of God on King David, the Apostle Paul, and others in the Bible who were moved to pray and speak on the importance of one’s heart:
• “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies” (Ps. 119:36)
• “And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God” (2Thess. 3:5)
• “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23)

Many times, and just recently, you described how, in your youth, you were determined to follow any path in life except the path of holiness mapped out by your father, Preacher Clark. Yet, you ended up precisely on that path. You even had a friend who pointed out, “You became what you said you never would be!”

The apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus), as a young man seeking to imprison the disciples of Christ, never thought he would one day be a disciple, and even an apostle, of Christ himself.  We know from Paul’s writings that he was CERTAIN that would never happen.

Some saints who have left their walk with Jesus after many decades, who now openly speak against the truth they once thought they loved, would have assuredly said they would never be in the sin and false doctrine they now support.

So it goes both ways.  Some think they would never serve the Lord, but end up the most faithful believers in Christ.  Others think they would never go back into sin or support false doctrine after experiencing the truth and the goodness of God, but end up in the worst condition.

It is just as you have said, it is all “A matter of the heart.”  Where our heart is, we shall one day be – it is guaranteed if the Lord allows us to live on this earth long enough to see it through.
It makes me fall on my knees and ask God to incline my heart fully toward him.  I am going to follow my heart.  We all are.

Jerry

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Hi Pastor John,

A few thoughts and points you have made in sermons have been resonating with me this week after Sunday/Wednesdays’ meetings: 

1. How much God loves us and his people! The feelings from our last two times together continue to resonate with me.  Every testimony, every blessing validates how much He really does love us, to put us together and take care of each one of us.  We have been treated in a heavenly manner, we love God’s government and order because it’s so full of love! 
2. The power of our prayers. God puts it on our hearts to pray and, when we do it, He responds.  It may not be immediate, but He is listening, and we have seen the power of prayer in action over and over again.  God’s response is so much better than we ever could have anticipated.  He wants us to anticipate good things for our lives and a response to our prayers.  If we have an unanswered prayer, and if He hasn’t told us to stop praying about it, we need to keep knocking because we need to have the faith to anticipate an answer and be available to rejoice in that answer together.  It’s like you said before, we need to have patience because God is doing something. 
3. All the examples of God’s people who are lost without the knowledge of the truth. The more we learn, we love and hurt for them even more because the freedom we have is worth everything.  There was a thought for the evening recently: “There is no reason to quit God.”  But, I like to think about the opposite: “There is every reason to continue with God.”  It’s like you said, “Give me liberty. (End of story)”.  The truth is that you have liberty in the spirit or you put yourself at risk of death.  We can live!  Forever! 

Your father said in a sermon I recently listening to that there were five wise and five foolish virgins; so, half of God’s people may not enter in.  It is such a narrow way!  I think that as one learns more, it gets even narrower because you get closer to God and He expects more. But, He gives you the knowledge and tools with the Spirit to grow so you can do it with Him.  So, let’s grow and learn how to be wise together forever with Him!

-Wendy 

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Hey Pastor John,

Sunday morning when we were sitting around, we were talking about how each person had a different path for getting here, and how it is also different for people that grew up here.  Aunt Barbara asked me what it was for me that made me want to stay here instead of having something else.  I gave a simple answer, but I have been thinking about it and wanted to share more. 

All of my friends in Boone were Christians.  I was asked a few times if I wanted to go to church by some of them.  I went to a couple different churches to see what it was like.  I remember after the service, they always talked about what they liked and agreed with and what they didn’t like.  They were always comparing different churches in the area.  For them, that was just the norm, to go to church on Sunday mornings because “it was the right thing to do”, regardless of whether or not they would be satisfied with it.  I’ve been thinking about that, and how wonderful it is to be fully satisfied.  We don’t have to wonder if we’re going to enjoy the music, sermon, or testimonies because we know we already will!  I love being excited and being able to expect good things from a meeting without having to wonder if it will be confusing or not.  I’m thankful to feel satisfied with the Truth and that it satisfies us.  We are very blessed! 

Karlee 

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Pastor John,

This morning, you said something to the effect “Do people not know that I know where they are in the Lord when I lay hands on them?”

I was blessed during our meeting Wednesday night to hear you pray for several brothers and sisters and each one received a message just for them.  It was remarkable and stood out to me more than it has in the past.

Your prayer for me was “Let Him in your heart” (or something close to that).  Intellectually I’ve been thinking on what that meant and then this morning happened.

After you talked about knowing where we are in the Lord, all I wanted to do was to get out there on the floor on my back and open my heart to Him. Instead, I stretched up and out on the love seat and spread my arms up and out so my chest cavity would be available to Him to come into my heart. I breathed in His Spirit not into my body but into my heart and could feel Him filling every inch of it.  I wanted nothing more than to stay right there and have Him fill every inch of me up. I was drunk in Him, and I was loving it.

As it was time for me to leave, I asked Jesus to not let the tasks of the world close my heart back up, and I felt His answer, “it doesn’t have to”. I can feel Him in me as I write; with every breath I take. He’s that close

Thank you, Jesus for your love. Thank you, Jesus for my family. Thank you, Jesus for my Pastor.

Allison C.

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Hi Pastor John,

Today during coffee morning, when you were talking about Daniel asking God to forgive us (as opposed to one person) and how Jesus takes on our suffering, I was reminded of that section of offerings in Leviticus. I remember that we have discussed how merciful it was for God to allow an offering for the sin of the nation, and it was basically the same offering as the sin of an individual.  But one thing that struck me today was that God wants us to think of the one body of Christ in this way.  One person’s sin/hurt/love/joy should be all of ours.

For instance, if one person is hurting, we’re all hurting until Jesus takes that burden.  He wants us to be so united that if there is a burden in the body, we each feel it, and then we can feel when it lifts, and rejoice in what God has done.  When Carrie was testifying today, I felt that burden lift off her as if it was my own.  It’s a wonderful thing to hear someone’s testimony and know that it is God, but this additional space is feeling the testimony together for what God has done for us.  We can know and feel it simultaneously…together!  And that’s how everything works with the body of Christ: right judgment, joy, happiness, understanding, etc. That’s really fellowship; it’s the immediate feedback of the feelings that unite us in the Spirit.  Because, as you have said before, the knowledge of God is in the feelings of the Spirit.  And that makes so much sense because the Spirit is the only thing alive on earth!

I feel like there have been situations in the body lately where God is trying to take all types of burdens: from burdens of biological family, earthly possessions, jobs, God’s people who are disobeying Him, from carnal thoughts, etc. It is an opportunity for each individual to be more in harmony with God and, thus, more united with each other.  We have to have faith that Jesus can and WILL take those burdens away from each person, then we as a body can rejoice together in what He is doing for any one of us.  And we can also be excited to anticipate what God will do for each of us so we can have more unity together.

Family is not about genealogy/biology anymore, as it was in the old covenant.  In this covenant, it’s all about spiritual unity.  What a wonderful family of God we have! 

Wendy

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That is true, Wendy.  It is our heavenly Father’s great desire is for us to see ourselves as He sees us, that is, as His family, and for us to be close enough to share in each other’s joys and sorrows.  I am ashamed of the divisions that exist in the family of God, the divisions, I should say, which exist among us who believe in Jesus.  We are all less than we could be in Christ, because of the divisions that exist among us.  We need the strength we get from one another’s testimonies and faith.

In Jesus’ prayer the night before he was crucified, he said that unity among those who believe in him would be a convincing testimony to the world that God had truly sent him:

John 17

20. I am not asking for these alone, but also for those who believe in me through their word,
21. that they all might be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be one in us, so that the world might believe that you sent me.

That being true, it follows that divisions in the family of God is a convincing testimony that God did not send Jesus.  It makes it harder for people to believe Jesus is Lord if those who call him Lord are themselves divided and confused.  That is why I am ashamed of the divisions among believers that I have known; it is a reproach on the holy name of Jesus.  He does not deserve that from the people he has rescued from sins and death.

If there is anything we can do to make peace in the family of God around us, may God grant us the grace to do it!

Matthew 5

9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Pastor John

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Hey, Pastor John.

Last night’s meeting was really sweet for a few reasons! The minute I walked in I felt like I belonged. I felt like I did 24 years ago, that this is my family and everyone loves me and Jesus wants me here. I realized I was happy. When I got prayed for, this time it was, “Here’s me.” And that’s it. It was a blessing to me for Jesus to let me feel comfort and peace from him…for him to care enough about me!

You said so many good things that I wish I would have written them down during the meeting. One thing that stood out that I loved is when you said that “God had our names written down since before the foundation of the world, and he waited all this time for us. Let’s make Him happy that He waited” (paraphrased and maybe I added some, but that’s how it felt). That’s my heart’s desire! 

In my Bible time with Clara’s class this morning, we got to the part of the 10 commandments and we wrote in easier words what they mean. When we were done, I told them, “Wow, God really made things easy for us. All He said to do was love Him and treat people right.” There was nothing (and is nothing) that He has asked people to do that is too hard. He knows how weak we are and that we can’t do anything much without Him anyway, but He wanted us to have at least something that our little selves could strive for and feel like we were doing. 🙂 

Even the smallest bit of direction is helpful, even if we still need His help to do it! I’m thankful this morning for those feelings last night and wanted to share. 

Leah

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