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Category Archives: John

Free Will and Sovereignty

03 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by corykilgus in Apologetics, Job, John, New Testament, Old Testament, Romans, THE WORD

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Tags

Bible, Calvinism, Free Will, Humility, John, Love, Pride, Romans, Sovereignty

“Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than heaven— what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.”
-Job 11:7-9

The western mind is one of analysis and trying to figure things out. Sir Isaac Newton had an apple fall on his head, and his thoughts were why and how. He then went on to discover the laws of gravity. The curious western mind has done much good in the world, but has also caused us to err at times.
One of the places it has caused us to err frequently is in our understanding of God. God says something to us, and we say why and how? I don’t believe God is angry at those questions, and in fact, invites them, but those questions should always come in light of the verses above. Yes, search out the things of God, but remember we are finite creature made of dust. The problem often arises when we elevate ourselves in the sight of God, and say if I cannot make sense of it, than it cannot be true. When we proudly and presumptuously, and often without knowing what we are doing, assume our intellect is capable of grasping all the facets of God we are prone to great err… and to our own hurt.
As we see here in the book of Job, very possibly the oldest book in the Bible, the eastern Hebrew mind had accepted one very important reality. God’s thoughts are higher above our own than the heavens are above the earth (Isaiah 55:9). We cannot even come close to completely understanding God. We are finite and can only understand a very little, while God is eternal and without limits in His understanding. To try and figure out the unrevealed ways of God is futile, and even blasphemous. As soon as we start figuring out God apart from His revelation we are guaranteed to err.
Why do I write all this? I think this is very important in the realm of predestination and the sovereignty of God. God says both a)that anyone can come, and b)that all were predestined and chosen. In fact, He often says them in close proximity to one another (John 3:16, 6:44, 15:16; Romans 8:29-30, 9:16, 10:13).
What does this mean for us? It means that both things are wonderful truths of God to be accepted and enjoyed for eternity. It also means to try and understand how God harmonizes the two seemingly incompatible concepts that are beyond our understanding is impossible, and that we do much better to humbly accept them. God distinctly says that man both has universal opportunity to come to Him and receive salvation, and that only those who are drawn and chosen will come.
Why?? How?? The western mind wonders, and that is good… but only if we have the correct view of God and man. Paul, a genius and former Hebrew rabbi who had excelled above all, ended his Romans discourse with this: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Rom 11:33)”
Our problem comes from a prideful heart that says I can systematize the unsearchable riches of God’s ways. Man says, if this statement is true, than this, this, and this must be true as well because that is what makes sense to my rational mind.
Have you noticed the general countenance of those who proclaim to have systemized God’s unrevealed ways?? There is undoubtedly an aloofness and pride that goes along with their theology. They have figured out what many cannot, or so they think. This is how God thinks when he makes this or that statement, and I have figured it out.
Beware, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
May we instead, rejoice in the goodness of God when He says WHOEVER calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Praise the Lord! God is long-suffering, not desiring anyone to perish. Praise the Lord! He loves all and deeply desires to save all, I serve a wonderful God!
Then, let us whole-heartedly thank God for His wisdom and strength. He chose me and predestined me before the foundation of the earth…?? WOW… Praise Him!! He will never leave me nor forsake me, I am completely secure in the strongest hands the universe could ever know! Wow… praise Him, my God is amazing!
In our infinite and limited minds we cannot reconcile every part of God, and we are not called to do so. We are called to know Him, His character, and His heart as He has revealed Himself to us. Then in humility follow the One who loved us and gave us life for us, loving others the way He loves us.
That is the commandment He gave us as He left this earth (John 13:34, 15:17), so let us not get distracted trying to figure out things we were never meant to fully understand, let us not get puffed up with pride in our minds as we elevate our understanding far above where it should rightly be, and may we not bite and devour one another as knowledge becomes more important than love. That would be very unfortunate, disobedient to the commands of Christ, destructive to the body of Christ, and definitely not glorifying to God.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

11 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by corykilgus in Devotional, GENERAL, John, THE WORD

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Tags

Emotion, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John, Sin, Truth

A question about the work of the Holy Spirit

Spurgeon and the Holy Spirit

How can we know something is of the Holy Spirit, or if something is just an emotional high that makes us feel good?

I ask this question because the emotional high is often so attractive, especially to the young Christian, but is not always the work of the Holy Spirit at all. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the trinity, and He has a very distinct job description. If we look to John 14-16 we are told much about the PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus says, He will be sent to us as someone who will guide us into truth, bring the words of Jesus into remembrance, convict the world of sin and righteousness, and most importantly TESTIFY OR POINT TO JESUS AND GLORIFY HIM. If you read John 14 this is all said in connection with true love being measured by our obedience to the words of Christ. The Work of the Holy Spirit is to show us what the truth is, convict us of sin, and bring us to Jesus. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.


Nothing is said of tears, weeping, music, healing or anything else. Those things may accompany the move of the Spirit, but they are not the point nor the proof. The entire work of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin and point to Jesus. That is worshipping in spirit and truth.


So, if anything is happening in a church, regardless of how emotional or unemotional it is, we can only know a true move of the Spirit by the amount that thing is convicting of sin and pointing to Jesus. Jesus says the Holy Spirit will only speak what He has received from the Father… that means anything outside of God’s revealed Word is not the truth, and therefore not a move of the Holy Spirit. What is the sum of God’s word? Repent and come to the Savior. The Holy Spirit is working as One with the Father and Son to bring as many to Him as possible, and then make them real disciples, or like Christ.


Therefore, let us not measure the presence of the Holy Spirit by how emotionally charged something is, but by how much conviction of sin is happening, and how many people are truly coming to know Jesus Christ. If man, experience, emotion, healing, prosperity, the good life, or anything other thing besides Jesus is being focused on, than the Holy Spirit is not behind it… no matter how good it feels or emotional people get.


I am reminded of the stories of John Edwards during the age of revival. He would plainly read a sermon like “sinners in the hands of an angry God” and people would come begging God to forgive their sins and restore them in Christ. That is the Holy Spirit at work. I am also reminded of my friend, Terry Clark, a long time worship leader, exhorting people in a worship conference to know that the Holy Spirit will always testify of Christ, not man, and that is how we know a work of the Holy Spirit.

Let us not be deceived, let us be filled with the Spirit, and let us follow hard after Christ and His word, trusting the Spirit to help us be more like Him everyday. AMEN!

As a pastor and director of a Bible College I have a huge heart to see the next generation guided into all truth. My hope is that this article will help people not go down a path that leads them away from God’s truth in the name of emotionalism, but towards Christ in the name of true worship. To God be the Glory!

Love And The Lost

21 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by corykilgus in GENERAL, John, New Testament, Reaching the Lost, THE WORD

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Tags

Cory Kilgus, God, Gospel, Love, Love Demonstrated, Missions, Neighbor, Reaching the Lost, World

“All my forefathers have passed away into darkness without knowing anything of what was to befall them; how is it that your forefathers knowing all these things, did not send word to my forefathers sooner?” ~ African chief to missionary David Livingstone

I love reading the quotes of past missionaries and people who gave their lives to be about the Lord’s business. I was deeply touched when I studied through church history, and especially inspired by those from the missionary era such as William Carey, Adoniram Judson, and Hudson Taylor. I think that all Christians should be a bit (maybe alot) more radical ( in modern terms that means crazy) just like those who spread the Gospel in the book of Acts. The apostle Paul said he desired to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and that to live is Christ, and to die is gain. These were’nt just words from Paul, but the reality of a crazy person committed to Jesus.

When I read this quote from an African Chief the early missionary David Livingstone came into contact with, it stopped me in my tracks. Usually, the quotes and stories I read are from the perspective of those bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have not heard, but this was a different perspective. This was a man who come to the truth, realized that Jesus was the only way to be saved, knew that in order to believe someone had to hear the gospel, and he wanted to know why no one came sooner. He wanted to know why when Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) it took the body of Christ close to 2,000 years to come to his village. I think that is very good question. I think it is a question that we as the body of Christ have a responsibility to answer, and hopefully it causes us to hear the words of Jesus and amend our ways.

Here are a few quotations from Jesus:

“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.” -John 3:16

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” -John 4:34-35

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” -John 3:17

(To His disciples) “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” -John 20:21

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” -John 17:20

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” -Matthew 22:37-40

These are just a few of the words of Christ regarding what He came to do ( The name Jesus means God is salvation, and His name implied His mission), and the work He left for His followers, not to mention anything of what Paul and the rest of the epistles say regarding our responsibility (See Romans 10:14-17)

The section of scripture I want to direct us to is the last one I listed from Matthew 22. I think two good questions for those who belong to Christ, and have received His love, forgiveness, grace, and salvation are how do we love God with everything we have and how do we love our neighbor as our self?

First, how do we love God with everything we have? As I am writing this my wife is snuggled up with her little sister. They aren’t doing much, they’re eating popcorn, watching a movie, talking with each other. They are spending time together. They love each other, and it is a blessing to see it. The same thing is done with those who love God. We spend time with Him. We get to know Him. We first know He has saved us, and then because of that knowledge we want to get to know this heavenly Father who will love us forever absolutely perfectly. In short, we abide with Him (John 15).

When we abide in Him, and spend time with Him something funny happens. We become more like Him. We take on His character and His nature, the things that are important to Him become important to us, and things He loves and hates we begin to love and hate as well.

Have you ever noticed a couple that has been happily married for 50 years? They have grown from being two individuals into being one beautiful married couple. They eat dinner at the same time, they go to bed at the same time, they enjoy the same vacations, and they watch the same movies. They have rubbed off on each other. Jesus prayed that believers would be one with Him as He was one with the Father (John 17). Becoming one with Jesus and the Father is loving God.

Another way we love God, is obeying what He said to do (John 14:15) Let me ask you this (and parents may understand this better than others) would you be happy with your child when he brings you a daisy after he had just ignored every chore you had given them to do, thrown paint all over the living room, wrecked the project in the garage you had been working on for 6 months, and to top it off misrepresented your most precious family values to everyone they came into contact with? We don’t need to go into the type of reaction that would create, but needless to say the daisy wouldn’t be received too well. The same principle can be applied to our relatioship with God. He is not looking for the big sacrificial gift, but a life that adheres to His nature and commands(1 Samuel 15:22). In short, if we are to love God we need to hear what He says, and then do what He instructs.

Secondly, How do we love our neighbors? Well, first we need to define neighbor in order to get the right eye-level to carry out this command. The word neighbor here means Biblically A) A freind B) any other person, and where two are concerned, the other (thy fellow man, thy neighbour), according to the Jews, any member of the Hebrew nation and commonwealth C) according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion (See John 3:16, He so loved the World) with whom we live or whom we chance to meet (BLB.org, Strong’s concordance, Outline for Biblical Usage)

So, now that we have neighbor defined, how do we love them as ourself? Let me ask you this Christian, what is the best thing that has ever happened to you or been given to you? It must be the salvation of God, forgiveness of sin, and a relationship with Jesus Christ our creator. To be born-again and know God is the single most importnant and wonderful thing that can happen in a human life. If everything else in my life is a failure, and I am homeless and starving without a penny to my name, but I belong to Christ than I am eternally rich beyond every sense of the word. So, there are many ways we can love one another as we walk in the spirit, but there can be no better demonstration of love than for us to lay down our selfish desires in order to bring someone else to their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Why do bring all this up? As we string together what it means to love God and love people I think it should motivate us to spread the gospel of Christ to those immediately around us, and also to those all over the world. Jesus loved people. He loved them so much He humbled himself by coming out of heaven and subjecting Himself to all the weakness of His creation, and relegated Himself to being killed by that creation all so he could end world hunger… wait that’s not it. He came to this earth to pay the price man’s sin deserved, so that any who would come to Him and believe in Him would be saved from the punishment due those sins. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Go back to the African Chief who said why didn’t you come sooner. The Bible says God loved his forefathers deeply, and the Bible says Jesus sent us to finish His work of salvation just as the Father sent Jesus. I can’t go back and redo Christian History. In fact I can’t do anything of myself period. I can’t even keep myself from catching a cold, but what I can do is hear the words of Jesus and lift up eyes and see that the fields are ripe for harvest NOW. I can begin to lift my eyes up and take them off myself, my wants, my career, my entertainment, my things, and my comfort; and begin to love others enough to bring them the only thing that can change a life and save a soul. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul wasn’t ashamed of it because he understood these things and so much more. Because he understood the weight of the gospel and the world’s need for it, he spent His life getting this message and this Savior out to the world. When Paul was done he received a crown and a hearty well done good and faithful servant from God his Father. What about us?

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Presenting Jesus in Mendo

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

Tags

Cory Kilgus, Jesus Christ, John, Mendo, Mendocino, Presenting Jesus

Presenting Jesus Final 2

Hey everyone, we are going to be “Presenting Jesus in Mendo” starting Saturday 7/13. I will be leading a study in the life and character of Jesus Christ as we go through the Gospel of John at the Community Center of Mendocino every Saturday night at 6:30. We’re going to meet in the beautiful Curry Community Room. The whole community is invited, and I love to see old friends, church family, and many others from every walk of life attend as we look at the most amazing person in the history of the world. We’ll have free coffee and some snacks too. Hope to see you there!!

More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/610990022266757/

Posted by corykilgus | Filed under GENERAL, John, Ministry, New Testament, THE WORD, UPDATES

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