The Power of Christian Love - by Jim Tharp

“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)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...” (I Corinthians 13:2-8)

In considering the all-important subject of divine love as experienced in the hearts of Christian believers, I feel led to divide this message on the power of Christian love into three parts.

1. THE PREEMINENCE OF LOVE. As we read in I Corinthians 13, love is supreme, meaning it is above all other spiritual gifts in degree and quality. When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, love entered the world. In Jesus Christ we see love defined as meant by our Creator. Before Christ, it is true that Greek philosophers sought to explain what love is. But the natural man alone, no matter how brilliant, cannot deal thoroughly with the inevitable corrupt human nature. All of us have sinned and fallen short of what and who we were meant to be. Only the believer in Christ, one who has experienced a spiritual new birth, can understand true love as it was meant by our Creator. This is explained in I John 4, verses 7-11: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER - by Jim Tharp

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.. . .” (Ephesians 6:17-18)

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude, verses 20-21).

The weakness of prayer in our churches today is due to our lack of knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Too many Christian believers, though convicted of sin and saved by the power of the Holy Spirit, do not go on to become filled with the Spirit. The scriptures quoted above should help us understand that unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our praying will be a religious form but devoid of power. We receive the Holy Spirit when we become a Christian, but at that time we are not ready for the Spirit’s fullness. In trying to live the Christian life, we soon learn we need more power—power to pray, power to resist temptation, and power to understand the Scriptures we read. 

But, when we make up our minds to want this power, we have to ask for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. When we are hungry enough to surrender our hearts and lives to Christ and allow Him to come first, we are ready to be filled with the Spirit. But, of course, we must continue to obey the Spirit in order keep praying in power.

Rivers of Living Water - by Jim Tharp

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39)

The above precious words, which were spoken by Jesus a short while before He died on the cross to save lost souls, should be stamped in gold letters on every Christian believer! Many people had gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, and it was the last day of the feast when all the ceremonies had come to a close. At this critical moment Jesus stepped forward to speak out clearly with conviction and compassion, seeking to impress upon believers that His work would not be finished when He had been slain on the cross and had risen from the dead. He would then return to heaven to be with His Heavenly Father, and they would send the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower praying believers who were hungry for what Jesus had promised—these “rivers of living water.” 

That morning finally came, when after His crucifixion on the third day and after 40 days of appearing as the Risen Christ among His believers, Jesus spoke His final words to 500 believers gathered to hear Him. We read in Acts 1:4-8 that He commanded them that they were not to depart from Jerusalem until they had returned to that city to begin praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As soon as Jesus had spoken those words in verse 8, He ascended to heaven. “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.” (Acts 1:10-12)

Finally, 120 of those 500 followers of Jesus made their way to that Upper Room to pray ten days for those “rivers of living water!” And, we read in Acts 2:1-4 how Christ kept His promise to send the Holy Spirit to those who met His conditions: “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Throughout the second chapter of Acts we see the power of these “rivers of living water” flowing through the apostles and believers who had been filled with the Holy Spirit. This same power that had been within Jesus was now ready to work within these Spirit-filled believers! The Holy Spirit would use their message to convict lost souls of sin, calling them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. On the first day, 3,000 people heard the Gospel, repented of sin, believed in Jesus as Savior, were baptized, and became part of the first Christian Church in Jerusalem. The Church Age had begun. The Holy Spirit would empower the messengers to spread the Gospel to the ends of earth as long as believers hungered for “rivers of living water!”

Christ Calls His Church to Power - by Jim Tharp

‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.’ (Acts 1:8-14)

The first chapter of the book of Acts is a call to the followers of Jesus to prepare for receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, which is to come upon those who will prepare for their baptism with the Holy Spirit. He wants them to know that it will be a time of waiting in prevailing prayer. Realizing their human weaknesses, Jesus instructs them that they are not to begin spreading His Gospel message until they are empowered to do so.

Jesus had been the perfect model for preparing His followers to spread His Gospel to the ends of the earth. John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the gathered crowds along the Jordan River, and at Jesus’ request, he baptized Him so that He could identify with sinners who were repenting and being baptized. Jesus Himself was filled with the Holy Spirit, even as He arose from the water. The Sinless Son of God, who had incarnately become the Son of Man, realized that He in His human role would need the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish His mission. John the Baptist had told the crowds: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)
   

Several symbols are used for the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible to help us understand what He wants to do in and for and through us as His witnesses. But no symbol is more striking than that of fire! Jesus said, “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49) Following His resurrection, He commanded His disciples and other followers to go back into Jerusalem and prepare for receiving the Holy Spirit. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.” (Acts 2:1-6)

The Human Soul - By Jim Tharp

As a preacher of the Gospel, I want to write about an especially important subject today—THE HUMAN SOUL! I realize that this is a subject to which many people do not wish to give serious concern. In fact, the soul of man is not something that most philosophers want to discuss. And, unfortunately, it is a subject that many theologians are hesitant to address. So, as a preacher of the Gospel for 74 years, but now as an old man of 90, I feel the need to write about the importance of the human soul and its destiny. I could not afford to ignore this important subject while pastoring for 46 years and then evangelizing throughout the world for 27 more years. And now, since I am confined to printing the Gospel messages instead of preaching the Gospel, I cannot be silent on the importance of the human soul.

Please read and consider what our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered and died to save our souls, had to say about the soul of man:

Mark 8:35-38: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Matthew 10:28: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

John 3:16-21: “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

I want to stress this important truth: The soul of man is an internal spiritual gift by our Divine Creator. This fact speaks clearly and loudly to the importance of human life. The soul of man is a serious subject. We can see the seriousness of the soul when we realize that God foreknew the invasion Satan would make on Adam’s race and the tragic results. He knew that His own remedy for the salvation of fallen souls would have to be His sacrifice of His one-and-only righteous Son, who would become incarnate. The Son of God would become the Son of Man and suffer and pay the debt of any lost soul who would believe in Him, repent of sin, and become a true Christian believer. From the beginning, God decreed that the wages of sin would be death. And since all have sinned, death would come to all. But what a glorious destiny awaits the soul at death who has believed in the only plan of salvation through Jesus Christ; the heart ceases to beat and the brain dies, but the human soul’s consciousness shifts immediately from the cerebral to the celestial, adapting instantly to the soul’s eternal existence in heaven.

How important it is that every human soul hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ as described by the apostle Paul in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..." 

Let us consider some of the things our Bible has to say to us who will give an account of our response to God’s loving provisions for our salvation. In Deuteronomy 4:9, Moses says: “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” In this Old Testament passage, Moses is being faithful to the members of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, by instructing them to take precautions concerning their never-dying souls and urging their preparation for giving a good account to God in the day of judgment as to how they have obeyed His Word.

The God of Nations - By Jim Tharp

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)

I am praying that many more Americans will join me in prayer for a greater appreciation of God’s blessings on our nation over the past two and a half centuries. In the history of nations, there has never been another country that has been more blessed. Little wonder that we once sang “God Bless America!” And, now it is high time for us to plead “God, forgive us for our sins,” so that we can then sing with conviction, “God Bless America!”

Our Bible reminds us that God is the God of all nations. For almost two centuries most Americans were free to acknowledge openly the goodness of God in helping us remain unified, secure, progressive, and safe with law and order. It appeared back in those times that we were more careful to remember that our Creator warned against the dangers when nations forget their Creator and Redeemer. Those nations that forget are rapidly ripening for judgment.

How appropriate that we once sang “God Bless America” with conviction and praise! I was privileged to express my appreciation to my friend Dr. Billy Graham for his courageous decision to bring our nation out to express more openly our gratitude to God for His blessings. Billy Graham and Pastor George MacPherson, the president’s pastor at that time, went to call on President Dwight Eisenhower. After praying with the president and for the nation, the two spiritual leaders suggested that a phrase should be added to our “Pledge of Allegiance”: “one nation under God!” President Eisenhower heartily agreed, and most people rejoiced when it was approved by Congress in 1954.

I began this message with the Apostle Paul’s message to the brilliant philosophers in Athens back in the first century. In his passion and effort to open a Christian influence in that prominent city, the apostle received a cold reception. Athens response at that time was like most of our prominent cities in America today—strong resistance to Christian faith. Paul was ridiculed. This great man of God with a giant intellect, a superb education, a mighty grasp of the truth, and a loving heart, was jeered right there in Athens as a “babbler,” a “braggart,” and “a fool!”

SPIRITUAL WARFARE - by Jim Tharp

One Sunday evening several years ago something happened in Russia that we all need to know about. Dr. David Jeremiah tells about this event in the Introduction of his book, “Spiritual Warfare.” Some believers were gathered secretly in a basement to worship the Lord. While they were singing a hymn, the door was suddenly thrown open by two Russian armed soldiers, who screamed these words: “Everyone not willing to die for their faith had better get out.” Some of the people began filtering out. After a few moments, one of the soldiers shouted: “This is your last chance! Turn against your faith in Christ or suffer the consequences.” Only a faithful few remained, huddled together as a soldier shut and locked the door and strode forward. The other soldier then said quietly, “Raise your hands, but raise them in praise to God. We are Christians, too. We just wanted to know who we could trust.” I am sure that those soldiers had never heard such shouts of joy and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am indebted to this great man of God, Dr. David Jeremiah, for the report of this amazing story. This pastor’s sermons and writings have meant so much to this preacher as I have read his books and listened to his great convicting Biblical sermons he has preached on the radio and over television for the past several decades.

The story above had a positive ending, but if you were faced with a similar situation where your faith was challenged and threatened, what would you do? I believe that we live in “the Last Days,” which Jesus and His apostles predicted. I know it is time to warn American Christians to awaken to the Holy Spirit’s call to SPIRITUAL WARFARE. What I am really concerned about is my discovery during the last 35 years: In my praying and fasting for the last three decades, I am convinced that the Church of Jesus Christ in America has never been weaker and our country has never been more wicked! As a pastor for 46 years and then as an evangelist for the last three decades, I have sought to urge Christians to join God’s armies for spiritual warfare. I do have some concerns that I wish to stress in this message today.

Our Bible tells us that we are at war! The Church is being called to a war in which we are wrestling against demonic powers and rulers of this present darkness. These invisible forces are trained and ruled by Satan to destroy our faith and rob us of the power that God has promised to release on His Spirit-filled believers for these final days of spiritual warfare. Christian brothers and sisters, let us read God’s call to war in Ephesians 6:10-18: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”