The Truth

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 

Matt. 5:11-16 

I was sitting in a classroom at NYU a short time back reminiscing a bit about the last time I was in that building some 32 years ago during my freshman year at that University. I was struck by how different things were. The classrooms were modernized and equipped with the latest computer gadgets. Yet my mind could still see the room the way it was.

As I listened to the professor, one sentence just seared itself into my mind. We were studying binary logic and she said, "You can't test for falsehood. Falsehood is nothing by itself, it is merely the absence of truth. You can't find something that by definition isn't there in the first place." You see, truth, however elusive because of circumstance, is provable. It is constant. Not only so, but when discovered, it disperses falsehood; It reveals it for what it is.

Things around us may change. We might add a few "gadgets" to our lives. Our circumstances might conspire against us so that the world might seem to be speeding right by us. Notwithstanding, in this ever changing world one thing remains fundamentally true - Jesus Christ.

Ironically, He doesn't claim to know the truth. You see, his claim is far greater than that. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is no alternative path to truth. It's either Christ, or it's a lie.

When you have Jesus, you have truth. And when you have truth, you have freedom. Jesus said in John 8:31, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." The truth is that Jesus is inside of us and if we just let him shine out, His light will disperse the darkness around us. He will make all things clear in our spirit. He will set us, and those around us free. 

Love ya,

Pastor Mario

Exceedingly, abundantly

"exceedingly, abundantly, above what you can ever ask or even think…"

Ephesians 3:20

 

I can't begin to count the amount of times that I have shared our experiences at the Hope Center with fellow ministers and have heard many of them attribute our radical evangelistic triumphs to "cultural" or socio-economic differences that they feel cannot be duplicated in America as a whole. The underlying premise being that somehow the message of the Gospel is only this effective when it is delivered to Cubans, Argentineans, Columbians, Puerto Ricans, Blacks or maybe even Australians. But for some reason, the Gospel cannot work this well in "mainstream" America.

My friends, that's exactly what the devil wants us to believe! I'm reminded of the report from the spies Moses had sent to Canaan. They confessed the land was indeed "flowing with milk and honey" as Moses had stated. They spoke of two men having to carry one cluster of grapes. Can you imagine that? Those were some BIG mama grapes! That's miraculous provision my friend; the kind that God wants to give to us.

There was just one problem, one small thing standing between them and their miracle of deliverance. The Bible puts it this way,

Numbers 13:33

"And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

They saw themselves as losers, so everyone else saw them the same way. The irony of it all is that we never hear of these giants again. Where the heck did they go? Joshua doesn't talk about them. I believe they were figments of their own faithless imaginations used by the Devil for the sole purpose of robbing them of their blessing. What is the Devil using to rob you of your blessing? How do you see yourself? Are you wildly victorious in Christ, or is this Christian life too difficult for you? What do you do to help you sleep with yourself at night? Do you see other normal Christians as "giants" simply because your Christ-less actions make you feel like an insect? Has the Devil convinced you that you can't have those grapes; you can only look at them from afar while you salivate over what you should be chewing on?

A while ago my wife and I few out to Denver, CO where Hope Center Tabernacle was honored for it's "transformational" impact on America. This didn't happen because our tribe wasted their time staring at grapes from a distance. It happened because many of you took the challenge and decided to impact your friends and family with the message of the Gospel; to take back what belonged to you. We encourage you to believe God for a GIANT miracle in your family, personal life, and finances. Our God is as merciful as he is generous. All you have to do is believe.

Thank you for being obedient to the Lord and allowing us to receive these and many other accolades on your behalf. I am honored to be your under-shepherd and make my boast only in the Lord when it comes to each of you.

Love ya,

Pastors Mario

PROTECTED PROSPERITY

When it comes to our Christian walk, it's all or nothing.  And this includes our money.  

I seldom speak of finances for fear of offending someone who would think that we're after their money. This has become all the more significant to me in light of the media pressure on our finances. It's not wrong to support other ministries. It's not wrong to give to charity for that matter. The Bible, in fact, commands us to do so. What is sinful is not taking care of your family, physical or spiritual, when there is a need. This is a biblical responsibility as stated by Paul to his spiritual son timothy in 1 Tim. 5:8, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

You see, giving to God is not about money.  It's never been about money.  It's about faith.  And our faith is our source of life.  The Bible tells us that "the just shall live by faith."   It's about telling God, I'm going to trust you with everything I have. God establishes tithing as our way of ultimately exercising our faith by promising that if we take care of "his house," he promises to take care of our own, much more so than we can ever imagine. This is why He gives us such a wonderful promise in Malachi 3:10 for our obedience in our tithes and offerings, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Conversely, when we don't take care of his house, we rob God. This is how HE puts it:

Malachi 3:8-12               

8. "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'  "In tithes and offerings.  9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.  10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.  11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.  12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

You see, it's not God's purpose only to bless us in our giving, but to make us an example to unbelievers of God protected prosperity.

Luv ya,

Pastor Mario