THE TRUTH

A Newsletter of PURSUING THE TRUTH MINISTRIES
(Educate to Liberate!)
March 2004

I thank all of you who have supported this ministry over the years and for our new supporters. Your prayers, comments, and questions are very much appreciated. I ask that you would join us in our campaign to promote the name of Jesus above all of the hype in the church community today. We need to be focused on Jesus Christ and we want to be a part of that remnant of people that promote Jesus Christ above all the other religious activities. Join us by supporting us in prayer, testimonies, and even financially as we prepare to begin a mass marketing campaign for this objective. Thank you.

- Pastor William R. Cunningham

THE ANSWER IS JESUS! - Part 2

Pastor Bill

Do you know Jesus? What can you tell someone about Jesus Christ? What do you know besides the Sunday school stories about Jesus Christ? Have you ever studied the historical Jesus? There is a movie showing now called "The Passion of the Christ." I am told that it is a very moving movie, emotionally that is. Why? I believe that it is emotional because people can see what Jesus would have gone through during his trial and subsequent death. I suppose that the movie made it more real to us, though I haven't seen this particular passion movie yet. Why would anyone suffer like that for something he did not do? Jesus Christ of course. Why did Jesus suffer?

Put yourself in the place of Jesus and that is what you....we all deserve. We deserve to die and suffer for our own sin, but Jesus did it for us. He paid the price for our sin. Why? He paid the price for our sin because God loves us that much. God wants to have an intimate relationship with us so Jesus had to suffer and die because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is the answer for our liberty. Jesus is the answer to our bondage. He suffered and died that we might be saved.

What's Wrong With Faith?

By Pastor William Cunningham

It is normal to hear during the course of a week the preaching and teaching of faith. It is common to hear such teachings as "just believe God" or "use your faith" or "God honors your faith." I often wonder when the recipients of these teachings will realize how heretical such teachings are. Not only are these teachings inconsistent with the Bible's revelation of faith, they are also damaging to true faith operating in a Christian's life. Let me show you something here. Consider the following scripture.

Mark 11:22-24 (KJV) "{22} And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. {23} For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. {24} Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

You know by now that this scripture is used as the foundation of the confession teaching or the believe you receive teaching. There are a couple of things that we must consider, one of which I say time and time again. We must first consider the first thing that Jesus said and then we must also consider the context of this scripture. First Jesus said to have faith in God. Therefore, it is not a matter of our faith as if we have some force of faith that we can use at our will and to which God will respond. We have to have faith or trust in God. We have to rely on God and depend on him. That goes without saying. This alone invalidates the "believe you receive" teaching.

Next we must consider the context of this scripture. What was going on at this time. Well Jesus and his disciples were on their way out of the city and the disciples noticed that the fig tree that Jesus had cursed while they were on their way into town that morning had withered. Jesus therefore used the whole fig tree incident as an object lesson to the disciples pertaining to faith or trust in God. The lesson was (and is) that you can accomplish much more than what is possible by you alone if you trust God. With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, 10:27, 14:36). Have faith in God, not your faith. It is when we line up with the will of God that we can expect him to honor our faith so to speak. It is not our faith that he honors. No. Actually it is his word that he honors, to which we submit.

So let us not forget that God honors his word and those who trust him. We cannot make God do anything that he has not said he would do. We do know that pleasing God requires faith (Hebrews 11:6). However, faith is not something that we can wield around like a tool as though we have an edge on God. Faith is not something that we can corner God into serving us. Faith is dependence upon God. Faith is therefore getting in line with His will and yielding our own. Faith is when we lean on God in an act of submission and trust.

When we think of faith in terms of a force that God must honor then we negate the importance of his word. The word of God comes first because it is God's word that we have to stand on. He gave us his word in the Holy Scriptures and we can use those Scriptures to abide by and live our life so that we would please God in an act of living obedience. What's wrong with faith? Nothing as long as you are referring to God, but everything if you are referring to yourself.

Love Life!

Pastor Bill

Do you love your life? What I mean is do you enjoy your life, what you are doing, what you are involved with, and where you are going? Now of course I realize that everything that happens isn't enjoyable, but overall I think that life is wonderful. We all have problems and disappointments and even disillusions. However, those are simply things to resolve as we trek to happiness. We are already blessed so why not enjoy life.

How do you enjoy life? I have learned that the best we can do is to enjoy the moment. Of course it is impossible to enjoy the moment if you have no relationship with God. After all, there would be no hope for you. With God we can hold our head high and know that our heavenly father is looking out for us and caring for us. We can rest in that. I must admit that resting in that takes practice. We humans always want to be in control or know that things are definitely in control. Control. What's that. I had the control swept from under my feet a little over a year ago. My income has dropped to less than half of what it used to be and yet I am enjoying my life.

Sure it's scary, but God it's fun. Last year was one of the best years of my entire life (well maybe not my entire life). I had a blast last year and I still am because I wake up in the morning with tons of things to do. Yes I'm a workaholic. I get bored so quickly that having something to do all of the time is great. Not only am I busy and loving it, I also love what I am busy doing. My business is young and my client base is small and money definitely is scarce, but it's so much fun. I have met new people and have forged alliances. My future looks great because I believe that God is guiding me somewhere. I'm not sure where, but I am confident that I am in the will of God. How can you do better than that. I'm doing what I love and I believe that I am in the will of God! What else is there. What do I have to worry about.

To top it all off I am surrounded by people that really care. Of course there is my family. There is nothing better than knowing that you have support from your family. If the whole world were to fail you then at least you can find comfort in your family. In addition to that, I have people around me that really care and are really growing in the Lord just as I continue to grow. The ministry is moving forward. Oh yeah. That's another thing that I have to mention. I've been doing ministry so long that it has become a part of my life and I might say a bit ubiquitous. However, I am also doing what I love in the area of ministry.

What could possibly be better than the life I have now. Sure I'd like to win a sweepstakes to Sears, the Home Depot, or Lowes. Sure I'd like to win a shopping spree at the local CompUSA and get all the electronic gadgets I could carry in a truck. However, all of that would be really meaningless in the long run. What could possibly be better than doing what you love, doing more of what you love, being in the will of God, and enjoying what God has given you. God life is so good!

Take every day and make it a good day. Take every day and seek the Lord and get on the train he's driving so to speak. How could you go wrong? You can't. If God is directing my life then what do I have to fear? Nothing. Sure it might be scary, but I love scary rides don't you? Don't you like to get on the fastest, highest, loopiest roller coaster? I do. There is one thing that we can count on when we get on a roller coaster.... We can always get back in line and take another ride. Thought I was going to say something else didn't you?

So enjoy your life. Love your life. Solomon said that the gift of God is to enjoy our labor and the fruits of our labor. So go ahead and do it. If you don't like where you are right now then do something about it instead of complaining. It might take a while for you to actually change, but you never will change or better your situation if you do nothing about it. Love life and live!

Life Lesson From the Piano

I play piano and electronic keyboards. Playing any instrument requires a certain level of dedication and determination. I recall asking my piano teacher in the eleventh grade how she practiced. She said that her parents made her practice three hours a day. At that time I thought that was excessive. Then again, that teacher was a classical pianist and she was extremely good. Many years later I notices that I could sit down in front of my keyboard and play for hours. No problem. Now I didn't do it every day, but it was easy to sit down and play for hours. I loved it. I still sit down and play for hours at times.

There is something that I notice about playing the piano. If you practice something long enough and frequently enough then it becomes second nature. I remember watching a show on television many years ago about human behavior or something like that. I'm not sure what it was about now. Anyway, I remember the show focusing on a diver. They noticed how the diver would have a particular form as he dived from the platform down into the water. The host said that he has practiced so long for so many years that he doesn't even think about pointing his toes. It happens automatically when he jumps off of the platform. Piano playing is just like that too. I'd say that most everything is like that. The more you practice, the more it becomes second nature.

Piano playing requires certain knowledge of chords to say the least. Chords are the building blocks of songs. The more you practice your chords then the easier they are to play. When I play an E flat minor seventh chord for example, I don't even think about the fingering. It comes naturally. I don't even have to look at the keys, just like typing. My fingers crash down and the chord is played. That comes from so much practice. E flat minor is one of my favorite keys if not my favorite. I make up stuff just to play in that key. So it is true that practice makes perfect.

What about life? What things do you practice over and over again pertaining to life? Remember, the more you practice something then the more it will come natural to you. What do you do when trouble comes? What do you do when a decision have to be made? What do you do when you have that oh so elusive free time. What's that? What do you do when things are just going so fast that you can't think? What do you practice. Well just like I have to sit down and practice playing the piano to become proficient at it is the same way that we have to practice things in life to make it natural for us.

I recall a preacher once said that the truth of what is in your heart will come out if you hit your thumb with a hammer. That was funny, but it had some truth to it. If you respond to things by using taboo phrases (cuss words) then that is probably what you will do if you are not careful to censor yourself. If you are used to complaining every time something happens then that is what you will do when something negative happens. Some people are so pessimistic that they complain no matter what.

So go out and play. No not the piano--unless you want to. Go out and practice to play life. Practice those things that will bring you closer to God and in turn will bring you more happiness and joy. God bless you always.

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Well, God bless you always. Remember to eat, drink, and digest the word of God and know God for yourself. Be blessed and be free!

- Pastor William Cunningham