What Is Your Life?

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A Message to All Users of this Site

This is how this blog come about:

A friend of mine told me about this blogging thing; I had not intention or pre-thought of doing this. So he set me up and I played around with it a bit. I thought it would be useful to have to steer people towards when I go preach at churches and stuff, so they can see what my ministry is about (teaching, preaching and evangelism) and also my doctrinal beliefs.

It was a pretty quiet website and I didn't expect anything from it. Until I posted an article about the New England Primer which seemed to attract crazy attention, and from there it seemed like every post I put up was attacked and belittled and opposed. The snowball started to roll until now it seems like the site has a large audience and many frequenters. The saddest thing about this blog is the fact that Christians come on here and create a huge issue with simple fundamental doctrines (ie. repentance, faith, Holy Spirit, witnessing). This blog is not the cause of harm, but it is all these foolish and unreasonable people who argue for arguing sake or are genuinely ignorant of sound doctrine and speak before they know what is true. I do not think the site is the problem, but these people.

Then you have people who come on here that are anonymous though they are well known by many of us. They like to say their ugly piece without standing up to the consequences of saying it. They are cheap and cowardly. They want a voice without responsibility. I say, get out.

Christians are suppose to be like Christ. We had better start acting like it, loving one another and seeking to build one another up instead of tearing down. I sense there are many people on this blog who are here simply to tear down myself and others. It's one thing to discuss doctrine, it's another to be proud, unrelenting, deaf to correction and spiteful. To these people I speak for your shame.

I believe we can make this site a better place for everyone, sinner or saint:

1. Before you comment, ask yourself deep inside why you are commenting. Is it to help or to hurt?

2. Study the Scriptures thoroughly and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It's not enough to just know what the Bible says, but get to know what the Bible means. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but don't post so assuredly before you have rightly divided the word of truth with all diligence. This would save us much trouble.

3. Have a humble heart to take correction, but don't compromise if you truly are unsure. However, there is a difference between not compromising and being proudly stubborn. Check your motives and your spirit as you read, ponder and reply.

4. Only comment when necessary. Don't add fuel to a fire or needlessly post just to stir up contention. Post if you feel you need to encourage or correct. Otherwise, it is best and wisest to remain silent.

5. If you have an issue that is more personal, don't take it up on the blog. Send an email to me or to whoever it is you have issue with. Let's use wisdom in our actions as well as privacy where privacy is due.

6. If you're a non-Christian coming onto the site, be respectful towards us and our beliefs. Do not cast ridicule or slurs. These words are pointless and in the end do you and us no good. If you want to use this site, use it to learn and to benefit from, not make it a ruinous place on the internet.

7. And as Christians, exemplify Christ in your behaviour here. Set the mind of Jesus in you. Be humble, be encouraging, be sensitive to others. Let this site be used for good and not for evil, for edification. Don't be ignorant, but get to know God who saved you and be like Him. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

May God bless and guide the further use of this site.

Sanctification

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

I believe the Bible is unmistakably clear on the issue of whether or not it is possible to overcome sin in this life. I recommend you read carefully the previous post on Romans 7 that talks about being dead to sin and alive in Christ. The topic I want to deal with now is the process of sanctification, not whether the end result is attainable, for it is; but what is sanctification, what does it look like, and how does it happen?

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly..." We find here the design that God intends to sanctify each and every one of us completely and totally. This is a promise for all God's children, not just for so-and-so in the ministry and for some obscure people in the past or in a distant land. God's grace has been poured out upon all believers, His Spirit upon all flesh, that each one of us can lay hold of these promises and walk in victory throughout our days on earth. It is exciting to know that our dusty jar of clay is filled with a heavenly treasure, useful to a heavenly cause! Though we are earthly, God has chosen to make us heavenly! Let us not settle for dust when we can live and move in the Spirit!

I love how sanctification is identified with peace here in this verse. Dear Christian, let me ask you: Is there nothing more peaceful than walking upright before God? Is there nothing more blissful and joyous then having a clear conscience, a steady foot, a fixed eye on Jesus, walking in the light as He is in the light? Indeed, we have sweet fellowship with one another. But is there nothing more restless, agitating, sorrowful and burdensome then walking against the truth, against the current of God's heavenly stream? We can all answer from experience. God be praised that He is the God of peace, the God of peace that transcends all understanding! He Himself has offered to sanctify us wholly... to do all the work for us, to carry us up to a higher plane! Is this not a happy thought!?

What then hinders God from sanctifying us? Dear brothers and sisters, it happens in three ways:

1. The sin of unbelief. We do not believe God when He promises to do this. We do not believe a man can be wholly sanctified, holy and blameless on earth. We do not believe our flesh can be dead and our body and soul brought into obedience to the King. This is the number one hindrance to holiness! Unbelief is the chocks that stop the wheels of God's transport from taking off down the runway of promise. All spiritual impasse, whether it be the filling of the Holy Spirit, the healing of the sick, the saving of the soul... Jesus pointed to the sin of unbelief. "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matthew 14:31)

2. The arm of the flesh. A person can no more sanctify himself than a dog itself can learn table manners. Apart from Christ we are nothing; we are only evil, bent of folly. The Pharisees tried to become holy by following the Law, but Jesus exposed them for what they were: wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. The Laodicean church tried the same thing, but righteousness without Christ is filthy rags. Hear the words of Christ as He says: "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see." (Revelation 3:18) Every good and perfect gift comes from God. Our righteousness, our sanctification, our holiness must come from the Lord, or we will not have them at all.

3. Failure to fix the eyes upon Jesus. Here lies the work of sanctification: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2) What? No work? No effort? No endeavoring? No! Nothing but looking unto Jesus and allowing Him to do all the work. God has promised to sanctify us, He has not commanded us sanctify ourselves. Jesus Christ already finished the mission, which now only remains to be realized in our lives. "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." (John 17:19) Brothers and sisters, fix your eyes upon the blessed person of Jesus Christ and upon the work He has already accomplished, the cup He has already drank, the death He has already died! Only when we reckon these things finished do we realize these things fully. Christ's death wrought about our life. It is a sad wonder so many Christians do not live it.

Jesus Christ did not simply die to save you from hell, "but to purify unto Himself a pecualiar people, zealous for good works." (Titus 2:14) Let us put aside unbelief and doubt. Let us allow the working of the Spirit to sanctify us wholly; every aspect of our lives: spirit, soul and body. And let us fix our eyes on Jesus, who alone is rightfully and truly the perfecter of our faith.

Three Men Going to Hell

This message was preached Friday April 21, 2006 in the open air on York and King, and is a warning against three types of people. The clip is about 14 minutes long and contains a lot of heckling and street preaching clashes, making this file an intense audio to hear. The point is: Jesus Christ is the narrow gate by which all men must enter. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

When I was preaching (and this is caught on the clip if you listen carefully), two guys were giving me a hard time, threatening to steal my box again, and there was another guy across the street who was listening to the message... he came over and told the two guys to get lost, and they left without hesitation! I believe the guy that told them to go was a known tough guy on the street, judging: 1) by his looks, and 2) by how quickly and unreservedly the two other guys took off. Amazing! This man was seriously listening to what was being said and didn't want to be interrupted! After the two guys left he continued to listen. Praise God!

Also of interest, as I was preaching I met Charles Leblanc, Political Activist, who quickly gave me the title "ADHD Preacher!?" Charles has a website where he wrote a post about the encounter, which includes some pictures! Check it out by clicking here.

Here the file, (Caution: Contains lots of profanity) download below:
Eli Brayley - Three Men Going to Hell (Open Air)

Romans 7 Under the Microscope

Right away in 7:1 Paul points out who he is speaking to and about: "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?" He's talking to them that KNOW the Law.

What does he mean, the Law has dominion over man as long as he lives? Does this suggest as long as we live sin has dominion over us? Not so. Remember: "He that is dead is freed from sin." (Romans 6:7). This is not talking about physical death but death to self, as we see in it's context: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." (Romans 6:6) Brothers, this verse 6 is imperative!

Romans 7:2-3 then goes on to explain how a woman is bound to her husband by law so long as he is alive. This is likened to our relationship with the Law.

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Romans 7:4) Here is mentioned this death again, not a physical one, but a death to the Law... and why? Because of what Christ did on the cross! Jesus' death wrought about OUR death! His death snapped the power of the Law over us. We are considered dead to it because of Christ.

"For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." (Romans 7:5) Now we jump to a past tense... When we were still in the flesh, the Law was at work in the members of our bodies producing death. THIS is the condition of the Romans 7 struggle. The Law working fruit unto death in us - sin. "For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23)

"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:6) BUT NOW we are delivered... being dead... that the members of our bodies serve in a new way, not in the old way, trapped by the Law.

Now Paul shifts the topic. He begins to talk specifically about the Law, since to this point he has made the Law sound something terrible. Paul reminds: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." (Romans 7:7) The Law was beneficial in revealing sin to us, though because of our sinful nature, the knowledge of sin worked death in us... just like in the Garden of Eden with the Knowledge of the Tree of Good and Evil. Once we knew what good and evil were, we chose evil. We suddenely fell captive to the power of the Law.

"But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me." (Romans 7:8-11) This text reads as if Adam was writing it. Powerful!

The next two verses reinforce this thought, and shows us that sin is by the Law now "exceedingly sinful." This is no light thing by which God shrugs away. The full wrath of God was upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ at Calvary.

Now in verse 14, Paul assumes the position of a man under the Law, hence the present use of tense. We know he is talking about someone under the Law because of the content of the subject. It is "the law working in his members bringing forth the fruit of sin." There are more clues to this which we find later on...

"For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." (Romans 7:14-20) Here is the miserable condition of this Law. The next three verses nail this point home:

"I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." (Romans 7:21-23) This is painfully clear. Paul has just pinpointed the condition of 7:5.

The cry and the remedy! "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 7:24-25a)

Paul then sums up verses 14-20 in verse 25b: "SO THEN with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." The mind serves God, the body does not. It is not that this is the final condition after Paul exclaims "thanks be to God!" It's almost like Paul couldn't wait until the end to write verse 25a because the condition of being under the Law of death is so horrible! (Of course, this is my speculation!) Regardless, verse 25b takes us back into the deathtrap.

Now here you may argue: "This is not so!" We come now to the dilemma: Is this our condition? Do we now serve God IN THE SPIRIT but remain under the Law IN THE BODY? The answer is a strong no. Remember Romans 6:6?:

"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Are we still under Law? "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." (Romans 7:5) No, next verse: "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." And that is the key... being dead. "He who is dead is freed from sin." (Romans 6:7)

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) Everything around this verse is wonderful, verse 17, 18, 19, 21! Read them!

NOW we can move on into Romans 8! "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)

This is vital: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:3-4) Read this in view of 7:7-11... Adam and the knowledge of good and evil. But now, Christ has made it so that the righteousness of the Law CAN be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit!

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." (Romans 8:11)

What then do we do? "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:12-14) So then brothers, we live by the Spirit of God!

Thus it is possible to "mortify the DEEDS of the body."

Brothers, I conclude with this Scripture:

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:11-14)

Love in Christ,
-Eli

The Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World

Recorded Monday April 10, 2006, in downtown Fredericton, this audio file is an excellent sample of what my ministry on the streets is like, featuring:

-Preaching
-Answering a complaint
-Defending the faith
-Encouraging a desperate individual

Almost everytime I go out on the street to I will encounter situations similar to what you will hear on this audio, making this file a valuable download for those interested in what street preaching is all about. You will also hear how the preaching intertwines with engaging people one-on-one and vice versa.

Quotes from that afternoon:

Eli - You know Adam and Eve?
Guy - I have a brother named Adam...

Girl - I think there were several prophets...
Eli - There were... and we killed them all.
Girl - I think there are still prophets.
Eli - There are, I am one right now.

Guy - The whole point to God's religion is that it's not His. (???)

Guy - We are going to need another coffee if we are going to continue this.

Guy - I’m in the mood today to yell at you!

Girl - You must get all sorts.

Eli - The truth will set you free.
Man - It'll also cost you a lot of money.
Eli - The truth doesn't cost you anything except your life.

Man - There’s no such thing as sin.
Eli - You're saying what Hitler did was okay?
Man - Yeah.

Eli - Can I ask you a question... Does two plus two equal five?
Man - Probably in some cultures it might.

Man - You’re 20 years old? By the time you are 26 that Bible will have changed.
Eli - This Bible is the 1611 Authorized Version.

This clip is 20 minutes in length, just a portion of the afternoon spent at the King and York intersection. The message focuses on God's timeless plan to save His creation through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, now revealed to us in these last days. May God bless you as you listen. (Caution: This clip contains some profanity) Download below:

Eli Brayley - The Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World (Open Air)
(Click the link above, then click Download, Save, then rename and place the file)

Consecration

Being such an important word, it is amazing how little we hear it. So long as we as Christians are not consecrated to the Lord, we will accomplish extremely little or nothing for Heaven. We must learn what this word means and how we can become consecrated to our God.

Here is the meaning of the word consecration: set apart for the Lord's use.

What a tremendous need for the Church of Jesus Christ to be set apart in this day that we live! Perhaps the number one ailment that the Body of Christ suffers today is our failure to be consecrated. Rather, we are defiled! How then can we be useful to the Master? This helps to explain our degraded beloved North America. The quicker we acknowledge this, the quicker we can fix it, the quicker we can transform our societies, shut the lion's mouth and save dying lost souls. Consecration is the key to all spiritual success.

So the question is: How does a person become consecrated?


1. DEDICATION

When the Israelites were building the Tabernacle in the desert, the people came and presented gifts and articles to the Lord for use in His service. "And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD." (Exodus 35:22) Whatever was to be used regarding the temple of the Lord required the first act of dedication. Notice is says "as many as were willing hearted." Once an article was offered to the Lord there was no getting it back. Gold used in the construction of the temple was never to be used for anything else again.

As it is today, God is searching for people whose hearts are willing to dedicate themselves to His service without the thought of serving the world any longer. The verse for us in the New Testament is Romans 12:1-2, "...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Present your bodies. The first step to consecration is dedication, a willing act of the heart to serve the Lord.


2. SEPARATION

Once we are dedicated we then must be separated. It is not enough to simply offer yourself to the Lord one Sunday night and then go shrinking back to the world on Monday. The body must be separated. This is a subject many people do not like to think about, for they love the world too much. However, the only way to be used by God effectively is to be separated from the world and it's contaminations. There is no getting around this. You cannot serve God and this world.

"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." (1 Corinthians 10:21) Too many Christians have lived a life of duplicity. Did you know that the devil has a communion table as well? It says right here in this verse... he too has a table prepared for whosoever will. His table is filled with all the delicacies of the world, enough to seduce any lustful appetite. Yes, his food is seemingly more attractive than the simple bread and wine, but in deceitfulness he has loaded his menu with poison, enough poison to kill even a foolish Christian who thinks he can feast from both sides. In the end you are only fooling yourself and you are the one who loses.

This duplicity will not do. If we are to grow up into the full stature of Christ and obtain spiritual victories against the devil we must separate ourselves from all that defiles the body. There are five gates of entry that must be guarded at all times. These are the eyes, the mouth, the ears, the nose, and the hands/feet.

We must separate ourselves from all things that defile any of these gates and so defiles God's temple, our body (1 Corinthians 6:19). Unclean words, thoughts, actions, appetites, habits, etc... unclean movies, music, games, books, television, company, settings, food, etc... All things that defile must go if we are to be consecrated unto the Lord, useful for His service.

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

The defining factor between a Christian who is useful and consecrated to God and a Christian who is useless is whether or not they are separated from the world. This sets a man apart, making him available in the Lord's sight.


3. CONSECRATION

When a person is dedicated and separated, they then become consecrated by the Holy Spirit and He is able to flow through them unhindered and without measure.

"...So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle." (Exodus 40:33-34)

Powerful! Are you willing to say to God today: "Lord, I offer myself to You for use in Your holy service?" May God stir our hearts to be willing and obedient, a people set apart for the use of the Lord!

Timothy Ministry Commenting Rules

It is my desire for the commenting option on this blog to be used for the edification of believers, for a witness to unbelievers, and for the glory of God. I have simplified commenting etiquette into two rules. Please respect these rules and help to make this site a godly place for all people. Any abuse of these will result in deletion of the post. May we all have the mind of Christ.

COMMENTING RULES:

1. This site is founded upon the Word of God recorded in the Holy Bible. We believe all Scripture is perfect, without error and is the highest authority touching any subject. All commenters must respect this fact as our faith rests on this very truth, and therefore our posts will be a reflection of our faith. This is a Christian website, though we are happy to allow non-Christians to post and engage on the blog, so long as they understand our position on the Bible of God.

2. The commenting option is for edification only: contribution or inquiry. No bad language is acceptable under any circumstances. If you are upset about something, do not sin by letting go of your self-control. Do not tear one another down, but rather build one another up in the Lord. Exercise brotherly love, for by this alone will people know we are followers of Christ.

Remember: discussion and correction are encouraged, so long as they remain within these parameters. May God bless the use of this site.