For What Purpose was I Born?

By Charles C. Kirby
(A radio message dated November 11, 1945)

Inasmuch as all are born without their own consent, can it be that we are the helpless victims of Nature? Is it not more probable that those who are unhappy in this life have failed to fulfill the purpose of their birth?

When Christ was born, the Jews believed that He had come for the purpose of overthrowing Roman power and establishing the throne of David. When He failed to do that for which they thought He had come, they were sorely disappointed and immediately began to prepare to kill Him. Nevertheless, the Voice of God spoke from Heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Evidently, Jesus was fulfilling His Heavenly purpose in life. What then was the purpose for which He was born? When we discover that, we have the key to every problem in our life; for Christ is and was the great example to all mankind. Pilate asked Him, "Art Thou a king then?" Jesus answered, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." (John 18:37) He being an example unto us, therefore, let us also bear witness unto the truth.

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah revealed the plan and purpose of God coming into the world to be born of a woman. Practically all things in the universe act according to the law of cause and effect. The cause for the coming of Christ is found - a deplorable condition upon earth that required the aid of a Saviour from Heaven. "And judgment is turned away backward and justice standeth afar off, for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. And the LORD saw it and it displeased Him that there was no judgment. And He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore, His arm brought Salvation unto Him and His righteousness it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of Salvation upon His head; and He put on garments for clothing and was clad with zeal as a cloak." (Isaiah 59:14-17)

I have little or no confidence in any man's religious profession when it is not put into practice with a good supply of zeal. Christ Jesus came to the world and found the nations bound by their superstitions, ignorance, and fear, even in the children. The rulers of the Temple and synagogues were bound by sinful habits, which, although they condemned them in others, they condoned them in themselves. The lies of the satanic being who had deceived mother Eve into sinning had thoroughly schooled the inhabitants of the earth in his evil teachings and cunning ways: men living in sin without shame. Yes, they worshipped gods that were not real. They defiled themselves and all who came in contact with them. Jesus told the Pharisees that they compassed land and sea to make one convert, and when he was converted to their belief he was without doubt a confirmed child of the devil and headed for hell. In the midst of such gross darkness, sin, and shame, Christ stood forth as the world's only hope. And, please be informed that Christ is still the only hope for the world of today. When men could not penetrate the darkness of sin and unbelief, Christ was the light. When they knew not which course to pursue, Christ was the way. When they were dying physically and mentally, (dying in body and soul,) Christ was the life. And when they could not discern between right and wrong, Christ was the truth. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6)

How weighty the words of Christ, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth."

• "O Truth,Thou art the guide to all that stumble in darkness; Thou art the hope of all who perish today in the pangs of death and sin; Thy lamp of light is the beacon that guides life's lost sailors into the Haven of rest. Thy Word is the bread that makes the weak strong. Thy Spirit is the garment of righteousness that is given to clothe the naked. And, Truth, Thou art more precious than the gold of Ophir. Thy Words are like apples of gold in pitchers of silver. Thou hast escaped the search of the wise and prudent." [Source unknown]

And even those who brought the atoms under control, making possible the discovery of the atom bomb have been unable to find and analyze truth. But, thanks be to our Great God, this secret has been given to the meek of the earth, God having passed by the door of the high and mighty, chose rather to dwell in the hearts of the meek and lowly. Christ Jesus came from the glory world to bring truth to the earth. Even though His personal ministry was limited to but a small portion of the earth, earth's billions have been privileged to hear His gentle voice, "Come unto Me." He stands out today as the light of the world and the personification of truth. So far-reaching has His life and ministry been that millions down through the centuries of time have been set free through His Word and Spirit.

The miraculous success of the apostles of the early church was built upon this foundation. They were filled with the Spirit of Truth, which is the Holy Ghost. The souls of the apostles were as burning torches touched by the fire of the Spirit of Christ, the light of life, and the more abundant life. Just before Jesus went away, He said unto His disciples, "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning Me. Then opened He their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures and He said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:44-48)

Why was I born? Well might the apostles have asked this question of themselves until the day when Christ filled them with His Spirit and sent them forth to bear witness to the truth. Here was the answer to the eternal question, "Why was I born?" Here was the fulfillment of life and living. Here was a purpose, here was a mission and a goal - to bear witness to the truth. The lives of the apostles, like all true Christians of this generation, were filled with the life of Christ. His purpose was their purpose. His mission was their mission. His truth became their truth. "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, to bear witness unto the truth." The God who made the universe, He who made man in the beginning and breathed into him the breath of life - yes, God,our Great Creator, came down through more than forty generations of His children and was born of a woman to bear witness to the truth. Before the light of His Spirit, before the piercing light that burned in His eyes; the hearts of men melted to the point of public confessions. The healing eyes of the Spirit of Truth, like the balm in Gilead, healed again the hearts that were torn and bleeding.

At Jacob's well this man of truth drew from the depths of a Samaritan woman's heart the confession of a life wasted in sin. And there, this great Son of Jacob offered her the water of life that could wash away each guilty stain. This was the ministry of all Spirit-filled preachers in the apostolic era. That is exactly what Jesus did when He sent forth His ministers to make disciples of all nations. The powers of darkness were greater than the men who were to be sent against it. Therefore, Jesus said unto them, "Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

Now turn to the second chapter of the book of Acts. There you may read the account of the coming of the Holy Ghost Fire. This, of course, was the Pentecostal Fire. When the multitude that gathered heard the apostle Peter preach unto them that in Jesus Christ was the redemption for all mankind, they became convicted of their sins and asked, saying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent!" Then and only then will God answer for you that eternal question, "Why was I born?"

By your first birth you were born in sin, therefore Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3-5) By virtue of the second birth, a birth of the water and Spirit, which is baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, you become a child of the Kingdom, a witness of the Truth, and you will also know the purpose for which you were born.

All Over the World!

By Bishop Charles R. Grisham

What's all this talk about the Holy Ghost?

"Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" This question was asked by the Apostle Paul in Acts 19:2, and it is the question we wish to ask you today... It could be the most important question of your life!

Joel, the Old Testament prophet foretold, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out of My Spirit." (Joel 2:28)

In the New Testament, John the baptist, speaking of Jesus, said, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; ...but He who cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)

Further, we see that Jesus commanded His disciples, "...not to depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, Ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." (Acts 1:4-5)

This faithful band of believers obeyed the command of Jesus and they received the promise. Thus the church was born. We can read the powerful story... "And when the day of Pentecost was 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 all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4)

Jesus had told them it would happen. Prophecy had been fulfilled. Jesus had sent back His own Spirit to fill the hearts and lives of true believers!

This immediately caused a stir among many devout men who were dwelling at Jerusalem. They were amazed and inquired, "What meaneth this?"

Peter replied, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel."

As Peter preached, "they were pricked in their hearts and said, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

Peter's answer contains the plain, simple, positive plan of salvation for our dispensation...

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2:38-39)

In Romans, Paul declares, "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)

The Holy Ghost is actually "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27). Jesus said, "Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3). The Holy Ghost is that spiritual birth.

Jesus could come today! We need to examine our experience to make sure we are ready. We must have the Holy Ghost if we are to be caught up to meet Him in the air.

Repent... Be baptized in Jesus' Name... and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!

Two Laws of Revival

By Tes Stewart

Text: Ezekiel 37:1-10

The devil is already defeated - there's nothing he can do to change that fact. Still, there is a great need for personal revival.

David said, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me." His personal testimony confirms this. He knew what he was talking about; otherwise, it would have been David, the adulterer... David, the murderer.

Samson had greater victory after personal failure than in all the time before.

Jonah, the runaway preacher, had the greatest revival on the other side of his personal failure.

Corporate revival is well and good and needed. But corporate revival is built on individual, personal revival.

We're in a battle, a spiritual war! The entire spirit man may be killed. Other things can also be killed in battle; joy, peace, confidence, passion, enthusiasm, burden, love, etc.

God breathes new life into every area of your life. If you lose your peace in battle, you can pray until your peace is restored. Like a starfish, you can regrow what the enemy has destroyed. "I am the LORD that healeth thee!"

God showed Ezekiel how bad it was - a valley full of dry bones, and they were very dry! He asked Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?" 

• Law #1 - If it lived once, it can live again!
• It doesn't matter how dead, dry, withered, or how long dead...
• For the widow of Nain - Jesus said, "Stop the funeral!"
• Lazarus - dead for three days, "stinketh" - they had given up and entertained Jesus where they were (in the house)
• Jesus said, "Take Me to where Lazarus is."
• Remember - "The promises of God are yea and amen!"
• We need audacious faith - God said...!
• Speak to the bones!
• Miracles: the bones came together
• Bone to his bone...
• sinews and muscles cover the bones...
• skin covers the whole
• Still no breath! - just a body back together again but no life
• New command - "Speak to the wind!"
• Law #2 - It's not revival til it lives again!
• Too often we settle for the "miracles" when we desperately need "New Life!"
• Go back to your first love - if you were a Sunday School teacher before, you can be a Sunday School teacher again.

Those bones went into that valley as an exceeding great army. In the valley they lost their life. They came out of the valley an exceeding great army.

In true revival, God restores everything. They came out with everything restored - plus a testimony!
That revived soldier was a testimony - a living epistle!

Settling for the miracles without the life being restored makes for a lifeless cycle. The miracle is subject to decay and will revert to being dry bones again.

Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the wind. It came and brought life to the dead bones waiting there in the valley. On the Day of Pentecost, that wind blew again, bringing life to waiting hearts and birthing the church. We need that revival wind to blow again today. These dry, dead bones need the life giving power of the Holy Ghost to raise us to live in His sight and to fulfill His purpose in and for us.

Editor's Note: Tes Stewart is the son of Bro. & Sis. Albert Stewart, UPCI missionaries to Liberia, Africa. Currently serving as an evangelist, based in Houston, Texas, these are sermon notes from a message preached here at New Life recently. His ministry was a blessing to us all. Many souls filled the altars and one made her decision to be baptized in Jesus' Name!

Reasons to Rejoice!

Editorial by Marjorie Kinnee

In a world writhing in the throes of disasters and tragedies, wars and rumors of wars, rebellion and strife, sorrow and sheer human misery; it's easy to focus on the negative. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was in the midst of the American Civil War when he penned this verse...

"And in despair I bowed my head,

'There is no peace on earth,' I said,

'For hate is strong and mocks the song

of peace on earth, good will to men."

He could have been writing about 2012. (See Romans 1:29-32.)

But just as Longfellow went on with his poem once he'd lifted his focus off of the chaos all around him, and looked to the Source of all help; we too can face 2013 with reasons to rejoice. Here are a few to get us started...

1.) Begin with I Peter 1:6-9 - Read and rejoice!
2.) With the angels at God's good will toward men - Luke 2:13-14.
3.) With all of creation - Psalm 65.
4.) When the lost is found - Luke 15.
5.) With the angels over a repentant sinner - Luke 15:10.
6.) In God's great doings - Luke 2:46-49.
7.) In your salvation - Psalm 13:5; 35:9.
8.) Because your name is written in heaven - Luke 10:20.
9.) In the Holy Ghost - Romans 5:11.
10.) With the wise men's exceeding great joy - Matthew 2:10.
11.) With the shepherds - Luke 2:20.
12.) In Jesus' Name - Acts 4:12; 5:41.
13.) In God's love - Zephaniah 3:17.
14.) In God's mercy - Psalm 33:18-21.
15.) In God's faithfulness - Psalm 89:1.
16.) In the truth - I Corinthians 13:6.
17.) In knowing Jesus' voice - John 14:27.
18.) In His tender care (the Good Shepherd) - Isaiah 62:5; Luke 15:6.
19.) In hope - Colossians 1:23-29.
20.) Evermore - I Thessalonians 5:16.
21.) "In the Lord always... again I say, Rejoice!" - Philippians 4:4.

Knowing aforetime what we will be facing in the days to come, Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33b)

Pentecost Sunday - In Israel

By Charlotte M. Wholters

Text: Acts 2:39 - "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call." 

Last year I attended a United Pentecostal Church service just outside the Upper Room in Jerusalem, Israel. Hundreds of people of every sort of Christian religion were crowded in and around the room. Priests in robes sang songs inside the room in Latin while Africans sang outside the room in a language I couldn't identify. I think I heard Spanish and probably a few other languages too. There was literally "no room in the inn," so our group had to go to the corner of a rooftop for our service. We added our English to the cacophony of voices. You'd expect that my life would have been changed by being in such a holy place at such a holy time, but that's not what I was thinking.

I was thinking that Pentecost Sunday in Jerusalem was no different than Pentecost Sunday anywhere. Despite the privilege of being able to experience so many cultures worshipping God at once, I couldn't help but feel most moved by remembering that the Upper Room in Jerusalem is not the official Upper Room, which no longer exists. In fact, what we call the Upper Room today was probably built by the Crusaders more than a thousand years after the Upper Room experience recorded in the Bible. Furthermore, the lion's share of all the "holy sites" in Israel are not the original buildings from Bible days or verifiable as the exact location of anything.

After living here for a year and a half, I've now been to most of the tourist sites in Israel. I've traipsed through Nazareth, been to Bethlehem, and dunked my feet in the Jordan River. I've been to the Western Wall, (the closest spot to the Holy of Holies that Jews can reach,) more times than I can remember. I've been to the Sea of Galilee, and to Qumran, the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. I've also been to the tomb where Jesus was reportedly buried. He wasn't there.

The important thing, the holy thing about Pentecost Sunday, Easter, Christmas, or any other holiday is not where it happened, but that it happened. You can experience the same wonder of Pentecost Sunday in your church anywhere in the world, thanks to the power of Jesus that remains longer than any building [made with human hands]. We don't exist to glorify a place, but to glorify a God - THE GOD of the universe! Thanks to His timelessness, His mercy and His death on the cross, the POWER of PENTECOST is available to ALL, no matter where you live!


Editor's Note: Charlotte and James Wholters live in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he serves as a military attache' to the American Embassy. They have three children; Camilla, Joshua, and Grace. They attend UPCI services in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where Charlotte serves as keyboardist and musician.

Shavuot - Pentecost

By Marjorie Kinnee
(Editorial)

Text: Psalm 8:4 - "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that Thou visitest him?"

The difference between man and animal is potential. A tadpole can never hope to be anything more than a frog. It's in the genes of the tadpole. No matter that he looks much different than a frog right now, the only change he can make is the process of becoming a frog. Environment or the lack thereof make absolutely no difference, neither does desire. This is true of all the animal kingdom. Once born, it's inevitable; an animal can only be what it is.

But man, now that's a different story altogether. From birth, man's potential is unlimited. He may be born into the lowliest of circumstances and receive none of the benefits of education and wealth, Even so, he is still able to move past the negativity into greatness. Consider Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, and Helen Keller; their sorry circumstances early in life did not hold them back from becoming notable examples of the power of potential.

What advantage does man have? First, he is a living soul with unlimited potential. His outcome is not inevitable. Whether given five, two, or one talent - man is capable of investing the time and energy required to bring forth fruit. He is like the fertile soil of Jesus' parable of the sower. However, man's capacity (potential) is two-pronged; for good or for evil. It's a matter of choice. Moses pled with the Children of Israel, "Choose life!" Remember, God's law of the harvest (you reap what you sow,) is always in force.

To the Jew, Shavuot (OT) commemorates the giving of the law. At Sinai, God met with man and gave him His law, which included the Ten Commandments, upon which our entire civilization is built. But it was written on tables of stone. They could be read, interpreted, and obeyed by rote, but obedience was an onerous task, one even the most religious had a hard time following. They could carry it with them, but it was always external, a bunch of letters and words. They needed help - someone to explain the sense, meaning, and purpose.

Pentecost (NT) brought God's law home - right into where His treasure lay. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a Man hath found, He hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that He hath, and buyeth that field." (Matthew 13:44 [emphasis mine]- See also Hebrews 12:2.) Into the fleshy tables of man's heart, (internal,) where God's Spirit could do His holy work of maximizing man's potential for eternal good. "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

For further reference see:
Deuteronomy 29:10-15, 29; 30:20; Isaiah 12:2-3; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:21-28, 36, 38; Joel 2:28-29; John 4:10, 13-14,23-24; 7:37-39; Acts 2:1-4, 38-39; Ephesians 2:10-22.