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Purpose! Newsletter - October 2024

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Ephesians 4:4-6

One is Enough

This month we are continuing on our walk.

There is a doctrinal element to this. There is a oneness about it. Not oneness in the Oneness denominational sense. That is the Jesus Only fallacy. We are not Jesus only. We are Only Jesus. Jesus is the only way to salvation, to the Father, to heaven. There is a Trinity. Paul reveals it in these verses. One Spirit, One Lord, One God and Father of all. While the oneness folks are good people, their doctrine is mistaken. God has revealed himself in three persons. We must guard the true doctrine from those who would present another.

Now let us consider the other ones.

There is one body.

The body is the church. First of all there is one body composed of both Jew and Gentile. This has been covered in our previous writings. There is not a Jewish church and a Gentile church. And today, while there are many denominations, non-denominations, independents, even cults that want to be included in the body, there is only one body recognized by the Lord Jesus Christ, the founder of the Church. There is the universal church and there is the local church. The universal church is composed of the totality of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world, and the local church is composed of the believers that gather each Lord’s Day in their individual locations. The Local church must adhere to the Gospel message and central to that is the Deity of Jesus, his death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead.

Romans 10:9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

That is the central doctrine of the universal church as well. Any departure from that constitutes a false religion and is not part of the one body.

One Spirit

I like to say, There is only one Spirit, the Holy Spirit. He too is God, the third person of the Trinity. Every believer is confirmed in the faith by the Holy Spirit at salvation. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. There is a subsequent Holy Spirit baptism which every believer can ask for and receive. Though this experience will empower us in our Christian walk and witness, it is not necessary for salvation.

One Hope

The hymn writer got it right. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.” (Song by Robert Critchley)

Hope here is not wishful thinking or a feeling. It is the joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. It has the sure foundation of what Jesus has done and the word of God. It comes by faith alone, in Christ alone. That hope is that Jesus gives us eternal salvation. The calling speaks of the divine invitation to embrace salvation of God. (Thayer's Greek Lexicon). We are called to be his here and to be with him there in heaven. Anyone without that hope needs to run to the cross and be saved. Amen.

One Lord

The other song writer, Steve Vest, said “He is Lord, He is Lord. He is risen from the dead and he is Lord.” And follows that with the verses in Philippians 2:10,11: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hallelujah! There is no other Lord. No one else has done what Jesus has done.

One Faith

All religions are not good. They do not all lead to the same God. There are not many belief systems. There is not a faith for the Jews, another for the Muslims, and another for Americans, or Africans, or Asians. There is one true faith. It is viable to every ethnicity, culture, and tongue. It is true all over the world. The one faith is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6. Let that be your faith. Search no more.

As another songwriter expressed it, Only Jesus can satisfy your soul. (Lanny Wolfe). And again, Jesus said, But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14. You will be satisfied with Jesus. Amen.

One Baptism

Jesus said, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 28:19.

Mark 16:15,16 says: Jesus said, And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Water baptism is essential in the life of the believer. It is an announcement of his faith in Christ.

Water baptism is in water, by immersion. It is not a sprinkler system baptism.

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. Mark 1:9,10.

Later we see Philip baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:38,39:

And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Our Father which art in heaven, Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Our God, the only one true God, is a loving Father that reaches down to save the lost sinner and give him eternal life. He is the Father of all who receive his Son. Man does not need many pseudo deities. He needs only One God.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. Deut. 6:4, Mark 12:29.

The true God is above all, and through all, and may he be in us all. Amen. -PJF-

Our Trip to Mexico

We wanted to share a few highlights from our trip to Mexico last month. We flew from Orlando, Florida to San Antonio, Texas on September 18th. Our missionaries, Fernando and Debra Martinez (Rancho dos Countries) picked us up and we drove to Del Rio, Texas. Del Rio is their home and where they have established their headquarters for their ministry in the USA. We crossed the US/Mexico border in Del Rio, TX to Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico, and from Acuña we drove to Zaragoza, which is about an hour and a half. Sunday, September 22nd through Tuesday, September 24th we were preaching at Rancho Dos Countries in Zaragoza. It was a great time of ministry.

Monday afternoon we prayed for all the volunteers and their children at Rancho dos Countries. As we ministered to the people in the prayer line, the Lord told Apostle PJ to buy one of the teens there a pair of shoes. We talked it over with the missionaries to work out the details. The next day, we took the young lady to buy her a pair of shoes. She was so surprised and thanked us over and over for her shoes.

Tuesday, as Pastor Fernando was driving up to the church, there was a woman pushing a man in a wheelchair past the church building. Pastor Fernando rolled down the window and told the couple to come back at 2pm because we are having service. They said OK and went on. When the service started, the couple was seated in the sanctuary. When the altar call for salvation was made, the man in the wheelchair came up and rededicated his life to the Lord. After service there was a baptism and the man was baptized.

September 25th and 26th we were preaching in Rancho dos Countries Morelos. Many were saved, healed, delivered, and set free in the name of Jesus. Several received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. The Associate pastor invited us to his store and we were able to pray for his wife and son there. September 27th and 28th was the Women’s Conference in Morelos. Speakers were Pastor Debra Martinez, Pastor Olga Lerma, and Pastor Shirley Flores. Many women were set free from past hurts and stresses. Sunday, September 29th we were back in Zaragoza. God moved in a powerful way in each service.