The following is a re-post from Patrick Hoban’s old blog. – Admin

The following is a quote from arctic explorer Ben Saunders:

“No one else is the authority on your potential.”

What a great comment.

Ben is one of only four people to solo ski to the North Pole.

His first try failed when he and another explorer realized they could not continue the journey. After failing in his quest, Ben found himself discouraged, emotionally depleted and in deep financial debt. His days were full of empty, mindless TV watching.

But after three years he tried again, this time without the aid of a traveling partner. He was going to reach the arctic solo. He reached it and accomplished what many discouraged him to do. He realized that no one else was the authority on his potential.

How I wish we could get a grasp on this truth.

God is the only one that set limits on our potential, and His Word says that, “we can do all things through Christ.”

As I listened to Ben Saunders tell his story, I could only think how we as Christians give up before we reach our goal. We allow others, circumstances and hindrances to dictate our potential. We settle for second best. I refuse to let anything, including any propensity to doubt, to stop me from believing that with God’s grace I can achieve the dreams He has put in my heart.

Link to Ben’s talk on his North Pole adventure after the jump: 

http://network2.tv/episode/2035692/

PJH

The following is a re-post from Patrick Hoban’s old blog. – Admin

Every so often in the history of the Church, God raises up a person to lead her into renewed truth. Renewed truth, because it is not new, but was lost and now is found. Ignatius of Alexandria was one who defended the doctrine of the Trinity in the fourth century. William Tyndale promoted the Bible to be read in the native tongue in the sixteenth century.

Luther was one of those whom God used to bring truth to the earth. Luther revealed the lost truth of “justification by grace through faith alone.” This was the truth preached by the Apostle Paul and Augustine of Hippo, but which was lost through the ingorance of the dark ages. We need men like this today.

Currently, I’m reading his TREATISE ON GOOD WORKS. His depth of understand is truly astonishing. Unlike many modern writers, his writing brought light and understading of theological truths. Here are a few quotes:

Dead Works

“We find many who pray, fast, establish endowments, do this or that, lead a good life before men, and yet if you should ask them whether they are sure that what they do pleases God, they say, ‘No’; they do not know, or they doubt. And there are some very learned men, who mislead them, and say that it is not necessary to be sure of this; and yet, on the other hand, these same men do nothing else but teach good works. Now all these works are done outside of faith, therefore they are nothing and altogether dead.

“In this faith all works become equal, and one is like the other; all distinctions between works fall away, whether they be great, small, short, long, few or many. For the works are acceptable not for their own sake, but because of the faith which alone is.” 

Pleasing God

“‘Whatsoever is not done of or in faith is sin.’ Faith, as the chief work, and no other work, has given us the name of ‘believers on Christ.’ For all other works a heathen, a Jew, a Turk, a sinner, may also do; but to trust firmly that he pleases God, is possible only for a Christian who is enlightened and strengthened by grace.”

Faith and Love

“This we may see in a common human example. When a man and a woman love and are pleased with each other, and thoroughly believe in their love, who teaches them how they are to behave, what they are to do, leave undone, say, not say, think?”

Faith and Justification

“This is what St. Paul means in many places, where he ascribes so much to faith, that he says: Justus ex fide sua vivit, ‘the righteous man draws his life out of his faith,’ and faith is that because of which he is counted righteous before God. If righteousness consists of faith, it is clear that faith fulfills all commandments and makes all works righteous, since no one is justified except he keep all the commands of God.”

Faith and Works

“Therefore, when some say that good works are forbidden when we preach faith alone, it is as if I said to a sick man: ‘If you had health, you would have the use of all your limbs; but without health, the works of all your limbs are nothing’; and he wanted to infer that I had forbidden the works of all his limbs; whereas, on the contrary, I meant that he must first have health, which will work all the works of all the members. So faith also must be in all works the master-workman and captain, or they are nothing at all.”

Simple but powerful stuff.

PJH

The following is a re-post from Patrick Hoban’s old blog. – Admin

A member of my church emailed me this week asking a question about the existence of aliens. A question came up in her Bible study and she remembered that I talked about it once. Here is my reply:

There are extra-terrestrial beings, they are called angels. So, in a sense there are aliens, but they have no fleshy form.

The whole concept of alien life on other planets comes from the idea that all life on Earth evolved over a period of time.

This concept dismisses the Creation story in Genesis, and God’s hand in the matter. The idea goes further, that if life here evolved from simple organisms, life most probably evolved on other planets. This is a matter of probability; because there are countless galaxies, there will be countless solar systems with planets with the probability that on at least one of those planets life has evolved.

From the standpoint of creation, God would have made these creatures on other planets at the same time as he made the earth and the stars. God could have easily done this, but did He? 

For intelligent life like ours to exist on other planets, that have a corporeal form like ours, having flesh like ours, these creatures would have to have a God conscience.

If they had a God conscience, then they would have had the ability to sin (to turn away from God). If that is the case, the universe could have been brought under the curse of sin by these creatures, thus even affecting us. It would also stand that because of our sin we would have affected them. From a theological position, it doesn’t match up.

Now, because these creatures would not have been sons of Adam, the salvation that is afforded to us in Christ could not be afforded to them. Christ came as a man to redeem mankind. Because they would not be of the race of men, Christ’s death, burial and resurrection would not suffice for their redemption. This poses a problem.

We know that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus to die for the world. For the Son of God to redeem these creatures, He would have to die for them also. Jesus cannot be crucified twice because He lives forever. It would then stand that God is not love, to leave these creatures forever lost.

The Bible tells us that there will be a rapture of the saints into heaven.

The so-called alien appearances are often accompanied by abductions. I believe that one way to explain away the rapture of the church will be that aliens took people.

No, I don’t believe that people are seeing aliens from other planets. Most are probably hoaxes. If they are really experiencing anything, it is most likely of the demonic kind.

We are to look up, alright, not for some alien space ship, but for the coming of the Lord with power.

PJH

The following is a re-post from Patrick Hoban’s old blog, June 2009. – Admin

Yesterday I read a news report that re-emphasized the need to preach the Gospel to as many as possible and as quickly as possible.

Jesus declared that no one can get to the Father except through Him. There are some ideas floating about that those in other countries who have never heard the Gospel will somehow circumvent this process. The truth is that those who are not washed in the blood of Jesus through faith in Him will not be saved from the punishment of hell and, later, the Lake of Fire.

I wish that hell didn’t exist. I wish that everyone went to heaven. I wish the doctrine of annihilation were true. (This is the teaching that those who go to hell eventually are annihilated and will cease to exist and will not undergo the punishment of hell forever.) The awful truth is that hell is real, and those who are not born again will enter there.

In the background you can hear the question: “What about those in remote regions who never hear the Gospel?” Just because someone has never heard the Gospel doesn’t mean he should go to heaven. If he did, God’s righteousness would be questionable. The truth is that most people will not enter heaven, or partake in the glorious resurrection and be with Jesus forever. If a name are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he will endure the horrible eternal punishment of the Lake of Fire that was created for the devil and his angels. It is a staggering thought!

Sinking

Before I get to the article I read, I want to tell you of my own experience. Before I was saved I had a near-death experience. 

One Friday night I was in a blues bar in Ireland. At that time I was abusing drugs, and this particular night I had taken enough to knock out a horse. Suddenly, I blanked out while sitting on a chair.

I felt myself sinking, and it seemed as if I was drifting beneath the floorboards. The sound of the band was growing dimmer, and I was being sucked toward a hole that was in the distance.

Instinctively I knew I was dying, and I thought to myself, “I’m going to fall off this chair and they will find me dead.” I somehow forced myself to stand up, and I felt myself rising back into my body. Once I stood up and could see, I went outside and walked for a long time to make sure I wouldn’t die.

That experience was as real to me as writing these words today. Thankfully, I got saved soon after that.

I’m burning

During the political demonstrations in Iran a young woman was shot by the police force, and as she lay dying her last words were, “I’m burning, I’m burning.” I can only surmise that she was feeling the flames of hell as her spirit left her body. She was not a believer in Christ. A beautiful, talented young woman now lost for eternity. (Read the article here.)

I think of all the people that will endure that fate, and I wonder how we can get the Gospel to these people. The Bible says, “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27. There is no second chance after death. How can we give more people a chance to hear the Gospel?

One of the reasons more evangelism is not been done is because the Church has lost the reality of eternal punishment. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us the awesome truth of hell and what happens to those who are lost. We need a new passion to reach people with the Gospel.

As Reinhard Bonnke says, we need to plunder hell and populate heaven. My prayer is that God will help me reach 500,000 souls for Christ.

PJH

The following is a re-post from Patrick Hoban’s old blog, October 2006. – Admin

It is interesting to note that in the Western world we have fewer and fewer conversions in our churches. Only about 4% of those who make commitments to Christ, under the ministry of modern evangelistic methods practiced in the developed nations, remain followers of Jesus years later.

During the Welsh revival of 1904, led by Evan Roberts (pictured above), about 150,000 people were converted. Most of those who came to Christ during that revival remained committed followers until their death. Charles G. Finney’s ministry was noted for the lasting effect it had on those who professed Christ. About 80% of those converted continued long after the preacher left town.

What was the difference?

One marked difference was the way these ministers preached. The preaching was a recipe with the following main ingredients:

• The messages revealed the total lost state of mankind.
• They revealed that a righteous God must judge sin, and that each person stood condemned by his personal sin.
• There was a clear presentation of the work of the cross.
• There was a clear invitation to publicly declare faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of that sin.

Another marked difference was the prayer life of both the church and the one who preached. Many of these preachers spent hours or even days in prayer.

This time spent in prayer brought about many things. It brought the preacher into a place of surrender to the Holy Spirit so as to be used effectively by Him. It brought the power for the message to be anointed by the Spirit. It produced an atmosphere so that the hearers could receive the Word.

One more significant aspect was the heartfelt worship of the congregation. It was this kind of worship that prepared the ground for the preaching of the Word.

Most, if not all, of these elements are missing from most modern churches. The result is dying churches and whole societies succumbing to the onslaught of secularism.

In developing countries, like India and China, the preaching of the Gospel continues to be ministered in the manner of Finney, Wesley, and Evan Roberts. The results are also similar, with conversions, church growth, and societal change.

I pray that the church in America and the Western World finds its way back to preaching that makes a difference.

PJH

The following is a repost from Patrick Hoban’s old blog, December 2006. – Admin

Here’s an interesting fact: The early Christians didn’t celebrate Christmas. The early church fathers, Irenaeus and Tertullian, of the second century, didn’t include it in their list of Christian celebrations, and Origin wrote that sinners alone celebrated their birthdays, not saints. Interesting!

So where did Christmas come from?

Some early Christians in Egypt put the birth of Jesus in May, and others put it in April. The Christians of the second century began to celebrate the Epiphany of God in the flesh. “Epiphany” means the manifestation of God’s glory. Of course, Jesus is the fullest manifestation of that glory (John 1). Later, Christians began to celebrate the birth of Jesus, mostly on January 6. It was later moved to December 25 in the Western churches.

We don’t actually know the exact date of Jesus’ birth, but we do know that at a certain time in human history God became incarnate (made flesh).

Etymology

The word “Christmas” comes from two words: Christ – meaning “anointed,” and mass – meaning “sacrifice.” Now why in the world would we use the word Christmas for the birth of Jesus, if mass means sacrifice?

It’s because the Western world celebrated the holiday with a Roman Catholic service called a “mass.” The Roman church believes that the Mass is a reenactment of the sacrifice of Christ. The Eastern church has a more accurate name for the celebration: The Nativity (meaning, “birth of Christ”).

Incarnation

This has to be the most amazing of miracles, even more than the resurrection. In the resurrection Jesus rose from the grave; but with the Incarnation, the fullness of God was made manifest in the man Jesus.

Really, Christmas is just a word to describe the truth that we know: that God’s eternally begotten Son was made flesh through the virgin birth. The FULLNESS of God became a man, born of a virgin. This miraculous birth of Jesus was God’s gift to humanity.

Now, here is the amazing outcome: For all those who believe in Jesus, as outlined in the Bible, they also become a “nativity” of Jesus all over again. God’s fullness dwells in us because of His presence in us. Wow! Meditate on that for a while – it will blow your mind.

Have a Merry Christmas!

PJH

The following is an excerpt from Patrick Hoban’s sermon last Sunday at Church in the Word. – Admin

“There are some preachers who say that if you go through adversity, it means you don’t have enough faith. That’s not in the Bible.

“What the Bible says, is that faith will cause you to go through adversity, not avoid adversity.

“In our smug, Western world, we philosophize a lot about persecution and what it is to be a Christian, but I believe we have not realy been tested at all.

“Testing for us means someone didn’t say, ‘Hello’ to us on a Sunday morning. Testing for us means that someone didn’t wish me a happy birthday.

“That’s not testing, friend. Real testing is what happened to a pastor in northern India. We just heard about it …”

You can watch the entire sermon here.

The following is a re-post from Patrick Hoban’s old blog, February 2009. – Admin

People who know me know that I am an avid reader and student of history. As the saying goes, “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The study of human history gives a picture of God’s providential dealings with mankind. History also can show us how humanity can debase itself or rise to the majesty of enlightenment.

All types of history intrigue me, especially that of history shapers, personalities who shaped society for the better or worse of those around them. From the emperors of great civilizations to godly martyrs, it is amazing to study how the character of these men and women were shaped.

Mankind in general is a faithless race.

Humanity struggles with trusting the invisible God.

Even the church has gone astray, going from a simple faith and leading of the Holy Spirit in the first two centuries after Christ, to the empty form of religion of the organized church. Just like Israel of old when they could not trust God to give them another judge like Samuel, they sought for a Saul to lead them. They wanted to trust in something they could see rather than God whom they could not see.

Ritual, hierarchy and human institutions replaced the work and leading of the Holy Spirit for most of the church after Constantine became the first Christian Emperor. They went from trusting that God could raise up a Paul to believing that apostolic succession was the only way God could confer truth to the next generation.

Humanity is like sheep needing a shepherd.

When the populous becomes disconnected from the living God, they seek a leader to take the place of the Saviour. They lose judgment and cannot discern right from wrong, or truth from the lie. Into this world come leaders who can change things for the better or worse. 

All leaders promise change, but what change will they bring? There are a few that rise from the ashes of human depravity to bring enlightenment. There are others who use the opportunities that are presented to them to bring about oppression and tyranny.

I have many favorite heroes who came to the fore during times of great turmoil and change. Of course, there were religious luminaries like John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, William Tyndale, Martin Luther and John and Charles Wesley. But there are others who were political leaders that loved truth and learning. In Europe there were those like Charles Martel who stopped the Umayyad invasions and saved Europe from Muslim domination. His grandson, Charlemagne, united Europe and promoted learning and enlightenment.

But one of my favorites is Brian Boru.

During the dark ages in mainland Europe, Ireland was filled with learning. Instead of the ecclesiastical model of bishops and parish priests that European churches experienced, the Irish church was governed by abbots and local monasteries. These monasteries were centers of learning and spirituality; and from these places of learning, the Gospel of Christ was spread back into Europe. It was said during these times that if anyone knew Greek, he must be Irish.

For four hundred years Ireland experienced a golden age of learning and devotion to Christ. But in the eighth century, from the northeast, came heathen who did not know the Christian God: the Vikings.

From the eighth century onward, these godless warriors invaded Britain and Ireland. They didn’t value the books or learning of the monasteries, but instead only pillaged them for their gold and treasures.

During the 10^th century, a young boy was born that would change history. His name was Brian mac Cennetig.

Brian saw almost all of his tribe, including his mother, murdered by the Norse raiders when he was only a child. His father sent him to a monastery to be educated, where he learned Latin and Greek. Like King David of the Bible, he was a lover of music and of God. He even played the harp like David of the Bible. He raided the enemy like David did, and was famed for his bravery.

His main enemy was Ivar of the Vikings, who killed his brother. In order to settle the feud between the Irish and the Vikings, he challenged Ivar to open combat, which Brian won, killing Ivar.

Soon, Brian became High King of all Ireland; and, as such, he undertook the task of uplifting Ireland out of the ruins of the Norse Age. He repaired churches, built even more, and sent overseas to replace lost or stolen books and artifacts.

Once again, the Vikings revolted and Brian and his army battled the Norse men on Good Friday, 1014. He defeated the Vikings; but while praying in his tent, a small dispatch of soldiers murdered him. Thus ended one of the great revivals of the ancient Irish.

These leaders had their faults, but they had passion, skill and fearlessness. We need leaders like this again, who have a heart for God and the people.

PJH

The following is an excerpt from Patrick Hoban’s sermon last Sunday at Church in the Word. – Admin

“Most of the Christian life is inward. It’s a matter of the heart. You’re born again of the heart. It’s not outward baptism that saves you, it’s an inward thing that happens when you … surrender your life, your will, to the kingship of Jesus Christ. It happens of the heart. And everything that happens is of the heart first.

“Faith is a matter of the heart. Forgiveness is a matter of the heart. Love is a matter of the heart. Everything is of the heart.

“That’s why the Bible says, ‘Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life.’ That’s why you have to sow the word of God into your heart continually.”

Watch the entire sermon at Church in the Word’s UStream channel, here.

The following is a re-post from Patrick Hoban’s old blog, March 2009. – Admin

Over the past several months I have preached messages that, in essence, have to do with living life well – living life as God intended. Whether it is within the context of marriage or facing life’s challenges, what God wants for us to know is that He provides a new way of living. Jesus said,

“I have come to give you life, and life more abundantly” (John 10:10).

But what does that mean?

There is a scripture in the Psalms that has gripped me over the past few weeks:

“The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16).

God has given the earth to us! But what does it mean?

When Adam sinned, he gave control of the earth to the Devil. God had commissioned Adam to subdue the earth, but instead, Adam himself was subdued.  Satan gained the position of god of the earth because of Adam’s sin. 

Jesus the Last Adam

Jesus came to the earth as a man. Even though He was fully God, He didn’t live life here as God, but as the Son of Man. Being without sin, He now was in the position of re-conquering that which was lost. The commission that was given to the first Adam now fell upon his offspring, Jesus the son of Mary. To do this He had to defeat the one who was now in the position of lord of the Earth. Even though God is supreme, he had given this authority of the Earth to Adam who, in turn, lost it to Satan.

Jesus, of course, we know, won the battle. He conquered sin, death and the grave, and God gave Him a new position and a new name. He gave Jesus the new position at His right hand, far above any earthly authority. He is now the Lord Jesus Christ, and at His name every knee will bow.

Partakers of the Inheritance

Being born from above and experiencing that new birth, we are now children of God. Those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior are now joint heirs with Christ. We are seated with Him in those heavenly places. Jesus is our elder brother. When I ponder on this, I cannot help but be awed. How great is God’s grace towards us?

Now that we are children of God, we no longer have to be controlled by the prince of the power of the air like those who don’t know God. We even don’t have to be controlled by the flesh. Our pattern of life is now that of the Spirit. We have dominance over the flesh and the devil as we walk in the Spirit. God has given the earth to the sons of men! He has put us, believers in Christ, in a position of control. We can take charge and change our destiny.

There is much more to victory than just faith in what God has done in us – there is obedience to His principals, like sowing and reaping – but when we understand who we are in Christ our perspective changes. We go from being fatalistic to faith-alistic. We are no longer controlled by the stream of human thought or environment, but we are controlled by the Spirit and the Word of God.

We know how to live life differently. It’s the new “Way” (Acts 19:23).

PJH