Studying the word of God

Frogs in the Water

2009-08-03T20:44:00.001-05:00

I am sure most of us have heard of the frog in the water but if you have not, here it is.

The story goes that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will immediately jump out, but if you put the frog in a pot of tepid water it will float comfortably. As you turn the water up slowly the frog will just sit there not realizing what is happening. Eventually the from will die from the heat. This is a story used by many Christians and non-Christians to tell people to be aware of your surroundings and the small changes happening all the time.

Well this story is not true. Scientists have said that if you put a frog in boiling hot water it will die and if you put it in a pot of water it can jump out of, it will jump out of it. A German scientist said that the story above could be true if you took the brain out of the frog. Now, I want to ask everyone a question. Are we frogs in the water, waiting for death? Are we just sitting by waiting comfortably, for our end? This could only happen if our brain was taken out, right? I don’t believe any of us have had our brain removed but we might just leave it on the shelf so we won’t have to use it. Ok now I know everyone is wandering where we are going with all of this.

This message is about the condition of our world. I believe we as Christians have sat by like the frog without a brain. We have allowed many things to happen in our homes that we should not allow. We do this because we want to be accepted by the world and non-believers, supposedly so we can minister to them and show them the love of Jesus. This is a lie whether it is conscience or sub-conscience. We cannot give the message Jesus gave us by not living the way Jesus told us to live. If we do this we will lead people astray, except now they will think they are saved only to find out some day that it was all in vanity. We are not going to help anyone unless we bring the absolute truth. Are you living by the truth or are you living by the world’s standards. This world we live in is not going to be here much longer and if you live by the standards of it you will not enjoy eternity. Let’s look at what the world finds important. We can do this by looking at what the news media has as its top headlines, because they want us to be attracted to them. This was a shocker for me because we do not watch or listen to the radio. This research made me seem weak and sad inside. Here are the results.

CNN 08/01/09

Latest News

· Dozens of horses poisoned at California farm

· Hong Kong teens caught in wave of drug abuse

· More photos of Air Force One flyover released

· Suspect in gay sailor's death commits suicide

· Al Qaeda changing, training, plotting

· Key House committee passes health care bill

· Philippine ex-president Aquino dead at 76

· Holocaust survivor, 90, found strangled

· Source: Hit suspected in Florida couple's killing

· Honda adds 440,000 cars to recall

· Legal battle puts Skype's future in jeopardy

· Ticker: Obama takes heat for 'beer summit'

· Dead boy, 6, bruised 'from head to toe'

· Venezuelan gov't shuts down radio stations 7 min

· Gang activity addicting 'like a drug'

· DNA may finally solve Earhart mystery

· 97-year-old golfer sinks first hole-in-1

Main headline is about horses dying due to poisoning, then teens and drugs, the President’s plane, homosexuality, terrorists, health care, a female president, holocaust survivor murdered at 90!, a couple murdered, cars recalled, court battles, president drinks beer, beaten dead 6 year old boy, government seizes control of radio, more drugs, An old man gets a hole in one

Fox News most popular stories 08/01/09

· Kentucky Man Charged in 1980 Murder of Wisconsin Couple

· Student Ordered to Pay $675,000 for Illegal Downloads

· Roseanne Barr Poses as Adolf Hitler in Shocking Photo Spread

· Skeleton Wearing a Suit Found at Ill. Cemetery

· Missing Idaho Boy's Disappearance 'Suspicious,' Police Say

· Full House of Morals: Candace Cameron Dedicates Life to Christianity

· Gates Sends Flowers to Woman Who Called 911

· GM Admits Error in Dealership Closings

Murdered couple, student theft, lesbian poses as Satanist, skeleton wearing a suit, missing boy, An actress dedicates her life to Christianity (something good), black scholar sends flowers to a Hispanic woman, and the largest car company in the world admits it should not have listened to the government.

ABC News

Prince of Persia:The Sands of Time

The upcoming Disney film "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan and Gemma Arterton as Princess Tamina. Disney is the parent company of ABC News. The film is based on the popular action adventure video game of the same name. The two stars try to prevent a nobleman from acquiring the Sands of Time -- a gift from the gods that can reverse time. It is set to hit theaters in May 2010.
(© Disney Enterprises

This is the new Disney movie for all of our children to see. THE PRINCE OF PERSIA. Where did they get that name? I am so glad we do not have a TV. These headlines might not be that big to someone who is in the world every day or to someone who watches TV every day. These are pretty wild stories to me. I remember a time when they would not have been anything but normal to me though. So, what happened? To me this is boiling water and I want to jump out of the pot and never look at it again. To someone who sees this stuff every day it is nothing more than lukewarm water. It might bother some professed Christians to see some of these headlines but they have been desensitized to the sin that is in the world that they look past the other headlines. God has given us commandments and examples concerning these things.

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2 Cor 6:14-18 (KJV)

The more my family separated itself from the things of the world and the system of the world the more the scriptures make sense. This passage above is so easy to understand yet most professing Christians want to say “yeah I believe this but if I just can’t do it, or if I do this I might miss a witnessing opportunity”. If you live a life according to God’s word you will always be a witness and you do not have to look for the opportunity. Righteousness, light, Christ, believers, and the Temple of God (which you are) do not have anything in common with unrighteousness, darkness, Belial ( or any other god), infidel, or idols. As a matter of fact things cannot coexist with each other. Look what God told Moses.

3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Lev 18:3 (KJV)

Why did God command this? Surely some of things weren’t that bad. You know everyone was doing them. God wants His people to be different. He does not want us to be the same as the world. Moses was told not to do the things of the place he was, or the place where he was going. He was going to a foreign land and was told to not walk in their ordinances. We must not be different when we go somewhere else. It is kind of like modest separated dress. My wife and daughter wear a dress and an apron. They should wear a dress and an apron no matter where they go. If I think wearing broadfalls or pants and suspenders is how I should dress, this is how I should dress whether I am going to a Mennonite church, an Amish church or to a shopping center. Of course if I joined one of these churches I would dress according to the unity of the brethren. This is how I would show that I agree with this group of people. God wants us to be who we are all the time. I shouldn’t put on a pair of kakis because everyone else is wearing them. Especially if I do not agree with the unbiblical stances they take. I should not walk in their ordinances.

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Heb 11:24-25 (KJV)

Moses chose to suffer rather than to be accepted by the world. He chose the rough path, the one least taken. He did this because he had an eternal perspective of life. Many Christians will say that it would be easy to make a decision to DIE for their faith. This is a dream because if you can’t live for your faith then you will not be called to die for your faith. God wants people who have already chosen to die for the faith in their life applications. Moses made this decision while he was still in Egypt. He probably would have never been called to go back to Egypt if he had not made this decision to turn to God while still in Egypt.

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:26-27 (KJV)

Where does the word say to compromise our salvation to find unbelievers? Where does it say to allow people who refuse to turn from their sin into your home or church? Where does the Word of God say or even insinuate that it is ok to watch a little tv, play a couple of video games, watch the good wordly movies, wear a modest style of the world, or anything else that almost all Christians refuse to give up because they are captivated or should I say held captive by the world because of their own lusts. The WORD OF GOD TELLS ALL OF US TO KEEP OURSELVES UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD!! When you allow the things of the world in your house, church, family, etc. you are sitting in a pot of warm water and you do not have a brain.

So why have I said all of these things? I wanted to explain the answer before I presented the problem. Our world is in the last days. Evil has taken its place as ruler. It is time to make a decision to either follow Christ or follow Belial. Just look at the statistics below and see if there is a trend.

· Over half a million TVs are sold each day

· Almost 3 million cellular phones are sold each day

· Over 95 million dollars is spent on video games each day

· Over 22 thousand people will die from hunger each day

· There have already been over 26 million abortions this year 700,00 due to maternal health, the rest murder

· The current divorce rate is 40%-50%. Some say the rate is higher among Christians and others say it is the same.

These are just a few of the many startling statistics that can be found. This is the state of our world. This is what we must turn from and not accept. We must not be tolerant of the ungodly things that we see and hear on a daily basis. We must turn from evil and follow the examples of the godly people before us. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, The Apostles and many more all took the path of righteousness and suffering. They chose to give their lives for God. They chose to live Holy lives regardless of the earthly consequences.

1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Cor 7:1 (KJV)

We must be aware of the evils around us because we are called to stay away from them. How can we stay away from something if we do not know what it looks like? Christians everywhere must call evil, evil. Let’s cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. Don’t hold anything back from the Lord, give Him everything. God Bless.

I Am A Companion

2009-07-27T21:54:00.002-05:00

63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. Psalms 119:63 (KJV)

I came across this verse in my morning devotional and I wondered if this was me. Am I a companion of all them that fears the Lord and keep His precepts? I hope I am, but sometimes I am not sure. I meet many people in the community and out of the community. I often wonder if their heart is right with God. I hear most people I meet say they are Christians, but most of the time I see no Christian application in their life. Then I remember where I came from. There was a time in my life when I was willing to do anything for God but I was taught I did not have to do anything. All I had to do was confess Jesus was savior and I was right with God. I was wrong then and I know many people are in this place now because of the many false teachers we have in our churches. We as Christians must understand we are part of a world wide church of believers. The people in Ephesus were part of the same body as the people in Corinth whether they agreed on everything or not. If we follow the bible as truth we will meet in the same place whether or not we try to. I have heard some people say that nothing is relative. This is a lie that the liberal denominations of today want all Christians to believe. Truth is NOT relative. Truth is absolute. WE must be resolute with the truth God has given us. There is absolutely no exception to this rule. So, who are the people referenced above? How do I know if a person fears the Lord and keeps His precepts?

29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Deut 5:29 (KJV)

This is God’s heart. This is what God wants for His people. He desires that His people have such a heart in them that they fear and keep all of His commandments. I pray I have this heart. I have told my family many times that we need to remember to FEAR THE LORD. Most churches do not have the reverence for the Lord that they need to fear the Lord. They definitely do not want to keep His commandments because that is legalism and to not be legalistic is more important than pleasing God, right? God’s word was written thousands of years ago. When was the term legalism created?

le·gal·ism

Pronunciation: \ˈlē-gə-ˌli-zəm\

Function: noun

Date: 1928

1 : strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code

The word was created in 1928. Look at the definition. Imagine God’s people actually believing there should be strict, literal conformity to His law. I know the definition says excessive conformity to the law or moral code. We don’t want to do too much for God, do we?

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Psalms 4:4 (KJV)

רגז

râgaz

raw-gaz'

A primitive root; to quiver (with any violent emotion, especially anger or fear): - be afraid, stand in awe, disquiet, fall out, fret, move, provoke, quake, rage, shake, tremble, trouble, be wroth.

That phrase, Stand in awe, is from the Hebrew word ragaz. This phrase means to quiver with any violent emotion, especially anger or fear. Here it is talking about fear. We can know someone fears the Lord by how they stand before Him. Have you ever went to the Lord to ask forgiveness for something and you quivered or trembled uncontrollably because you realized you sinned and you realized who you were really talking to? Maybe we should do this more often. He is GOD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!! God’s people fear Him. They don’t see Him as their equal or their partner or their homeboy. Let’s look at Philippians 2

12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phil 2:12-13 (KJV)

How do God’s people work out their salvation, with fear and trembling? This is not the people that call themselves Christians today. People don’t fear God. They show up to church in cars that cost more than their house, they go into God’s sanctuary biblically naked speaking of things that are of Satan, wearing things God has specifically prohibited, and not wearing things God has commanded them to wear. They discuss the latest worldly things going on, in what is supposed to be a sanctuary to God. When the preacher comes up, they show him some respect as they sing lies to God and sit quietly (somewhat) while the preacher delivers a message. Then they all return to their whoredom and idolatry until next week. These are not the people that fear the Lord or keep his precepts. Ok now we are getting somewhere. These are definitely not the people mentioned in Psalms 119:63. So who are they?

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Prov 1:7 (KJV)

People who fear the Lord will obtain wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. The precepts of God ARE wisdom and instruction.

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Prov 2:1-5 (KJV)

There are so many places in the bible where fear is paired with wisdom and understanding. Why is this? This is simple. If we are wise we will fear the Lord. If we fear the Lord we will search for His wisdom and understanding. We are to search for people like this to be companions with. We are not supposed to settle for whom our companions are, but we are supposed to search for godly companions. Even if it takes our whole life. We have to make sure we accept those who are chosen by God. We must love those that obey God’s commandments and those that fear Him.

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)

Our companions should be ready and willing to tell anyone why they are who they are. If they are doing everything for the right reasons they will answer with meekness and fear. Meekness and fear, not fear of man either, but fear of God.

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Heb 13:5-6 (KJV)

When we do a good job at something, whether it is a construction job, homeschooling, computer programming, gardening, etc… or what ever we do, DO WE SAY THE LORD IS MY HELPER? Most of the times Christians do not do this either because they want the glory for what they have done or they do not want to sound like a religious freak. I hope the people of this world call me and my friends similar names. WE must not fear what man can do to us. We must live a strict, literal and excessive moral life. We must fear the Lord first of all things. Here are a couple more verses concerning the fear of the Lord.

35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. Acts 10:35 (KJV)

1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Cor 7:1 (KJV)

There are so many passages that tell us to fear the Lord. I found 158 of them. I encourage everyone to continue to study on this topic because it is not something that our churches want to preach on anymore. Our companions should fear the Lord and if they don’t, well be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers. It is not possible for a person to truly say they believe in God and not live like they fear God. Even the devils believe and tremble. If anyone truly believes God is God, then they will live a life that honors God or they do not fear Him at all.

20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Prov 13:20 (KJV)

Choose your companions wisely. We must choose them wisely and we must also be willing to love all people who fear God and keep his precepts. These are the marks of true believers. This is not easy to find sometimes in our present world, but when you do find these people, you will have rest and peace. When you surround yourself with these people who have turned from the world and turned their faces on God, you will be able to have the peace that all men search for. Sure there are many professing Christians that say they have this peace and they say they fear the Lord and then they plan out their weekly schedule to fulfill their worldly desires.

Stand in Awe!! He is God. Look for other people who stand in awe and stand with them. Help unite the body of Christ and by searching for those who fear the Lord and keep His precepts.

17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. 1 Peter 2:17 (KJV)

Amen.

Are You A Publican?

2009-07-04T17:48:00.003-05:00

I want to talk about publicans today. There are a few references to publicans in the bible and this is for a reason. I have found it 23 times. Let’s start again with the definition of the topic we are going to discuss.

Publican

PUB'LICAN, n. [L.publicanus, from publicus.]

1. A collector of toll or tribute. Among the Romans, a publican was a farmer of the taxes and public revenues,and the inferior officers of this class were deemed oppressive.

As Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. Mat 9.

2. The keeper of a public house; an innkeeper.

This is the definition found in Webster’s 1828 dictionary. Now let’s look at how the word translates into the original Greek.

τελώνης telōnēs tel-o'-nace

a tax farmer, that is, collector of public revenue: - publican.

Ok, from these two definitions we can say that a publican is a tax collector. A person who goes around and collects taxes to give to the local or state government would be a publican. So why is it so bad to be a publican? Why did the people hate the publican so much? Let’s look at some scriptures on publicans.

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:9-14 (KJV)

Are you a publican? This verse says in the beginning that, he spake this parable unto certain which TRUSTED IN THEMSELVES THAT THEY WERE RIGHTEOUS, AND DESPISED OTHERS. Do you trust in yourself? Do you think that you are someone that everyone else needs? Do you think that you are righteous because of things you do, or because you help people? Do you despise others, especially other Christians? I have actually heard a Christian brother say to his family, “we don’t get shunned we do the shunning”. I heard this not long before they decided to shun us because we tried to hold them accountable for their publican activities. We as Christians are supposed to be the most humble, quiet, meek, loving and caring people on Earth. It should bring tears to our eyes when a fellow Christian steps out of line and it should bring tears to our eyes when someone rejects Jesus as Lord. We must do what the scriptures tell us to do, but it should be done out of love and humility, not vengeance and hatred. Let’s get back to the description of the publicans.

12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. Luke 3:12-14 (KJV)

Here we have John the Baptist baptizing people. The sinners asked what do I need to do now and John told them to sin no more. The publican took more money than he was supposed to and John told him to, exact no more than that which is appointed to you. So from this we can see the publicans sometimes took more than they were supposed to take, making there pockets a little fatter.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Matt 5:46-47 (KJV)

Here we see that the publicans love only the people who love them. They salute only the people like them and do not for others. Now we are getting a picture of what the publicans were. A quick review will show us that the publicans would steal money from the people by collecting more that they were supposed to, they would love only those that loved them back, and they would only welcome those that were like themselves. This sounds a lot like many Christians around today. Especially the parts that say the publicans only loved those that loved them and they only welcomed those that were like them. We can relate to the publicans in many ways. This is the reason we were given the examples of the publicans. In the first passage we read in Luke 18, we saw that the publican was very repentative. He was truly sorrowful for his sins. Now let’s look at some more scriptures.

1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:1-10 (KJV)

Zacchaeus was a sinner and he knew he was a sinner. When he saw Jesus he knew he needed Jesus. Zacchaeus was going to give half of everything he had to the poor and he was going to pay back what he stole from people fourfold. This is a man that his heart is right with God. The difference between the publican and the Pharisee was one knew he was a sinner and needed to repent and the other thought because he had God he was not a sinner anymore.

28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. Matt 21:28-32 (KJV)

Publicans and harlots will go into the kingdom of God before you. The publicans and harlots accepted that they were sinners. They accepted that they were not perfect and they needed help. None of us are perfect and none of us deserve going to Heaven. We must never say things like the Pharisee said in the first passage. I have said before, that if you think you are better than anyone then you are in need of repentance and you need prayer. So, how can we stop ourselves from becoming like the Pharisee? We must never forget where we came from. We must always remember how far God has brought us. God should be the one who is glorified not us. If you think that you are some kind of gift to people, you are a Pharisee. I heard a woman say one time that other women think of her as a god, and then they are surprised when they meet her that she is not. Women think of her as a God because she portrays herself that way to them. We must never portray ourselves as anything more than servants of God. We have made it to where we are because of God’s grace, not because of who we are. We have our testimonies to use to glorify God and to help other sinners come to the throne of grace. We must let our faults be known. The title of this message is, Are you a Publican. Our first reaction to this question is, no I am not. From the passages above it is clear we do not want to have the Pharisee's attitude, but if we get the publican’s attitude we just might make to our destination. We must be willing to give all. We must be willing to admit all. We must be real to everyone else around us, not just to those we relate to. We have to be willing to show love to everyone. Love should flow from us naturally. We should not have to try to love, because love should is already in us if the Holy Spirit is in us. Praise God for His love. Let's be like Jesus.

Once Saved Always Saved, Or Not

2009-06-29T19:43:00.002-05:00

I want to talk about something today that is another contorversial topic, Once saved always saved, or not. This is a topic that I hear people discuss in church and out of church. Some say even though grace is free, we must still live a holy life and act like we are citazens of heaven. Others say we live in this world and there is really nothing we can do about our lives and we have no real control over our salvation once we say we believe, we are saved no matter what. I prayed about this for a long time and I believe God has shown me that beyond a shadow of a doubt that the freewill that He gave us determines our eternal destiny. God has given us choices to make and he has given us gifts but we can ultimately reject those gifts and make the wrong choices. Let's see what God's word has to say about this.

Mat 13:1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

Mat 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Mat 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

Mat 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

Mat 13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Mat 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Mat 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

This is a passage that many preachers will preach on. Many will talk about how the word is stolen and the poor people lose the word. I see in verses 20-21 that these people give the word back. Through their own will they give up what some say you cannot give up. I am talking about salvation. This passage talks about people who hear and ACCEPT the Word of God. It says they endureth for a while. What happens after they endureth for a while? Let's go to John 3

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 is the verse that many Christians find comfort in. They believe that this means that anyone who believes that Jesus is the son of God is going to Heaven. Let's see if this is true by seeing what believing means.

Believe

BELIE'VE, v.t. To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity.

When we believe upon the authority of reasoning, arguments, or a concurrence of facts and circumstances, we rest our conclusions upon their strength or probability, their agreement with our own experience, &c.

2. To expect or hope with confidence; to trust.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psa 27.

BELIE'VE, v.i. To have a firm persuasion of any thing. In some cases, to have full persuasion, approaching to certainty; in others, more doubt is implied. It is often followed by in or on, especially in the scriptures. To believe in, is to hold as the object of faith. "Ye believe in God, believe also in me." John 14. To believe on, is to trust, to place full confidence in, to rest upon with faith. "To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." John 1. Johnson. But there is no ground for much distinction.

In theology, to believe sometimes expresses a mere assent of the understanding to the truths of the gospel; as in the case of Simon. Acts 8. In others, the word implies, with this assent of the mind, a yielding of the will and affections, accompanied with a humble reliance on Christ for salvation. John 1:12. 3.15.

In popular use and familiar discourse, to believe often expresses an opinion in a vague manner, without a very exact estimate of evidence, noting a mere preponderance of opinion, and is nearly equivalent to think or suppose.

This definition seems to cover everything about believing. Through this definition someone could come to the conclusion that once saved always saved is possible. All they have to do is believe, right. Let's look at the original Greek and see what this word means.

G4100

πιστεύω

pisteuō

pist-yoo'-o

From G4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ): - believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.

Again this seems that all we have to do is believe and we will be saved. This is true because this is what God's word says. There is still one thing we are missing here. Both definitions use words to define believe as a present thing. It also sounds to me like this is an ongoing thing, not a once in a lifetime decision.

Mar 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

He that endures to the end will be saved. To endure means

G5278

ὑπομένω

hupomenō

hoop-om-en'-o

From G5259 and G3306; to stay under (behind), that is, remain; figuratively to undergo, that is, bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere: - abide, endure, (take) patient (-ly), suffer, tarry behind.

So what happens to those that do not endure until the end?This is definitely something that takes an active responsibility on our part. This surely does not sound like our comfortable, fun loving, feel good churches today. When do the professed Christians of today bear trials, persevere, suffer or tarry behind? Most of them don't because they think they are saved no matter what they do because they are told lies and they do not take it upon themselves to learn the truth. That's too bad. God loves us and He gives us freewill. With this freewill we can bless him or we can curse him. We can choose to follow him or we can choose to follow something else. One of the biggest arguments of people concerning once saved always saved is John 10

Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

No one can take us away from God but we do not have to follow him. We can choose to not follow Jesus after we have once chose to follow him. Just because we use the name of Jesus does not mean we are saved. Turn to Mathew 7

Mat 7:13 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:

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

These are people who use the name of the Lord to do good and are not going to heaven. These people were saved because they had the Holy Spirit. That is the only way they could have done these things. What happened then? They give up their salvation and Jesus knows them not. I say give up, because Jesus says he WILL profess to these people who work iniquity. Iniquity is unrighteousness, violation of the law or wickedness. I know we will all sin even after we are saved, but if we think it is ok to sin because we are sinners anyway we are those that work iniquity. If we decide that we will be forgiven for something so we might as well do it, we are in danger of giving our free gift back. The New Testament commands us over and over to live a holy and pure life. This can only be done through obedience to Christ's commands.

Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Do you see the Ifs here? We must keep his commandments and do what he tells us to do. If we don't we are not of him. Grace may be free, but being a Christian comes with a dedication that must follow through to the end.

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Notice the phrases, those who were once enlightened, have tasted of the heavenly gift, made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. These are people who have obtained salvation. They have the truth or they could not have any of these things. This is talking about Christians, yes in the book of Hebrews. The word says, " It is impossible, if they fall away, to renew them to repentance. Jesus will not be crucified for you again.

Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Heb 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

From the sounds of this, I belive this passage is talking about Christians also. Verse 26 says, after we have received the knowledge of the truth. This sounds like someone that has accepted Christ as savior.

2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Does this not say it is worse for someone who becomes saved and then returns from where they came from. It is better that they were never saved than to turn from what they know is right. Let's look at one more verse. Revelations 3

Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Jesus said, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I WILL NOT BLOT OUT HIS NAME out of the book of life. This must mean that the name must have been written in the book to begin with. Some of these verses are scary. Especially to those who have always been taught that once you are saved you can never lose your salvation. I say you can give up your salvation. If we say we believe that Jesus is coming for us, and we believe the we are going to live eternily with him, then why don't we live like it? The hope that we have should be enough to make us want to live a pure, holy, unspotted life for God. We should have the desire in us to do away with all things that are not of God in this world. We are talking about enternity, FOREVER WITH GOD. Let's live the lives God would want us to live now. Let's live by Christ's commands and at least act like we appreciate our salvation. Maybe if we thought about it more we might realize the great gift that we have received. If someone gave us a 300 year old family heirloom we would sure treasure it, but when God gives us something for eternity we just abuse it. Remember we do not deserve anything but Hell. Maybe we are not able to lose our salvation but maybe we are. Is it worth risking eternity? Get your oil ready, Jesus is Coming. Amen

Strangers and Pilgrims

2009-06-10T16:03:00.002-05:00

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb 11:12-13 (KJV)

All of these people confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth. They knew who God was and they confessed that they did not belong here. They all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. We have promises that might be afar off or they might be right around the corner. Do we have faith enough to confess that when someone talks to us that we tell them we are strangers and pilgrims in a land we do not belong to? I don’t want to look, talk, act like or even resemble something that belongs to this land, because I do not belong here. So, what does stranger mean?

Strangers

Greek Word: πάροικος

Transliteration: paroikos

Phonetic Pronunciation:par'-oy-kos

Vine's Words: Sojourn, Sojourner, Sojourning

English Words used in KJV:

stranger 2 sojourn 1 foreigner 1 [Total Count: 4]

from <G3844> (para) and <G3624> (oikos); having a home near, i.e. (as noun) a by-dweller (alien resident) :- foreigner, sojourn, stranger.

Do you look like a foreigner or do you look like a local in this world? We could all answer that question about each other, but are we willing to answer it honestly about ourselves. What about pilgrims? What does the word pilgrim mean here?

Pilgrim

Greek Word: παρεπίδημος

Transliteration: parepidēmos

Phonetic Pronunciation:par-ep-id'-ay-mos

Vine's Words: Pilgrim, Sojourn, Sojourner, Sojourning

English Words used in KJV:

pilgrim 2 stranger 1 [Total Count: 3]

from <G3844> (para) and the base of <G1927> (epidemeo); an alien alongside, i.e. a resident foreigner :- pilgrim, stranger.

A resident foreigner. A foreigner that has to stay around for a period of time, but a foreigner none the less. Are you a foreigner that has adopted the ways of the land or are you a foreigner faithful to your true home? Have you learned to love the things of the land that you dwell in or do they make you want your home even more?

Pilgrim

PIL'GRIM, n. [L. peregrinus. Gu.L. peragro, to wander, palor.]

1. A wanderer; a traveler; particularly, one that travels to a distance from his own country to visit a holy place, or to pay his devotion to the remains of dead saints. [See Pilgrimage.]

2. In Scripture, one that has only a temporary residence on earth. Heb 11.

Stranger

STRANGER, n.

1. A foreigner; one who belongs to another country. Paris and London are visited by strangers from all the countries of Europe.

2. One of another town, city, state or province in the same country. The Commencements in American colleges are frequented by multitudes of strangers from the neighboring towns and states.

3. One unknown.

4. One unacquainted.

My child is yet a stranger to the world.

5. A guest; a visitor.

6. One not admitted to any communication or fellowship.

Sojourner

SO'JOURNER, n. A temporary resident; a stranger or traveler who dwells in a place for a time. We are strangers before thee and sojourners, as all out father were. 1 Chron 29

11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 1 Peter 2:11 (KJV)

Peter says “I beseech you as stranger and pilgrims”. It’s almost like he knew we were going to be on a journey. He did, and he knew the dangers of the journey. On this journey we will encounter many wants and desires. There will be many shiny objects along the way that will take our attention off the path we were put on. Peter said to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. These harmless little things in this strange peaceful land don’t seem like they can hurt us. THEY WAR WITH THE SOUL! This world should seem strange to you. You should look at everything as if it might be a snake or a poisonous fruit, because many of the things that Christians partake in are just those things. They are at war with your soul. If you are saved then your soul is right with God. If these things war against the soul, what if they win? There is always a loser in real wars against good and evil. There is never a stalemate here. This is another reason, of the many, that Christians are called to live a sanctified, disciplined, obedient, holy life. You cannot do this if you are a local native here. Think of it like this. There used to be many children who would grow up in small town America. They would hear on the TV or the radio about other places that sounded so fascinating to them. Some of these children dreamed their whole childhood of going somewhere else, anywhere but where they were had to be better. When they grew up some moved off as soon as they could, to only find out there was the same thing where they went or that place was even worse than the place they were at. The point is, that most of the children who lived this way spent their childhood dreaming of somewhere else or they dreamed of being something else. There is nothing else in this world but world. We, as Christians need to be like these children, only we are guaranteed to find something better if we stay on our journey. If we get comfortable where we are and sit down and sit too long we will forget about our journey. We might say that we haven’t forgot but, if don’t keep moving and changing your scenery you will become a local of this world and you will stay here. Your soul will lose and you will start looking at the other pilgrims as though they are doing something wrong. “What are they doing, they just think they’re too good to be around us”. They are still on their journey. The truth is, all Christians should still be on that journey because, none that still live, have finished unless they quit. There are many who say that they are willing to do anything for Jesus. They are ready for that journey, but are they really? Let’s look at Luke 14.

25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:25-33 (KJV)

The church today makes this journey sound like it is an easy, fun loving, attractive ride to an amusement park. Jesus gives us a glimpse of this journey here. What do you think these people did here after hearing this? I know what would happen today if a preacher preached to the multitude about being a disciple of Jesus like this. He wouldn’t be preaching to a multitude any more. One point I am getting at here is a stranger, pilgrim or sojourner is not so attached to these things that he is not willing to move on to where ever God wants him to. You cannot be a disciple of Jesus if you are not willing to give everything. This does not say that you must forsake almost everything, does it? No, it says ALL. Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus or a local in this world? I have heard many people say that God would not require you to leave your family whether they are saved or not. This is another lie and apostasy of the church and it will keep you from going on your journey. God will and does require you and everyone else that is a child of his to be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. Go ahead and live here and stay here and pretend in you mind that you are going to Heaven because you are a good person, or because you do good things, or because you say with your mouth that Jesus is lord, and you still hold on to every little lust and desire of YOU! Children of God are not U’s or I’s. They is only we as one body going on the same journey, seeking the same treasure. This body is required to give up everything for the better of the whole body so that it will stay on the path.

Why did God tell his people to move? He told Abraham to leave his country. He made the Israelites stay on the move in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus had to give up his house and stay on the move for three years. The apostles stayed on the move until martyrdom. The seventy that Jesus sent out were not allowed to take anything with them. Even Jesus had nothing. God wants his people to focus on him and the job that he has given them. When we have things of this world we take our focus off of our responsibilities as Christians. God wants his people to know that he is God. When his people are constantly on their journey they are constantly changing. Some stop and get into their comfortable zone and move away from the will of God. Let’s look at Luke 9

57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:57-62 (KJV)

Well so much for not taking you away from your family. Jesus said if I say go, GO. Don’t look back, don’t wait, just go and I will take care of you. Too many times people try and pick up the bible and they either don’t understand something or they don’t like what is says. Regardless of the reason they pick apart parts of the bible that they should just read. Just read it. God gave us the bible to read as his children. The problem that comes from dissecting the bible is that so many men come up with so many different ideas. Then they call it theology. I wander if theology has anything to do with theory, because like the theory of evolution, that is what most theology is today. I believe God gave us the bible and he intended everyone willing to be his child, to be able to read and understand it. Of course he will give more understanding to some than he does others but education at a seminary can only hinder the problem. We are to be as pilgrims. I wonder how many pilgrims had degrees in theology. Let’s look at 1 Peter 1

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 1 Peter 1:15-17 (KJV)

Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. How many people in our churches today have any fear of God? People live their self satisfying lives and call themselves God’s children, but have no fear of him. Children should fear their father. If they don’t, they will not respect him. They won’t listen to his commands. Their father can tell them to do something and they will just say, “oh he won’t do anything, he loves me too much”. According to Peter, we will be judged by our works and we must have fear on our journey. Have you ever gone on a long drive like on a vacation in a car that you didn’t know if it would make it or not? I have and I babied that car. I was so cautious. I didn’t take off too fast or brake too late. I traveled in fear. We need to get back to fearing God and realize we can step off of the path. We can turn our backs on God. So why don’t we become the sojourners in this world. Let’s show the world that we don’t belong here and we are going somewhere else. Let’s also show them that they too can go if they are willing. It is our job to show them the path, not drag them down it. Let’s travel down this path together and help each other when we get stuck in the mud and mire of this world. Let’s also be willing to listen to a brother when he tells us there is a snake at our feet. Sometimes we can’t see because we are looking through foggy glasses. I pray we will all realize that we are just, strangers and pilgrims in this land. We do not have to concern ourselves with the things of this land. We do not have to participate with the festivals and rituals of the false gods in this land. We do not have to give one thought, other than the prayer required, for who is leading this land because this is not our land. I put this bible study together while I was in the hospital. I am still in the hospital but I get to go home today. Praise God. While I was here I was thinking about how people always complain about hospitals. It doesn’t matter what hospital you go to, someone will tell you a story of how that hospital let their friend of family member die. For some reason we get this thinking that a hospital is like a car shop. We come in, they replace a few parts, and we get back on the road for 100,000 miles. We should always know that we do not belong here. We should go to a physician when we are sick but we should not get upset when someone dies, because they were not meant to be here forever, but we are meant to be somewhere forever. Quit putting so much trust into a world that is temporary. Start putting all of your trust into God and focus on the journey that is at hand. Good traveling and God Bless.

Decisions Decisions

2009-05-27T20:02:00.002-05:00

We Christians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism...To your knees! and to your Bible! Decide at once! Don't hesitate! Time flies! Cease your insults to God, quit consulting flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying, and cowardly excuses. Choose! C.T. Studd

Does God want us to sacrifice our holiness to help others? Is it ok for us to be like the world and participate in the things of the world if we are doing it for the glory of God? Should we sacrifice our convictions that God has given us to help the struggling brothers? I believe the answer to these questions is absolutely NO!! God requires us to live the life we are called to live regardless of how the people around us live. I am not talking about offending a brother concerning what they eat or drink. I am talking about true convictions that God has given the church and the commands that we have received. There is not room for our individual interpretations of commandments. Either you do it or you don’t. Let’s look at some scriptures that pertain to decisions that God’s people might have to make.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deut 30:19 (KJV)

There’s a simple one to make. Life or death, which do you choose?

21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 1 Kings 18:21 (KJV)

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32 (KJV)

Notice the word IF. This word is ἐάν.

Transliteration: ean

from <G1487> (ei) and <G302> (an); a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty :- before, but, except, (and) if, (if) so, (what-, whither-) soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to whom, [who-] so (-ever). See <G3361> (me).

A conditional particle, that means there is a decision to be made. Choose this and this happens or choose that and that happens.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:6-8 (KJV)

9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Gal 6:9 (KJV)

Here we are again. If you do what is right you will be rewarded. If you abide in Jesus, nothing is impossible. If we faint not, we will reap.

7 Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: 8 For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. 1 Thess 3:7-8 (KJV)

Our decisions to live for God can and will help other to live their life. If we compromise our Godly lives so we can get closer to our weaker brethren we will only hinder their growth. If we compare our spiritual growth to our physical growth we can come up with some pretty good examples. Think of it like this. We are going to help some hungry and sick people in a third world country. They are drinking filthy water and eating unsanitary food. We are going to bring them some clean water and good food so they can become strong. We have what is good, not them. Do we mix our clean water with their unclean water? Do we mix our good food with their unsanitary food? No, this sounds crazy. Why would anybody do this? Why would we mix something good from God with something corrupted by the world? Yes we are all corrupted by the world. As we grow with God we become cleaner and cleaner. This is a principle from the old testament. Do not mix clean with unclean. Do not mix the God with the world. What about indecision?

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:7-8 (KJV)

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17 (KJV)

Remember the first passage with Elijah and the prophets of Baal. In the end of the verse it says the people said nothing. They were given a choice and they said nothing. Think about other decisions that had to be made. When Moses had to leave Egypt, was that coincidence? He had to leave Egypt and everything he knew so God could make Moses what God needed Moses to be. When Abraham was told to leave his land and when he was told to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham had to make decisions. Abraham needed to become what God needed him to become. God has given my family some very difficult choices in our lives and we had to make a decision on them. He has told us to leave everything we loved, when it didn’t make a bit of sense to us. Praise God we did it, and because we did it we are where we are. We have a testimony that we would not have if we had lived our lives for us. We thank God daily that he has allowed us to come down this road. We have made some good friends and we have lost some good friends. We have met some people who desire nothing but God for their lives. This is one of the biggest blessings. I am so excited to see where God takes us next. To him be the glory. Amen.

Choices of Acceptability

2009-05-14T07:23:00.002-05:00

"God, having placed good and evil in our power, has given us full freedom of choice; He does not keep back the unwilling, but embraces the willing." John Chrysostom

"When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right...something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise...it will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up." C.S Lewis

14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Josh 24:15 (KJV)

Which Gods do you serve? Do you serve the Gods from a long time ago? Do you serve the Gods of the people in whose land you dwell? We are all guilty of serving the God of America. With all of the sacrifices we offer to her, and all of the devotion we spend in awe of her.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matt 6:22-24 (KJV)

If your eye is together with the will of God you will have light. If your eye is with the will of Satan you will be full of darkness. Notice how it says that if the light that is in you is darkness, HOW GREAT IS THAT DARKNESS! What is in your eye? Is it money? Is it acceptance from this world? If it is either of these, then you can also say that it is compromise. This is God’s word saying you cannot serve God and money. If you have that mentality that you are strong enough to compromise even the least of the commandments for a monetary gain then you have chosen which master you will serve. How many so-called Christians discover truth in the bible and then refuse to follow that truth because it will interfere with their worldly friends or their worldly job or their worldly family or their worldly church? If you do things that are against the word of God for monetary gain then you have shown which master is yours.

I received this message from God after praying about a decision that my family had to make. We were asked by friends to participate in one of our communities annual festivals. It happened to be a music and arts festival. I had convictions about it when we were first asked but I began to listen to other friends and even fellow Christians. I found myself feeling guilty because I did not want to go participate in the festival because I understand through the scriptures that the music that is being celebrated at this festival is not of God nor would God accept it for any reason. I prayed about it and did not receive an answer. Again I was told how great it would be for our business and how I might offend the community if we did not participate. People in the community decided to pay for our booth. Everyone was so excited that we were going to be there. Some of the people at our church told us they would let us use their tent for our booth. I still knew what was right and I was not sure if I was going to do it or not. As I was praying again for God to help me, He did. God’s words rang out in my head so loud. “Choose ye this day whom you will serve, Ye cannot serve both God and mammon”. I was so relieved.

Too many times we use our flesh instead of our spirit to make our decisions for us. We see something in scripture that tells us we are wrong but instead of changing what we are doing we try and find a loop hole in scripture, and there are none, but we find something that tells us that it might be ok to disobey. Take country music for an example. Country music glorifies Satan and all that he is. The lust of the eyes, the pride of life and just flat out rebellion, but we there are some songs that have really good messages and even a scriptural foundation, so it must be ok to listen to it. If the light that you have is dark, oh how dark it is. We as Christians have so many choices throughout our lives. We will make some bad choices but we must try to make the good choices. We must try to be perfect. If I know it is wrong to dress in a certain manner and I do not do it I am guilty of making the wrong choice. Ok so why do we make the wrong choices? Why do we continue to do things that we know are wrong? Why do we do things that are not adherently evil but they are not adherently good either? There are only two sides here. The people of this world want to be accepted by this world, even Christians who are not supposed to be of this world. Just look in the mirror or record yourself for one day, whether it be visual or audio, you will really know who you are. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)

That word in verse 2, acceptable means to be well pleasing or fully agreeable. We are also told in verse 1 that we must present our bodies a living sacrifice. This means that we have to do something. We must present ourselves. We have to get ourselves ready and say here I am God. I am yours and I have done this for you because of the mercies you have shown me.

Here is where I am going with this. See that part where it says and be not conformed to this world. This word that is used here is only used in the entire bible twice. Once by Paul and once by Peter. The word is, syschēmatizō or soos-khay-mat-id'-zo. This word means to fashion alike or to conform to the same pattern. We are to resist being poured into the mold of the present thinking, value system and conduct of this world. Like the decision I had to make above, I should not have worried about what the world thought about me. I should not have cared about how the community accepted me and my family. Some watered down Christians will say, but you can’t just shun the people of the world. That’s not what the King James bible says. Let’s look at 1 Peter 1:14.

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 1 Peter 1:14 (KJV)

Here the phrase, not fashioning yourselves according to, is the word syschematizo. Remember what the word means. We should not dress ourselves or even resemble the thinking of this world. The church has become a useless tool and they have hid there light under a bushel. The church want to be accepted by this world.

My family has a pet cat. This cat is like many cats as it only wants to be petted when it feels like it. Sometimes the cat will purr very loudly when you are petting it, and sometimes it will growl and hiss if it does not want to be petted. We are always wondering what kind of mood the cat is in and we are always trying to pet it. If the cat growls and hisses we leave it alone but if the cat allows us to pet it and it is purring we feel accepted by the cat. I think the cat is saying, ok you can pet me now but only for a little while. This is how our churches are today with the world. The charismatic church we used to be in was like this. The numbers were slipping in the church so the church wanted more people. The church changed the music, the youth building, the service and even the pastor to bring in the younger college crowd. The numbers started rising and finally the church was accepted by the world. Whew!!! It’s a good thing that the church wasn’t concerned with changing the world but changing for the world so they could keep the numbers up. Does this sound familiar? Satan has deceived the church throughout the ages and he continues even today. This is nothing new. I have used this in a bible study before but I think it fits good here also. This is a letter by Martin Luther King Jr. He wrote it in the sixties while he was in jail in Birmingham, AL.

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiator contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch-defender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Martin Luther King Jr.

Are we a thermometer or a thermostat?

We should not be concerned with being accepted by this world. We should only be concerned with being accepted by God. In Psalms 19:14, David said:

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 (KJV)

The words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart should be acceptable in His sight, not the worlds. The choices we make will either hinder our spiritual walk with God or they will allow us to present ourselves to God in a most acceptable way. If I talk about the things of this world or if I meditate on the system of this world, I will not be acceptable unto the Lord. We are given choices. Two of them are given to us in Deut 30:17-19

17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deut 30:17-19 (KJV)

I have heard many preachers use this verse. Everyone that I heard was talking about materialism. That is not what this verse is about. Some times what seems to be a blessing to our flesh just might be a curse. We must learn to use God’s spirit to guide us. We must all make choices but we must wait on the Lord. I have learned that if someone wants me to make a decision on something right now, the answer is almost always no. We need to learn to wait on God and quit trying to say we do when we really don’t. If we truly trust Him we must learn that he always hears us and he always answers. Wait. Do not make choices in haste. Some of the choices we must make are: To obey God, Fear God, Worship God, Reverence God, To be humble, To be peaceful, To not conform to the thinking of this world and we can make these choices by How we talk, where we go, who we associate with, how we live, etc. We must make a choice whether or not we are going to take the word of God as absolute or if we are going to take someone’s opinion as partial truth. We must choose if we are going to jump off the fence and run as far as we can from the borders of sin or are we going to continue to stand on the fences and yell at the world and tell them how bad they are, while we still have a foot in it, accepting their ways and teaching their ways to our children and the young unlearned Christians. Choose you this day who you will serve. Praise God

A Good Separation

2009-05-01T15:54:00.002-05:00

"A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world---and might be even more difficult to save." C.S. Lewis

"The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church...grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil." Leonard Ravenhill

"Enemy-occupied territory-----that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign in sabotage." C.S. Lewis

"Obedience to the call of Christ nearly always costs everything to two people- the one who is called, and the one who loves that one." Oswald Chambers

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matt 4:2-4 (KJV)

1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Luke 4:1-4 (KJV)

Here we read how Jesus was hungry. He had not eaten for 40 days. I can not even imagine how hungry He must have been. I have gone 3 days without eating or drinking anything except water. This was a challenge to me because I really like to eat and I know the importance of fasting and overcoming my flesh to let my spirit have control. I have fasted for 2 weeks straight, but I did eat broth and milk, and other liquids. I was not hungry even though I thought I was. Jesus knew what it was like to be hungry.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matt 5:6

Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are blessed or will be blessed. I am using this as an opener to the bible study today. We are not going to go over being hungry after God’s word but we will touch on it. I want us to see before we start on the main topic that we must hunger and thirst after righteousness. This means that when we hunger or thirst after something we accept it as it is. If you had not eaten for 40 days, and someone handed you a bowl of mashed potatoes, you will not care if they have salt or butter on them. You will just eat them at they are no questions asked. If you have not drunk anything for a long time, you are not going to ask for ice in your water. You will drink the water as it is to quench your thirst. Today most professed Christians do not hunger or thirst after anything. Because of this they decide they want to order their faith as they see fitting to their life. They pick and choose what sounds the best and try and say that the rest was for a different time or interpret the Word as something different.

21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Luke 6:21 (KJV)

Remember we are blessed if we hunger. How can we be blessed by being hungry? If we hunger and thirst after righteousness, righteousness will be all we can think about. When you are hungry for something, your mind will only be on what you are hungry for. We are blessed when we seek God’s righteousness, but only if we seek it by itself. We should have such a hunger that we should not care about our petty worldly problems around us. We should not care about our own selfish desires and our selfish wants. See most Christians hunger and thirst after success. They hunger and thirst after acceptance in this corrupt and evil world. OK let’s get to our topic. This is a controversial topic. This is an area that the majority of Christians are not willing to let go of and let God’s word say what it is saying. Before we start let’s look at Psalms 25:4-5.

4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalms 25:3-5 (KJV)

This should be our prayer daily. Let’s let God’s word lead us and let’s put our own personal feelings away. Let’s hunger after what God wants for His people, TRUTH and OBEDIENCE.

We are going to discuss biblical separation from the world and the things in it. We as Christians are called to be separate from the world. We are called to be Holy. We are called to be sanctified. Let’s look at what the definition of these words are.

Sanctify

SANC'TIFY, v.t. [Low L. sanctifico; from sanctus, holy, and facio, to make.]

1. In a general sense, to cleanse, purify or make holy.

2. To separate, set apart or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use.

God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Gen 2.

So under the Jewish dispensation, to sanctify the altar, the temple, the priests, &c.

3. To purify; to prepare for divine service, and for partaking of holy things. Exo 19.

4. To separate, ordain and appoint to the work of redemption and the government of the church. John 10.

5. To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.

Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.

John 17. Eph 5.

6. To make the means of holiness; to render productive of holiness or piety.

Those judgments of God are the more welcome, as a means which his mercy hath sanctified so to me, as to make me repent of that unjust act.

7. To make free from guilt.

That holy man amaz'd at what he saw, made haste to sanctify the bliss by law.

8. To secure from violation.

Truth guards the poet, sanctifies the line.

To sanctify God, to praise and celebrate him as a holy being; to acknowledge and honor his holy majesty, and to reverence his character and laws. Isa 8.

God sanctifies himself or his name, by vindicating his honor from the reproaches of the wicked, and manifesting his glory. Ezek 36.

Holy

HO'LY, a.

1. Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions. We call a man holy,when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly.

Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Pet 1.

2. Hallowed; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God; a sense frequent in Scripture; as the holy sabbath; holy oil; holy vessels; a holy nation; the holy temple; a holy priesthood.

3. Proceeding from pious principles,or directed to pious purposes; as holy zeal.

4. Perfectly just and good; as the holy law of God.

5. Sacred; as a holy witness.

Holy of holies, in Scripture, the innermost apartment of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept,and where no person entered, except the high priest, once a year.

Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, the Divine Spirit; the third person in the Trinity; the sanctifier of souls.

Holy war, a war undertaken to rescue the holy land, the ancient Judea, from the infidels; a crusade; an expedition carried on by christians against the Saracens in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries; a war carried on in a most unholy manner.

I used both of these definitions together because where ever sanctify is used in the new testament, it is the Greek word ἁγιάζω.

Greek Word: ἁγιάζω

Transliteration: hagiazō

Phonetic Pronunciation: hag-ee-ad'-zo

Vine's Words: Hallow, Holiness, Holy, Holily, Sanctification, Sanctify

Usage Notes:

English Words used in KJV:

sanctify 26 hallow 2 be holy 1 [Total Count: 29]

from <G40> (hagios); to make holy, i.e. (ceremony) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate :- hallow, be holy, sanctify.

Consecrate

CONSECRATE, v.t. [L., to consecrate, sacred. See Sacred.]

1. To make or declare to be sacred, by certain ceremonies or rites; to appropriate to sacred uses; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service and worship of God; as, to consecrate a church.

The word ἁγιάζω, means to make holy, purify, consecrate or venerate.

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. John 17:17-19 (KJV)

Here is a section of John 17. This chapter is Jesus praying for his own. In 17-19 He is praying for the apostles to be sanctified in God’s truth. He is praying that they be made Holy, purified, consecrated. I am sure He is also wants them to venerate the truth. Remember the definition above on sanctify. There is a reference to this passage in the dictionary.

To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.

This is what Jesus was praying for. He wanted his followers to be cleansed from corruption, purified from sin, TO MAKE HOLY BE DETACHING THE AFFECTIONS FROM THE WORLD AND ITS DEFILEMENTS, and to exalt them a supreme love to God. Jesus knew the dangers of not separating ourselves from this world’s thinking and things. There is nothing good here because He is gone.

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:15-16 (KJV)

Why don’t our churches today preach this?! ALL that is in the world is not of God. Your vanity, success, coolness, acceptance, lust, and everything else that man has made to bring you joy is NOT OF GOD. Not only that but if you love the things of this world, the love of the Father is not in you. “Oh but I have not been convicted of that yet” Shouldn’t we say “I know the bible says that but I refuse to accept it because it will make my life too hard. I need the things of this world to help me cope”. If this is you, you had better enjoy what you have because it will only get worse from here on out. God only has mercy for those who acknowledge they are sinners and those who repent of their sin. This is why Jesus prayed for his followers to be separated by the truth.

14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. Luke 8:14 (KJV)

Again, Jesus talks of the dangers of the cares and riches of this world. That word for riches is ploutos and it means wealth and possessions. Your cares for your possessions can make you fall away. You can be a Christian and never bring any fruit to perfection because you refuse to separate yourself from this world. What about the people who agree there is supposed to be separation from the world but disagree on how severe it should be? The word separate means to disunite; to divide; to sever; to part, in almost any manner. This sounds pretty severe.

10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; 2 Tim 4:10 (KJV)

Demas was also mentioned in Col 4:14 and Philemon 1:24. Demas was one of the faithful. He was a Christian and now has moved on to something else because he loved this present world. Once saved always saved huh? This was put here for a reason.

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matt 5:13-16 (KJV)

What does it mean to be the salt of the earth? Make a pot of beans without any salt. Add just a little salt and see what happens. You cannot hide the salt in the beans if you know what the beans taste like without salt. Even a little makes a big difference. If you lose your saltiness you lose your difference. Jesus said we are the light of the World. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Why is this? Take a candle in darkness. I have heard many people talk about how far we can see a single candle at night. I researched this and could not come to a conclusion because everyone came up with a different conclusion. Most came up somewhere between 11 miles and 20 miles. Regardless of how far it is the truth is that a little bit of light sticks out in darkness. A little bit of darkness can hide in light. We are supposed to be the light in the darkness. We are supposed to stick out not fit in. A Christian should not even have the opportunity or option to hide in darkness because they carry a light that can not be hidden. I want to ask a question of everyone. Think about the answer and pray on it. Do you stick out in a dark world or do you blend in with the darkness that surrounds us all? Can people see you from a distance or do they have to look under a bushel to see if you are from God? In our country we have become another line on the measuring stick. We find out who we are by what we wear, listen to, read, attend, etc. We should not be measured with the rest of the world. We should not be held to the same standards as the world. I do not want people to say that Chris is a good person because he does not cuss, watch bad movies, listen to bad music, get mad, and he is also a member of the AFA and he attends Promise Keepers meetings and so on and so on. I want people to say that Chris is a man of God because that is all he talks about, cares about, etc. You can’t even have a conversation with Chris because he only wants to discuss the bible and how great God is. I do not want to be accepted by this world in any way, shape or form.

"I give thanks unto my God for this; that I am found worthy to be among those whom the world hateth." Jerome

We are broken into two groups in this country now. Conservatives and Liberals. Shouldn’t we be Christians and Non-Christians? If I call myself a conservative, I am in the same group as Hank Williams Jr., Arean Brotherhood, and the KKK. I am a Christian only. Then we have different levels of Christians. Conservative Christians and Liberal Christians. Talk about an oxymoron. Either you believe the bible and hunger and thirst for righteousness or you don’t. Either you care what God thinks about you or you don’t. Let’s be hated by Satan’s people. Let’s make it clear to people who don’t even know us that we swear allegiance to King Jesus. Amen.

Ignorance Of God

2009-04-16T20:49:00.002-05:00

"A man may be theologically knowing and spiritually ignorant" Stephen Charnock

"Involuntary ignorance is not charged against you as a fault; but your fault is this---you neglect to inquire into the things you are ignorant of." Augustine

This message came to me at church when I was discussing something with one of the brethren. We were talking about how most professed Christians fall into the category of being lukewarm. We came to the conclusion that if we interpret the scriptures correctly and live them on a daily basis then most Christians are wrong. This does not make us right. God’s word is right not us. All we have to do is live it. ALL OF IT!! The majority of our churches, pick out a certain area of scripture and run with it. They take it by itself and create a denomination or sect or cult. If we are going to be children of God we must KNOW our father. To know Him is to know his will and to know his character. The title of this message is Ignorance of God. Too many self-professed Christians are ignorant of God. I say this for many reasons and we will go over them. As usual I want us to go over a definition of a word so we will understand what we are discussing. Let’s look at the definition of ignorance.

Ignorance

IG'NORANCE, n. [L. ignorantia; ignoro,not to know; ignarus, ignorant; in and gnarus, knowing.]

1. Want, absence or destitution of knowledge; the negative state of the mind which has not been instructed in arts, literature or science, or has not been informed of facts. Ignorance may be general, or it may be limited to particular subjects. Ignorance of the law does not excuse a man for violating it. Ignorance of facts if often venial.

Ignorance is preferable to error.

Ignorance is when we have not been informed of the facts. The definition says ignorance may be general, or it may be limited to particular subjects. Ignorance of the law does not excuse a man for violating it.

We have already been informed of the facts. We have the bible and it is our responsibility to know what is in it. Most Christian’s ignorance of God is limited to particular subjects. This is where we fall short. This is where we as Christians are ignorant of God.

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:4 (KJV)

If we say we know him and keep not his commandments we are liars. The word, keep, is from the Greek word Tereo, pronounced tay-reh'-o. This word means to observe, hold to, preserve, etc. This does not mean we will not break the commandments, but it means that we accept His commandments as the rule over our lives. The reason the majority of churches today refuses to keep most of His commandments is because they do not want to have to live by them. They refuse to know God, because they do not want to keep his commandments. Here are a few more scriptures on this area.

19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. John 8:19 (KJV)

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8 (KJV)

16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Titus 1:16 (KJV)

The word know in these scriptures is from the Greek word eido, pronounced ay-do. This word means know, knowledge, know how, perceive, understand, be aware, consider, etc. To know God is not just to know that God exists but to know how God thinks. To know his character and to know how he would feel about our decisions we make. God has shown us through his Word if only we will read it and meditate on it. What about our ignorance on who God is? There are many examples here on how the church has forgotten who God really is. There is no reverence of God in our society. It is ok for men to go into a sanctuary with a hat on and for women to go into a sanctuary without her head covered. This is because we do not want to offend a person but we are willing to offend God because he will forgive us, RIGHT? What about when we are praying? When we are talking to someone and someone else comes up and interrupts us we do not have a problem telling that person to hold on, but if we are praying to God it is ok to stop praying to open your eyes to see what is going on. When we are in prayer with God, NOTHING should distract us from our conversation with the Most High. NOTHING!! Satan will use distractions to keep us from our relationship with God and we allow it. For some reason people seem to think it is ok to talk during prayer, praise, and church. The only time it should be ok to talk during these times it to talk to God or to tell someone else to be quiet. Oh, but we shouldn’t offend the people. Who is priority in your life?

What can happen if we are ignorant of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Matt 22:29 (KJV)

We can error because we do not know the scriptures nor the power of God. How can we not know the scriptures? We have free access to the scriptures at all times. More important, how can we as Christians not know the power of God? How many Christians do not accept the true power of God and accept the miracles and stories of the Bible as fact?

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Acts 17:31 (KJV)

We could be guilty of idolatry because we are ignorant of God. God is not gold, silver, or stone. He is not a statue or a figment of our imagination that we can worship or not depending on how we feel that day. He is the creator of everything and he is in control, not us.

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ; 21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Eph 4:17-22 (KJV)

We could be alienated from God. God cannot be around sinners. We can have our understanding darkened because of our ignorance of God and our blindness of our heart. Our heart must be right with God. How do you know if your heart is right with God? You must be willing to lose everything for God. This sounds easy but are you really willing to lose all of your worldly possessions, family, friends, animals, etc.? If you really know God then you know that He will take care of you more than any of these things can. I do not want to be alienated from God because of my own selfishness. One of the biggest lies spurted out of the mouths of Christians is, God Understands. Do you understand?

1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. John 16:1-4 (KJV)

The ignorance of God will cause persecution. The muslims believe they are doing God service by killing Christians and Jews. They are ignorant of God and Jesus. There are also Christians that will persecute real Christians because they know not The Father or The Son. This is the case in this country. Christians living out the bible are persecuted because fake Christians think they know more than God. Ignorance.

48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48 (KJV)

There is no excuse for ignorance. I have heard so many people say, “I don’t want to know because then I will be held accountable”. You will be held accountable whether you know or not. Shouldn’t you want to know what the real true will of you Father is? The passage says that he who had no clue and was breaking the law will still be punished. Maybe not as bad, but isn’t it easier to not be punished at all?

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, Phil 3:7-8 (KJV)

This is where we all need to be. We need to want to give all things for the knowledge of Christ. The knowledge of God needs to be our reward, but we want the things of this world to be our reward. We need to know God so we can serve God. How can we serve God when we do not know what he wants from us? How can we obey his Word if we refuse to learn it?

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5 (KJV)

God will give us wisdom concerning Him and His will if we ask. We must seek Him and desire to be with Him first.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. James 3:17-18 (KJV)

Isn’t that the wisdom we need, to keep from being ignorant of God? Pure, peacable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. How could we not want this instead of the wisdom of this world? I want my family to be ignorant of this world and the things of it. I know many people will say, “we need to be aware of this world so we can know how to survive in it”. This is not wisdom of God, but wisdom of the world. Live your life for God and the rest will be easy. Pray and study to know the real character of God. This is why we have the Old Testament. God tells us how he thinks and how he feels about obedience and disobedience. Let’s take it serious. Let’s obtain knowledge of our Father and His will. Let’s not be ignorant and if we are let’s change that today.

Blameworthiness

2009-04-10T18:50:00.002-05:00

The title of this message is Blameworthiness. Blameworthiness is a synonym for accountability. I did not know if I should use blameworthiness or answerability which is also a synonym for accountability. I chose blameworthiness, because imagine if everyone felt they were worthy of being blamed for their fault when someone came to them to show them their fault. I could say that I am worthy to be blamed by my brother is Christ. Submit yourselves one to another. Let’s first start with the definition of accountability.

Accountability

ACCOUNTABIL'ITY, n.

1. The state of being liable to answer for one's conduct; liability to give account, and to receive reward or punishment for actions.

Accountability is something we all need, but we must be willing to accept whatever comes our way. If we tell someone we want them to hold us accountable for our actions, then when they come to us or our family we must be open to what they bring. Certainly we would not tell someone we do not agree with that we want them to hold us accountable. I would not tell a muslim, atheist, or a lukewarm Christian that I want them to hold me accountable because this would be foolish. The truth is we need help. We need help from people who know God and his will, not people who do not know what God’s word says. I want to surround myself with Christians seeking God’s will and nothing else. I say nothing else because if I surround myself with people that are not willing to seek God above all then I will be allowing myself to be held accountable by worldly standards. There is no accountability there. I want people who will hold me accountable and test it with God’s word and not the politically correct liberalism of today’s society.

17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Prov 27:17 (KJV)

Where is your moral support coming from? Where does your accountability come from? I could get a pastor from my local charismatic church to be my accountability and do just about anything as long as I tithed and spoke in tongues. Do you have any friends that call you just to see how you are doing or friends that might just stop by? When this happens, do you feel refreshed and comforted or do you feel bothered and intruded upon? Do you say “why don’t they just call before they come over, I need a monitor so I know if someone is coming to the house”.

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, Heb 10:19-26 (KJV)

We all need to be held accountable. This should not be a burden but a necessity. The passage above says we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. Why is this? Why can’t we just have our farm in the middle of 300 acres and spend everyday worshipping and praising God? Because this is how cults get started. What I mean is when we do not have other people around us that are seeking the will of God, then we tend to make our own will of God. If there is no one else to point out our faults, we will not see our faults. I would love nothing more than to move to a farm in the middle of 300 acres with my closest friends and have a gate on the driveway to keep the world out. However, this would also keep any chance of a ministering opportunity out also. We as Christians should live open book lives. We should live as if we are in an aquarium and the world can see us all the time. We should not conform to the world but the world should see our Christian ethics, morals, language and most of all love in action, not just in speech. How we live can keep us accountable. Let’s look at it from a worldly perspective. If you see someone wearing a Tennessee Volunteers coat and hat, driving a car that has Tennessee flags and bumper stickers on it, going to an Alabama – Tennessee game, you would expect that person to be on the Tennessee side rooting for Tennessee. If you see a person driving a car with a Jesus fish, and Christian bumper stickers with a bible on the dash, pulling into a church, you should expect that person to be on the right side rooting for the right team, but too often this does not happen. We do not hold our Christian brothers and sisters accountable for anything anymore because the worldly church has told us it is wrong to judge on another.

9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. 1 Cor 5:9-13 (KJV)

Paul is telling us here that we need to judge the brethren in the church. Paul says to put away from among yourselves that wicked person. Imagine how different our churches would be today if every person in that church was concerned with every one holding them accountable for being a Christian. Today’s Christians find ways out of accountability. They look at the standards of the world. They look at TV. They look at Christian TV, if there is such a thing. The world has infiltrated the church and told the church how to dress, talk and act. Christians think it is ok to act like the world because there are actors on TV that portray the part of a Christian and they do this and that so I must be able to also. If the bible says its wrong guess what, IT’S WRONG!! Quit letting the world tell you how to be a Christian and start letting God tell you how to be a Christian and allow other Christians to tell you if you are wrong.

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matt 7:15-20 (KJV)

We should be held accountable by our fruits. We should hold our brother accountable by his fruits. This is not something the church of today wants us to practice because the church of today is not willing to be held accountable by God’s word, but they are quick to be held accountable by the world’s standards. That’s a shame.

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matt 12:36-37 (KJV)

We should be held accountable by our words. Whether they are profane words, or false doctrine. We will be held accountable for EVERY IDLE WORD. Therefore shouldn’t we want to be accountable for our words if they can condemn us. We do not know everything we do wrong. We want to think we do, but when we live with ourselves everyday we might be missing something. Just like if we live in the middle of our 300 acres. Remember the definition said we are liable of our conduct. If you use your words loosely then beware of condemnation. If you call yourself a Christian and you think that you can use worldly slang and not be held accountable for it, YOUR WRONG!!

I have went over a few areas where we can all be held accountable. I believe we need to hold each other accountable for our actions. Like Paul said, we need to hold the people that are in the church accountable and let God hold the people on the outside accountable. Now, if you are a mature Christian and you seek God’s will daily, and you have obtained maturity through the scriptures, then you will only need to be held accountable by EVERY OTHER CHRISTIAN BROTHER. Did you get that? Just because you think you have been a Christian longer and God has shown you more, does not mean you should not be held accountable by other Christians. Sometimes new Christians see things so called mature Christians do not see anymore, because they are so wrapped up in their own personal holiness. We are all weak and we all need each other. I need my Christian brothers to help me see my faults and I want Christian brothers who are willing to accept their own faults when I bring them up to them. I hope we can all learn to submit ourselves to each other. This is one area the church of today is so weak in. We can all find strength in submitting to our brother. Praise God.

Part Timers

2009-04-01T21:11:00.002-05:00

Today we are going to talk about our job as Christians. I say it is a job because we should see our responsibilities as Christians as more important than anything else including our jobs. It is not that hard to tell someone that you can’t do something because you have to work. What I mean is if someone asked you to come over for lunch tomorrow and you had to work you would automatically say I can’t because I have to work. Most Christians have no problem dedicating at least 40 hours a week to their worldly responsibilities. I know people have to work to make money to pay for the water, electricity, house, cable, internet, the third car, retirement, health insurance, life insurance, building fund, cell phone, land line, another wardrobe, and of course all of our vanity items like, make-up, razors, wax, shower gel, nail polish, jewelry, etc. You know the necessities. Most of these things are just things that we as people of this world think we need to have. I am so sick of hearing people say things like, God wants me to have nice things, He wants me to be comfortable. Where is this in God’s word, and don’t say it says it in my Message bible because that is not a bible. I want to go over the things that make us part time workers for God. The title of this message is Part-timers. I have met thousands of people in my life that called themselves Christians but they must have only been part time Christians. I am going to compare Christianity with employment. If you have a job and you need to support a family and pay for a house and a car and food, then you are probably not going to look for a part-time job. If you are wanting to get into Heaven so you can live in eternity with our Lord then you should be willing to work full time for your King. Let’s look at the difference between part-time and full-time.

Part time

Employment that is less than a full-time organizational commitment on the part of the employee. Part-time employees usually do not receive the same health insurance, retirement, and other benefits full-time employees receive. For qualified retirement plan vesting purposes, part-time refers to an employee with less than 1,000 hours of service during a 12-month period.

Full Time

A permanent full-time job usually has benefits (such as health insurance), while temporary full-time jobs usually do not have benefits. Full-time jobs are often considered careers. They usually pay more than part-time jobs, and always carry more hours per week.

According to this a part-time job offers less money, less commitment, less insurance, no retirement. This requires less than 1,000 hours of service during 12 months. This averages out to about 2 hours 45 minutes a day in 1 year. How many Christians give God this much time in a year? Do we need to be a career Christians or do we need to work for a temp service? I have mentioned many things here that many people will not agree with and that is ok. All I ask is that you show me where God’s word tells us we need these things. Let’s look at retirement. I have known many Christians that truly believe saving for retierement is biblical. They spend their entire life preparing so they can take off the last part of their life. Is this in the bible, NO?!!

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matt 6:25-34 (KJV)

Can it be any clearer? If we are told to take not thought for tomorrow then why do we go to college so we can have a better life tomorrow? I know this is a controversial subject but I think Jesus made it as clear as he could. It is easier to be a part time Christian and be a full time worldling. This is an area that God has convicted me in so much. Since I do not have my salary and my garaunteed 40 hours a week I have to rely on God. He has taken care of me and my family in so many ways, I felt guilty looking for a steady job. God has proven his faithfulness and I must do the same. Notice in the passage it says, SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD. This does not say first you must make sure you have a back up plan just in case. Seek ye first and all of these things shall be added to you. We have enough problems today to worry about tomorrow. I worked for an oil company for 7 years and I had many promotions in that time. I felt like I was accomplishing something every time I got a promotion. I was moving up in the World (system). I felt I was supposed to move to another job and I made excuses about how I can’t just start over. Guess what, God was right and I was wrong again. Imagine that. God has shown me that my false hopes of false securities in this world hinder my relationship with him. We all need money to survive but our worldly jobs should be our part-time jobs. We should have our Christian work on our minds all the time. I have heard many people say they need to focus on their work sometimes and not on God. This sounds good through worldly ears but do you really think God feels this way. He is a jealous God who demands our all. We must work for the Kingdom of God as if our everyday life depended on it. We should be afraid of getting fired from our full time job if we do not do what is expected of us.

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Tim 4:1-8 (KJV)

Does this sound like a man on a part time mission? NO!! This is a man that is willing to work 24/7, yes even weekends. He is willing to give all to God above. Paul was a tent maker, but do you think he spent most of his time making tents? Peter was a fisherman. Did he spend most of his time fishing? Ok let’s look at another area that stops us from being full time Christians.

What about when you go on vacation? Do you ever want to just take a break from being a Christian? There is a common attitude in today’s churches where people need to take a sabbatical from the church. They feel they are doing too much for the church and other people and they need to stop and focus on their family. The truth in this is usually the people are willing to sacrifice their Christianity before they are willing to sacrifice their hobby, tv, and other recreational time. How many people have went on vacation to be with God. Millions of so-called Christians go to Disney World, Gatlinburg, Branson, Sea World, The Georgia Aquarium, and so on and so on. Then there are Christians who go to places to enjoy Gods creation but they leave God at home. You know camping and bike riding and other outdoor activities. We should still be working for God even when we are by ourselves. If you ever feel being a Christian is too hard or if you feel you need to at least take a break from being a Christian then you are lukewarm and you are double minded and you do not know the Lord. That is a mighty powerful statement isn’t it? Is it true? That is what God’s word says. I do not want anybody to think I am telling them to quit their job, I’m not. I am saying that if you spend more time working to make money then you do working on eternity and spreading the Good News then you are a part-time Christian. If you give God 10% of your life you would dedicate 2.4 hours a day to God. I know this is a radical concept in our modern anti-Christian world. It is a good thing the early church did not try to live the American dream. I am so glad that so many of them sold all they had and lived in communities to glorify God and not themselves. They suffered greatly for their faithfulness to their heavenly occupation. I want to be a career Christian working for my retirement. I want to help employ as many people as possible to this job that has the greatest of all benefits. Let’s quit making excuses of why we must dedicate our lives to this world system. We need to quit saying we need to do this and that and sacrifice our Christian beliefs because we HAVE to have that car, house, boat, or any other materialistic possession. Quit killing yourself so your children or you can go to college, or have the newest styles or the latest electronics. This is not a Christian attitude. This is so far from what Jesus would do. Who is your employer? Do you serve God or Money? All people have to do is look at you to tell. I hope you have a plan. I hope you are planning to be a career Christian.

Committed To The Faith

2009-03-11T15:09:00.003-05:00

"Faith takes God without any ifs." D.L. Moody

"The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials." George Muller

According to the respected and reliable OUP World Christian Encyclopedia (2001), there have been many more Christian martyrs in the 20th century - over 45 million - than in all of the preceding 19 centuries of Christianity. Of that number, some 32 million were killed by "atheists" and over 9 million by Muslims. The "atheists" denote, overwhelmingly, Soviets and their Communist cohorts and satellites, but also include Nazis and their allies.

The other day while I was preparing for the day, I kept having a question going through my mind. Why was the early church so committed to the faith? I asked God and waited as usual. Most of the time when I ask God for an answer to something He makes me wait and then confirms the answer more than once. The answer usually comes when I have forgotten I even asked the question. This time I received the answer almost immediately. The answer to my question was, the same reason that Christians in other countries such as Indonesia, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and most of Africa are so committed to the faith. Then a scripture came to me. Luke 7

36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. Luke 7:36-50 (KJV)

I was amazed and I completely understood. They are so committed because their faith has saved them. I know our faith has saved us too, but why don’t the people here appreciate it as much? These people have been on the wrong road and they know they are sinners. They know they have been worshiping false gods. We make excuses for our false gods. See people used to call false gods, gods. Now we just call them hobbies, entertainment, comforts, etc. When these people in the early church and these people from these Godless countries found the truth and realized they were in the wrong, everything made perfect sense. You know we have something inside of all of us that tells us that God is God. This is natural. Now that these people have found the truth and they have found what their GOD has done for them they are willing to give all glory and all praises only to Him who deserves it. They are willing to sacrifice all they have. They are not worried about what people think about them. They are willing to die if need be. The people in this country are not willing to give up their fashion, or comfort, or pride because God has not told them to stop worrying about themselves. YES HE HAS!!! Ok back to the passage we just read. The woman was willing to embarrass and lower herself to worship her Lord among all of these high level important people. Now Peter was already saved and he was used to being around Jesus. He was comfortable with Jesus. Peter did nothing wrong. However Jesus said that those who are forgiven much will love much. This is where the answer to the question led me. The majority of Christians in this country do not love God as much as the people of the early church or the persecuted Christians in these other countries. Why do we not love God as much? Either we have not sinned as much as these other people or we do not think we have sinned as much as these other people. Regardless of what you think I believe we have sinned as much as these faithful Christians. The people in this country do not love God as much because they have not admitted they are sinners. They truly believe they are better than those poor wretched people in those godless countries. This woman in the passage above was so humble, because she knew how much of sinner she was. The Pharisees already looked down on her so she wasn’t worried about losing her standing in the community.

21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. 1 Tim 5:21 (KJV)

1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? 8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:1-10 (KJV)

Here are two different passages where we as Christians are told not to show favoritism towards people. In this country we are told that we should show favoritism towards others. One way is when we are told that a good person will wear a certain brand of clothes or a suit. Good respectable men wear suits and ties. Yeah like politicians. This is just one example of how we judge good people by showing favoritism. If someone pulls up in your yard with a 1978 van with 5 kids and 3 dogs, most people will say, oh my who are these people? I wander what they want, lock the door. If two men pull up in a brand new black Lincoln Town Car, most people will automatically wander what they themselves look like so they can make a good impression on these fine gentlemen. The best example I can think of how so-called Christians show favoritism or partiality it this. When you go out in pubic and you see people that are your friends or family or church body and you do not speak to them because you do not think they are dressed properly or they are not driving the right car that day, YOU ARE A PHARISEE. It is impossible for any person on this earth to call themselves a Christian and not be humble. Did you ever notice that the only people who were proud that Jesus walked, talked and ate with sinners were the sinners? The reason I went over this is because another reason the people of this country do not have the commitment that the people in the early church had is because they show too much partiality towards the things of this world (false gods). I have recently received the Remnant, which is a publication from Charity Ministries. They have an article in it that is called the Anti-Church. I will use some of the material from this article. Another reason why the people in this country do not have the commitment the early church had or the commitment that the Christians in these other countries have is because of our church leaders and the churches that we choose to attend. The Sermon on the Mount tells us that God’s blessings belong to those who are poor in spirit, meek, and hungry. Why do we fill our pews with proud, self-satisfied members? The Sermon on the Mount says the road to Heaven is strait and narrow but our churches teach us that anyone who says a certain prayer is saved and will certainly go to heaven. We are told that man cannot serve both God and mammon but our churches tell us that God wants us to be rich in earthly possessions. (The Heartbeat of the Remnant, Charity Ministries, 2009) It goes on and on and on. We live in a society where God has left the churches because he just gets in the way of the people’s will. We have no reason to want to live a poor, meek, humble, separated life for God when we can have all the money and possessions we could ever want. We are rich!!! If you live in the United States of America you are rich compared to all of these other people are talking about.

1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. James 5:1-5 (KJV)

I wander if this is what is happening to our country right now. Maybe the tribulation will start in a couple of months or maybe the problems we are having is because God wants us to be as committed to the faith as the true Christians throughout history who were willing to die peacefully for the faith. Sure some people are willing to die for the faith here with their guns blazing and a shout but what about dying for the faith with peace and love. I believe the test might be right around the corner. I think now is the time to get committed. Now is the time to be one of those obnoxious Christians that all they do is talk about Jesus all the time. You know those people that praise God when bad things happen also. Let’s be the loving Christians that irritate Satan and all of his people by showing patience and love and showing mercy and grace. Let’s show just how committed we can be to our Lord.

Worldly Wisemen

2009-03-03T21:25:00.005-06:00

"I would rather a thousand times be five minutes at the feet of Christ than listen a lifetime to all the wise men in the world." D.L. Moody

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. Prov 3:7 (KJV)

The name of this study is Worldly Wisemen. This study is a little different from any thing I have ever done before. As this message was coming to me, I felt that queasy feeling that you get when you hear something really bad. That is when I was convicted of what this message was about. We are going to go over some stories in the bible most people do not want to hear about. These are stories that might make you a little queasy. We must remember that these stories are true. If we heard them on Fox news we would believe them and might even get mad or sad. If someone emailed them to us we would forward the stories to everyone we know. We might even research the story to see if it is true. When we read them in the bible we tend to put them in the back of our minds and say “I am glad that doesn’t happen any more”. Before we discuss any more, let’s look at a few of these stories.

16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. Hosea 13:15-16 (KJV)

If this happened today to, let’s say some ethnic tribe in Africa, we would immediately say that Satan is doing it. The majority of the Christian world would say “oh those poor people, we need to help them. We need to stop the evil”. The truth is, this might be how God is stopping the evil. What I am trying to say is that we as children of God need to stop playing God with our worldly wisdom. There are so many times that good Christian people are attacked by modern, worldly, hypocritical, better than everyone else, so-called Christians. This happens especially in this country. There are people who have forgotten that God is in control or they never actually believed it in the first place. These people are the kind that are quick to say “that person over there in a no good sorry individual or those people need to have their children taken because they do not know how to be parents”. Most of the time these type of so-called Christians have had a time in their life when they were low down no good people but they were just a victim of circumstance. Now they have risen above all of the other no good people and they know better. This is another form of hypocrisy and exactly what the Pharisees were doing. Everyone always says that the Pharisees were criticized because they tried to look Holy. They were commanded to look Holy and to dress a certain way. This is not what was wrong. The Pharisees thought they were above the rest of the people. Neither they nor you are better than anyone. I might not be getting this across the way I am supposed to so let’s look at another scripture.

23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. 2 Kings 2:23-25 (KJV)

If any of us modern day children of God were to see a man of God do this today, we would immediately say that he is not a man of God but of Satan. Oh, you know he is not a Christian because Godly people don’t do things like that. Those poor little children didn’t have a chance. Yes they did. They had a chance to honor the man of God instead of mocking him. 42 children were mauled by bears because they were making fun of a bald man. How many of us have been at a Christian youth gathering? Do any of these children make fun of people? The scripture above said that these were little children. Today we would make excuses for the children saying that they just don’t know any better. They were just words. That evil man.

6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Deut 13:6-10 (KJV)

It’s a good thing we do not take the bible as serious as the Muslim’s do, huh? This is what the Qu’ran says also. Of course we hear that Muslims will kill their own family member if they convert to another religion. The bible says here that if one of our family members tries to get us to serve another god we should kill that family member. Did you know that Muslims believe in the majority of our Old Testament? What all could we call another God? TV, Football teams, cars, hobbies, fashion, lifestyles, etc. Almost all denominations consider themselves right on how to be a Christian. Most of them say that they use the whole bible. I do not believe there is any denomination that can say they believe and use the entire bible, because they would not be accepted in this modern society. The next time you pass judgment on a Christian, I want you to remember everything you have done in your life. Oh but this is all stuff in the Old Testament. We are new Testament believers, we have a new covenant.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:34-37 (KJV)

Do you have any foes in your household? I hope you don’t. Do you love your husband, wife, brother, sister, child more than Jesus? If you do you are not worthy of Jesus. From the sound of this you will not make it to heaven because you love the things of this world more than Jesus. We need to get into an eternity mindset instead of a worldly mindset. We will lose friends and family members throughout our short little lives here. Some we will see die in the flesh. Some will be spiritually dead. We must not let another human being affect our eternity.

42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Mark 9:42-49 (KJV)

I used to think that Jesus was being figurative here, but I do not think that anymore. When he says if your hand offends you cut it off, this means if your hand causes you to sin cut it off. If your wife was bringing you drugs everyday and causing you to sin, what would you do? The word, offend here means to cause to sin. So if you cause one of these believers to sin something really bad in going to happen to you. This means if you meet someone and you ask them why don’t you do this and that. They reply, because God does not want me to, and you immediately reply, but there is nothing wrong with that. You might have just got a millstone wrapped around your neck. Who are you tell someone what is not sin if they think it is. I think Paul was very clear in this issue. It would be better for everyone to think that most things were sin than to fall into Satan’s trap by saying nothing is sin. You are free to enjoy your life any way you want. Show me where the word says that and I will show you hundreds of places where God has told us not to do this and that. Some people will call an ordered Christian life a form of legalism. I say an ordered Christian life is an outward showing of true surrender to God. I feel I have really bounced around in this study but this is what I was supposed to write. Truth is that no one on earth understands the entire bible, no one. There is more wisdom in the bible than any sinful man could ever comprehend. I believe we put ourselves in danger when we tell other people that they are not being a Christian because they are breaking man’s law. We should obey man’s law as long as it lines up with God’s law. We should only follow the traditions that God has ordained. When we say that this is a new world and a new time and new things are allowed or required then we are also taking the stand of other denominations that say God is getting smarter. God had never changed the way he is. He still believes the same way he always has. He still uses people the way he did in the Old Testament. We have grown up in a loving, peaceful society that says they believe in God, but do people really believe in God’s authority and holiness? I say no. I say this because people have made it clear that they are going to do what they want when they want, no matter what God’s word says. They will find a passage in God’s word that says that it might be ok for me to do this or God knows how much I enjoy this and he would not want me to be sad. God is the creator of everything including you. God deserves all glory, all praises, all attention, all of everything we have to offer. He is already bigger than anything we could ever imagine. We need to lift him up and magnify him above our selfish desires and our worldly wisdom. Focus on Him. Quit focusing on everything else and saying God would want me to focus on this because it makes logical sense. We do not know what true logic is. We cloud up true logic with our fleshly wisdom. We try and interpret the Holy word of God while we are yet sinners. Only the Holy sprit can interpret the scripture to us. I pray we can all quit being Worldly Wisemen.

The Goat of Departure

2009-02-23T20:07:00.000-06:00

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: 12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: 13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: 14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: 16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. 18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. 20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. 23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: 24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. 25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. 26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. Lev 16:8-26 (KJV) Do we need a scapegoat? The scapegoat was a goat that was used to carry away the people’s sins. This was used with the company of a sacrificial goat as well. The difference is the scapegoat was taken away so the people could say that all of their sins were out in the wilderness. They did not repent of their sins as the goat had taken them. We sometimes use scapegoats in our lives as Christians. We don’t repent of our sins, instead we will point somewhere else to and say “there are the sins over there, not here”. What I am trying to say is when we are confronted of our sins we point at another sin instead. True repentance is when we accept our sins and our problem. We admit that we are the sinners we are. This message came to me this morning when I was explaining to my daughter how some people refuse to repent of there sins. This happens when we get caught doing something and we immediately point our finger at someone else’s sin. I told my daughter that she was not doing her chores the way she was supposed to. Instead of saying I know or yes you are right she immediately started telling me how other people don’t do there chores the way they are supposed too. She started using someone else as a scapegoat. This is not what repentance is. Repentance is when we admit we are completely guilty of breaking the law. We are sinners and we have all fallen short and deserve the same punishment as Satan. Do you know that about yourself, that you deserve the same punishment as Satan? We will not get this punishment if we repent and we all know this. Jesus is our scapegoat. See the scapegoat was taken out of the city and taken deep into the wilderness. At a later time when the Israelis were in Jerusalem, the scapegoat made it back to town one time. This was such an evil omen that a new law was made about the scapegoat. The goat was taken up to a big hill where it was pushed off where death was imminent. This was so the goat could not make it back to town because it was carrying all of the people’s sins. They sure did not want those coming back to town. Let’s look at some scriptures about repenting. 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chron 7:14 (KJV) Here we are told if we humble ourselves, and pray, and seek his face, and turn from our wicked ways, only then will God hear us from heaven and forgive us. Simply saying “Oh God please forgive me” is not enough. We must humble ourselves. Humility does not always feel good, but sin usually does, right? Are you going to let, feeling good get in the way of eternity. As God was putting this on my heart I felt like I was going to be preaching to the choir as some say. So, I hope this is useful to someone here. As I was saying, sin feels good and humility does not feel good usually. Why is this? God doesn’t care if we get our feelings hurt, he cares about our eternal state. Satan acts on our feelings. Now we are going to get into the heart of this message. What happens to those who continually refuse to repent? What happens to those who continue to use a scapegoat and make excuses of why they sin or worse put the blame on someone else? 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. Matt 11:20-24 (KJV) It says these are the cities where most of his might works were done. These are the people who had the privilege of seeing the works of God first hand. Jesus is saying that the people in Tyre and Sidon would have repented by now, because they don’t think themselves so high and mighty. They would have realized they are sinners and repented. These were terrible cities. Look what he said about Capernaum. They are exalted unto heaven and will be brought down to hell. Even Sodom would have repented if they had seen these works. Are we in danger of being Capernaum? I hope not. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Rev 2:4-5 (KJV) Who is Jesus talking to here? Us!! He is talking to people who have the light and who have a candle. He is telling Christians to remember from where you came from and remember you are a sinner. You are not better than others. You too must repent, daily or more if needed. Every bible study I have ever heard of on repentance was always given to unsaved people. It was delivered as if only sinners needed it and Christians didn’t need to hear it. Well I say Christians need it as much as others. Jesus tells us in Mathew 11 that it will be more tolerable for Sodom then for the people who know and refuse to repent. We have no excuse. There are going to be people who refuse to repent, no question about it. Jesus tells us of these in Revelation 16. 10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. Rev 16:10-11 (KJV) This is a glimpse of those who refuse to the end that God is God of all. I know that there are many who will perish. More then those that will make it heaven. We can do nothing for these people because they will refuse to repent to the God that they do not know. What about the believers that will go to hell because they refuse to repent of their sins? It is our responsibility to find out what we need to repent of. We cannot live by what someone else teaches. Ignorance is not an excuse for sin, but the more you know the more you are responsible for. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:47-48 (KJV) Notice it says that those that know not will still be punished for what they did not know. There punishment will be less than if they knew, but they will still be punished. I challenge everyone this week to find sins in their life that they are not aware of. I believe we all have them and if you don’t then you are way ahead of me. Some examples of sins not known are pride, envy, covetousness, witchcraft, idolatry, lust, etc. There are many we may not be aware of. I repent on a daily basis for the sins I commit. I do not think it is OK to sin and I give no excuse for any of my sins. I want to live a righteous and holy life and I want to be called by His name. If it were not for the grace given me by the Father then I would never make it. However, I must still strive everyday with all that I have to fight the sin in me and fight against the adversary that hates me so. We must come to the throne of grace with boldness and say Father I have done this. What joy it is ever for earthly fathers to have their children to come to them and admit that they have made a mistake. It brings a father joy when his children say “I need your help, I can’t do it without you”. Let’s bring our Father in heaven joy. Let’s call on Jesus so he will stand for us when we fail. We cannot do it without him.

Seventy Times Seven

2009-02-12T21:05:00.004-06:00

“Peace of conscience is nothing but the echo of pardoning mercy.” William Gurnall

“The law works fear and wrath; grace works hope and mercy.” Martin Luther

Today we are going to talk about Mercy. This is something that all Christians say they have, and they can probably even give some examples of how they have shown mercy and forgiven those who have trespassed against them. I believe that the majority of the time this is said it is a bunch of lies. I do not know many people who can truly say that they have forgiven everyone in their life. We can say it with our mouth and even show it in our actions but it is in the heart where we truly have mercy. Let’s start again by looking at the definition of mercy as it is used in the Bible.

Mercy

MER'CY, n. [L. misericordia.]

1. That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being.

2. An act or exercise of mercy or favor. It is a mercy that they escaped.

3. Pity; compassion manifested towards a person in distress.

4. Clemency and bounty.

5. Charity, or the duties of charity and benevolence.

6. Grace; favor. 1 Cor 7. Jude 2.

7. Eternal life, the fruit of mercy. 2 Tim 1.

8. Pardon.

9. The act of sparing, or the forbearance of a violent act expected. The prisoner cried for mercy.

Ok now we know what mercy means. Notice it says mildness or tenderness of heart which causes an outward action. If you have mercy you will treat someone better than they deserve instead of saying that they are getting what they deserve. You will overlook injuries. This means you don’t point out what someone else did to offend you. As a matter of fact you do not even remember what someone did to offend you because forgiveness and mercy go together along with other words. Here is what the original Greek means.

Greek Strong's Number: 1653

Greek Word: ἐλεέω

Transliteration: eleeō

Phonetic Pronunciation:el-eh-eh'-o

Root: from

Cross Reference: TDNT - 2:477,222

Part of Speech: v

Vine's Words: Compassion, Compassionate, Merciful, Mercy

English Words used in KJV:

have mercy on 14 obtain mercy 8 show mercy 2 have compassion 1 have compassion on 1 have pity on 1 have mercy 1 have mercy upon 1 receive mercy 1 [Total Count: 31]

from (eleos); to compassionate (by word or deed, specially by divine grace) :- have compassion (pity on), have (obtain, receive, shew) mercy (on)

The same word that is used for mercy is also used for these other phrases. Do you have mercy, pity, or compassion. Let’s look at what Jesus has to say on this subject.

23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Matt 23:23 (KJV)

Brother Paul used this scripture in his message Sunday and it was put on my heart then to focus on mercy. Mercy is one of the weightier matters of the law. Here the Pharisees did not show mercy. Do you want to be associated with the Pharisees?

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matt 5:7 (KJV)

Jesus said that blessed are the merciful. If you aren’t merciful then you will not obtain mercy. Remember in the definition it said that mercy is to inflict less than law or justice will warrant. We know what the law says. Do you want mercy or are you willing to accept the full punishment coming to you for your sins? I want and need mercy. James 2:10 says : 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. So this pretty much shows how much everyone needs mercy to escape eternal damnation. When do we have the opportunity to show mercy? We know that when someone does something to offend us we should show mercy but what else. Is it merciful to send a bullet into someone’s chest because they are occupying land that belongs to someone else? It can be merciful to give instead of getting. It is merciful to forgive a debt. We will only be forgiven by the same measure that we forgive.

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Matt 18:21-35 (KJV)

We should forgive our brothers as many times as they repent. Even if it is more times than we can count. We cannot show mercy and then talk about the mercy that we have shown. If you do not show mercy then you will not be shown mercy. I cannot say this enough. This passage also says that you must forgive your brothers every trespass and this must be done from your hearts. If you don’t you will be judged by our Heavenly Father. We were just told we should forgive our brothers. Here is another scripture on showing mercy to our brothers.

8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, 9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: Zech 7:8-9 (KJV)

Do you have compassion or are you one of those Christians that have been hurt so much that your heart is hardened? I hope you heart is not hardened, because you have hurt Jesus more than you have ever been hurt. You had better hope he doesn’t harden his heart toward you. Do you show mercy to the poor or do you say they are probably getting what they deserve? That man is homeless because he is to lazy to work, he just needs to get a job. This is not mercy.

31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. Prov 14:31 (KJV)

21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. Prov 14:21 (KJV)

You honor God by showing mercy to the poor regardless of how they became poor. You can be happy if you show mercy to the poor. Doesn’t it make you feel good to know that you have helped the poor? What about the poor in spirit?

What about people who do not believe the same way as we do? What about non-believers? Should we show them mercy?

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:27-36 (KJV)

Yes you should show them mercy too. This is where true Christian love for the world comes in to play. We must show mercy to the ones that hate us. Many times Christians can do this, but they cannot show mercy towards their brothers because they should have known better. Imagine how great this world would be if we could just learn to show mercy to everyone, no exceptions. If you can only show mercy to your family or to the body of Christ then you are no better than an unbeliever. How can you visit the people in prison if you cannot show them mercy?

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matt 25:31-46 (KJV)

Are you a sheep or a goat? Would have enough pity to help the hungry, thirsty, strangers, the naked, or the criminals in prison? What if you heard a knock on your door and you went to answer it and there stood a middle aged woman that had on a mini-skirt, a see through shirt with no bra and she told you she just got out of prison and needed something to eat and drink and a place to stay. What would you do? I know what I would have done a few years ago and I would not have shown her the mercy I need too.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Col 3:12 (KJV)

This passage is telling us to have the bowels of mercy. What does this mean? We should have the mercy that comes from deep inside of us. People used to say that true feelings come from the bowels or stomach. We now say the heart but when you get really sad or nervous what part of your body bothers you the most, your stomach. All of these things above are for the elect of God. If you find someone like this you will think they are a pushover and a weakling but the truth is they will have more strength than anyone you know. It takes strength to show mercy. Ok so how should we do this? Should we show mercy with sadness? Should we say “Oh how I pity that fool, I feel sorry for them and so I too am going to suffer for them”.

8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:8 (KJV)

We should love mercy and we should show mercy with cheerfulness!!! We should thank God that we are able to forgive and show mercy, because this is not a natural reaction in this world. We can overcome the world by having pity and compassion on those who do wrong to us. In doing this we are guaranteed mercy for ourselves. When the prodigal son came home his father had mercy on him and his brother wanted judgment. Which do you want? We deserve the cross that Jesus hung on for our sins. There is nothing I can do to even begin to pay back the debt I owe. Trusting and relying on His mercy alone is what delivers me from my sin.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: Prov 3:3 (KJV) 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Prov 3:4 (KJV)

We need mercy. We should carry mercy around with us and we should be looking for a place to show mercy to everyone we see. We are all sinners and we all need mercy to spend eternity with our Lord. We need to show the mercy that Jesus showed when he was here, UNCONDITIONAL. We can’t say that I’ll show you mercy this time but if it happens again….. No we should be willing to give mercy this time and be ready to give mercy the next time. The mercy or the lack there of could cause someone to turn to Jesus or it could cause someone to run from Jesus. Let’s not let our hearts get hardened because we have been hurt in the past. We have been driving nails into Jesus’ hands for 2000 years and he is still willing to show us mercy. Let’s love like Jesus. Peace to All, Amen.

Rejoice

2009-02-03T21:27:00.006-06:00

Today we are going to talk about something that we as Christians get to do. As a matter of fact I believe this is something we are supposed to do. I believe God has commanded us to do this one thing throughout the bible. I am talking about being happy and rejoicing. Sometimes we see the extremes of both sides of this discussion in our modern churches. On one hand we will see the people who believe we are not supposed to be happy because we are sinners and we disappoint God on a daily basis. We all deserve Hell and we just might get it if we are not careful so there really is nothing to be happy about. If we show any type of enjoyment then we are being haughty and arrogant. Some of this is true to a certain extent but then we have the other extreme. We should be happy because we are forgiven of all of our sins. We are guaranteed a place in heaven because we believe in Jesus so we are supposed to live happy free lives. We are allowed to do whatever and whenever to whomever. Our lives are to be filled with joy all the time. God created this world and he gave it to us to enjoy the things of it. I have heard that it is not arrogance it is appreciation. There is also some truth on this side but remember these are extremes. We must find where God wants us to be. He does not want us to be sad and he surely does not want us to be haughty and arrogant. He wants us to be a humble and meek people with a servant heart. He also wants us to rejoice in Him and not in this world. Let’s first look at what Jesus said about us being happy. When Jesus uses the word blessed, this also means the same as happy according to Strong’s.

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matt 5:3-12 (KJV)

According to Jesus, the poor in spirit, the ones who mourn, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the peacemakers, and the ones who are persecuted for being Christians are who should be happy. He even said we should rejoice and be exceedingly glad because great is our reward. This is the theme of this study. We are to rejoice in the Lord and not in the worldly things that take us from the Lord. Who do we see the happiest in society today? The people who are the most comfortable, that's who. I am also talking about Christians here. You can go to these friendly seeker, charismatic watered down churches and you will find thousands of people who look like they are the happiest people on earth. The truth is they are not happy they are comfortable. I am not going into the living comfortable bible study, but I will show you what the difference between being comfortable and being happy is. Let’s look at Luke 16.

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Luke 16:19-25 (KJV)

In this parable the rich man was comfortable and Lazarus is happy or blessed. You can see where Lazarus fell into the description that Jesus gave about who was blessed. I believe Lazarus mourned, he was poor in spirit, meek and hungry. I also believe that Lazarus rejoiced in the Lord because he made it to Abraham’s bosom. Praise God. Are you happy? I mean really happy. We as Christians should be happy. I will say it again that we should have a spirit of meekness and humbleness and we should also be joyous while we are like this. We can put on a spirit of haughtiness and arrogance and appear happy but we should be happy with being Christians. This means we should be ready to serve, and be ready to accept discipline, and be ready to be persecuted with JOY. We have to be careful not to have a rich attitude. Before anyone says I am not rich I will have to say yes you probably are. If you eat 3 meals a day, have a temperature controlled house, have a car and a steady income you are rich. We live in a rich country and we are rich. Would you get mad if someone walked up to you and said that you are a failure? If you would get upset then you have a rich attitude. The truth is you and everyone you know is a failure at something but when you have a rich attitude you think that you have accomplished something. You truly believe that you are better than someone else. You also get the Pharisee attitude, thank you God I am not a sinner like that. Thank you that I don’t drink, smoke, cuss or steal like that person does. Do you gossip, lie, covet anything? Then you are a sinner like that. I am saying this to let you know that you are a failure and you have a reason to be happy. Jesus told us about the rich. He told us about the comfortable.

24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.Luke 6:24-26 (KJV)

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Amos 6:1 (KJV)

Here we see Jesus say woe unto you who are rich and full. Woe unto you who laugh now. Woe unto you who men speak well of you. Everyone one of us falls into these categories. Amos said woe unto them that are at ease. This is us also. We must be careful not to fall in the rich mindset that leads us away from God and gives us our fake happiness now. We must also be careful not to let the rich and the wicked to cause us to stumble. Their success will cause us to stumble if we are not careful. You will see what appears to be happiness in the wicked and you will get jealous. Then the thinking that I will be forgiven if I do it anyway, will come into play. Let’s go to Psalms 73.

1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. 9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. 11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? 12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. 13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. 14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. Psalms 73:1-14 (KJV)

1 Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Jer 12:1 (KJV)

It is true that the wicked will prosper. The evils of this world will do better than us in this world. They will seem happy and blessed. They will seem to rejoice in the things of this world. They will also be a stumbling block for millions of Christians. These Christians will see what they have and will want it. The Word of God will be watered down to more of a guideline rather than absolute truth and our youth will want the things that the wicked have. Let’s be honest here. Everyone will rejoice in something. We will buy things that bring us joy. This is why people watch movies and videos. These things are created by the wicked not God. This is why people set their standards according to the world’s standards. What kind of clothes and shoes to wear. What kind of car should I drive for the kind of person that I am. These standards are created by wicked people. This is how the devil tells us how we can be happy. Isn’t he such a LIAR?!! Light is more powerful than darkness so why don’t we want to rejoice in the things of God rather in the things of the wicked. God wants us to rejoice in him not in the things that come and go. God is Eternal and so is the happiness that we can find in him.

40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. 41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Lev 23:40-41 (KJV)

22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16:22 (KJV)

7 And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. Deut 27:6-7 (KJV)

Here are a few scriptures on what we should rejoice in. I believe this is a commandment because the word tells us to rejoice in the Lord over 120 times. This is something that God sees as being very serious. There are some who say that you cannot be happy all the time or that God does not want us to be openly happy. If God did not want us to rejoice he would not have given the people all of the feasts to celebrate. He could have made them all fasts instead. He gave us the feasts and said to rejoice before the Lord. Let’s look at another area of being happy. Have you ever witnessed to someone who said something like “I am not ready to be a Christian because I want to be able to dance and party when I want to”? The best thing to say here is I am a Christian and I dance when I want to. I party when I want to. The truth is I do these things when I want to. I just never want to because these are not things of God and we are told to put these things away. So where should we find our joys. We should have joy in going to a prayer meeting. We should be so excited when we get to gather to have bible study and church. These things should bring us so much joy. I remember getting so excited about doing everything for God. We gave up our nice brick house with a beautiful yard in Talladega to move to the basement of a mud brick house to serve God. We were at church at least 5 days a week and church was 1 hour away and we lived on 700 dollars a month. We always made it to church no matter what else was going on. Find your joy in God. We can be like many of the other groups that know that they are sinners and be really sad or we can realize that our God, the creator of everything, loves us so much that he has forgiven our failures. We have eternal life. We should not be arrogant though and have a spirit of haughtiness and walk around being foolish and high minded. We are still sinners and we will fail again. We should have that peace that comes with being content with who we are. It is easy to tell if someone is happy with who they are. When someone is unhappy with themselves then they try hard to be someone else. This always comes out in arrogance and haughtiness. Always. They try and convince everyone around them that they are who they are but the truth is they want to be who they act like. This is one way Christians seek happiness in the wrong places. There is only one place to find happiness, God. We must rejoice. Do the animals seek happiness? Does the cat go looking for something to bring it joy? Where do you sacrifice your faith by trying to bring yourself happiness?

20 He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. Prov 16:20 (KJV)

15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD. Psalms 144:15 (KJV)

Are you rejoicing in the Lord? If not then you are rejoicing in the wrong things, because you are rejoicing in something. When you start finding other things to rejoice in, then you will start backsliding, guaranteed. If you start rejoicing in music, cars, TV, clothes or anything other than God then you will start backsliding. God wants us to find joy in him and not in the things of this world because he is the only thing that is eternal. Why would we want to rejoice in things that we know are not of God. Do we want to make sure we enjoy the things of this world just in case God isn’t real? I rejoice in times of trouble, I rejoice when I am persecuted for Christ’s sake, I rejoice when friends and family turn against me because they think I am a bible thumping Jesus freak, I rejoice when things are going great, and I rejoice when Satan wins the battle for the day, because he may have the day but I have eternity with the Father, Amen.

Persevering Faith

2009-01-30T20:01:00.002-06:00

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. Arnold Glasgow "God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain." C.S Lewis 1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. 2 How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. 3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. 4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. 5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. 8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

Here the Israelites are praising God for all he has done in the past. He has made them strong to their enemies. The Israelites give credit where it is due. They hear about how God helped them in the past. God was strong against the heathen in their land. The people trust not in their bow or sword, but in the power of God. They boast all day long. These are a people who appreciate God. They will praise his name for ever, BUT.

9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. 10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves. 11 Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. 12 Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. 13 Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. 14 Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. 15 My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me, 16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

Where did God go? Why is God not helping us anymore? Our armies are not accompanied by God. We are a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. Have you ever had someone shake their head at you because you were a Christian? The word byword means that the Israelites seem to be inferior mentally to the heathen. There is much embarrassment here because it seems that God has forsaken his people. Instead of continuing to praise God they start to complain and worry about the situation.

17 All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. 18 Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; 19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. 20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. 22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 23 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. 24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. 26 Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake. Psalms 44:1-26 (KJV)

We have done nothing wrong. We still love you and do what you want us to, so where are you? This sounds like a plea for help, but it also sounds like the people want what they think they deserve. Notice how they say, because of you we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. It is because of you that we need help, Oh God. Does this sound familiar? Do we as Christians expect God to help us because we worship him? Does he need to return the favor to us? The Israelites had no patience. They did not know how to wait on God. We can see this from the Exodus on. Are we like this also? So why do I say they had no patience? Let’s look at the definition of patience.

PATIENCE, n. pa'shens. [L. patientia, from patior, to suffer.] 1. The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from christian submission to the divine will. 2. A calm temper which bears evils without murmuring or discontent. 3. The act or quality of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent.

Here we see that patience is when we have problems and we go through these problems without murmuring, fretfulness, or discontent. So when we say God is in control we should believe it. If we say we believe God is in control and we cannot sit in the storm with the wind, rain, lightning, and tornados barreling down on us then we do not believe God is in control. Our actions in times of affliction are worth much more than mere words. In psalms 37 David tells us what to do when we are waiting on the Lord.

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. Psalms 37:7-9 (KJV)

We should rest in the Lord and wait patiently. This passage sure sounds differently from Psalms 44. What is the difference? Hard times. I was reading a story yesterday about a man who lost his job in California. Supposedly he and his wife had both lost there jobs at the hospital. They did not have God so they did not have patience. The guy went home and shot his five girls all 8 and under and his wife. He killed his entire family because of hard times. He lost his job. He might have lost his house and his car. The story also said that this was the fifth time something like this has happened within the last year. Do you believe in God? Do you truly believe he is in complete control or are you double minded and lukewarm when it comes to true faith the works patience? Do you crumble at the thought of loosing all of your false securities this world has to offer? If you knew tomorrow you would not have a place to live or you would not have a car. What would you do? Time and time again I have seen Christians fall hard because they have to be in control. They say God is in control but when bad things happen they fall hard. I am going to let everyone in on something, bad things are going to happen. Real bad things are going to happen. The devils are going to attack you along with the rest of the world. Have patience, you have eternity.

15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. 18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish. 19 In your patience possess ye your souls. Luke 21:15-19 (KJV)

Jesus is telling us that by going through all of these things we will keep our lives, not lose them. Those poor souls in California lost there lives, but we will keep ours in our patience.

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:1-5 (KJV)

This is the message throughout the New Testament. We will be attacked and when we are we will grow stronger, if we truly believe. Tribulation worketh patience. It’s like when you plant your first garden. When you first plant the seeds you are excited about the garden. It seems like it takes forever for the seeds to sprout. Then the plant is on its way. Here come the weeds. Wow I had no idea it was this much work. I won’t do this again its to hard. Finally you get fruit on the plant and you pick it and its not ripe yet. This is impossible, I must be doing something wrong. Eventually you will get what you planted and the following years you will learn to just wait without discontent and murmuring. This is why most people do not get patience until they get some age behind them. However, you do not need to wait. If I had one gift from God I could name it would be the gift of patience. Since I have been saved I have been blessed with patience. I know sometimes things seem hopeless, but with God we do not have to be worried. I cannot count the times when I felt like I was losing everything, but I knew God was in control. Imagine being one of those martyrs in revelation that gets to here your name read out of the book of life and then you receive a white robe from God and serve with Christ for a thousand years. They will not get this reward from living a secure life with all of the comforts that people are afraid to lose. They are going to be tortured and killed for the faith. Praise God for the martyrs.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:2-4 (KJV)

Here it is again. We cannot know if we have patience unless we stand in trouble. Trouble strengthens our patience. You can say you have patience all you want to. If you are worried about the economy then you do not have patience. If you are worried about our new president then you do not have patience. I say this because if you worry then you do not have patience. If you worry you will have discontent and you will murmur.

11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Rev 14:11-12 (KJV)

Here patience is associated with keeping the commandments and faith. The truth is that unless you have faith you cannot have patience and without patience you cannot have faith. They go together. Many people claim to have patience and they seem to have it. It is easy to say you have patience if everything is going your way. We can truly tell if we are patient when our brothers and sisters do wrong. The Christian has no excuse for responding to fellow believers in a spirit of arrogance, haughtiness, or superiority. Instead, we are to be instructed by the example of Christ, and respond in true humility both to God and to fellow Christians. I have only used a few scriptures concerning patience. In the bible I have found there were about 52 references concerning patience. That is not longsuffering but patience. Of the 52 all but 6 are in the New Testament. Remember we must faint not. We must continue daily on the path to righteousness and holiness. We must be willing and ready to suffer for Christ. It is coming and I believe it is coming soon. Let’s rejoice in tribulation and all of the attacks of the devils. Let’s learn to praise God even if we do not have food on the table. This also goes for not having the money to eat out, buy that new CD, get that new dress, get those new shoes and so on and so on. Praise God when you don’t get what you want. Praise God when you come down with some irreversible terminal disease. He is in control not you. Let him be in control and quit trying to be God. If the world is interfering with you worship life, turn from the world. If you think that you can do anything to make a difference in God’s plan that was ordained thousands of years ago then you must not believe the bible. There are people every day that work on making peace in the Middle East. Will this ever happen until the end? Sometimes we can get all caught up in trying to do the right thing. We can try to elect the right people. Does anyone really think that God did not know thousands of years ago who would be the president of the most powerful country in the world. Remember God already knows what we will do before we do it. Let’s let God do what he does and focus on what he wants us to really do. Let’s do our job. Let’s bring the gospel of peace to the unreached. Let’s show the love of Christ to ALL men. Let’s put all of our trust in our God and let’s wait on him and be patient. Jesus is coming soon.

Visual Entertainment Bible Study

2009-01-28T09:54:00.001-06:00

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Ex 20:2-5 (KJV)

26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing. Deut 7:26 (KJV)

All types of visual entertainment are idols. We have built temples to these idols. Our living room, Movie Theatre, Internet malls, Game rooms, arcades, arenas, colliseums. We have gatherings to honor these idols, super bowl party, movie night, every night for most. Not new. The colliseum held 50,000. Christians and criminals eaten, Gladiators fought, Hollywood action movie. Circus Maximus held 250,000. Chariot races, public baths, sounds like NASCAR. TV and other visual entertainment (Videos, video games, cell phones, computers, shows, races) are devices of Satan and have destroyed the structure and order of famalies that God ordained so long ago.

11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor 2:11 (KJV)

How much control does Satan have? The average person in America watches over 8 hours a day of TV, The average person will watch over 40,000 hours of TV by age 17. By the time a person reaches 70 they will watch between 7-10 years of TV. The average house has 1.9 children and 2.4 TVs. IN Canada every immigrant has a right to get a dictionary, some manuals and a television. This is how they control the people and tell them how they are supposed to live. The people do not get a bible. A study of 770 families by Columbia University says that people who watch 1 hour of television a day are twice as likely to commit a violent crime. The programming content had nothing to do with it. Oh 1 hour won’t hurt me though, or will it?

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Gal 6:6-8 (KJV) What are we sowing to?

Why is TV so dangerous? It shows us violence, aggressive behavior, sexuality, academic performance, body concept and self image, substance abuse, and on and on. How less would we know about these things if it was not for visual entertainment? How much more Holy could we be? When we watch TV we laugh at many things. Comedy is how many things are introduced. 20 years ago Homosexuality was not accepted. It was displayed enough that it is OK now. Promiscuity, adultery the same. Satan is patient. Have you ever laughed at a sinful act that you would never participate in? Laughing at it is condoning it. Why does TV glamorize rebellion? Why is it ok to attack Christianity but not Islam? The people who run the media are atheists, global change agents and evil. Knowing this why do we still use visual entertainment? Do we sneak around to view it? Do we hide our movies so everyone that comes over won’t see them? Non-Christians display their movies. Is Satan our friend? Are we afraid of offending him, or are we trying to be sympathetic or even empathetic to him for committing the same sins that got him kicked out of heaven and into eternal damnation? Satan is not our friend and neither are the people who create this sinful smut that we are so drawn to.

Pokémon (episode #38) Packs a Punch On the evening of December 16, 1997, millions of people all over Japan gathered in their homes to watch Pokémon (episode #38). About 20 minutes into the program there was a scene of a rocket explosion that flashed red and blue lights at a rate of about 12 times per second. This explosion scene was mixed with about five seconds of flashing lights from the eyes of "Pikachu," a popular Pokémon character. Suddenly, viewers started to complain of blurred vision, headaches, dizziness and nausea. Some people even had seizures, convulsions and lost consciousness. A total of 685 children (310 boys, 375 girls) were taken to hospitals by ambulances. Although many children recovered during the ambulance trip, more than 150 of them were admitted to hospitals. Two people stayed in the hospital for over 2 weeks! Washington University. This is a children’s show!

Other Dangers!!’ Did you know that when we watch TV the light that creates the picture on the screen is not reflected on to us but is transmitted to us? We are actually the screen the picture is being displayed on. Our brain reacts to the delivery of the picture as well as the content being delivered. This is a double curse. According to Herbert Truvman, who was the manager of corporate public opinion research at General Electric, he did some research on how the brain reacts to the television, when a person watches television brain activity switches from the left to the right hemisphere, the left is the seat of logical thought, this is where we analyze everything, If a person has the gift of discernment the left side of the brain is very active, The right side of the brain treats data coming in uncritically, it allows everything in, instead of getting a logical response it gives an emotional response, someone watching the passion responds emotionally, there is no conviction so the conversions brought about are because of emotions and most do not last.

This shift from the left to the right side of the brain causes our bodies to release endorphins, the bodies natural opiates, these are similar to codeine and heroin, now it is possible to become physical addicted to visual entertainment, we can handle it, we are stronger than the devil, not when we play at his house, Our brain has difficulty in distinguishing between fact and fiction, even if we know it is fake our brain still accepts it as fact, this is how commercials cause us to buy their product whether or not we need it. Our subconscious takes over. If TV is not a drug just watch how people will react when it is taken away from them, when the electricity goes out, see how Christians will sneak around just to watch TV because they know it is wrong, they will put their movies out of site so other people won’t see them. People who are not Christian will proudly display their movies. Let’s put every thing we watch to the Philippians 4:8 test. If we do this honestly we will not be able to watch anything, just try it. Why is everything on the news negative when there is just as much good in the world as there is bad? The negativity is the opposite of what God wants for us. The media knows this. 1Cor:19 you are not your own, quit acting like you are. He can tell us what to wear, what to listen and yes what to look at. How do we stop our addiction?

18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. Acts 19:18-20 (KJV)

There are many websites that tell you how to get help of TV addiction. None of them say get rid of the TV. If you have any other type of addiction the first thing you are told is to get away from what you are addicted to. NOT TV There are many websites that tell you how bad TV is for children 0-3 years old but after that it is ok. If it is bad for babies it is bad for us. Would any of us know as much about sex or should I say fornication, rock and roll and all other secular and contemporary music, rebellion, wars, drugs, the heinous crimes around the world, homosexuality, and all of the other things that depress us, hinder us, and cause us to take our mind off of God if we had never watched TV. Why do we continue to tempt ourselves and why do we continue to peak at what the devil has for us as if it were something that would help us in any way shape or form. Why do we flirt with Satan himself? 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2 Peter 2:18-20 (KJV)

22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 4:22-23 (KJV)

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Cor 10:2-6 (KJV) How can you pull down strongholds of Satan if you don’t even have the strength to turn off your TV?

(Eph 4:22-24 KJV) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; {23} And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; {24} And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)

What are we renewing our mind with?

The media does not care about you or your well being. They only care about making money and having their agenda pushed. Would you allow a muslim into your house to teach your children? Would you allow a homosexual into your house to show you how to cook? How about a murderer or child molester or a common everyday thief in your house to show you how to raise your children? If you watch TV including good movies if there is such a thing than you might as well be letting these people in your house. These are the type of people that write, produce and direct the movies you are watching. If you are addicted to TV so bad that you cannot do without it then maybe you should watch just the static. This might not influence you too bad and it has about as much intelligence as most shows and movies. But wait the static causes headaches because it is emitting background radiation. This is also present even if there is not static but it is stronger if you are watching static.

1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 2 Peter 2:1-9 (KJV)

Let's let God deliver us out of our temptations. Let's let God rule our lives and let's let him be our joy. Praise God.

All Liars Go To Hell? Huh?

2009-01-22T18:54:00.004-06:00

`The Truth is heavy; therefore few care to carry it. Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.-- Winston Churchill It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error.— Adrian Rodgers "A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent." Author:William Blake

Today we are going to discuss a sin that bothers me more than all sins. I am not sure if I should feel this way, but we all have at least one thing that really gets to us. I am guilty of committing this sin throughout my years and I have been hurt by this sin as many times as I have committed it. I have been hurt many times recently due to this and it has been upon my heart for many months to do this bible study, but it seems the Holy Spirit has always had something else in mind. I feel now I am supposed to do this study and I pray once again we can all open our hearts and our minds. Let’s try and leave our opinionated views behind as we study God’s word. I feel my hatred for this sin is natural as we should hate all sin, but it seems that this particular one is the seed that starts so many other sins and destroys so many lives. As you already know by the title of this message we are going to talk about lies, lying and liars. We will look at many scriptures on lying but we will only scratch the surface on what the bible says so I encourage all of you to continue this study when you have time. There is so much about lying, and different example of liars, that we could study on this many weeks. Let’s first look at the definition of lie.

A lie 1. A criminal falsehood; a falsehood uttered for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth. It is willful deceit that makes a lie. A man may act a lie, as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction, when a traveler inquires of him his road. 3. False doctrine. 1John 2. 4. An idolatrous picture of God, or a false god. Romans 1. 5. That which deceives and disappoints confidence

To Lie 1. To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive, or with an immoral design. 2. To exhibit a false representation; to say or do that which deceives another, when he has a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation. Synonyms: deceive, betray, mislead, beguile, delude, dupe, hoodwink, bamboozle, double-cross.

Let’s start by going to the book of Proverbs.

16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Prov 6:16-19 (KJV)

This is a verse most people are familiar with. Notice that these are things that God hates, they are abominations to him. Notice that two of them have to do with lying. We could go as far as interpreting more than two as being caused by lies but we are not going to put our opinions in this. Definitely two of the seven are about liars. God hates liars.

17 He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. 18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. 19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. 21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. 22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.Prov 12:17-22 (KJV)

Here we see that truth is associated with righteousness, eternity and being pleasing to the Lord. Lying is associated with deceit, death, and an abomination to the Lord. I do not see anywhere here or anywhere else in the bible where it says that only big lies are bad. I do not believe there is any such thing as a big lie and a small lie. Here are a couple more proverbs about lying.

18 He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool. Prov 10:18 (KJV) If you lie you are a fool. It can't feel good to be called a fool, especially by God.

5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. Prov 13:5 (KJV)

We should hate lying, not participate in it to protect our family and friends. Do only bad people lie? No, there are some examples of good people who lied in the bible but that does not make it right. David was considered a good person. Did he always do good? What about Isaac?

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. Gen 26:6-7 (KJV)

What about Jacob?

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. Gen 27:22-24 (KJV)

What about Abraham?

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. Gen 12:12-13 (KJV)

This is typical of how we lie. And my soul shall live because of thee. We usually get someone to help us lie and that makes is better, right? OH, we’ll just tell them this and that and it won’t hurt anyone. That way we don’t have to tell them the TRUTH.

3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. 4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. 5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD. Jer 9:3-6 (KJV)

They have trained their tongues to lie. Listen to what these people do. They are deceitful and untrustworthy. They are liars. Too many times people train their tongues to lie. They will plan to tell a lie and then go over it so they can get it right. There is no right lie. We have to know that God hates lying without exception. So what are some examples of training our tongue to lie? We might be doing something that someone we know don’t agree with and we will plan out a lie to tell them if we get caught doing it. We might plan to tell a lie someone we care about so we don’t hurt their feelings. IF you tell a lie to someone you care about then you are willing to hurt their feeling already. There are professions that teach the people to lie to customers. Most concrete truck dispatchers do this to try and keep you happy but they usually make you mad. Most salesmen do this so you will buy their product. There are many other ways to train our tongues to lie and we know what they are.

43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. John 8:43-45 (KJV)

Why do you not understand the Word of God, because you are of your father the devil? We must believe the truth that God has sent us. I have said this before, if you believe that fire is hot, you don’t touch it. If you believe the Word of God is true you should live it. Most lies lead to or complement other sins. If we look at God’s word and say “yes I believe that, I believe the whole bible”, and we do not do this we are liars. We might say “I know that is not what God’s word says BUT I think this is his will”. This is BLASPHEMY!! YOU DOUBLE MINDED HYPOCRITE. God’s word is his will, period. If anyone thinks they can just change the way God thinks about something because it fits your situation you are a liar, and through deceit you refuse to know the LORD, because of your deceits. God is not mocked.

14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Rev 22:14-15 (KJV)

WE are blessed if we do his commandments. Do you loveth and maketh a lie or do you delight in that which is false? Think before you answer this question. Do you delight in make believe? Do you delight in that which is fiction? This does not say deceptions it says a lie or falsehood. I believe this means we are supposed to delight in that which is true which is the Word of God. This is why God hates lies, because lies and falsehoods are the exact opposite of the Word of God. We must not delight in things that are not of God. So, what if we do? What if we do tell a little lie every now and then? A little lie won’t hurt anyone, will it? It might hurt you, FOR ETERNITY.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Rev 21:8 (KJV)

Notice the part ALL LIARS. Why doesn’t it say all murderers or all idolaters? It says all liars will go to Hell. I think this really shows how serious God takes lying. According to his word he will not tolerate it.

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. 11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. Acts 5:1-11 (KJV)

I know the reason these people died was because of a lie, but what kind of a lie? I believe they died because they were living a lie. They wanted the people around them think they were someone they were not. They wanted everyone to think that they sold the property and gave all to the church. This would make them look good to the other Chrisians. I could alomost gaurantee that no one in that town lied for a while after this happened.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Rev 21:26-27 (KJV)

Here is another reference. If you worketh abomination, and we know some of them, or if you maketh a lie you will not go to heaven. But its just words, how can words send me to Hell? Jesus said it was what came out of the mouth that defiled a man. If anyone of us is trying to make people think we are someone that we are not then we are liars. If we are telling people we do things that we do not do, we are liars. If we create situations or scenarios with the intent of deceiving someone then we are in danger of burning in the lake of fire, every second of every minute forever without relief, ever. That ought to make you want to tell the officer that stopped you for speeding, “Yes officer I did know I was speeding, I do it all the time”. That is not what we want to do. We want to always show how we are right and others are wrong. If we were right we would not need Jesus and we would not need to ask for forgiveness daily. I have it on my heart to attack the devil with the word of God. Some think we just need to ignore him and his angels and they will just leave us alone. We have been attacked much lately and I am tired of it. I know who my enemy is and I know how I am supposed to defend and attack that enemy. Paul the apostle has told us we are in a war. Never in history has there been a battle (spiritual or physical) won by defensive moves without attacking. The only way to defeat the enemy is to attack with all we have and this means the Word of God. We must become the soldiers that we need to be to attack this enemy and quit trying to defend his darts and trying to hide from him. Let’s take the truth to him and all of his allies and say this is truth and the truth will set you free. Hallelujah!!!

Believe It or Not (it's still true)

2009-01-09T20:48:00.001-06:00

"The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian." Author:A.W. Tozer "A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God." Author:Leonard Ravenhill Are we playing church? Are we living according to the flesh or the spirit? If we are living for the flesh we need to stop at this very moment. We do not need to continue for one more minute because if we do we might just do something unforgivable. I mean if we play church we might find ourselves committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I am tired of hearing how every church has the answer but they refuse to believe the entire bible. I say they refuse to believe because they are not living like they believe. It seems like people are ordering their Christianity like they are special ordering a car. “I would like this feature and that feature but I don’t need this one. I know it comes with it but I will probably never use it so you can just leave it off.” Does this sound like anybody you know? I believe we as Christians have a responsibility to our God to read and believe absolutely every word in our bible. If you do not believe every word in the bible then you might as well not believe any of it and you might as well throw it in the trash because it is useless to you as a tool of God. As I read the bible each day the Holy Spirit reveals new thing s to me. This is so exciting to me because I remember when I used to read books on how to study the bible, and they never worked because I was doing it with my flesh and not my spirit. Yes, it is possible to study God’s word with your flesh and not your spirit. Just look at all of the seminary schools. These people use man’s wisdom to break down God’s holy word. So, what is this study about? This study is about living for God by our spirit and not our flesh. Paul warned us about this and he told us what would happen if we lived by the flesh. 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Gal 6:7-9 (KJV) What are you sowing to? Are you sowing to your spirit by studying the word of God with an open heart, wanting only his desire in your life? Do you fast and pray to help strengthen your spirit and weaken your flesh. Think of fasting as a boxing match. If you have two boxers and you feed one and starve the other, the one that is fed will overpower the one who was starved. This is how fasting and praying helps us by strengthening our spirit so it can overpower our flesh. Do you wake up each day wanting to stay on the strait and narrow path that God had prepared for you? Do you look at the things of this world as though they are not of God or do you try to find a way to fit the things that bring you pleasure into Christianity? 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:5-8 (KJV) To be carnally minded is to be worldly minded. So what does it mean to be worldly minded? Loving the things of this world. To focus your desires towards the things of this world instead of focusing your love towards the creator of this world. How much do you love your house, car, truck, clothes, sports team, music, games, TV, movies, actors, actresses, athletes, animals, cell phone, pictures, food, etc. These are just a few things that take our love from God everyday. If you try and say these things don’t take my love away from God and there is nothing wrong with them then I want you to add the time spend with each of these and the time you spend dedicated to God and compare them. And don’t say but I am always talking to God and I talk to God while I watch TV and listen to the ball game and shop for new knickknacks. That is a bunch of lies and we all know it. The next time someone wants to spend time alone with you take someone else along and see how it turns out. This passage says that it is impossible to please God if we are in the flesh. God requires our undivided attention and he deserves it. In the parable of the sower Jesus told us what would happen if we cared for the things of this world. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19 (KJV) This is talking about Christians. These are people who believe but just cannot let go of the things of the world and in turn they make the word become unfruitful. Just because you know the word does not mean it is fruitful in your life. There are many preachers and evangelists that know the word but their cares of this world have made the word unfruitful. I know there is someone right now thinking I can handle it. Your cares of this world, and deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things WILL choke out the word, no matter how strong of a Christian you think you are. 1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Col 3:1-4 (KJV) We are supposed to set our affections on the things above. Why can’t we read this and say yes that is what we are supposed to do. We are not supposed to seek the things of this world. People should not see us seeking the things of this world because then they think it is okay because we cannot control our own desires. We are leading people astray because we refuse to believe the whole bible. So some will say this is my life and I am supposed to enjoy it and have pleasures. 1 Tim. 5:6 says: 6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. 1 Tim 5:6 (KJV) Are you dead or are you alive and living for our God daily in every aspect of your life? 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:4-10 (KJV) We have gone over this before in other studies but we need to really grasp this. The friendship of the world is enmity with God. If you are a friend of this world, that means the system, the things, the people and the watered down religions of this world you are an enemy of God. You are on the same team as Satan himself and you will burn for eternity in the lake of fire. If we draw nigh to God he will draw nigh to us. If we ignore God he will ignore us. If we put God second I am afraid he will put us on the other side. James is also talking about the double minded and the proud. We must humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord. As long as we say I think God wants me to have this thing of the world or I think God would root for this team and drive this kind of car, we are not humbling ourselves in the sight of the Lord. We are making excuses for our own selfish desires for the things of this world and we are also choosing which side we are on. 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:15-17 (KJV) This is also a scripture most of us are familiar with. As people who believe in living a separated life we have heard this scripture before but have we decided to believe it? We are told not to love the things that are in this world. How much clearer can this be? If we love the things of this world the love of God is NOT IN US. Here again we hear about pride, and lust or desires. I believe we must heed these warnings for what they are. God loves us and he is trying to tell us what not to do. He also tells us that people refuse to do these things because of their own selfishness and their double mindedness. 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matt 16:24-26 (KJV) Jesus tells us here that if you do not deny yourself and lose your life you will lose your soul. If you continue to make excuses of why you do the things you do and don’t come to the throne of grace with boldness and with a repentive heart immediately you might not have a chance to do so later. Let’s step back again and look at our lives. Is there something in our lives that we are not willing to get rid of. I am not talking about something we say “I know this might not be right but it really isn’t bad and it makes me feel good”. Do we go to festivals and participate in celebrations that are ungodly and try to find one good thing about them so we are able to go. Do we do this to stores and businesses that we know are not a place that supports Christianity but they have something that we just would love to have? Do we fill our minds with evil? Do we fill our mind with things of this world through books, newspapers, news, and gossip? We cannot insert the world into Christianity and expect Christianity to work. Our lives, our witness, and our faith will be unfruitful if we continue to live a worldly life as Christians. If we believe the bible then let’s live like we believe it. Remember that when you live a plain lifestyle the world is looking at you for an example on Christianity. If you allow yourself to follow your lusts you are telling the rest of the world God says it is okay, because that is how they see it. This message was put on my heart and I tried to do another but my spirit would not let me. I hope this is received and I know I need this message also. May God’s word be written into our hearts so we may not sin against him. He loves us and he wants us to love him and know him. We can only do this if we leave the things of this world behind and accept the word he has given us without question. Amen.