Daciple Ministries

Daciple

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There has been debate and discussion about the need to attend Church recently on this forum and it has been weighing on me as of late. I believe many people who want to but don't go to Church seem to have two main reasons, first is they are put off by the massive influx of False Teachers and Liberalism that dominates the Modern Western Church offering a watered down Gospel in a Church that looks essentially like the World. The other common objection I see is that if there is a good Gospel preaching Church they happen to be too far to get to them. This has literally been breaking my heart, I know God wants us to congregate together and after my experiences in being in the Rock Star Liberal Churches and the Church I am now, I have such a desire to see others have access to True Gospel Preaching, True Church where they can be touched by the Lord and hear the Gospel preached!!! It has changed my life, my walk and my relationship with the Lord, and I truly want others to be able to share and have the same kind of experiences.

The Lord has been convicting me about what I have been doing on this site, that I have been busy debating and discussing but have I been doing the work He has called me to do? This Church discussion and Christ have been opening my eyes to what it is I really ought to be concentrating on. Discussion and debate is good, its needed, but is that all I should be doing here? Is there something else, something more that this platform could be used for besides arguments?

In the past 2 days I have gone to Church and 2 totally different preachers in 2 totally different towns preached the same type of message from the same Book, the Book of Nehemiah. If one isnt familiar with that Book essentially the Book is based around the fact that Nehemiah was called by God to help rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, and in Chapter 6 Nehemiah response to one of his adversaries:

Neh 6:3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

He called it a great work and asked why should he leave what he was called to do on the Wall for the distraction from those who were opposing him and I can say I feel there is a great work for me and a great work for all who are in Christ. We each have something we are called to do, I dont know exactly what you have been called to do, but I do know if you go into your prayer closet and ask God to reveal what work He wants to do thru you, He indeed will give you a task to do to bring Him Glory.

With that being said I feel the great work the Lord has been calling me to on this site is to preach the Gospel, and while debates and discussions can be good, they can also be a distraction if that's all one or should I say myself be focusing on, as tho I am being called off the Wall while there is still work to be done. So I have decided to open this thread and in it I hope to give to others what the Lord has laid on my heart concerning His Word. I was thinking of just posting whats laid on my heart in individual threads, but felt to start just having one place to post them, so as to not deluge the Board. I hope others can find help and maybe someone can come to Christ, regardless even tho this is going outside of my comfort zone for the Forums I feel I need to follow what the Lord has put on my heart and maybe just maybe help those who either are tired of the washed down Churches in their area or are not able to make it to Churches due to distance or they dont exist in your area.

People are welcome to debate and discuss what I post if they like, however I really am not intending to join in on discussion or more like debates concerning the messages that are too follow, if you dont believe or they dont help you so be it, all I can do is give what has been given in hope others can be blessed. If others have messages laid on their hearts and want to share please feel free to, I always want to hear what the Lord is speaking and doing in everyones lives.

I hope someone is touched and blessed from this Thread, and I Lord willing will keep it updated extensively until the Lord calls me elsewhere, I could be here posting only a day or week or a year, whatever He allows and wants. If anyone ever needs anything please feel free to PM and I will the best I can to help in anyway the Lord allows.

I love all of you and hope all of you have a blessed and wonderful day!!!
 

Daciple

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Apr 25, 2017
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1,157
Will They Revive The Stones?

I was in Church yesterday and one of our preachers preached a great sermon concerning Avoiding Spiritual Hindrances and he was preaching out of Nehemiah 4, and while he was preaching and reading from there God moved on my heart concerning the 2nd verse which reads:

2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?


Now if we read the preceding and rest of the chapters we see that what is happening here is that Nehemiah was one of the Hebrews who remained in Persia after the Exile into Babylon and the eventual restoration to Jerusalem by Cyrus. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the King in Persia and he had heard of the problems facing the Israelities who had returned back into Israel that the wall around Jerusalem had been broken down and burned. He approaches the King and asks if he can go and help the Israelities rebuild the wall. The King grants him permission and so he goes and begins to help organize and rebuild the wall.

What we see here in Chapter 4 is that as soon as he and the rest begin to rebuild the wall there comes a man named Sanballat who hears of the Israelities rebuilding the wall and it upsets him and he begins to mock them, and eventually tries to bring others against them to prevent them from rebuilding the wall. There is much that could be preached and spoken about concerning what the Israelities faced as they went to rebuild, and how they overcame those set against them. How they got on the wall and built despite the opposition, and how we can apply that to all the great work we do for the Lord. How everytime we try and undertake a great work for the Lord we can be assured that there will be opposition, ether by others, Satan or more often than not, our own flesh. And that is part of what my preacher preached on, but that's not what stuck out to me while he was preaching. It was that 2nd verse that stood out.

I don't know how you all feel reading the Word of God but when I read this part of this verse I could feel a stirring in my soul, I could feel excitement and anxiousness at the same time, and all I know is that it had to be the Lord. Immediately as I read it things began to fill my heart and mind concerning this one verse and then other verses came to mind. I was able to share what was laid on my heart with my church and Lord willing I will be able to relate that to you as well today. The part that lept out, that as soon as I read it I could feel a stirring in my soul was ...will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

I can tell you in my life I can look back and see times where I felt as tho all the stones in my life were in heaps of rubbished and burned, where everything was in ruins. Where it seemed like nothing was in place, that everything around me had fallen apart. Yet every time I looked around seeing what I perceived as ruination and destruction, I could see the Lord begin to move, to place the stone back where He wanted them, to rebuild everything in a manner which I never thought they could go together and I can see that what He built has become much better than anything that was in the past.

Another thing that occured to me was what my life was before I was born again, if you have read or heard my testimony then you know just what kind of mess I was in prior to coming to Christ. I was in a strange place, a drug rehab surrounded by people who didn't like me, I had no family or friends, I had lost my job and lost my car. I was in trouble in multiple places in the country with the Law, was facing at the minimum a year in prison, probably more if my home state found out what was going on in the other states. On top of all of this I had a guy in the Rehab that for whatever reason chose me to harass and attack on a daily basis. To a point he began to threaten my life, looking around my life was a complete and total train wreck. Indeed the stones were in a ruinous heap of rubbish and burned up. There was nothing of value I had, nothing I could offer, but one night at the side of a bed in the Talbert House I cried out to the Lord asking Him for Salvation. I cried out knowing I was a sinner who deserved Hell, and I was scared to face His Judgement, having someone threaten your life bring Hell into quick focus when you are Lost. I cried out for Salvation from Death, Salvation from Hell, and Salvation from that man and the place I was in. Essentially I cried out to God and asked can you revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Jesus saw me in my broken condition, having absolutely nothing to offer, looked down and gave me the answer to the question as to if He could revive the stones of my life. Glory to God when He looked down and answered, He said YES I CAN!!! Amen I still can't get over the fact that Jesus would and has forgiven me of my Sins, that instead of offering me the punishment I deserved both in my physical life which at that point was Jail at the minimum and Death more than likely, and Hell Spiritually, He offered me Grace and set me free of the Bondage of my Sins, He moved that man out of my life, He provided me to safely get through Rehab, and now instead of Hell I have gained Heaven and a Personal Relationship with God Himself!!!

Jesus saw the ruinous heaps of stones burnt up in the garbage and He revived them indeed, in 1 Peter 2:5 it shows exactly what Jesus did to my burnt up stones I gave Him saying:

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

He took that which was dead and of no use and has turned it into a lively or living stone to use to build up His Spiritual House, so that I can offer up Spiritual Sacrifices that are acceptable to Him!! Amen what an amazing God and an amazing Savior is Jesus, who takes that which is broken and rotten and of no value and sees it and says yep that's exactly what I am looking for and He Himself comes and turns that which was useless into something alive and fashions it and gives it a specific purpose placing it exactly where He needs it and it best serves Him!!! It's good to know that God cares for me when everything is broken down around me, and that He has a place, a purpose and work for me to do. That He has taken what was dead and useless in this world and transformed it to be something that is used to bring Him Glory, that He would make me a priest in His Kingdom!!! Amen, I love Jesus, I love the power He has to transform us, to save us, to rectify us, to give us a purpose, to give us a relationship, to give us Heaven and all that is Good and all we have to do is offer HIm our broken, ruined stones burnt up in the garbage!!!

One last thing that has come to me concerning Christ in these verses is that sometimes in our life we feel like the wall we built was just right, in our eyes it perfect and great, but it really isn't the case. Sometimes while we are building the wall we want we ignore what Christ has given us direction in and this wall ends up being what we want and not what He has told us it needs to be. I have seen this in my life as well, and if we were to continue building this wall doing the work of ourselves and our flesh instead of the work of God it may bring us to the wrong place. Maybe we are building this wall but instead of it being something that helps and protects us it becomes a wall that encloses in around us, cutting us off from God and what God wants for us to do. Maybe this wall becomes a burden with an improper foundation that while we see it as strong is really built on sand, that is leaning and if just one thing comes, the wall will come down and maybe even trap us under it.

Sometimes the wall we are building needs to be brought down because it is of no use to us or to God, and I believe sometimes God will step in and knock down these walls to bring us to a point where we Repent, and Refocus and Rely on Him. I have noticed in my life that the times God has moved the greatest are the times where I am completely broken before Him, where all my walls that I have erected to shield me from the world, shield me from hurt shield me from pain, are broken down and I am bare before HIm crying out to Him to help, guide, and show me what He wants of me.

In the scripture quoted from 1 Peter it says we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, and David writes to us in Psalms the sacrifices that God is looking for saying:

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.


How do we get the walls to be built up in the way God wants? How do we offer Him Spiritual Sacrifices that are acceptable? It all starts with coming before Him with a broken and contrite heart. That's when He steps in and He revives the stones, that He causes us to be lively stones, that He begins to build the walls of our Jerusalem.

Where are you today? Are you Lost and don't know Jesus as your Savior? If so I can tell you that every wall you think you are building is of no use and if they all haven't I promise all of them soon will be collapsing into ruination and will leave you trapped forever under them. Do you realize you are Lost today and can see the stones burnt in the fire? Do you want to have the destruction that is in your life changed into Glory? Then I beg you to Repent and come to Christ today!!! He wants to bring you to Salvation, to restore your Relationship with Him, to give you Life and Life more abundantly, won't you come today and be restored, revived and have your walls built on the foundation of Christ, the stone that was rejected but is now made the Cornerstone!!! I promise you won't regret it, Jesus loves you and is calling you today!!!

Are you saved but are in a place in life where it feels like your life is broken down around you? Problems with friends and family? Problems with your Job? Loneliness and Sadness all around you? Maybe you are dealing with sickness or health issues? Whatever it may be that has you looking around feeling like the walls in your life have been brought down in flames, I am here to tell you today that there is one who can take the stones that seem of no use and He wants to Revive them for you!!! Come now present to Him your burnt up stones that are in heaps and ruins let Jesus take these things we see as no good and garbage and turn them into buildings of Spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to Him for His Good Will!!! Cry out to Him from your broken and contrite spirit and let Him bring life to those things that are dead and dragging you down today!! He loves you, and wants to be there for you, but you have to take that first step in Faith towards Him. The Word promises us that if you draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Won't you come, draw nigh to Him now, let Him rebuild your Walls and fashion them in His purpose?

Have you been building apart from God today? Do you see the work that you've been doing is of your own flesh and your own will? Will you let God come and knock down the walls that you've built up that have cut you off from Him? That have cut you off from friends, from family? That have kept you from Loving others for fear of hurt? That have caused you to isolate yourself walls all built up around you to keep the pain you have endured because of your experiences in life?

I plead with you to come before God today and ask Him to break down these Walls, to turn them into piles of stones before Him, to bring you to that point where you can be broken before Him and to call out with that broken and contrite Heart to have Him restore, and revive the stones into the Walls and Building He wants. To break down the Walls that have separated you from Him, from family, from friends. To cause you to no longer live in fear of pain or rejection, to be given peace and a desire to Love without the need for reciprocation just as He has. Jesus came poured out Himself in Love even unto Death, knowing most people would completely and utterly reject Him but He still Loves them and died for them!!! Let Christ rebuild the Walls in your Life to let you Love and pour yourself out to others, even if that means dying for them to see the Love of Christ in you towards them!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence


James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
 
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rainerann

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Mar 18, 2017
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4,550
There has been debate and discussion about the need to attend Church recently on this forum and it has been weighing on me as of late. I believe many people who want to but don't go to Church seem to have two main reasons, first is they are put off by the massive influx of False Teachers and Liberalism that dominates the Modern Western Church offering a watered down Gospel in a Church that looks essentially like the World. The other common objection I see is that if there is a good Gospel preaching Church they happen to be too far to get to them. This has literally been breaking my heart, I know God wants us to congregate together and after my experiences in being in the Rock Star Liberal Churches and the Church I am now, I have such a desire to see others have access to True Gospel Preaching, True Church where they can be touched by the Lord and hear the Gospel preached!!! It has changed my life, my walk and my relationship with the Lord, and I truly want others to be able to share and have the same kind of experiences.

The Lord has been convicting me about what I have been doing on this site, that I have been busy debating and discussing but have I been doing the work He has called me to do? This Church discussion and Christ have been opening my eyes to what it is I really ought to be concentrating on. Discussion and debate is good, its needed, but is that all I should be doing here? Is there something else, something more that this platform could be used for besides arguments?

In the past 2 days I have gone to Church and 2 totally different preachers in 2 totally different towns preached the same type of message from the same Book, the Book of Nehemiah. If one isnt familiar with that Book essentially the Book is based around the fact that Nehemiah was called by God to help rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, and in Chapter 6 Nehemiah response to one of his adversaries:

Neh 6:3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

He called it a great work and asked why should he leave what he was called to do on the Wall for the distraction from those who were opposing him and I can say I feel there is a great work for me and a great work for all who are in Christ. We each have something we are called to do, I dont know exactly what you have been called to do, but I do know if you go into your prayer closet and ask God to reveal what work He wants to do thru you, He indeed will give you a task to do to bring Him Glory.

With that being said I feel the great work the Lord has been calling me to on this site is to preach the Gospel, and while debates and discussions can be good, they can also be a distraction if that's all one or should I say myself be focusing on, as tho I am being called off the Wall while there is still work to be done. So I have decided to open this thread and in it I hope to give to others what the Lord has laid on my heart concerning His Word. I was thinking of just posting whats laid on my heart in individual threads, but felt to start just having one place to post them, so as to not deluge the Board. I hope others can find help and maybe someone can come to Christ, regardless even tho this is going outside of my comfort zone for the Forums I feel I need to follow what the Lord has put on my heart and maybe just maybe help those who either are tired of the washed down Churches in their area or are not able to make it to Churches due to distance or they dont exist in your area.

People are welcome to debate and discuss what I post if they like, however I really am not intending to join in on discussion or more like debates concerning the messages that are too follow, if you dont believe or they dont help you so be it, all I can do is give what has been given in hope others can be blessed. If others have messages laid on their hearts and want to share please feel free to, I always want to hear what the Lord is speaking and doing in everyones lives.

I hope someone is touched and blessed from this Thread, and I Lord willing will keep it updated extensively until the Lord calls me elsewhere, I could be here posting only a day or week or a year, whatever He allows and wants. If anyone ever needs anything please feel free to PM and I will the best I can to help in anyway the Lord allows.

I love all of you and hope all of you have a blessed and wonderful day!!!
Very cool idea Daciple. I look forward to reading what God leads you to share.
 

Damien50

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Apr 22, 2017
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He called it a great work and asked why should he leave what he was called to do on the Wall for the distraction from those who were opposing him and I can say I feel there is a great work for me and a great work for all who are in Christ. We each have something we are called to do, I dont know exactly what you have been called to do, but I do know if you go into your prayer closet and ask God to reveal what work He wants to do thru you, He indeed will give you a task to do to bring Him Glory.
This is relevant to my interest.
 

Daciple

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Becoming The Doormat


The other day while on facebook I came across this Meme and it had a quote from Charles Spurgeon on it that read:

“Do not desire to be the Principal Man in the Church. Be lowly, be humble. The best man in the Church is the one who is willing to be a Doormat for all to wipe their boots on, the brother who does not mind what happens to him at all so long as God is Glorified.”

This quote has been stirring on me for awhile now, and it's really been changing how I am seeing things in my life and my ministry. As I have been dwelling on it somethings have come to my mind and my heart. First and foremost this reminds me of Jesus Christ, who being in the form of God made of Himself no reputation and took upon the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death on the cross. Talk about becoming a Doormat, here we have God Himself who stepped out of Heaven and humbled Himself to enter into Creation. And while He was here did He Lord Himself over His Creation? Did He who deserved and is the King of Kings demand that all bow to Him? No way instead He humbled Himself yet again and became a lowly servant, to meet all the needs of those around Him regardless of the inconvenience and cost it meant to Himself.

Not only did He serve others while He was King, but He literally became the place in which all men threw everything vile and disgusting upon, all of our sickness, anger, raunchy thoughts, envy, jealousy, murders, lust, and all manner of unrighteousness and sin, He took all of that upon Himself and according to the Word of God He managed to do this, to take this, all in Joy!!!

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus became the Doormat for all of our dirt, to wipe it all upon Him, it overwhelms me that God loves and cares for me so much that He would come and say “Give to me all your Sin, all your dirt, wipe it all on me, so you can go clean and unburdened.” Oh what a Savior is Jesus, oh what a wonderful and loving God is Our God!!! I never have and never will comprehend how or why God would do that for me, but I believe in Faith He has and it just makes me love Him oh so much everytime I think of what He has done, and what He was and is willing to do and how He endured all my awful sins just to give me Grace and Mercy instead of the Wrath and Judgement I deserved.

There one other thing I wanted to say before getting back to the quote, and that is I have come across many people that see the entire Atonement of Christ and the Freedom from Sin as being a licenses to Sin. And I can from a logical perspective understand this, but the reason they can't understand this, is because they haven't experienced it. When one is guilty and knows they are guilty and knows that there is nothing they can do, nothing in their power to make up for their wrong doings, to then come and see that someone literally endured all the Wrath they deserved and offered them Grace in return for our Sins, it causes you to completely hate and despise your own Sins. You see what your Sins did to the one whom showed you more love than you have ever known, and that causes you to never desire to want to Sin again. I believe the place from which one desires to Repent and no longer Sin is different and unique to Christianity than all other Religions. All other Religions that have an ideology of Sin, the desire not to Sin is usually based around the Wrath one is going to receive if they Sin, if I do this bad thing then God will be mad and He might cause me to suffer the consequences my Sin deserves.

However in Christianity that isn't the place from which one desires not to Sin. Those who are Born Again know that there is no condemnation for us for Sin, Jesus paid the price for each and every Sin we have or will do, all of them were placed on Christ. So our motivation not to Sin isn't coming from a place of God will show us Wrath, no our motivation is because we see the Love Christ poured out onto us by taking that Wrath for us so we don't have to be under condemnation any longer!! It's motivated by the fact that we SAW exactly what our Sins did to the one whom we Love above all things in existence. If you knew that when you cussed it caused idk your mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, to suffer, and that they happily took the suffering for you so you didn’t have to, wouldn't that cause you because of your love for them NOT to continue to cuss? In the same kind of way (not exactly the same tho) we can see what Sin did to Christ, and that because He first loved us and suffered our fate for us, we no longer desire to Sin, in fact we HATE our Sin and we desire to live Righteous!!

One of the preachers at my Church was teaching Sunday school and he made wonderful statement that relates to this concept of how Christians being forgiven of all Sin don't see it as a license to sin but instead the complete opposite, the total desire never to Sin. What he was teaching on was that Christ has come to set us Free and that when He sets us Free we are Free indeed, and this is True. See when Christ saves us He makes us Free from Sin, Free from the Law and gives us Grace instead, we are under the Law of Grace and Liberty, and people hear this and think again wrongly that it gives us license to do whatever we want. However what happens is that we instead of being the Servant of Sin we once were, we become Servants to Christ and when we are Servants to Him what does He do, He sets us totally Free and instead of us saying great we are Free we turn again and ASK to be brought under Servitude to Him. This brings a different dynamic of the entire Relationship between us and Christ, one that is completely and utterly unique to Born Again Believers.

This reality of our Relationship to Christ was foretold in the Old Testament, where if you go back and study the custom and Law of the Hebrews you see that every 7 and 50 years they had a Jubilee, where all the servants were set completely and totally free. However what ended up happening is that many of these servants who were set free, they, although they were now free men, saw how amazing it was to serve their masters and turned and asked again to be put back into Servitude. This is shown in Deuteronomy:

Deut 15:16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;
17 Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.


In the same manner we who have been Born Again and Freed in Christ, we turn back unto Him because we Love Him and say I will not go away because I love you and your house and we choose to become His Servant forever!! A totally different dynamic of relationship between us and God than in other Religions. I am thankful for Christ freeing me from Sin, I am thankful for Him taking my Wrath and the Love He showed when He laid down His life for mine, and while He set me totally Free because of my complete and total Love for Him, I hate my Sin and no longer desire to do any of them anymore and I have completely turn back to Him and asked to be His Servant forever!!!

Amen!! Now I don't know why I got off on that tangent but it was laid on my heart to speak about it so I had to do it, anyways back to the Doormat. As I said this has been moving on my heart for awhile now and has been causing me to rethink so many things in my life. Like I said it made me think of Christ and He came to be a Doormat when He deserved much more than for sure. But it also brought to mind this verse:

John 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.


Jesus came to set examples for us, and one of the examples He set is that we ought to be the ones willing to serve others, and He one way He showed His humbleness was to wash His own disciples feet. He being Master washed the feet of His disciples, it was the complete and total opposite of the custom and norms of that time. It is unheard of to have Kings washing their subjects feet, but here is the God of all creation, the King of all Kings, humbling Himself and washing His creations feet. Wow, when you realize what this is saying it is powerful!!! And this is what Jesus commands us, to humble ourselves to a point we desire to wash one anothers feet.

This quote moved on me in a personal way, I can tell you for most if not all of my life I have desired to be in the chiefest of places, I wanted to sit at the Kings table, I wanted to be the best and looked up to in my job, to be the leader of my family believing I deserve to be at the top, to be the principal man in my Church, in fact it's happened here. I wanted to be the best contributor, the best writer, the best debater, the best at winning arguments, whatever it was and is I want to be the best and seen as the best. As tho I deserved to be thought of as the best and given the highest title and highest form of respect for whatever merits I of myself believe I deserved. I don't know if anyone else can relate, but I just want to be honest here.

I never wanted to be a Doormat, and maybe this is because many times in my life I felt taken advantage of and grew up in a neighborhood and in life in general where I was always made to feel inferior and the underdog. It has caused the deep rooted desire to prove myself to others and try and force my way into positions of esteem and basically make others serve me. So this quote has hit home, and while I have know all about the teachings of Jesus concerning serving others and not desiring the best seats, for some reason this really has resonated with me. Maybe because it has taken the Spiritual teachings and put them into a reality based understanding that is tangible, I can actually see a Doormat, not so much a Kings table.

So I know that it's my desire to be like a Doormat as opposed to the Principal man at Church or life in general, and I can tell you that my flesh absolutely hates this, it is going to be a work that the Lord needs to come and help me through because my flesh wants to be the opposite of a Doormat all the time. But I began to think about some of the qualities of a Doormat and how I can apply these qualities in my life to become more like a Doormat instead of a puffed up Principal man.

The first quality I thought of is dependability, the doormat I have in front of my door, it never leaves, it's always there day in and day out. I know where I can find it if I need it and it knows where it needs to be, wherever it is I place it. Jesus is the ultimate Doormat as I stated earlier, and you know what, He is always there, day in and day out, whenever I need Him I know exactly where to find Him. If I want to be like this Doormat, like Jesus I need to be dependable to those in my life, day in and day out, whenever they need me I have to be accessible and right where they would always look. I also need to be wherever it is God places me, whether in my Church, my Job, my Family, Friends, Online, wherever it is God places me I need to be there and be happy to be there. My Doormat never complains if I put it in the front door, the back door, the bathroom, wherever I need it that's where it goes and it's happy about it. Ready to do it's job at all times.

The second quality that came to me is that while a Doormat is usually given a bad connotation and it doesn't have a glamorous job it may be one of the most important things in our homes and churches. The quality of being important even when you are taken for granted or not noticed as to how important you are. See the Doormat keeps the rest of the Church, the rest of your home clean. It absorbs all the dirt and the mess from the outside world and changes your shoes from filthy and dirty to clean and fresh so that the things from the world aren't tracked into the Church or your home. Jesus is the ultimate Doormat, He is there to clean you up to take all the dirt and grime that you have been dealing with in the World, the stress, the sadness, the hurt, the pain, the anger, the jealousy, the lack of love, everything that would stain your life and soul and He's right there to absorb it all, to let you give it all over to Him, and He cleans you up so you don't have track that into the Church or into your home. So you don't have to put all that on the Church or your family members or co workers.

And while that isn't a glamorous job at all, it's one of the most needed jobs in the Church and life in general a job most of us haven't even thought of or ever signed up for, but it's desperately needed. If I want to be a good Doormat, I have to realize that whatever job it is God gives me it's important. And sometimes my job is to be the embodiment of a Doormat, to be that person others can unload on, to take out their frustrations and rage, to weep about their heartaches and pains, to lament about their loneliness and sadness, to just be there to absorb the dirt and filthiness that sometimes this life can put one through. Sometimes I need to be that in my Church, in my work and in my family, and I can see now just how important that job is.

Another quality that has been laid upon my heart is that a Doormat is always at in front and first, but I don't mean this in terms of its position in rank or authority but that it is going to be the first thing you see when you walk up to a Door, in other words it's willingness to be right there. And while it is always up front in its willingness to do its job it never gets upset when it's not recognized or even not used. I know personally I can get my feelings hurt when I try and greet people or even offer a smile and it's not returned. It can cause me to get mad at them and it can cause me to not want to greet them anymore. It can also cause me not to want to greet others. But this is something I need to Repent from, because a Doormat is still up front ready to do its job no matter how many people don't acknowledge it or even completely ignore it. The same can be said for Jesus, how many times has Jesus been there for me but I've ignored Him? How many times has Jesus done something for me but I haven't told Him thanks or taken Him for granted? How about you? I can tell you for me it's more than I can count!!! But you know what Jesus still is enthusiastic about greeting me, He is still ready every moment to be there for me and He never gets mad and then stops talking to me, and He never lets what happens between me and Him affected His willingness to be there for others!!!

People look at Doormats as something that are weak, no good, and worthless, but this quote and my meditation on this has gotten me to see that Doormats are the greatest need we have in Church and life!!! Where do you stand today? Are you looking at life as tho you deserve to be in positions of superiority? Are you convinced others ought to bow to you and your might, knowledge and power? Are you always striving to be the one to try and sit on the Throne at the Kings Table? If so maybe you need to Repent and realize that we aren't here to Lord ourselves over others, that we are here to serve one another and the most Glorious position is the one who can find happiness at the spot God wants them to be, even if He calls them to be a Doormat.

I know I want to be a Doormat but it's going to take time and it's going to take effort in applying these principles in my life, and I am excited to see God move and have Faith that He will accomplish these things because Lord knows my flesh isn't keen on doing them. If there is anything I can do to serve you please feel free to reach out to me, I don't care what it is, I want to be dependable for you, I want to be here to absorb whatever it is you need to lay out and upon me and I want to be the first and front in offering you support. The fact is that while I may not be able to help you even tho I will try I know one man who can, this man named Jesus!!!

Do you not know Jesus today? Do you want to be set Free and have that feeling of not wanting to Sin because of Love instead of Religion or Wrath? Do you want to have all the dirt and nastiness this world has put you thru taken off of you, do you want to be clean of all your Sins and Failures? Then cry out to Jesus today!! He’s absorbed all your Sins all the ugliness of the World into Himself and He stands here today calling out to you, to come and be cleansed by His Blood, to be set Free and be Free indeed, to offer you Love you've never felt or known!! He loves you today, won't you come and grab hold of the Salvation He is offering you!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer please feel free to reach out to me via PM, and if I can't help you I can direct you to the one man who can, this man named Jesus!!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
 

Daciple

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Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
1,157
When We Are Made To See


I have been so very blessed this week, in my Church we have 2 Pastors and 8 Evangelists who are preachers who go out to other Churches and preach all over the area. This week one of our Evangelists Roger was preaching Revival at a Sister Church of ours and the blessings I have seen and felt are beyond words, it has been amazing. Roger is a powerhouse of God, I love to sit under his preaching, they stir my soul and you can feel God moving all throughout the Church!!! Yesterday he was preaching from John 9 concerning the blind man, and the central teaching and preaching was centered around Jesus being the only door by which we have access to the Father. Amen, and that is the Truth but as he was reading and preaching and he touched on somewhat on this, but it was stirred on my heart concerning what actually happened to the blind man once he was made to see. That is what I want to speak about today, what happens to those who are made to see.

John 9:18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.

25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.

34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.


I encourage everyone to read the whole chapter but these are the verse that I want to take my thoughts from today. There are 3 points that have been laid on my heart concerning these verses here and I hope to expand upon them and give to you what God has given to me, so that He may be Glorified. Before going over these points I just want to say that as Roger preached, there is only one way to the Father, there is only one door, and that door is Jesus Christ. In this Chapter we see people calling Jesus somethings but only by one thing can you be saved!!! Although I haven't quoted it we can see in verse 16 that the Pharisees called Jesus just a man, I can tell you today friend if you believe Jesus is just a man, then you will not see the Father, that you are Lost and will stay Lost, because Jesus is much more than a man!!!

In verse 17 we see that the blind man said Jesus was a Prophet, but I tell you today friend that if you believe Jesus was just a Prophet, then you are still blind, you are still Lost, you will never see the Father, because Jesus is more than just a Prophet. However we do see in verse 35-38 exactly what is needed for one to see, for one go from Lost to Saved, for one to have access to the Father. Jesus asks the blind man Do you believe on the Son of God? The blind man was physically blind and never saw who put the mud on his eyes and sent him to to be washed and healed, and asks who is the Son of God that I may believe, and Jesus tells him that he is speaking to the Son of God, and what is the blind mans response? He cries out I believe and fell and worshiped Him!!!

That my friend is when the blind man truly saw, and I tell you today unless you come to see that Jesus is the Son of God and believe on Him for Salvation then you are and will remain Lost, but I also tell you that just as Jesus came to that blind man to tell him who He was, He is coming to you who are Lost today and telling you who He is, that He is the Son of God who died on the Cross to offer you forgiveness for your Sins and grant you FULL ACCESS to the Father, to God of all Creation, if you just cry out to Him now!!! He loves you and He wants to open your eyes today, to show you exactly who He is and that He is more than just a man, more than just a Prophet but He is God Himself in Flesh, the Word made Flesh, that has come to give sight to the Blind and Life to those who are perishing!!! Repent and come to Jesus today, right now and be saved and set Free!!!

I pray and hope someone comes to salvation today!!! I hope that some who come across this today are made to see!!! And that's what I want to speak on for the duration as that is what has been laid on my heart, what happens when we are made to see. For those who may have just come to see right now or just recently I want to tell you what will happen when you are made to see, so that when it does come to pass you are not discouraged, that it has been foretold and that you know there is one that walks with you even during these times. For those that have been born again, I want to encourage you if you are in these positions if you are dealing with what I am going to lay out, because no matter how long you have been Saved you will still have to endure these things, I know I have and still do.

The first point I want to speak on comes from verse 18, and what we see here is that the Jews had questioned the man about where and how he received his sight. And the man had told them exactly what had happened, that He had an encounter with Christ and that while he was once blind because of Christ he was now made to see. And what was their response to his testimony? They disbelieved him all together. They disbelieved him in 2 different points as well. And just as the Jews disbelieved him in these 2 points when you are Born Again, the World itself will too disbelieve you about both of the points.

They disbelieved that he was blind, they did not believe he was ever blind, I will tell you today friend when you go to testify about Jesus making you see and once were blind, the World will laugh to scorn you because they will NOT BELIEVE that you were ever blind. They will mock the idea that you never had sight before you came to Jesus, they will ridicule the idea all together. Look at verse 40, how the Pharisees mock Jesus and what is Jesus response to them:

John 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.


Why does the world not believe that you were blind, because they refuse to accept that they themselves are blind, and so they say we see, but since they say they see, then their Sin remains. To come to Jesus you must come as this man, acknowledging your Blindness that you need Him to open your eyes, if you stand today and tell me apart from Jesus you can see, then I tell you today that your Sin remains upon you!!! But if you admit you’re blind, and come to Jesus that is when your Sin is washed away.

So they disbelieved the blind man was ever blind and the World today will disbelieve you who are Born Again were ever blind because they can not and will not believe or understand that they themselves are blind. If one realizes they are blind then they would seek out a way to receive their sight, the World loves their blindness, they love to remain in the darkness, and they will not believe that you ever were blind.

Not only did the Jews disbelieve he was blind, they also disbelieved he had received his sight. Oh what conviction would come upon them if they truly had to accept that Jesus had given this man sight!!! Oh what conviction the World has when we declare that we see, that Jesus is the one that give us this sight!!! Oh they hate to hear that we can see, because that means they are blind and while they love to remain in their blindness and darkness they HATE to hear that they are blind and in the darkness!!! Why do they hate this, because they KNOW it's True even if they refuse to admit it because of the consequences they know would befall them for admitting the Truth, that they would need to Repent, give up their Flesh, their Sin, their Blindness and Darkness. Just as the Pharisees KNEW that Jesus was God, the Son of God, the Messiah, that He had given this blind man sight, they REFUSED to acknowledge it because it would cause them to have to give up their esteemed positions of power, they would have to die out to their Flesh and Sin. The World KNOWS it's blind and in darkness, and it KNOWS that Jesus is the one that gives sight, but it REFUSES to acknowledge either because it would cause it to give up it's desires. And I can tell you today friend when you come to see and declare to the World what Jesus did, they will HATE and REJECT you and completely disbelieve that you now see!!!

The second point comes from verses 25-28, the blind man had been made to see and he is testifying as to how it came about, that he had an encounter with this man named Jesus and he asks those questioning him about it, if they would too come to be Christs disciples from hearing what Christ had done for him. And what do they do? They mock and scorn him, and tell them that they are disciples of Moses. When we are made to see and we declare unto the World that it was Jesus who made us to see and we tell them all about who Christ is, that He is God, the Son of God that He died for our Sins and on the 3rd day overcame Death and Hell and Ascended to the Right Hand of the Father, when we preach the Gospel and tell them that they like we once were are blind and headed to a Devils Hell to burn forever, and we say there is Good News tho, that Jesus came to save us from Hell and has given us forgiveness of Sin if you just believe in Faith, when we ask them to become Disciples along with us of Jesus, they will mock you to scorn just as these Jews. They will tell you that you don't know Jesus, that He is just a man and a sinner like them, that He is just a Prophet. They will tell you that they don't need your Jesus because they are disciples of someone else.

Those entrenched in Religion will be the hardest to get to understand they are Lost, that they need Jesus, that they need to come by the Door of Christ and Christ alone. Those in Religion are blind but have become convinced they see, they are just like these Jews and Pharisees, who believed they were one thing and fine and they mock those who come with the Truth of Christ. Don't be discouraged you today who are Saved and Born Again in Christ that when you tell others of what God has done for you and in you, that those in Religion mock and reject you.

The Religious want nothing to do with Jesus, what did Jesus say He came for?

Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The Religious are those who think they are Righteous, regardless of what Religion it is, if they have it apart from Biblical Christianity, they believe they have attained Righteousness thru their Religion and I tell you Jesus hasnt called them why? Because one must humble themselves, admit they are blind, unrighteous, sick and in need of the Great Physician!! Oh I tell you today those in their Religions, in their False Righteousness which only equates to Self Righteousness, they will mock and scorn you for telling them to come become Disciples of the Son of God who gave you sight, but fret not, because you have something Greater!!!

And that takes me to the third and final point, which is taken from verses 34-38 and this point is the fact that just as the blind man was when he testified of Christ and refused to back down to the pressure put on him by the Jews and Pharisees, we too when we testify about Christ, will have the World and will have the Religious mock us and assuredly they will CAST US OUT. The blind man testified about Christ, the Jews and Pharisees didnt believe he was blind or made to see and questioned him more. The blind man testified that Jesus was more than a man or a sinner, the Jews and Pharisees mocked and disbelieved him. The blind man essentially preached them the gospel teaching them about Christ and asked if they would become His disciple and the Jews and Pharisees mocked him and finally cast him out.

If you are Truly Born Again, then the Holy Spirit inside of you WILL cause you to testify of what Christ has done, no man that was blind and receives his sight will be able to keep such a thing to himself, he WILL tell it to all who will hear!!! However when we do preach, when we do testify about Jesus and what He has done, we can be assured that the World represented in this passage by the Jews and the Religious, represented by the Pharisees, will mock to scorn and will not believe you. And when you ask them to come to Christ and teach them who Christ is and what He has done, the World and the Religious, just as the Jews and Pharisees, will again mock you to scorn, tell you that you don't really know Jesus, and then will assuredly cast you out from themselves.

But fret not my friend, because look at exactly what happened to the blind man when he was cast out!! What happened? Jesus heard he had been cast out and immediately came to him!!! Jesus knows what will happen to us when we declare Him for who He is and when we show the Lost they are Lost, He knows that they will cast us out, just as they did the blind man and just as they did Jesus. Yet Jesus will always be there for us each time we are cast out, He will come to our side, comfort us, heal us, and restore our Faith uplifting us and showing us Love and Mercy.

I know what it's like to have the World, to have the Religious cast me out when I came to see, when I went back to my friends and family and told them all about what Jesus did for me. I wasn't prepared for it, I didn't realize just how quickly they would turn on me and cast me out. People who I had been friends with for almost a decade,some since I was a very young child, seen lots of things in our lives together, as soon as I came back home from Rehab and began to declare Jesus they all turned against me. Some fast and forever, some slowly over time began to withdraw from me. I can tell you it hurt, and I stupidly tried over and over to befriend them and then watched as they immediately mocked and ridiculed me.

I didn't understand fundamentally that we who are Born Again are to be a Separate People from the World, and that while we should always look to be kind and loving to those in our lives that are Lost, we aren't to desire to continually fellowship with them. I can tell you I made that mistake many times in my life, and every time I forced fellowship with them, it was always causing me to HAVE to compromise myself and Christ in order to maintain and keep any type of friendship with those still Lost in the World. They would always want me to participate in the lifestyle Christ died to bring me out of, and unless I was there compromising it was so very tense and uncomfortable. I am thankful now looking back, that even tho it hurt to lose them, God was protecting me from doing further damage to myself and my testimony.

What I can also declare is that each and every time someone casts me out from themselves, which still happens today and almost everytime I go to testify in the World about Christ, Jesus Himself is always there to comfort me. He knows every time others have mocked and scorned me and cast me out and every single time He is there to pick me back up, to strengthen me, to show me the Love I need and ready me to go back into the World and declare what it is He has done and is doing in my life!!!

What about you today? Are you in the World, do you believe you see but reject Jesus as God, the Son of God who died for your Sins? I tell you, you are blind today but you too can have an encounter with Jesus so that you can see!!!

Are you like the Pharisees, believing your Religion apart from Christ, gives you Righteousness? I tell you that you truly are sick and truly are blind!!! Will you come today to the Great Physician and be healed? Be restored? Be made whole? Hes calling out to you right now, to come, repent and cry out to Him for Salvation, Salvation from the Death and Hell that awaits you!!!

Have you been Born Again and are having the World and the Religious mock you, and scorn you for your testimony? Have you been cast out from your friends and family because of your declaration of Christ in your testimony and walk? Do you feel alone and heartbroken, rejected and hated? Worry not my brothers and sister for we have Christ and the testimony of one who once was blind and now can see!! We have gained Heaven, and not all the songs and all the notes to be played and sung for a million years can describe the wonder of what it is we shall inherit!!!

Christ is here for you when you are cast out, He is here for the rejected, the dejected, those who give up all the comforts of this life for the Glory of His Name!!! He Loves you today, He is here to comfort you and pick you up, just go into your Prayer Closet and cry out to Him give to Him everything that burdens you and I promise He will come and alleviate your pain and sorrows!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
 

Daciple

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Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
1,157
The Enticement Of Sin

I want to speak today about something that is very rarely spoken about from the Pulpits of Modern Churches today, and that is the Enticement of Sin. I attended a Church on and off for over a decade called the Vineyard. I also attended a few other Churches in between, mostly Non Denominational and in all those years and in all that time I can not relate to you how many times Sin was actually preached upon. I would say in a stretch maybe 3-5 times if that, seriously, Sin never came up. The atmosphere of these Churches tend to be that Sin is just a given that everyone knows about it. Its like its a given that everyone fully understands the Gospel, at least that MUST be how they think because I can tell you almost never was the Gospel preached in all these years. I would surely hear about all the wonderful things God wanted to give me, all the money, good life, great job, cars, houses ect ect. That God wanted me to be happy. I also clearly remember multiple services about tithing, how I ought to be giving my Church money of a certain percentage. I remember one of the first Churches I went to, how after I fell on hard times in my Faith and hadnt been in awhile, that while no one ever called and invited me back or asked how I was doing, I certainly received a flyer telling me their sermon concerning tithing was approaching and how I need to give to God.

I can speak to how often they would talk of Gods healing, of all these wonderful outreach programs and opportunities, of all the good works the Church was doing, but almost never did anyone get up and tell me about Sin. So today that is what I feel lead to speak on because sadly I feel that most people who may come across this simply by sheer mathematics belong to the same type of Church I used to attend, full of many self help sermons and very little Gospel Preaching.

So lets speak about Sin, according to the Bible what is Sin?

1 John 3:4 defines it as Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Joshua 1:18 tells us that Sin is also Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him. James 4:17 says Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. So we see according to the Word of God Sin is transgression of the Law and Rebellion to Gods Commandments.It is to know to do Good and not do it. Its seems to make Logical Sense that Gods Law and His Commands would be a Good Thing to follow and it would make just as much Logical Sense to think that not following them would be a Bad Thing, and that we would just inherently know this and thus follow the Law and Gods Commandments. I mean Romans 7:12 tells us Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. This being the case then tell me why dont we follow the Law and Gods Commandments?

We all have to know and understand that the Commandments are Good and to not follow them are Bad right? I mean lets look at some of the 10 Commandments, Dont Kill, clearly that is a Good Thing to follow, dont Commit Adultery, another Good Thing to follow, dont Steal, dont Lie, dont Covet, all things we know that arent beneficial to us as either individuals or as a society. However I would like you to take a moment and contemplate, do you Sin? Are you really a Sinner today? Have you broken any of the above Commandments?

Some will say well Im no murderer, but let me ask you, have you ever been angry at someone without cause? Jesus says in Matt 5:21:

21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire


Have you ever hated someone? Ever said just how much you hate so and so? John tells us that Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. So if you have ever been angry at anyone without cause, or hated someone, well hate to tell you, you are a murderer.

Some will say well I havent ever committed Adultery Id never cheat on my wife or husband!!! Yet Jesus tells us That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. So have you ever looked upon someone with lust? What does this say about the rampant use of Pornography now a days? You ever look at Porn? If so you are committing adultery, you are an adulterer.


Have you stolen? Even a song for free of the internet? Have you lied ever about anything, even a white lie to supposedly make someone feel better? Have you ever coveted? What about that nice corvette or Porsche that made your head turn? When you look just at these few Commandments that we know are Good, we can see that we break them all, we are literally coveting, lying, murdering, adulterous thieves, each and everyone of us. From the President to the peasant we all have broken the Commandments of God and we have all Rebelled against God.

So we know that we all are guilty of Sin, and it seems more now than ever we take a laissez faire attitude about Sin even when we know we are guilty of Sinning. Thats even if we address Sin as Sin, seeing more and more that we refuse to even identify Sin and call it Sin instead trying to call out those who dare call Sin Sin as opposed to calling Sin what it is Sin. Our Society even including the Church has refused to speak address or call out Sin, its a dirty word, its offensive to speak about it, it hurts others feelings when you call what they do or how they live Sinful. But I tell you today that the offense one takes or the hurt feelings or anger one may feel when exposing their Sins as Sins is nothing compared to refusing to speak and tell others about Sin!! According to the Word of God what is the outcome of Sin?

Isaiah 59:2 says But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Jer 5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. We can see that Sin causes us to become separated from God to a point that He cant even hear our prayers. Our Sin causes good things to be withheld from us. Sin is enslavement, and this enslavement brings about Death! Rom 6:16 says Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Paul tells us further and point blank the outcome of Sin, Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, the return we will have for our SIn is Death. Not only Physical Death but Spiritual Death, the full separation of ourselves from God. We can see our Sin causes us now to be separated, when we have our Sins abiding upon us, it keeps us from being able to even speak to God in prayer, it removes the Good Things of this world from ourselves.

I am sure some would love to place the blame on God for not hearing or not giving us Good Things in the midst of our Sins, or that God is the cause of why we are tempted or why we Sin, people love to lay blame at the foot of God, but James spells this all out for us, telling us in the 1st Chapter of his Book, that God never tempts anyone, that when we are tempted we ourselves are drawn away by our own lusts and when we give into that lust that is what brings Sin. Some want to blame the Devil for their Sin, and while He is the Tempter the ultimate responsibility is ourselves our flesh our lust that brings about our Sin and again James tells us what Sin brings in no uncertain terms.

James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.


Sin tempts and entices us, our nature lusts after Sin, it comes subtly portraying itself as something we really want and desire, it lies to us and tells us its a Good thing, or that there will be no consequences if we just give in and do what feels good to our flesh, but James and Paul both tell us unequivocally that Sin brings Death.

I was reading in Proverbs and in Chapter 7 it gives the exact description of Sin, how it works what it does and where it leads us.

Proverbs 7:7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.


See Sin preys on those with no understanding, that arent able to comprehend the depths of evil that Sin actually is, that are bound down and enslaved by it, just like the young man who doesnt know the evils and the end of following after the strange woman. It waits for us at every turn at every corner, in the darkness of our minds it builds its house knowing we will pass by soon or later. And when we approach it, it comes swiftly with a kiss and offers us the world. It decks its bed, sprays its perfume, it entices us with all the fineness of the world. It dresses itself up in the most beautiful array, it comes to us dancing sweetly, trying to draw us in. It offers us our deepest desire, it promises love, it tells us whatever our ailments are we can find relief if we just lay down in its bed of fine linen.

It tells us we have nothing to worry about, that no harm will come, that the good man is away, nothing will be found out. It speaks to our heart and flesh, to our carnal mind, with fair speech and flattery, and what can we do against this temptress. Like the man without knowledge, we go after the Sin straightway, we drink it up looking to find all that it has enticed us with, we hope to find love at the bottom of the cup of the Sin we gulf down. We hope to find happiness, contentment, joy, peace, all the things it promised to fill that void we all have inside of us, but what it is we find every single time we give into Sin?

That it is a liar, that all that awaits is despair and anguish, more and deeper loneliness, anger, unhappiness, anxiety, guilt, nothing Good has come of giving into the temptation of Sin. What awaits one who continues in Sin? The way of Sin is to Death and Hell. Sin lies to you tells you that the Good Man is gone, that we dont have to worry about His Return, that His Return is predictable,but there is only one Good Man, that man Jesus and He says about His Return:

Matt 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Rev 1:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

1 Thes 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night


O Sin that lying temptress that tells you there is nothing to worry about, that the good man is gone and not coming back, but I tell you Sinner, that the Good Man comes back like a thief in the night, at the time you least expect it!!! Whether it be the actual day Christ comes back and catches you off guard, catches you lying in bed with Sin like a whoremonger, or if it be the day the Lord calls you to His side in your physical death, for it is written that it is appointed unto men to die once and but after this the judgment. Today may be the day the Lord calls you to judgement, life is but a vapor friend, we never know when we shall die, but its an appointment we all will keep assuredly, and on that appointed day will you be found in the bed of Sin? Jesus may also pass you by today calling out your name, is He speaking to your heart now? Do you feel conviction upon you concerning your Sin, where it leads and where you will end up?

To die in your Sin leads to only one place, and I can tell you that if you die in your Sins you will not be in the same place as Jesus for He says in John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. In Matt 22 Jesus gives a parable of the wedding feast in which all were invited and there we see a man who shows up without the wedding garment, this man was found still in his Sin and we can see exactly what happens to him in verse 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. To die in your Sins is to leave the Wrath of God abiding upon you, Paul writes in Roms 1:8 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness and in Ephs 5: 5 and 6 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Sin brings Death, brings the Wrath of God upon us, it leaves us in Hell, in Outer Darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, it enslaves us, binds us, and ruins us. Do you think you are going to get a pass from the Judgement of Sin? If you believe so I am here to tell you that you are wrong, for the Word of God tells us in Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Do you think that you can resist Sin, that you can even please God you who walk after your flesh? If so let me tell you what the Word of God says, for in Rom 8 Paul writes to us and tells us For to be carnally minded is death; Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Our natural state is to be of our Flesh, it is to be desiring of Sin, and we are at enmity against God, which means we are at war against the Lord Himself. We have no ability to resist Sin, we have no ability to please God, we are carnally minded and therefore we are lost in Sin, bound for Wrath, Destruction and Hell!!! O what a pitiful state we are in because of our Sin!! How can we possibly escape this pit of destruction, how can we possibly stand against Sin, how can we even begin to please God, how can we not be found under His Wrath, for we are all Sinners, we have all fallen short, we are condemned, we are all guilty before the Great and Almighty Lord!!!

Have you heard the Good News Friend? Has anyone declared to you the Good News? I believe most people in the world have never heard the Good News, in fact I believe huge amounts of Church goers have never truly heard the Good News! What is the Good News, well I will tell you the Good News, the Good News is the Gospel my Friend!! Gospel literally means Good News, and I am here to declare the Gospel, the Good News to you, to all who have understood and found themselves to be what I have just laid out!! The Carnally Minded, the young man void of understanding trapped in Sin, the guilty before God who have His Wrath abiding upon them, the one who accepts they have fallen short of the Glory of God, the one who sees they are headed for Destruction and Hell, the one who see they have no hope in themselves before a Perfect and Almighty God, who finds themselves at desperate place desiring to know how to keep from Hell, to keep from Wrath, to please God but feels there is no way they can!!!

O I tell you Friend if that is you, if you have become Lost then there is Good News for you today!!! You are right in your knowing there is nothing you can do to stop sinning, there is nothing you can do to remove the Wrath, there is nothing you can do of yourself to please God, but I am here to declare to you that God loves you so much that He Himself has done everything needed so that you can have Forgiveness for your Sins, that He has done everything to remove from you the Wrath you know you deserve, that He has done everything needed so that you can be Freed from the Enslavement of your Sins,, He Himself has done everything needed so that you can live a life pleasing of God!!! I tell you Friend that the Gospel the Good News is that Jesus Christ has come from Heaven, humbled Himself unto Death and He Himself has taken upon Himself all the Wrath of your Sins, and in place of the Wrath you deserve He gives you Forgiveness.

Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.


Jesus Christ came and died on the Cross taking your Sins and the Wrath of your Sins upon Him and in exchange for your Death and the place in Hell you deserved He gives you Eternal Life!!! That by His Death for your Sins, the Sins that separated you from God, He has reconciled or brought you back to God!!! There no longer remains a separation between you and God because of what Christ has done!!!

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

It is by the Blood of Christ and thru the Blood of Christ that Forgiveness of Sin is attained,

1 Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;


In the Old Testament God called for and accepted the Sacrifice of Animals to cover the Sins of Israel, this being a foreshadowing of what was to come He called for the Sacrifice of a Perfect Lamb while Israel was in bondage to Egypt before the day in which He came bringing Death to the firstborn:

Ex 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses,
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.


And He instituted Sacrifice as a method to cover Sin for all of Israel once out of Egypt:

Lev 4:32 And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.
33 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.
34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:
35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the Lord: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.



Lev 5:6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.
9 And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering.
10 And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.


By the Blood of Sacrifice not only was Forgiveness of Sin made but also the Establishment of the Mosaic Covenant:

Ex 24:6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.


John the Baptist declared when He saw Jesus in John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Lamb that was slain for forgiveness of Sin before the foundation of the World, It is the Blood of Jesus that is applied to the doorposts of our heart so that when Spiritual Death comes by it Passes over us, that we have passed from Death unto Life by the Blood of the Lamb!!!

The Wrath of God was satisfied by the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross, just as in the Old Testament, the Wrath of God was satisfied for the time by the Sacrifice of the Animals.

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God

1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.


Christ also declares in Matt 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Not only has Christs Blood brought remission of Sin and has reconciled us back to God it has ushered in a New Covenant. Paul teaches us about the Covenant and Blood of Christ in Hebrews writing:

Hebrews 9:1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all

But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.


Just as there was a Sacrifice offered by Moses to confirm the Old Covenant or Testament, so to was there a Sacrifice offered to confirm the New Covenant or Testament, and that Sacrifice was Christ, and just as the Blood of the Sacrifice was sprinkled upon the Altar for remission of Sin in the Temple so too has Christ entered into the Holiest of Holies and offered His Blood once and for all for the remission of Sin and He has put away all Sin by the sacrifice of Himself!!! What Good News is that, that we can attain Forgiveness and Redemption of Sin its curse and its destination because Christ has came and by His Death and Sacrifice we can be given Eternal Life that we can enter into the New Testament with Christ!! AMEN!!!

Not only did Christ come to offer us Forgiveness from our SIns, He has also come to Free us from our Enslavement to Sin. In John 8 Jesus says:

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.


In Romans 6 Paul writes:

2 How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.




O what a Glorious Thing, that because of Christ we too can become dead to Sin, that He offers us a way out of every Temptation, that no longer must we be Slaves to Sin, that He has set us Free and we be Free Indeed!!!

And to be sure, Christ didnt come to bring Wrath and Condemnation, Jesus came to bring Salvation.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

How are we able to be saved by Christ, how can we have His Blood applied to us, how can we attain the Salvation that Christ offered thru His Sacrifice?

There is one word that proceeded from all the mouth of all the Apostles, from Jesus and from John at the beginning of their preaching the Gospel:

The First Word recorded from Johns mouth as He began His Ministry:

Matt 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.


The First Word recorded from Jesus mouth as He began His Ministry:

Matt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

At the day of Pentecost when Peter was asked how one can receive Jesus he said:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost

As Peter preached at Solomons Gate he said:

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Paul tells us what he did as soon as he began to preach:

Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

We can see that there is one word that is the same in all these texts, there is one call from all of them, from John, from Peter, from Paul, even from Christ, and that is REPENT!!! One MUST Repent, it is essential but confusion comes from how people define Repentance, and there are 2 types of Repentance, Repentance unto Salvation and Repentance from Sins. Repentance means to change ones mind, it also means to turn away, but what type of Repentance is needed for Salvation. Well Jesus tells us exactly what is needed for Salvation.

Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Repent ye and BELIEVE the Gospel, this is to change your mind about Sin, to change your mind about Jesus, to go from unbelief to belief in where you stand before a Mighty and Holy God condemned in your Sins, from unbelief to belief that because of your Sins before God you deserve what He has declared the punishment to be which is Death and Hell, to believe that the only Escape from Hell is thru believing in Christ and Christ Alone for Salvation!!! If you refuse to believe that you are Sinner condemned to Hell, deserving of Hell, then of what use is the Sacrifice of Christ and His Blood to you? If you refuse to believe that your Sin has separated you from God and there is a chasm that is impossible for you to cross over so that you can be reconciled to God again, then what is point of Christ coming to bridge the Gap and bring reconciliation thru His Blood and Death on the Cross to you? You must be Lost and believe that you are Lost before you have any hope of being Saved, otherwise what are you being Saved from? But if you Repent from your unbelief, if you believe that you are condemned if you are a Sinner that has been separated from God by your Sins, that you are on the way to Hell, then my friend Salvation is at your door, for Christ died for you!!!

There is no need to clean yourself up, you will never be able to, there is no need to try and stop this or that Sin before Christ can save you, no Friend I tell you Christ wants you just where you are, exactly how you are, in the exact state that you find yourself when you admit you are a Sinner Lost without God, stuck in the mire of Sin, broken and feeling as tho you are of no use, THAT is when Christ comes with His Hand out reaching down from Heaven to lift you out of that pit of despair to give you the Salvation you are so desperate to find!!!

What must you do to be Saved?

Acts 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
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.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name

Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.


How are we saved? We are saved when we change our minds about Sin, Death and Hell, and believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died on the Cross for our Sins and that because of His Sacrifice and Blood we are Forgiven and that we have passed from Death unto Life. It is by the Grace of God thru Faith that we believe on Christ and are given Forgiveness, Victory over Sin and Death and now are Restored and Reconciled to God obtaining Eternal Life!!!

Where do you stand today friend? The Gospel has gone out, the Truth that you are a Sinner deserving nothing but Death and Hell because of the Sin you have found yourself in, the temptress of Sin and the Lust of your own flesh deceiving you bringing you to destruction. O but you dont have to stay there, not one second longer, all you have to do is cry out to God admit where you stand, ask for Forgiveness and believe in your heart that Jesus came to Free you from the shackles of Sin, to Free you from the destination and path you are on into a Devils Hell, to Restore you into right Fellowship with God, where He will hear your prayers and give to you all the Good Things He offers His Children!!! Today is the day of Salvation, come to Christ, be Saved, God loves you so much that He gave up all of Heaven to die for you even when His enemy!!! What a loving Savior we have in Christ Jesus, come to Him today, find Forgiveness no longer live a life in condemnation. Be free from Sin have a way out when it comes tempting, Jesus will help you with everything if you just let Him, dont hold back come to Him be Born Again and inherit the Kingdom of God!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)
 
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Daciple

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Hope In The Valley


Hello family, I hope everyone is having a blessed day today, I know I am! The Lord has been moving in my life sweetly and I am thankful that He’s allowed me to have a closer and more fruitful relationship with Him over the past few months and even more so in the past few weeks! It’s been a journey that is for sure, but it’s one I am grateful for and so very glad that He’s been there with me every step of the way!

So I was praying the other night and the Lord lead me to a verse and then began to move upon me and expand and open my eyes and show me so much that I had never seen before in this verse, and today I’d like to share with you what He has laid upon my heart. I hope that if you take the time to read this to its conclusion you come away as blessed as I was when He revealed this unto me!

What I want to let you know today family is that there is Hope in the Valley, no matter how far it seems we are stuck in the valley, no matter how dark it may seem, no matter how high the sides seem, I am here today to tell you, to encourage you, to let you know friend, that no matter how it seems, whether you are lost and undone today or have been saved for 50 years and find yourself in the midst of another trial, that there is always and will always be Hope In The Valley!!!

The verse the Lord laid upon my heart was Isaiah 65:8-10:

Is 65:8 Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.


So when I was reading this, the Lord placed the Valley of Achor upon my heart. What is the valley of Achor, so I began to study it out. When I began to research and read more about it I first came to find out that the definition of Anchor in Hebrew means, muddy gloomy dejected or trouble. It is also a valley near Jericho. I would like to give some background about Jericho before we get into the Valley of Achor because the two are intertwined greatly.

Now Jericho is a very important city in the Bible, it was the first city that Israel needed to conquer as they marched into the Promise Land. Jericho was a stronghold, if Israel failed to conquer Jericho then they wouldn’t have been able to take the rest of Canaan. It also needed to be destroyed for the safety of Israel, if the men of war went off to fight at another city then they would have been leaving the entire camp of Israel defenseless on the plain ready to be slaughtered by the men of Jericho. So we can see that the necessity of conquering Jericho was of immense importance to Israel, but how was Israel able to destroy this great city?

Jericho was renown for the immense walls built up around it, for its superior defenses, it prided itself on being invulnerable to attack because of its great walls. However the Lord had a plan and showed His great and mighty work thru Joshua and Israel telling them to march around the city walls one time for 6 days and on the 7th day they walked around it 7 times. On the 7th day and the 7th time the horns blew and Israel gave a great shout and the walls of Jericho fell flat, allowing Israel to enter the city where they utterly destroyed all that were in the city save Rahab and her family and burnt the city to the ground. This was an epic victory for Israel as Josh 6:27 tells us, So the Lord was with Joshua and his fame was noised throughout all the country. Israel was victorious, Joshuas name was famed to both Israel and the rest of Canaan, and the fear of the Lord was placed on all who were near and far for the taking of Jericho.

The next city that was ahead of Israel was the city of Ai, there was a valley that led from Jericho to Ai. Joshua sent out spies to spy out Ai and they reported back to him telling him to send only a few of the men of war 2-300 because there were not many men in Ai. So here we have Israel who just laid siege to what was truly a city that should have been impossible for them to take because of its defenses and they did it in a miraculous way with God falling the walls in a divine act, and now they faced a much smaller city and one without walls or defense to speak of. After what they just accomplished the taking of Ai should have been not feat whatsoever.

However when Israel went up to fight against the men of Ai they ended up having to flee from them, having 36 men killed in the battle, and having lost in such a decisive manner the Bible tells us that hearts of the men of Israel all became like water, their hearts melted within them. Joshua was distraught, he didnt know what had happened, he fell to his face asking the Lord why this had happened. The Lord reveals to him that Israel had sinned, stealing an accursed thing.

Josh 7:11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you
.

The Lord tells Joshua to bring Israel out and that He will bring out from Israel a tribe, and from that tribe bring out that family, and from that family bring out that household and from that household bring out that man that had sinned against the Lord. So Joshua does exactly that and from out of Israel about 2-3 million people God brought forth the one specific man that had sinned against Him. The Lord brought out a man named Achan who confesses saying he took a Babylonish garment 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold and hid it.



Josh 7:21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.
24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.


Now look at where Israel was at, they just won a great victory, Jericho was given up to them, they were on the highest of high mountain tops, but just as quickly as they were on the mountain in victory the came to the lowest low in the valley. A valley in which they found themselves defeated, where they were turned back with their hearts melted in fear within them, but I am here to tell you today that there is Hope in the Valley!! There was hope for them in that valley, and more over there is hope for us today right there in that specific valley, in the valley of Achor.

There are 2 things I want you to see in these verses, the personal application and the overall spiritual application. When it comes to the personal application Id like to ask you why was Israel in the valley? Why did Israel fall in defeat?

Josh 7:11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

They were in the valley of Achor, they fell because they sinned. I will tell you today friend that sometimes we too are in the valley we are in because of sin. That dirty word that no one wants to talk about in the Modern Church anymore, as tho Sin doesnt exist, as tho we shouldnt judge ourselves or one another in our Sin, and this terrible ideology rampant in the Modern Church of not calling Sin Sin and exposing Sin as such in fear of offending or hurting someones feelings is only destroying us as individuals putting us into and leaving us in the valley not able to get out, and ruining us as a society as a whole.

But let God be true and everyman a liar, what God has told us is Sin is still Sin today regardless of any modern conception or ideologies, and I will tell you today that our Sin can put us right into a valley. For some people its blatant Sin, Sin of Lust, Sin of Hate, Sin of Unforgiveness, Theft, Greed and so on and so forth. For others its hidden Sin, its bound-up, its buried deep down in your heart, in the earth underneath your tent.

Whether its blatant or hidden I can tell you when the gospel goes out, when God moves upon you, He’s going to find you out! Just as God found out Achan from the millions of people in Israel, so too will God find you out and find out your sin!

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

God has found you out, and there is a payment due unto you for yours and my sin. Achan and his whole family had to pay a price, they all perished. And I will stand before you today and tell you that that which was required of Achan for his sin against the Almighty God is also required of you and me for Acts 10:34 says,

Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

And again in Romans:

Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

That means God doesnt show partiality between us as individuals, and thus what was required of Achan for his sin, is required of you and I for our sins, both blatant and hidden. Of course in today’s Society and sadly even in a huge portion of Churches, we dont like to hear this but the Word of God is true,

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death


When I speak of Sin, when I spoke of the blatant and hidden Sins they came to your mind, your heart is racing, you have been found out right now, you know right this second you are guilty before God and I am telling you that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God because the penalty for your sin is Death! You right now are in that valley with Achan and his family, but I am here to tell you today that even tho you are in that valley praise the Lord there is hope!!!

Isaiah 65:8 Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

I am so thankful to God that He has always had grace and mercy towards Israel so He could bring forth the blessing with the new wine from amidst the cluster!! In verse 9 it says

Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

That God will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, an inheritor of His mountain and His elect shall dwell there. The reason why theres hope in that valley you and I are in, the reason we can hope today when we know without a doubt that we are guilty before God is because God has brought forth that seed, that inheritor and I will declare unto you today that that seed is Jesus Christ!!!

Gen 22:15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;



Gen 35:10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.



Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.


Jesus is the blessing out of the cluster, Jesus is the seed of Jacob, Jesus is the inheritor, Jesus gives His elect Gods inheritance and Jesus causes His servants to dwell there!!!

Jesus is the hope in the Valley of Achor, I told you the personal application of this valley, that we are in the valley at times because of sin, that this sin can either be blatant or like Achan hidden and buried, or it could be both, and that you know without a doubt that you are guilty of these Sins. You have them going around your head, you are feeling it move upon your heart, and you know that just as Achans life was required of him so to is your life required of you!! But I keep telling you, I will keep insisting to you that right there in that valley there is hope, right now hope is there!!!!

This is the spiritual application of the valley, this is the hope, Achan represents our sin, all of it, our lies, hate, anger, lust, greed, murder, envy, coveting, Achan is the representative of all of our Sin and God has taken this Sin and the judgement of this Sin and placed all of it upon the Seed.


2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.


1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.



It says in Joshua 7:26 that the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger once the penalty was paid. I will tell you today friend that the Lord will turn from the fierceness of His anger towards you because of the Sin you know you are guilty of if you just turn to Him, if you just cry out for forgiveness!!!

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him

I quoted Romans 6:23 earlier but not the whole verse, the rest of the verse reads,

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus is our Hope in the Valley friends, Is 65:10 says that the Seed who we know is Jesus has turned the Valley of Achor which once was a valley of trouble and dejection into a place for the herds to lie down. In John 10:11 Jesus says,

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

And

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Isaiah 33:9 tells us that Sharon is like a wilderness however the Seed of Jacob has turned the wilderness of Sharon into a fold of flocks!!!

Jesus is the Hope in the Valley, Jesus is the Seed of Jacob who has taken the Valley of Achor, a place that is called a place of trouble, a place of dejection, a place of judgement unto death, and has turned it from a place of despair and heartache, of fruitlessness and desert, into a place of victory, a place of hope, a place of eternal life, a place of green pastures and a place where we who are weak and weary from the battles and valleys of life can find refuge and gain strength to go on!!! A place where we can see Jesus take that which was bitter and destitute and turn it into shouts of joy and prosperity finding life eternal and heavenly riches beyond compare to what this world can offer!!!

What happened to Israel once they were purged of their Sins? In Joshua 8:11 it says they went back into a valley again however there was a much different outcome this time!!!

Joshua 8:26 For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

Israel was in victory, the Sin was purged and victory was claimed they were conquerors once again!!!!

Where do you stand today? If you dont know Christ as your Lord and Savior I’ll tell you that you are Achan sitting in the valley, and you will forever stay stuck in the valley seeing defeat over and over abiding with the wrath of God upon you. For your life is required for your Sin, and that is eternal damnation unto the fiery pits of Hell where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth where the worm never dies and the fire never quenched. Just as Achan died and burned so to will you if you reject Christ for John 3:36 says,

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Come now to Christ you who are lost and undone, come meet your Savior, ask for forgiveness for your Sins, He’s right here right now waiting for you wanting to get you out of the valley, to bring you to the mountain, to give you eternal life, to make all the hard times and difficulties in life turn to victories, to make you lie down in green pastures, to lead you beside still waters!!! Now is the time today is the day of Salvation!!!

Do you know Jesus as your Savior today, are you in a valley?

1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

Today the word judge has become worse than a 4 letter word but I tell you that judgement is a good thing for verse 32 says... But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

I am thankful for Judgement, it brings us to righteous fruits and keeps us from condemnation, so if you are in a valley judge yourself thoroughly to see if there are any hidden sins in your heart that God is trying to remove and burn up out of your life!!!

For whomever turns to Christ, lost or saved, when we are in the valley, when we repent and lay our Sins at the Cross we too will be as Israel coming out of the Valley of Achor being victorious being conquerors, in fact we are promised more than victory!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence


Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
 

Daciple

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Who Shall Abide In Thy Tabernacle
I was praying the other day and I don't know how the Lord communicates with others but I know that many times as I am praying either during or at the end of my prayers He speaks to my heart and many times He also lays Scriptures on my heart. Well the other night as I was praying concerning many things, the Lord laid Psalm 15 on my heart, and as soon as I read the first verse I could feel Him moving and I would love to just share what it is He moved upon my heart.

Psalm 15 is a short Psalm and it is from the first 2 verse I want to speak on today:

Ps 15:1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.


The question of the first verse laid upon my heart, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? This is a heavy question when we begin to look upon the answer in the second verse, that being those who walk uprightly, work righteousness and speak truth in their heart. I don't believe many people truly grasp the gravity of what has been spoken here, do you?

Before I begin I want to look at the tabernacle, what is it that is meant in this verse concerning the tabernacle? See in the Old Testament Mose had a literal tabernacle made for the Lord:

Ex 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.


Ex 31:7 The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
8 And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
9 And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10 And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,
11 And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.


As we read in Ex 25:9 God gave them a command to make a sanctuary and a tabernacle with a specific pattern, and it is amazing to study the tabernacle and its relation to Christ, but that is not what I would like to speak on today, instead I want to show that God commanded that the Israelites build Him a place where He can be, and called it a tabernacle.

There were very specific instructions on how to build it and who, and when people could enter the tabernacle. One of the most important instructions for creating the tabernacle was the command to build the veil:

Ex 26:33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.


This veil divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place and this is what I want to focus on today, who can possibly enter this Most Holy Place, who can enter the tabernacle of the Lord?

I can tell you that after the time of Moses that absolutely no one was allowed entrance into the Holiest of the Holies, inside the tabernacle of the Lord save once a year and by the High Priest after he made many different sacrifices. He was allowed in there during Yom Kippor to offer the Blood of the Sacrifice for the Atonement of Sin at the Altar or Mercy Seat of the Lord. This was upon my heart as I meditated on Psalms, who can possibly abide in the tabernacle of the Lord?

If the High Priest can only enter once a year, and only for a moment to apply the Blood to the Mercy Seat how can anyone enter into the tabernacle and abide there? David writes to us and tells us who it is that can enter into the tabernacle, he that walks uprightly, works righteousness and speaks the truth in his heart. But is that you or me? Do you believe you walk uprightly, work righteousness and speak the truth in your heart daily, day in and day out?

I can tell you I personally don't I fail daily at my walk, I try but many times don't speak the truth in my heart and I can't say I work righteousness all the time, there are plenty of times I haven't or don't. What does the Word of God say about you?

Is 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.


It says that we all have become unclean, our righteousness are as filthy rags, our iniquties have taken us away, that we are consumed because of them!!!

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

Paul tells us here in Romans that we all have sinned and we all come short of the glory of God!!! What then can we possibly do to be in the presences of the Lord? If we can't walk upright, our righteousness are filthy rags and our sin has separated us from God and His Glory what can one even think to do to be able to not only walk for one moment in the tabernacle but to abide in it? Abide here means to dwell, to stay, to rest essentially, how can we dwell, stay and rest in the presence of the Lord in His tabernacle?

I can tell you in and of yourself you can not and never will be able to come near the Holiest of the Holies, you will not ever be able to dwell in the presence of the Lord, see our Sin has cut us off from Him, our Sin has caused us to be separated from God and His Holy Presences.

However we would like to measure ourselves, our ability to be upright in our walk, our ability to work righteousness, our ability to speak the truth in our hearts, our ability to do “Good Deeds” none of this will ever allow us access into the presences of the Most Holy God, in the Holiest of Holy because all of it is tainted with Sin. There is no escaping the reality that each and everyone of us has Sinned and there is no amount of supposedly Good Works we can ever do to make up for our Sin or that builds the bridge across the gulf of separation between us and God.

Yet I am here today to tell you the Good News, that even tho we in and of ourselves can never hope to cross that gulf, to bridge that gap of separation between us and God, that there is absolutely no way we can possibly ever by ourselves be able to abide in the tabernacle of the Lord, that God Himself has made a way for us. That God who so desperately loves us and who so desperately desires us to be in fellowship with Him, who desperately desires to allow us to abide in His presence has made a way when He knew we couldnt ever make one for ourselves.

He sent His Son Jesus Christ to this World to bridge the gap, and what caused the gap, which is our Sins!!! Jesus Christ came to take upon Himself your Sins so that no longer would there be a gap between you and God!!! The Word of God tells us that Jesus has come to reconcile us back into fellowship with the Lord!!!

2 Cor 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.


Jesus came and being perfect, never sinning ever one time, laid down His life and presented Himself a Sacrifice for the Atonement of Sin, just as the High Priest would one time a year enter into the Most Holy Place to sprinkle the Blood of the Atonement for the Sins of Israel, so to did Christ offer His Blood and entered into the Holy Place, once and for all to Atone for all of our Sins!! Amen!! Thank you Jesus!!!

Christ came and purged Sin by the sacrifice of Himself, so that we can be reconciled back to God, that is how much Christ loves us, that is how much the Father loves us, that He sent the Son to overcome the gulf our Sin has brought so that we have the chance at redemption and fellowship once more with Him!!!

See there once was a vile that separated God from all of mankind, God dwelt behind that vile in the tabernacle, but Jesus came giving Himself as Sacrifice to rip that veil that separated us from God!!!

Matt 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Amen!! Praise the Lord, by Christ we now have the opportunity to go into the Holiest of the Holies!!! However we still have the issue of the original answer, which said only those who walk uprightly, who work righteousness, and speak truth in their hearts can enter and abide in the tabernacle. Jesus ripped the veil, Jesus bridged the gap, but that isn't what will allow us to enter into the tabernacle, we must be upright, righteous and speak the Truth. Do you think you can do that?

I will tell you even tho Jesus opened the way to abide with God doesn’t mean everyone CAN or WILL abide with God, there is still the issue of Righteousness. We in and of ourselves can never attain this Righteousness, just because Jesus came and paid the price for our Sins and made Atonement for them doesn’t make us not Sin ever again. There is still one more crucial thing that must happen for anyone to be able to abide with God. And Jesus Himself tells us exactly what that thing is:

Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

One must Repent, which means to change your mind, change your mind about Sin, about the consequences of Sin, about who Jesus really is, and what He has done, and to believe the Gospel. The Gospel that you being a Sinner are separated from God by that Sin and that you are guilty and head to a Devils Hell if you die in this state, but the Good News, the Gospel is, if you just believe in Faith on Christ that He has come to take your place and died for your Sins, that He made Atonement for your Sins, that He has ripped the veil, that He has give you reconciliation to Christ, then you can by Faith thru Grace Alone, be saved forever more!!!

There is no pleasing God without Faith friend:

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

You must have faith and you must believe in Christ, Christ has done all the Work needed for Salvation and Reconciliation, and if you refuse to believe none of it will be of affect to you. You will still die in your Sins and be found guilty and placed in the Lake of Fire where you can never escape, but I tell you today, by simply believing in Faith in Christ you can escape Hell and you can gain Heaven!!!

It is not by anything we can do that we are able to again be brought into fellowship with the Lord, it is only by Faith and believing in Christ that it is possible. See what is amazing is that it is completely true what David wrote in Psalms concerning who can abide in the tabernacle, only those who are upright, work righteousness, and speak the truth in heart, and while we may fail at times to do this, there was one who never once failed!! Who was perfectly Righteous, His name is Christ the Almighty!!!

1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.


Jesus never Sinned once He was Perfect, and what is the most amazing and wonderful thing in all the World is that simply by believing in Faith in Him, His Perfect Righteousness is imputed to us!!!

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.


Amen, it is by believing in Faith that the Righteousness of Christ, the Righteousness of God is given to us!!! See there is nothing you can ever do to attain the Righteousness needed to abide in the tabernacle with God, and God knew this, so He sent Jesus, and Jesus came to be Perfectly Righteous so that simply by believing in Faith in Christ that He was Perfect, then we too are now seen by God as being Perfectly Righteous and thus we now by Faith have attained the Righteousness needed, the upright Walk needed, the Truth in our heart needed to abide in the tabernacle with God!!! And we are now given the Righteousness to come boldly before the Throne of Grace and pour out our requests and prayers to God. It is by Faith in the finished Works Christ Alone and no works of ours that now God who once was far off, who once didn't hear our prayers because of the Sin that separated us from Him, we now can cry out to our God and He will listen, He will care and move and bring us into a deeper fuller relationship with Him!! Oh what a Glorious Savior is Jesus Christ!!!

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Where do you stand today friend? Are you still standing outside of the tabernacle, are you still trying to do works to please God, to get yourself into the tabernacle? Are you still separated from God? Do you see the chasm that your Sin has caused between you and God? Do you see how all the things you are doing to cross that chasm are not availing a thing?

Then I say to you, come to Jesus, repent and believe on Him and if you just simply believe in Faith that He is who He said He is, that He has done what He said He would do, that He has taken your Sin and offered you Grace and Mercy, that if you just believe on Him that He was Perfect and Righteous then today He has promised you that you will be fully forgiven of all your Sins, that you will be Reconciled back to God, that you will be made to be Perfectly Righteous just as He is and you will be able to come and abide with God in His Tabernacle!!!

Please come to Christ today, I promise you will never regret it and it will be the happiest day in your life!! Please come and be reconciled back to God, please abide in His tabernacle, enjoy the Rest, Mercy and Love that you find at the Throne of Grace, I beg you don't reject Him, He loves you and wants oh so badly for you to have that personal relationship with Him!!!

Are you saved today but struggling with Sin, having burdens beyond your control bring you down in life? Then I say set your mind and eyes on Christ, remember that you have been set free by His Death and Resurrection, that Sin has no power over us when we just Repent and run to Christ for help to overcome them!! I say lets do as the Word tells us and boldly stand before the Throne of Grace and pour out our hearts and He will be Faithful to give mercy and grace in our time of need!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
 

Daciple

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Disclaimer: I had written this back in December after losing my Job, so while it is old I do believe the points in it may help others I hope you enjoy and are blessed!!!


Obedience of the Son


Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;



Hello Family, I hope this reaches all you well, and that you all are having a blessed day today. I hope that if you come across this you take the time to read it and that you come away as blessed from it as I have been when the Lord revealed it unto me.

A few weeks ago I made an update telling everyone what was happening at my job, that I was pulled into an investigation where it felt like they were going to fire me, last week they made the determination. As of Monday Nov 21st I was fired from my job at AT&T right before Thanksgiving and right before Christmas! What a perfect time to lose my job. After 4 years of dedicated services continually being one of the top performers month in and month out they decided to terminate me. Unfortunately whomever was in charge of making this decision accepted the lies of my manager and I believe another co worker over the truth which I was telling them, and I will be honest I completely and totally did not see that coming.

I was totally rocked to find out I had lost my job, I felt betrayed not only by the people at my work but by the Lord Himself. My world was shattered, my ego was torn apart, my sense of self worth was at an all time low. I was angry, frustrated, depressed, my soul groaned within me, this was a devastating event. I was daily praying to the Lord concerning this matter, I was daily trying to love those who I knew were trying to fire me, I was daily reading the Word gaining encouragement from the many verses I was being lead to concerning how the Lord will win the battle and turn the evil of those who hated me wrongly upon themselves. In my view the victory would have been that they found me innocent as I am, and they would have looked at my manager and those who colluded wrongfully and turn their evil lies upon themselves.

This didnt happen, the one actual thing I didnt expect to happen, happened, I lost my job. I was in a daze, and felt abandoned by my co workers and specifically by God. I didnt know what to do where to turn. I had 2 choices I could turn back to the world, I could do the things of the world to satisfy my hurt, I could go get drunk, or worse drugs to drown my sorrows, I could indulge in entertainment getting lost in video games and movies, I could get mad and break things releasing my anger on the world around me. Or I could turn to God, fall to my knees, cry out to my Lord and Savior, beg Him for mercy and understanding, for compassion and peace.

Last year when I lost my mother, I went down that first road, Im here to tell you friend that road is a dead end road, a dark lonely road of misery and despair, a black pit of loneliness, anger, hate, and depression. A road that only by the grace of God did He pull me off of when I cried out in repentance in April. I know that road well, the soles of my feet walked miles on that road, and I have absolutely no desire to return down that beaten path in my life ever again.

So I chose the second option, I cried out to God, I yelled at God, I opened myself to the Lord laying all my burdens, thoughts, anger, sadness, everything I had, all my emotions at His feet. And that brings us to today. Its been a bit over a week since I was fired and I've had time to process what has happened and more importantly I have been given the grace to bring this to the Lord and He has spoken to me in ways I've never heard before. Moved upon me in ways I haven't felt before and given me understanding of Scripture and its relation to my life in ways I've never understood before. So today Id like to share one of the things Hes shown to me with you folks, in hope that you can take something away from my experience, that you can hear from the Lord in your life, your struggles and more importantly, that the Lord can be glorified in my life!

I came across the Scripture above Hebrews 5:8 a few days before I was fired, yet it was during a time of this trial as I was wrestling everyday with how to cope with people who were clearly trying to fire me but also some who straight up said they hated me and everything about me, even the way I greeted them saying I was having a blessed day. The scripture stuck with me, and after I was fired it continually came to my mind. It says that Jesus even tho a Son, learned obedience from the things He suffered, and that He has become the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him. As I prayed and meditated on this verse I began to see 3 points that stuck out that the Lord began to expand upon, I would like to share with you these points today.

The first thing that stood out was Obedience, in fact in that quote we see Obedience 2 times, Jesus learned it and that eternal salvation is offered to those whom obey. Clearly Obedience is a central part of this verse, and it is a central part of the Christian's relationship with the Lord. How important is it? According to the Word of God its more important than sacrifice is!! If you dont know much about Israeli culture during the time of Jesus then let me explain just how great that statement is. During that time their entire culture was built around sacrificing unto the Lord at His temple in Jerusalem, sacrificing day in and day out for Sin for Freewill offerings, it was the absolute most essential aspect of their culture. Yet I am telling you that Obedience was more important than the central aspect of sacrifice to the Lord!

1 Samuel 15: 22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

The surrounding context of this verse is that Saul was told by Samuel to go to war with the Amalekities and was given specific instructions to utterly destroy them, everything from all the people to all the cattle and stock, all of it was to be destroyed. However Saul decides of himself to do something else, he decided to take the king alive, take the best of the cattle for himself. When he is confronted by Samuel as to why he didnt follow through with the Lords command Saul says, well I took the best of the best so I could sacrifice it unto the Lord!!!

Thats not what God told Him tho, God gave Him the specific command to destroy it all, so Samuel answers him, that it is better to OBEY the Word of the Lord than to sacrifice!! It was so important to God that He took Sauls kingship from him for his disobedience. Does that strike home to you at all? It did to me! How many times have I decided I knew whats best and disregarded the Word of the Lord? How many times did I refuse to accept my sin as sin and do it anyhow thinking I knew better than God? O I tell you today friend we live in a day and time that continually tells us that our society knows better than God and disregards His commands, and I tell you today that just as Saul had to pay a price for his disobedience, just as I had to pay a price for my disobedience, just as this society has been and continually will pay a price for its disobedience, so to will you have to pay a price for you continued disobedience to the Word of God! If you are not being obedient to what God has called you to do, if you are not being obedient to what the Word of God tells you is Truth and what it calls Sin, believing you know better than the Lord, I implore you to repent now, forsake your ways and turn to the Lord for forgiveness, even before reading further! Today is the day of Salvation for someone I know it!!!

If that isnt enough to convince you that Obedience is utterly important to the Lord, then let me tell you what the Lord showed me concerning His own Son. This is a bold statement I am about to make, even more bold than the previous one but it holds just as true, Obedience is so central to the Lord that had Jesus not been completely and totally obedient to the Father, to His calling then His sacrifice would have been of no value!!!

Let me say that again, if Jesus hadnt been under complete submission in full Obedience to the will of the Father then Christs death on the cross would have done nothing for Him and nothing for us. There would be no salvation given, there would be no eternal life offered and each and everyone of us would still be condemned to Hell, to bear the wrath of God we all deserve ourselves. How can I say this you may ask?

Hebrews 9:14 says..How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

It says Christ offered Himself WITHOUT SPOT to God, this means He was completely and totally Sinless not one Sin ever was found in Christ, He is the perfect sacrifice, doing all the things we can never do, He laid His life down for us so that by Him we can be imputed with His righteousness and stand before God by grace thru faith as tho we lived the perfect life of Christ and stand without condemnation. However had Jesus not obeyed God, even once, then this wouldnt be possible for James 4:17 says Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin. Jesus knew what His task was, He knew what was good for Him to do, had He in any way NOT been obedient unto the will of the Father then to Him that would be Sin and then He could NOT have been offered up without spot and His sacrifice would not have been accepted!!! I am here to tell you that His obedience was equal in measure to His actual death on the Cross!!!

Phil 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Rom 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.


Christ was obedient unto death, and by His obedience shall we be made Righteous, praise the Lord, thank you Jesus for your perfect submission for your perfect obedience so that I who am guilty can be seen as righteous by your death and sacrifice, man that just stirs me up gets me excited makes me want to shout for joy family!!! I hope it does the same for you too, if not come to Christ, receive this joy unspeakable, I promise you wont ever regret it!!!

Now just as Jesus was called to live obedient to the will of the Father even unto death, we too have been called to obedience unto the will of God!!

Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.


James 5:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.


We can see how important obedience is, how central it is to God, how central it is to Christ's sacrifice, how central it is to our walk with the Lord, how central it was in the verse we started with in Hebrews. That was the first thing that stood out to me, Obedience. The second thing that stood out to me was Suffering, how Christ's suffering taught Him Obedience, and I believe we are to take lessons ourselves from our sufferings to become more Obedient to the Will of the Father.

In Acts 5:29 it says Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. This is the truth we ought to always obey God rather than men, but when the Lord lead me to this verse He also lead me to what was going on at this time with Peter. If you go back to Acts 4 and read for yourself which I encourage you to do, you will find that Peter and John had come unto the Temple in Jerusalem and began to preach the Gospel of Christ to the Jews, and as soon as they preached they were taken by the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducesss. They were brought to the High Priest and questioned and they again preached the gospel, and after hearing of them in Acts 4:21 it says they further threatened them, they had let them go.

What did Peter do when he was taken and threatened, did he fall away or did he learn obedience from his sufferings?

Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold thier threatenings, and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word

He didnt back away in the face of persecution or threats he asked to speak more boldly!! Then we see that in Acts 5:16-21 that Peter was in Jerusalem healing and preaching and that it caused the Pharisees to become filled with indignation so much so that they laid hands upon him yet again and set him into prison. Yet the angel of the Lord came and delivered him from the prison and gave him a command saying “Go and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life”. Peter was threatened at first, then asked for boldness, he was imprisoned and given a specific task, did he shy away, run, turn tail? No of course not, it says they were found teaching in the temple yet again, and when confronted by the High Priest who said didnt we tell you not to teach in the name of Christ, Peter responds, We ought to obey God rather than men, and again preaches the gospel to them!!! After they heard him preach again the were cut to their heart so much they wanted to murder Peter, however they decided to beat him instead. How did Peter handle being beaten after being threatened after being imprisoned?

Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.


They REJOICED counting themselves worthy to suffer along with Christ, they became even more obedient unto their calling to preach and teach Christ!! Just as Christ learned Obedience through His suffering and just as Peter became more bold in his preaching and rejoiced in his suffering becoming more Obedient so to should we strive to take these times of suffering and allow them to embolden us to cause us to fall to the Father's feet in submission, to use them as opportunities to learn Obedience unto the will of the Father!!

So 2 of the 3 things that stood out to me in Hebrews 5:8 were the importance of Obedience, and the Suffering that produces Obedience. The third thing that was laid on my heart that is inclusive of the other 2 points is that Jesus is called a Son. We of course know that Jesus is the Son of God, but as I was studying this the Lord lead me to Hebrews 12 which says:

Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Christ was a Son, the Son, but we too are also Sons of God, those who believe in Christ, and there are times where God treats us as Son in chastisement. The hours of chastisement, the hours of suffering never feel good in the midst of them but they are for our good. Just as we who have fathers corrected us for our own good, how much more then shall the Lord who is a much more excellent father than our earthly fathers not produce in us that which is good from His chastisement!!!

The Word declares we will suffer persecution those who follow Christ. 2 Tim 3:12 says.. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So what shall we do when we are persecuted, what shall we do in the midst of the trials and tribulations? What should we do when under chastisement of the Lord?

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

I have been in the midst of a trial ever since I stood up a little over a month and a half ago and proclaimed to my congregation just how wonderful the Lord has been blessing me at my work, the next day began a downward spiral, from my managers starting fights with me, stripping away things from me daily, to co workers declaring they hate me for preaching the Word at work, even to the way I say hello, to the investigation prompted by the new manager that clearly disliked me culminating in my termination facilitated by liars in order to finalize my firing. This has been a difficult journey I have taken but I will and do take on faith that God is working all things out for my Good, and I can tell you that I am rejoicing in the fact that I can be called a Son by God, to endure His Chastisement and to be counted worthy enough to suffer persecution for His names sake.

May the Lord be praised in the Highest, He is my King, my Lord, my Savior and my Deliverer! I will continue to praise Him in the midst of these trials and I am utterly grateful for what I have endured thus far as it is drawn me to a whole new level of understanding a whole new level of intimacy, a whole new level of dependency and love that would not be possible without facing what I have and continue to face!!! Praise your name Jesus, I love you so incredibly much, may your name be glorified in my life, sufferings, joy and peace, I want to give my all for you Lord because you gave your all for me!!!

If you dont know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior I beg of you to call out to Him right now, He is passing by and He will come to you if you only cry out with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He wants to heal you, He wants to lift you up, He wants to give you the strength to endure this life and all of its trials and tribulations. He loves you, so much so that He gave up all of heaven to come find you right now, to offer you salvation, to pour His love and grace upon you!!! Please take this opportunity He wants to save you!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence


I have faith in Christ, and I have faith in the Word of God, I know whats promised to me, do you know what Gods promises are for you?

2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 

Serveto

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Even though it might seem like you are preaching to an empty church, @Daciple, I am listening. By the way, though you clearly, and by your description, are turning your misfortune into a valuable lesson, have you considered filing a legal complaint against your ex-employer? Maybe you already know about them, yet here is a link for what seems, to me, a Zionist front organization in part, but they do take on cases in which legal, especially First Amendment, rights of Christians are trampled.

Actually, I am not going to link, but if you search "Get legal help ACLJ American Center Law Justice" you should find it.
 

Daciple

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@Serveto Thanks for the support brother, it is appreciated and it's a blessing of anything I've shared has helped you or anyone else!

And I have thought about seeking legal actions towards my former employer but it has almost been a year since it happened and I don't have the time, finances or energy to pursue them in court. This is a multi billion dollar corporation I worked for if I didn't mention it, it was AT&T, so the likelihood that I could out maneuver them legally is pretty slim.

Instead I've chosen to move on and make it a point to try and pray for those implicit in getting me fired, I am human and it can still bring up pain and anger but I work on dealing with those emotions in a Christ like manner. I believe everything we go through in life can be used as a method to try and become more like Christ.

I fail greatly at letting life's twists and turns conform me closet to Christ but am thankful that He never gives up on me and continually gives me another opportunity to grow in the areas I struggle in.

I had a union and they tried diligently to get me my job back but were not able to, they moved to another aspect to see if they can win my job back but if it's the Lords Will then it'll happen until then I will move forward and walk in faith that He has some other opportunity in front of me. I am excited to see where He will lead me in that aspect of my life!

I hope you are doing well brother, if there is anything I can do let me know, I love you!
 

Serveto

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@Serveto Thanks for the support brother, it is appreciated and it's a blessing of anything I've shared has helped you or anyone else!

And I have thought about seeking legal actions towards my former employer but it has almost been a year since it happened and I don't have the time, finances or energy to pursue them in court. This is a multi billion dollar corporation I worked for if I didn't mention it, it was AT&T, so the likelihood that I could out maneuver them legally is pretty slim.
The statute of limitations might have expired, but still, if your First Amendment rights to free speech were infringed upon, which sounds like a possibility, based upon what you have written, and that is something best discussed with legal advisers, the ACLJ might take your case pro bono. I think that is one of their specialties.

On the other hand, and going strictly by the (good) Book, which, I have had a chance to hear, is one of your admirable traits, we are also told and advised on that score, in principle, as well:

"And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also."
(Matthew 5:40)

Anyway, keep preaching, bro. Thank you for your kindness and Christ-like love. I am listening and do benefit from your insights. I was reminded, during your post, of the old hymn which says: "His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me." Take comfort in and be encouraged by that, those lyrics.
 
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Daciple

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I wrote this last year after the elections, and have tweaked it a bit, but I think the point is still relevant at anytime but especially this week as the country celebrates the 4th of July. I hope all of you have been blessed this week!!!

True Liberty
I was reading in the Word and felt the Lord spoke to me in His Scriptures, and feel lead to share what He put on my heart with those who will come across this post and take the time to read it in its entirety. Here is to hoping this comes out as the Lord gave it to me.

Liberty, that is a word I’d like to discuss if I may for a moment. This week has been overshadowed by the fervor of the outcome of the elections, and to many people the election itself is one of if not the most highly held marks of Liberty. Many believe that the American Ideal of Liberty the American catch phrase of Freedom is the truest understanding of the word Liberty itself. I can understand that position, it’s a position that has been pounded into our heads from children on, from media, from schools, from many of our parents and even from many of our Churches. It is a fundamental aspect of the American Culture and Society.

Can we define this ideal of American Liberty? From my understanding, from what I have heard and seen in media, what I was taught at school what I learned from my parents and what was told to me in some Churches, American Liberty is the pursuit of our happiness, the freedom to do what we choose as long as it doesn’t violently infringe upon others right to happiness. In fact in the Declaration of Independence, our inalienable rights are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, all 3 synonymous to one another for the most part. I will go out on a branch and say that most everyone regardless of political leanings, whether Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, or any other part of the spectrum, even those who declare themselves outside of the normal paradigm can agree at the base level, the above is the common understanding of American Liberty, the catchphrase of American Freedom.

May I ask now, is that truly Liberty though? Is pursuing MY personal happiness, is it truly Freedom to do what I, ME, DACIPLE, chooses to do, when I want to do it, is THAT Freedom and Liberty? Again I believe many think that of course, being able to do what I ME MYSELF choose to do when I want to do it is the ultimate definition of Freedom and Liberty. Having no restrictions on what I choose to do, when I choose to do it and how I choose to do it is the absolute essential understanding of what it means to be Free, to have Liberty. In fact for most of my life I would completely agree, and whatever it may be that kept me from doing just that was the Antithesis of Freedom and Liberty, be it my parents when I was younger, to the police and government as I became an adult.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

As I have grown older and have become a man, as I have grown closer in my walk with the Lord, my understanding of many things have changed dramatically. I can tell you that my understanding in light of the Lord of the idea of Liberty has been one of things that has changed, especially the American Ideology of Liberty. You may be wondering what I mean by this, so let me explain in detail as to why I believe that the American Ideology of Liberty is anything but Liberty and Freedom.

As explained above the concept of Liberty is all about pursuing OUR own personal desires, it’s completely and totally based around doing whatever WE want to do when WE want to do it to satisfy OUR OWN personal lusts and wants. If it feels good and doesn’t hurt anyone else then do it!!! That is exactly what the American Ideology of Liberty boils down to plain and simple. The farther we move towards the future the more “Freedoms” we as a Society have been demanding, to do what we please when we please how we please. The “Liberty” to express ourselves in whatever way we want, from the type of music and dress we choose, to the people we sleep with, to the sex we call ourselves, to the choices we make with our bodies, to the way we marry or divorce, and on and on it goes. Every facet of our culture that has to do with Liberty is expressed by doing whatever we want to do unfettered.

I am here to tell you friend that the American Ideology of Freedom and Liberty is anything but True Freedom and Liberty. I will tell you that this Ideology is the definition of Enslavement, complete and total Enslavement. I will also tell you that True Freedom and Liberty comes with a cost, and that cost has absolutely nothing to do with Troops or Government for the upholding of any American Ideology, as I just said what we have been told is Liberty, what people believe they are dying to protect is nothing more than Enslavement.

If you are getting upset at this point I ask you to please bare with me, let me explain my position and if you choose to disagree so be it, I have zero intentions of offending anyone on a personal level, however I would much rather offend you with the Truth than to comfort you with a Lie.

My view comes directly from the Word of God, and in the Word of God it speaks about what brings Freedom and Liberty and what causes Enslavement and the fruits thereof. The Ideal of American Freedom and Liberty is completely and totally wrapped around Self, it is utterly the position to easily pursue Sin in every possible form with no judgement or entity to slow down or stop one’s ability to Sin. Jesus tells us in John 8:31:

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.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.


The Pharisees asked Jesus how He could make them free if they were never in Bondage, and how does Jesus respond? He tells them they are in Bondage because they are in Sin. I tell you today the same thing Jesus told the Pharisees, that today you who are in Sin, that pursue Sin, that believe Liberty is to be found in your ability to do as you please, to demand no one judge you for doing whatever you choose to do, that you are in Bondage, that you are Enslaved!!

However there is hope, there is no need to remain in Bondage to Sin, to remain Enslaved, but there is a cost for your Freedom, for your Liberty, it comes with a price and this was what God drove me into the prayer closet about this evening. What is the cost of Freedom, what is the cost of Liberty, and I can tell you it is a hefty cost, a great cost, an unbelievable high amount, one I can’t ever repay and another anyone who desires to have True Freedom and Liberty must be ready to do to be gifted the Freedom and Liberty given to us by Christ. As Jesus said above, the Truth shall make you Free, and the Son shall give you that Freedom and you shall be Free Indeed!!!

What is this Truth? I can tell you that this Truth is a most unpopular Truth today, it’s a hated Truth, it’s a Truth absolutely no one wants to hear, it’s a Truth that fundamentally destroys the American Ideal of Freedom and Liberty! The Truth is you and I are Sinners, that we are of ourselves eternally bound to Sin, to desire Sin, to yearn after Sin, to lust for Sin, to pursue our Happiness is to pursue Sin continually. This Sin is bondage to us, it entices us to destroy us, to discourage us, to harm us, to make us worthy of nothing but condemnation of the One who is Perfect and Holy. There is nothing Good in seeking our own lusts of the flesh, the Word of God tells us plainly.

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.


Seeking after our own lusts, which is the basis of the American Ideal of Liberty, brings Sin and Death. However there is hope and it came at the cost of having the Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself step down from Heaven and put on Flesh, to fulfill the Law you nor I could never hope to attain, to become perfect righteousness before God, to then go all the way to the Cross to exchange His perfect righteousness to become Sin for you and I so that we by faith can be cloaked in His perfect righteousness before God because He bore our Sins and the punishment we deserve upon the Cross!!!

This is the Truth Christ speaks of and offers us today, it comes at the cost of His Death for our Sins but by His stripes we are healed and when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, when we are Baptized into the Holy Spirit we are baptized into His death so that we can also join Him in His resurrection thus no longer are we in bondage to the lusts of Sin in our flesh but now have His spirit in us that we may walk according to the Spirit that we may have His Righteousness!!!

Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.


If you believe and obey from the heart the doctrine delivered to you, you will be free from Sin, you will no longer be under bondage, but this Freedom not only has the cost of Christs Sacrifice but it will also cost you!!!

Luke 14:27 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.
33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.


If you come to Christ He will lay that foundation, for He is the foundation, the Stone that has become the head of the corner, but the cost of following Christ is to give up everything for Him, for He gave up everything for you! This scripture is what moved me this evening, I have been going thru some trials as of late at my work and with some others in my life and I have been so focused on myself I became blind to what the cost truly is to be a disciple of Christ. These trials are nothing in comparison to the reward that awaits me. These trials are nothing compared to what Christ endured so that I can have freedom!!

Do you want to know what True Liberty is? It is to give up all things for Christ, to follow after Him and know that all that you do following after the Spirit brings treasure in Heaven giving you freedom to not worry about the earthly matters that will all be forgotten when you meet the Lord and Savior on that Glorious Morning He calls you home!!!

Do you have Freedom today Friend, do you have Liberty today Friend? If you dont have Jesus, if you havent given up everything for Him, to follow after the Spirit and not the lusts of your flesh, to follow what you know is righteousness as opposed to the American Ideal of Liberty and Freedom, then I invite you today to ask Him into your life right now!!! Come get the freedom He offers and truly be Free tonight!!


I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence


Luke 14:11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
 

llleopard

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Who Shall Abide In Thy Tabernacle
I was praying the other day and I don't know how the Lord communicates with others but I know that many times as I am praying either during or at the end of my prayers He speaks to my heart and many times He also lays Scriptures on my heart. Well the other night as I was praying concerning many things, the Lord laid Psalm 15 on my heart, and as soon as I read the first verse I could feel Him moving and I would love to just share what it is He moved upon my heart.

Psalm 15 is a short Psalm and it is from the first 2 verse I want to speak on today:

Ps 15:1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.


The question of the first verse laid upon my heart, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? This is a heavy question when we begin to look upon the answer in the second verse, that being those who walk uprightly, work righteousness and speak truth in their heart. I don't believe many people truly grasp the gravity of what has been spoken here, do you?

Before I begin I want to look at the tabernacle, what is it that is meant in this verse concerning the tabernacle? See in the Old Testament Mose had a literal tabernacle made for the Lord:

Ex 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.


Ex 31:7 The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
8 And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
9 And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10 And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,
11 And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.


As we read in Ex 25:9 God gave them a command to make a sanctuary and a tabernacle with a specific pattern, and it is amazing to study the tabernacle and its relation to Christ, but that is not what I would like to speak on today, instead I want to show that God commanded that the Israelites build Him a place where He can be, and called it a tabernacle.

There were very specific instructions on how to build it and who, and when people could enter the tabernacle. One of the most important instructions for creating the tabernacle was the command to build the veil:

Ex 26:33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.


This veil divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place and this is what I want to focus on today, who can possibly enter this Most Holy Place, who can enter the tabernacle of the Lord?

I can tell you that after the time of Moses that absolutely no one was allowed entrance into the Holiest of the Holies, inside the tabernacle of the Lord save once a year and by the High Priest after he made many different sacrifices. He was allowed in there during Yom Kippor to offer the Blood of the Sacrifice for the Atonement of Sin at the Altar or Mercy Seat of the Lord. This was upon my heart as I meditated on Psalms, who can possibly abide in the tabernacle of the Lord?

If the High Priest can only enter once a year, and only for a moment to apply the Blood to the Mercy Seat how can anyone enter into the tabernacle and abide there? David writes to us and tells us who it is that can enter into the tabernacle, he that walks uprightly, works righteousness and speaks the truth in his heart. But is that you or me? Do you believe you walk uprightly, work righteousness and speak the truth in your heart daily, day in and day out?

I can tell you I personally don't I fail daily at my walk, I try but many times don't speak the truth in my heart and I can't say I work righteousness all the time, there are plenty of times I haven't or don't. What does the Word of God say about you?

Is 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.


It says that we all have become unclean, our righteousness are as filthy rags, our iniquties have taken us away, that we are consumed because of them!!!

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

Paul tells us here in Romans that we all have sinned and we all come short of the glory of God!!! What then can we possibly do to be in the presences of the Lord? If we can't walk upright, our righteousness are filthy rags and our sin has separated us from God and His Glory what can one even think to do to be able to not only walk for one moment in the tabernacle but to abide in it? Abide here means to dwell, to stay, to rest essentially, how can we dwell, stay and rest in the presence of the Lord in His tabernacle?

I can tell you in and of yourself you can not and never will be able to come near the Holiest of the Holies, you will not ever be able to dwell in the presence of the Lord, see our Sin has cut us off from Him, our Sin has caused us to be separated from God and His Holy Presences.

However we would like to measure ourselves, our ability to be upright in our walk, our ability to work righteousness, our ability to speak the truth in our hearts, our ability to do “Good Deeds” none of this will ever allow us access into the presences of the Most Holy God, in the Holiest of Holy because all of it is tainted with Sin. There is no escaping the reality that each and everyone of us has Sinned and there is no amount of supposedly Good Works we can ever do to make up for our Sin or that builds the bridge across the gulf of separation between us and God.

Yet I am here today to tell you the Good News, that even tho we in and of ourselves can never hope to cross that gulf, to bridge that gap of separation between us and God, that there is absolutely no way we can possibly ever by ourselves be able to abide in the tabernacle of the Lord, that God Himself has made a way for us. That God who so desperately loves us and who so desperately desires us to be in fellowship with Him, who desperately desires to allow us to abide in His presence has made a way when He knew we couldnt ever make one for ourselves.

He sent His Son Jesus Christ to this World to bridge the gap, and what caused the gap, which is our Sins!!! Jesus Christ came to take upon Himself your Sins so that no longer would there be a gap between you and God!!! The Word of God tells us that Jesus has come to reconcile us back into fellowship with the Lord!!!

2 Cor 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.


Jesus came and being perfect, never sinning ever one time, laid down His life and presented Himself a Sacrifice for the Atonement of Sin, just as the High Priest would one time a year enter into the Most Holy Place to sprinkle the Blood of the Atonement for the Sins of Israel, so to did Christ offer His Blood and entered into the Holy Place, once and for all to Atone for all of our Sins!! Amen!! Thank you Jesus!!!

Christ came and purged Sin by the sacrifice of Himself, so that we can be reconciled back to God, that is how much Christ loves us, that is how much the Father loves us, that He sent the Son to overcome the gulf our Sin has brought so that we have the chance at redemption and fellowship once more with Him!!!

See there once was a vile that separated God from all of mankind, God dwelt behind that vile in the tabernacle, but Jesus came giving Himself as Sacrifice to rip that veil that separated us from God!!!

Matt 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Amen!! Praise the Lord, by Christ we now have the opportunity to go into the Holiest of the Holies!!! However we still have the issue of the original answer, which said only those who walk uprightly, who work righteousness, and speak truth in their hearts can enter and abide in the tabernacle. Jesus ripped the veil, Jesus bridged the gap, but that isn't what will allow us to enter into the tabernacle, we must be upright, righteous and speak the Truth. Do you think you can do that?

I will tell you even tho Jesus opened the way to abide with God doesn’t mean everyone CAN or WILL abide with God, there is still the issue of Righteousness. We in and of ourselves can never attain this Righteousness, just because Jesus came and paid the price for our Sins and made Atonement for them doesn’t make us not Sin ever again. There is still one more crucial thing that must happen for anyone to be able to abide with God. And Jesus Himself tells us exactly what that thing is:

Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

One must Repent, which means to change your mind, change your mind about Sin, about the consequences of Sin, about who Jesus really is, and what He has done, and to believe the Gospel. The Gospel that you being a Sinner are separated from God by that Sin and that you are guilty and head to a Devils Hell if you die in this state, but the Good News, the Gospel is, if you just believe in Faith on Christ that He has come to take your place and died for your Sins, that He made Atonement for your Sins, that He has ripped the veil, that He has give you reconciliation to Christ, then you can by Faith thru Grace Alone, be saved forever more!!!

There is no pleasing God without Faith friend:

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

You must have faith and you must believe in Christ, Christ has done all the Work needed for Salvation and Reconciliation, and if you refuse to believe none of it will be of affect to you. You will still die in your Sins and be found guilty and placed in the Lake of Fire where you can never escape, but I tell you today, by simply believing in Faith in Christ you can escape Hell and you can gain Heaven!!!

It is not by anything we can do that we are able to again be brought into fellowship with the Lord, it is only by Faith and believing in Christ that it is possible. See what is amazing is that it is completely true what David wrote in Psalms concerning who can abide in the tabernacle, only those who are upright, work righteousness, and speak the truth in heart, and while we may fail at times to do this, there was one who never once failed!! Who was perfectly Righteous, His name is Christ the Almighty!!!

1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.


Jesus never Sinned once He was Perfect, and what is the most amazing and wonderful thing in all the World is that simply by believing in Faith in Him, His Perfect Righteousness is imputed to us!!!

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.


Amen, it is by believing in Faith that the Righteousness of Christ, the Righteousness of God is given to us!!! See there is nothing you can ever do to attain the Righteousness needed to abide in the tabernacle with God, and God knew this, so He sent Jesus, and Jesus came to be Perfectly Righteous so that simply by believing in Faith in Christ that He was Perfect, then we too are now seen by God as being Perfectly Righteous and thus we now by Faith have attained the Righteousness needed, the upright Walk needed, the Truth in our heart needed to abide in the tabernacle with God!!! And we are now given the Righteousness to come boldly before the Throne of Grace and pour out our requests and prayers to God. It is by Faith in the finished Works Christ Alone and no works of ours that now God who once was far off, who once didn't hear our prayers because of the Sin that separated us from Him, we now can cry out to our God and He will listen, He will care and move and bring us into a deeper fuller relationship with Him!! Oh what a Glorious Savior is Jesus Christ!!!

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Where do you stand today friend? Are you still standing outside of the tabernacle, are you still trying to do works to please God, to get yourself into the tabernacle? Are you still separated from God? Do you see the chasm that your Sin has caused between you and God? Do you see how all the things you are doing to cross that chasm are not availing a thing?

Then I say to you, come to Jesus, repent and believe on Him and if you just simply believe in Faith that He is who He said He is, that He has done what He said He would do, that He has taken your Sin and offered you Grace and Mercy, that if you just believe on Him that He was Perfect and Righteous then today He has promised you that you will be fully forgiven of all your Sins, that you will be Reconciled back to God, that you will be made to be Perfectly Righteous just as He is and you will be able to come and abide with God in His Tabernacle!!!

Please come to Christ today, I promise you will never regret it and it will be the happiest day in your life!! Please come and be reconciled back to God, please abide in His tabernacle, enjoy the Rest, Mercy and Love that you find at the Throne of Grace, I beg you don't reject Him, He loves you and wants oh so badly for you to have that personal relationship with Him!!!

Are you saved today but struggling with Sin, having burdens beyond your control bring you down in life? Then I say set your mind and eyes on Christ, remember that you have been set free by His Death and Resurrection, that Sin has no power over us when we just Repent and run to Christ for help to overcome them!! I say lets do as the Word tells us and boldly stand before the Throne of Grace and pour out our hearts and He will be Faithful to give mercy and grace in our time of need!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Thanks daciple. Loved this message! I love the tabernacle and the way it relates to those of us who are saved as well...yep we are in the outer court, but there's further in to go. Keep preaching it! ☺
 

Daciple

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An Encounter With Jesus
Hello to all, I hope everyone is having a blessed and wonderful day today I know that I am!! I can tell you what there is so much I can Praise Him about today!! Foremost that He has offered me Salvation, I was praying today after reading from Scriptures in Philippians where Paul said in chapter 3:8

Philippians 3:8 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

About the trade off we see here, Paul traded all things, in the previous verses he lists all the fleshly status he had among the Religious Elite, for the the excellency and knowledge of Christ. He counts all things worthy to be lost as long as he gains Christ, and it moved my mind to the trade off Christ gave for us. I have seen the Memes of Donald Trump where they make a statement of some kind and the caption says “This has been the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever” I thought of the trade deal that Christ is offering me and you at all times, its in terms of what Christ receives compared to what He gives, the worst trade deals in the history of trade deals. We give Him all of our fear and anxiety, He gives us in return Peace, what a lopsided trade deal is that!! We give HIm our Anger and Rage, He gives us Happiness and Joy in return!!! We give Him our Doubt and Faithlessness, He gives us Assurance and Faithfulness!! We give Him our Hate and He gives us Love!!! But the thought that came to mind that brought me to tears of utmost thankfulness, is that we give Him our Death, Pain, Suffering and Wrath, and He gives us Life and Life more abundantly!! What a Savior we have, that continually and happily signs up for the worst of the worst trade deals and He is always the one who wants to take the short end of the stick!!! I dont deserve anything that He offers but every time I receive it my heart shouts with joy, and it just want to make me Praise Him all day everyday!!! Praise the Lord today!!!


I could spend countless hours speaking on what I can Praise the Lord about but I want to get to what He laid on my heart to speak about today, and that is what happens when we have a True Encounter with Jesus? We see many people today that speak about Jesus, that even say they believe in Jesus, but what Jesus is it that they speak about or believe in? Is it their own made up vain imagination of Christ? The word tells us in 2 Tim 3:5 that there are people who are...Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, that there are people who proclaim or say they believe in God but in the same breath deny everything about Him with their speech and lifestyle. Who get on facebook saying they believe in God and Jesus then go on to slander His name and support Sinful Lifestyles that the Word of God make no uncertain remarks concerning the Sinfulness of it. That tell you they believe in God but get mad if you preach the Unadulterated Gospel message of Sin and the Separation of it brings to us from God, the fact that if we die in our Sin we will go to Hell, and that one needs to Repent and be Born Again believing and having Faith in Christ and Christ alone for Salvation!! I have people in my own family who tell me they know God and believe in Jesus but as soon as that Gospel goes out they end up getting mad and wanting to either turn and run or fight about it. Do these people really know the Jesus of the Bible?

I was reading from Daniel yesterday, and in it he has an Encounter with Jesus, and I know when I first had an Encounter with Jesus I experience the same thing, in fact anytime I truly get close to Christ I can see the exact same thing happen. It makes me wonder, those who get mad when you call Sin, Sin, those who get mad when you preach the Gospel, those who get mad when you say one has to Repent, that although they claim to know Christ, if they ever had a True Encounter with the Jesus of the Bible?


Daniel 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves
8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.


We know this is Jesus as we can compare this likeness to the likeness of Christ in Revelations 1, both have eyes the flame of fire, both have feet unto brass and both have voice of multitude or raging waters. Also we can compare this to Pauls encounter where those around both Paul and Daniel have the same experience. But what I want to focus on for today is verse 8, what is it that happens when you have a True Encounter with Jesus, the Jesus of the Scriptures? All your strength leaves and all the comeliness you have turns into corruption!!

Do you know what that means, to have your comeliness turn to corruption? That means that when we come and have a True Encounter with the Jesus of the Bible, all the things we believe to be Good and Wonderful of ourselves, our ideals, our thoughts of Right and Wrong, our thoughts of Self Sufficiency, our beliefs that we are Good People, that we do Good Works, everything it is that we hold up for Pride in ourselves is immediately seen as what it Truly is, nothing but corruption. Isaiah 64:6 says... But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

There is no Righteousness in us, there is no understanding of Good and Evil apart from Christ, we are anything but Good People in the sight of a Holy and Perfect God. We have no Self Sufficiency when we Encounter Jesus, we produce no Good Works of ourselves. When we have a True Encounter with Jesus I can assure you that in the Prescences of the Perfect and Holy Messiah all of your comeliness with turn to corruption, because all that you think is Good is Wicked and Evil in front of Jesus and apart from Jesus. This is why I wonder what Jesus most people are encountering, what Jesus is it that you are coming to that isnt revealing your wickedness to you causing you to lose all strength in yourself and crying out for need to Repent and Depend on Him for Salvation, for Righteousness?

What Jesus are you in the presences of that allows you to believe that you can uphold Sinful Lifestyles and shout down those who tell the Truth, that call out Sin for being Sin with cries of the need to Repent? What Jesus are you Encountering that lets you live your life in Sin without any conviction to run from it? What Jesus are you Encountering that isnt causing all your comeliness to turn to corruption? I can tell you whatever Jesus it is that you believe and proclaim to know that allows you to remain in Sin, that causes you to uphold and defend Ungodly Lifestyles then emboldens you to shout down those that call for Repentance, that allows you to believe your comeliness is comeliness I assure you today that its not the Jesus of the Bible, its not the Jesus I know!!!

The Jesus of the Bible the Jesus I know refuses to let me stay in the place He found me, He refuse to let me wallow in the mire of Sin in which He literally died to remove me from. The Jesus I know the one from Scripture He refuses to allow me to think highly of myself because when I do then I think I dont need Him but He knows there is nothing I can do apart from Him that benefits me whatsoever. There is no way I can come to Christ and not see what I have perceived as comeliness be turned into Corruption, this is the Jesus I know, the Jesus of the Bible, do you know Him today? Have you had an experience with Him today, yesterday, this week, this month, this year, this decade, ever? I can assure you, you will know when you have an Encounter with the True Jesus, because it is impossible to have an Encounter with Jesus and not be changed.

What I love about this Scripture is what else it tells us about Christ, what happens after we get into His Presence and our strength leaves us, our comeliness is turned to Corruption? Does He just leave us in that state? Oh what miserable men we would be if Jesus just left us in the state we are really in once it is revealed to us by His Presence. But He never does that, it says in verse 10, And behold an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon my hands. Oh what a wonderful Savior, when we are in the His Glorious Presence we can not stand but He will come by and touch us, and when He touches us it puts us into the position we need to fall upon our Hands and Knees to worship and cry out to Him!!! Verse 12 goes on to say… understand the words that I speak to thee and stand upright. Oh what a wonderful God, when we worship Him for revealing our weakened and sinful state, He stand us up and begins to speak to us and what is it He said to Daniel immediately after standing Him up? Verse 12 says, Then He said unto me, Fear Not!!!

This is the pattern we see that happens when we have a True Encounter with Jesus, when we enter His Presence we have everything we believe is right about us set into correct order by viewing it in light of His Perfectness. We are made fully aware of our shortcomings, of our Sins of the fact that we have absolutely nothing to offer Christ nor do we have anything afforded to us in and of ourselves to gain Christ or Salvation. A True Encounter with Christ will cause you to lose all strength in yourself and fall right to your face, knowing you are not worthy to be in the Presences of such a Perfect and Wonderful Savior. But when you are shown this by His Presence He wont leave you there if you just cry out to Him, when you cry out from the broken and contrite heart that is surely to come when you enter into His Presence, He will reach out and touch you. He will strengthen you in Himself, He will change your heart, change your views, change your destination. He will stand you up and put you upon a Rock, He will speak to your heart and tell you Fear Not!!!

Have you had an Encounter with Jesus today, have you had an Encounter with Jesus ever? If not then today is the day, cry out and ask Him in Faith to come by your way and I assure you He will, and how will you know you are in the midst of the Jesus of the Bible? You will know immediately because your comeliness with turn to corruption. Cry out for Forgiveness, cry out for Salvation, cry out for Him to enter into your life today, Repent and Be Saved for today is the day of Salvation!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence


Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
 

Daciple

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God's Cry Towards Us

2 Samuel 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had I died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

What a moving verse this is to me! Here we have David crying out to God about his son Absalom who had died in a battle that Absalom began, to overthrow his own father David and take his throne! I urge everyone to read the story of Absalom and David in 2 Samuel 13-18 there is so many things to speak on but the ending cry of David is what was stirred on my heart most this morning as a read this tragic story.

In short we see that Absalom had murdered his brother for raping his sister in cold blood and had to flee the kingdom for 3 years. David longs this whole time that he could have his son back, ready to forgive him for killing David's son Absaloms brother. David's servant Joab convinces David to allow him to bring Absalom back and he does but it isn't the reunion one would think, instead Absalom begins to turn the hearts of Israel from David towards himself. After years of doing so Absalom lead a revolt against his father and forces David to flee from Israel to Judah. Absalom eventually pursues after David to kill him and violently overthrow the kingdom. This leads to the battle in Ephraim where David gives command to deal gently with Absalom. During the battle however Absalom is caught up in a tree and Joab kills him winning the battle for David and Israel.

That leads us to the quoted verse, where we see David crying out about the death of Absalom! How tragic and how sad this story is of Father and Son! While it pains my heart to see what David endured and the eventual fate of Absalom, I also see in this verse a reason to shout for joy! David's cry is the gospel in a few words!

We are all Absalom, each one of us have been in rebellion to our King to God Himself! We are filled with anger and hate towards our brothers, we are murders of our family for the Word says who ever is angry without cause at their brother is in danger of hellfire and whosoever hates their brother is a murder! We are jealous of others positions and have conceived in our hearts to take thier positions in devious ways at times!

Do you know that every time we decide to do something our way, to either refuse to seek the Counsel of God or choose to ignore the Counsel of God that we are looking to remove God from His throne and position ourselves in His place?

Oh how guilty am I before God! Oh how am I no better than Absalom today! How deserving am I the same fate as he to be caught up in the branches of my sin and given over to death for the wages of sin is death!

However what do we see from David? Do we see him desiring vengeance upon his son? No we see compassion, we see mercy we see love only him desiring to restore to his son everything, even tho his son was looking to kill him and was in the midst of rebellion, all he wanted was to forgive him and restore everything into him! David was even willing to die in place of Absalom to give him life and his kingdom!

How blessed are we that God feels this way towards us! That He doesn't desire to curse us, to seek vengeance upon us, to do to any of us anything evil at any time! No! God has done the opposite just as David desired! God has shown us love even when we hated Him most! God gives us mercy and grace even tho we have been in the midst of rebellion! God has gone so far as to even DIE in your place so that you won't ever have to suffer the fate of Absalom!

Praise the Lord today for His mercy grace and love, to forgive me of rebellion against Him, for being long suffering and showing me that He doesn't desire vengeance but instead He stepped down from Glory itself to take my rightful and deserving place on that cross so that I can be restored to the Father!

Do you know Christ as your Savior today? Have you seen yourself as Absalom have you taken your place as a sinner and being in wicked rebellion against the Almighty God? If you don't know Christ if you've never considered where you stand before God I urge you to meditate upon it this morning! Are you Absalom being caught up in your sin one breath from death and eternal damnation? If so come to Christ right now, He's stepped in and has taken your place so that you don't have to suffer the fate you know you deserve! All you have to do is come to Him broken hearted with a contrite spirt and ask for forgiveness and for Him to save you today!

Do you already know Christ as Lord today? Then let's praise Him for having a loving heart to never desire to see us fall to the fate of Absalom, for restoring to us the the kingdom we rebelled against, for making us Co-Hiers to the throne we have tried to forcefully take! Thank you Jesus for your love grace and mercy! Praise your Holy Name!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

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

Daciple

Star
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
1,157
Stepping Off The Boat

I would like to speak to all who are willing to listen about Stepping Off The Boat today, I am sure most everyone who has even the slightest Biblical Knowledge has heard the story of how Peter walked on water. That is the most popular and most readily recognizable story in the Bible of a person stepping off the boat, it's a wonderful parable and has many lessons we can draw from it, and Lord willing I hope to expound upon some of those as we begin to flesh what has been laid upon my heart concerning this topic. However as I began to study this out, the Lord revealed to me that there are at least 2 other times that Peter was called to step off of the boat he was on, and each of them have significance and each came at different times in his life. I believe that each of them also correspond to different times in our Christian walk. I will be drawing my thoughts from 3 different passages, Luke 5:4-11, Matt 14:28-30, John 21:6-11.

Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.


This is the first time that Peter was to step off of the boat, and as I read over this the Lord revealed 3 amazing points that I would like to share with you all today. The first thing that stir upon me, the first point I want to bring to light was that a miracle had taken place! Jesus spoke to them, gave them a command to go out to sea and let out their nets, and they did as they were instructed, even tho it went against everything they experienced. They had been at sea all night, they even tried to tell him how pointless it was, to go out again defied all their natural instincts, their accumulated years of fishing experience, however they still obeyed and what happened when they did as Jesus asked? They ended up catching so many fish that it broke the nets, and weighted down the ships! What an amazing miracle, and just in that verse so much could be spoken on concerning obedience to Christ even when it goes against our personal understandings, but that isn't what I want to focus on at the moment.

What I want to focus on is the miracle itself, and Peters reaction, how did Peter react to seeing the boats overflowing with fish? He acknowledged his sinfulness before Christ and asked for forgiveness!!! There was a miracle that took place in my life one day, there is a miracle that has taken place in many of those who may read or hear this lives, and there is a miracle that can take place today, and that miracle is being Born Again!! There is some scripture I want to quote that spoke to my heart about the miracle I experience that day back in 1999, when God reached down and pulled me from the depths of death and hell that I was facing, the day His Mercy and Grace became real and true to me, the day I experienced the greatest miracle I have ever seen, the day I was Born Again!!!

Psalm 18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.


Amen, that is exactly what happened on the Day the Lord saved me!!! The sorrows of Death and Hell encompassed all around me, I truly contemplated death and where I was going to end up, and the reality of Hell became real to me, and I cried out in my distress for God to save me!! And praise HIs name, He heard my cry, He shook all of Heaven and Earth, He thundered in the Heavens, He scattered my enemies of Death and Hell, He drew me out of many waters, He delivered me and brought me to a large place, and He did it because He loved me with a love that can't truly be described, that can't be felt except by being truly Born Again!!!

If you would acknowledge your Sin before the Lord and as you feel the sorrows of Death and Hell compass around you, if you would just cry out in distress to God to save you He will do just has He did for me, and move Heaven and Earth, He will fly upon the cherubs, He will come from above and deliver you from the ultimate enemy Death and Hell. There will be a miracle today!!!

The second point that was laid on my heart was that after the miracle that took place in Peters life, after he asked for forgiveness, he stepped off the boat. I believe there are many who have experienced that miracle, who know exactly what I am talking about concerning God moving Heaven and Earth and bringing you salvation, but I also believe many who have experienced that miracle are still sitting on that same original boat, that they have yet to step off the boat and truly follow Jesus. Some may still be on the boat because that's where they saw the miracle and it feel safe and comfortable, so they would rather stay put. Some have the fear of what will happen when they do step off the boat, fear of the unknown, fear of what comes next, fear of having to give up the things they once knew. When Peter stepped off the boat he gave up his way of life, his friends, his family, he even left the greatest haul of fish he had ever had, all to follow Jesus.

Are you there today? Have you experienced the miracle of being Born Again? If not you need to get Born Again because you will find yourself facing Death and Hell, but if you have been Born Again, have you given up everything to follow Jesus? I believe there are some reading and hearing this that need to step off that first boat, it's time to get to following Jesus!!!

After stepping off the boat, Peter began to build and exercise his Faith. He did this by coming under the watch, care and tutelage of Jesus Christ. If we want to see God move in our lives we need to get back under or for some get under the watch, care and tutelage of Jesus Christ! He doesn't want us to sit in that boat forever, we will never grow if we don't step off the boat and begin to follow Him!!!

Peter sat under Christ's preaching and began to live it out and was taught many lessons such as:

- Be poor in Spirit - Morn and be comforted - Be meek - Hunger and thirst after Righteousness
- Be merciful - Be pure in heart - Be a peacemaker - To do and teach the Law - Love thy enemy
- Accept and be exceedingly glad in persecution for Christ - Give alms in secret - How to fast
- Be the salt of the Earth - Be the light of the World - Be not angry with your brother
- How to pray - Store treasure in Heaven - Trust God for needs - Not to look after with lust
- Not to divorce or swear oaths - Judge not - Judge without hypocrisy - Do unto others
- Enter into the straight gate - Beware of false prophets - Build Foundation on Solid Rock


During this time he sees Jesus heal people including his own mother, he sees Spirits cast out, he sees Jesus calm storms, he sees the blind receive sight, all of this was preparing him for what laid ahead of him, as he was soon to be sent out himself to heal the sick, give sight to the blind and cast out Spirits! We need to get off the boat get under Jesus and learn from Him so we too can be prepared for the mission He will send us on, Amen!!

The second time Peter stepped off the boat was the story most are familiar with that I mentioned as I opened up earlier, the whole event is recorded in Matt 14:22-33 but there are just a few verses I want to focus on at the moment:

Matt 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.


Here we see Peter step off the boat in the midst of the storm to go after Jesus, I wonder would Peter have had the faith to step off the boat had he not exercised and built it up to this point? Will I have the faith to step out in the midst of the storm when Jesus calls if I haven't exercised and built up my faith by following, studying, praying and spending time with Him? Will you?

I believe that it is during the stormiest parts of our lives that Jesus is going to call us out into the waters, it takes a huge step of faith to leave the boat, takes an even bigger step of faith to do so when the storm is raging, but there are 3 things I noticed when Peter stepped off that boat and went after Jesus. First is that when he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the storm, he began to sink. How often do we take that step off the boat in the storm going after Jesus and it gets rougher and we take our eyes off Him and begin to sink?

Second even tho he was sinking when he cried out immediately Jesus caught him, not after awhile, not in a bit did Jesus catch him, but immediately!! We should take some solace to know that when Jesus bids us to step off the boat in the storm and when it gets rougher that He will always be there to catch us immediately!!! Amen!!!

Third is that after Peter stepped out in faith and went after Jesus, even tho he may have stumbled, he got to Jesus and he and Jesus both WALKED ON WATER back to the ship and it was at that point the storm ceased!!! Are you in a storm right now? Does it seem like your boat is going down and there is no hope? Then step off the boat and go after Jesus, He is calling you to step out in faith to get you to a deeper, stronger relationship with Him, and when you get to Him He will get you back in the boat and that is when the storm will stop!!!

I know how difficult it is to be in the storm, lately I have felt the storm rocking many different parts of my life, but I know there is a reason for the storms and I am convinced it is to grow my faith in Christ, that I need to step out and I know once I do, even if I stumble He will be there to catch me and get me back to the boat and calm the storm!

The third time Peter stepped off the boat is recorded in John 21:5-12:

John 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.


This takes place after the resurrection, and for Peter this must have been a heartbreaking and trying time, he had seen his Lord and Savior crucified and on the night Christ was crucified Peter had denied Him 3 times. I can't imagine the sorrow and guilt he must have felt, even after seeing Jesus resurrected which surely had to bring him joy he still must have been burdened with that guilt. There is much to say concerning that and Peters restoral which happens immediately after this but for now there are 3 last points I want to touch on during Peters third time of stepping off the boat.

First is that unlike the time when they were originally called, they didn't doubt Jesus command to get any fish. I have no doubt they had been fishing with no avail just as they had when they were first called, however this time they didn't argue or say anything at all, instead they immediately did just what Jesus said and they believed beyond a doubt that what He said would happen would happen. As we mature in our faith in Christ we ought to begin to simply accept as fact on faith with no doubt that whatever Jesus says is going to happen is going to happen. It can be difficult to do this, I know, I personally struggle with it many times, but I need to remind myself that Jesus has always kept His word to me, so He will do it again, even when I can't understand how or why. It would be much easier for me if I stopped struggling to understand how or why or when Jesus will do what He said He would do, or even doubt He will or can do it, and instead just say ok, do what He says and grab hold of so many blessings I can't even contain them all!!!

Second is that unlike the first time when they were originally called, this time the nets didn't brake. Now I don't believe it's because it was any less of a miracle or any less of a catch, in fact it may have been even more, but I believe is that this time that they were prepared to receive the promise, they were prepared to receive the blessings. After having seen such an amazing catch I believe they prepared and strengthened their nets for that day in which they would see their Lord and Savior again and in case He would bring them another bountiful catch! We need to prepare our nets, just like they did. How many miracles have we witnessed in our walk with Christ? How many times did we lose out on blessings because we werent prepared to accept them or to catch them? How many times did our nets break and we only have a few blessings when God ordained to pour out so much more? I can tell you I am highly guilty, I can't even imagine how many blessings I may have missed out on because I wasn't prepared, but I am thankful for the Lord showing this to me that I can prepare my net, that I can cast it where He tells me to and so I can be sure to receive all the blessings He has prepared for me in the future!!!

The third and final point that was brought to light for me was that Peter was invited to come and dine. Again I must reiterate that this is after Peter denied Jesus on the day Jesus most needed him, I have no doubt that Peter was wrecked with guilt and disappointment in himself for denying Christ. We can sit here and judge Peter, but may I ask, have you denied Jesus ever? I know I have, I probably do it way more than I would ever like to admit. Have you ever not opened your mouth when someone says something untrue about Christ? Have you kept your head down when others are making fun of someone who is on fire for God? Have you ever walked away from Christ, stopped praying, studying, spending time with Him to fulfill some Worldly activity or lust? Have you chosen to go to football games over going to worship Him in Church? I believe we all deny Christ in some form and fashion, and I believe there are some that are reading or hearing this that have walked far from Christ. I can tell you I have walked far from Christ, my lifestyle was completely denying Him, is your lifestyle denying Christ?

If so I can tell you that He is calling you right now to come and dine with Him! What a wonderful amazing loving savior, instead of rejecting us like we have done Him, instead of being angry and holding a grudge against us like we do others when they forsake us, instead of pouring out wrath upon us which we all deserve instead He wants to provide us with a miracle of blessings, and invite us to feast with Him, and to restore us back to a right relationship with Him!!! What did Jesus say to Peter concerning his denial?

John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.


He didn't chastise Him, He didn't make him feel any more guilty or worse than he already did, instead He forgave Him and gave Him a specific command, Feed My Sheep. Is your relationship with Christ not where it should be? Does your walk resemble that of one in the world more than one in Christ? Have you found yourself saved but far from Christ today? If so then Christ is offering you His grace and mercy, Christ is calling you to dine with Him, to receive what He has for you which is nothing but love and blessings, and He wants you to do one thing when you are restored back to Him. Remember where you had been, remember the mercy and love and blessings He gave you and then go out and Feed His Sheep!! Tell others about what God has done, about His rich mercies, His tender grace, His undying love and kindness, His infinite patience, His glory and perfection!!!

I can tell you I wandered so far from Christ when my mother died, but I am so very thankful that He offered me grace and mercy when I deserved nothing less than punishment, and He has so richly blessed me since that day I repented, I can't even tell all He has done. He brought me to a wonderful Church where the Gospel is preached every services, filled with amazing people that pour out love over me and my family. He brought my wife and child to salvation, which is the greatest gift a man can ask for besides my own salvation. I've seen my father come to Church 4 times in the past year which is a miracle in itself considering he swore to my mother he would never set foot inside a church again in his life. I've seen him bless me financial even after losing my job, never once being anywhere near in need when I could have easily lost everything. He brought me to a new job and has been blessing me there since day one. And my wife and I are expecting our first child together in January which is an answer to many prayers I had been praying just in a way I never would have hoped or dreamed of!!! My God is not only good but great, I love Him and want to tell the whole world what He has done for me!! I want to feed His Sheep, because He constantly is restoring me when I let the world get me down! I love the Lord Amen!!

In conclusion if you are lost today, then turn to Christ, cry out to HIm in distress and I promise He will come and save you, I beg of you experience a miracle today right now!

Are you Born Again, but have yet to step off that first boat? Then I say Christ is calling you to give up all step off the boat, follow Him, grow and exercise your Faith, He wants to prepare you for what lies ahead and bless you along the way!!

Are you in the midst of a storm, does it seem like it won't let up? I say Christ is bidding you to step out of the boat into the water, don't fear just keep your eyes on Christ, He will catch you no matter what, and when you get to Him, He is going to get you back in the boat and the storm will be calmed and you will have a deeper richer faith in Him!! How can you not after walking on water with Him!!!

Prepare your nets, and when Christ tells you cast your nets, be ready for the blessings the Lord wants you to receive, you get prepared by reading, studying, praying and attending a Spirit filled Church!!!

And finally have you been out of fellowship with Christ? Then I say Christ is telling you to come and dine, He wants to restore you, He wants to give you a mission, He wants you to Feed His Sheep!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
 

Daciple

Star
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
1,157
The Undefiled Bread


I was at Church this evening, and I have to say before I begin just how thankful I am to be in a True Gospel Preaching Church! If you declare yourself a Christian, and don't attend a True Gospel Preaching Church then I believe that you are only hurting yourself and your walk with Christ. I say this from experience, for years I turned from Church, why? As I see now it's because I was attending a Church that didn't actually preach the Gospel, it was a Non Denominational “Church” that would drum up emotions in their singing for 20-30 min and bring out a man who declared himself to be a preacher/pastor who would then read from an outline a “sermon” that was tantamount to at best a motivational speech.

There was never any Spirit behind what he would say, he would hardly ever reference the Bible, maybe one or two verses and usually rather removed from context and twisted to fit his motivational speech, and almost never, seriously never, was there an emphasis on the fact that people (probably a huge percentage in these Churches) were separated from God due to their Sin and were heading to Hell! Never was there a call for Repentance, never was there a call for people to get Born Again, never was there a call to judge oneself on their walk and die out to the Sin they were walking in, never once was there any call to Holiness and Righteousness. The Gospel was completely removed from the messages.

I believe this is an epidemic in a huge majority of American Churches, and I believe there are even worse Churches that teach outright lies concerning Christ and Sin such as accepting rampant Homosexuality (or any other Sexual Sin for that matter) for denying Christ as God and the only path to Salvation, for denying the reality of Hell ect ect ect. The American Church is in utter decay from dead sermons from dead preachers, to outright false teachings from false prophets, so I can sympathize with anyone who has been turned off from attending Church.

However I am here to encourage you to continue seeking, and more over seek one that doesn't conform to what YOU want instead cry out to God from a place of Repentance and ask that He puts you in the one HE wants. I don't believe God is a respecter of persons and if He did that for me I believe He will do the same for you, if you really, truly want to be in a Gospel Preaching Church. I could speak on this forever, but only wanted to relay this bit because it was just now laid on my heart, I see people here I have desparately tried to encourage to get into a True Gospel Preaching Church only to be rebuked and come to see a few months later they have almost completely fallen away from what they once proclaimed. It's heart breaking, and not only that I can't even begin to describe just how much my life, walk and faith in Christ has grown since I have been in a True Gospel Preaching Church, and whenever something brings you joy that is too much to contain you want to encourage everyone else to seek and find the same thing!!!


Heb 19:24 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.


Anyways, as I said I am so thankful for my Church, especially today because I have been struggling with some things in my walk and it has caused me to start to become down and out in different avenues of my life and walk with Christ. I could use prayer but don't want to be too detailed but will say I have been struggling with my new job, I have been blessed and been doing well but I do not like it at all, and it has been causing me to become angry and frustrated. I also have felt somewhat in the dark about what the Lord is calling me to do in my Ministry, and these two battles have been causing great doubts and some sadness. So I cried out to God for help and direction, and I don't believe it was a coincidence what it was that was preached about this morning.

This is why I am so passionate about others finding a Good Church, if I feel the way I do, I can bet that many if not everyone who reads or hears this has or will feel the same, and it's an amazing thing to cry out to God about how you are feeling and experiencing and then walk into Church and hear a message that is exactly about what it is you are battling!!! So this morning my Pastor preached on Depression, and he gave many examples from the Bible of men who found themselves in the midst of Depression. Moses, Job, Elijah, David, Solomon and I know many others found themselves at times feeling alone, abandoned and in the case of Elijah, even to the point of wanting to die. Oh how this message spoke to my heart, it was a great Sermon and just showed me that God hears me when I cry out, God understands my emotions, that God wants to encourage me to keep going and that He is with me every step of the way.

If you don't attend Church, just think of times when you have cried out to God about different situations, and felt there were no answers. Think again how it would be if you were able to cry out and then walk into Church and hear a message that seemed specifically made just for you, and the exact things you were begging God to help you deal with? I tell you today it's a blessing and I would love for everyone to be able to experience this same touch from God!!!

Anyways, that's way off track of what I originally intended to write, don't know why I wrote it, hopefully it will encourage someone to go to Church and be blessed. Ok so now on to the message the Lord put on my heart while at Church this evening….

So this evening our Youth Pastor was preaching concerning Lazarus and the Rich man, if you have never read or heard the story I recommend reading it, it can be found in Luke 16:19-31. The thought he preached from was in verse 25, where it says, Son remember. It was an amazing sermon speaking on how every person that lifts their eyes in Hell are going to remember every time that the Gospel was presented to you and you were given yet another chance to Repent and Believe on Christ for Salvation. He was correct, I believe those who are lost on this site who have had the Gospel presented to them dozens and dozens of times, and still reject Christ, when you lift your eyes in Hell you will remember all the times those who have laboured in love desperately trying to get you to come to Christ and you rejected the message.

If you are lost and you come upon this and reject the Gospel as it goes out I know that there will be a day that when you lift up your eyes in Hell, it will be brought to remembrance the time Daciple spoke of that very thing and pleaded with you in the Holy Spirit to Repent and cry out to Christ for Salvation!! It breaks my heart how many I see reject the constant pleading with them to come to Christ, but I say for sure, one day you will remember each and every single time you were presented with the opportunity to accept Christ and rejected HIm, and you will have all of eternity in Hell to relive those moments over and over. What a tragedy, before I even get to the message, if you feel that tugging on your heart, if you feel the Lord moving upon you, I say stop reading, cry out to Him for forgiveness of your Sins and be Born Again!!!

It was a great message, if you want to hear the whole thing let me know and I can direct you to the site where you can hear the full sermon. However as he was preaching on this topic he relayed a story to us concerning how the rich acted in those days, and it's from this story that the Lord moved upon my heart and I’d like to share that with you all today. What he stated was that in those days the rich were so rich that whenever they would wash their hands they would wash it over some bread to defile it and then cast it off to the dogs. They didn't need to be so wasteful nor defile it but since they were so rich it was just a pleasure to defile the bread and then cast it away to the dogs. It put this verse in a true more real context:

Luke 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

These are the crumbs that are being mentioned, and God began to speak to my heart about this, see I believe that many in the world today are seeking to find satisfaction in this defiled bread. I believe our Society is horribly obsessed with finding value in the things of the Rich, of the things the Rich find happiness because they have so much abundance, that they cast off as if it's nothing. My mind is taken to all these Youtubers, and Instagram accounts of these overly rich people who post themselves in their excess, even destroying extremely expensive things for the fun of it. How many of us have looked at these people and just wished we could get us a tiny bit of the stuff they have or even the stuff they are destroying and throwing away?

How many of us look to material success as a means to fill the voids we have in our lives and then measure ourselves in value of self esteem to the material worth we can attain?

How many of us have thought if I can just get to this level of success materially then I will finally find satisfaction?

I tell you today that each time we may happen to reach whatever level of success we previously believed would bring us satisfaction, that our flesh is going to desire more and we will never find satisfaction:

Pro 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Ecc 1:8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Ecc 6:7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.


Why is it that one can never find satisfaction in the things of this World? Why is it that one can get themselves all the material things their heart had desired and still feel empty and worthless and that everything they have done is of no use and pointless? Let me ask do you feel that way today? Do you think if you can just get this next thing, make this much money, this better job, if I had this car, if I had this house, if I had this promotion, then everything would be better? How many times in your life have you said that, gotten it and found nothing more than a new deeper hunger and desire for something more?

I can tell you why you feel that way, because you are seeking to fill yourself on undefiled bread, bread that has no substance, no value, no worth!!! It will only cause you to desire more of it and once eaten it will only cause you to feel unsatisfied and seek out more of it only to be trapped in a constant state of trying to fill this longing and never find contentment or satisfaction!! What a horrible and terrible state to be in, constantly hungry, constantly eating and never feeling any relief or satisfaction!!! That is the World today, that is everyone that is Lost, and that can be those who are saved as well, is that you today?

I tell you if that is you, if you are always seeking and never finding contentment, I have Good News for you, there is a way, the only way in which you can truly find satisfaction, where you can truly gain nourishment, where you can find self worth, find happiness, joy, contentment!! I tell you that way is by seeking and eating no longer the defiled bread the World offers you, but instead to eat the Undefiled Bread and that Undefiled Bread is the Bread of Life, which is found only in Jesus Christ!!!

John 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.


Amen!!! I am so thankful for that day in which the Lord took from me the defiled bread of the World and introduced me to the Bread of Life!! The Bread that fully satisfies me, that fills me up, and causes me to overflow with joy and love!!! Oh and how sweet and delicious that Bread is!! How is it that it gets better with age I will never know, but what I do know is that it does!! It's more satisfying and filling, and more delicious today than it was the first time I had it almost 20 years ago!!! And there are plenty of times that I make the mistake of turning back to the World and looking after that defiled bread, but how thankful am I that God gives me Grace and Mercy and recalls back to my mind where I need to look to find satisfaction!! And I tell you what it is never in short supply, there is enough of this bread to feed me from now to eternity, and there is a enough to feed each and everyone who finds themselves in this place!!!

Where do you stand today? If you haven't been Born Again, then I tell you that the only thing you will ever have is the defiled bread that never brings satisfaction, you will never have contentment, and you will spend your life chasing after more and more of this defiled bread until the end of your days when you realize as Solomon did, it was all vanity and vexation of Spirit!!! You will realize on that day that this undefiled bread that brought nothing of use to you but vanity and vexation of Spirit, wasn't worth it as you lift your eyes in Hell, crying for relief and finding none, as this message replays in your mind over and over, if you turn Christ away again!!!

I say instead turn to Christ, come eat from the Bread of Life, that you never hunger again, not just in this lifetime but for Eternity!! Come taste of the Goodness of God, have your Sins pardoned and the guilt you are carrying removed from you!!! Come be Born Again and sing the praises of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!!!

Are you saved today but have gotten your eyes off Christ? Have you looked to the defiled bread of the World to bring you satisfaction realizing that there is still no contentment? I say Repent and run back to your Lord, cry out to Him to offer you the Bread again, and He will say come and dine!! Fill up on the Bread of Life restore your relationship with Christ again, receive His blessings, and once again let the praises of His Glory and Riches flow from your lips!!!

Amen, God is so good, I just want to say how much I love Christ, He is everything to me, and I am so thankful that He has fresh Grace and Mercy for me every morning, because I tell you I need it everyday!!! I hope this message stirred your soul, I hope it periced the hearts of the Lost to bring them to Salvation, and refocused the Saved back to the Bread where we need to look always for our nourishment and contentment. I can tell you that I am thankful for the message it's spoken to me as I wrote it out, I hope it speaks to you as well.

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

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John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
 
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