Common Sense From The Gospel Of God: Recent Episodes
The Doctor of Common Sense
"For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."
God's plan for you is better than your plan for you. So trust in the LORD and ask for His guidance.
Unless you love truth, you will never know it. And unless you know the God of scripture you will never fully be settled in your mind about absolutes.
A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently. (Augustine)
Learn to use what the LORD has blessed you with. If He has blessed, you with a little be thankful and use that to His glory. And if He has blessed you with an abundance then much is required. But don’t set around and complain that you don’t have as much as the next person. Just be thankful for the blessing He has poured out on you. “God is a Sovereign, and of all attributes, next to his love, God is the most fond of displaying his sovereignty.”
There is but one reason that anyone ever goes to heaven. And that is because of the LORD’s Amazing Grace.
God has everything under control even when it seems as if evil people have all the power.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
God does not show kindness to people who dig ditches for others. He will make the trap you set for others be your down fall.
The LORD is always slow to bring His wrath on us, but don’t you ever forget He is a holy God. God does not wink at sin.
Don’t wait until ‘The Handwriting On The Wall’ comes. God gives us signs before the writing comes but you must open your eyes to see those signs.
It is a dangerous thing when a person can’t control their appetites. That mean sexual, or mentally.
The LORD is able to deliver you out of all of your troubles. We should place our faith in Him because He has shown Himself to be faithful and trustworthy.
If you knew that there was a famine in the land. And that there was a cargo train passing by that could give you all the food you wanted. Would not be waiting on that train and making sure it stops? Well, Bartimaeus heard that the train was coming through Jericho. He is the Bread of Life.
We must always stand for truth even if it is not popular. Pilate was afraid to do the right thing when he knew it was the right thing to do.
You must spend time in God's word if you want to get to know Him. And you will never know Him apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We all will spend eternity somewhere. We will spend it away from the LORD in hell or we spend it with Him in Glory.
In Deuteronomy 32:5 it says, to me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Fear will cripple you, this is why the Bible tells us over and over again to "fear not".
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Roman 6:22
What is eternal is the only thing that really matters. The things that the God of glory has laid out in His word is what will matter in the afterlife. In order to comprehend eternity, we must get to know the only One who is eternal. That is the God of scripture.
Learn God's word and focus on being obedient to His word. Don't follow after what you feel. Follow after what the LORD has declared in His word.
The LORD hears the prayers of His saints. We must learn and trust His word so that it will guide us
My God is still on His Throne, and no one can remove Him. Trust in the LORD with all your heart.
God will protect us even in the fiery furnace but we must put our faith in Him and His word.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to clean our minds out so we can live a victorious life. We enter God’s presence when we walk by His Spirit. And then we can have enteral peace.
We must learn to trust and depend on the everlasting God of Glory. Don’t make preparation for fulfilling your fleshly desires. But seek the LORD first and He will give you peace that passes understanding.
Even God’s people go through difficult situations, but never stop looking to the LORD for comfort.
The LORD is your only hope of true freedom. And you can’t get that freedom unless you get to know Him. And you can’t know Him if you don’t know His word.
65 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
We need to learn more about who the God of the scriptures are than about how much scripture we can quote. You can’t impress the LORD so who are you attempting to impress with our so-called righteousness are holiness? Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not preparation for your flesh. That means cloth yourself with the imputed righteousness of my Lord.
Every believer must realize that we are still on planet earth because of the goodness of Jehovah. The more you learn about the LORD, the more you see this.
Andrew’s life proves that it only matters how God sees you. No one really talks about the apostle Andrew. But he was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ. Only what you do for Christ really matters in this life.
When we see petty arguments and division amongst believers it can only mean one or two things. Either they are carnal or they are unbelievers.
One of the easiest things to do when attempting to do a great job is to lose focus. And this can be dangerous depending on the job.
It was Saint Augustine who said, It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
We all have an appointment with death that can’t be canceled. That appointment was made by God Almighty before the foundation of the world. The question you must ask yourself, is will you be ready for that appointment.
Do you really believe Jesus can give you peace and solve your problems or is it you just say it. God does not always give you the answer you want but He always answers. We must learn to trust in God if we want to set our minds free of constant worry.
Don’t ask your Pastor or family what it takes to get to heaven. Ask the Lord Jesus what it takes to get to heaven. Jesus is the answer, and He will explain what you need to do in order to get to heaven.
When you were in school, and the teacher was up giving instructions. She would tell you to listen and take notes. Well God Almighty has spoken in His holy word and we should listen and take notes.
We have the assurance of eternal life because of what the Lord Jesus did for all who place their faith in Him. There is but one way to make it to heaven, and that is accepting the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah. There is not any other way to heaven but through belief in the Master’s finish work on Calvary.
If you are a sharpshooter or sniper, you must aim at a target in order to hit it. If you never look in the scoop of your rifle and focus on your target. You will not hit the mark.
When doubt creeps in, don’t run away from God, just learn to ask Him for reassurance and He will give it to you.
The one thing that sends everyone to hell is unbelief. Pride and a love of sin leads to more unbelief.
Don’t ever place your confidence in your flesh. You will let you down all the time. Don’t make decisions based on how you feel but base your decisions on what the Word of God says.
The God who dwells in eternity is the only who can give us eternal life. If someone is speaking about another way by someone who does not inhabit eternity. It is a futile assumption to think that any being who is not eternal can give you eternal life.
God chooses us even when we were in love with sin. He calls us out and declared that we are now His child.
No one can stop the plans of God. Humans have attempted to stop God's plans, but all have failed.
We should seek out the Lord Jesus every chance we get. But when he calls, we should repent.
To praise the LORD is to give thanks for what he has already done. We should praise and magnify His name, just because of all he has already done for us.
Truth, is the Truth if you believe it or not. Every person believes in absolutes, it just depends if they will admit it to you.
Forgiveness is one of the most powerful things that can happen. It can free the person who is forgiven and it can free the one doing the forgiving. God forgave us when it was nothing in it for him. So we should work to forgive others.
There is no more comfort to sheep as when they have a Good Shepard that watches over them. David declares in this Psalm that God Almighty is his Shepard. And the reason the enemy has not overrun him is because of Jehovah.
It should be easy for you and I to praise the God of Heaven. Not just based on what he has done in your life which is enough. But think about all of the wonderful things he has done throughout History for his people.
The Gospel is what God Almighty uses to change sinners. So don’t attempt to change God’s Gospel, because it becomes ineffective.
You should save for retirement, but make sure you prepare for a heavenly retirement as well
The first thing you must do if you have a problem is admit that you have a problem. Then you must admit that you are not capable of solving your problem. Go already know what your situation is, and he is willing to help you you turn it over.
There are somethings that are essential in order to keep living and breathing. You need oxygen in order to keep on breathing. If you run out of oxygen you will cease to breathe. Fire needs oxygen to burn also. There may be some fancy way that someone has come up with, that can burn without oxygen. But in order to start a fire there must be oxygen, or what is known as an oxidizer.
Well today we are going to go over a necessary element in order to get to heaven. The Gospel consist of what is called essentials. We have some things we can debate within the Gospel, without it being a matter of Salvation. Things like Pre-tribulation vs Post-tribulation.
Sprinkling Baptism vs full emersion. I’m not saying that they are not important. I’m jut saying you can still go to heaven believing in either.
But today the New Birth, or being Born Again, is an essential.
Today we are going to be in the Gospel of John Chapter 3.
We are only going to read 3 verses but we will cover a little bit more.
There is only one true God, and that is the God of the Bible. All other gods are made up in human minds. The true God demands something, because he is the only one that gives life.
If the lord Jesus Christ did not raise from the grave bodily. Then there is no power in the Gospel. We are all false witness, and he can not be trusted. The fact is, the evidence is overwhelming that he did indeed rise from the dead. And because he rose we have eternal life. That is all those who accept his finish work.
Never forget that the justified must live by faith in God. Habakkuk learned to trust God after filing his complaints in heavens court. Because God answered him, and it lead to him trusting God more. It also showed him that God is always in control.
The Gospel gives us the road map to God. Therefore it we must never be watered down or compromised. It is through the Gospel that be are saved. This is God’s gospel and no human has a right to change God’s Gospel. Because “it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth”.
We must stay connected to the word of God, in order to stay connected to the lord Jesus. The closer we get to Jesus the more we will know God.
No human can fully understand the all powerful, all knowing, ever-present God. But the Bible which includes His Gospel, reveals some of His attributes. So we need to understand the Gospel in order to better understand God better. But getting to know him will continue throughout eternity.
Let us focus on winning souls for God’s people. Too many are interested when the tribulation will begin. Many are interested in who is the antichrist. When the lord Jesus told the story of the 10 servants in Luke chapter 19. He said the nobleman said to them, “Occupy till I come.” That’s what we should be doing. Not attempting to predict when the end will come. We should be doing his work. That work means making Him disciples.
Understand that we are commanded to be sober, and alert for the Lord’s return. We must obey the government as long as it does not violate the Word of God. We must all learn how to show true love, because this is what God’s word teaches.
There is dwelling in our earthly tabernacles, 2 natures, and they are at war. You are hauling around the dead flesh that hates the God in you. We must “present your bodies a living sacrifice” if we want to please God.
If you want to be free there is but one way to have peace and true freedom. That is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The world offers an illusion of freedom and joy. Jesus offers true freedom.
If you want to be free there is but one way to have peace and true freedom. The world offers an illusion of freedom and joy.
But if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Remember that the only way to walk this Christian walk is to live by faith in God Almighty.
You can not be a Christian if you don’t have faith in God. It is impossible to please God if you don’t have faith in Him. The good news is we have no real reason not to trust him.
If God has declared he will do something in His word. That means he is obligated to do it.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
We are free because we have been delivered form our slave master sin. We now have a new Master, namely God Almighty.
Yes God’s mercy can saved your soul. Place your faith in the lord Jesus Christ and he will give you peace.
Ephesians 5:
5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
The good news of the Gospel of God, is that it does not depend on you. Because if it did depend on us to get to heaven, we would all be on our way to hell. But God had the plan before the foundation of the world.
We must understand our only hope of getting to heaven is through the blood of the lord Jesus.
Zero times zero is zero. Zero plus zero is zero. And nothing plus nothing is nothing. So there had to be a designer of the universe. And it is the God of the Bible.
Sharing the Gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ is the most important thing you can do. It is not just the good news. Romans says “for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth”.
Never become a lukewarm Christian, because it will make you comfortable not having a zeal for the LORD
We have tried smarts, and force, and anger to get our leaders to do the right thing.
But guess what? God still answers prayers and he will hear us if we confess our sins before him.
Ungratefulness Is Where Most Of Our Problems Come From.
Most people today think that God and the world owes them something. They feel entitled to get things that they have not even earned.
Most people do not want to view the God of the Bible as a God of wrath.
But the Bible says he is a God of wrath to those who disobey him.
Without the resurrection of the lord Jesus Christ, we would not have eternal life.
So understand that the tomb is empty and it’s empty because he has risen.
Jesus paid it all, and all to him we owe. The Lord Jesus died for our sins because he had no sins. He finished the work on the Cross.
Jesus has overcome the world, so we don't have to fear the evil ones in the world. Jesus prayed for all believers.
We can have peace because we know the Prince of Peace. We must stay connected to the Vine if we are to bear fruit.
We should never be ashamed of the Gospel because that is what the devil is afraid of. Romans 1:16 says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." You can use the gospel for encouragement, but gospel is powerful destroying the enemy.
The lord Jesus Christ is the Shepherd that laid his life down for his sheep. A hired shepherd will run away when the wolf comes. but our Shepherd laid down his life. No one took it, he laid it dow.
The lord Jesus is the way we get to know God. You can not get to heaven without believing i the finish work of Jesus Christ. You are not good enough, because God requires perfection.
We need to become disciples of the lord Jesus. We can only do that if we get to know him.
The Gospel is how God has revealed himself. It is also how we get to know the lord Jesus Christ. He is the only way we can have Eternal Life.
A lot of people say they love Jesus. But I would like to know which Jesus are they talking about. You see the Jesus of the Bible believed and taught things that most disagree with.
Because the Jesus of the bible says that there is a such thing as right and wrong. The Jesus of the bible believes in absolutes.
The Jesus of the bible believe that the bible is the authority on what God has to say.
The Jesus of the bible believes if your feelings contradict the bible, then your feelings are wrong?
So the question again is do you belong to the Jesus of the Bible?
We must be sure that we belong to the lord Jesus Christ. Not a superfical belief but true belief.
The bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:20 "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. " So we must remeber that we serve a covenant keeping God.
If the LORD has you waiting then that means you should stay on his clock system. Don't attempt to do it your way, but trust in him, and never lean to your own understanding
God is holy and therefore he always does the right thing. Just because we don't understand it does not mean He is not right.
Everyone has to died one day. Death is the equalizer and we all have an appointment with death. It is best to get your ticket to heaven while you have a chance. The only to get that ticket is by placing your faith in the lord Jesus Christ. He died so you would not spend eternity in Hell.
WAiting for God Almighty can be the hardest thing to do. Because that means you must wait until he answers you.
There is no counsel that you could recieve from anyone better than the counsel of God Almight. So we should know God's word so we can have the best counsel.
The foundation to a guilding is the most important part of the building. If the foundation has flaws the building will not stand. The lord Jesus Christ is the cornerstone to the church. So the success of the church is based on that solid foundation of his teachings.
We are at war against the flesh and we must be on guard. We have a fleshly nature and if you are Born Again you have a spiritual nature. Feed the spirit and you will win most battles. Feed the flesh and you will be defeated time, and time again.
Our salvation is from God Almighty. We should be the more greatful because of His great love that has been poured out on us through our lord Jesus.
The resurrection of our lord is a sign that death has no power over the believer. We have eternal life because he has risen from the dead.
We are blessed to have many Saints that come before us. We can trust God Almighty because he has shown himself to be trustworthy.
The key is you must praise and worship him before you get the victory. If we do what God says we would have victory.
Pride is at the center of all human problems. At the heart of every conflict, or war is pride and arrogance.
Every divorce of crime is centered around pride.
Pride says I can steal what I did not work for.
When we come to God we must set our pride aside.
God did not promise we would be healed of all our sicknesses on earth.
But he did promises that in eternity we would be healed of all sins.
Belief about God is not the same as trusting in God. The demons fear God. The demons even believe the one true God.
So we should have the kind of belief that trust the finish work of the lord Jesus Christ.
Eternal life only come through the Lord Jesus. And through him you can get to know the only true God.
The true meaning of Christmas is told in told in the Prince of Peace coming to earth.
The lord Jesus was spoken of all through the Old Testament, and Christmas is about his arrival.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.”
That is the true meaning of Christmas. God coming to earth to save us from our sins.
Jesus is the only way to God. He came and died for our sins, so we would not be punished for them. The lord Jesus did things that no one ever did, and the world has not been the same since.
God always honors obedience. If we really want victory that last. We must be obedient to his word.
We should always look to keep our word when we make a promise. It is easy to break a promise but it takes character to be true to your word.
The far country is not a place that a believer should visit. The people there are wicked and evil. They will destroy you if you are there to long.
God will never wink at sin. Their is but one way to get to heaven. And that is through the blood of the lord Jesus. God will be angry and reject anyobe that has not accepted Jesus Christ.
God can give use victories over giants if we place our trust in him. But before he gives us victory we must be trained by him. This means that he will teach us as we go through life to trust him more each day. David killed Goliath but first David had to watch his father’s sheep. Then David had to fight the lion and the bear to protect the sheep. That is what prepared David to kill Goliath.
Everyone needs rest sometimes. But sleep will not give you rest for your soul. The rest for your soul will only come in the way of the lord Jesus Christ.
If you are tired then find rest in trusting the finish work of our Lord.
Speaking the truth can, and most of the time will get you in more trouble from the world than telling a lie. Telling the truth can may make some people feel uncomfortable.
And we would not want to make people feel uncomfortable even if it may save their lives. Speaking the truth got John the Baptist head cut off. Are you willing to die for God's truth?
We must learn how truly GREAT our God is. He does things you can not even fathom. Once you get to truly know him, you will understand why you should trust His plan, and not your plan.
It is a bad thing when your best option happens to be the option you would have chosen at all. When your best option was your last option.
God has a way of opening up heaven just at the right time to give you a blessing that you where not expecting.
If you want to be a fruitful branch then you must stay connected to the Vine. It will be impossible for a christian to produce fruit if they are not connected to the lord Jesus Christ. So we should stay connected by prayer, and studying God’s word.
God is love but there are things that a Holy God hataes. We should learn to hate what He hates.
We must make our mind up before we get into tough situations on who’s side we are on.
Peter had confidence in is courage. It could be called arrogance of his own ability. In the end we must all realize that our true strength come from God.
Until we rest in Him, we will just be spending our wheels.
We must allow the LORD to defend us against our enemies. We must stop fighting spiritual wars with carnal weapons.
Some of you might say what is the danger of false teachers. They are giving people hope.
But are they really preaching what God has ordained. The bottom line is, it does not matter what you or I thing?
What really matters is what does God’s Word say? Has God said!
If some one is making a claim that God has said something, and it does not come to pass. Why would you ever listen to that person, especially if they have not repented.
Unless you think that the God of the Bible is a lair!
If someone says that God told them to say something that He himself had declared. Then it does not come true.
Either God is a lair, or it is He does not know all things.
The third option it that the person making the claim, is a phony. I’m going to take door number 3 for a $1000 Alex.
It does matter what you believe. And it does matter what you are teaching. Because if you are teaching something that does not line up with the scripture.
You are a false teacher. There are somethings that are not consider one of the essentials. We can debate these things, but not the essentials.
The end times are important but I don’t believe you can go to hell for believing pre or post rapture.
Not believing in the atonement of what the lord Jesus accomplished on Calvary is an essential.
The Deity of the lord Jesus is an essential. That means you believe that Jesus was God in the flesh.
There is but one way to heaven, and that is through the lord Jesus. He thought this and so does the scripture.
So we must study to understand what heresy, and false teachings really are.
We hope to discuss wisdom and maturing in this christian walk.
Becoming mature is not easy. That’s why most people act like children all there lives.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:11 says 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.
We all have a child like nature in us. We also all have a war that is going on in our minds.
It is the war of flesh verses spirit. The one you feed will when every time.
If you feed your mind worldly, fleshly things all of the time. Then that beast that lives within you will control your actions.
Those actions will manifest worldly and ungodly things all of the time.
But if you feed your mind spiritual things you will notice that those childish things you once did. You don’t do them any more because you are feeding the spiritual side more.
What if I told you to think about the most frightening think you think you could go through.
Or what if I told you to think about the most pain you have ever encountered.
Then I say multiply that times 500, and then had 20 more zeros.
You would say I can not even fathom such pain.
Well hell will be worst than that.
I don’t believe our minds can not conceive of how bad hell will be.
Some people say my loving God would not send anyone to hell.
Well you are correct in one since, because the people are choosing to go to hell.
I don’t believe that any one would say I want to go on the worst, and most painful vacation.
No rational person would sign up to such a vacation. However people every day leave this earth for their hell’s vacation.
I know that it sounds narrow minded to say that Jesus is the only way.
But if it is true, who cares how narrow minded it sounds.
If you where a prisoner in the worst place ever. And you had been tortured day in and day out.
And I told you that there was one sure way that you could escape. Would you start saying you are narrow minded?
No you would say I want to get out of this place, by any means necessary.
Well that is what the lord Jesus is offering. He came and died for your sins so you would not have to suffer hells fire.
I have heard people joke about how fun hell will be. Because all their friends will be there.
But what makes you think you will see anyone in hell?
You will suffer the most agonizing pain that your mind could never image.
And to make it even worst, it will go on for eternity.
You see in this life when someone suffers they say well at least they died, and are now out of their misery.
That is not necessarily true. If you are not saved you have jump out of the frying pan into an unquenchable fire.
What if I told you that you could invest in an exclusive financial program that would keep you great rewards.
Then I told you that you had to invest none of your own money.
But I explain to you the the benefits, and returns are better than anything you have ever invested in.
This would get the attention of most people.
Most people are invested in a 401k, or some type of Stock.
If not they have some money in the Bank, or some type of valuables that they will be able to use later.
Or they may want to past something of valuable to their children, or love one.
That is great that you are thinking about the future of a love one.
But what about the eternal? What type of investment have you put into the eternal.
Some will say I don’t believe in that heaven stuff.
I don’t believe in the pie in the sky.
Well you don’t have to believe in heaven or hell.
But just because you don’t believe in it, that does not negate the fact that there is a heaven and a hell.
You can say I don’t believe that fire burns.
I would like for you to allow me to test that theory for you.
You can say I don’t believe driving my car off a cliff will injure me.
Will I will be at the bottom of the mountain waiting to see you walk away from the crash.
You can even say I don’t believe in gravity.
Well I have a couple of buildings that I would like for you to test out your Superman routine.
You see people say you need to prove that God exist to them?
I say no I don’t have to prove anything. Even though the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible.
And the evidence of the lord Jesus being raised from the dead are great evidences.
But when a person does not want to believe facts, it does not matter what you say to them.
So today on our spiritual broadcast, I simple want to point you to a eternal spiritual 401k program.
BTW it pays great dividends.
God never promised that we would have no Lions Dens.
He never promised that you would have no trials and tribulations.
But he did promise never to leave or forsake us.
The story of Daniel is a story of prayer, and faith in a God that delivers His people.
In order to become a true worshipper we must look to the LORD and depend on His strength.
We must seek His face at all times.
We really do not know what God requires in worship, unless he reveals it to us in His word.
I Chronicles chapter 16 verse 29 says Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
To ascribe to the LORD the glory that is due to Him, means to attribute to Him what He deserves.
It would be like saying, I ascribe that Johann Sebastian Bach does a great instrumental compositions.
Or if someone says I ascribe to Whitney Houston that she could sing.
God is the one that in the beginning made the heavens and the earth.
In order to get better you must admit that you have a problem.
And if you have been holding on to this your demon, or shortcoming, you probably are not able to help yourself.
Why not ask the One who does all things well to help deliver you from this sin.
Don’t become so comfortable with your demons, that you want to keep them.
If you ask the lord Jesus to deliver you, he can deliver you from that demon.
You are struggling and you want to get better, but you don’t have the power to do it.
But there is someone that can deliver you.
Ask him to take control of the situation, because you want to make Him the lord of your life.
Whatever it is in your life that is preventing or hindering you from getting close to GOD.
You should throw it off or set it aside.
The Christian race is a Marathon, not a sprint. If you run it as if you are running a sprint.
You will become discouraged and disappointed. This will cause you to take your eyes off the Lord Jesus.
Thus causing you to drop out of the race.
Anything hindrances that is preventing your walk with him needs to be removed.
The people are the ones who pick their leaders.
Put the leaders are the ones that guide the country. So if the people are picking corrupt and ungodly leaders.
Why should you expect someone who has lied, stolen, and cheated for years to all of a sudden do the right thing and lead the people.
A country, state, or city needs leaders that really fear God. They will not be perfect but if they fear God He will guide their decisions.
Your words are what can tell people how you feel about any subject that you speak on.
It is an expression on what is in your heart.
What’s in the heart will always come out.
That is why the lord Jesus said one day: But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
So when God wanted to reveal who He was, He sent the Word of Life.
That being the lord Jesus. He was everything that was in the heart of the Father.
Jesus life displayed love, faithfulness, mercy, holiness, and surpassing knowledge.
That is what the incarnation reveals to us.
The very nature of God.
God never let’s evil go unpunished. We should remember that when we think that wicked people are getting away with their evil deeds.
How is it possible that we say we want to go to heaven, and we never think about it?
Heaven is for heavenly minded people.
If you are not happy spending time with God on earth. Why would God force you into heaven to spend eternity with Him?
Heaven is a place where those who have placed their faith in the finish work of the lord Jesus will go.
We must fix our eyes on the eternal if we are truly pilgrims on this earth.
If there is a famine in a country, I can assure you that it is God who called for the famine.
God used famine to punished the children of Israel in the bible, and he will still use it to punish nations today.
Idolatry is the main reason that our LORD brings famine, and diseases.
Disobedience is the underlining factor in God bring Judgement on any people.
When people say that Jesus was tempted by the devil, it is not really correct.
The Lord Jesus was tested by the devil, because the Holy Spirit lead Him out to show that He was indeed the Messiah.
He is our high priest. Hebrews 4:15 says For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
The lord Jesus testing proves that He was God.
Because there was nothing in him to draw Him away unto sin.
You will notice that the lord Jesus used Scripture to defeat the devil. So we also should use scripture, so that we will have victory over the devil.
But you must study the scripture so that you will be equipped to defeat the devils schemes.
Today we will attempt to talk about a subject that is to lofty for us to comprehend.
We can only talk about what is said about the subject of the Sovereignty of God, as explained in the bible.
This is a subject that most run away from, but the Bible speaks on this subject regularly.
No human being can fully comprehend the sovereignty of God.
If he or she says they do, they are lying.
Because one would need to be all knowing, all powerful, and in every place at the same time to explain it.
In other words, one would need to be God Almighty.
So I will not claim to fully comprehend the subject.
I will just say that the bible teaches it and we will be going by what scripture says about the subject.
I hope that the Holy Spirit will lead me in everything I say.
I don’t want to add to, or take away anything that God has not revealed in His word.
We have a Savior that does everything well. He only does that which pleases the father.
If it is teaching. No one could teach like the lord Jesus taught.
He taught with authority, because he was in the beginning with the Father.
He lived a perfect sinless life, and paid for our sins.
Yes He does everything well.
Just like in the beginning when he made the creation.
The bible says that “And God saw that it was good.”
You can put that statement behind everything the lord Jesus did, and does.
He healed the sick, “and we saw that it was good.”
He raised the dead, “and it was good.”
He paid for our sins, “and it was good.”
The Messiah does all things well.
Why not trust Him?
We should glory in a Gospel that rescues us from Hell.
Paul is telling Timothy who might need some encouragement, to be bold in preaching the gospel.
Before he gets to not being ashamed he reminds him “stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” He says “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.”
We should not be ashamed of the Gospel because in the Gospel “the righteousness of God (is) revealed from faith to faith.
The Gospel reveals how we have eternal life, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So we should always be willing and excited to proclaim the true gospel.
God Almighty has given every person on this earth a certain amount of time to do His Will.
The question is will you live for YOU, or will you live for the One who has made you steward over the time you have been allotted on the earth.
God is truly a merciful God, but one day you will be asked if you have been redeeming your time on earth.
Will your answer be I was busy doing things I thought where important.
Will you say I had a hard childhood so I felt sorry for myself, and I was too angry to move past what someone had done to me.
Will you say I had a lot of people depending on me, so I had to build an empire to make payrolls.
Do you say I was planning on doing something for God after I finished my career.
Do you say I was busy raising the kids so I could not redeem my time properly.
Will you say God should understand all that I have been through, and just grade me on a curve.
Remember only what you do for God will count in Eternity.
The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important event in human history.
When our lord rose from the dead, He defeated death.
God being a Holy God MUST punish sin. If God does not punish sin, then He is not a just God.
Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb that paid the price.
So you can attempt to get to heaven on your own.
That simply means you will need to be perfect. You can not commit even one sin.
Jesus Christ lived the perfect life, and died for the sins of those who trust in His resurrection.
If He as not risen that means God did not except His offering for the sins of the world. And that means that all the people that have died before were not forgiven of there sins.
This includes the Prophets, Moses, the Kings, and the Apostles.
That means all of us who are alive now will not be forgiven of our sins.
That means that all who have died are in hell, and we are simply waiting for our train ticket to be punched in order to go to Hell.
But the Good News is He did raise from the dead, never to die again.
So you can have full confidence in what the lord Jesus has said. “I Am The Resurrection and the life”. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”
When troubles come our way, we have two choices. Make trouble our masters, or master trouble.
If you make trouble your master then you will become bitter when a crisis arises.
If trouble is the boss, you will say it is God’s fault I’m going through this. Even though you made the decision and messed up things without asking God what you should do.
Everyone will go through heartaches and problems.
The Lord Jesus said one day; In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Trials and tribulation do not define us. They simple expose who you are.
If you have failed the college course 101 trials and tribulation. Then you may need to repeat the class.
But if you master trouble it becomes a great way to draw you closer to God.
It will make you trust him more.
Then your troubles become your servant, to help you become a better person.
You can praise God by words of expression. You can praise him with songs.
You can praise him with instruments, and even with dance. But it is also possible to praise Him with a pure heart without truly worshipping Him.
But if it is true worship, then praise will follow.
You see worship is an expression of reverence, and adoration.
We praise Him because we reverence Him, and adore Him. For all of the wonderful things He has done.
What made the early church effected is that they had a singleness of mind that was lead by the Holy Spirit.
We especially see this in the apostle Paul.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, and our focus is on pleasing God first, and foremost.
You will find that you can get to know the Lord Jesus better, the more the flesh dies.
This is what made the early church spread the Gospel so effectively.
The Holy Spirit used their selfless lives, to focus on being, witnesses for the Messiah.
We should pray daily that the Holy Spirit would guild our every decision.
When we read God’s word, and pray, the Holy Spirit will show us how to overcome everything you are going through.
If you are struggling with sins, or doubts, you should get to know God better.
He will comfort your hearts, and help you overcome anything you are struggling with.
This may mean you have to change some of the things you listen to and watch.
It also may mean you need to cut some people out of your lives, that may be causing you to stumble.
Another work of the Holy Spirit is to prevent us from falling into idolatry.
Sometimes it is so subtle and if you are not walking in the Spirit, or sensitive to God’s Spirit you will not even know you have fallen into idolatry.
As falling humans we are subject to making idols in our lives.
Romans chapter 5 and verse 5 says And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
You do not know how to properly love until the Holy Spirit has come into your heart.
Notice that it says the Holy Spirit has been given to us.
It is a gift, and you can never earn a gift. Because by definition a gift is something that required nothing on your part.
God’s gift which is the Holy Spirit is the best gift anyone can ever be given.
That’s why Ephesians chapter 1 says And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
If you do any work that you say is of God. But you attempt to do it with out the power of the Holy Spirit. You will be frustrated and stressed out, because you are doing it in your own power. The frustration comes when we are not placing faith in Him to accomplish any particular work.
Jesus said one day “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
So why are you stressed out if he told you that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light?
It’s because you are not allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work. You think that you are so smart, or so holy that you can do it.
I would caution you not to do it, but instead cast your cares upon him, because he cares for you.
I believe that 1 Corinthians sums up what the Holy Spirit does for the believer.
It says; “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
So just like everyone has a spirit, and that spirit in you knows your inner thoughts.
So is it with the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of God because, he is God himself.
When the Bible says baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
What else could it mean when it places all 3 as God, but yet it is but one God.
The Father the Son, and the Holy Ghost make up the Godhead.
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to preserve the word of God. The Holy Spirit keeps the believers from falling into idolatry.
Which is what caused the children of Israel to stumble many times.
This is also what causes the body of Christ to stumble today.
Guard your minds from having idols that you may pick up on this pilgrim journey.
We need the Holy Spirit in order to be affective witnesses for the Lord Jesus.
I believe that all believers are baptized with the Holy Spirit.
But I do believe that it is possible for the Holy Spirit to come on a group for a particular work like it did for the Apostles.
I don’t believe that this is the norm but who am I to say what God can and can not do.
The Holy Spirit is what leads us to testify about the Lord Jesus and His word.
The Holy Spirit allows ordinary men and women to do super unordinary things.
Have Faith in God and He will lead you.
I don’t believe through out history God has ever told some one to jump off a building.
Or if He has told someone. Let a snake bite you to prove your faith.
God will ask his people to trust Him in unbelievable ways, but it does not require you to do everything that runs across your mind.
Sometimes people will get there emotions involved, and it has nothing to do with God’s will.
Charles Spurgeon once said:
“The apostles when they preached always testified concerning the resurrection of Jesus, and the consequent resurrection of the dead. It appears that the Alpha and the Omega of their gospel was the testimony that Jesus Christ died and rose again from the dead according to the Scriptures. When they chose another apostle in the room of Judas, who had become apostate, Acts I.22, they said, "One must be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection;" so that the very office of an apostle was to be a witness of the resurrection.”
We should never forget about the resurrection, and how it is the foundation of what the Gospel is.
Without the resurrection there is no Gospel.
David has decided that he will make the LORD his Light, and his salvation.
The reason that he is not afraid of the darkness, is because the LIGHT, (God) is on his side.
We need light to survive, and see. You can not follow darkness, and expect to be able to see.
If there is no such thing as Hell, than preachers should stop altogether preaching.
Notice I did not say stop preaching the Gospel. Because with out ever talking about hell, you are not preaching the gospel of the Bible.
If there is no hell why would God send his Son to die?
If there is no hell than what difference does it make if you do good, because when you die it is all over.
If there is no hell Jesus, and all the Apostles are liars and false teachers.
But if there is a Hell, (which it is), we should be doing all we can do as Christians to snatch as many men and women out of hell’s grasp.
The word of God is the most important literature, or writings that there is or ever will be.
2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16 and 17 says; All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So this is why the devil does not want the word of God being read in school or anywhere else.
They’ll it separation of church and state, but we all know that most of the framers talked about the word of God.
They were not perfect but they where not opposed to people hearing or reading the word of God.
But today most societies are hostile to the Word of God.
Why don’t you read it more because the devil hates it.
There is a gospel song that says He’s an on time God. Well I am a believer that He is truly an on time God.
I don’t believe in coincidence. Some people think that they just got lucky.
Some will say what about all the bad things that happen to people, and sometimes kids.
Why didn’t God do something to stop those evil things from happening?
There is no easy answer to the question, because sometimes bad things happen.
But when sin entered the world we must realize that bad things are going to happen until Jesus returns.
The good news is no one gets a way with doing evil.
Even when people like David sinned in the bible, he was forgiven but there was consequences.
Don’t forget that the worst thing that can happen to you is not to be murdered or abused.
And I’m not saying that lightly.
But the worst thing that can happen to anyone is to die and not know Jesus.
Because then your suffering is for eternity.
A crisis does not make a man or woman, it only shows who they really are.
Sometimes our struggles or wrestling is really with ourselves.
We don’t want to let go, and let God.
Jacob had to be injured in order to let go. But he did not want to let go until he had the blessings of God
It is hard for most people to admit that they were wrong. So it makes it difficult to forgive when there has been no repentance.
Don’t let someone’s repentance put you in bondage, and at the same time you are not required to forgive anyone that has not repented.
But if they repent you should forgive them, and it does not mean you will need to become best friends.
Forgiveness even harder than repentance. But if you don’t for give others God will not forgive you. That is if they have repented.
The prodigal son story is about repentance, and forgiveness. Please learn to do both.
There is only one way to please God, and that is first of all believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Learn to repent of your sins. Learn to be merciful to others.
And most of all learn to be thankful because of what God has done for you.
Sometimes God just does not make since to us. I know this sounds like out there. But the truth of the matter is, God tells people to do things that to the human mind makes no sense. But when he tells you to place your faith in Him. Just do that because He is trust worthy.
There is but one true God and that is the God of the Bible. He alone has all power, and He alone knows the future from the beginning of time. Why would anyone ever serve any God, but the God of Isaiah the Prophet.
The 25 chapter of Isaiah could be considers a Psalm I believe. It even reads like a Psalm. So I want call it the Psalm of the prophet Isaiah.
It is of great importance that you know who Jesus is for yourselves. He declared that he was the Messiah when he was talking to the Woman of Samaria.
Jesus said and did what no one else has ever done, or will ever do.
It is impossible to look at the fulfilled prophesies and not see that they point to the Lord Jesus Christ being the Messiah.
Goodbyes are never easy and it is harder when you love someone.
Winnie The Pooh once said “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” How lucky are you?
David was a man after God’s heart because he truly repented for his mistakes. He also had a worshipping heart toward God.
Whenever David went to battle he always consulted God before taking action.
Be careful in joining with the ungodly, because it could be a thorn in your side for a long time. Jehoshaphat was a good king but he married his son to Ahab’s daughter. The Bible says “do not be yoked together with unbelievers”. That means people that go to church and pretend also.
Don’t forget that Ahab’s wife is Jezebel. No man or woman of God show yoke themselves together with these types of people.
It should scare you that people are willing to kill innocent humans. It is one of those things that just make’s you wonder how dirty the heart can be. If they were determined to kill Jesus The Lord of Glory. Who by the way, had commented no sins.
What will they do to believers who trust in Him?
Even if you suffer death for Jesus you will live eternally in Heaven with Him. The good news is that most do not have to give up their lives to follow Jesus. The sad part is that the ones who are giving their lives to follow our Lord, are more willing to suffer for Him.
His Grace is really sufficient in whatever you are going through.
Think about the death of Jesus. The so-called leaders, and one of His disciples conspired against Him with out a cause.
Judas had a dirty filthy heart. The Chief Priest and Leader’s of the day were reprobate in their hate for Jesus.
Watch and guard your heart so that you do not become as evil, and black hearted as Judas, and Chief Priest.
If we can but trust in the Lord Jesus, He will never fail you. When you faith gets shaky, just still trust in Him to see you through. There is nothing the Jesus does not do well. He died for your sins. Can you say anyone else has done that?
Have you ever wanted to know a person? But the more you got to know them, the more disappointed you became. God Almighty is like no other. In our scripture today we will be discussing the name that God referred to Himself as. That is Yahweh and when you see capital LORD in scripture it is a reference of the 4 consonants Yhwh in Hebrew.
God is good and perfect. God is holy and we are not. Get to know Him and your life will be fulfilled.
There is no competition between God and Satan. Satan is a created being. God is Self-Existent which means he has always existed.
This is one of the incommunicable attributes of God Almighty.
Another incommunicable attribute of God is Omnipresence, and His Unchangeableness. He is the same today, yesterday and forevermore.
Some people when they think of good and evil they say it is Satan against God. It is no struggle for God to destroy Satan, believe me.
And in the future he will destroy him for good. God has a time frame and a perfect Will for everything He does.
So for the believer if God is living in you then Satan is no competition. Our flesh that we gratify is the problem. Not if the devil can make the Believer do anything.
But if we allow the Holy Spirit to crucify our flesh daily so we may resist the devils enticements.
Pride is a deadly poison that must have the right antidote to cure it. We can not stress how much damage pride does to relation ships. God can use our weakness to show His Power. So allow God to use you in a way that will display His power.
We must always fight to defend God's Word. We understand that some are willing to die for lies. Are you willing to die for the truth?
Learning and obeying God’s Law will help you be a better Christians, and a better person. The law will not get you to heaven, but it points you to the one that is the Way, The Truth and The Life.
God’s holy word is a lamp unto our feet and it is a light unto every dark path.
Psalm 119 says “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
There are only 2 books in the Bible that do not mention the name of God. That is the Book of Esther and the Song of Solomon. But even if God is not mentioned by name, we see His Devine fingerprints all over these Books. We will be looking at the Book of Esther and you will see the providence of God all over the book.
Just because you don’t understand what God is doing it does not mean He is not working. God is The Master Chess Player. Great chess players think many moves ahead. But God not only knows every move before his enemies think about it. But God knows all the moves before the board is set up. God knows all the moves before the pieces and the board were created.
He knows all our thoughts from a far off. So listen and watch the hand of God in The Book of Esther.
If some one that did not know you very well was asked to describe you. It probably would not be that accurate would it? But if you ask someone that knew you and loved you, and had spent time with you. Then the picture that they painted of you would be a more complete picture, and would describe some of your characteristics better.
There as been a lot of thing written about our Lord Jesus Christ, but many times it by people that don’t know him. There are many believers that have painted a beautiful picture of who Jesus was. However they are all still just human beings themselves. But what did Jesus say about Himself, and who did He claim to be?
In the Gospel according to John chapter 8, after the woman had been caught in the very act of Adultery. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The phrase “the handwriting on the wall” comes from the book of Daniel. Please don’t be like king Belshazzar who was so arrogant he decided to disrespect the “MOST HIGH GOD”. If God is warning you make sure you listen before the “hand writing on the wall” comes along.
We should understand that the Devil would love to defeat and destroy every child of God. However every Christian must understand as David did, and that is the battle is not really ours, but it is the LORD’s.
Saul and his men were afraid of the Gargantuan size of Goliath. You see David understood that the God that he was serving was larger than the giant he had to destroy.
David was not trusting his own strength, but he was trusting in the power of an omnipotent God. So when you see a big enemy, just remember that God is bigger.
God is the Creator of heaven and earth. That means He is the owner and He has power over everything.
Don’t you ever believe that the devil or anything has power to stop God.
That does not mean he will stop everything bad from happening.
But He is a just God and everyone one will one day give an account of their sins, unless they except Jesus Christ has Savior.
An idol is the worship of any image, person, ideal, or thing that is not the true and living God of the bible. Many times we set up idols in our life and pretend that they are not idols. Be honest with yourself if you have placed idols in your life in place of God. Because if you are placing something before God are replacing God.
What is the job of Christians in the world? We are suppose to be salt and light. Salt helps plants, animals, and humans survive. Salt is essential for bones, muscles, and the circulatory systems of the body. Salt can be used to preserve food or to even kill things.
We know that plants, animals, and humans need light to grow and survive also. So our job as Christians is be an essential part of the world, to help it grow, preserve and kill off unwanted things.
Will you follow The Lord Jesus’s example and be salt and light in this perverted world?
What does it take to impress God? It takes faith in Him that is unwavering. We can trust the God of the Bible because He has proving Himself to be trust worthy. When Joshua was about to pass on over to glory, he gave a great speech. In his farewell speech he says: “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
So if God makes a promise weather bad or good, it will come to past because He is faithful.
If you want to impress God you will only do it by having faith in Him. No matter what you do in life it will not impress God unless it flies under the banner of Faith in Him. If you have faith in anything but God you will be let down eventually. the Bible says that it is impossible to please God without faith. So why is it that people think that God is impressed by their accomplishments, status, or spiritual knowledge? Place your faith in The Lord Jesus Christ today and you will start to please Him.
Paul was ready and prepared to die. He was ready because he was in God's will and he did what his Chief and Commander had instructed him to do. Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that has taken the sins of the world away was his commander. Paul was ready to be poured out like a drink offering because he was an obedient servant. His body was a sacrifice, but he was confident that his crown was waiting for him in heaven. Are you ready to die and meet Jesus Christ today if your soul was required?
You will never be prepared to die unless you have encountered the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Study God’s word so that you may be prepared to die when death comes knocking.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave is the Apex of Christianity. If Jesus Christ was not raise from the grave, we as Christians are on our way to hell, and the rest of the world also. I guest you could call the heart, the apex of the body. I think I’m safe in saying you are not going to live without your heart in your body, period. So the Resurrection is the heart of Christianity and if it is a lie Christianity dies off, and is proven to be a lie.
If some one wants to disprove Christianity the first thing they will attack is the Resurrection Of Jesus Christ. Some will say that he never died which is laughable. Some even believe in the swoon theory were he merely passed out, or fell unconscious.
Some say that Jesus was not Crucified which proves there ignorance in history and the Bible.
The great thing about the 4 gospels is that they all tell the same story with no contradictions.
It has been said that “a story has five basic but important elements. These five components are: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution.” When we look at the 4 gospels we see the characters, the setting, the plot, they conflict, and the resolution which is Christ the hope of Gory.
If the gospel writers had conspired to deceive us there would be many discrepancies and inconsistencies after years of examination of the evidence.
When ever people think that they have found what may be appearances of discrepancies, after a closer examination there were none.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before (Resurrection Sunday) or most call it Easter. It is the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and when palm branches were placed in his path as he entered Jerusalem. So the King of Peace came into the City of Peace which is what Jerusalem means. Not 40 years after The King rode in Jerusalem it was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70.
What instruction would you leave to love ones if you knew the end was near? Paul gave Timothy and the church great biblical lessons and teachings that Jesus had gave to Him through the Holy Spirit. We must beware of the fact that if we belong to Jesus Christ then this world is not our home. We will not be loved by this world so we must fix our heart and minds on heavenly things. Paul was leaving the earth soon but he was confident of his eternal resting place. Have you thought about eternity? If not you should fix your mind on Christ Jesus and His eternal Kingdom.
If you knew you were going to die in a month or a year, what would you do or say? Would you spend time making money or serving God? Would you party like it’s 1999?Would you invest your last days in things that will pass away or would you invest in eternal work? What would you say to those you love and how would you want them to remember you? The Apostle Paul is writing his last words that we have and he spends them encouraging believers and speaking about the eternal Gospel of Christ. What a man the Apostle Paul was. Paul had come to the stage were he knew his time was short, but he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in. PHILIPPIANS 4:12
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
So my question to you child of God what would you do if God gave you the exact date of your death?
Exercising the spiritual gifts and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, teach and guide you will lead to spiritual maturity. Paul tells Timothy that “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” When we focus on the pure word of God it leads to more godliness which is a closer walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer is the key but faith unlocks the door. The first thing you must do is talk to God and you do this through prayer. When you pray you should take God at His word. That in essence is what faith is, it’s taking God at His word.
We must understand and never forget that there is but one true gospel that the Bible proclaims. That is that Jesus is the only way that sinful humans can be reconciled unto God. Jesus said that “I am the way, the truth, and the life” no one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the gate or door that leads to eternal life. When Peter and John where defending themselves before the Sanhedrin In Acts 4, Peter said, “Jesus is“the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” So if anyone and I do mean ANYONE, that preaches another gospel with the claim that there are many ways to heaven let them be accursed. Paul once said “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)
God is in control of the whole universe and he knows the end from the beginning. He even nows what could have happen that he prevented. Critics say that evil is the achilles heel of Christians. I can't and I don't believe anyone has fulling understood the question. "If God is good then why is their evil"? We could ask the unbeliever to answer the question, if there is no God why is there good? I will say that I believe that God is sovereign, and holy so there must be a reason he allowed evil to exist. Maybe one day in eternity we will know but as for now we speculate.
No one can hide their thoughts or intentions from Jehovah, because “everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) We must ask God to search our hearts and take away everything that is not like Him. We must become like Paul when he declares he is the “prisoner of Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 3) Prisoners can not carry on as if they are free. You need permission from the authority or guards who have locked you up or locked you in. If you want to lead a spirit filled life you must become a prisoner of Jesus Christ and ask for his permission before you make plans. Your body does not belong to you any longer, “now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:” (Romans 6:8)
There is but one way to enter into Heaven and that is through belief in Jesus Christ. Whether Gentile or Jew ALL must go through faith is The Lord Jesus Christ. the Bible makes this clear.
Romans 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:
Count it a blessing when you are tested or tried by many different circumstances. If what you are doing is not working it is time to do it Gods way. If one type of medicine does not work it is time to try another kind.
We can have confidence that we have eternal life based on what the Word of God Says. If our confidence is based on anything other than God’s holy word than we are on a foundation that is built on quicksand. That is why the scripture says: (Romans- 3:) 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. It also says: Romans- 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We can have full confidence in our Eternal Salvation because of who Jesus Christ is and what he did by living the perfect life and dying in our place. We don’t deserve eternal life but God choose us based on nothing that we had done, but because of His GREAT Mercy.
If we as Christians become more focused on religious activities than on sacrifices for others, and God we have missed the message of the gospel. The Pharisees cared more about keeping the Sabbath day than about doing kindness to those people suffering. Jesus showed the leaders of that day that God is not opposed to you doing good on the Sabbath even if it called for doing some work.
In order to be blessed by God there are some do’s and don’ts that you must learn. Blessings can be material, but some blessings of God outweighs money, things, or stuff. Peace, and assurance that heaven will be your eternal home is priceless in my book.
Don’t allow your sins to keep you from Gods blessings. If we have problems in our lives it is not Gods fault, but it might require us to examine our lives more closely.
It is God that appoints Leaders and Kings so it makes no difference what humans think they are controlling. God uses good leaders to guide the people, and bad leaders to punish the people.
One thing we learn from history is that people really don’t learn anything from history. If they did the world and the children of Israel would have stop slamming their heads up against the wall with evil ways in disobeying God.
God uses circumstances, and people in different ways in order to get His message to His people. We all at one point was lost and without God just like Saul. It took The Lord Jesus to blind Saul so that he would become Paul and now see things God's way.
Man as been rebelling against God since Adam and thru the Tower of Babel until the present day. The good news is that the 2nd Adam which is Jesus Christ was obedient unto death and stopped our penalty of death and hell. Place your faith in the finish work of Jesus who lived the perfect life so that we would live with God forever.
Faith is believing God Almighty will do just what he said he would do.
KJV
1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
NIV
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see
Hebrews 11 Amplified Bible (AMP)
The Triumphs of Faith
11 Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
Charles Spurgeon once said that God never allows His children to sin successfully, and isn’t Jonah proof of that. What do you think the Book of Jonah is really about? It is about the Grace and Mercy of a loving God.
The answer to the question of today’s message is yes and yes. By that I mean the kingdom had come in Jesus day but he also spoke of the kingdom in the future. Jesus told his hearers "if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you" ( Luke 11:20, and then he says I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God" ( Mark 14:25 ). So we hope to talk about both today.
We must remember that God gave us His precious gospel and we must never deviate from it.
We must never depart from the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. God made everything in the beginning and it was Him that raised Jesus up from the dead.
People treat their Salvation like they treat their 401k or retirement plan. It is good once they retire. God wants you to have everlasting life on earth and that means to start living like it now with the joy that comes from knowing Him.
Yoking or teaming up with unbelievers causes Idolatry, so that means it pulls your heart away from God. If you yoke a elephant with and ox the plowing will not go so well. Yet believers are plowing with non-believers and wonder why it is not working.
God is the Rock that we can trust to deliver us always, just like he did for David, Paul, or Joseph. God can be trusted because he is forever faithful.
Learn the essentials of the Christian faith, but don't waste time arguing with those who don't want the truth. I will list some essentials here: The Deity of Christ: Salvation by Grace: The Resurrection of Christ: The Gospel: Doctrine of the Trinity: Jesus Virgin Birth: Jesus is the only way to salvation: Monotheism:
God Almighty does not need more religious people, He needs more Spirit filled warriors. The Commandments are summed up in "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love is what made God send Jesus and and Love is what made Jesus come.
God has always made provision for His people and he always will. Job says "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?" No one can fully understand God's ways because they past understanding.
The most important part of a house or building is the foundation. Jesus is the Chief Corner Stone or The Foundation of the Church. So if the foundation is solid through out eternity God's Promises are sure and His Word stands forever.
Pray that Satan does not tempt you into betraying the Lord Jesus or denying Him. Pray that you will trust in the Providence of God. Pray that you don’t become so haughty that you began to think that being great means you don’t serve others. Pray that your weakness does not allow you to do things that embarrasses Our God.
1) We must be obedient to Gods Word. 2) We must trust what God says he will do. 3) We must not fear our enemies because our GOD is bigger and stronger than all.We must see things the way God sees them, and that means putting on your spiritual glasses.
Jesus is enough to satisfy the hungry souls if we would just taste and see that The LORD is good.
David did not deal with his own sins and so the sins of his sons spilled over. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
John Piper once said that “our appetites dictate the directions of our lives- whether it be the cravings of our stomachs, the passionate desire for possessions or power, or the longings of our spirits for God. But for the Christian, the hunger for anything besides God can be an archenemy, while our hunger for God- and Him alone - is the only thing that will bring victory.”
You must meet the Jesus of the Bible for yourself. Jesus will show up when you need Him most. Jesus is the Redeemer of Israel. Learn to hear the Words of God clearly.
God uses adversity to push the believer toward maturity and trusting in Him, and to show His power. Adversity motivates us to fear the Lord. Adversity motivates us to cry out to God. 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. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.
Worrying will cause you all types of physical problem, but trusting God brings Joy and Peace.
Everyone loves to see someone that is humble or that may appaer humble but why don't we show more humility? If Jesus humbled Himself then why can't we?
Following Jesus does not mean everyone will love you. It could be argued that the world will hate you more for being a Christian.
God called Abraham when he was 75 so what is your excuse? He calleth those things which are not, as though they were. God still can use you if you surrender.
Ask God for things that will make you a better Christian. God wants you to be near Him and that means you must seek Him.
We are are pilgrim on this earth and we should act as such. God Must Make You Uncomfortable In Order To Make You What He Wants You To Be.I Have Learned More In My Tribulations Then I Have Ever Learned When Things Are Going Smooth.
It is better to be cold or hot because Lukewarm means you are just indifference, or don't care. The worst kind of Christian is a Neutral One, and God can't use Neutral Christians.
Jesus is forever the God-Man and he is not Asleep At The Wheel. He knows youe troubles and he will always be there for you in times of troubles. Cast Your Cares On Him Because He Cares For You.
Jesus finised the work that God gave Him and we have Eternal Life forever. We can not do anything to get to heaven but believe on the finised work of Jesus.
Don't let anyone one or anything pull you away from God. Anything or person who cause you to love and seek God ist is of the DEVIL. God hates idolatry and that is why the fist 3 Commandments is about HIM. Focus on God 1st and never let anything take you away from trusting and loving a God that has NEVER FAILED.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
God still hears the cries of the Saints and will deliver you like he did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The Death Of Jesus Is About Jesus Christ Paying Off Our Sin Debt. The Sacrificial System Was Only A Shadow Of What God Required. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee.
Obama Wants A Million Young Barack Obamas. Holocaust Survivor Stabbed and Set on Fire. Ghetto Crack Mom Thinks God Told Her to Crash Her Car. No Jail Time for Muslim Rapist, but His Sister Gets Raped as Punishment. Stormy Daniels Is a Feminist Hero To Liberals. Rapper Who Performed at Gun Control March Arrested Last Year on Concealed Handgun Charge. Father of Pulse Nightclub Killer Omar Mateen Was FBI Informant.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter that begins the Holy Week. This was Jesus oficial coming out party if you will. Everyone had heard of him but this was the announcement that I am declaring my calling and my death. He was born to die and he came to Jerusalem as the Lamb of God that would take away the sins of the world.
God used Joseph in a mighty way but first he put him in the fire. Joseph went through hell until he was 30 years of age which is the same age Jesus our Lord was when he began preaching public.
A Guilty Conscience May Be The The Best Weapon Of The Devil, Even Unto Believers Who Have Been Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb. Ask Jesus To Wash Your Mind Of A Guilty Conscience. He Can Forgive You If You Repent Of Your Sins And Accept His Sacrifice Of Dying For Your Sins. Place All Your Faith In The Finised Work Of Jesus Christ And Have No Confidence In Your Good Works.
We all are like sheep and have gone astray but if we repent God will forgive us. We must learn to show mercy on others like God because of Jesus Christ has done for everyone who repents.
There is but one way to get to heaven and that is faith in the finish work of Jesus Christ. We are saved "Sola fide". Which means Faith Alone but that Faith that is alone will provoke you to want to live for Christ. The Gospel Of Jesus Christ is a condemnation of all humans efforts to be righteous before The God of the Bible.
Science and logic proves that only creation makes sense on why we or any matter is here.
God has promised to comfort those who follow and trust in His Word. The LORD is faithful and His word never fails. So if you are in need of comforth and victory I say He is able. I don't know about you, but I will look unto the hills which cometh my help. ALL my help comes from the LORD.
Today to many preachers are married to how God wants to bless you with out telling people what “Thus Says The Lord”.
If you are not Born Again of God's Holy Spirit you can't get into Heaven. The scripture is so clear on this. It does matter who you are and what family you where born in, "You Must Be Born Again".
We live in a generation were people have been so corrupted by the Media. A person that is not of God does not want the Truth and will refuse to listen to it. Examine your heart up against the word of God so you will not be deceived. Ask the Holy Spirit to let you hear the Truth from Gods perspective and you will understand the Will of God.
Allow God through Jesus Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit to renew your mind so you can start a new life.
Jesus is the most Unique person to ever live and Christmas is about Him coming to earth to save humans from their sins.
The God lead you and you will never go wrong. When you get off track just turn to the Master Sheperd and he will guide you out of trouble.
Jesus comes to Jerusalem and the people were excited. This is about 5 days before he was Crucified. What does that say about the human heart?
Jesus Is The Only Way To Heaven. He made claims no one has ever made and he did exactly what he said he would.
To Repent means you admit your not perfect and now you will turn from your sins unto God because His ways are RIGHT.