This ministry called Mission Aviation Fellowship is helping to spread the Gospel to remote areas across the world. It’s really amazing what they are doing and they are doing, and if you want to help, the description when you click on the website, will be able to help you support them.
If you click on the button that says “You Tube” you can watch the video on YouTube.
MISSION: To reach the whole world with Gospel of Christ, to spread the news of the good news of salvation so people believe in the one and only Lord Jesus Christ.
Objective: To reach out to remote areas, and to reach out to new generations who may not know Christ and to reach out to every unbelieving person in every country in every nation all across the world. This is the Ark and this is what is necessary to build. Can we build the Ark, are we ready to build the Ark?
The Great Commission –
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
What is needed: Prayer and intercession, going where you are called, and sparking up the new generation by witnessing and sharing Christ with them, and living for Christ, and living a repentant life.
Challenge: Are we up for it?
Key principles of prayer and the importance of prayer.
Sometimes Christians get lazy in their spiritual walk. They don’t want to do their homework, they don’t want to put in the effort so they seek people that will tell them what they want to hear.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4
The Gospel is Good News, that Jesus died for us and that He rose again and that we are saved through belief in Him. But some of us may be carried away with something that sounds good, and is too good to be true.
It is like a counterfeit dollar bill, and it is a very close match to the original. There is only one original, the Word of God, but unless you hold it up to the light you cannot see the markings of the true dollar bill. Instead you have all these forgeries when you hold it up to the light they show nothing. They are fake and very deceptive.
How can you tell what is the Dollar Bill from the counterfeit? You hold it up to the light and you hold the counterfeit up to the light and all the other counterfeits and then the one that has the marking of the true dollar bill is the one and you can use that to purchase in spiritual terms your inheritance, but the other ones are useless and pointless.
Have you ever seen the show – “To Tell the Truth?” That’s where you have three people who all claim to be the same person, but only one is the real one, and by asking a series of questions they have to determine which is the real one. That’s what we have to do as Christians, we must not believe everything and everyone we hear, and we must guard our eyes and looking for the real Jesus and not some fake.
How can we tell if we are choosing the right one?
2 Thessalonians 2
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He[d] who now restrains will do so until He[e] is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Lawlessness is not so much about whether or not to follow the Torah, but is more about not having a repentant life before God. When you sin, God hates it, and when He sees the Son, the blood of Jesus washes over the sin.
Hebrews 10 says –
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[e] says the Lord.[f] And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”[g] 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
2 Timothy 2 says –
14 Remind [the people] of these facts and [solemnly] charge them in the presence of the Lord to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good but upsets and undermines the faith of the hearers.
15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
16 But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.
17 And their teaching [will devour; it] will eat its way like cancer or spread like gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus,
In this context Hymnaeus and Philetus were people who said that the resurrection of the dead is past. But the same can be said of all these preachers that are on television – not all of them, but a lot of them are not preaching what is sound doctrine, and anything that preaches against having an unrepentant heart and people that seek after gain, are deceiving.
From my experience you must test to see what kind of fruit bears in their life. Of course none of us are there yet, we are all at different levels of maturity. The anointing they have to preach is not the same as the person, especially if they are trained in being an instructor of the Word.
Some of them are eloquent speakers, and don’t we know our mistake with an eloquent speaker. Do their lives bear fruit – are they seeking after the Kingdom of God. Have they laid themselves down at the altar and taken up their Cross, and crucified their passions and desires of the flesh, if not then they may still have some work to do. I am not talking about the average person who has not been thoroughly trained to be in ministry. They deceive you with lying signs and wonders but as 2 Peter says, “They go back to their own vomit.”
After you’ve been back to the vomit, or after you’ve fed from the pigs, the Father still loves you enough to bring you back, but if you habitually sin, and I’m not just talking about bad habits, but I am talking about direct moral violations which are indicated in the Bible then there is a repercussion for those things.
Of course none of us is perfect, but God has to do that refining work in us to purge out all the impurities. So while we wait on God let us remember not to chase after the anointing. The only anointing we need is from Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.
We think that love is always easy. Sometimes we are deceived into thinking that we don’t have to change. Sometimes we need that extra push so that we may grow and that requires.
When I was relearning how to walk again, my relative used to go and because she loved me tell me to go and make me do it. She used to take away all helping devices and she used to push me to learn not to depend on the crutch that I carried.
Many times we have been to a gym, and when we go to a gym, we learn to exercise, and if you have a personal trainer, – depends on the trainer, but a lot of trainers will make you push and push until you feel like you are going to die. That is discipline. The more out of shape you are the more discipline will be required.
Sometimes God will show tough love. It’s not that He doesn’t love us, but He wants us to grow so He’s giving us that discipline to help us grow.
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline —then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:7
I am coming back to that verse as a gentle reminder of what we must go through as Christians. We will all go through some kind of testing to make sure that we are growing. We will have all of our idols removed from us, until it is Jesus we seek and find and knock. It may require a period of fasting or it may require setting your heart to pray, or it may require having control of your emotions instead of your emotions controlling you, but you have one thing to remember that despite the tough love, God loves you and He still cares for you but He doesn’t want you to stay where you are.
This is a post about the heart of Jesus toward the lame and cripple, but at the same time it represents the Father’s heart because they are one and the same.
One of the heart’s desire for someone who is lame, or someone who cannot walk properly, is for them to be able to do the same things that everyone else can. In this Bible Scripture we see the heart of Jesus shown through the story of Mephibosheth, what the heart of Jesus is toward the lame and cripple.
2 Samuel 9
9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
“At your service,” he replied.
3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”
4 “Where is he?” the king asked.
Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.
David said, “Mephibosheth!”
“At your service,” he replied.
7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table. ”
8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s[a] table like one of the king’s sons.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
When a person can’t walk, they may be discouraged because they are not like other people. They may feel different, and according to the Law, these people were considered outcasts. Some people because of the hard issues they’ve been through in life think, “Who am I that this king or noble person would take notice of me? I can’t walk.” In America, they may be taking in Social Security or taking in disability payments, they can’t find a job, and even if they can they probably can’t go and work there because of their disability. They feel rejected and like outcasts, but Jesus had such a heart for these people. In fact in the New Testament He healed them, and those promises are still available today. These people might wonder what in their life caused them to be like this, or why were they handed this lot in life, and not some other.
Even if Christians are not lame, they may experience spiritual inadequacy at some point and think, that “Who am I that You are mindful of me? They may feel unworthy.”
This is what Mephibosheth was going through, he was rejected and felt that nobody should pay particular attention to him because he was nobody in particular.
He was probably getting whatever he could off the streets of Lo Debar, and living like a homeless person and he was a descendant of the king. He didn’t know or didn’t have access to whatever he was entitled to by birth. So David, a man after God’s own heart, came and restored him, and made him eat at the king’s table. He made eat the feast with the king. Imagine your a homeless person and then you’re eating the king’s delight. This is what happened with Mephibosheth. It was a transformation and restoration of worth and value. Many disabled people think that they can’t do things with honor and excellency, (except for maybe people like Nick Vujicic, which they should strive to be like) so they cast themselves into a lower position, when really they are of great value in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of Jesus. They are worth being treated like kings in God’s eyes. God has a heart for the lame and cripple people.
If you see someone with a cane or walker or wheelchair, what is your first impression? If you see someone struggling to walk and they can’t seem to make it walking along, what is your response? What about that neighbor you know has an issue with walking do you make efforts to make them feel welcome and loved.
Many Churches carry out their daily activities of worship, sermons, and move in the spirit of God, but do they take on the heart of Jesus. We all need to repent for this. We need to repent as a nation to not helping those that are needy. God’s heart is with the needy, and not the ones that have no needs.
If it seems like I am reemphasizing this point yet again in another post, there is the reason.
I know when I had to learn how to walk again, God put some mighty people in my path who were able to help me, even when my faith seemed to fail me. God wants to heal the brokenhearted, He wants to show kindness to the lame and even with power heal them. What about you?
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your kind and compassionate heart for the lost, lame and brokenhearted people. Thank You for blessing the poor in spirit. Thank You for reaching out to the outcasts, and thank you for helping those in need. You are rich beyond mercy, thank You for your kindness to lost people. Help us to be more like You so that we may serve You in the fullest capacity. We repent for not helping out the lame, needy, struggling, disabled, and people that are weak. Thank You for being merciful with us.
In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,
Amen.
I’d like to post song lyrics by Israel Houghton here:
Verse
BRIDGE:
God Almighty
Lord of Glory
You have called me friend
This message was almost not preached, but thanks be to God, that He is able to give me the grace to deliver this message out.
Heavenly Father,
As I type this posting, let Your hands be upon me and let me preach the Word with simplicity and understanding and let anything that does not line up with Your Word, fall to the ground and be stripped away. Let anything that lines up with Your plan, purpose, and vision be determined, and let it break bonds and free captives, or stir up a passion in the Body of Christ to fulfill Your plan and purpose.
In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,
Amen.
I can’t begin to describe the heart of Jesus in one post, because Jesus is multidimensional so much so that when the angels see Him in Heaven, they cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy”. But the part I want to point out today, is compassion and mercy. Compassion comes from the word eleos which means compassion and mercy. Jesus is the radical version of this compassion.
mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them-
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for eleos (Strong’s 1656)“. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 11 Jun 2012. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
Strongs=G1656&t=KJV >
We see an example of this with the parable of the Samaritan man.
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’[h] and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”[i]
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to himand bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed,[j] he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Notice that the priests didn’t go and help the wounded man, but the Samaritan man did.
We may go to Church everyday, sing worship songs, dressed in fine apparel, and think so highly of ourselves, but what will we do for others. When we someone in a restaurant that has a cast or crutch on them, do we go offer to pray for them, or go and try to hold the door open for them. When we go to the doctor’s office, do we go and try to tell people that, “God loves you?”
The mistake of the lawyer, is something we’re all guilty of, thinking that we qualify, but none of us have shown mercy on people, to the extent that Jesus did. He showed abundant mercy.
But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. (Psalm 116:6)Abundant can also mean exceedingly. It also means to overflow.
How many of us, me included, can say that we overflow with compassion? We’re so focused on ourselves, that we don’t seem to get out of our comfort zone and help those around us. Thank God, for missionaries, that reach the lost and unsaved people. But we need to do more. We need to do so much more Church. My previous post was about the purpose of God, and we must not stray far away from that purpose.
I know it’s hard because we all have people employed to do certain things. We also have ministries that do certain things. But there are people committing suicide everyday. There are people hurt with emotional and physical diseases who have lost hope and are broken hearted. They may be close to death. There may be people who are undergoing violence in the community and this scenario lines up with the scene we see today – a wounded man, robbed by thieves, and who stopped and helped him. Thank God for hospitals, but the Church needs to be fulfilling that role. The Body of Christ needs to come in and take care of the people so that we don’t see all these crimes. We have all been desensitized toward death. We hear on the news that a calamity happened only one person died. Only one person????? One person is too many.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.- John 3:16
We should get to them before they are hurt!!!
We are guilty of this, forgive us Lord, for not stepping out and helping others as much as we should.
We Christians have a way of saying one thing and doing another. We all of us, with maybe a few exceptions of people who have developed really godly character, but we have a way of preaching on the pulpit and saying all these great and mighty deep things not realizing where the heart of Jesus is. His heart is for the people that are broken hearted and suffering and in pain.
One thing that gets away is our pride, and we can see this in the parable of the rich young ruler that when he was asked to leave his possessions he was sorrowful because he had many possessions.
He had pride in his wealth. We have pride in ourselves and think that we’re so much more sophisticated than to help people who are suffering, and people who are reaching out and we don’t see the signs.
There is a Pastor whose wife and him got a divorce and when he realized the way and the signs that she was giving to spend more time with him, then he felt sad that he had allowed that to happen.
Many ways, children are seeking to spend more time with parents, and we see that chaoticness of that in our society.
We need to do more than just prayer. We need to take action. We need to be active and pursue people with a passion, but many times we’re scared because of rejection and what people will think. We need to go and actively look for broken hearted people. We must seize every opportunity we have to minister to the hurting people. Because that’s what Jesus called us to do. He called us to leave our house to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. Not all of us are called to be missionaries, so start where you are. When you go to the grocery store instead of complaining about long lines and the problems, see whose day you can make life easier for someone else like getting something off the top shelf for someone who is short. See if you can help people find things. See if you can just ease someone else’s burden. We are supposed to bear another’s burdens. That’s the heart of Jesus, and that’s really what’s meant about the heart of worship.
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans[f] write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[g] I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
All throughout the message to the Churches about the lampstands, He says “I know Your works”. We can be on fire for God, but how do our works, show it? Are we passionately compassionate, or are we just lukewarm compassionate? Or we can be cold which is also acceptable, means destitute of warm heart of Christian faith and a desire to be holy -Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for psychros (Strong’s 5593)“. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 11 Jun 2012. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
Strongs=G5593&t=KJV > and then we will not be able to show works. But just the I don’t care attitude is disgusting to God.- “I don’t care about the suffering person. I don’t care about the needy people.” It takes more than praying. I pray that God gets us out of this spirit of apathy and go out to meet people where they are.
We need to learn to accept people, and to meet people wherever they are and wherever they are hurting, but we go and carry on with our parties, and festivals, celebrations, preaching, and all the stuff, but what does God care about, He cares about the people. He wants us to minister to hurting and broken people.
Heavenly Father,
Forgive us Lord, for the times we have not met Your requirements for living a Christ like life. Forgive us Lord for the times we’ve been too lazy or self-centered to be able to do anything for anyone else. Forgive us Lord for anything that gets in the way of Your purpose for our lives. Thank You for showing us Your heart, and what makes you grieved, help us to be equipped to change and meet others needs in a greater extent. Help us to be able to live out the calling of You. Help us to heal the brokenhearted and set people held captive by various problems free. Help us to minister to them, and not look down upon them. Help us to walk with passion for you and show it by our actions. Thank You Holy Spirit for the Word which we have received, and thank You for Your blessings today. May Your heart be upon Your people as they live and serve You this day and glorify You in all that they say and do. I seal this post with the Blood of Jesus.
In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
I pray that You anoint my hands to type only words that come from You and not from myself, with simplicity and understanding so that the message may touch whoever You want it to reach. I thank You that I am anointed to preach this Word, and You the precious people are equally anointed to receive and understand this Word.
In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,
Amen.
To fulfill our destiny in life we must know what is the purpose of God. We may think we know, and we may think we have already done it, but Jesus makes it very clear what it is the purpose of God. To understand the purpose we must know what Jesus was anointed for.
Luke 4 says:
18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],
19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day [l]when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].
Notice He didn’t say it’s about building Churches (yes preaching the Gospel is part of that), it’s not about having revival meetings, it’s not about having parties, it’s not about anything, but His purpose the reason which He was called- to set captives free, to recover sight to the blind, to deliver those who are oppressed, and also to bring salvation to mankind.
We all need to repent for our sins because we are now abiding in Christ, but part of abiding in Christ is to fulfill His purpose. You may see someone who is brokenhearted, and you do not go and comfort them, you do not hold them, you do not let them cry on your shoulder without giving them a lecture, then are you fulfilling the purpose of God?
If you see someone oppressed, and you refuse to pray for them, are you fulfilling the purpose of God?
Jesus has a very caring, compassionate, loving, heart and He reaches out to the Outcasts, and the ones who are beyond help, and cannot survive without the God kind of love in their lives.
We need to judge by fruit to test to see whether we are breaking the bonds of others. We may think, “What if they won’t hear us? What if they don’t see any change? What if they reject you?” That’s ok because they rejected Jesus and by rejecting us they also reject Jesus. We must strive to see the good in others.
Seeds have a domino effect. Seeds of love passed down can bring forth power, but seeds that bring condemnation, fear, and judgment, are defeating the purposes of God. It is not our job to judge anyone – it is Jesus’ job to judge people. With this in mind we must remember why we are called.
Most diseases have to do with a broken heart, and when a heart is broken, then it takes love to restore it. It takes love from above, which is powerful. When you see someone with a broken heart do you go out and help them? When you know someone is crying and grieving do you go out and comfort them?
The Church role is very important, but is your church meeting up with God’s criteria and His purpose? Is your Church ministering to the outcast and the weak people. This is a very important thing to consider for all of us. We need to take a step back and reevaluate this. Do we show characteristics of Christ, or do we show characteristics of self-righteous attitude?
What really grieves the heart of God? Is it because someone is not committed to Church on a regular basis? If someone is not going to Church, did you ask them have been receiving the love which Jesus so richly pours out upon us?
Right now there are so many brokenhearted people, and Jesus is looking for people to minister, and He needs His Bride to lift up and encourage one another, not to get so high up there, that you cannot minister to the poor, needy, and brokenhearted. He loves all of us. He cares for all of us and He shows compassion for all of us. It is such a great compassion.
There is love that is never ending and until eternity. This is the love that Jesus so richly paid the price for. Who is broken hearted, oppressed, and needy? Have you met that need?
Heavenly Father,
Help us meet the needs of the poor, oppressed, broken hearted, those that experience rejection, feel alone, despised, like no one loves them. Help us bring them back into the fold. Help us go after the lost and experience what is the true purpose of God, and not get caught up in man made traditions. Help us see a need and meet it. Renew our love today, and bring peace to all the people around us. Thank You for our blessings.
In Jesus Mighty name I pray,
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
Anoint my words to only be written by You and anything that does not bear fruit for Your Kingdom, You strip away. Help me to teach the Truth in Love with Simplicity and Understanding, but at the same time going on from spiritual milk, to some meat. Prepare the hearts of Your people, to receive these words with gladness and let the Holy Spirit confirm these words in the hearts of the people.
In the Name of Jesus I pray Amen.
Many of us Christians read the Bible, but we do not do what it says. We have the Holy Spirit who convicts us, but do we ever change? There are a few things we need to have a solid foundation of and that is the Redemptive Work of the Cross of Christ in our lives. Unless we have come to that place where we know how much of sinners we were before Christ comes in, and that He has taken it away with His Blood then we cannot have that assurance of salvation so we need to be grounded in this fact of Redemption. That is the first point. But what is the purpose of this redemption?
John 15:4 says –
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
Now here is a powerful statement:
John 14:30 –
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
This word nothing means also no one. So satan does not have access or possess anyone that is in Christ. Christians can still be oppressed, but this he does not have possession of their souls, if they are truly in Jesus then the enemy can have no possession of your soul. Because your spirit is one with the Holy Spirit, and now your soul belongs to Christ. You are purchased. You have been redeemed. He has no more access. You are forbidden territory.
Now, the characteristics of abiding in Christ means that you cannot do things that Christ would not do. You must bear the fruit. What is the fruit? The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Meekness and Self-Control. These fruits you cannot develop on your own, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to bear these fruit, but because we are with Jesus we can no longer do things that we used to and these is a hard and painful process, but we are given grace day by day to allow these things to operate in our lives. We must strive against the warnings stated in Galatians 5:20 – adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like. We are to strive to be more like Jesus but because He knows how imperfect we are and how our humanity is so frail and weak to fight against the flesh on our own, we need a Savior, in whom we abide, to help us rip those things out of our lives and out of His Body.
Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 “If you love Me, keep[d] My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Keeping His commandments – what are His commandments? His commandments are simple – love God, love your neighbor as you love yourself. The problem with struggling Christians is that they can love God, but because they don’t love themselves because of insecurities in their soul, they may not love their neighbor which leads to things such as gossipping, slandering, unforgiveness, and things that dry up and bitter their souls, but if you get to that place where you experience the redemptive work on the Cross, and you build your foundation on the Person of Jesus Christ, and do not sway to the right or to the left of that foundation, then you will be able to experience healing for your souls.
Be careful of what kind of teaching you are under – is it producing life in you or is it producing death? The Truth will set you free. The Spirit of God is for believers who know Him and abide in Him. That being said, there comes a point in your life, where God will strip away everything that comes as an idol before Him, because He is a Jealous God, and He desires His people to worship Him. He will build you to that place where you learn to trust Him and no one else, and a good instructor of the Word, will lead you to the maturity where you can depend on Jesus on them. Of course it is good to have counsel because in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
John 15:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
If you were a rose bush, could you imagine the pruning process? It would be quite painful. But in this process we will learn to trust and obey and to be humble before the Lord who is Our Savior. Why is this necessary? Because there are things inside of Him that He doesn’t want, and He wants you not to want them so He sent the Holy Spirit to convict you to despise the same thing he despises and to commit to not doing them, but it takes the grace (a word which has lost meaning in some Christian circles) for you to be able to change and to transform into who Christ wants you to be in His Creation.
Ephesians 1:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both[a] which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who[b] is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
There is so much to dissect here so I’ll take it a little at a time. He chose us in Him – and if you want proof of that you can read Psalm 139, which is proof of that. He was delighted to adopt us. There is a difference between adopted children and natural children. Natural children are given by birth, and the parent has no say in who is his/her child. They conceive and that’s the end of the matter. Adopted children are there because they have been chosen, and hand selected.
Have you ever played sports in gym, and been selected first? As adopted children, we were the first selected by God. We have been offered redemption, that means that whatever mistakes we have made, we have been given a second chance. We have the forgiveness of sins, that means whatever we do that is wrong, we can go to God, and say, “Lord, I know this is wrong, please help me change.” and receive the Precious Cleansing Blood of Jesus which is a two way thing – it speaks to God as a reminder of His Son, and it is also a purging process, which removes the guilt from our lives.
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance – which means that final redemption is a future act because it says “until” – but that may be a little bit too deep because it has to do with the prospective of time and eternity.
Hebrews 10 gives us a clear warning as not to be mislead:
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our (spiritual) bodies washed with pure water (Word). 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approach.
We will know within our very fiber of our being if we have a true heart, and it is in that we need to follow.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[e] says the Lord.[f] And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”[g] 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33 partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; 34 for you had compassion on me[h] in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.[i] 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while,
And He[j] who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the[k] just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”[l]
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
This brings us back to the Blood of Jesus. Many people say Blood of Jesus, but what does it mean? It means the actual life given in Christ, the life giving sacrifice made for us, so that we could come and live in Him. Once we live in Him, we can never be the same. We may still have bad habits, that Christ will help us improve upon, because all of us are imperfect. We are all flawed. Have you ever seen what diamonds look like before they are chiseled? They are these rough rocky exteriors, but on the inside is a white shiny diamond. Ask any Jeweler and they will probably tell you that the diamond is the most valuable gem.
Heavenly Father,
Forgive us today for the times we have not acted like we are a part of Your holy Presence. Forgive us for neglecting the precious gift being placed inside of us. Forgive us Lord for all the wrong things we’ve said today. Forgive us for all the times we fail to recognize You as Sovereign King and Lord, we fall from Your divine graces. With Your love and patience You guide our paths. Help us hold on to what is dear and valuable and hold on to that. Lord You have given us anointing, let that not be without God’s working in our life. Fill us a fresh with the Holy Spirit and let us abide in Your Presence, all the days of our life. Let us continue and bear fruit for You. Keep us guarded by Your angels to keep us from stumbling. Thank You Lord Jesus. We just want to let You know that we love You.
In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,
Amen.
Have you ever been driving and gotten lost? Even with this day of modern technology you can still get lost, unless you have a GPS. We apparently do not have a GPS so when we were driving around in circles about twice this week. It is always good when you know where you are going. Even then you sometimes end up on the wrong path. This has spiritual implications for the people who are Christians, and the people who don’t know Christ yet. Before we accepted Christ, we were all lost. We were driving around without any sense of direction. We didn’t know where we were going, or maybe we did, but we were wrong. Some people realize that they need directions or a map, or instruction on how to get from one place to another, but some people think they know the right way. God gives clear instructions as He did to Noah when He was building the ark, and as He did to Solomon when he was building the temple.
Jesus is always looking for lost people, whether believers or unbelievers. He is looking for His sheep who are lost.
15 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
We are so lost without Jesus in our lives. Without Him we would not be able to make. He is the Savior of our souls, and He makes straight paths for our feet. Without His guidance through the Holy Spirit, we would be wandering around in darkness without a light. It’s good if you have night vision and can see in the dark, but most people don’t have that night vision and so when they are wandering in darkness they would need a light.
Sometimes when we go to Church we see the people who are there including ourselves and we ourselves are rejoicing and singing and worshipping, and we forget about the one person out there who is in need of our support, encouragement, and love. We think because we are growing to new levels with God and really blessed by God, we forget about the people who are outcast, and wandering around in life with no direction. They could keep going around in circles until they find Jesus and have the hope and the love that guides them into the right path.
The Christian path to love unconditionally is a difficult one, and sensitivity means allowing your self to be emotionally hurt sometimes, but it is the sacrifice that God has required us to make. It may be difficult and very difficult and very humbling to be with someone who is suffering.
I have never had the experience of working in a Nursing Home, but I can see the place where they come from inside the Nursing Home. People who are disabled, and maybe even elderly, may not have that much hope left because so much of their life is left behind them, and they may live with regret if they are lost. They are in the last stages of their life and they need more love and compassion. To understand them, you have to understand them as people and have a heart for the lost. The physically disabled may see life in limitations and may feel discouraged by their circumstances because they have an expectation for God to heal them, but they may not have little faith to see it come to pass. They need to be taught of the love and the goodness of God first and built on that foundation before they can see things happen in their bodies. Which brings us back to one of the verses in the parable of the Lost Sheep. Jesus said, He rejoices over that one sheep that is lost. The Bible says – rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
It takes more than praying for someone it takes, going out of your way and going the extra mile to meet that person at their point of need. This goes for anyone who is lost. Even if the person is stubborn, we must still show compassion and love toward them and enough love to melt the person’s heart and soften it until it becomes like wax because don’t you know dear brethren, that the kindness of God leads to repentance. I think in some ways Peter was also stubborn, and it took Jesus to rebuke Peter, but He was still kind to Peter.
To be like Jesus takes great understanding of people. This understanding of people comes from the Holy Spirit, who allows us to have compassion and to seek after the lost just like Jesus does. Sometimes we have to meet them at their level, and show them what Christ is like. Of course there is always free-will and whether they choose to accept the love of Christ is completely up to them, but Jesus is always pursuing them, and He is going after the lost with compassion.
Let’s say you say you see that person who didn’t show up to Church for a long time show up, are you going to carry on as usual, or are you going to throw a special party in honor of that person? That’s what Jesus would do. Jesus would go and rejoice, with singing, over that person who was lost.
Without the Light we are walking in darkness and Jesus is the Light, and we need to be vessels of light and to shine the light among the people. We need to show abundant care and concern for our brothers, and we need to ask ourselves, am I my brother’s keeper? It may be very difficult and very hard, but with the strength of the Holy Spirit, it becomes easy to pursue someone with love.
How can we be a light to others and how can we go after the lost?
singingsinglev4 