Why America is in danger of Judgement and the different levels of sin

 

This video does a clear explanation of sin, trespass, transgression, and iniquity and how as a nation we are following into a dangerous pattern and if we don’t turn around and repent, then we will see the natural disasters increasing.  From the Bible it clearly explains what the cup of iniquity is and how when the cup of iniquity is full God can pour out His Judgment upon a nation.

I believe that the Church should take this standing in these last days –

Ezekiel 3

¹⁶ Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: ¹⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

²⁰ “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”

 

Jeremiah 18:7-9 says –

⁷ The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, ⁸ if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. ⁹ And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, ¹⁰ if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.

 

So for the person and the nation when they sin, there is hope, and ultimately it’s hope remains in Jesus Christ, and turning away from the iniquity and repenting and living an honest and decent life before God.  When God gives people over to a reprobate mind, then He has no reason to spare the nation from violent natural disasters much worse than what we saw in Japan’s earthquake, and they were prepared for the worst case scenario.  This isn’t meant to scare you, but to caution you to get your heart right before God, and I know we all make mistakes and do things wrong before God, at times because we are not perfect people.  But as a nation – wouldn’t you like to see less people dying and being killed everywhere?   It would make the President’s job – whoever is easier, it would make the Senate and Congressmen’s job easier, and people would be getting along better if we just followed with this nation was founded on instead of going against the divine order of God.
Once again I’d like to thank Perry Stone for putting into clear perspective this teaching on the dangers of Judgment upon America and the different levels of sin and for now putting his broadcasts on youtube, and to God for allowing our voices to be heard so that we can share the Good News of the Gospel, then we are living a repentant life before God, then we can experience the grace, favor, and mercy of God resting upon our lives.

Thank the Lord that He provides through the programs for the poor and needy through the government, but at the same time, the Government has to do what’s right and follow a sense of ethics and pass laws based on wise decision making, instead of following the crowd and delighting in the demands of the people when they are not the best decisions to make.

 

America and Israel Connection Perry Stone broadcast

 

This is what happens you Pray in the Spirit.  This is a follow up to Prayer to Bless Israel, Successful Strategy for Liberty and Prosperous Nation, and even the post I had on Martin Luther.  I can see God working a theme in these last days bringing people together.  These connections that Israel has with America is very important.  Perry Stone is a man I respect because after years of watching his teaching he really does his homework and studies his Bible and deals with all kinds of questions with all kinds of answers.  But I also have to thank God for this video which was giving on a timely basis because at a time when I was asking God if someone can show the people what was on my heart for the nation of Israel and the America and connection which I knew we had, and then I watched this week’s show and here it was.  So Praise to be the Lord for answering my prayer for putting into words and into a simple to understand teaching what has been on my heart.  These are Historical facts and can be proven.  It is my prayer that Americans and people from Israel will be touched by this and even some people who had questions on why I posted the Prayer to Bless Israel the way that I did can come to understand the teachings.

 

 

 

Do you have little foxes that spoil the vineyard?

Today I was reading Song of Solomon, and I came across upon –

Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.  – Song of Solomon 2:15

I’m going to take an unusual twist on this verse.  We have cats and a new litter of puppies, which gave birth and they are stray, and sometimes they “spoil” the yard and driveway.  The Hebrew word here chabal means to in some cases to offend or to destroy or to pervert.  Our situation is that these horrendous animals were defacing our property, and we had done everything in our property.  Also they made it very difficult to go outside.
Imagine the Shulamite woman who wants to go to meet the shepherd at be with the flock and her beloved, but she has a responsibility to keep the vineyards clean, but her own vineyard she has not kept clean.  Why was it – because of the foxes?
I was wondering why God was allowing all these to happen to us, and only us, but apparently I know why – He wanted to at some point make this Scripture a revelation.  Foxes can spoil a vineyard by eating or doing some kind of destruction.  If you look up the Hebrew word for foxes it means “jackal or burrower”  So let’s say you have a lawn, it may be not be garden of the year, but it’s a pretty decent lawn, and some animal, either a dog or cat has defaced the property.  So that is what is these brothers felt like.
To backtrack we go to –

My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept.

Imagine if your neighbors because they were mad at you and they made you clean up the yards, but in the process your own lawn looked like a mess.  This is what the Shulamite woman felt like.  She was actually dark because she had been all day cleaning up her “neighbor’s” yards.   Now she couldn’t take care of her own.

Here she is the Shulamite woman – all she wants to do is to spend time with Shepherd, and her brothers want her to catch  the foxes that spoil the vineyard.  When I first this I thought it was the daughters of Jerusalem saying this, but it is actually the brothers.

So in relation sometimes we in a Church setting have to deal with little foxes that cause offense, travail, and destruction, but all we want to do is to be fully committed to Christ.

Sometimes as the Shulamite woman we want to be fully committed to Christ, but we have distractions of this world, or we have all these little problems and issues that get in the way.

Sometimes God gives you a promise and a vision, and a calling, but because of all these misunderstandings, which come from things taking out of context without proper interpretation of cultural and historical context, we end up with little foxes that have tender grapes that must be managed and cared for.
Nobody likes to have these foxes that spoil the vineyard.  But what are we to do, keep the Shulamite woman from the Shepherd?  I didn’t like to have these dogs and cats spoil my yard, but now I can see why that happens, and I hope someone somewhere can get something from this.

Jesus’ heart toward the poor and needy

This is a follow up to Jesus’ heart toward the lame and cripple.

Ezekiel 22:29

The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.

We have a big problem in the Church today, and it is a problem that the government is trying to handle and is not being successful, so people are suffering in America.  We have fed the poor and starving in other nations, but in the process of preaching in stadiums full of people and expanding in big buildings, what have we done to help the poor and needy – whether that be the low income people, or the sick people, or the people that cannot support themselves.  Instead there are people who take the name of Church telling everyone to go and get a job, when most of them cannot find one, and even if they do they cannot get enough to feed their families and have to go on food stamps.  We live off of credit cards to buy expensive things, and we are all guilty of that.  What are we doing to feed the poor – forget about Africa, or India, but in this nation – the revival begins within one’s town, city, state, and nation.  Instead we have the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer and the Church can learn a lesson from Bill Gates who is a billionaire but he is using his money for philanthropic purposes and humanitarian purposes.  Remember the post – What is the purpose of God?  Instead we get preachers asking people for donations daily, but they don’t go and take what they have themselves, in their own comfort and feed the needy people.  So then the government of America has a heavy burden of taking care of several people with a large Social Security that no one can pay for.  There are people because of no other alternative, have to depend on Social Security – people who are not physically able to work, or have a disability that does not allow them to work, and then we have people who use the name of Jesus to support politicians who want to take money out of the poor to house their billion dollar homes.  Or even the mega Churches, which I have nothing against, but I know it really grieves the heart of God to see poor and needy people suffering.

⁹ Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, ¹⁰ but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. ¹¹ For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.  James 1:9-11

2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. ² For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, ³ and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? ⁷ Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”^[a] you do well; ⁹ but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”^[b] also said, “Do not murder.”^[c] Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.  James 2:2-12

A truly poor person will not be greedy, they will be satisfied with what they get.  But a rich person will keep asking for more.

There is a blog posting I posted a while back called “Looks Like Pottersville.”  We need more George Bailey’s – many of us are experiencing George Bailey periods in our life.  This was a man who because of a man called Mr. Potter took away the money that George Bailey had saved from his own pocket to feed the people of Bedford Falls.  I was just thinking about this movie a second time – this was a man who had big dreams but sacrificed them, for the people, to help people, – he wanted to build buildings and visit countries – that was his dream, but instead he was put in charge of the bank after his father died.  It was almost a Book of Job based story.  But this man gave of his life to help people, and almost gave up on his life because of money greedy potter who wanted to take away the money for himself and take away the money of the poor and he thought he was doing them a favor.  But at the end when all things seemed hopeless there was a guardian angel sent to him named, Clarence, who was there to help him. – Moral of the story – that when things seem hopeless God always sends someone who will help you at the end of your rope, and your latter days will be richer than your past.

I believe Jesus had a great plan in the telling of the story – but what have learned – secular and Church people in these past ages.  Have we really learned to give like we are supposed to – if we had- there would be no need for Social Security.  But instead we have become greedy secular and nonsecular alike.  Especially in America, we feed our mouths to the full, and eat until our souls delight.  We purchase these clothes that are very expensive so that we will appear pleasing to the eye.  We are walking around healthy while other people are in pain.  We are blessed with air conditioning, and electricity, laptops, ipods, iphones, and computers, and education, when other people don’t have any – or may be hurting.

Thank God for the mighty ministers who are doing something – to help, thank God for the ones that are pouring out their life savings – to help others, but great revivals begin in your own nation and not other nations – yes we are supposed to preach the gospel in other nations and that is being done too.

Jesus wants to feed the poor and needy, the oppressed, and heal the lame and crippled, and He wants to use His hands to do it.  We are His hands.  Many people are suffering – and thank God that suffering children our safe in His arms.  I know it really grieves the heart of God when people on welfare who can’t find jobs and have to be Medicaid and cannot take care of their family go hungry.  The government has taken over because the Church has gotten lazy.

We all need to repent, for that.  How can we see a revival when all this is going?  Jeremiah says to mourn for His people, and to mourn and lament instead we are rejoicing and having our parties and celebrations while we our in Economic chaos.  The Church – the Bride, the Body of Christ needs to step up to the plate. This is ripe for an unfavorable for someone who we don’t want to step in and be the solution.  Only a poor person can tell you that a can of corn or a bowl of rice is a blessing.

Thank God that Jesus is the answer for all of our needs, and wants, and He clothes Himself with riches, blessing and honor, and majesty, and power, and that our God provides all of our needs.

Heavenly Father,

Forgive us as Church for not reaching out to the poor, needy, and oppressed.  Forgive us Lord for not giving the most of ourselves to the poor.  We are not worthy to be called your Church, but thank God that you delight in the good that we are doing.  We pray that you reach out hearts and touch hearts to give to the needy and the poor, and to help those struggling with sickness, pain and disease, we pray that you anoint our hands for revival and outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  This is our hearts cry.  We pray for all the needs of the oppressed, that You may break the bonds of the oppressed because that’s who You are.  We love You Lord, and We know You care, and help us to trust in You.  Thank You for Your Blessings.  Let Your will be done with the Economic and Political situation in America.  Only Your will.  Let Your hearts move the people.  You can make a way where there is no way.  You can provide a Daniel when there are only Nebuchandezzar’s around.  You can move the heart of the people.  We pray for blessings and favor upon your humble servants whose only desire is to obey you.  We know your heart is grieved by the injustice, and we know your heart is grieved by all that is going on.  Thank You for speaking to Your servant.  I seal this post with the Blood of Jesus.  Forgive us for not trusting that You will provide our needs.  Forgive us for using our tithes and offerings to build bigger buildings instead of reaching out to the poor.  Help us Lord to be more like You Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,

Amen.

 

 

 

 

Jesus’ heart toward the lame and cripple

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:

Israel Houghton
I Am A Friend Of God lyrics

VERSE:
Who am I that you are mindful of me
That you hear me, when I call
Is it true that you are thinking of me
How you love me, it’s amazing (Who am I Lord)
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/i/israel_houghton/i_am_a_friend_of_god.html ]
CHORUS:
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
He calls me friend

Verse

BRIDGE:
God Almighty
Lord of Glory
You have called me friend

 

The heart of Jesus

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.

The Lukewarm Church

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.

 

What is the Purpose of God?

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.

 

 

Church

What is the Church?  Is it exclusive or inclusive?  Is it a building?  What defines the Church?  Is it organized religion?  In this sermon we are provided with a glimpse into what Jesus expects for His bride.

You are God’s beloved

This message is for Christians who have been born again and received salvation from our Father, and Son in the precious Lord Jesus Christ.  For those that are not Christians, and who have not received the promise then God is waiting for you to come to Him.

In 1 John 4:17 it says, Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

In Matthew 3:17 it says:  ¹⁶ When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”

Once we receive the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit, after receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our spirit becomes one with His spirit.  To explain this to people that might be new to Christianity, there are three parts to each person – there is the body, soul, and spirit.  The body is the external part of you, your hands, eyes, feet, nose, etc.  The soul consists of the mind, emotion, and will.  The spirit is the third part of the person.  The spirit once a person becomes born again, takes on a a new nature and becomes a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:16 ¹⁶ Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

We become a ransomed bride of Christ because He redeemed us with His blood, which He shed on the Cross, taking up all the sin, shame, and guilt, of everything that we have done, will do, or are doing because He is outside of time and He was crucified once and for all.

Because the Word of God says that Jesus was and is the Father’s beloved, then we too are the Father’s beloved because He truly cares for us, but what pleases God?  Is it your works, or what you do, or what you don’t do, or how you live your life?  No it’s your faith because the Word of God says that “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Hebrews 11:6

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

“who diligently seek Him” comes from the Greek word ekzeteo and in this context it means to “seek the favor of God, or to worship.”

Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for ekzēteō (Strong’s 1567)“. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 17 Apr 2012. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
Strongs=G1567&t=KJV >

The word “faith” here is not the word, “faithfulness”, but comes from the wordpistis in Greek, and it means “the conviction that God is the creator and ruler of all things, provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ.”

Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for pistis (Strong’s 4102)“. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 17 Apr 2012. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
Strongs=G4102&t=KJV >

Sometimes we get bogged down and weighed down with sin and guilt that we can’t see why God created us.  We think He’s angry with us.  Jesus is living inside of the believers through the Holy Spirit and we abide in Him.  When we become born again our spirit becomes born inside of Him, and our spirit being becomes a part of Him.

John 3 says:

The New Birth

3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Here’s what it says about abiding in Christ:

John 3:36

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 6:56

He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

John 8:31

[ The Truth Shall Make You Free ] Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

John 8:35

And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.

John 12:46

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

When you become born again you are entering into a marriage contract with Jesus.  To know the conditions of that contract, and to know what you are getting into you have to read the Word of God which is the Bible to discover the beautiful books of poems, the beautiful things it to say about your husband.  The wonderous ways that He is Jealous for your attention and your love.

When He was looking for you, He chose you, and out of His gentle gentle, Spirit, He could not force you into commitment with Him, so He said only if “this person is willing to take on my name,” then I will allow her to become part of Me. After He chooses you He is not going to let you go without a fight, and you will have to fight like a good marriage does to stay together despite all the rumors, and all the commotion that goes on all around, despite all the danger lurking in various places, despite everyone and everything around you or in you that calls Him, and what He has promised to you in His Word a lie.  You must fight to hold on to that relationship, and keep Him the center of your affections, no matter what happens to you.  He loves you so much, and sometimes He will just hide so that you can find Him all over again, but He is always within you and you are within Him.  So you can rest secure that if you belong to Him, He will keep you in the palm of His hand.  Even if you turn your back on Him, like Peter did, He’ll still love you, and He’ll always be willing to redeem you if you turn to Him, but if you can’t live with the guilt of what you did, then you might be digging yourself into a place that you don’t want to be in like Judas did.  But that is not God’s heart.  God’s heart is to let you know that you are Jesus’ beloved and he will treasure you.  That doesn’t mean that trials and testings and tribulation won’t come, but it means that not only do you put your trust in Him, but He also trusts in you and He knows you better than you know yourself because He is willing to forgive you in anything that you do.

For men who don’t want to be called a bride, which is just a symbolic to term to indicate intimacy, if you prefer you are also the sons of God.

 

 

The Multi-Faceted Word of God

There are so many different ways to interpret the Bible these days, and we often wonder why.  That’s because we don’t understand who God is.  We have to begin by knowing the names of God, and then we can learn about the attributes of God.

I’ve touched before on the names of God.  You can search for my posting.  But there is something deeper to really get to understand what God is about.

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

This was Isaiah speaking in the future because He had a vision where He had been taken up.  I read somewhere I believe it in the Bible that every time God turned around the angels would cry “Holy” at the new sight of God.

Irregardless, the WORD of GOD is still mutlifaceted meaning that Jesus has many sides to His character and personality.  He wants You to get to know Him, and the same is true with the Heavenly Father, which is why He sent His Son into the world to send the Holy Spirit into the world to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

One of the ways that really needs to get ingrained into the Body of Christ is that we cannot mold God into our image, He has to mold us into His image.  We need to become more and more like Him.

One of the main causes of division in the Body of Christ was this divisions on how to understand God, and why He did all those things that He did in the Old Testament, and why He brings Judgment and Wrath upon the people.  Yes it is good to know Him as Abba Father, and as Jesus knows Him, but even your own earthly father, if you really unconditionally love him, you will want to love all parts of his personality, even the ones you don’t like because your father means a lot to you.  The Heavenly Father is the same way.

In Exodus 34:12 it says that (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).   With the foundation of Jesus as the Savior, you cannot properly understand the fullness of God unless you understand that He is Jealous.  Interestingly enough, the word used here is “Lord” and that means Jesus, and Jesus is the bridegroom, and He is Jealous for His bride like a husband is jealous for his wife.  If someone came and harmed His wife, He would take vengeance on her.  The Church is the Bride of Christ, and Israel is the Bride of the Father.  Everything God has done is for you, so that you would love Him with your whole heart and not love anything else above him.  He will destroy whatever hurts His bride, and He will protect His bride as well because He loves her.  God is very passionate and His love for you is so that you can love him in return.

I want to point out a scene – in the movie Bruce Almighty – again, where Jim Carrey who plays a man who has gotten the powers of God for a week says, “How can I get someone to love me with affecting free-will?”  Morgan Freeman, who plays God says, “If you find that one out let me know.”

Also Backstreet Boys have a song, Quit Playing Games with My Heart,  and one of the lines is “Everything I’ve done is for you so what is it that you can’t see?”  That’s the way God feels.  He feels like sometimes we play games with His heart, and we trample over His heart and we abuse His heart because we don’t live the way He wants us to.  We don’t accept Him for who He really is.  He is a whole person and the Word of God is the complete picture of who He is and every part of it is about His love for you and what he will do to people that don’t love Him completely.

If worldly people can capture this sense of passionate love, how come Christians can’t find the same thing about God?  Yes He is Grace, but He is also Justice.  If He is not justice, then who will bring justice to the earth?  What hope do we have then?  Yes His justice may not seem fair at times, but He can see things more clearly and from a better perspective than we can.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehendit.- John 1:1-4

This Word, was and is Jesus and here the word used is “logos” meaning Christ Himself, and the Bible is the only way we can discover who He is.  All Truth about Him is revealed through His Word and when we come to the realization that the Word of God and His attributes are mutually exclusive meaning that they cannot be separated.

We want Him to love us unconditionally, but do we love Him unconditionally, whatever He says in His Word, do we appreciate it?

So to get back to the point of the message I want to bring out – He has done everything on this earth for you, and just for you.  Just like a tree wants all it’s fruit, leaves, and branches, to be nourished, God wants you, and He desires you to protect You and to take You and embrace You like a hen is with her chicks under her wings.

¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16

In this Scripture in 2 Timothy it says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and that means not only the New Testament,and not just  the Old Testament only.  Each part of Scripture is there so that you may be (saying that you not already are, when you accept Christ) complete.

There is a process in which you become complete.   Here is 2 Timothy 3:16 in the Amplified: ¹⁶Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action).

To know God’s will we go to John 17:

⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. ⁸ For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

⁹ “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me,^[b] that they may be one as We are. ¹² While I was with them in the world,^[c] I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept;^[d] and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

²² The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

For those believers out there that want to know more about righteousness, I want to ask you a question.  Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who is right all the time?  I mean every single time.  You can never win an argument with them.  They know what you’re going to say before you say it.  Imagine if your parents are that way.  They are right every single time.  If someone is right all the time then there are times when you will be wrong.  You cannot say that, “I am never wrong” in front of them because they know that they are right.  God is right all the time.  He is the Righteous Father.  We are supposed to seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.  So there has to come to be a point where we admit that we are wrong, or that what we did is wrong.  That doesn’t change who we are.  We are still God’s children, but we have to admit that whatever we are thinking, or doing is wrong.  We must be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit.

Some people believe that once you accept Jesus then you can still be the same.  Imagine a scenario of a rich loving King who finds a poor homeless uneducated woman (much like My Fair Lady and Eliza DoLittle)  who is depressed dejected, impoverished, and nothing to her and she is involved in all kinds  of licentious or sinful living, and then he takes her and shows her his wealth and showers her with love and affection, and she loves him with all her heart, then once they are married she cannot go on living like a beggar, she has to take on the role of a queen.  She has to put down her old ways and become a new person.  She has to make an effort to change.  His love will nurture her into health and teach her the way she should go, but there is a process from becoming a beggar to becoming a queen.  It is not just her clothes that have to change, but it is her language, it is her character and a transforming work on the inside from leaving the past behind and taking on her new identity as the queen.   It is not an overnight thing, it is a process.  Queen Esther had to go through 12 months of purification treatments so that she could win favor with the king.  If she really loves him, and not his riches or his wealth and everything that he has given her, she will make every effort to change because she loves him and wants to be with him.

The same way God is jealous for his bride.  He wants to see her enter into beauty and perfection.  Yes she has already inherited the throne, and that is hers, but she cannot continue to live the way she did before.  She cannot be spiteful and mean and catty.  She has to be kind, generous, loving, and pour out her heart to the people.  She has to give of herself, and she has to love with her heart.

The Word of God is Truth to every one that finds it and the Word of God is exalted above his name.  Whoever believes in the Word of God, and actually takes time to meditate on it, they will be prepared when the bridegroom comes.  There are many ways of looking at the Bible and the Word of God, but when you take a look at it don’t just get stuck in one a color lense.  God is technicolor and just like God gave Joseph a coat with many colors, He can give you a lense of perspective into His Word with many colors, so that you can see who He is.  Once you have truly began to see with clear eyes this Word of God, then your life will begin to change.  Try one time to read through the whole Bible to read through the eyes of Justice.  I am still trying to do that myself, but every time I turn to the Word, I see something I’ve never seen before.  We must never become familiar with the Word.  Also there is a point in time where we have to dig our own wells and actually take the time to read and study the Word.

Heavenly Father,

I pray that You give us more insight into the Word, and let Your Word become the light upon our feet from Genesis to Revelation let it bring insight into the Truth of who You are and let us have revelation of You that will really change and transform our lives so that we can become like you being whole and complete and conform to Your will and purpose for our lives.  Thank You Lord God that You do hear and listen to our prayers.  Thank You for Your manifest wisdom upon this Bride of Christ and the Church.  I seal this post with the Blood of Jesus and let what glorifies You be seen and let it transform hearts, break burdens, and show people the love that You have for them, so that they may know You and all of Your wisdom, because Your Word is Truth.  I pray for all Your precious saints, that not only know they are saints, but they become holy like You are holy too.

In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,

Amen.