When Looked Upon!

Luke 22:61 " And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice".

The word of God tells us to "choose ye this day whom we will serve". everyday we are faced with the question as to whom we will serve. Now this is not a question or judgment on ones salvation, it is about ones witness. Each morning we need to ask our self to whom will our life bear witness to, rather it be to the Lord Jesus or to the powers of this world, the decision is a daily and often made many times through out the day.

In our text today we have the denial of Jesus by Peter. Now earlier Peter swore he was willing to not only go to prison with Christ but also to die with Him. But as we see he denied Jesus at a time when a witness was needed. How many times have we either through our actions or inactions have we denied Christ. How many times have we had a chance to bear witness to who Christ is and for the love of money, the need to belong, or the fear of judgment did we say we don't know the man? Now you might  have never verbally said you don't know Him, but your life style, actions or behavior says it.

How will you choose? Will you deny Christ this day? Will that which you choose to do today bear witness to who Christ is in your life or does it deny knowing Him? When Christ looks upon you will He see a life that bears witness or will He see a life that denies knowing Him....

Undeserved Love

Hosea 3:1 " Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine."

God's love for us is unconditional. He loves us in spite of, and Jesus tells us to love one another as He has loved us. See we are to love each other regardless. Not so much because of who we are, or who they are, but because of whose we claim to be and who they belong to. Jesus died to save the whole world. All souls belong to Him and He shed just as much blood for the least of them as He did the greatest of them. None of us deserved the Love God bestowed upon us, yet He loved us anyway.

Here in our text God tells Hosea to go marry a harlot or a prostitute. See he wanted Hosea to feel what He feels when those who claim to be His go a whoring around with other gods. See we claim to be part of the bride of Christ ,yet we fornicate and commit adultery, as we play footsy under the covers with the enemy. With our lips we tell the Lord we love Him yet our actions show a love for another. In our story after Gomar was taken from a beautiful woman down to a as we say today a skank, God told Hosea to go and buy her back and love her in spite of. After sin has taken us from being in the image and likeness of God, down to something born in sin and shaped in iniquity, God sent His only begotten Son to redeem us back and He loved us in spite of.

Nobody forces us to profess Christianity, so it is the profession of our own faith. So if you profess to be Christ like, live Christ like and love like Christ loves. We must love in spite of. We must love even the worst of men, after all in Gods eyes at one time we were all the worst of men. And no matter who you are, when it comes to salvation, we are all the same, lost in need of a savior, and all must come to Christ the same way. Let us love one another unconditionally.

Give Me Your Heart

Matthew 15:8 "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me".

We Live in a very self-absorbed society where we have to work to stay away from the self centeredness we see around us everyday. We escape through true worship to Jesus. The word "worship" these days can conjure up images of a multi-piece worship band with hundreds of singers in a mega church setting. While true worship could be taking place in such settings and others like it, is this the worship that the Lord seeks from us? Many today claim they are worshipping the Lord in church houses all across the country every Sunday, but is this worship or just a part of  an organized religious ritual. Can we truly be worshiping God and at the same time have something against a soul that he shed his blood for?

Jesus said "this people draweth near to him with their mouth, and honor him with their lips". Many today talk about a relationship with Christ, we speak about how good he is, and how he has all power, and how he can do all things, and how he will never leave nor forsake you. We quote all the biblical saying with our mouth. We talk a good game, we give him great praise with out lips, we shout glory, we shout hallelujah, we do all this with our lips, yet with our life we deny his person, his power, and his presence. Paul said present your body a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God. With all that Christ has done for us, should he be happy with the few hours a week we spend in ritualistic exercise that we call worship. God deserves our whole life, our personal life, our financial life, religious life, the good, the bad, the happy and the sad, he paid for it all. It belongs to Him, he said render unto Caesar that which is Caesar, and to God that which is God's. Let our worship of  God include a life of sacrifice, a life of giving, forgiving and love. Let us praise him with how we live that life. Give God your whole life, trust him, and cast all our cares upon Him. If you truly want to say hallelujah, live a life before man that shows the true character, and attributes of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Mary worshipped the Lord, by covering him with expensive oil, now it wasn't the fact that the oil was expensive, it was that she worshipped him with all she had, she didn't hold anything back. She felt there was nothing to good for the Lord. Can you say You are truly giving God your all? Do you worship Him with your life, and praise Him with your living, or is it just lip service....

Equipped For Good Works

2 Timothy 3:16 " All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works".


We have been called and separated from this world to be ambassadors for Christ. Called to live a life that bears witness to the truth of Gods' word that Jesus saves. Called to let our light so shine before man that they see our good works and glorify God in heaven. We have been given all that we need to live this life, yet we tend to fall short of Gods calling.


The word of God instructs us and  to go out into a sinful world and live a holy and fruitful life, which will lead lost souls to seek the salvation of the Lord. We must learn to trust the whole word of God, not only to comfort and encourage us, but also to instruct and correct us. Gods word is the lamp which must guide our steps and direct our paths. For the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Gods word is  the principles by which we must live by. It is the standard we shall all be judged by, and His word is all that we need to be complete for the service and work which God has called us to do. With Gods word we are all thoroughly furnished and fully equipped to handle all that comes upon us, that we might lead a lost world to the salvation of the Lord.

Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to ever creature that all might be saved. Equipped with the truth of His word, the power of  His spirit, and the testimony of our witness, we are to lead a world lost in darkness to Jesus the light of the world. We are to take up the fragments of broken lives and bring them to Jesus that none should be lost. Jesus saves, let us pass it on...  

Chosen People For a Special Purpose

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people: that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light".


Now we are the children of God, we don't know what we will be but we do know when he appears we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Rather we like it, or believe it there is a way a child of God is suppose to live. We have been chosen for a special purpose, to lead lost souls to the salvation of the Lord.

We have been chosen by God to bear fruit and fruit that will last. But the only way to lead a lost soul to Christ is if we are living a life that shows others the way. Our life is one of sacrifice and service. We should live a life that bears witness to the truth of our testimony to a dying world, that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God who taketh away the sin of the world. That He died on a cross rose the third day morning with all power in heaven and earth in His hands. This is the truth we proclaim and it is the truth that our lives should reflect. We should not be walking in darkness proclaiming to be children of the light.  We should not be living a lost life if we proclaim to know the way. The world may say what we can or cannot do, but the word of God tells us we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We can do all that we need to do, we are a chosen generation, chosen to lead lost souls to the salvation of the Lord. If God called us to it, you can believe He has equipped us to do it.

Many have allowed the beliefs of this world, to dictate how they should live. We must be careful not to get so hung up on showing the world we are saved that we forget to show them the one who saves. Jesus saves and if we lived the life we have been called to live, the world would know that He saves. Let us focus on living a life worthy of the name which we bear, that others may come to know what we know, that Jesus saves....

He Still Saves

Lift Him Up

John 3:14 "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:"

Jesus said and I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me. When we elevate Christ   lost soul will be saved. It is the lifting up of Christ that saves. We can't just talk about how good God is we must live like He is good .Our whole life must be one that elevates the goodness of God over the trials and tribulations of this world. Remember Jesus tells us to be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world.

 

Here is the glorious invitation to all mankind, to come to the Lord and be saved. Here is God calling His people to assemble themselves together from among the ways of this world and lift up Jesus that those in darkness might be drawn to Him and be saved. His desire is that all turn from sin and return unto Him. He is both a just God and a willing Savior to all who will come. Here we have the way for all to come, If we lift up Jesus, that will draw all men unto Him. He and He alone is God's perfect plan of salvation .There is only one who can save. And as Moses lifted up the serpent to save all who looked upon it when bitten by the fiery serpents in the wilderness, Jesus saves all who have been bitten by sin and look up to Him for salvation.

Jesus was made in the image of sinful man that man could once again take on the image of a Holy God. We who know the goodness of God, must lift up Jesus to a dying world. All who are saved owe their salvation to the work of Jesus on the cross. We are then obligated to elevate Jesus, it is because He lives that we can have life. Let us lift Jesus that a lost world might look upon Him and be saved.

Appointed For Salvation

Thessalonians 5:9 "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ".

We should question ourselves so that we can make a careful examination of ourselves and our walk with Jesus Christ. Has Christ's love made any difference in our lives? Does being in a community led by the Holy spirit mean anything to you? Do you really have a caring heart? Let us agree with each other, love each other, be one in spirit, and focus on the same goals. Let us lay aside our fleshly desire to be the leader, and instead, let us help others get ahead. But how does one put self and ego aside? Well the apostle Paul paraded Jesus' life in front of all new believers as a guide to know how to move from selfishness to selflessness. Jesus had equal status with God, yet set aside all the devine privileges, and he humbled himself and did everything His Father told him. He was obedient unto death, even the death on the cross. Christ is a model in living an obedient life, a life that puts others needs ahead of our own.

A Christan is someone who professes a belief that Jesus is the Son of God. In addition, he or she has made a commitment to be like Christ. To be united with Christ means to be one with Jesus, and is a statement of a Christian's partnership with Jesus in communicating to other in our walk and our talk, what he is like.The hearts and action of Christians are to be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Our lives should characterize the tenderness, compassion, unity and love of Jesus and we should have a desire to serve others.What should be absent are selfish ambitions and vain conceit.God understands that doing these things will not be easy. But neither was Jesus' journey to the cross. Jesus was "obedient unto death" knowing that his sacrifice would ultimately result in restoring man's broken relationship with God. God wants Christians to be obedient to the same degree, knowing that this will fulfill His purpose for our lives and work out or finish what was started when we first put our faith in Jesus.

Being one with Christ should result in a desire to be like Christ.This in turn should lead to a commitment to be obedient.The net result should be a life that reflects Christ character, one where our attitude and actions are a good reflection on God.Like Noah's ark, there is only one  door into salvation, and that door is Jesus ,and only those inside Christ spiritual body, His Church, will be saved when the flood of judgment comes.  

Blessed To Bless Others

Matthew 10:27 " What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon housetops."

The gospel of Jesus the Christ, it is the good news about salvation given to be given, shared to be shared. It is a blessing given that others might be blessed with our giving. Usefulness is the great desire of the soul of every true disciple. We strive to make known the truth of the gospel. We have full faith in the foolishness of the preaching. We know that we have received the gospel from our Lord to go out and bless others with the good news which has so richly blessed us.

All that Jesus has told us in secret we are to share openly with a dying world. Jesus has spoken to the hearts of all who profess to be His, we are to shout what He has shared with us from the housetops of our lives that all may come to know that Jesus Christ is the way. The message we have been given to share with a lost world is that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, who suffered bled and died on an old rugged cross for the sin of the world, rose the third day morning with all power in His hands. This is the truth spoken in our hearts, and the message we are to confess with our mouth to a dying world. It was told to us in the secret place of our heart where we met the Lord for ourselves, but it is to be shared openly with all that we see, that they to might come to know the good news of salvation.

Our text makes it clear that we were blessed with the gospel to bless other with the same gospel message we were given. Too many add to and take away from the message in an attempt to make it more appealing to those who hear it. But Jesus tells us what we hear with the ear that we are to preach from the housetops. Let us get back to the simple truth of salvation, and quit promising a life full of earthly riches and material gain. Bless others with the good news of salvation.

Do You Hear Him Now?

Revelations 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and him with Me".

" He came unto His own, and His own received him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name". Jesus suffered, bled and died on an old rugged cross to save the whole world. But to be save you must accept His death as your own,you must believe Jesus died for you. You must let Him in to your life. Is Jesus still knocking or have you opened the door to your heart and let him in?

Jesus says "I stand at the door and knock". Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts and He is knocking. He came to seek and to save the lost. He is humbling asking to come in, For if any man hears His voice and open, He will do the rest, He will come in. He said " the day that you hear my voice harden not your heart". See today is the accepted day of salvation, so open your heart to receive Him, and open your mind to believe Him. He will come in and sup with you and you with Him. Feast on the bread of life, O taste and see the goodness of the Lord. He is no respect of person he said if  "any man" hear My voice, So he is standing and knocking on the door to the hearts of all men, and all women.he is calling out to you, let him who has an ear hear Him and open the door that he might come in.

Jesus came from heaven to earth to show us the way to salvation. He did everything that was needed for us to enjoy everlasting life with the Father. All he ask of us is just to believe and let Him in. Let's receive the free gift of salvation and everlasting life with our Savior.

Are You Fooling You?

Proverbs 16:2 "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth the spirits"

Are you fooling you? Are you really the Christian you profess to be? Do you walk the talk which everybody hears? There is a way which seemeth right unto a man but in the end is the way of death. We all want to live the life Christ calls us to live, and many feel that we are, but the truth of the matter is, if we were have the Christian we claim to be we could save the whole world. We all tend to believe that what we do is right in Gods eye and is His will. But are we fooling ourselves?

We must be careful not to think because we claim to be saved that God accepts everything we do or say. Just because we give pretty names to sin doesn't make it any more tolerable to God. Continuing in sin and blaming God, by saying He is not through with us yet, doesn't make it right or make us right. Don't be fooled into believing that coming to church, reading your bible,observing the various religious ceremonies, or having fancy and important title, makes your wrong doing alright in Gods eyes. It is easy to be deceived into believing  that we are doing right, especially when we think we are doing something for God in accordance to His will, but God looks at the heart and weighs the spirit. He not only sees what we are doing but He also knows the intent behind our actions.

It is easy for us to think because we are who we are, that God is pleased or happy with all we do. We might even think He is O.K. with our good intensions, but God looks into the heart and judges the spirit of a man, so are you fooling you?

Sleeping In Dangerous Times

Matthew 26:40 " And he cometh unto the disciples,and findeth them asleep,and said unto Peter,What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
We have been called to go out into a dying world and proclaim the good news of salvation. In fact Jesus instructed us to"To go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."It is by the truth of our testimony, and our witness of God's revelation to mankind, that a dying world will know there is a Savior, who is Jesus the Christ. But it seems the church is sleeping in dangerous times.

 

In our text Jesus asked  His inner circle to watch and pray while He went to the Father in prayer. But He came back and found them asleep. He is asking us, His church, His new inner circle to watch and pray while He is away with the Father, preparing a place for us, will He return to find us asleep? He left us instructions to go into all the earth and preach the gospel to every creature, to watch over and pray for the lost souls which He died to save, that all might know the salvation of the Lord. Church let us not sleep in these dangerous times.Let us wake up to the needs of this dying world. Wake up to the truth of God's word. Wake up to the fact that it is not about us, or where we worship, the denomination to which we belong, the pastor or bishop we sit up under, or even if we are saved or not. We need to wake up to the fact that it is about Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and the need for a lost world to hear this good news.

There is a dying world out there counting on us to share with them that which God so gracefully shared with us. Bob Marley once said "a hungry man is a angry man", and there is a angry world out there starving for the good news of salvation. Let us wake up and do our part that none be lost. Let us proclaim to all that we see in word and deed the good news that Jesus Christ is the way..

While We Were Yet Sinners

1John 4:19 "We love him because he first loved us"

Devine love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us...Without God's initial act of love towards us in sending his Son, we would have lived haphazardly and died without hope and without purpose. But God commended his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In our absolute worst state and even in our absolute best efforts, we could neither destroy nor earn his love.

The bible is filled with characters who could have taken the easy way out. Instead, they sacrificed because they loved God,they desired to do his will, and they loved God's people. For example, Noah built an ark at the Lord's command and preached to the people, warning them of the storm to come. He suffered ridicule and never had one convert outside of his on family. But he loved and obeyed God. Esther could have easily said no to her cousin Mordecai, who asked her to sacrifice her life for the Jewish people, but instead, she laid her life on the line and went before the king and pleaded for the lives of her people. Paul suffered beatings and unfair treatment many times because he refused to stop talking about Jesus. He sacrificed his life and his health for the cause of Christ. Can you add your name to this list? Most Christian can quote John 3:16, which is almost the Bible's definition of what love is. However, many times when we hear something repeatedly, the words lose their meaning. We must not let that happen to us. We need to continue to go back to the beginning and reexamine how we love and if our love measures up to God's standards.

"By This all men shall know you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" Nothing else, not the sacrifice of our worldly goods or our life, can replace the command God gave us to love. Not as the world loves, but as God has loved us. According to his grace. God's love" bears all things, believes all things, endures all things." This is the revelation of Christ and his love for his Father.This is what he shared with us, as he bore our sins. He endured the shame of the cross and died, all because he love us.

Forgiven!

Joel 2:12"Therefore also now saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning:"

Let us gather all we can, and bring them into the house of the Lord; and cry unto the Lord "spare thy people O Lord and "Forgive us for we no not what we do. Let us come together, all the people, and hear what thus saith the Lord; for the Lord says "Turn to me".

There are many of us who are lost, going the wrong way, doing the wrong thing, following the wrong leaders, and traveling on the wrong road. Many traveling on the broad road, yet Jesus said narrow is the way. God is telling us to turn, turn from our wicked ways, turn and turn loose. Let go of the world and grab hold of the things is heaven. Don't just turn your head giving the appearance of change, you know walking different but still going in the same direction. Let us turn our hearts with weeping and mourning, rent our hearts like it greatly grieves our souls to have sinned against God, rent our hearts, as we desire to never do it again. Rent our heart not our garments, make this an inward commitment and not an outward show. Rent our hearts, and turn to God with fasting, not the commitment of doing without meat for a day ,but the commitment of doing without sin for a lifetime, as Jesus told the lady go and sin no more. Crucify the old man and ways, walk in a newness of life. Turn and fast, as to fasten to him, and fasten on him, like Jacob holding on to the angel, and refusing to let Go, as our blessing are in holding on to God. Grab on to him with true devotion and loyalty, hold fast weeping for the wrong we have done to him, and the shame sin has brought to us, his beautiful bride. Hold on and wait for our change to come.

Let us truly turn back to God, truly repent and become an accurate reflection of the one whose name we bear. Walk that we might truly lead a lost and dying world, to the salvation of the Lord. Lead in truth, teach in honesty, and reprove in love, for our Fathers' desire is that none shall parish. Reach out in love to save the souls Christ died for. For We are forgiven.....

A Working Faith

James 2:20 "But wilt thou know ,O vain man, that faith without works is dead".

Faith the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith the backbone of this Christian journey, many have chosen to travel. It is a walk of faith, it is a life of hope, for the bible tells us we are saved by hope. The bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, for they that come to him must first believe that he is and that he a rewards them who diligently seek Him. He gives each man a measure of faith, yet many today chose to live a defeated life. Many give into sin and the ways of this world because they don't have a working faith.

James tells us that faith without works is dead. Now he is not saying we can work our way into heaven, or that we can work our way into salvation. No salvation is a free gift offered to all who will by faith accept this free gift. Now this is where the working of your faith comes into play. See by faith we believe when we are baptized that the old man, the flesh man, the sinner man and all his ways was put to death with Christ. When Christ died on the cross with the sins of the world, by faith we when we accept his death believe that our old man also died, and was raised with him a new creature in Christ old things have past away, behold all things are become a new. So now we are a new creature born of the spirit of God, and by faith we believe we can walk in the righteousness of God, in faith we believe we are no longer a slave to the flesh and it's desires. Now when trials and temptations come upon us, when the desires of the flesh raises up against us, by faith we believe that Jesus has power over all flesh and he will deliver us from these weak moments, that he will save us from ourselves, that he will deliver us from evil, that he will carry us through as he strengthens us. But in the event that we don't submit to God and resist the devil, that we do give in to the lust and desires of the flesh, that we are over taken by a fault, by faith we believe that if we go to him with a repented heart, seek his face and ask for forgiveness, in faith we believe he will forgive us and restore us back to his righteousness.

This is working faith. We must put our faith to work, believe that Christ can keep you in the times of weakness, and forgive you when you surrender to the wiles of the enemy. Don't live life thinking that you have to sin, if you believe that your old self died and you have risen a new creature in Christ. Walk by faith in the new creature, believeing that Him whom you rose with has all power, and if you do fall know that he is faithful and just to forgive your shortcomings

Praise Him with Our Living

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people: that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light".
There is a way a child of God is suppose to live. He should be worshiped with our life and praised with our living. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light, to bear witness to the light. We are not the light but chosen to bear witness to the light, chosen to be holy in a unholy world, and our lives should sing praises to the one who saved us.

We have been chosen by God to lead lost souls to Christ. we must live a life that shows others the way to Jesus the light of the world. Our life is one of sacrifice and service. We should live a life that bears witness to the truth of our testimony to a dying world, that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God who taketh away the sin of the world. That He died on a cross rose the third day morning with all power in heaven and earth in His hands. This is the truth we proclaim and it is the truth that our lives should reflect. We should not be walking in darkness proclaiming to be children of the light.  We should not be living a lost life if we proclaim to know the way. The world may tell you what you can or cannot do , but the word of God tells us we are a chosen generation, chosen to lead lost souls to the salvation of the Lord. If God called us to it , you can believe He has equipped us to do it.

Many have allowed the beliefs of this world, to dictate how they should live. We have gotten so focused on showing everybody how saved and holy we are, that we no longer live a life that shows the world there is a savior. Jesus saves and if we lived the life we have been called to live, a lost world would know that He saves. Let us focus on living a life of praise and bring glory to the only begotten of God.

He Came To Save

Matthew  10:7 " and as ye go, preach, saying The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Jesus tells us that He came " not for the righteous but to call the sinner to repentance". Yet most of the messages of today seem to be geared at everything but calling the sinner to repentance. Now true there is none righteous so here Jesus was probably speaking of the self righteous, but what happened to the message we are to proclaim. We have allowed personal agendas, political views and worldly concerns to dictate the message we proclaimed. No longer is it one to call the sinner to repent, but to call the saved to prosperity.

Salvation was so important to God that He didn't leave any part of it up to us. We didn't choose Him He chose us, He gave us His words to speak and His spirit to keep us, but we have changed the truth of His message which is designed to convict hearts and convert soul into one of acceptance. Here in our text Jesus is about to send the disciples out on a missionary journey. He instructs them in every phrase of the journey including the message they were to proclaim. It was a message that would call sinner to repentance. Lost souls is what brought Jesus from heaven to earth, and lead Him from the earth to the cross, and it is this truth and this truth alone by which man can be saved.

Jesus said we are to leave the ninety and nine to seek after the one that is lost, but for the sake of the collection plates, congregation size and church popularity, we tend to lean more at pleasing the ninety and nine. Remember God loves the sinner and He gave His life that the sinner could be saved, and we owe it to God as well as the sinner to at least let them know. Let the message you proclaim, be one of salvation.

That None Shall Be Lost

Thessalonians 5:9 "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ".

We should question ourselves so that we can make a careful examination of ourselves and our walk with Jesus Christ. Has Christ's love made any difference in our lives? Does being in a community led by the Holy spirit mean anything to you? Do you really have a caring heart? Let us agree with each other, love each other, be one in spirit, and focus on the same goals. Let us lay aside our fleshly desire to be the leader, and instead, let us help others get ahead. But how does one put self and ego aside? Well the apostle Paul paraded Jesus' life in front of all new believers as a guide to know how to move from selfishness to selflessness. Jesus had equal status with God, yet set aside all the Devine privileges, and he humbled himself and did everything His Father told him. He was obedient unto death, even the death on the cross. Christ is a model in living an obedient life, a life that puts others needs ahead of our own.

A Christian is someone who professes a belief that Jesus is the Son of God. In addition, he or she has made a commitment to be like Christ. To be united with Christ means to be one with Jesus, and is a statement of a Christian's partnership with Jesus in communicating to other in our walk and our talk, what he is like. The hearts and action of Christians are to be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Our lives should characterize the tenderness, compassion, unity and love of Jesus and we should have a desire to serve others. What should be absent are selfish ambitions and vain conceit. God understands that doing these things will not be easy. But neither was Jesus' journey to the cross. Jesus was "obedient unto death" knowing that his sacrifice would ultimately result in restoring man's broken relationship with God. God wants Christians to be obedient to the same degree, knowing that this will fulfill His purpose for our lives and work out or finish what was started when we first put our faith in Jesus.

Being one with Christ should result in a desire to be like Christ. This in turn should lead to a commitment to be obedient. The net result should be a life that reflects Christ character, one where our attitude and actions are a good reflection on God. Like Noah's ark, there is only one door into salvation, and that door is Jesus, and only those inside Christ spiritual body, His Church, will be saved when the flood of judgment comes. The Fathers will is that none will be lost, let us live a life that leads all men to the salvation of the Lord.  

Raise to A New Life In Christ

Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life".

Genuine repentance leads us to unconditionally surrender our will to God. When we come to that point  Peter said the next step is to be baptized for the remission of sins(acts 2:38). Baptism is a reminder of several deep spiritual truths. It represents death, burial, and resurrection, of both Jesus and ourselves. Baptism shows that we accept the shed blood of Christ for our sins and pictures the death of the old man in the baptismal grave. As Jesus was resurrected into a new life, our coming out of the grave, rising out of the baptismal water, symbolizes our new life in Christ. Our understanding of the true meaning of repentance and conversion lifts baptism to much more than just a symbol; it becomes a life changing event which symbolizes a life change. It was so important that Jesus himself was baptized by John at the Jordan.

Baptism is not the conclusion of the conversion process, it marks the beginning for us. Now I am not speaking so much on the act of baptism, the going into the water, no I am speaking more to the definition of baptism, the dying to the old man and being raised to a new life in Christ. Paul tells us in our scripture, that going down into the water symbolizes putting to death the old man, his ways, and his will, so we are no longer servant to sin and the lust there of, and being raised out of the water we come up a new creature in Christ, a new man, walking in the spirit as to no longer fulfill the lust of the flesh. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change of heart and mind. We are no longer like the old man, rebellious, disobedient to the will ,word and way of God. We have taken off the old self with its practices and have  put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.

Hebrews 9:14 tells us that Jesus' sacrifice, which we formally accept when we are baptized, cleanses our conscience from dead works, to serving the living God. Through Christ's sacrifice, the waters of baptism washes away the sin in our lives (acts 22:16), we can go forward with a clear conscience. Until our baptism the bible describes us as enslaved to our self serving human nature. But, once we are baptized and our sins are forgiven, God regards us as servants of righteousness. We are redeemed, bought back from a life of slavery to sin, to be raised to a new life in Christ..............

The Great separation

Matthew 25:32 "And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

The word of God tells us that there will be a great day of separation, a day when the wheat will be separated from the chaff, and the sheep from the goats. A day when the Lord will pay each man His due. On that day where will you find yourself standing? Will you be a one of His sheep, or will you be a goat?

The Lord says His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. there are many who haven't heard the voice of the Lord. The harvest Is truly plentiful yet the laborers are few. Now there are laborers but few are willing to go out into the gleaning fields and bring in the sheaves. The world is hungry for the truth of God's word , yet it is being fed a low gospel high sugar message designed to fatten up the leaders and leave the sheep weak and lame. Let the true laborers go into the gleaning fields and share the good news of salvation to a hungry and dying world that all might hear the voice of the true shepherd, that we all might stand on the side of the sheep and none will be goats.

In our text Jesus tells us that all nations will stand before Him and He will do the separating. This tell us that it is not about us or what we think , but it is about Jesus and what He says. Let us learn to listen to the voice of the Lord in obedience, that we might do His will and hear in that great day, well done my good and faithful servant.

People Get Ready

Matthew 24:37 " But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

As we come nearer to resurrection Sunday I am reminded that Jesus is coming back again. He Is not coming back to seek and save the lost, no this time He is coming for His church, a church without spot or blemish. He is coming for the prepared people to take to the  place He went to prepare for them, and people we better be ready.

The word of God says, all who say Lord, Lord will not enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father, yet the true laborers are few. There is a popular message going around that is full of the promise of earthly riches and positions of power that has people looking for what they can get from God, and then there is a much needed message which is not so popular, it is the message of repentance, and what we can do for God. Many live their lives based on God's love for us, and don't get me wrong God do love us, but He also cannot lie. When He says the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of heaven He means it. Let us begin to live a life that shows the world our love for God by living a life that is pleasing to Him and will lead lost souls to accept His free gift of salvation.

Here in our text Jesus Is telling the people how in the days of Noah, His message was unpopular, they laughed at him and continued doing their own thing. See they had never seen rain before, so Noah message seemed like nonsense to them. Todays unpopular message seems like nonsense to the masses, but when the rains came and the door was closed it was too late to accept the message from God. People get ready, when Jesus comes back, it will be too late to accept the message from God. Salvation is real and eternity is a long time, don't reject God's word because it seems unpopular, remember narrow is the way to righteousness, so don't be so quick to follow the crowd, they could be traveling down the broad road.

Jesus Is Salvation

Psalm 37:39 "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble".

Salvation is a big deal and describes the whole life of the true believer. They feel the need of being saved from self, sin, satan and the world. They trust in God for preservation, and the end there of is eternal rest and peace in the bossom of the Father. The prosperous sinner is on another track, and comes to another conclusion: he disowns all need of salvation,and considers his success to be of his own winning. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off.God is not with the unrighteous; they have neither safety,nor strength, nor salvation in their time of trouble.

The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, he is in the planning of it; the providing of it; the beginning of it; the carrying on of it, and the completion of it. The believer realizes that it is not about anything he has done, but purely out of the love of God. The inward conflicts of the believer makes him know that God alone must work salvation, for we are to fickled to save ourselves. The outward temptations drive us to the fact that only God can keep us. The world's hate teaches us that greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the world.Our daily trials would crush and destroy us if it wasn't for the strength of the Lord, made perfect in our weakness. This truth that unto the Lord belongs the salvation of His saints,leads us to trust in him; excites us into believing prayer to him,and a total dependency upon Him. 

All eyes turn on Jesus with looks of love; gratitude glows in every bosom, and swells in every song; now with golden harps they sound his praise;and now descending from their thrones to do him homage, they cast their crowns in one glittering heap at the feet which were nailed on Calvary. Here we learn in whose name to seek salvation, and through whose merits to hope for it; for salvation of the righteous belongs to the Lord Jesus, to him be the glory.

Salvation Is In Christ Alone

John 15:5 "I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing."

Salvation, the wonderful gift from God. A gift so precious, God didn't leave any part of it up to us. He gave His son to be the sacrifice, His spirit to draw us, and it is by His word that we are cleaned. There is nothing about salvation that we can take credit for. We can't even come to know salvation unless the spirit of God draws us to Jesus. The only thing God left us with, is the choice, we could choose life or we could by default choose death.

Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches, and aside from the vine the branch can do nothing, yet many walk through life staking claim to glory that belongs to God. It doesn't matter what it is that you have, what you have done, or how gifted you are ,all good and perfect gifts come from God and all the glory is due to Him. Our worship is a blessing from God, our testimony is a blessing from God, our salvation is a blessing from God, all that we have is a blessing from God.We must be careful not to get caught up on self and who we are, how saved we are, or how much we got, and make sure that all we do is bringing  honor to God. If you are satisfied and God is not being glorified, chances are you are doing the wrong thing.Jesus called us to bear witness that He lives, and the best way to bear this truth is to allow Him to live through you. One of the greatest witnesses in the bible is Lazarus, he never says a word yet his witness was so strong ,the religious leaders wanted to kill him because his life glorified God, leading others to believe.

Jesus says He is the vine, it is the vine that contains all of the branches needs. Notice the branch does nothing, everything is done by the vine through the branch and for the branch. Jesus wants us to be willing branches on the vine that He might work His plan of salvation through us. Let us truly become branches on the vine and let the Lord have His way with our lives, after all it is not about us.

He Got Up!

Matthew 28:6 "He Is not here: For he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay".

The resurrection is the basis for hope in the Christian faith. The women who came to the tomb expected to find death. Instead, they met an angel who told them that Jesus had risen. Belief that Jesus rose is the key to the completion of his promise that we will rise also. Believers can also experience resurrection power in their lives. Without this assurance, Paul said," we are of all men most miserable". The first witnesses were commanded to go and tell the disciples then later tell the world. Go and tell remains the command for believers today who have discovered the wonder of the risen Christ in their lives.

Go and tell is the command to every man and woman who has discovered the power of Christ. It is through the sharing of this good new that we have the power to change the world. We must tell people that the resurrection brings regeneration into the lives of those who are spiritually dead, through the power of the Holy Spirit, bringing about a new birth, changing one from the inside out. This is the basis for the Church's witness to the world. Every believer can share this certainty with confidence.Of course, a great controversy has always surrounded the Resurrection. The Jewish priest paid the guards to deny what happened that day, and there are still millions of People who deny the resurrection, in word and in deed. Sometime we don't live like he rose with all power, we don't trust that he overcame the world and all it's temptations, and thus harms our witness to the world. A witness is one who tells what he or she knows as a certainty. You can only witness that which you have seen or experienced.

 

 Countless people who have been touched and changed by meeting the living Jesus provide undeniable evidence of the resurrection. The way they live their life is their witness that he rose ,and rose with all power.The first disciples were commanded to be witness, and each of us whose lives have been changed by the resurrection must invite those who need Him to know Him. The Resurrection's reality gives hope to a needy world and gives all who truly believes the power to change the world. He Got Up!

Whosoever Included You

Acts 13:26 "Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent".

Paul and Barnabas first preached the gospel to the seed of Abraham, but they contradicted and blasphemed, and therefore, in verse 46, we see that they now were proclaiming the good news to the Gentiles. Let all heed to this warning, let us not refuse the gospel and find it taken away from us. Now is the acceptable day of salvation; when you hear his voice harden not your hearts." To you is the word of this salvation sent".

What is the word of this salvation? It is the testimony that Jesus is the promised Savior. The word which promises forgiveness to all who exhibit repentance of sin, and have faith in the Lord Jesus. In a word it is the proclamation of perfect salvation, through the risen Lord. It is a word, as being spoken by God, and as being his present utterance even at this moment. It is a word which reveals"the word", Jesus the living word of God. It is a word of salvation; for it declares, describes, presents and presses home salvation. It is a word sent for the Gospel dispensation, it is a mission of mercy from God, the gospel message, Jesus the Messiah, and the Holy Ghost himself is sent to work salvation among men. Will you decidedly and honestly refuse it? Will you delay your acceptance of this Free gift? Will you play the hypocrite and pretend to receive it, while in your heart you reject it. Will you be a temporary convert, or will you accept the word of salvation with delight? When He said whosoever that included you.

Jesus Said, " Preach the gospel to every creature." But you might ask, shall it be offered to those who crucified him, offered to the soldier who stuck him in his side. Yes, Jesus wants the gospel preach to everyone; the man who put the crown of thorns on Christ head, needs to know that their is a crown of life for him if he repents. He who stuck Christ in the side, into his very heart, he needs to know there is a nearer way to the heart of the savior. No matter how bad we might think the person is, Jesus shed just as much blood for the least of them as he did the greatest of them, and they deserve to hear the gospel and be saved."Christ came to seek and save that which was lost".Proclaim salvation to all, it is the Lord's will.

Forgive Our Trespass

Joel 2:12"Therefore also now saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning:"

Let us gather all we can, and bring them into the house of the Lord; and cry unto the Lord "spare thy people O Lord and "Forgive us for we no not what we do. Let us come together, all the people, and hear what thus saith the Lord; for the Lord says "Turn to me".

There are many of us who are lost, going the wrong way, doing the wrong thing, following the wrong leaders, and traveling on the wrong road. Many traveling on the broad road, yet Jesus said narrow is the way. God is telling us to turn, turn from our wicked ways, turn and turn loose. Let go of the world and grab hold of the things is heaven. Don't just turn your head giving the appearance of change, you know walking different but still going in the same direction. Let us turn our hearts with weeping and mourning, rent our hearts like it greatly grieves our souls to have sinned against God, rent our hearts, as we desire to never do it again. Rent our heart not our garments, make this an inward commitment and not an outward show. Rent our hearts, and turn to God with fasting, not the commitment of doing without meat for a day ,but the commitment of doing without sin for a lifetime, as Jesus told the lady go and sin no more. Crucify the old man and ways, walk in a newness of life. Turn and fast, as to fasten to him, and fasten on him, like Jacob holding on to the angel, and refusing to let Go, as our blessing are in holding on to God. Grab on to him with true devotion and loyalty, hold fast weeping for the wrong we have done to him, and the shame sin has brought to us, his beautiful bride. Hold on and wait for our change to come.

Let us truly turn back to God, truly repent and become an accurate reflection of the one whose name we bear. Walk that we might truly lead a lost and dying world, to the salvation of the Lord. Lead in truth, teach in honesty, and reprove in love, for our Fathers' desire is that none shall parish. Reach out in love to save the souls Christ died for. Let us come back to God that we might lead others to the salvation of the Lord.....