Oct 18, 2016

MY FRIENDS, UNWORTHY, UNWORTHY SO UNWORTHY!!

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phil 2:5-8 (NKJV) My friends, the mind is that part of our anatomy that God has given us to process our reasoning.

It also controls our attitude, our motives, our actions, our thoughts and our character. All attributes that must be transformed into the image of Christ who left the royal courts of heaven and took on the most humble form of humanity and performed the most lowly of offices so that you and I may receive life eternal and may receive it more abundantly.

And along with our transformation comes a commitment, a commitment that comes from Christ Himself. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26 (NIV) My friends, Christ is not teaching us to hate but, what He is asking for is a relationship and a commitment to His will that is equal to no other.

Peter “was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was” (John Fox, Fox Book of Martyrs, p. 4) I can understand Peter’s unworthiness and desire not to die in the same Manner as the one who gave it all for his salvation.

“Jesus said to [Peter], “Assuredly, I say to you this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.” “Those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.” Matt. 26:34-35, 73-74 (NKJV)

That is why He felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ. My friends, I look at my life today and the life my Savior has allowed me to live for so many years in-spite of me and I can say with no reservation, Christ has placed a hedge around me each day of my life the same hedge Satan accused God of putting around Job. I can say this because I live today, and I know Christ lives in me. Yes, I am also unworthy.

My friends, I speak with humility today and pray as you look at your life and then look at the life of Christ and all He gave up so that we may have life and have it more abundantly you feel as I do. Even my humility I feel is unworthy and as we look at Calvary we must realize “somehow [Christ] thought we were worth saving so, [He] came and changed our life…..and cleaned us up inside.”

And all we should be able to say today is, “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and [I pray that I am one of the unworthy] few who find it.” Matt 7:13-14 (NKJV)

Oct. 17, 2016

MY FRIENDS, MR. TRUMP SAYS HE CAN NOW BECOME UNSHACKLED!!

Donald Trump’s says he will now become unhinged and unshackle, free to be himself since he has nothing to lose, and so many forces are against him and his journey to make America great again. Well as I hear Mr. Trump’s own words, “when you’re a star women will let you do anything,” sounds almost similar to his bosses rhetoric. “I will ascend to heaven:” and raise my throne, [Trump Towers] “above the stars of God” as I make America great again [Remenber I am a star] like the “Most High.”

My friends, Trump has made a mockery of God bless America, and in God we trust. He is bending, twisting and manipulating a culture that defines a set of non-ethical values that many fill very comfortable in living by, young and old alike. And we will now begin to see the real birth of a nation that is endowed by our creator and not God our true Creator but Donald Trump who feels he has certain unalienable Rights because he is a star.

And from where I sit it is a scary picture as “the whole world is filled with wonder and followed the beast [Donald Trump.]” What we are witnessing today I can only imagine, will go down someday as the greatest reality show ever conceived.” The concept is ingenious. It’s Western and European civilization and culture at it’s very best, which I’m sure they never thought one of their own would be the source that destroys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, only a privilege few feel they are entitled too.

But as God’s children we seek “a better country, that is, a heavenly one, where God is not ashamed to be called our God” Heb. 11:16 (ESV) And my friends as we continue to die to self daily and seek God presence, we must continue to look to God for answers because we know the plans God has for us,…plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you and I a future and a hope”Jer 29:11 (ESV)

As we Go to John 9:38 (KJV) Christ had just restored a blind man’s sight who had been blind from birth and He says “I came so that all who are blind could see. And I came so that people who think they see would become blind.” Then some of the Pharisees ask (v, 39) Are we blind also? Mocking Christ and His words.

Christ response gives us a sense of where we are on this journey He has placed us on today. “If you were really blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But you say that you see, so you are still guilty.” And as we put Christ words in the context of our on beliefs and what the world deems appropriate in God’s sight (v, 41) Christ tells us, if there had been no opportunity to receive enlightenment on the character of Mr. Trump.

“Truly, these times of ignorance God would have overlooked,…….” Acts 17:30 (KJV) But friends, God will judge the world on the basis of the light that we all have received or might have received if we would have put forth the effort to read and study God’s word because, “to the law and to the testimony, if [Trump] speaks not according to [God’s] word, it is because there is no [light in him].”Is. 8:20 (NIV)

Jesus now tells us, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains. But I pray like the Blind man that Christ healed, all of God’s children will tell the world “I don’t know why and how it happened. But I do know this: I was blind, and now I see. John 9:25 (KJV)

Oct. 12, 2016

MY FRIENDS THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP WHAT IS IT WORTH?

In Luke 14:16-33 (NKJV) Christ tells a parable about “a certain man who gave a great supper and invited many. Then He sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses.” One needed to go and see about some new real estate property he had just purchased, another his cattle farm, another had just gotten married and could not come at all. My friends, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb [and accepts His invitation]” Rev. 19:9 (ESV)

This invitation will go out to potential disciples, so there are stipulations. “If anyone comes to Me” must hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life” and then they can become Christ disciples, they must also bear their cross and [seek Him with a passion]. My friends “we cannot lightly assume the responsibility of discipleship” and what is required.

Christ tells us, which one of you will start to build a house without knowing if you have enough finances to finish it. So Christ is telling us not to start this process of discipleship if we have no intentions of finishing. Christ needs us to stay focused on the journey and finishing the course He has planned for us here on this earth.

So the cost of discipleship must be our willingness to forsake our all. And our all is the “greatest possible” of what we can give our Savior which goes beyond a path or a treasured idea that to the entire world appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death.” And our all, in the end, may even be our life. So my friends the cost of discipleship and life eternal is it worth the cost.

It was to the “merchant who was seeking a beautiful pearl, who, when he had found one of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it [because no price was too great to obtain that pearl of great worth] Matt 13:45-46 (NKJV) The martyr John Huss, “when asked to recant his errors said “what errors, shall I renounce”? [My friends. He had found that pearl of great worth so nothing was going to get Him to relinquished it, not even His life.]

So he cries out. I know myself guilty of none. I call God to witness that all that I have written and preached has been with the view of rescuing souls from sin and perdition; and, therefore, most joyfully will I confirm with my blood that truth which I have written and preached. He then began to sing, “Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” And so he continued till his voice was silenced forever [in the flames.]” (E.G. White, The Great Controversy)

The cost of discipleship is high and we must remember “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who [will] go in by it.” but to be a disciple of Christ and take up our cross as we eliminate self, along with all preconceived notions of what we thought was a straight path to Gods kingdom, for narrow is that gate and difficult is the way which leads to life eternal.

And there are few who will find it or are willing to seek until they have found it’s worth] Matt 7:13-14 (NKJV paraphrased) Friends if we seek God’s kingdom, we must continue until we have crossed the threshold into the promise land and our savior tells us personally, “Well done, good and faithful servant!…. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matt. 25:23 (NIV)

Oct. 11, 2016

MY FRIENDS, BENEATH THE CROSS, IS WHERE WE SHOULD BEGIN!!

“The cross, and beneath the cross is the rightful place of all who dare to call themselves Christians, [Because] that is the place where [faith, endurance, hope] mercy, forgiveness, and good will [towards all] are dominant.” (Joseph H, Jackson, Unholy Shadow and Freedoms Holy Light p. 45) In addition, beneath the Cross also allows each of us as a child of God to say without any reservation, I am war weary and utterly exhausted and depressed by this controversy between good and evil from within, especially after such a prolonged conflict with the principalities.

And with the powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age. But we will never wave a white flag because to surrender, in the wake of this raging conflict that goes on in our life and the grace that the cross bestows on your children, would then be all in vain and all it has meant for our salvation and life eternal. So the battle must continue until victory is ours through Christ.

And each day we must be “crucified with Christ.” And our life can no longer be about what we want, or our desires. But what is God’s will and His plans for our life? And how do we go about in helping Him achieve those plans? And my friends, Sometimes the process begins with just disciplining our character to make wise decisions on our eating habits.

Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 10:31 (NKJV) no matter what we eat or drink, or whatever we do, do all to the glory of God. And “all” my friends is “the greatest possible” that our finite minds can comprehend of every area of our life and the discipline and character to control those areas which tell us Christ has to have total access, not just the areas of our life we have already given over to Him. But, even those “socially acceptable sins“ we refuse to acknowledge as a sin because everyone does it.

And yes, it all begins at the cross because it was at the cross “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So as that conflict from within continues, His love continues. “There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care because they seek to reach the world’s standard. They have chosen its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs.

Thus their character is marred and their life made a weariness. The continual worry is wearing out the life forces. Our Lord desires them to lay aside this yoke of bondage….Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme will find perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet. (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 330)

So today we must allow God’s Spirit to penetrate the unknown places of our life, places we have never allowed him to penetrate before, and once we have given Him full and complete access to every avenue of our life we cannot let Him leave until we can say as Paul, I have fought the good fight, [and won] I have finished the race, [and conquered] I have kept the faith [and endured until the end] and [my reward awaits] me, which is life eternal.” in that place “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man [or woman] The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV)

Oct. 10, 2016

MY FRIENDS, WE ARE AT THE THRESHOLD ARE WE READY TO CONTINUE?

“All the way our Savior leads us, Cheers each winding path we tread, gives us grace for every trial, Feeds us with the living Bread. And though our weary steps may falter and our soul thirst may be, gushing from the Rock before me, Lo! A spring of joy we see.” My friends, our savior lead us all the way, as He cheers each winding path we tread as we enter the threshold of the promise land. This word “threshold” also has a twofold meaning. In psychology it is also called limen, which is the point at which a stimulus is of sufficient intensity to begin to produce an effect.

And as we enter the threshold of the promise land, as God’s chosen generation, we must become the stimulus which must begin to produce and have an effect on others through the outpouring and overflowing of God’s Spirit within us. Outpouring in Acts 2:17 (AMP) tells us that in the last days,’ God says, that He will “pour out His Spirit upon all mankind; and our sons and our daughters shall prophesy, and our young men [and women] shall see [divinely prompted] visions, and our old men [and women] shall dream [divinely prompted] dreams.”

The text goes on in (v, 8) saying even God’s bond-servants, both men and women, He will in those days pour out His Spirit and they shall prophesy.” And my friends, I personally, and pray you feel the same way, as a warrior in the Lord’s army have a passion to put to death the message of false prophets and the ungodly and through the power of God’s Spirit witness to “the lost Souls that are in danger and tell them to look above, Jesus completely saves.”

And as God’s anointed we must personally stand our ground as God’s Spirit gives us the power to” strike down the enemy until our hands are frozen to our sword, God’s word as the Lord brings about a great victory.” 2 Sam.23:10 (Paraphrased) “For the earth shall quake before [God’s anointed, and] the heavens shall tremble:

The sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? Joel 2:10-11(JKV) My friends, this is our mandate that starts out by saying “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.

And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NIV) This becomes a shared vision that we take to the world and we must not stop fighting in the army of God until we here Christ say personally “well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Matt 25:21 (NKJV)

And those words tells us we are no longer at the threshold of the promise land but we have entered God’s glorious Kingdom. That place “Eye had not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of [the redeemed] The things prepared for” “all who came out of great tribulation; [and] have washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” 1Cor. 2:9 (NKJV) Rev. 7:14 (NIV)

And then, He will wipe every tear from our eyes. And there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things [would have] passed away.” Rev. 21:4 (NIV)And my friends”affliction will not be brought up a second time.”

Oct. 6, 2016

MY FRIENDS, DO WE NEED TO READJUST OUR FOCUS?

“And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.” Mark 8:22-25 (KJV)

“According to an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press, a pigeon walks the way it does so it can see where it is going because it can not adjust its focus as it moves. The pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. This is the way it walks: head forward, stop; head back, stop! My friends, in our spiritual walk with the Lord we have the same problem as the pigeon, at times we have to come to complete stop as we cry out “Lord not my will, but thy will be done.”

And then as we refocus, our mind begins to seek once again the “things above, not on earthly things” that the god of this world has offered us. My friends, our walk with the Lord needs to have a pattern of spiritual stops that define who we are as Christians which are called fruits of the spirit which are; love, joy, peace, endurance, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance, [all attributes which enable us to see more clearly while moving throughout our life]” Gal. 5:22-23 (KJV).

And Sometimes we, like the blind man, need a second touch by Jesus in order to see things from His perspective because we have drifted so far away from the peaceful shore of His loving arms. And like the blind man, once his eyes was focused on Christ, He “saw people as moving objects, like trees walking.”

In other words, he could distinguish the difference between trees and people by their motion; with us we can distinguish once again the difference between good and evil and evil and good [while never again putting darkness for light and light for darkness” Is. 5:20 (NIV) As  Christians our focus must always remain on Jesus Christ and Him Crucified and what that means to our salvation. Nothing else should define This Race or journey that each of us are on to the finish line which is life eternal.

Remember my Friends, when each of us stand before God the only thing that will matter, did we have A personal Relationship each day with our Savior? And did we allow our Lord and Savior to transform our character to be like His? Or did we allow the things of this world to become more important then serving God? As Christians we can never loose our focus on where Christ is leading us as we Study his Word, and seek His Spirit.

When we as Christians remain Focused we then surrender our all to the Master and Totally Surrendering to Christ and His Spirit is the the only way to live if we want to make heaven our home because as we move closer to Christ second coming if our life is not centered on God’s will for us, all other pathways only lead to defeat, and in the end perdition. Hebrews 12:2  tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”