Do Not Be Alarmed

When we contemplate all that is happening in the world today. When reflect on the economic crisis and natural disasters that are taking place, seemingly more frequently and with greater intensity. When we see society falling apart morally. When we see fighting between nations and civil war. The world can be a scary and even depressing place.

Matthew chapter 24 talks extensively about these things. It prophecies that these things would happen. In Matthew 24:6, Jesus says that we are not to be alarmed. We are not to be surprised. We are not to be rattled or shaken by these events. Jesus said when these things come, "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28) In other words, while the world is in turmoil, we are not to be discouraged. We are not to fix our eyes on the trouble all around us, but stand tall with our eyes fixed on Jesus. When we see all these things we can take heart because our salvation or deliverance is near. Christ is coming for you!

An Everlasting Covenant

 

Psalms 105:8-10

 

“He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.”

 

We serve a covenant keeping God. The Bible says it is “His covenant.” God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, who holds all things together by His word, is the one who makes His covenant with us. Thus, He is bound by His word to keep it for us. The writer of Hebrews shows how powerful this covenant is that God made not only for Abraham but for those of us who believe. Hebrews 6:13-18 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. …Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise (that is you and me) the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

 

The King of kings and Lord of all the earth, El-Shaddai the Lord All-sufficient, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider, the Great I AM of our past, present and future has made a covenant with you. It is “an everlasting covenant” that has no expiration date. His covenant to us came into existence at “the word he commanded,” the same command that said “Let there be light” and there was light”, and we have had light every day since the creation of the world. It never changes! God’s covenant with you and with me is even more certain than creation because God said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away.” His covenant cannot fail because it is based on “two immutable things” God’s character and His word.

 

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20) The promise is made by God, and in Christ they are Yes and Amen. But the promise is fulfilled through those of us in Christ Jesus for the glory of God. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” Just as with Abraham, God has made a covenant with you that you may show forth His glory and be a blessing to your family, your church, your neighbors and the nations.

 

I want to encourage you today that God is a covenant-keeping God. Take time to review the covenants in His Word. Pray and allow these to become alive to your situation. Do not let doubt or disobedience hinder you from pressing into those promises. Remind God of His promises and be willing to step out in faith and maybe do something that you have never done before. Step out of the box of your routine and ability into the vastness of God’s greatness, and see Him work on your behalf.

Brokeness

Matthew 21:42-44 - "Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

God seeks a broken heart. A heart that cries out to Him. A heart fully yielded to him.

Romans 12:1-2 puts it this way - " Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Are you the person who is falling on the cornerstone, Jesus Christ. Are you on your knees with your body laid out on the stone as a living sacrifice. The picture Jesus gives is one who has thrown himself on the cornerstone, not a gentle lowering of the body. Picture someone walking along a path and trips and he falls against or on a large stone. You can be assured it will hurt. He could even break a leg or arm. Yet, it is better to fall on a large stone than a large stone falling on your head.

Jesus is saying fall on me and I will heal you, but if you choose not to, then I will fall on you and you will be crushed. This crushing He is speaking of here is destruction. If he falls on you, there is no hope of putting you back together.

Oh Lord help us to fall on you and deliver us from being crushed by you. God died that we would have life and have life more abundantly in Him. Let us fall on Him today.

Death to self bring life to us and others.

John 12:24 - " Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

This is a powerful truth. Here Jesus is referring to His death. His death will effect the lives of millions people. His death will bring in a great harvest of souls. Many seeds will be planted in the hearts of men as result His death and resurrection.

Yet, I believe He is referring to much more than this. There is a great principle here. It is through death that we bring life and bear much fruit. It is when we die to ourselves and selfish ambitions that we are the most effective in bringing change in others peoples lives. It is in selflessness and humility that God can use us to our full potential. It when get pride and ourselves out of the way that God's light and power can be shown through us.

The biggest handicap to successful ministry is ourselves. Yet our greatest asset is ourselves submitted to God. We do have great potential in us, but it can only be tapped when stop trying to draw from it and allow God to draw from it.

True Salvation brings Transformation

I like the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. Here is a man who is hated by the Jews even though he being Jewish himself. They considered him worse than a Gentile because he collected taxes from God's people and exploited them. He was not the average tax collector but a chief tax collector. He was very wealthy.

Yet, he had heard the news about Jesus and took extreme measures to see Him. When Jesus said that he wanted to stay at his house, we see that Zacchaeus welcomed him with open arms. He was read to receive Jesus into his heart, not only his home.

How do Jesus recognize that he had given his heart to the Lord. It is when he got up and declared that he was giving half of his wealth away and paying back four time the amount that he cheated from people. True salvation bring change and transformation. It is not only confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord but showing it by your actions.

A heart that has been touched by the master will be heart that gives of themselves to others. It will be a generous heart. One who does not give generously to the church and others has not truly encountered the Lord. They are still rapped in self and self interest. Often these same people who are stingy show it by their actions towards others. Often not treating others with love and respect. The bottom line is what counts. What one can get out of the deal is what is most important. What one can get out of the relationship is most important.

Jesus said it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. There are three strong holds that hard to be broken in peoples lives: sex, money and power. Yet, I believe the greatest is money.

It was Hidden

Luke 18:31-34 - "Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him⁽ and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” ³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about."

Much of what was said and taught by Jesus went right over the heads of His disciples. I am sure that they would often stare at Him with a blank and confused face. Sometimes, even antagonistic towards what He said. don't forget when Peter rebuked Jesus. Yet, it was not hidden form them forever. After Jesus died and rose from the grave, it was made clear to them I believe much of what Jesus taught was not understood by His disciples until He left them. I think many a time later in their life. They would be doing something and then it would dawn on them what Christ meant.

This is all encouraging to me as a preacher and teacher of God's Word. so many times I get blank and confused stares. At times even a rebuke or total disagreement. Yet, I know that for many it will come to them later. They will have an "OH" moment. The light will come on and say, yes he was right. Of course we all have experienced this in our lives.

Thank you Lord for you patience with us and give us greater understanding I pray.

Living on the Edge

Matthew 10:37-39

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

 

Through the annals of history God has called men and women to live on the edge. He called Noah to build an ark for the saving of his family, Abraham to leave his home for a country he knew not, Moses to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, Elisha to burn his plow, sacrifice his oxen and pursue Elijah for the double anointing, Esther to risk her life going to the king to save her people, Jeremiah at great personal risk and sacrifice to warn his people of God’s judgment, Peter James and John to give up the family business to follow Christ and become the founders of the church, and Christ who gave up His rights as God, made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the cross for our salvation.

 

I just returned from Niger where I encountered men and women living on the edge to see the kingdom come to this barren land. I was especially struck by a Brazilian lady whose husband was back in Brazil for three months for surgery, leaving her to run the ministry on her own. They lived in one room of a three-bedroom concrete house. One bedroom served as a food pantry, while volunteers lived in the other room. Their kitchen, dining room, and living room is a center where they prepare meals daily and bring hope to 200 children. They have no privacy, live on the edge financially, and are threatened by bearded men who sometimes sit outside their home in an attempt to intimidate them from sharing the love and hope of Christ to these children.

 

Living on the edge looks different for each one of us, but every one of us is being called and drawn to that place by the Holy Spirit. Living on the edge is outside of our comfort zone and place of security, it is the tug of the Spirit to involve ourselves in something beyond us, our capacity, and ability. Living on the edge is that place where the natural meets the supernatural, the temporal meets the eternal, and light encounters darkness. Living on the edge is the cry of every one of our hearts because it is where we encounter the face of God.

 

Break out of the mundane, take a risk, respond to God’s Word and the tug of His Spirit and live on the edge for God.

Prepared Stones

This is going to be an incredible year of change.....
We are going to see Jesus manifested in people who are considered obscure, insignificant. non plus,perceived as nothing in the eyes of our earthly economy and worldly success.........I see these as recognizing the time of their release into the Purposes of God for this hour , motivated by a pure love of God which has been cultivated and matured at a great price to "self".
The Father calls them His own and has prepared these lively stones to fit together perfectly.
Then taken and thrust into the rushing waters where they were washed over again and again . Here, They forgot their own songs but they learned to sing HIS songs on the back side of a dry desert
Human strength greatly diminished, self sufficiency - eradicated, self-love ----brutally annihilated. Behold those who chose to lay down their life willingly.....ask them now of the beauty of the threshing floor.
For there are not the many in 2013 as there were in the years before because the Love of the many have grown cold But the few who love their king ,enter into God's eternal Kingdom which is in layed with the finest beaten gold. gold......

The Torment of Hell

Luke 13:27-28 - " “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ ²⁸ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out."

Hell is not a very popular subject these days. Yet, it is good to reflect upon it at times. 

Why did Jesus talk about hell? He did it to warn the people what their fate will be if they don't receive Him as their Savior and Lord. Hell is real and we need to keep this in mind. It is not some mythical place. The Bible says, we are to fear the Lord because life and death are in His hands. 

Is loving God enough to keep us living a holy life? I would say, not necessarily. Think of your earthly father. Did you always obey him? If not, was it because you didn't love him.  How often did you not do the wrong thing because you new that you would be punished.

Something caught my attention in this verses. He says as they are in hell they will see the spiritual fathers and prophets in heaven and they will weep and gnash their teeth. True, he could be speaking figuratively, but what greater punishment than this if those in hell can see the righteous enjoying all that heaven offers. What distress it would cause them to see us dining at the supper of the Lamb, and they being unable to participate in the rich feat and fellowship. This would be true torment.