Day 37 The Word of God

Day 37

The Word of God

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

(Matthew 24:35)

“The grass withers, the flower fades,
      But the word of our God stands forever.”  (Isaiah 40:8)

The Word of God is the 2^nd Treasure

     The Word of God is the 2^nd treasure that you must guard with your life.

My dear beloved, nothing that you see will last forever.  All will be burned with fire. The only thing that will last forever is the Word of God.  It is time, my dear beloved, to take your eyes, heart, and mind from that which is perishing, and fix them on that which will last forever: the Word of God!  Beloved, if faith is the ticket to heaven, the Word of God is the currency we use to acquire it.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  (Romans 10:17)

Now, my dear beloved, if we are really serious about going to heaven, and the ticket to go to heaven is faith, and faith comes by hearing the Word of God, then it is about time for us to lay hold of the Word of God, locking it in our hearts unto death.  For, whether we are alive or dead, the Word remains a living Word in us, for God’s Word is eternal.  So whether we are alive or dead, the Word locked in our souls will respond to the voice of the Lord when He comes in clouds and we shall be raised by the power of His Holy Spirit.  Hallelujah!  Glory be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen!

Dust off your Bible, and open the pages of Light that will illuminate your way into eternity.  Read the Word of God, my dear beloved.  Even as you feed your physical body day and night, even so feed your inner man by studying the Word of God day and night.  Read two or three times a day, according to your hunger for God, and add prayer with each Bible study as you invite the Holy Spirit to teach you.  You do not need to be super intelligent, that is a doctor, or a theologian, or a pastor, or a bishop, or a reverend in order to understand the Word of God.  All you need is hunger for God, the desire to understand the Word of God for yourself--not to preach to others, but for yourself.  If you humble yourself onto your knees, and ask God to teach you through the Holy Spirit, I tell you the truth, God is faithful.  He will come down wherever you are and God will abide in you and be with you and teach you daily.  And by the time God is done with you, you will speak as it is written:

“Oh, how I love Your law!
         It is my meditation all the day.
  You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies;
         For they are ever with me.
  I have more understanding than all my teachers,
         For Your testimonies are my meditation.
  I understand more than the ancients,
         Because I keep Your precepts.
  I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
         That I may keep Your word.
  I have not departed from Your judgments,
         For You Yourself have taught me.
  How sweet are Your words to my taste,
         Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
  Through Your precepts I get understanding;
         Therefore I hate every false way.”  (Psalm 119:97-104)

My dear beloved, the Word of God is not for the wise according to the flesh, but for the simple of heart.  If you search the Word of God diligently you will find God and He will teach you Himself, and when God is done with you, you will have more understanding than all your teachers!  Hallelujah! Amen!

Therefore, let us eat and drink the Word of God, for the Word of God is food indeed for the soul and drink indeed for the Spirit.  Even as Christ Jesus our Lord gave a good testimony before Satan:  

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”’”

(Matthew 4:4)

THE WORD IS FOOD:

“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’”  (John 6:35)

My dear beloved, Jesus Christ our Lord is the bread of life, the spiritual food for our soul.  The Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Word of God:

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”   (Revelation 19:11-13)

Now Jesus Christ our Lord is the eternal Word of God.  This very Word became flesh:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

(John 1:14)

Now the same Word that became flesh is commanding us:

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.’”   (John 6:53-55)

This is a demand of total dependency on Him.  Just as a branch that is not connected to the tree cannot produce fruit, because it is not connected to the source that gives it life, even so, God has given life to the world through Jesus Christ, which is God’s true Vine.

And we thank God that His true Vine is not like the natural vine which only accommodates its natural branches, and when a branch is broken off, it cannot be reconnected.  We thank God that His Vine is supernatural; not only can a branch be reconnected after it has been broken off, but even branches that are not natural branches of His Vine can also be grafted in, as long as the branch is desiring to be connected to the Vine. Hallelujah!  Glory be to God for His supernatural Vine.  Amen!

After Christ made this commandment of total dependency on Him, many of His disciples were confused:  “How can He say we must eat His flesh and drink His blood?” they asked themselves.  And many followed Him no longer:

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”   (John 6:66)

But we thank You, oh Lord Jesus, for explaining to us what it means:

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”  (John 6: 63)

Now, my beloved, the words of Christ Jesus our Lord are written in the Scriptures for our sake, that we may eat of them and have eternal life.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”  (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Now, if you want to hear from God, His word is written in the Bible.  We thank God for pastors, bishops, prophets, reverends, and those who minister to us.  May God bless them. However, God is speaking to all of us by His Son, and His Son is the Word of God.  Therefore God is speaking to all of us by the Bible which is the Word of God.  Amen!

Therefore, do not just wait for that still small voice.  That still small voice will come when God can trust you with His written Word.  For if you do not treasure His written word, the Bible, why would God trust you with that still small voice?

Let us therefore treasure the Word of God and keep it in our hearts and lock it in our hearts and never, ever depart from it.  For the Word of God is a treasure indeed, a treasure to be desired more than anything, more than silver and gold, and even more than your necessary food:

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
      I have treasured the words of His mouth
      More than my necessary food.”  (Job 23:12)

“More to be desired are they than gold,
         Yea, than much fine gold;
         Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”  (Psalm 19:10)

My dear beloved, everything that we need is in the Word of God.  All we must do is to search for it:

For direction:

 “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”  (Psalm 119:105)

For success:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”  (Joshua 1:8)

For protection:

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.”  (Psalm 119:114)

For victory over sin:

“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

For wisdom:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”   (Psalm 19:7)

For perfect peace:

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
      whose mind is stayed on You,
      Because he trusts in You.”  (Isaiah 26:3)

For healing:

“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”   (Psalm 107:20)

“When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.”   (Matthew 8:16)

“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      and by His stripes we are healed.”   (Isaiah 53:5)

And everything else we need, my dear beloved, we will find it in the Word of God.

Finally, my dear beloved, search the Scriptures for yourself.  Read, read again prayerfully, and read yet again.  The Scriptures will give you wisdom and will direct your steps; therefore meditate, eat, and drink the Word of God day and night, and let His word dwell richly in your heart!

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”  (Colossians 3:16)

Let us guard the Word of God in our hearts with our lives.  For the Word of God is eternal.  There is nothing like it, and there will never be anything like it!  The Word of God improves lives; strengthens hearts;  heals people; repairs homes; fills souls, spirits, and bodies; motivates the discouraged; gives hope; makes weak people strong; makes worried people find peace; makes confused people find answers; makes intelligent people grow wiser; and makes a fool gain wisdom.  Hallelujah! Praise the LORD!  Give glory to Him Who alone is Eternal and Wise.  Amen!

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE WORD OF GOD GRANTS ETERNAL LIFE!

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”  (John 5:24)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Amen!

Meditation:  Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.

Prayer points:  LORD, please give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of Your Word.  Please teach me Your Word, that I may understand Your Word according to Your will.  Holy Spirit, please teach me and help me to understand the Word of God.  I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen!

Commitment:  I commit myself from today onward, by the grace of God, to search and study the Word of God for myself, and to allow the Holy Spirit to teach me, that I may understand the perfect will of God for my life, through Christ who strengthens me.   Amen!

Day 36 Faith

Day 36

Faith

“…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

(Luke 18:8)

Faith is the 1^st Treasure

Faith is the 1^st treasure that you must guard with your life!

My dear beloved, faith is our plane ticket to heaven.  Whoever does not have faith will miss the flight to heaven, because we are saved by grace through faith:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”  (Ephesians 2:8)

Therefore, it is through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord that we have peace with God:

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”  (Romans 5:1-2)

So, if it is by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, that we have peace with God, it stands to reason that if we do not have faith in Christ within us, we are enemies with God!  Now if we do not have peace with God, we are not fit to spend eternity with God.  Who wants to spend an hour with his enemy, let alone eternity?  As Christ approached the end of His ministry on earth, He was troubled.  Being God in the flesh, He foresaw the apostasy of the church, He saw men departing from the faith, He saw men giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.  Consequently He posed the question that troubles me a lot:

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”  (Luke 18:8)

And why is Christ concerned about finding faith on earth?  See, He foresaw the future, the apostasy of the church, and many departing from the simplicity of the faith, believing fables.  He groaned in His Spirit because He was about to lay down His life for all of us, and all we have to do is simply to believe in Him.  Yet He foresaw us failing to believe in Him from our hearts as our only means of salvation, and He was very concerned.  Why?

“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.”  (Hebrews 11:6)

My dear beloved, God our Father in His own divine wisdom and counsel decided to save us by His grace through faith!  He has canceled all our sins through the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord.  All God expects us to do is to believe in Christ Jesus.  All we have to do is to believe that Christ indeed has done this for us.  God expects us to cease all our strivings in pleasing Him, and just accept His gift of salvation by grace that He has so freely given us by hanging Christ on the cross in our place.  My dear beloved, righteousness is credited to us through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord!

But often we do not believe in the free gift of God as enough, and we depart from the beautiful simplicity of the gospel and instead entangle ourselves with doctrines of food, clothing, and days!  We make the sacrifice of Christ of no effect.  Truly these things are profitable only if our heart is set on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as our only means of salvation.  Otherwise we bring condemnation on ourselves and God will not be pleased with us:

“Now the just shall live by faith;
      But if anyone draws back,
      My soul has no pleasure in him.”

 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”  (Hebrews 10:38-39)

Faith, my dear beloved, is an indispensable element of Christianity!

The Scriptures describe faith as such:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”   (Hebrews 11:1)

This signifies that through the eyes of faith, we can see the things which God has promised, and by the hope God has poured into our hearts through faith by the Holy Spirit He has given us, we may have confidence of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!  Amen!

“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:55-56)

Faith makes the invisible, visible.  Stephen saw the heavens open and Jesus Christ our Lord standing at the right hand of God! Hallelujah! Amen!

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”  (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

Paul was caught up to the third heaven.  He was caught up into Paradise and he heard inexpressible words, words which are not lawful for a man to utter.  It is only by faith that the invisible becomes visible.  God is Spirit, which means God is invisible.  He cannot be seen.  But faith makes God visible and real to those who believe in Him.

My dear beloved, it is only by faith that we can have fellowship with God and it is by faith that we believe that which He has promised.  He will do it. Faith enables us to lay hold of that which cannot be seen. Therefore, faith is our most effective defense weapon against the devil and his gospel, seducing us with such lies as, “don’t wait for heaven, have your best life now.”

My dear beloved:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
   Nor have entered into the heart of man
  The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

(1 Corinthians 2:9)

To love God is to believe in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen!

 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Therefore, my dear beloved, let no one or anything rob you of this confidence we have in God, which is our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Let no doctrine of demons or trickery of men come your way.  Let no one preach to you another gospel and another Jesus.  Hold fast to your faith in Christ which has great recompense, for the Lord is at hand and His reward comes with Him.  Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty that you are called by grace through faith in Christ, which gives you access to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen!

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” 

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”

“Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.”  (Colossians 2:6-10, 12, 16-18)

Finally, my dear beloved, faith is your ticket to heaven.  Let no one or anything take it away from you.  Guard your faith with your life unto death. Let no one cheat you of the blessed hope in Christ to which we have access only by faith. The Lord Jesus is at hand.  Hold fast!

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”  (Revelation 3:11)

                                                                                                              

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”  (Hebrews 10:19-23)

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:14-17)

That in the end we may also say:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”   (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

The Lord Jesus says:

 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  (John 11:25-26)

Yes Lord, I believe with all my heart that You are the Christ, the Son of God.  Amen!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.  Amen!

Meditation:  Faith in Christ is my ticket to heaven. If I lose faith in Christ Jesus my Lord, I miss heaven!

Prayer points:  LORD, please deliver me from my unbelief, and please increase my faith in Jesus Christ my Lord!  Please help me to set my mind on things above and not on things on earth.  I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Commitment:  I commit myself from today, by the grace of God, to walk by faith, not by sight, to set my mind on things above, not on things of the earth.  Through Christ who strengthens me.  Amen!

Day 35 Obedience, the Rock Foundation

Day 35

Obedience, the Rock Foundation

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

(Matthew 7:21-27)

Obedience, the Rock Foundation is the 27^th pillar

Obedience, the Rock Foundation is the 27^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, obedience is submitting to a commandment or a request.

Obedience to God is what this journey is all about.   Nothing else matters more to God than that we obey His voice.  We are in this mess because of disobedience, because Adam, our father according to the flesh, failed to obey a simple commandment:

“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)

This, my dear beloved, was a simple test of obedience, but man failed to believe the almighty God and chose rather to believe a serpent.  Can you believe it?  Can you believe that man chose to believe an animal rather than God?  To believe a lie rather than the Truth?

“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’   So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”  (Genesis 3:4-6)

Even so, now, at this very hour, the serpent (the devil) is working around the clock to deceive men with all his lies, that men may join him in his rebellion against God.   But God, who is rich in love and mercy, is commanding us not to believe the lies of the serpent again as Adam and Eve did so readily, but to believe in the Truth, which is Christ Jesus our Lord!

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’  Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”  (Acts 17:24-31)

My dear beloved, our times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now God is commanding you and me and everyone everywhere to repent, because God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ our Lord!

My dear beloved, do not be deceived.  The world and all its lusts and pleasures will not last forever, but will surely end.  Ready or not, Jesus Christ our Lord is coming and He will Judge the world!  Because Jesus Christ has already died for us, there is nothing greater that He can do for us.  If we do not believe from the heart, but continue to live in sin, and refuse to give up our evil ways, even if with our mouths we call Him Lord, Lord, He will not accept us:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 7:21)

What is the will of God?

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”   (John 6:39-40)

My dear beloved, I speak the Truth in Christ and I lie not.  It is the will of God that all of us be saved.  If you ever came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord, it is because God our Father has given you to Christ.  Now it is up to you.  It is your choice that will determine where you will end up.

Are you wondering what it is that you must do to please God?

“Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’    Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’”  (John 6:28-29)

Is that all I must do?

Yes, my dear beloved.  To believe in Jesus Christ our Lord is all that God requires from you and me for salvation.

We are unable to do any good on our own.  So God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to save us for free--yes, for free!  All you have to do is to believe in Jesus Christ our Lord!  And once you have believed, God will work in you, both to will and do of His good pleasures.  What is it that you must believe about Jesus Christ?

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)  Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”  (Romans 5:12-19)

My dear beloved, glory be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ.   Amen!

This is what God wants you to believe: we are all born sinners whether we like it or not.  We do not have the choice or the power to be born sinless.  We are born sinners whether we agree or not. This is called condemnation (original sin): the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve are made sinners through Adam and Eve’s sin.  Unlike condemnation, the gift of justification--that is, to be made righteous without works--we have a choice whether or not to believe and accept.  Because Adam disobeyed God, we are all made sinners; yet even so, because Jesus Christ our Lord has obeyed God unto death, we can all be made righteous by believing in Jesus, that He has indeed obeyed God on our behalf.  In believing, His obedience is credited to us in the form of righteousness.  Hallelujah!  Glory be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen!

My dear beloved, obedience to God, that is, to do the will of God, will determine our eternal future.  And as you can see, the will of God is that we believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, and in Him alone, and on what He has done for us all on the cross, as our only means of salvation! Amen!

THE IMPORTANCE OF OBEYING GOD:

A)   It must be whole-hearted:

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”   (Matthew 22:37)

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”   (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

“Not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”   (Ephesians 6:6)

There is nothing that God hates more than half-hearted obedience.  We are either hot or cold; we cannot be both.  Half obedience is actually disobedience.

B)    It is the price of success:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”  (Joshua 1:8)

My dear beloved, do not let the devil hold you captive in his will, making you go up and down, doing all sorts of things, even some ungodly things in search of success.  My dear beloved, success in the Christian life starts when you decide to obey God!

C)    It is better than sacrifice:

“So Samuel said:
      “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
      as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
      Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
      And to heed than the fat of rams.”  (1 Samuel 15:22)

My dear beloved, never, ever, attempt to bribe God with your tithes and offerings and sacrifices that you offer to God in order to ease your conscience.   God will rebuke you and reject your sacrifices.  You cannot do your dirty deals and come and give an offering to God.   God will reject it.  There is no money in heaven, my dear beloved.  What God wants you to do is to obey His voice and do what He says, which is:  “CEASE TO DO EVIL, LEARN TO DO GOOD” (Isaiah 1:16-17)

Obedience, my dear beloved, rather than sacrifice, is what God requires of us:

“But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.”  (Jeremiah 7:23)

D)   It secures entrance into the Kingdom of God:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 7:21)

My dear beloved, only those who by the grace of God have learned and are learning to do the will of God will enter the Kingdom of heaven!

E)     It is the imperative duty of life:

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’”  (Acts 5:29)

My dear beloved, do not let the devil trick you by enticing you to obey men rather than God.  Do not aim to please men—it is not possible!                                                                                       

But rather in everything you do, seek and pursue the will of God from your heart, that indeed you may love God whole-heartedly:

“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”   (2 John 6)

My dear beloved, access to God our Father is only through Jesus Christ our Lord, without which no one will ever see God, for Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  It is therefore the will of God that we obey the teachings of Christ Jesus our Lord!  Amen!

BENEFITS OF OBEYING CHRIST’S TEACHINGS

A)   It is the base Rock of character:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”  (Matthew 7:24-25)

My dear beloved, this means that if you take Christ’s teachings into your heart, and keep them in your heart, your faith in Him will be solid.  No trials, nor tribulations, nor the devil, nor demons, nor anyone, nor anything will be able to shake you from your faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

B)    It is essential to become a member of God’s family:

“For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”  (Matthew 12:50)

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”(John 6:40)

My dear beloved, it is only when we accept Christ’s teachings and obey His commandments by believing in Him that we become members of God’s family, for it is by believing in Christ that we have the right to become the children of God:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  (John 1:12-13)

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  (Galatians 3:26-29)

C)    It is the key to spiritual knowledge:

“If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.”  (John 7:17)

My dear beloved, it is only in Christ’s doctrine that we find true wisdom and spiritual knowledge which helps us overcome issues of life and have victory over them!  Amen!

D)   It secures the blessing of divine fellowship:

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’”  (John 14:23)

My dear beloved, when you obey the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Godhead in fullness comes and dwells in your heart by faith so that you have access to fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit daily.  Hallelujah!  Thank You Father!  Amen!

Finally, my dear beloved, glory be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us all, that we may have eternal life in Him! Amen! My dear beloved, be strong in the Lord.  Be of good courage, doing the work of the LORD, not to please men, but to please God from deep within your heart.  I know and I bear with you that it is not easy to do the will of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, where evil is cool and righteousness is boring to the multitudes that are perishing.

But to us who believe, to do the will of God is the salvation of our souls.  Take a stand for the Truth, my dear beloved, and do not entangle yourself with the affairs of this world, but rather fix your eyes on Jesus our Lord:

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 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— 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. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 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. 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. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”  (Revelation 3:15-22)

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”   (1 John 2:15-17)

“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says:
      “ In an acceptable time I have heard you,
      And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

(2 Corinthians 6:1-2)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.  Amen!

My heart’s desire is that we all be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen!

Meditation:  Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven!

Prayer points:  LORD, please teach me the way of Your will, and I shall keep it to the end.  Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in this.  Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.  Establish Your word to me, Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You.  Turn away Your reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good.  Behold, I long to do Your will, oh my God.
Revive me in Your righteousness.  I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen!

Commitment:  I commit myself from today onward, by the grace of God, to seek and find out for myself what the perfect will of God is for my life and then to do it through Christ who strengthens me.  In Jesus’ name.   Amen!

Day 34 Fruit, the Test of Life

Day 34

Fruit, the Test of Life

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

(Matthew 7:15-20)

Fruit, the Test of Life is the 26^th pillar

Fruit as the Test of Life is the 26^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

My dear beloved, from the beginning, God has constantly warned us about false prophets.  “Beware of false prophets,” says the Lord Jesus.  Why is God so concerned about false prophets?

The problem is that when a man or a woman claims to be sent by God, and acts as a messenger of God, he or she becomes the mouthpiece of God to the hearers.  Now what God is concerned about, is when a man or a woman takes it upon themselves to speak on behalf of God when He did not appoint them as His messengers, nor did He send them, but they speak out of presumption.

When such a prophet or prophetess speaks on behalf of God, prophesying about the future or anything else, and that which they prophesied does not come to pass, we call them crazy, disturbed, a storyteller, and so on.  Unfortunately, however, this blasphemes the God of the Bible.  The God of the Bible is Omniscience Divine!  Amen!  That is, He is an all-knowing God.  He has the ability to know the end from the beginning. And that is what separates the God of the Bible from any other gods:

 “Remember the former things of old,
      For I am God, and there is no other;
      “I am God, and there is none like Me,
        Declaring the end from the beginning,
      And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
      Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
      And I will do all My pleasure.”  (Isaiah 46:9-10)

“Let all the nations be gathered together,
      And let the people be assembled.
      Who among them can declare this,
      And show us former things?
      Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified;
      Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”
       “ You are My witnesses,” says the LORD,
      “ And My servant whom I have chosen,
      That you may know and believe Me,
      And understand that I am He.
      Before Me there was no God formed,
      Nor shall there be after Me.
       I, even I, am the LORD,
      And besides Me there is no savior.”  (Isaiah 43:9-11)

“I am the LORD, that is My name;
      And My glory I will not give to another,
      Nor My praise to carved images.
        Behold, the former things have come to pass,
      And new things I declare;
      Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  (Isaiah 42:8-9)

My dear beloved, only God has the ability and the power to foretell the future with exact accuracy.  The Bible is the ONLY book in the world which contains prophecies that have been fulfilled with exact accuracy.  Scientists, archaeologists, theologians, intellectuals and the like, whether they believe in God or not, cannot deny that the Bible has foretold events long before they happened. They cannot deny that when they did happen, these things happened exactly the way as foretold in the Bible, not one day longer or one minute earlier, but at the exact time the Bible said they will happen, the things happened.

And all this is to create faith in us, who hear the Word of God as it is in the Bible, that we may believe and trust the God of the Bible. This is so important to our faith, and our faith is in an all-knowing God and, therefore, God cannot endure to have men and women speaking on His behalf things that He has not sent them to speak.  For they prophecy things in the name of God which do not come to pass, and in doing so they associate God with error, distorting the reality of God as an all-knowing God, creating confusion and unbelief in God and His infallible Word, the Bible!  Yet God knew they would come, and again He proved Himself to be indeed an all-knowing God by telling us that false prophets will come long before they were even born. They have come and gone.  Some, in fact, are here now.  And others will come and go until the end of times.

But because of His love for us, lest we perish with those who do not believe, God is constantly warning us about false prophets.  Not only that, God has given us His Word as a standard to identify a false prophet:

“’But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.’”  (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

My dear beloved, according to the above verses, if anyone prophecies in the name of the LORD, and that which the person has prophesied does not come to pass, he or she is a false prophet.  It does not take many prophecies, just one! If even one prophecy does not come to pass, he or she is a false prophet!

Now, my dear beloved, God will allow such false prophets to arise in order to test us and to see if we indeed love God or not; if we indeed fear Him or not; and if we really indeed believe Him or not.

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams,

       

For the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)

My dear beloved, if someone comes to you preaching another gospel that is not in the Bible, depart from them.

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”  (Galatians 1:6-9)

Be very careful, my dear beloved, with this thing of “the angel told me.”

 Again, if they say to you, the Bible is not enough, we need another book or another prophet, depart from them:

“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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”   (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

My dear beloved, the Scriptures make us complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

And so again I say, if they say the Bible is not easy to understand, that we need someone to interpret it for us, someone to reveal it to us, depart from them:

“Knowing this first that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”   (2 Peter 1:20-21)

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”  (John 16:13-14)

My dear beloved, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide us into all Truth, and this was fulfilled in the lives of the apostles, especially in the lives of Paul and John. It is also fulfilled in our lives daily.

God has also closed the Scriptures in a way that is rather fearful so that we may be reverent of His Word and have godly fear, not to take anything from His Word or add anything to His Word:

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”  (Revelation 22:18-19)

The wisest man that ever lived advises us:

“Every word of God is pure;
      He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
        Do not add to His words,  

Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”  (Proverbs 30:5-6)

My dear beloved, the best way for us to identify a false prophet is to follow the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You will know them by their fruit,” says the Lord!  

The best way for us to understand this is to address the Fruit of the Spirit, which is the test of a Christian life.  Then we can examine ourselves, seeing whether we are genuine Christians or whether we just claim to be Christians. If we really are Christians, we must produce the Fruit of the Spirit, for in producing the Fruit of the Spirit we glorify God, which is the purpose of our lives!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  (Galatians 5:22-23)

                                                                                                           

My dear beloved, the test of our faith is called the Fruit of the Spirit, which is a direct result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a person.  Therefore my dear beloved, the first thing to look for in a true prophet or a true Christian is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in such a person!  For if a person does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ.

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”  (Romans 8:9)

If a person does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within, that person cannot produce the Fruit of the Spirit, for it is God who works in us through the Holy Spirit, both to will and do of His good pleasure.

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”  (Philippians 2:13)

Therefore, my dear beloved, by their fruits you will know them.  If they are of God, they will always speak that which is Truth.  Not just sometimes, but always!  And they will bear the Fruit of the Spirit which is:

·        Love

·        Joy

·        Peace

·        Longsuffering

·        Kindness

·        Goodness

·        Faithfulness

·        Gentleness

·        Self-control

If they are of God they will produce the above, but if they produce evil:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

If they produce the above and the like--they are not of God.  Someone or something else has their hearts.  Of such turn away my dear beloved, lest you be partakers of their evil.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SPIRITUAL FRUIT:

A)   It is produced in all periods of life:

“Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
        shall flourish in the courts of our God.
  They shall still bear fruit in old age;
         they shall be fresh and flourishing.”  (Psalm 92:13-14)

B)    It is permanent:

“Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.” (Ezekiel 47:12)

    

C)    It only grows in good ground:

“But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”   (Matthew 13:8)

D)   It has varieties:

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”   (Galatians 5:22-23)

E)     It is without defect:

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.” (Ephesians 5:9)

“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”   (Philippians 1:11)

                                                                                                        

F)     It is not man-made, it is a product of heavenly wisdom:

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good  fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”  (James 3:17)

Now my dear beloved, if it is your inner desire to bear much fruit by Jesus Christ our Lord, to the glory and praise of God, here are the conditions:

CONDITIONS FOR BEARING SPIRITUAL FRUIT:

A)   You must be in contact with living waters:

“He shall be like a tree
         Planted by the rivers of water,
         That brings forth its fruit in its season,
         Whose leaf  also shall not wither;
         And whatever he does shall prosper.”  (Psalm 1:3)

B)    You must receive the Word of God, which is the spiritual seed:

“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”   (Matthew 13:23)

C)    You must die to old life:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”   (John 12:24)

D)   You must be chastised and pruned:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”   (John 15:1-2)

E)     You must forever abide in Christ:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5)

“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” (Romans 6:22)

“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”  (Hebrews 12:11)

Finally, my dear beloved, no one or anything can take away from us that which Christ Jesus our Lord has done for us on the cross.  Not the devil, nor his false prophets, nor angels, nor churches, nor cults, nor ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing can separate us from the everlasting love of God, but ourselves.  Only we can separate ourselves from the love of God, by choosing to believe a lie rather than the Truth, by believing men rather than God!  Your choice, your decision will determine your eternal future.  We only have one soul.  Let us not gamble with it.  Let us believe and put our faith in the Word of God and nothing else.  For God cannot turn back on His Word.  Let us therefore with fear and trembling surrender our lives to Christ, in whom we have eternal safety.  Amen!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but  delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 As it is written:
      ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long;
       we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:31-39)

Amen!

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”

 (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Amen!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.  Amen!

Meditation:  Beware of false prophets.  You will know them by their fruits!

Prayer points:  LORD Jesus, please help me to bear much fruit, that the Father may be glorified in my life, that I indeed may be Your disciple. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Commitment:  I commit myself from today by the grace of God, to bear fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ my Lord, to the glory and praise of God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name.  Amen!