He Emptied Himself

Philippians 2:5-8 ESV

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Jesus Christ is God. He is the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He was with God in the beginning, and he is God, and he is our creator God. He is also the only begotten Son of God, born to a virgin, conceived of the Holy Spirit, with God the Father as his birth father. And he left his throne in heaven, humbled himself, and came to earth. And he was born in the likeness of men. And he lived on the earth for about 33 years.

During his last three years (+) on the earth he selected twelve men to be his disciples who lived and walked with him during that time, and who worked alongside him in ministry. This was his time with them in teaching them and in training them in the ways of God and in preparation for what he had for them to do after he died and was raised from the dead, and after he ascended back to heaven. And during his years of ministry he raised the dead, healed the sick and afflicted, and delivered people from demons, etc.

But Jesus wasn’t all just about performing miracles and healing people physically. He was about healing their sin sick souls so that they could be delivered from their slavery to sin and walk in righteousness and in holiness, and in obedience to him and to his commands (New Covenant). And so he did a lot of teaching and preaching of the Scriptures and of the truth of the gospel in order to lead many people out of their captivity to sin so that they could now walk righteously and be in genuine fellowship with God.

And so one of his first messages was to teach repentance, and repentance, although it means to have a change of mind, in Scripture it is mainly used in the context of forsaking our sins and our idols to now follow Jesus in obedience to his ways and to his truth and righteousness. And Jesus, when he taught the gospel, taught the cost of following him. Yes, we do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation, but our salvation requires that we die with Christ to sin and that we live to him and to his righteousness.

The Life of Jesus Christ: 

[Isaiah 53:1-12; Matt 4:17; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 11:20-21; Matt 12:41; Matt 21:28-31; Matt 26:26-29; Mk 1:14-15; Lu 5:32; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 13:1-5; Lu 15:2-7; Lu 17:25; Lu 24:45-47; Jn 1:1-36; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:24-58; Jn 10:27-33; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:1-11; Jn 20:28-29; Rom 5:8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 9:5; 1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Co 11:23-32; 1 Co 15:1-8; 2 Co 5:15,21; Eph 4:17-24; Php 2:5-11; Col 2:9; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 1:8-9; Heb 2:14-15; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1]    

So, if we are to have this mind in ourselves, which is ours in Christ Jesus, via God-given faith in him, which is the mind of Christ, and which is described for us here in this passage, then we are to humble ourselves, deny self, submit ourselves to God, surrender to his will, and become obedient to our Lord even to death for righteousness’ sake. And we are to be willing to lay our lives down, and to die, if need be, in order to see other humans be delivered from their slavery to sin and to walk in obedience to our Lord.

And this will mean for us that we must be willing to be hated, rejected, falsely accused, called names (not nice names), and treated unfairly because we love God, and because we love our fellow humans, and because we will speak the truth of the gospel, and against the lies of the enemy, in order to see our fellow humans die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and thus to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For that is what Jesus did for us, praise His Holy Name! Glory to God!

The truth of the gospel:

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Ivory Palaces

Psalms 45:8

By Henry Barraclough, 1915

My Lord has garments so wondrous fine,

And myrrh their texture fills;

Its fragrance reached to this heart of mine

With joy my being thrills.

His life had also its sorrows sore,

For aloes had a part;

And when I think of the cross He bore,

My eyes with teardrops start.

His garments, too, were in cassia dipped,

With healing in a touch;

In paths of sin had my feet e’er slipped—

He’s saved me from its clutch.

In garments glorious He will come,

To open wide the door;

And I shall enter my heav’nly home,

To dwell forevermore.

Out of the ivory palaces,

Into a world of woe,

Only His great eternal love

Made my Savior go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGYCQewNdPA

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Full of Excuses

Video Talk

 

Romans 1:18-25 ESV

 

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

 

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

 

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

 

Are you a person who makes excuses continuously for why you can’t do this or that, when you can do those things, or who makes excuses for why you are still living in sin, still deliberately and habitually sinning against God and others? Do you find that you are continually casting the blame for your sins on anyone other than yourself? “It is God’s fault!” “It’s my wife’s fault!” “This person or that person wasn’t there for me.” “Nobody was there to help me!” And “I didn’t know” (when you did know, so you are without excuse).

 

So, what does this say in response to all the excuses you have made throughout your life for why you are still living in sin and for why you are not free from your slavery (addiction) to sin? It says you are without excuse, because you did know, for God made himself known to you through his created works, and he showed you his eternal power and his divine nature, and he put within you the knowledge of right from wrong. And many of you have been or are teachers of the word and/or you are pastors of “churches.”

 

But you suppress the truth that you do know by your ungodliness and your unrighteous behaviors. And you do this willfully, deliberately, habitually, and even premeditatively. And you plot evil on your bed. And you plan out how you are going to sin against others, and how you are going to do what is harmful to them. And you even plan out your cover story in advance or you make up one on the tail end in order to cover your tracks. So these things don’t just happen to you. You knowingly do evil over and again.

 

So, even though you know right from wrong, and you know about God and his eternal power and divine nature, and some of you know much more about the Lord because you were brought up learning the Scriptures, and some of you even taught or are still teaching the Scriptures, you choose your sins rather than choose God. And you do not honor God for the holy God he is, and you do not give him thanks for his offer of salvation from your slavery to sin, but you choose foolishness and darkness, instead.

 

And some of you claim to know a lot, and you may even try to teach others all the knowledge that you have gathered, but while you can’t even live the knowledge you claim to know, because you choose to worship the created rather than the creator. And so God has given you over to the lusts of your flesh to do what ought not to be done. And he is letting you do what your evil hearts devise to do, not because he doesn’t care, but because you don’t care, and you are not interested in bowing your knee to him.

 

So, if this is where you are, just know that the wrath of God is against you, and you will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what faith in Christ you have professed with your lips. So, bow the knee to the Lord, humble yourself, be sorrowful over your sins with a godly sorrow which leads to genuine repentance. Then turn from your sins and now obey the Lord. And if you have loved ones who are living like this, pray for them, do good to them, love them, and forgive them, and pray they will obey the Lord.

 

The Truth many are ignoring and rejecting is this:

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DObGMrnWVJU

Caution: This link may contain ads

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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Pride is Their Necklace

Psalms 73:3-9 ESV

“For I was envious of the arrogant

    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;

    their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;

    they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace;

    violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness;

    their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice;

    loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

    and their tongue struts through the earth.”

Who are the wicked? They are all who are living wickedly, for whom sin is their practice, their habit, their go to. They are those who make sin their practice and who practice wickedness as their lifestyle. They habitually and deliberately sin against God and against other humans, and they plot evil on their beds. And they plan out in advance how they are going to sin, and how they are going to hurt others, and how they are going to get away with it and to excuse their own behavior, and/or how they will blame someone else.

And these are not just people who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. They include many who do profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are not living the faith that they profess. They give lip service only to the Lord but their hearts are far from him. They profess him with their lips but by their actions they deny him. And some (or many) of these wicked people are pastors and elders of church congregations (or of what is falsely being called “church”). For so many of them are double-minded people.

Now this does not apply to all who are wicked, but it appears that many of them are getting away with their evil plots and actions and that they are not being called to account for the evil that they are doing. And so while the righteous may be going through all sorts of suffering, many who are evil may appear as though they do not suffer at all. And rather than others seeing their wickedness, which they may hide well, others may even admire and really love these who are wicked at heart and evil in their behaviors.

And on the flipside of that, these same people who love and admire those who are truly wicked, but who hide it well from certain people, may also hate, reject, and despise those who are truly righteous. And this is mainly because they are being deceived, and they are being convinced to believe the lies as though they are truth, and to reject the truth as though it is a lie. Also, the wicked can be very charming and manipulative while the truly righteous will be more honest and straightforward, but kind and loving.

So, continuing with the wicked, if they are consistently getting away with their wickedness, and if they are not called to account for the evil that they are doing to others, they are most likely to be filled with pride and to be overconfident that they will continue to get away with their wickedness. And they may, for a time. And so they continue in their evil and wicked deeds and in hurting other humans, because they have not been caught in the act, and so they have not had to pay for their crimes.

In their pride and arrogance then they may flaunt that overconfidence even in front of and to those who they are deliberately and habitually sinning against. For they feel surely they will not be found out and so they can continue to get away with their evil, just because they always have. For if their evil acts against others leave no visible scars and therefore they know that those who they are sinning against cannot prove the evil they are committing, that may feed their pride and confidence to continue in evil.

And, although they may profess to know God, and to follow Jesus with their lives, and to be in fellowship with God, by their actions they deny him. And the Scriptures teach that they do not truly know God, and that they are not in fellowship with him, and if they claim to be that they are liars. But those who live double lives are usually one way in front of people who don’t truly know them while they are another way with those they know that they can abuse but who will not be able to prove the abuse, sadly so.

So, we need to watch out for people like this, and we need to test every spirit against the whole of the teachings under the New Covenant. And we need to be so careful that we do not get caught up in their charm and their winsome personalities and therefore be deceived into believing their lies. For many who are wicked and evil at heart can give the appearance of being very friendly and winsome outwardly, and people may easily be drawn to them. They are called charlatans. So, be on your guard.

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25] 

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

http://youtu.be/_XQkomPFz4Y

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Testing the Spirits

1 John 4:1-3 ESV

 

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

 

Now I am going to begin here by stating that we need to test these words here against the rest of Scripture, and it helps to use an interlinear to understand what this word “confess” actually means, too. For this is not saying that if someone just makes a verbal confession of Christ as having come in the flesh that it means that person is from God. All of 1 John up to this point debunks that idea alone. And the word “confess” literally means to be in full agreement with and alignment with, which is evident in other ways.

 

Well, let’s think about this for a moment. First there is the Scripture which speaks of Satan’s (the devil’s) servants masquerading themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:12-15). And then we are warned against false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. We will recognize them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-23). And then we are warned against those who teach a different doctrine other than the one Jesus and his NT apostles taught (2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; Jude 1:3-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15).

 

So, what this tells us is that a person can verbalize a confession of Jesus as having come in the flesh but be a wolf in sheep’s clothing or a servant of the devil masquerading himself as a servant of righteousness. So, just because someone says something with his lips doesn’t mean at all that is what he truly believes or that what he confesses truly represents what is in his heart. For the way these false teachers are able to deceive the people is by making verbal confessions of Christ as Lord and as having come in the flesh, etc. But the way they deceive is through the doctrines that they teach.

 

So, in order to properly test the spirits to see which ones are of God and which ones are not, we need to do more than just look at what a person professes with his lips. For liars and deceivers abound who will profess one thing with their lips while they will live another. And they will say the right words to convince others that they are of true faith but in order to gain their confidence so that they can deceive them. For they will tell enough truth to be convincing while they begin to insert lies in with the truth to deceive.

 

And then if we look at these character traits of these false teachers, and if we see these character traits in those professing Christ as Lord, that should be an indication to us that these people are not of God, as well as we must test what they are teaching against what Jesus and his NT apostles taught (in context). So, one character trait of them is that they are liars and deceivers, and they are also lawless, for they do not obey the Lord and his commands (New Covenant), in practice. Many believe and are teaching that we do not have to obey the Lord or repent of our sins. Bad sign right there!

 

They will deny Jesus’ words and his teachings by the things that they teach, and they will deny him, too, by their actions. They will create their own gospels out of their own imaginations which are not consistent with the Scriptures, in context. Often these false doctrines are taught via Scriptures pulled out of their contexts and made to say what they do not say. For these liars are haters of righteousness which is why many are teaching against obedience and against repentance. And they are giving their adherents carte blanche to continue in deliberate and habitual sin, only now without guilt.

 

Many of them are also those who are sexually immoral, who are full of lust and greed. They are shepherds who feed only themselves and not their flock. Many are wild, uncontrolled, and undisciplined and they are teaching their followers to be wild at heart, too, and to be followers of the flesh and not of God. For they themselves are followers of the flesh and are those who wander from the truth and who follow after lies. For they are ungodly people engaged in ungodly deeds, and they are leading others to do the same. For they are worldly people devoid of the Holy Spirit (see noted verses above).

 

1 John 4:4-6 ESV

 

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

 

Now, here again we must test these words against other Scriptures, because this is not saying that everyone who professes to be a child of God and a believer in Jesus Christ is truly from God and has overcome those who are liars and deceivers. And it doesn’t mean that everything we verbalize is from God and that everyone should listen to us and that if they don’t that they are not from God. Now, if what we are teaching is from the Scriptures, clearly in agreement with the full context of what is being taught, then those who are truly from God should be those who will listen to us. I agree!

 

Now I want us to take a look at what the first 3 chapters of 1 John teach so that we have the correct context here. For in 1 John 1 we read that if we say we are in fellowship with God while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin, wickedness), we are liars. And in 1 John 2 we read that if we say that we know God but we do not keep (obey) his commandments (New Covenant), we are liars. And we read in 1 John 3 that whoever practices righteousness is righteous, but whoever practices sinning is of the devil. So we are not of God and they are not of God if what we practice is not of God.

 

So, we are of God if what we practice is dying daily to sin and to self, and righteousness, and obedience to our Lord. We are not of God if what we practice is sinning against our Lord, unrighteousness, and disobedience to our Lord and to his commands. And we should be teaching what the Scriptures teach in their context, and if we do, those who are also of God, in truth, should thus listen to us. But alas, many who claim to be of God are listening to the liars and deceivers, instead, and they are not listening to the truth, but they are rejecting the truth in favor of the lies.

 

So, test the spirits against the full context of these verses mentioned here and what they teach, including the ones I will yet post. For many liars disguise themselves as true believers in Christ in order to deceive you. So, test everything you read or hear or think you see in prayer against the fullness of the Scriptures and what they teach us under the New Covenant so that you are not led astray by those who fake their Christianity. And then follow Jesus in obedience and live holy lives to the glory of God, by his grace.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

My Sheep  

 

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

 

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

 

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

 

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full…

 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

 

https://vimeo.com/114938263

Eyes Full of Adultery

2 Peter 2:13b-15a ESV

 

“They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray.”

 

The subject matter here is that of false prophets and false teachers, but what this describes here isn’t confined just to false teachers. Sadly enough it describes the majority of Christian males here in America, at least according to statistics, and according to a survey I took a few years back, and according to what I have seen and heard and read myself over the course of many years. Sexual immorality, lying, deception, unfaithfulness, and mind manipulation are running rampant in today’s market-driven “churches.” And it isn’t just confined to men, but women are joining the ranks, too.

 

“And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Peter 2:2-3 ESV).

 

This is absolutely the truth! For the gospel message which appears to be permeating the majority of what is called “church” here in America does not require dying with Christ to sin daily, nor does it require walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. Some have diluted it so far as to say that if you accept God’s affection for you that you are now his children and that heaven is guaranteed you when you die. So many today are teaching against repentance, and against walks of obedience, so they are leaving their adherents still dead in their sin, living in sin and not in obedience to God.

 

And those eyes full of adultery, oh my, they are awful to look at! So many professing Christians are not living much differently from those who make no profession of faith in Christ. They are insatiable for sin. And it shows in their eyes and in their body language and in their attitudes, actions, and words. Now, we cannot judge their actions based solely on appearance without facts, and without actual physical evidence of wrongdoing. But if you have experience with someone who is like this, you know the look. And if you care about that person, it breaks your heart.

 

And those who are the ones who are insatiable for sin, they are usually also liars and deceivers who fake their Christianity as a coverup for their sinful practices, and/or who lie to try to hide what they are doing in secret from other people, usually from their spouses. But a tuned-in spouse should know the signs and recognize when being lied to. But, again, we cannot accuse others of sin without evidence or without their admission of sin. Even if we can see it in their eyes, and we know the signs, we cannot accuse others of sin without evidence and/or without admission of wrongdoing.

 

But we can forgive them, and pray for them, and love them, and do good to them, for this is how we are to treat even our enemies. But if what they are doing is in the public, and if what they are doing is deceiving others, and if it is leading others into sin, we can call out that sin, and we can oppose the lies with the truth of God’s word. And, in fact, this is what the Scriptures teach us we must do, to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness and to speak the truth in love so that others are not being led astray by those who in their cunning and craftiness and deceitful scheming are leading others astray.

 

“They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved” (2 Peter 2:19).

 

Absolutely this is what is going on today here in America in the name of God, and in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the name of his gospel. They are telling people that they can “believe” (undefined) in Jesus Christ one time in their lives and now all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and now heaven is guaranteed them when they die, but regardless of how they live, for they make no requirements of them other than a non-descript one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And so they are promising them freedom but while they are leaving them still in their sin.

 

Please know the truth of the gospel. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. In essence he said that if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self that we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives for his sake, i.e. die with him to sin that we might live to him and to his righteousness, then we have the hope of eternal life. For not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING God’s will (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26).

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

For Our Nation 

 

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

 

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

 

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

 

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

 

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

 

http://youtu.be/_XQkomPFz4Y

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God is Not Mocked

Video Talk

Galatians 6:7-9 ESV

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

If we are deceived, we are believing lies as though they are truth. And much deception is willful, i.e. it is a conscious choice to believe the lies and to reject the truth because the lies are more comfortable than the truth, and the lies give you more liberty to sin than does the truth. And the BIG lie that is permeating the church today is that we can “believe” (usually not biblically defined) in Jesus Christ one time in our lives, then have all our sins forgiven (past, present, and future), and be guaranteed that heaven is our eternal destiny, regardless of how we live. But this Scripture rejects that notion.

So, we are not to be deceived, because God cannot (will not) be mocked. And if we mock God it means that we are turning up our noses at his truth, and we are deriding and insulting the truth of his gospel. And it means that we are rejecting the truth of the gospel in favor of the lies. And it means that we are mouthing empty words of faith in Jesus Christ which are not followed up with action, for we are confessing faith but we are not living the faith that we profess. So, we need to understand and believe that God is indeed going to judge us by our works. See:

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Now this passage teaches here that we are all going to reap what we sow. In farming terms, if I sow seed for corn, I am going to reap corn. In spiritual terms, if I sow sin, I am going to reap death, not life eternal. But if I sow righteous living and obedience to my Lord, I am going to reap eternal life with God. For if I live to the flesh, I will die in my sins, but if I live to the Spirit, in obedience to my Lord, then I will have heaven as my eternal destiny. So, we can’t just profess faith in Jesus Christ and we are good to go. We must walk in obedience to his commands and no longer in sin.

And then one more thing from verse 9. We who are sowing to the Spirit, and not to the flesh, are not to grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP. Do you understand what this is saying? Our salvation and our eternal life with God are conditional upon us continuing in walks of obedience to our Lord, and on us continuing in walks of holiness and righteousness unto the very end. We can’t just go halfway with God and then stop and return to our vomit and then expect our Lord to let us into his heaven. We must stay the course unto the very end. See:

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuBhFuckFvY

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*I apologize for the bad word in the link. I have no control over these things. But I do find it interesting that it appeared here, in light of the title of this which is “God is Not Mocked.” Amen!

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

http://youtu.be/_XQkomPFz4Y

Caution: This link may contain ads

A False Reputation

Revelation 3:1b-3 ESV

 

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”

 

Now, this was written to the church in Sardis, and I believe this can be taken more than one way without straying from the original intent. But today I believe the Lord would have me focus particularly on the idea of having a reputation of being alive spiritually, but in fact, you are dead spiritually. For you profess to know the Lord, and you may even put on a show of righteousness to impress others, but the reality of the situation is that you are spiritually dead because sin is what you practice, and righteousness and walks of obedience to the Lord are not what you practice.

 

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-7 ESV)

 

Now, there are many people claiming to be Christians who are saying that they are believers in Jesus Christ, yet they are still walking in sin. Sin is still their practice. But they are convinced that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ once in their lives is enough to secure them salvation of all sin and heaven as their eternal destiny. The problem with that theory, though, is that it does not match what the Scriptures teach, if we read them in their context and not out of context.

 

Therefore, if we claim to be in fellowship with the Lord while we continue in sin, in practice, then we are liars who do not practice the truth. For we cannot walk in sin and walk in righteousness at the same time, for that is like trying to go east and to go west at the same time. But they are in opposite directions. But this is not saying that we will never sin or that we will be absolutely perfect (1 John 2:1-2). This really comes down to what we practice, what are our habits, what we go back to over and over again deliberately with the full intent of doing what we know is either wrong or right. Is sin what we practice? Or is obedience to our Lord our practice?

 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

 

Now these are Jesus’ words here. And he is letting us know that lip service only to him is not enough to secure us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. Only the ones DOING the will of God the Father, in practice, will enter the kingdom of heaven. So, it doesn’t matter what our lips profess if by our actions we deny the one we profess to know and to serve. For it is not enough to just claim to believe in Jesus, but we must walk in accord with his Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.

 

And there are going to be many people who now profess Jesus as Lord who are going to stand before Jesus one day still professing him as Lord, but he is going to tell them that he never knew them, and that they are to depart from him because they are workers of lawlessness. For they are the disobedient, not the obedient. And the reason he does not know them is because they do not obey him, and so, in reality, they do not know him. And when they claim that they do, they are liars (see 1 John 2:3-6).

 

So, what is the solution to all of this? If this is where you are, professing faith in Jesus Christ, making a reputation for yourself as being a follower of Jesus Christ while you continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience to the Lord, then you need to repent of your sin, and you need to do a turnabout. And you need to be honest, and stop lying, and you need to stop walking in sin, but now you must walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to the Lord, in holiness and in righteousness, by God’s grace.

 

And what I am sharing with you here is not my own thinking. What I am sharing with you here is what the Scriptures teach. And they DO NOT teach that we can profess faith in Jesus Christ once in our lives and now we are guaranteed heaven when we die. What they teach is that we must walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and in walks of holiness and righteousness, and that we must continue steadfast in these walks of faith unto the very end if we want to have eternal life with God.

 

So, don’t stake your salvation on a one-time in your life profession of faith in Jesus Christ which you think guarantees you forgiveness of all sin and heaven as your eternal destiny. Read the Scriptures in their full context prayerfully, seeking God’s face, and you will see that if we want to be sure of our salvation and eternal life with God, we must walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, and in walks of obedience to our Lord, and not in habitual and deliberate sin.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Broken Cord

 

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

 

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior

And your testimony is separate from Him.

Your words not matching your actions today.

Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.

Live what you testify in truth always.

 

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,

For you profess one thing, but other you do.

Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to what you confess.

Lying about it puts you in a mess.

 

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.

Your heart is not given to your Lord God.

Because of how you live, you are a fraud.

Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

 

https://youtu.be/T0e3H-C7Wxs

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