Saturday 30 November 2013
Monday 18 November 2013
Sunday 10 November 2013
Who Is The Holy Spirit and How Do You Receive Him?
The Holy Spirit is sought after by many but still remains a mystery to some. We will cover many of the critical questions about Him starting with “Who Is the Spirit?” and “How do we receive Him?”
Who is the Spirit?
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Spirit; and these three are one. 1 John 5:7
All spiritual gifts come through having the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we are lost as to what YAHWEH would have us do in certain situations, we are then moved to act of our own mind which gets many of us in deeper troubles. The Holy Spirit is a male spirit, He is not an it He is a He.
Yĕhowshuwa Ha Mashiach (Jesus) promised us the Holy spirit and He does not lie.
But the Helper, the Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. John 15:26
While the word “Trinity” (meaning three) is not used in the Bible, it is clear from the above Scriptures that from the One God there are three manifestations: God the FATHER, God the SON, and God the SPIRIT; so the Holy Spirit is the third part of the One God Head.
How Do You Receive The Spirit?
By being born again.
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5
By obeying God.
And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32
By repentance.
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Spirit. Acts 2:38
By the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:12-13
The Holy Spirit Dwells In The Life And Body of All True Believers.
There is another significant fact in this verse as well. We “have all been made to drink into one Spirit”; that is, the Spirit has entered our bodies. He dwells within the hearts and lives of all believers. Believers are not only immersed “into the body of Christ” by the Holy Spirit…but the Holy Spirit is immersed or placed into the lives and bodies of believers.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19).
A Sermon on the Rod of GOD : A PDF Version
Rod
of God
(A message of Dy. Chief Pastor
Wesely Peter on 10 Mar 12 at Chennai
Intl. Convention)
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou
art my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength
out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies” – Psalms 110:1,2.
This portion is a prophecy
spoken to Christ Jesus by God the Father, saying you be at my right hand till I
make your enemies your footstool. By
birth and by deed the whole humanity became God`s enemies and in order to make
them as the footstool (resting place) of Him, Jesus was sent to the earth. He lived on this earth about 33½ years and
was crucified on the cross by His enemies.
It is the will of God that the whole humanity becomes the resting place
of Jesus. God the Father is doing this
work in each ones life. Verse 2 and 3
says that He shall send the rod of his strength out of Zion so that Christ may
rule in the midst of His enemies.
Therefore, this is applicable for our spiritual life because God is
working in our life in order make us His footstool. God send his rod of power out of Zion to us
so that we may rule over among His enemies.
When God
created man, He gave him dominion over everything on this earth, so that man
may rule over everything created by God.
As long as man was obedient to God`s voice, he could rule over everything,
but when he transgressed the voice of God, man became a slave to all that
created by God and they started to obey God and rule over man. That is why now man is dominated by sin,
sickness, evil habits, evil spirits, lusts, world, and so on. God never desire to see man in such state and
wants to restore his life so that he can rule over all these things, which is
the ultimate purpose of God concerning man.
God has called us so that we may be seen more than conquerors on this
earth as well as in eternity. Almighty
God is able to accomplish His eternal plan in our life. He who promised is faithful to do it.
God shall
send the rod of His strength out of Zion.
If we want to rule over amidst our enemies, we should be seen under the
rod of His strength. When we consider
the rod of God from the scripture we can see various spiritual meanings and all
those experiences should be achieved in our life. Sin, Satan, flesh, world and the pleasures
thereof, curses, evil spirits, unclean spirits of this world, all these are our
enemies. Sicknesses, diseases,
weaknesses are also our enemies.
According to St Paul, death is our last enemy and we should conquer over
all these enemies and should rule over them; which means we should make them
the footstool of Christ.
There are
nine experiences connected with the rod of God and in order to rule over amidst
our enemies in the present world, we should make these experiences as
ours. Then they will not rule over us,
instead we will rule over them and finally we will be seated to His throne in
eternity (Rev.3:21).
1. Rod
which was in the hands of Moses: Moses stood before God with a rod
(Exo.4:2-4). God told him to cast it on
the ground and it became a serpent and Moses fled from before it. Again He said, take it by the tail and he put
forth his hand and caught it and it became a rod in his hand. In our life it speaks the power in the voice
of God. When we obey willfully the voice
of God, commandment of God, there shall be a power in it which gives us
deliverance. This rod brought
deliverance for the children of Israel and at the same time great judgment upon
their enemies – Egyptians. By this rod
Israelites were delivered and wrought wonders and judgment upon Egyptians. There is a power in the voice of God, word of
God. Psalmist says about the power of
His voice in 29 Psalms. It makes the
hinds to calve (9). St. Paul says, it is
the power of God unto salvation (Rom.1:16).
Preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that perish, but unto us
which are saved it is the power of God (I Cor.1:18).
Jesus took
all our sins, sickness and curses upon Himself and died on the cross where in
we were supposed to die. The chastisement
of our punishment came upon Him. When we
believe this truth, it works as a great power in our life unto salvation. Christ Jesus died on the cross and me in
order to deliver us from our sinful life and give peace and joy. In order to give us healing, He died on the
cross. When we believe this, our life
will be glorious and blessed. You may
have many kinds of burdens, cares, expectations but when you believe Christ`s
death on the cross, He will send the rod of His strength from Zion and will
deliver you. That is why we declare the
gospel of Christ to the whole world.
Christ died and rose again on the third day and He is alive for us. He is able to wipe away our tears and solve
all problems. You come to Jesus and call
upon His name and confess your sins unto Him.
The blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (I
Jn.1:7,9). Believe the word of God and
be under His rod. His Word commands us
that the times of ignorance God wink at, but now all men every where to repent
(Acts 17:30).
2.
The Rod which divided the Red Sea (Exo.14:16). When the
children of Israel came to Red Sea, there was no way for them to go forward;
behind them their enemies, left and right sides huge mountains and before them
Red Sea. God told Moses to lift up his
rod and stretch out his hand over the sea, and the rod divided the sea and they
could go on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
This speaks the truth of water baptism in our life. Water baptism is the counsel of God (Lk.7:30)
and in order to fulfill the righteousness of God Jesus took baptism in the
river Jordan by the hands of John the Baptist (Mat.3:15-17). God has commanded us to obey and when we obey
this truth, it gives us deliverance from our old man`s nature and helps us to
enter into His kingdom (Jn.3:5).
3.
The Rod used at Rephidim
(Exo.17:5): When
the children of Israel reached this place, there was no water to drink. People murmured against God and Moses and
they were about to stone him. God told
him to take the rod and smite the rock.
God stood upon the rock and when he smote the rock, water came out of it
and they quenched their thirst (v.6). It
speaks the truth of baptism of the Holy Ghost.
In order to quench our thirst both spiritual and material, we should
drink from the river of the Holy Ghost (Jn.7:37,39). It also helps us to enter into His kingdom
(Jn.3:5). The sign of receiving the
baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in unknown tongues (Act.10:44-46). In order to rule in the midst of our enemies,
we should come under this rod. Our inner
man should be strengthened day by day by this power. Believe His promise and wait for it.
4.
Rod of Prayer: While Joshua and his men fought the battle with Amalekites, Moses
alongwith Aaron and Ur stood on the top of the hill with the rod of God in his
hand. When Moses lifted up the rod,
Israelites got victory (Exo.17:9-11). It
speaks the prayer life God has given to us.
In order to rule over our enemies, we should come under this rod. Men everywhere should lift up the holy hands
and pray (I Tim.2:8). When the hand of
Moses were up, Israelites prevailed and enemies got defeat. It shows the war of flesh against our
spiritual life. God appointed prayer
life which is the rod of God from Zion.
Psalmist says, let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psa.141:2). Our prayer and praise are seen as our hands
lifting up. Our weak knees must be
strengthened. Before going to Calvary,
Jesus went into the garden of Gethsemane and prayed. An angel came and ministered and strengthened
him. With that strength He went into the
cross and destroyed the power of enemies.
It was not an ordinary prayer.
Jesus Himself said that this kind of spirit goes not out but by prayer
and fasting (Mat.17:21). In order to
prevail over the works of demonic power, we should fast and pray. We should be seen under this rod to overcome
sickness and weakness in our body.
5.
The rod enlightens our eyes: While the battle was going on Saul emphatically charged the
children of Israel not to eat anything till he avenge their enemies. But in the forest they saw the honey dropped,
but they all feared the oath and did not eat.
However, Jonathan put forth the end of his rod and dipped it in an
honeycomb and ate; and his eyes were enlightened (1 Sam.14:26,27). St. Paul prayed for the people of Ephesus so
that their eyes of understanding may be enlightened in order to know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe
(Eph.1:17-19). In the fellowship of
saints God is enlightening our eyes of understanding (Acts 20:32). Then we will not go after the perishing
things of this world, vanity and fashions of this world. We have a glorious incorruptible inheritance
in heaven.
6.
Rod of Tithes : It was the commandment of God concerning tithe of the herd or of
the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the
LORD (Lev.27:32). It speaks about our
giving tithes and offerings unto the LORD.
Out of all the blessings we receive on this earth, the tenth part
belongs to God. He has appointed this
rod so that people of God may be blessed on this earth. God says, if you are not coming under this
rod, you are cursed and you are robbing God.
He says, bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be
meat in His house and thereby you prove Him.
He asks, “will I not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a
blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal.3:9,10). If we want to be seen blessed among our
enemies, we should be seen under this rod. Be faithful in paying tithes and
offerings unto the LORD.
7.
Rod of correction : “I will be his father, and
he shall be my son. If he commit
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the
children of men” (2 Sam.7:14). When
we walk contrary to the word of God, He corrects us. He says, withhold not correction from the
child (Prov.23:13). When father beat the
child with the rod for the mistakes he does, he delivers his soul from hell
(v.14). When God chastise us, it proves that He loves us. But for the wicked, correction is for his
destruction. If He do not correct us, it
proves that He hate us (Prov.13:24).
Therefore in order to prove that God loves us, He chastises us too. Take the correction of God in the right
spirit and surrender your life to the rod of correction.
8.
Aaron`s budded rod: Moses kept one rod each of every tribe in the tabernacle of
witness and on the morrow the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded and
brought forth buds, bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds (Nos.17:8). It speaks the calling and election of God
given to us. We should make sure our election and calling every day (2
Pet.1:10).
God is
sending His powerful rod from Zion so that we may obey the voice of God and get
delivered from all spiritual battles, obey to the truth of water baptism and
receive the Holy Ghost, and pour out our heart before the LORD in prayer, being
in the fellowship of saints our eyes of understanding may be enlightened to know
the riches of the glorious inheritance in heaven, obey the truth of giving
tithes and offering and receive blessings of God, to receive the chastisement
of God and love Him more and get ready for His soon return. If we are seen under the rod of God now, in
eternity we shall reign with Him with his rod (Rev.2:26,27). He is giving grace and power of the Holy
Spirit in these days for all who desire for that.
Friday 8 November 2013
Understanding the Everlasting Covenant – The Sabbath by Paul Sides
Understanding the Everlasting Covenant – The Sabbath
by Paul Sides
Not only did God reveal the major goals of His predestined plan for man in the first few pages of Genesis, but God also revealed to man the Everlasting Covenant of the Sabbath. This covenant was made with man as a portrait of a greater truth and to establish the overall timeline of God’s plan for man. This overall plan and the truth concerning the meaning of this portrait is found in 2 Peter 3.
In the first few pages of the Book of Genesis, God reveals His complete plan. That Plan is laid out in Genesis as follows:
- God’s timeline for His Plan – The Everlasting Covenant
(Genesis Chapter 1) - the 6 days of creation and then in Chapter 2 the Seventh day rest, called the Sabbath was established as an Everlasting Covenant. This is the 6 thousand year reign of sin and the thousand-year reign of the Messiah defined in 2 Peter 3. - God’s Plan Revealed
(Gen 1:26-27) “Made man in His image to rule” referring to God’s purpose in revealing His Sons and train them to rule with the Messiah for 1,000 years and beyond in the eternal state. - The Prophecy of Judgment and the System of Training
(Gen 2:16,17) “Eat and Die” - Establishing the system by which we will be taught, the penalty of disobedience, and the need for a savior to deliver us from the second death. - The Prophecy of Yahshua’ Death
(Gen 3:15) “you shall strike His heal”, referring to the coming savior and Satans attempt to stop God’s plan through the crucifixion. - The Prophecy of a Promised Savior and Satan’s Ultimate Defeat
(Gen. 3:15) “He (the Messiah) shall crush your head”, refers to Yahshua conquering the power of sin and death, releasing the Elect from the power of Satan to hold God’s People in the grave.
Understanding these first few prophecies requires the full revelation of God in the Bible to compliment and shed light on the book of Genesis. Specifically, “how do we know the Everlasting Covenant of the Sabbath represents God’s 7,000 year plan for man?”
The Everlasting Covenant Points to the 7th Millennium
God established a covenant with man from the beginning of this “age” that is called the “Everlasting Covenant”. This covenant is the Sabbath. The Sabbath Covenant was given to man in the form of 6 days of work and a 7th day of rest. The Sabbath covenant is truly EVERLASTING. It was never nullified or made void by any of the following covenants God made with man. The Sabbath was in effect through the Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants and holds true even now in the New Covenant of Yahshua the Messiah.
The reason this covenant is special and was never made void is because it represents God’s timeline during which He will execute His Plan for man. It represents 6,000 years of “labor” whereby man would be under the curse of Sin and self-government; then 1,000 years of “rest” whereby man would be released from the curse of Sin and be under the divine government of the King Yahshua the Messiah.
God’s people are commanded to keep the Sabbath Covenant because by doing so, we keep the knowledge of God’s timing alive, we continually celebrate the Second Coming, and we honor the blessings of God to enter into the rest of the 7th Millennium.
Understanding that September 13, 2000, was the end of 6,000 years since Adam and the beginning of the 7th Millennium, the time in which we are living is defined as the Millennial Reign. Bringing a new dimension of urgency to every minute that passes in this, the Sabbath Millennium.
The question is, where in scripture are we told specifically that the covenant of the Sabbath represents 7,000 years and points to the second coming? We find the explanation in 2 Peter 3. Below is my commentary on this most important scripture that defines God’s plan as 7,000 years and that Yahshua returns in the 7th Millennium.
The Millennial Scale of the Everlasting Covenant
Interestingly enough, even the numbering scheme of 2 Peter 3 even points to the timing of the Second Coming. Yahshua returns again after 2 millenniums in the 3rd millennium after His first coming!
2 Peter 3:2-18 (NKJV)
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
NOTE: We’ve all heard this quote. Many times this is MIS-quoted to mean the 7 days of creation are not literal “days” but rather “unknown periods of time”. NOT TRUE. That is not at all what 2 Peter 3 is about and another example of worthless shepherds taking the Word of God out of context to explain away things they do not understand. The truth of creation being “literal days” in Genesis is another story all together. 2 Peter 3 has nothing to do with the duration of creation days. That is clearly established in Genesis. I have never heard 2 Peter 3 accurately taught.
2 Peter3 is not referring to the length of days in creation, but rather confirming that the Everlasting Covenant represents 7,000 years and that the Second Coming occurs after the 6,000thyear. In context, 2 Peter 3 is discussing the TIMING OF THE SECOND COMING… not creation.
The first step in understanding the timing of the Second Coming and the beginning of the Millennial Reign is to establish through scripture that the Everlasting Covenant is in fact a portrait of God’s plan and that it represents 7,000 years.
We will discover that Peter is telling his audience that:
1. God’s plan and timeline can be known by studying prophecy.
2. The context of discussion is the timing of the Second Coming.
3. This “age” began with Adam and ends 7,000 years later after the Millennial Reign.
4. The Everlasting Covenant of 6 days and a 7th day is a millennial portrait.
5. The Second Coming is PREDESTINED to occur after 6,000 years.
Below, I provide a commentary on 2 Peter 3; establishing the context is the Second Coming and the timeframe of this “age” represented by the Everlasting Covenant is 7,000 years.
God’s Plan is Laid Out in Prophecy and the Words of the Apostles
1“Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
Commentary: Here in verse 1, Peter is again reminding us to study prophecy and the words of the apostles to avoid being mislead concerning the second coming. God’s plan for man is laid out through prophecy.
The Context of This Chapter is the Second Coming in the Last Days
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
Commentary: Verse 3 establishes the context of this scripture is LAST DAYS. Verse 4 establishes that in CONTEXT of the LAST DAYS the subject is the timing of the SECOND COMING. Saying that over the years between the first and second coming, false prophets will predict an immanent return (rapture) causing End Time people to mock the entire concept of a Second Coming because predictions over the ages have all been untrue. These false prophets and “mockers” should never have expected the Second Coming prior to the end of 6,000 years, as we will see.
Peters Refers to the Everlasting Covenant and Establishes the Boundaries of this “Age”
5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Commentary: Verse 5 indicates that the End Time people will “willfully forget” the portrait of the Sabbath Everlasting Covenant. Peter directs our attention to the story of Creation, in which God gave us the Everlasting Covenant of the Sabbath.
In Verses 6-7, Peter establishes the boundaries of this “age” represented by the Everlasting Sabbath Covenant. The boundaries are the creation of Adam (when the Earth was destroyed due to the rebellion of Lucifer) through the end of the Millennial Reign when the Earth will be destroyed by fire.
Now, having redirected our attention to the 6 days of creation and 7th day of rest (the Everlasting Covenant of the Sabbath) and establishing the boundaries that this covenant covers as being from the creation of Adam through the end of the Millennial Reign… Peter then defines the duration.
Peter Defines the Duration of this “Age” to be 7,000 Years
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Commentary: In verse 8, having just redirected our attention to the 6 days of creation and 7th day of rest (Sabbath Covenant), Peters clearly defines the duration of God’s Plan for man from Adam until the end of the Millennial Reign to be 7,000 years. That in regards to the Lord’s return a day is a thousand years. A Millennium for each of the days in the portrait of the Everlasting Covenant. With the 7th day, the Sabbath, representing the 7th Millennium or the Millennial Reign of Yahshua the Messiah.
Peter Reminds Us that the Second Coming is Predestined
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Commentary: After having establishing that God’s Plan is 7,000 years and knowing that Yahshua reigns for the last 1,000 years… Peter drives the point home that the Lord IS NOTslacking concerning His promise to return. Because Yahshua is not due back until after 6,000 years as predestined by God to allow the fullness of the harvest to come in!
Summary
2 Peter 3:2-18 is one of the most vivid explanations of God’s Plan shedding light on the rest of the Bible’s references to the 6/7 Plan. This scripture tells us to:
“Study God’s prophetic words concerning Yahshua second coming, do not listened to the scoffers of the last day that say don’t pay attention or who look for a premature rapture. It tells us that God’s Plan began after the Earth was destroyed by a flood in judgment of Lucifer’s fall resulting in the creation of Adam and that this current age is reserved for FIRE after the 7thMillennium. It defines God’s timeline of 6 thousand years and a thousand year Millennial Reign. And then in verse 9 it tells us that all this is talking about the return of the King and that return is predestined to occur ON TIME.”
Thursday 7 November 2013
Doctrine of Truth : A condensed bible study By Pastor Abraham Mathew
Doctrine of Truth
"He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" .... 2 John 1:9
Partakers
of Heavenly Calling
(A condensed bible study of Pas Abraham Mathew on 12th Nov 2012)
“Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” – Heb 3:1.
Here we read that we are those who are partakers of heavenly
calling. We are all holy brethren. Hence our aim and goal should be to get the
same holiness of God. At one time we were unholy and living in all kinds of
filth. But now we have to understand that we have to attain the same holiness
of God as we look at the heavenly calling. We can understand this from the
scriptures.
When we consider about the word “heavenly” we can see that is
referred in many places in scriptures. Heb 12:22 – “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels”. Here we
see a heavenly city which is the city of the living God and is Jerusalem. This
city is a heavenly city. That means our minds should be set on heavenly things.
Some people complain while saying about heavenly characters, “It is too much”.
But dearly beloved it is not too much but you are called to be heavenly. You
are called to live with Jesus who is our heavenly intercessor for our sake.
By the baptism of Holy Spirit we are all seated in Heavenly places.
This heavenly city and our mind should be kept on heavenly calling. Let us look
in some scriptures that may help us to keep this heavenly vision. There are
some things which are earthly and we don’t want to set our mind upon those
things. Luke 8:14 – “And that which fell
among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked
with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to
perfection.” We see about certain things in this world which Jesus spoke
about while he was telling the parable of the sower. These cares, riches and
pleasures of this life, work against the people of God in this world. Again
when we read Luke 21:34 – “And take heed
to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and
drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”
We come to a place where our hearts can be overcharged. Here Jesus is
mentioning about surfeiting, drunkenness and cares of this life. Surfeiting is
over-eating. For those people who are waiting for the coming of the Lord,
surfeiting will be a problem. Drunkenness is getting intoxicated by drinking
and getting out of control, losing temperance. When we come to the cares of
life, it is true that we have to take care of ourselves and our family. But let
us not allow the cares to take control of our lives and hearts. The thoughts of
heavenly city should be in us. These cares should be on Jesus. Cares of this
life belong to Jesus and it should be completely given to him. Some say, “When
I think about the cares of my life I get headache”. But our Lord wants us to
meditate upon that heavenly city, that eternal city to have heavenly peace in
our life. 1 Pet 5:7 – “Casting all your
care upon him; for he careth for you.”
If you are getting ready for this heavenly city you need to
understand about that heavenly city through the Word of God. For the purpose we
should come to the presence of God. For instance, if some have to advertise a
product, they will not display it only once. They find out innovative ideas to
showcase their products in different ways. All our daily used products are
by-heart in us because of advertisements. Likewise when we want to know more
about our heavenly calling and heavenly city we should be exposed more of this
heavenly city and the Word of God where it is written about. After that we
should use it to seek God and to get revelation from God and use them in our
life. Just listening to the Word of God once is not sufficient. There are some
agents of Satan. What do they do? After people hear the Word of God and if
their face is lit and bright, they will go and engage them in certain problems
and make them forget the Word of God. Some people are attacked by the cares of
life and it eventually takes control of their life.
Dear child of God, are you preserving the presence of God and the
Word of God? Even if you get it you should be careful in preserving the Word of
God in your hearts. The Word of God which is sent has the power to transform
us. Let us cast all our cares upon Lord Jesus and he will keep us in peace that
passes all understanding. Psa 55:22 – “Cast
thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the
righteous to be moved.” To expand it little bit after claiming many times… he shall
sustain thee or he shall undertake you by undertaking your burdens. He shall
never suffer the righteous to be moved. When He undertakes your burden, He does
it in His perfect love because He is perfect in love. In His love He takes your
burden carries it again in perfect wisdom as He is perfect in wisdom. It has to
be calculated very well so that it suits you well and hence it requires a lot
of wisdom. He will undertake it in perfect love and wisdom. He does it also in
His infinite power. That is because when you get blessings devil tries to take
it away from you. So He undertakes it with His infinite power. It may be the
simplest thing. When God is undertaking your burdens He will never allow you to
be moved.
But He may allow certain sufferings according to His will because
only then He can prepare you for that heavenly city. Jesus says, in Matt 7:21,
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven.” When we do the perfect will of God, he will
undertake for us wonderfully and perfectly according to his will. The name of
the Lord which you can claim is, “Lord your Righteousness”. Whenever you need
anything, you should claim “Lord your Righteousness”. Jesus is the “Lord your
Righteousness” or more precisely “Lord my Righteousness”. This Lord means all
power in heaven and earth. He has all power to fulfill his words. Committing
yourselves to the Lords, you will see peace that passes all understanding
coming to you.
There are three aspects of communicating to God. They are prayer,
supplication and thanks giving. Supplication denotes humbling yourselves.
Prayer stands for claiming the promises of God and pleading to Lord filling in
the power of Holy Spirit. After this believing that God has performed his works
you have to thank God. Then God will give his peace that passes all
understanding. If you don’t finish your prayer with thanks giving you will
still be anxious and doubtful. These are very simple steps and if you learn to
do this you can give your heart to God and can cast your burden on the
Lord. Let everything be given to God in
prayer.
Luke 12:21 – “So is he that
layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Here Jesus speaks about
those who are laying their treasures on this earth. So you have to be very
careful to lay treasures not to oneself but only to God. You should be found
righteous to God. You should lay your treasure in heaven so that you can be
righteous in eternity. Let us not be those who lay treasure on earth but let us
be righteous to God. Whatever we have let us use it for the glory of God. Cares
will hinder our growth. Matt 6:19-21 – “Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.” Our treasure
should be Jesus. Where our treasure is there will your heart be also. Hence we
should seek Jesus in our lives and continue to seek him more and more.
Matt 6:24 – “No man can serve
two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
If Christ is in a place in us and we also have something else in our life we
cannot love him completely. We will in fact love one and hate the other.
Nothing or nobody should be shared with Jesus. Only Jesus should be our Master.
In the above mentioned verse we read about mammon. This mammon speaks of
deceitful riches, money or whatever you are putting your trust upon. What you
trust becomes your mammon. We cannot serve God and mammon at the same time.
Times will come in our life to choose either God or mammon. We will be offered
great increase in salary but you will be prohibited to come to the gathering of
saints. There are certain testimonies where people have denied major positions
in career to come to meetings in churches. They did not want to gain anything
but wanted to live for heavenly things. I personally know about one of those
persons have come to the end of his life and God took him. While he was on this
earth he did not have any regrets. And he is with Jesus now. If you have cares
of this life, it is going to come upon you as snare lest you repent and come
back.
We are not waiting for antichrist. He has his own bride. But you
are going to see Jesus. Matt 6:31-33 – “Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.” These things which are mentioned above are those things which the
people of this world seek after. But we understand him as our heavenly Father.
Jesus says, “My heavenly Father will see to all your earthly things.” He has
called you with a heavenly calling and hence he is asking us to seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness. This means first seek the king, then his
kingdom and after that his righteousness which is the Word of God. King speaks
of the anointing of Holy Spirit. After being filled in the Holy Spirit we
should seek and meditate the Word of God. Then that king will see to all your
needs. King has all power to give your requirements. Seek first the king, then his kingdom, and
after that his righteousness. Then all things shall be added unto you. This is
a truth that you have to understand.
Cares, riches and pleasures will hinder us to go to the eternal
kingdom. 1 Tim 5:6 – “But she that liveth
in pleasure is dead while she liveth”. This applies to the church as well.
Church that live in pleasure is dead while she lives. You should not live with
the pleasures of this life so you may get carried away with this life. There
are so many things that take away our time these days. Computer games, social
networking sites, other pleasure providing materials and so on draw us away. If
you are living in the pleasures of life Word of God says that you are dead.
Remember perverse days are ahead of us. We should use every hour, every minute
and every second of the day as you go up to perfection in accordance to his
will. There should not be any mistake.
Work of perfection is a daily work. Perhaps you do wrong all the
day, and if you expect perfection to come to you all of a sudden, it will be
utter foolishness. All day we should strive for perfection. To do that work in your life Jesus had come.
He is faithful to perform that work in your life. If you are careless it will
be a snare to you. Hence it is told to work out your own salvation. Word of God
says, in Heb 2:3, 4 – “How shall we
escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken
by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing
them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts
of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will”. Hence great salvation is a perfect salvation.
Being made perfect he was made the author of eternal salvation. Heb 5:9 – “And being made perfect, he became the author
of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”. We have to work out our
salvation with fear of God and trembling. God will be then careful of us. God
will see to that which is perfect in our life.
Any time Jesus will appear. If you seek with all your heart the
king who is Jesus, his kingdom which is the anointing of the Holy Spirit and
his righteousness which is the Word of God, this righteousness will increase
your faith. Whenever Jesus comes he will be sure to make you perfect. Jesus may
come any moment and that very moment is drawing near. Beloved, this is the
confidence we have. Phil 1:6 – “Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. We should be confident that we
will be raptured. It is not dependent on you but with God if you believe and
trust that with God all things are possible.
Jesus told to that rich young man, if you sell all your belongings
he will get perfection. His question was to get eternal life but the answer of
Jesus was to get perfection. Math 19:16-26 – “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing
shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one,
that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith
unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father
and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man
saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect,
go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he
went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the
kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who
then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible”. Hearing this, what did
Peter ask to Jesus? (v.25) – “…Who then
can be saved?” Note these words
eternal life (v.16), perfect (v.21) and saved (v.25). To sum it up Jesus’
conclusion was, “…With men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible”- (v.26). With power of
Word, with the power of the Holy Spirit, with the word of truth everything is
possible.
Believe this scripture portion Phil 1:6 which we saw earlier. With
this faith and confidence many saints have departed from this world. Yes! He
will perform it if you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Fear
comes out of love. For instance a child loves his parents very much who brought
him up teaching right and wrong. He will know what his parents like and
dislike. He will not like to grieve the heart of his parents as he loves them
more. This type of a fear is fear of God. We will fear to grieve our God whom
we love. When we see Jesus on cross we will never want to grieve our God. With
trembling and all carefulness we should workout our salvation or
perfection. Phil 2:12 – “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Let’s see how to work out our salvation.
For the word salvation we see word ‘perfection’ is used by our Lord Jesus- Matt
ch. 19 as we have seen earlier in this message. We also see we have to therefore
keep ourselves in every way heavenly and be separated from all cares.
In Hebrew 3:1 we see the words “apostle” and “high priest” is used
for Jesus. Here we see that Jesus is an apostle sent with a commission to
preach. While Jesus stood up in the synagogue to read the scriptures he read
the scripture portion that mentions Luke 4:18, 19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to
preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Like Father God sent Jesus
to preach, Jesus also sent his disciples to preach, to heal and he asked them
to tarry in Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit before the start of New
Testament ministry. Even now to lead the church into perfection apostles are
needed. We see Jesus as our high priest.
In Old Testament times, high priest went to the most holy place alone once in a
year for the atonement of self and people’s sins. But Lord Jesus was made a
high priest according to the order of Melchisedec. Melchisedec is the Holy
Spirit. The most holy place is eternity and Holy presence of God where Jesus
entered. As we understand from the law, only high priest can enter into the
most holy place once in a year. And we see Lord Jesus is the only one who
entered first to the very presence of God or into the eternity. Heb 9:24 – “For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us”. If God is Almighty
God, he perfected the work to become high priest to get to the most holy place.
Heb 5:8-10 – “Though he were a Son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect,
he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called
of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” The purpose of priesthood
is perfection. Jesus came to this world to be perfected, to become high priest,
to become an Apostle.
God expects perfection in His creation. Here we see God after he
created all things he said it is “good” but after he created man he said it is
“very good”. Through Jesus he is re-creating man to be perfect. 2 Cor 5:17 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Also we see in Colo 3:10 – “And have put
on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that
created him”. This is the purpose of priesthood. In order to be made high
priest he had to be perfect. He was perfect in all ways. But he had to be
perfected as in the scriptures – to be perfected in the will of God. As you are
anointed by the Holy Spirit, God is doing that work. You have to grow up to the
measure of the stature of fullness of Christ. When you receive Holy Spirit you
are a new creature. That is a perfect work. Through the water baptism also you
have to go on unto perfection. As we read in Eph 4:13 – “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ”. This is again perfection. As we see in Phil 3:20 – “For our conversation is in heaven; from
whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ”. If we
carefully read the above verses, Paul writes, “I am still following to catch or
to be made perfect. (v.14) – “I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
We have perfection in love, faith, holiness. When we consider, as
we get the baptism of the Holy Spirit and through that we can go forward in all
these qualities. Rom 5:17 – “For if by
one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance
of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ”. It is a gift of
righteousness. These three qualities of righteousness have a growth. It is
growing to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Then we can grow to the 4th
quality. It is doing the will of God. Jesus told, “I come to do the will of
God.” He came to perfect us and came down as man. Time is near. Very soon he is
going to come. He will do his work. He wants us to do his will. Let’s say,
“Lord I am totally surrendering to do thy will.” In our daily choices, choose
to do the will of God. By doing the will of God let us grow perfect in faith,
holiness and love! May God bless you all!
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