Contending For Our Faith in Jesus Christ

 

The Servant's Commandments

Book of Mark Chapter 12

We should not forget that the Lord Jesus is in His last week before He faces His physical death at Mount Calvary.

Spiritually, Jesus is in every Saint of God at all times and will be forever!

Joh 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Another thing we must understand is, that the Word of God is a Book of Commandments and not a book of suggestions.

Many today are doing their very best to discredit the Word of God and the translation to English that we have today, the KJV.

In reality, just as our lesson states, we must contend for our faith.

Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

To contend, is to struggle in opposition to those who discredit the Word of God!

To contend, is to use earnest efforts to obtain, to defend, and to preserve the Word of God.

The Lord promises us that His Word will always be with us so, we must do our part to contend for our faith in the things He has said to us!

Mat_24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

We are judged according to the Word of God!

The Word of God will judge this world!

Joh_12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

Joh_12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Those that reject the Word of God will be judged by the same words they reject in the day of their judgment!

At the beginning of the last week before the murder of our Lord Jesus, the Sanhedrin had plotted how they might find things against the Lord Jesus.

The head of the Sanhedrin was always the High Priest of that day and he was a wicked man who held that position because he sided with Rome.

He was not in that position by the Laws of Moses, nether was the King of Israel at that time.

There were a few of the Sanhedrin who were not enemies of Jesus Christ but it was very few.

We know of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea and there may have been others, but they all were afraid to speak up in favor of Jesus Christ.

*****Mar 12:13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

The Pharisees were strict religionists.

The Pharisees were a group that started out for the good of Judaism to save the Jewish religion by practicing the Jewish law in the strictest sense.

They felt that by carrying out every detail of the Jewish Law and by teaching others to do the same they could save Jewish religion.

They were the orthodox of their day!

They were strict literalists.

This caused the Jewish Law to be expanded into thousands of little rules and regulations by the Scribes.

These things became known as the Oral Law and these things grew to take more than fifty volumes of books to hold all those regulations.

They became zealous religionists.

They were self-righteous, heartless, and hypocritical!

These men were the main opponents of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Herodians were not religious at all. They were the political party of King Herod.

They supported Rome and compromised on everything they could to preserve their power and influence.

They had even allowed pagan temples in Judah.

They were made up of Sadducees and therefore they opposed all Messianic claims.

They insisted that taxes must be paid to Rome before tithes were paid to Jehovah God.

These are the people who thought they could catch the Lord Jesus Christ in His words.

Until the Lord Jesus Christ came as a Babe in Bethlehem, the average person did not know these things about any of these religious groups.

What a joke they were!

*****Mar 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

The Pharisees believed all loyalty should be shown to God, which is right, but it must be done in God's way which they refused to do.

They were strongly against paying taxes to a foreign king!

They said paying taxes to a secular government was an infringement upon God's right.

The Herodians, which most were Sadducees was that the state is supreme.

They believe that taxes should be paid to Caesar rather than to God.

These two groups were enemies to each other but joined together to get rid of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They actually thought that they could trip up Jesus using His own words.

This is a character of Satan and we have seen how Satan used a twisted-up version of the Word of God to try to trip up Our Lord Jesus.

Both of these groups hated Jesus.

This was no innocent question they had asked the Lord!

If Jesus chose the side of the Sadducees, He would be called a traitor and the people would have abandoned Him.

If Jesus chose the side of the Pharisees, He would have been labeled an insurrectionist, arrested, and killed.

This is the charge that was eventually used to murder the Lord Jesus.

They at first tried to use flattery to cause Jesus to think they were sincere, but Jesus knew what they were attempting to do because He knew it was hypocritical flattery.

They would never honor the Lord Jesus as the Messiah even if they knew for certain that He was.

We have already seen that selfish ambition can lead to all sorts of sin and we see it here.

We see that it was the religionist who were the greatest enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as it is in America today and most of this world that reject the truth of the Word of God.

Religionists will cause you to go to Hell!

But we see the goal of religionist is to paint Christians as the enemy of government and cause the government to try to silence the Christian saying Christians are the true enemy of the state and we see this play out right before our eyes today right here in the America we love.

As Christians, we have no choice but to defend the Word of God at all costs, because we are commanded to do so or we sin against the One True God.

We can stand on the Word of God because we know that this battle is the Lord's, and He will solve this issue also according to the Word of God.

Eph_6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph_6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

It is these same things that cause confusion in the general public which the government relies on along with the lies of religionists.

Deception is the main character that the Antichrist will use when he presents himself and he may be on the scene today and probably is.

First, everything they said about the Lord Jesus was very true.

Jesus is certainly the Master teacher being Master and Lord of this entire universe.

Jesus is certainly the most truthful person to have ever lived.

Jesus did certainly teach the way of God.

Jesus certainly did not care what men said about Him, they were already condemned.

Jesus certainly does not regard any man's person; He never shows favoritism or partiality to anyone.

These men did not mean a word that they were saying.

The one thing they missed is, that Jesus cannot be fooled by anyone because He is God!

Psa 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

Pro 29:5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

Was it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?

*****Mar 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

Mar 12:16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

We must understand that our life in this world and our necessities, depend upon God.

This is seen in the fact that Jesus did not even have a penny.

If Rome was taking care of its people, then why did Jesus not have a penny.

We could ask this same thing today about America.

The fact that there are people starving in America shows that our government does not have its own people on their mind.

It is only shameful to our government that there are people starving in America!

Jesus was living in the state of Israel and Israel was under the rule of Rome.

It seemed that Jesus was a citizen of two governments, yet He still did not have a penny so what was the benefit of this?

We know that the life of Jesus rested in the hands of God just like it is for the Church here today.

Our government is not necessary for life, but God is!

Our government could help us, but it is not necessary because we do not live by bread alone.

We will not have an abundant life without the Lord Jesus Christ!

With the Lord we will have purpose!

Without the Lord we have no purpose!

What is God promise?

Deu 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deu 11:14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Deu 11:15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.

A penny was shown to the Lord Jesus.

Keep in mind that a penny in that day and time was the wages paid for a day's labor.

*****Mar 12:16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

Mar 12:17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.

We know that governments are ordained of God.

Those governments are to provide law and order, community services, and protection for its citizens.

No man is an island within the state so, we are to pay a share to the state to provide these things.

Citizenship also has its own responsibilities.

In other words, we should pay our taxes simply because it is a command of God!

The Lord Jesus proves to us that when we are questioned by our government, we need to understand why they are asking a question before we respond to it.

Most of the time we just answer too quickly without thinking about the reason for the question.

With the image on this coin being of Caesar it was obvious that it belonged to the government of Rome.

We may owe taxes and other things to the government for services rendered, but we owe our worship to the Lord Jesus Christ the God of the Bible.

Our obligations are to God first and the things of God second.

In reality, the entire earth belongs to God, therefore all we possess belongs to the Lord, but the only portion that is valuable to God is our souls.

After this our bodies and our time have importance.

When we withhold these things from God, we are committing sin.

As we join the Church, which is also a command of God, then we owe the performance of our duties to the other members of the Church.

These are also things we owe to our families.

There are things a husband owes to his wife and vice versa.

As Christians we also have a dual citizenship.

We are citizens of Heaven.

We are citizens of this world.

If we use the benefits of the government, then we have an obligation to that government.

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

As citizens of Heaven, we owe our Born-Again life to the Lord.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

These things are not that hard to understand.

The government is limited in its power but God is not limited in anything!

God is due the things that are His!

The Herodians in most ways worshipped the Roman government, but Jesus pointed out to them the fact of a spiritual world.

God is real and God's rule is supreme and everlasting!

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

Act 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

We are never to forget the Lord God who saved us.

Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psa 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Having closed the mouths of the Pharisees, then came the Sadducees.

*****Mar 12:18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

Mar 12:19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

Mar 12:20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

Mar 12:21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.

Mar 12:22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

Mar 12:23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

Why is this world working so hard to discredit the Lord Jesus Christ?

Why is this world working so hard to discredit the Word of God?

If what the Lord Jesus says is true then:

All the teachings of evolution are lies.

All the teachings of climate change are lies.

All the insistence of transgender movement are lies.

All the man-made laws of the Pharisees are lies.

All the teachings of the Sadducees are lies.

All the teachings of a true interpretation of the Scriptures are the truth!

Then the Koran is wrong.

Then the books a of Hindu are wrong.

And it goes on and on with all false religions.

Every book on religion without Jesus Christ is wrong!

Guess what, the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ are true and He is God!

The Sadducees were the religious and political liberals in the day of Jesus Christ.

They were wealthy.

They were the aristocrats.

They were the governing class of leaders in Israel.

These things sound so familiar today here in America.

Today we call them Democrats and people like Soros and others who finance socialism and immorality.

The Chief Priest himself was usually a Sadducee in the times of Roman domination.

It was the Chief Priest who was the leader of the Sanhedrin and the Sanhedrin ruled the people on behalf of the Roman government and not the laws of God.

The Roman government made sure the Sadducees were placed in all positions of leadership in Israel.

What had Moses written?

Deu 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.

Deu 25:6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

This law assured that the line of that family would continue and that the property holdings would stay in the hands of that family as according to the Laws of Moses.

The Sadducees used this law to try to catch Jesus off guard.

Remember the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the body.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

If the Lord Jesus would not be resurrected, then He could not return to take us home to Heaven.

They were just mocking the Lord Jesus and He knew it, because they did not understand the truth of the Scriptures.

You cannot fool God!

You will not mock God for very long!

*****Mar 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

What is the major problem with those who are lost?

They do not understand the Scriptures and they cannot understand them without the Holy Spirit!

The resurrection is based on the Scriptures and the power of God!

The Lord Jesus tells those who deny the power of God that they are in error.

The Scriptures leave no doubt that there is a spiritual world and that a resurrection into that spiritual world will take place!

1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

People, even God's people, do not study the Scriptures as they should.

So many, in this world just do not believe what the Word of God says.

So many, just do not take the Word of God literally for what it says.

Most all of this world believes the lies of evolution and deny the power of God.

They are ignorant of God.

Some do not believe God nor His power.

Some believe but they believe He is a weak God because they see so much evil in this world.

It is a fact that the Spiritual world is perplexing to the natural man and even to some so-called Christians.

Because of a belief in evolution, the world does not understand the makeup of mankind.

We are a body, a soul, and a spirit!

Not some descendant of an ape or any other animal.

It is the Word of God that reveals to us the reality of the spirit world and the fact that of the resurrection of our bodies will take place after our death, to join our soul that is already in Heaven or in Hell.

God offers us a chance to avoid Hell!

If we study the Scriptures with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will trust the Word of God and the Power of God!

This resurrection will take place!

*****Mar 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

The Sadducees did not know anything about the Scriptures!

Our future in the glory world will exceed all earthly relationships including marriage.

This future life will be like that of the angels and the Lord.

The Sadducees did not believe in angels.

There is nothing in Heaven that will resemble our present mortal existence!

1Co 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

Our love will be perfected and that love will be directed toward the Lord first, and then to each other on a much higher plain than marriage.

Angels are already above that plain and angels do not marry and angels are not and have not been involved with humans in an immoral way no matter what some teach.

That would only show a weakness that God does not have.

Selfishness and sin will not exist.

Jealousy will not exist.

Immorality will not exist.

All the things that cause relationship problems will be non-existent!

All our relationships in Heaven will be eternal!

God will change our brief time we have together now, into an eternal time for us to be together.

Will we recognize each other?

1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Yes, we will be known as we are known now but on a higher plane than resemblance and knowledge of each other.

It is that giving love that will prevail in Heaven!

1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

We are mistaken and in error when we try to materialize Heaven!

We are mistaken and in error when we try to humanize eternal life!

Heaven is much more than just a glorified world!

With our glorified body we will be on a higher plane than even the angels.

If you can see it here in this lifetime, you will not see that thing in Heaven!

As touching the dead:

*****Mar 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

Mar 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

We should understand that our resurrection is a living relationship that cannot be broken!

God's relationships are with all His children that have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior!

There is no other way to have a relationship with God other than through the Lord Jesus Christ!

There are no other Gods!

God is eternal and God maintains active eternal relationships!

When we arrive in Heaven, God will say I have been expecting you at any moment because time is a human necessity.

Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac are not dead but more alive than they have ever been and so are all those who have gone on before us as believers in Christ Jesus.

God is the God of the living not the God of the dead!

God is not the God of decaying corpse.

There will be a resurrection!

Questions, questions, questions.

*****Mar 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

The Bible is a book of commandments and not a book of suggestions.

These scribes are sometimes called lawyers.

Maybe he was beginning to understand the truth of the Scriptures that he had made so many copies of.

Through the years the Jews had six hundred and thirteen commandments.

So to ask such a question would be reasonable.

So many people get stuck on commandments and miss the truth of the Scriptures.

One could say which commands are more important than the others.

What is that answer? James writes:

Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

Now Jesus will explain that royal law.

*****Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

It is that law of love, the love we will live by in Heaven that should be leading us now, if you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

These are the laws that will guide us in Heaven but on a much greater plain of love!

The Lord our God is one Lord!

This is the foundation of the first commandment and truly all commandments are based upon this first commandment.

The Lord our God, the God of all men is one God. He, through three persons, forms the unity of the One True God!

1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

1Jn 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

1Jn 5:9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

We owe all our love to Him!

Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Deu 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

The Lord Jesus quotes the first commandment as containing the principle of all commandments.

God simply says not to love pleasure but to love Him!

If we do not take time to seek the Lord, we will spend too much time feeding our body and satisfying our appetite for sin.

Without our love for God, we are no more than animals as evolution teaches.

With the love of God, we are more like the angels who serve God without questioning Him.

Those confined to man-made religion do not understand that we are to love God with all our heart.

The Lord must be the focus and concentration of our life!

The Lord must be the only subject of our devotion!

The Lord is the One God who come and will live within each believer!

Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

The Lord God is our Creator!

Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Our Lord God is to be loved!

A loving relationship involves commitment and loyalty!

True love does not allow lustful behavior.

It is lustful behavior that drives sin in our world today.

Abortion, HIV, and many other things and many other diseases are driven by lustful behavior and this behavior has consequences that foolish people think of as rights.

True love of God leads to a desire to be united and joined to God.

True love of God leads to obeying the Will of God.

True love of God leads to joy and delight in the duties of worship and of service.

This love is only possible through the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is Christ who reveals to us the Almighty, Incomprehensible, Creator!

It is the love of God that teaches us how to love one another!

This love should extend throughout all God's creation.

This love extends to our families, our friends, our neighbors (all mankind), our countrymen, and our planet.

This love also extends to our enemies.

How can we lead a lost soul to the Lord if we cannot show love to them, our enemies?

A loving relationship involves trust and respect for all those God says to love.

Remember, this is a command of the Lord Jesus Christ and our love begins with Him.

The Lord Jesus demands that we love our neighbors as ourselves!

Love is an action word.

The Lord tells us to love the Lord God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and all our strength and we prove this to Him when we love our neighbors as ourselves.

God Himself demonstrated this command for us!

Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We can love ourselves once we realize that we are the object of God's love!

In all these things showing the Love of God to others is showing God's Mercy to us all!

How did this scribe react?

*****Mar 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

Mar 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Mar 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

The religion of this scribe had been tied up into offerings and sacrifice and he had dedicated his life to these things and he had never given thought to the command of love even though he knew Scripture.

When we are settled on the fact of God's love, then how can we not live for Him.

Jesus told this scribe that by understanding the love of God it gets us real close to salvation.

The thing lacking to him "accepting the work of the Lord Jesus" as the means of our salvation, and this love the Lord Jesus described to us, is our means of salvation and our only means of salvation.

If all those who are so tied up in religion would understand the love of God, they would not be far from salvation, lacking only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pro_3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Remember, God looks into the heart and what He is looking for is to see if there is love in that heart.

Most of us have a filthy heart and the Lord Jesus is the only one who can solve this problem.

Psa_26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Rom_10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

We have to be open and honest in our relationship with God, to be part of His family and that family has the Lord Jesus Christ as the first-born Son.

Amen

Look Up To Jesus

 The Prominence of God's Servant

Book of Mark Chapter 9

Prominence means something or someone who stands out above all others.

The problem with humans is, just about every one of us think we are better than anyone else and this is a great sin.

When we compare ourselves to other people, we will always get a false result.

When we compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus, we will find that we always come up short!

We must understand that the Lord Jesus, the true Messiah, is exalted above all others whether they are prophets, priests, preachers, millionaires, billionaires or even angels.

We must exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives in order to be saved!

In the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were guilty of exalting themselves above all others including the Lord Jesus Christ.

What were some of the things that they did?

Luk 11:43  Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. 

Luk 11:44  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. 

Those that exalt themselves are all hypocrites.

We see it in the government we have today that many of them have exalted themselves above all the common people, and it seems we are content in our roles of deplorables. When Hillary Clinton said this thing, she was referring to our stupidity to allow us to place ourselves in that position.

In other words, we are the contemptible lowlifes who have messed up our nation and our own lives and we need people such as her to take care of us.

I agree on one point only. We have voted for the wrong people to run our government. In this we have been very stupid!

She is no more than some wicked witch!

I was dumb at one time but since I gave my life to Jesus, I have the mind of Christ!

We have allowed corrupt politicians and the hoax of evolution to dictate the rules of science so long, that the common people have not realized that every so-called proof of evolution has been shot down by true science but they will not change what is written in those books.

The Bible is a Book of Faith and if we do not soon push our faith in the truth of God, we may not be able to.

A lack of faith in the Word of God is moving through the Church so fast, that many do not know what to believe anymore and they listen to the secular world for answers and to false preachers who have become millionaires off the pocketbooks of gullible people.

These false preachers will not take a stand on the truth of God and this is what the world wants to hear.

*****Mar 9:17  And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 

Mar 9:18  And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 

The Lord Jesus along with Peter, James, and John had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration.

The Lord had shown these disciples how He would appear if He removed His humanity from His being.

We call it a "glorified body"!

Mar 9:3  And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 

Not only did the transfiguration show the disciples how the Lord Jesus appeared without His humanity, but it also showed them what all, we that are saved, will appear like after the Rapture or after our death.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 

What will we go through to get this glorified body?

Php 3:20  For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 

Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. 

Praise the Lord, this is the promise God is giving to the true Church.

The true Church are all those who follow in the steps of Jesus Christ!

As the Lord reached the bottom of the mountain, one of those who had been following Jesus and had remained at the bottom of the mount with the other nine disciples of Christ.

These disciples had performed miracles before, especially of healing. 

This was not a power they had but a power that the Lord Jesus had allowed in His name.

This man was describing some terrible things his son had been going through all his life.

We know there are many out in the world today that are called deaf and dumb and it appears that this young man was listed as dumb.

Dumb means he could not speak and I believe he could also not hear.

How did this happen? He had a dumb spirit living within him!

Now we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us once we are saved, but we are not complete without the Lord Jesus.

Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

Col 2:10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 

I believe that this is the condition of being saved, but not being Christian.

To be Christian is being like Christ!

It is a terrible situation to be like this young son and not be able to take care of yourself, but also needing someone near all the time to keep him from causing harm to himself.

No matter what we think of this thing and how it began, the one good thing was the fact that because of his condition, he was brought to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Had he not been in this condition, he would have never met Jesus, nor his father and nor could his family see what can happen when we meet Jesus.

This young man was about to be "Born Again" to new life.

None of the disciples of Christ had been able to help this young man.

The first problem I see is, that this father knew Jesus was near and he should have waited on Him before going to His disciples. 

He had no faith in the followers of the Lord.

All he needed was a little patience and a lot of faith!

When Jesus came down the mountain, He had seen this great crowd that had gathered, but He had also seen that a group of scribes were questioning His disciples and He knew this was not good.

We would probably call this intimidation and ridicule, and Jesus first delivered His disciples from this intimidation.

Before the scribes answered Jesus, this father came with his great need for his child, his son.

We should understand evil spirits did exist in the time of Christ, and they still exist today and the answer to rid them is to be saved.

This young son seemed to be deaf and dumb, but also had epilepsy and was demon possessed.

It seems that this evil spirit had made these things worse because it was in the presence of Jesus.

How did Doctor Luke see this thing?

Luk 9:38  And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. 

Luk 9:39  And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. 

How did the Lord Jesus respond to them all?

*****Mar 9:19  He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 

With all the things that the Lord has done for us, "how can we not have faith".

Without faith we cannot be saved!

Php 1:19  For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

It is not so much the amount of faith we have, as it is the kind of faith that we have and the fact that we have that faith!

Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 

Mat 17:21  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. 

The lack of faith "grieves" the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since we have the Spirit of Christ in us, then it grieves the Holy Spirit.

Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 

When we upset the close connection we have with the Holy Spirit, how can we expect our relationship to the Lord to get closer or get better?

This shows us how affectionate the Holy Spirit is toward us if He can be grieved by our lack of faith.

Our lack of faith shows our lack of love for our Savior!

The job of the Holy Spirit is to keep us upon that path of righteousness, that righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus casts out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Without faith, we have no power in our lives!

The lack of faith means that the Church has no power and I believe this is the biggest problem in the modern Church today.

The Church lacks the power to stand up to this world, so the Church compromises with the world which is compromising with the Devil!

There was a multitude that followed Jesus and there was not one among them, that had the power to cast out this dumb spirit, this demon.

Not the father, not the crowd, not the disciples and not the Jewish religionist.

There was a lack of faith in this entire crowd!

The Lord was grieved at the condition of this young boy who was helpless, under the power of this evil spirit.

You see, John 3:16 describes the love Jesus Christ has for us and it is because of this great love that His heart is touched as He witnesses our suffering in this world.

Jesus cared for this father as much as He cared for his son and He knew this father was also suffering for his son, yet this father did not have enough faith that the Lord could heal his son.

Jesus asked this father all these questions to get this father to focus on his dilemma.

To focus upon his need

To focus upon Jesus who could fill his need.

To focus on Jesus so much, that his faith would increase enough that his son could be healed.

We should ask ourselves these questions every time we put a name on the prayer list. 

"Do we have enough faith that Jesus can heal these people"?

So they brought this son to Jesus.

*****Mar 9:20  And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 

We must understand that the earnest Love that Christ has for us is also the key to His miracles!

2Co_7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

We must understand that as Christians we are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ!

If we cannot represent the truth of Christ Jesus then, we are not Christians and we do not reflect the truth of God!

It is really that simple!

We do not have the power of Divine healing as an individual!

We do claim the presence of Divine power in the Church!

When the Church has lost the presence of Divine power then mankind will question and despise Christianity, and we see some of this today.

The Holy Spirit has never left the true Church, but we must realize we have grieved the Holy Spirit and we must return to the Lord for Divine power to be restored to the Church.

This is why fasting and prayer is much needed in the Church today!

We must fast and pray until the Divine power of the Lord has been restored to the Church.

As Christians, we must make the world to know that we are not going to give up the raising of our children by our own standards and the standards of this wicked world.

As Christians, we must also not assume so easily that our children are innocent, good, and harmless, as they are under the control of Satan until they are led to the Lord.

Jesus Christ rebuked this entire crowd for a lack of faith just as the Holy Spirit is grieved at the entire Church for a lack of faith today!

How long had this young son been in this condition?

*****Mar 9:21  And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 

Mar 9:22  And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 

Obviously, the Lord Jesus knew the answer to the questions He was asking, but he was asking these questions of the father to inspire hope and confidence in the work of the Lord.

You see, if we have faith as that of a mustard seed, then we will cry out for God's mercy and God's compassion.

There is no way that the Lord Jesus will turn away from a cry of mercy and compassion!

These are the traits of God that brought Jesus to us to begin with!

Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 

As we see what is going on in our world, we should be grieved to a point that we act and minister just as our Lord Jesus did!

We need to show His compassion.

We need to show His mercy.

We need to show His forgiveness.

We need to show His grace.

We need to show His love.

We need to believe in all these things.

*****Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

What does our faith mean? It means we are taking God at His Word!

All things are possible to the Son of God who has all of God's Power, but we must trust that God has this power!

We have made God to be some small God, when He is truly the God of All Power! 

We must believe that this world is full of sinners and we must include ourselves.

We must accept that there is a punishment for our sin!

We must accept that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only remedy for that punishment.

Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 

Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 

Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 

Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 

How did this man respond?

*****Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

We see humility and faith.

Our hearts will be moved when we understand the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We see His desire to have the blessings which our faith will secure.

We know that because of faith in the work of the Lord, we can flee from the wrath that is to come to this world.

We must seek forgiveness just as this man did.

We must long for the healing of the disease of the soul!

In other words, we must have a desire for salvation!

*****Mar 9:25  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 

Mar 9:26  And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 

The Lord Jesus healed this boy when He saw the crowd running toward them.

We notice that the Lord Jesus had pulled this father and son aside while He led this father to the Lord.

The Lord likes to get one on one with those who doubt Him to teach them the truth.

This crowd had not only followers, but also deceivers and naysayers in the mix.

It was the Words of Christ that healed this boy.

It was the Words of Christ that broke the Devil's power.

Satan cannot stand before the Word of God!

It is the Word of God and the Divine Power of God that has spoiled the principalities and the powers of evil.

These are the same things we will war with all our days!

Col 2:13  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 

Col 2:14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 

Col 2:15  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

How will the Lord end the evil in this world when He returns?

Rev_19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Rev_19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

We see that when the Lord speaks things happen!

There is nothing in all of God's creation that can disobey the Words of the Lord and get away with it!

It is only us puny humans who have tried to defy the Almighty God, the rest of His creation is in strict obedience!

Isa_40:22  It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

Isa 40:28  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 

We see this evil spirit made one last effort to disrupt and discredit the power of Jesus Christ by trying to kill this boy, but the Lord would not allow his death.

*****Mar 9:27  But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 

Mar 9:28  And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 

These disciples wanted to know why they had failed, what was the cause?

The Lord Jesus had previously given them the power over evil spirits and they had been successful with it.

As Christians there is only one reason, we do not feel the power of God in our lives!

That reason is, that we are not living close enough to the Lord!

We feel like we can do spiritual things under our own power so, we see the reason the answer that Jesus gave.

They needed to pray more and fast! 

These are the ways to get closer to the Lord.

Earlier, Jesus had said that His disciples need not to fast because He was with them.

The difference now was, that they had been sent out two by two and had done some things under the power of God.

They began to feel that they had this power themselves, and they began seeking things such as food before the Lord.

The modern Church is in this same rut today!

The power of the Church is almost non-existent because they have strayed from the foundation of the Church, which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Fasting and prayer is the only solution to this problem and of course obedience to the Word of God.

God must be so important in our lives that we are willing to give up anything that could sustain our lives and give that to the Lord.

We must place our lives in the Lord's hands and let Him dictate our life as He wishes.

Deu 4:29  But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 

When our power from being a Christian is waning it is always because our faith is lacking!

*****Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 

While the Lord Jesus was up on the Mount of Transfiguration, He seem to be too far from some of His disciples who felt they could do things without the presence of the Lord and this is impossible.

It was not that this demon inside this boy was so powerful, it was because the disciples of the Lord were so weak!

It is important to see here how Satan attacks.

He will tear us and cause all sorts of bodily harm.

He will cause us to fall from the "grace" of God.

He will cause changes to our language and filthy language will come out of our mouths or nothing at all.

He will send us wallowing in the foam of our own sin.

Only the Lord Jesus can restore us if our faith in Him remains!

Remember Jesus will do no mighty works if there is no faith!

What is another one of the signs of the end times?

Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Luk_18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

The Church needs to earnestly pray and fast until our faith is restored!

We will not be able to do this until we know i n our minds that the Word of God is the unchanging truth!

Amen

Separated From This Wicked World

The Separation of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 11:44; 18:2 through 5; 20:22 through 26

The most important thing we need to know after our salvation are the desires of God.

It is called being in the will of God.

The most important and certainly the safest place we can live our lives is being in the will of God!

This begins when we know the difference between clean and unclean in the eyes of God.

We should understand that God knows things that we cannot know!

What does God expect from His children?

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

This was the Lord Jesus Christ speaking directly to His disciples and future Apostles, who were to give this same message to give to all believers.

The truth is, God expects us to live in a certain way!

God expects us to live far different from the ways of this world!

The world should be able to see the differences between the people of God and the people of this world.

The thing much of the Church have forgotten is, that God's people are to live Holy "lives" and there are no exceptions and no compromises!

This means taking care of our bodies as well as our spiritual life!

Christians are to bear a strong testimony that they follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and obey the commandments of a Holy God!

*****Lev 11:44  For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

What were these children of Israel to do?

1) They were to sanctify themselves. They were to avoid uncleanness because we serve a Holy God and they belonged to God.

We know that God does not ever change, and this is the same for the modern Church of today.

Uncleanness today means to avoid the filth of this world and we live in a filthy world around filthy people. 

Just look at the trash that is deposited along our roads, in our lakes, and in our oceans for one example.

In this day of Israel, Egypt was the land of idolatry and animal worship, and the world of today is still full of idolatry.

It can be said that the only way to be in communion with God is by holiness.

Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

We must not defile ourselves!

We defile ourselves when we commit any type of sin. All sin is an abomination to the Lord.

We defile ourselves when we have a filthy heart.

Eze 43:8  In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

Jas 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 

Mat 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 

Mat 15:20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. 

Just because we live in this world does not mean we are to act like we are part of this world!

*****Lev 18:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 

Lev 18:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. 

Lev 18:3  After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. 

Notice how God presents Himself here. He says, "I am the LORD your God".

God is saying "I am Jehovah" I am Yahweh, your One and only God.

The Lord our God then says, "You Must Live a Life of Separation from this wicked world"!

It has been obvious for us to see that the "moral" foundation of our societies is crumbling and pushed by our governments to do so.

If you challenge this, you are labeled a bigot and a racist.

Immorality weakens a person.

Immorality brings down desires to the level of wild animals!

Immorality corrupts humanity to live on the level of animals when God has made us to be far more than just animals!

Once relationships between people are destroyed, unkindness, abuse and lawlessness become the rule of society and we see these things are increasingly happening every day.

In fact, we could call Chapter 18 of the Book of Leviticus, "The Laws That Govern Sexual Behavior".

The Children of Israel were taught and told not to behave as the Egyptians nor the Canaanites which were immoral societies in that day of Moses.

When we call ourselves Christians, we are saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is our God, and it is He and Jehovah and the Holy Spirit who are the three persons of the Holy Trinity. Not three separate persons but One God. The Lord our God!

In this instance Egypt and Canaan are placed in the category of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Israel had just left Egypt and were about to enter Canaan Land.

Three times in these five verses we see God proclaim, "I am the Lord your God".

He wants us to be clear on His stance on immorality!

All through the lands of Egypt and Canaan Land, disgusting sexual activity took place including sodomy, bestiality, and homosexuality in illicit, unnatural acts of depravity.

We see an entire world returning to these ways today and it is demanded that we accept it!

As Christians, we will never accept these things and nor should we. 

We should believe God!

We must never sink to this level of abomination!

God tells this new nation of Israel in that day and all Christianity in our day, that we must avoid this lifestyle and be obedient to the Word of God.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 

1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

1Pe 4:3  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 

1Pe 4:4  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 

1Pe 4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 

It is a fact that the world thinks we are strange to not agree with them on these matters.

These things do not concern freedoms, these things concern the absolute rebellion to the Word of God!

God does not give us a choice; He absolutely demands that we avoid the lifestyle of the world around us today!

*****Lev 18:4  Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. 

Lev 18:5  Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. 

If you are a Christian, you must comply with all the Word of God.

God will keep His covenants with us only if we are obedient to the Word of God, all the Word of God!

As our Savior who washed us in His blood, He has every right to make such demands!

We should understand that we must live a life of separation and obedience to the Word of God.

We must certainly not seek some perversion of the Word of God that would allow such things as these which in fact should be obvious that God would never permit such things to be part of Christianity.

We must never follow the immoral and perverted practices of this world!

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 

Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 

Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 

Joh 15:21  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 

Joh 15:22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

We must always obey the laws and the decrees of God, but just because we hate those things, we are never to show hatred to those who do such thing.

They are our enemies, but God says to feed our enemies and besides food we need to feed them the pure Word of God.

We must live moral, sexually pure lives before our Righteous God!

We must understand that God is always obedient to His own Words!

God will never deviate from the things He has written down in the Scriptures and it would be wise for us to get a translation of the Scriptures that come from the Received Text and not those that come from the "already perverted" Catholic Text.

Joh 8:51  Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 

God gave all nations a guide to ensure fairness in laws. It was called the Ten Commandments, the moral law.

Many nations once based their own laws upon these Ten Commandments for centuries, but in this day these Ten Commandments have become too burdensome for most of them.

These Ten Commandments are just as important today as they were to the nation of Israel as they entered into Canaan Land.

We must understand that "justice" must be executed upon this earth.

Without "justice" all forms of lawlessness, violence, and sexual perversion would run wild throughout the earth.

Well guess what, we see it happening right before our eyes!

We see little true peace.

We see little true security.

We see much selfishness.

We see much immorality.

We see a world where rogue nations are allowed to kill and maim innocent people.

We see these things have ripped the moral fabric of most all nations.

We see that the family has taken such a beating that most of them are ripped apart just because of these things.

Drug and alcohol abuse run rampant.

Robbery, theft, assault, and murder are daily in every nation and every county in these United States and our government does not seem to care because our government wants it this way so it can step in with Communism and Socialism as is happened in Europe.

Today we live in a world of false religion.

Today we live in an Immoral Age.

There is still only one thing God's people can do!

*****Lev 20:22  Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

We have to obey God in order to escape God's Judgment!

We must keep all the statutes of God! 

A statute in the Bible is a law that comes directly from God.

A law that He mentions Himself.

We must keep all the judgments of God!

A judgment in the Bible means God has examined the facts and God has decided which way leads to the truth and that is the way we are to follow.

A judgment can also be the sentence that exist for breaking God's Law.

God knows those who do the truth of the Word of God!

Mat 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. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

It should be obvious that if you are child of God, Born Again by the Blood of Jesus the true Messiah, we should live a life of separation from this wicked world!

God condemns those who do not obey His Word!

Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We must live our lives separated from the wickedness of this world!

God spewed most of the residents of Canaan Land out of their countries to make room for the nation of Israel.

God may spew many of the residents of the United States out because they live and allow wickedness to continue.

This Covid Plague may be part of that spewing.

*****Lev 20:23  And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 

There is no clearer message than this one how God feels about immorality and the gay lifestyle.

Abhor means extreme hatred.

Abhor means to despise.

Canaan Land was full of this sort of immorality, and it was for this reason God allowed for the destruction of its people.

God had given these nations four hundred or more years to repent of their wickedness.

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 

God hates the things that are going on in the United States at this time and going on in most European Countries, yet people still ask God for His blessings.

There is only one way to obtain the blessing of God!

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

The Church must avoid involvement in these practices and certainly not compromise on the Word of God.

If God abhors something, then the Church should also hate these things.

God could give our land to someone else!

*****Lev 20:24  But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. 

This is why God gave all the land of Canaan to Israel and there should be no question about it today.

Who judges Israel these days? The nations that allow these same things to go on in their own nations and many of the Arab nations that are descendants of Ishmael, Esau, and the sons of Keturah.

Israel had to be obedient to Jehovah before He allowed them to take Canaan Land and they never completed this task because of a lack of faith.

We that call America our home could see this change in our lifetime.

America was also a land that flowed with milk and honey, but there are no reasons for God to bless America today.

As Christians we must be able to discern between clean and unclean in our day-to-day behavior!

*****Lev 20:25  Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

This was the way given to Israel to escape the "Judgment" of God.

God had given Israel specific food laws that governed clean and unclean animals.

They could only gain physical cleanliness by eating the right foods!

In that day of Moses without ways to preserve meats, these food laws offered protection from diseases and unhealthy bodies.

These things also showed the world that they were separated to God.

Obedience to these things were key to their relationship with Jehovah God.

In fact, obedience to the Word of God is still the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father!

This new nation of Israel had to obey those food laws to teach them the difference of clean and unclean, but the Church does not have to obey those food laws, but we must obey all the Word of God, "rightly divided" and still know the difference between clean and unclean.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

If we cannot be holy in the eyes of God, then we are failing in our relationship with Him!

*****Lev 20:25  Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 

Lev 20:26  And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. 

We must live a holy life to escape the "judgment of God!

Why because God is Holy, and we have the mind of Christ.

God called us to set us apart from this world.

The Church is God's special possession!

We belong to the Lord!

We are a member of God's household!

We must never bring disgrace unto the family of God.

We must never bring shame to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We must live holy lives while we live amongst those who live in the damnation of God.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass

away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 

Why would we not want to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ?

Amen

Set Apart For God Sanctification

 The Gospel of Grace and Sanctification

Book of Romans Chapter 6

What is sanctification and what does it really mean? 

Sanctification means to be set apart for God's use. 

Sanctification is the act of being made holy.

The Almighty Living God is separate from His creation because He is the Creator!

God has always existed, but this world we see around us is only a few thousand years old. 

Probably at least six thousand years and no more than ten thousand years old. 

Do not fear what the evolutionists say. When they say millions and billions of years, they try to trick us into believing that if enough time passes anything can happen and this is just not the truth!

All miracles come by the hand of Jehovah!

Since God is separate from His creation, then to sanctified is to separate ourselves for the purpose of serving Him.

Sanctification is a lifelong process, at least from the time the Holy Spirit moves into our heart until our death.

Since Jehovah exist in holiness, then all that love Him must come into this same holiness!

Being Christian is being like the Lord Jesus Christ the true Messiah (God With Us)!

This is the act of sanctification being more like Christ every day.

We should be growing in the Lord Jesus Christ every day of our lives, until we are finally sanctified and have reached perfection becoming glorified when we meet Jesus.

We do not need a group to vote to see if we are Saints. We become Saints when the Holy Spirit moves into our heart.

We always ask what is the will of God for our lives? It is the will of God that we be sanctified!

1Th 4:3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 

1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 

2Th 2:14  Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We can only begin our sanctification by receiving the Holy Spirit!

1Pe 1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 

If we continue in sin after our salvation, we can never be sanctified, and we should question our salvation. Was it real?

We must consider ourselves dead to sin!

We must consider ourselves alive to Jesus Christ, who had no sin!

*****Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 

Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What is the truth of the Christian?

We know we are still sinners only saved by the "Grace" of God!

We are alive today and forever through the Lord Jesus Christ!

We do not allow sin to rule our lives anymore! The Holy Spirit gives us this power!

We do not allow any part of our body from our head to our toes to be used as instrument to commit sin!

We allow the will of God to be our will!

We allow the ways of God to be our ways.

We can do these things because we have the Holy Spirit living within us and all other strength comes by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We wear the seal of God!

Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 

Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin. 

Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 

Rom 6:9  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

We are dead to sin, but alive to our Heavenly Father!

We no longer serve the Devil; we are servants to our Holy God!

Sin offends God and in reality, is as a disease that if left untreated, will lead to our eternal death.

Being saved does not destroy this sin nature, but gives us the power to not allow it to rule in our life.

Our bodies are not the source of our sin, but are the instruments used by the Devil to promote his sin.

We cannot allow sin to rule us!

We had no power to do that until the Holy Spirit came to live within us!

We must be constantly on guard against allowing any part of our body to be used for sin, this includes our mind. 

What comes from the heart will enter into the mind so we must keep our hearts pure.

Because of God's "Grace" sin cannot rule us!

If we were under the Law, then we would spend our lifetime struggling to keep that Law which is impossible.

The Law only brings disappointment and discouragement, it can never bring salvation!

When we fail the Law, it brings us shame and we feel unacceptable to God!

We feel unworthy, but remember, we will never be worthy of God's "Grace".

Our Heavenly Father is not this great Judge waiting to pounce all over us when we fail.

Our Heavenly Father is this Merciful God who offers His "Grace" because we have identified ourselves with His Son Jesus!

Our Heavenly Father loves His Son so much, that He accepts all those who love His Son, who is our substitute for the keeping of the Law.

Our Heavenly Father has claimed each and every believer as His own child!

God is a gracious and loving Father who cares for and suffers with His children and provides forgiveness, when His children come to Him and willing to forgive His children when they fail Him.

1Jn 1:6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Since all this is true, the question is often asked; is the child of God allowed to continue in sin?

God is really quick to answer this question.

*****Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 

As a true child of God, we will never feel comfortable if we deliberately try to hurt or disappoint our Heavenly Father.

So, we must strive to avoid sin!

We should question the salvation of those who remain in sin, but still claim to be a child of God.

Tit_1:16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

If sin dominates your life and you feel you have no power over that sin, then get back on your knees and ask our Heavenly Father to forgive you by Jesus Christ.

Any power we have is multiplied by the strength of our Lord Jesus!

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

In fact the Lord Jesus says we can do nothing without Him and I believe Him!

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Our Heavenly Father is a loving Father, willing to teach us all these things and will discipline us when we need it.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

God shows His love when He disciplines not His hatred, "He has already judged us and justified us" and this is eternal!

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Our Heavenly Father can easily see if we have become His servants!

*****Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 

When we yield to sin, we are on the road to death just as God explained to Adam before Adam became the first human with a sin nature.

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 

Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 

Not the death of this flesh which comes to everyone, but a complete separation from a Holy God throughout eternity.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

It is that "judgment" we had better concentrate on while we are still living!

Our Lord Jesus has made us free from the penalties of sin!

If we yield to the truth of God, He will become a part of us now and remain with us throughout eternity.

Eternity is that place where my Heavenly Father lives and He has allowed me to live with Him!

We had better understand for whom we serve determines our eternal destiny!

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 

One man wrote: "We must walk as an open confession to the Lord our God"!

God is a forgiving God if we pray to Him with a sincere heart!

*****Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 

Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 

We should always keep in mind that we have made a choice when we chose to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

We chose righteousness! 

We had no righteousness until we chose Jesus!

I was once a servant of sin!

Now that I have chosen the Lord Jesus Christ, I am still a sinner though I try not to be and ask for forgiveness constantly and I walk in His righteousness because I have none myself.

Now I try to obey the Doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the "Gospel" of "justification" and the method of sanctification.

I have been justified in the eyes of our Holy God!

I obey God's commandments!

I believe upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 

1Jn 3:24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 

I am now freed from that sin debt I owed and freed from the consequences of that sin!

I can never be charged with that sin ever again!

2Co 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. 

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

I now give myself to my Heavenly Father through His Son to do with me as He pleases according to His Word!

*****Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Where will righteousness lead us? Righteousness will lead us to holiness.

My members are all the parts of my body that I once gave to sin. 

My eyes, my ears, my mouth, my hands, my feet, my heart, my thoughts, and any other thing that I gave to sin including, lust, fornication, adultery and anything else.

I became a slave to sin, and sin has no ending! Sin multiplies until it has destroyed me!

If I gave so much to sin, then I need to be just as giving to righteousness and the Lord Jesus Christ!

I once served uncleanness willingly, let me now serve righteousness just as willingly.

The power of sin cannot be overcome, but by the Lord Jesus Christ!

God knew all these things and sent His Son Jesus to solve the sin problem for every human being, but it takes "faith" in the work of Christ Jesus to break the power of sin!

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 

When we allow "faith" to replace the power of sin and righteousness to work to our sanctification, we will see sanctification work till our holiness.

My goal and our goal must be to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 

Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 

Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. 

We must become slaves to righteousness as we were once slaves to sin.

This is what true repentance is all about!

A complete change of direction and a complete change of mind, toward the things of God!

Sin has only one goal and it is the destruction of our soul!

*****Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 

Once we realize the power that sin held over us, then we will become ashamed that we left our Creator to become a part of that sin!

What gain can we have from sin? There is only one gain from sin, and it is death, so there is no gain from sin!

The fruit of sin is death of the soul!

There can be nothing good come from sin!

It is only by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can be made free from the penalty of sin!

Sin corrupts.

Sin destroys.

Sin dooms all those who seek its fruits because no good thing comes from sin!

Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

Notice that word make.

We must be made free and not set free, there is a significant difference

Many a person have been set free from prison only to find their way back into prison.

We are "Born Again" into the family of God and "made" free from sin and the penalty of sin!

These are the precious promises of a Holy God!

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 

It is from these promises where we have our hope!

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 

The gifts of God bring eternal life!

*****Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Sin deserves death because sin is rebellion against the ways of God who is life.

Life and death are two extreme opposites!

Sin goes against the nature of our Holy God!

God is pure and morally pure in all His ways!

God is holy and full of glory!

God is a God of justice and righteousness!

And most important God is full of love and grace from which comes His mercy!

This death is:

To be cast far away from God.

To have no part of God.

To be banished from God's sight.

To be separated from God's presence forever.

To be condemned and punished for rejecting God's plan of salvation.

Sin will receive these wages of this death, a complete separation from our Holy God!

Jas 1:15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

Eze 18:20  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 

Sin demands the wages of sin.

Righteousness receives the free gifts of God!

Not such a hard choice, but a choice we all must make.

To not choose at all, is still this death!

Amen