Consistently Living for the Lord Jesus Christ

 The Ministry of Consistent Living

 Book of 2 Corinthians Chapter 10

 

 As a proper foundation keeps a building standing, so does the Word of God declared by the Apostles and the Prophets.

 Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 

Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 

Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 

Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

 The Lord Jesus Christ Himself must remain the Chief Cornerstone of the Church, or it is not part of the true Church!

 The Apostles were chosen by Jesus Christ as foundational gifts to the Church. There can be no true Apostles today.

 Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 

Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

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: 

 Today the Apostles are gone, and just as well as much of the church of today has strayed from the doctrine of the Apostles, the Prophets and the Lord Jesus Himself.

We still see here that there is an expectation that every Christian will one day come in unity of the faith.

I believe that most true Christians do believe the same Gospel, but even some of these add words to the Gospel that God did not intend.

 How did one become an Apostle?

 An Apostle was much more than just some messenger.

An Apostle was a delegate bearing a commission from the Messiah and wielding his commission's authority.

 The Lord Jesus Christ chose twelve men to become His Apostles.

 They were to:

 1) The job of these Apostles was to carry the teachings of Jesus Christ out into the world after His departure to Heaven.

 Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 

Joh 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 

Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

 2) These men were all selected by the Lord Jesus Himself.

 Peter(Simon), Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon called Zelotes, Judas the brother of James.

 As for Paul, his Apostolic title was bitterly contested; and he triumphantly defended it on the double ground that, though he had not companied with Jesus in the days of His flesh, he had seen Him after His glorification on the road to Damascus.

 I know this is true because I believe the Word of God!

1Co 9:1  Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? 

 Though Paul was not one of the original Apostles, his Apostleship had the Lord’s own sanction.

 1Co 9:2  If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.  

 2Co 12:12  Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. 

 There is to be only One Church: Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 

Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 

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

This does not mean the Catholic Church because it has strayed so far from the Gospel that it is almost a cult.

 What was and is the Apostles' statement of faith? 

"I believe in God the Father Almighty and in the Lord Jesus Christ His Only Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate and buried; the third day He arose from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting".

 What is the Apostles's Creed? The form that has been accepted and "received" that  has accepted by the Church reads:

 "I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of Heaven and Earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into Hell; the third day He arose from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost: the holy catholic Church; the communion of the saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and life everlasting; Amen"

 That word "catholic" in this creed means only that the church that is built by the Lord Jesus Christ, the One Church, the One Faith, not the many denominations who disagree with certain portions of the Word of God, and it does not mean the Roman Catholic church, which adopted it in their title but is just another denomination.

 Paul's enemies were not the church. Paul's enemies were a bunch of unbelieving Jews who would have rather seen Paul murdered, and they tried many times to do so.

 They lied about Paul, causing him to be arrested and locked up many times, and did their best to stir up the churches against the Apostle Paul.

They did their best to destroy the Church, calling the Gospel blasphemy.

 They did their very best to introduce a false gospel.

 2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 

2Co 11:5  For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. 

2Co 11:6  But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things. 

2Co 11:7  Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?

 *****2Co 10:1  Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: 

2Co 10:2  But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.  

 We should know that it is probable that most of the problems in this Church at Corinth came about by one Jewish teacher from Jerusalem.

 2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 

 He even accused Paul of being bold from a distance but weak in his presence.

 2Co 11:6  But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things. 

2Co 11:7  Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?

 We can see that this man said Paul was not sound in his intellect.

 The land we live in thinks the same way today about all Christians. 

We can also see that this false teacher had a fee he expected when he preached or taught in the Christian churches.

 Many a so-called man of God will not preach in any church without a set fee for their services.

 What did Paul say to these church members? 2Co 11:19  For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 

 There are many fools in the pulpits of many places of worship today!

 The Apostle Paul was no coward; Paul was confident in his knowledge of the Scriptures!

 The Apostle Paul did not walk in the flesh as far as sin because we all walk in the flesh, but even Paul was not perfect, even though he may have been the greatest Christian to have ever lived.

 Our greatest fight is not with our own self, even though we have problems dominating our flesh, but our greatest fight is with spiritual powers from on high.

 Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 *****2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 

 If we think we can battle with spiritual powers from on high in our flesh, we will be just another of God's children that fell by the wayside.

 We must use spiritual weapons to defeat spiritual powers.

 Our Pastor must use spiritual weapons to defeat spiritual powers.

We must help him with our prayers.

 It is these spiritual powers that are behind all sin and evil.

It is these same powers behind corruption and deterioration.

It is these same powers that are behind death and Hell.

 No matter how strong, how educated, how scientific we become, we are no match to the wiles of the Devil.

 Only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and can we reach Heaven with our prayers because our faith lies in the Lord Jesus Christ can we be protected from on High.

 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.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 

 We read these things, and we know these things, but we sometimes do not use the powers God has given to us.

 These weapons of warfare God has given to us are the things that allow us to pull down strongholds.

 Our enemy, the devil and his followers, do not have a fortress strong enough to withstand the power of God!

 We cannot be so self-righteous that we think we can win any battle with Satan.

We cannot be so full of pride that the Lord is not first in our lives.

We cannot conform to this world we live in and be a child of God.

 We must have the Holy Spirit in our conscience, the Lord Jesus in our heart, and a personal relationship with God.

 Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 

Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 

 We must hate sin but not the sinner!

 *****2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 

 We can see that the Apostle Paul was ready to punish all disobedience.

 Disobedience is the basic sin in our lives that in no way should be tolerated.

 Disobedience is the sin of Adam that brought sin into the world to begin with.

 It seems that we all had a secret sin that we would do our best to hold onto.

 Every "babe in Christ" will be on a learning curve by the Holy Spirit till they can figure this out.

 They must be given a chance to be obedient before they are punished for disobedience.

 Everyone must be given a chance to be obedient to the Word of God.

 Everyone must be allowed to repent, which is being obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 It takes a while for any church to see who stands for the truth and who stands against the truth, but these things will show up.

 You cannot be a child of the devil without sin in your life!

You cannot be a child of God with sin in your life!

 The thing that Paul realized was that there must not be any mistakes in discipline in the church.

 Mat 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 

Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 

Mat 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 

 *****2Co 10:7  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's. 

 If a so-called man of God comes into your church to preach, you will never know what to say to him until you have heard his sermon.

 Paul said, "If you just looked at me, I would appear to be nothing and nobody"

 Paul adds, "Are you so superficial in your grounds of judgment and only go by outward appearance"? 

 We may not agree with Paul, but we all certainly fall into this same trap to look at what is before our eyes or to observe things as they are outwardly and judge before we have evidence of truth.

 If we interview most anyone in the South, they will all make the claim that they are saved.

 A claim is just a claim, and it is meaningless without proof!

 The proof is in the life of that person!

 Personal conviction is a factor in all these ministries we have been studying!

 The person who says they have been called to preach needs to be heard at least one time.

 We must not allow the way they dress, or a smooth tongue, to impress us more than the truth of God which should come from their lips.

 The Apostle Paul did not have an impressive appearance, but he knew the Word of God!

 The job of that preacher is to edify the church.

 To edify is to instruct and improve the mind of the listener in moral knowledge, in faith and holiness.

 *****2Co 10:8  For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:

 Every true Pastor is called by the Lord to build up the Church.

No man of God should have the purpose to destroy the Church for any reason.

Every message coming from a pulpit should be to the edification of the Church.

Every Pastor's message must be approved by the Holy Spirit, or it is meaningless.

What did the Lord Jesus preach?

Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat_16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The true Church is built upon the fact that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah and the "Gospel" is the truth of the Messiah!

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. 

This is the message that must come from every pulpit, or that place of gathering is not part of the true Church.

It is this same Messiah who chose the twelve Apostles, and it was and is this same Messiah who gave them the message for all of us who are sinners because we needed a Savior.

We live in a world that says it does not need a Savior, and that world will perish.

These things should be emphasized when approved by the Holy Spirit because we are certainly in those last days.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is still the most important message that still needs to be preached today!

1Co_9:16  For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

This is the same command given to every man of God and also to every Christian.

We should notice in any study of the Lord Jesus Christ that He never used His Godly Authority to defend Himself.

The Lord Jesus always used His Godly authority to stand up for His Father, who is the same One we are to pray to in the name of Jesus.

The same letters Paul will refer to are the same letters that are in our Bible today, so we can see what these Corinthians had.

The only things that these letters from Paul destroyed were the things and the thoughts that did not agree with the thoughts of God the Father, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This world is so messed up that the truth of anything scares them to death.

This world would rather live in a corrupt world that is full of lies because they understand that world!

This world has always accepted the lies of this world as the truth and the works of this world because they are evil and still do today.

*****2Co 10:9  That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. 

2Co 10:10  For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. 

Threatening is far different than a warning.

In fact, God has never threatened anyone!

God has from day one only warned us of things to come!

God warns us of the hazards of this life, and to His glory, He will help us to get through them.

Knowing that this is true should make us want to appreciate it and be grateful for it.

Here in America, the white Christian male is the most hated person that exists because we will not yield to the lies of the world.

That Christian Pastor of any color is to be the same and unyielding to anything that goes against the Word of God.

The Lord Jesus said: 

Jhn_7:7  The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

Jhn_15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

Those who think the world we live in is not evil are either blind or fools!

Praise the Lord for the Apostle Paul who stuck to the truth no matter what was going on in his life.

Anyone less would have thrown in the towel and given up on trying to bring the Church to the truth.

The Lord Jesus Christ never gave up on any of us, and He refuses to give up on us today!

Paul, like us, could not do much about his looks and it was God who called him to preach, and it was God who gave him the words he used.

Paul was who he was, but Paul became a great man of God and maybe the greatest Christian who has ever lived and was obedient to his calling by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must never tear down the man of God who preaches the truth of God, but in fact encourage them in the Lord.

We have already discussed that there is a time for authority and discipline in the Church, and even that must be according to the Word of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for every living, breathing soul!

Jesus did not leave anyone out; we do that by ourselves when we reject Him!

*****2Co 10:11  Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. 

2Co 10:12  For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 

Paul is saying what every true man of God should say! We must measure ourselves by the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to be no different inside the Church than we are outside the Church. We are to speak only the truth of God!

We are not judges, nor is it our intention to condemn anyone.

All those who praise themselves are far bolder than the true saints of God.

We can brag on God, and we should, but we should never say, "Look what I did!"

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 

If we have given ourselves to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then we can be used of God in some ministry of the true Church, but our confidence must always remain with the Lord; we are only fellow workers in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Amen

Giving Toward the Work of the Lord

 The Ministry of Giving

 Book of 2 Corinthians Chapter 9

 

We will see a lot of what we saw in Chapter 8 in this chapter on giving.

 We should understand that every church is a little different.

 The people in every church are different.

 Every situation is different for them, so no one can say that God expects the same amount from every church and every church member.

 There is what is called "The Word of Faith" movement going on in our world, and its emphasis is on a prosperity Gospel theology; it is a movement of greed, and it is heresy.

 Other movements teach a prosperity Gospel, and all of them are heresy!

 The background of every prosperity Gospel is the lie that God wants us all to be rich and enjoy perfect health.

 That poverty and sickness are caused by a lack of faith, and this is a big fat devilish lie.

 Giving to the church, giving to the ministries of the church, and giving to individuals who have a need certainly pleases God.

 This is God's greatest trait!

 Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, “that he gave” his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 Giving pleases God, but not every giver pleases God!

 Again, giving is referred to as stewardship.

 We will one day give an account of our stewardship, but it will never be about the amount we give.

 Givers who please God are those believers who have a readiness and an eagerness to give.

 If there is a need that is in the will of God, Christians should be giving toward that need. As we are able.

 The greatest need of this world is salvation!

 *****2Co 9:6  But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

 There is an old proverb that says those who try to hold on to what they own can end up in poverty.

 Pro 11:24  There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

 Another old Proverb says: Pro 19:17  He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

 Some people are poor in Spirit, and there are people so financially poor they will not survive without some help.

 1Jn_3:17  But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

 This is called love: 1Jn 3:18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 Our giving does not earn a reward because of the amount we give.

 Our reward depends on the ratio of what we give in accordance with what we have to give.

 Mrk_12:42  And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

Mrk_12:43  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

Mar 12:44  For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

 This is why giving in the New Covenant is not based on the tithe; it is based on “grace”, our grace toward each other.

 *****2Co 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

 Giving should be according to God's mercy.

 The Lord Jesus is the mercy of God, and God gave it all for us.

 1Jn 4:9  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

1Jn 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1Jn 4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

 When we give, we will give according to the will of God if we put our heart in our hand along with our pocketbook.

 Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

 God does not promise prosperity upon this earth; God promises prosperity in Heaven.

 1Ti 6:17  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

1Ti 6:18  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

 It should be very clear that God does not accept the gift of a person who does not want to give it!

 We are to think about the need and compare that to our own needs and then give sacrificially.

 There is usually always something we can give up to help someone who truly has a need, or some ministry that has a great need.

 The Holy Spirit is always willing to help us in this decision.

 When we fail to see the desperate needs of others, then we are failing to see what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us.

 *****2Co 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

2Co 9:9  (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

 The prosperity preacher will tell you that the more you give to him, the more God will give to you, but God never says such things.

 Giving is not about moneymaking. Giving is about the privilege to give back some of God's blessings to which special blessings from Him are attached.

 There is a right way to give. Giving must be seen in the fact that all we have already belongs to God and He lets us use most all of it, but He may call on us to give sacrificially on some occasions.

 We talk about the "Grace" of God a lot, but sometimes we just do not understand the true meaning of God's Grace.

 Yes, "Grace" is the unmerited favor of God. We have done nothing to deserve God's Grace!

 1) Common Grace is God's general blessings to all mankind.

 The Lord Jesus Christ paid the sin debt of everyone who has ever lived from the time of Adam to the day of the last sinner.

 Common grace also includes general blessings to all mankind!

 Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

 God allows rain and sunshine on the atheist as well as the believer.

 Psa 145:8  The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Psa 145:9  The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

 God knows those who will eventually come to Him and those who will never come to Him, but He does not judge that person before it is time and still provides for them.

 Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

 God's restraining of sin in this world is also a part of His common grace.

 Think about Job. When Satan challenged God about Job's loyalty, God allowed Satan to go only so far. God restrained Satan.

 God said the Holy Spirit would not always strive with man, which means the Holy Spirit is actively restraining sin in this world.

 Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

 The ministry of the prophets and true preachers is to restrain sin.

 Human governments are put in place to restrain sin; some do better than others, but those governments will answer to God for their negligence.

 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.

Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

 It is a fact that God will not allow the Antichrist to show up in this world until God is ready!

 2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

 As Christians, we believe God will remove this restraining force at the Rapture of the Church, but we are not certain.

We know He will do it, but we are not certain as to the time.

 "Common grace" is necessary because before a person can be saved, there must be a witness from God.

 Most people know they will be held accountable for their actions.

 2) Then there is "efficacious grace". All those who receive "efficacious grace" will be saved.

 This is the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

 This is a person who answers to the will of God!

 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.

 This is the grace of God that is never rejected, as many will reject "Common Grace" and do not agree that God provides for them as He does for all.

 Many of these believe they provide for themselves through their own power, and most of them will refuse to share with those who may need some help.

 Even this will not stop God from providing the many things that He provides to the unbeliever.

 Grace still refers to the favor and the blessings of God.

 *****2Co 9:10  Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

 To those who give willingly, God will give more and more.

We must also understand that God will hold us accountable for taking care of our families as well.

 Not to hoard and keep for themselves, but so they can continue to give more and more.

 We all know that if we do not sow much seed, then there will not be much of a harvest.

 Here we see something different.

 Here we see that God will give the sower earthly possessions that might be distributed to the poor, and after this God still provides what we need for a living.

 God says, give first and then take for yourselves!

 We do this when we lay aside part of our income for giving and then compare that to what we actually need for our own needs.

Giving is tied into a test of our faith, but giving is never to be about seeking prosperity here on earth.

Most of our rewards will be in Heaven!

This is why God does not ask for a tithe from each believer in the New Testament Church.

 Some can give more than others because their needs are fewer.

 In most cases, God will multiply.

 We get back the seed that we scatter, but we get a lot more seed in turn.

 The fruits of righteousness always, always increase!

 Isa 55:10  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

 *****2Co 9:11  Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

 To those who are willing givers, God will prove that they will receive what they are to give while retaining what they already have.

 This is not for a savings account but is a gift to meet the desperate needs of the world.

 Every believer is to be a channel through which God sends His blessings to the world.

 To keep more than we need is, in a sense, robbing God!

 Heb 13:20  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Heb 13:21  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 Sacrificial giving depends on one thing: trusting and believing God!

 Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 As in helping, giving all boils down to stewardship.

 *****2Co 9:12  For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;

 Giving to the church is the Christian way of meeting the needs of the world.

 The most important need of this world is to hear the "Good News" of the Bible, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 The greatest benefit of good stewardship is that it brings praise to God!

 Does God get mad at us if we put back something for hard times? No!

 Even the world tells us we may need to have enough to last six months in an emergency.

 God does remind us that if we have more than the necessities of life, we will be held accountable if we refuse to share.

 God expects us to be good stewards with all the benefits He shares with us.

 God does not like to see selfishness in His children.

 When we truly act like the children of God, then other people will see it, and they will praise God.

 Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 God will also use our act of giving or our lack of giving to prove our loyalty to the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ.

 Jas 2:14  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Jas 2:15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

Jas 2:16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

 We have no work to do to get saved; the Lord Jesus Christ has completed all the work for our salvation.

 All we need to do is accept His gift.

 After our salvation, God expects us to be busy as a servant and as a steward.

 *****2Co 9:13  Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;

2Co 9:14  And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.

 The Gospel of Jesus Christ tells the world about the greatest gift that has ever been given to people.

 Salvation may be looked at as the greatest gift of God, but it would not have happened without His great love for us.

 God sacrificed His Son just so we could have life and life eternal.

 We can only prove our loyalty to our Savior by being involved in the ministries of His Church.

 It is His Church, and Jesus has only one Church!

 Giving is one of the greatest ministries of the Church and ranks right up there with praying.

 The doors of many places of worship today are closed because the people of that house of God will not give enough to keep those doors open.

 If that place of worship was sharing the "Gospel," then it has stopped.

 If that place of worship was not sharing the "Gospel," then those doors should be closed.

 We say all the time that the Lord Jesus would have died on that cross if only one person was saved. If this is true, and it is, maybe we should help keep the doors open in some places of worship or at least look into it.

 I'm not talking about our presence, for I would not leave my church unless the Lord wanted me to.

 I'm talking about a giving ministry without taking from the ministries of our own church.

 I’m talking about helping some church that has that true man of God who preaches the truth, but that church is so poor.

Maybe this could be another mission.

 It's just a thought.

 Surely, we can pray for other places of worship to continue to serve the Lord.

 Giving stirs up great prayers.

 When you have a financial investment in the ministries of God, you will pray for the success of that ministry.

 God's people are supposed to be filled with love, and we are all in the same family because we all have the same "Father", God the Father.

 We are all filled with the same "Spirit", God the Holy Spirit.

 We are all saved by the same work of the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son.

 Let us never make the death of the Lord Jesus Christ be for nothing!

 1Th 1:2  We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

1Th 1:3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1Th 1:4  Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

 We sometimes forget the great cost that the Lord Jesus paid to reconcile us back to God the Father.

 *****2Co 9:15  Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

 God the Father knew exactly what would happen to His Son when He sent Him to pay our sin debt.

 God knew He would be beaten and mistreated and then murdered, because this is what our world has become. We see it every day.

 1Jn_4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 The death of Jesus Christ was truly a sacrifice when we understand the truth of the Triune God!

 God the Father could not, because of His character, forgive sin without a bloody sacrifice!

 But God could give, and He gave sacrificially!

 If we cannot find it in our hearts to give toward the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then what does this say about us?

 God gave the supreme gift; what should we give?

 Amen

Godly Sorrow

 The Ministry of Godly Sorrow

 2 Corinthians Chapter 7

 

 What do we know about sorrow?

 1) There is sorrow that leads to repentance.

 One of the great examples in the Bible of sorrow that leads to repentance is the story of the prodigal son.

 Luk 15:20  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 

Luk 15:21  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Peter wept because he denied the Lord those three times.

King David had a broken and contrite heart because of his adultery and the murder he committed.

 2) There is sorrow that does not lead to repentance, but we still suffer because of it.

 Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 

Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 

Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 

 This is the sorrow we may feel because some of our family members are not saved, especially at their passing.

This is the sorrow that Judas had because he had turned against the Lord, and it led to his suicide and not to repentance.

 If you understand the meaning of joy in you, then you must realize that sorrow is the opposite of joy.

 We cannot wallow in our sorrow; we must do something about it!

 For instance: once the twelve disciples realized that the Lord Jesus was going to die when He went to Jerusalem, they were sorrowful.

 Joh 16:5  But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 

Joh 16:6  But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 

Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 

 Once these men, all but one, accepted the truth, their sorrow was not as great.

 When our sorrow brings us to repentance, then we must repent for that sorrow to become joy in the Lord.

 1Th_2:19  For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

 *****2Co 7:6  Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 

 We know from chapter one that the Apostle Paul was in great distress.

 In chapter two, Paul wrote how troubled he was and how anxious he was waiting to hear from Titus, who was to bring him the news from Corinth.

 Paul was surrounded by hostile people; the love he had for the churches he had planted sometimes wore him down, especially the churches like the church at Corinth.

 Titus brought good news: the church at Corinth was having a revival.

 The first letter to these Corinthians had been effective to all that had read it.

 Titus had brought "good news" from Corinth, and we all know that the "Gospel" is the "Good News" from Heaven.

 The Gospel is the true "Good News" from Heaven.

 Col 1:5  For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 

Col 1:6  Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

 Paul had written a stern letter to this church, but it still had shown them his great love for them and the great love that the Lord has for His Church.

 We must never feel guilty for proclaiming the truth of God!

 The Lord Jesus said:  Jhn_8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

 Jhn_8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

 The Lord Jesus is never wrong!

 *****2Co 7:7  And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more. 

 The Apostle Paul was not just comforted by the news that Titus had brought to him, but he was also comforted that Titus had been comforted by what he had seen of this church in Corinth.

 It is probable that Paul sat down and wrote this letter of 2 Corinthians shortly after he had gotten this good news from Titus.

 This church had met this sin head-on and eliminated it without destroying the church nor rejecting the teaching of the Apostle Paul.

 When God's servants are under attack, we should know that God will meet the need of His servants.

 We should understand that the Apostle Paul had to first endure heavy trials for a long time before God moved.

 We must learn from every trial we face to be better servants of the Lord.

 This is not being a slave to God, but it is being a servant.

 God has never ordained slavery as the atheists believe He has.

 Even when the Jews had slaves, they had to pay them an honest wage and provide food, clothing, and shelter for them and their family until their debt was paid or a certain time had passed.

 These slaves were those people who sold themselves to pay the debt that they owed.

 A Christian is a servant and not a slave of God because God does not allow us to try to repay Him; His salvation is a free gift.

 All He asks of us is to repent and return to Him with love.

 Paul learned obedience by the things he had suffered, just as did the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our example in our Christian life.

 Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 

Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 

 When the atheist asks why a Perfect God would allow suffering in this world, maybe it is because this world we live in causes all of God's people to suffer along with that atheist who is always causing problems for God's people, whom he says he does not even believe exists.

 A church that learns from suffering will stand its ground when evil tries to get through the doors to cause problems.

 Paul had only written to them the truth of God.

 We know that because we have a copy of the exact words that Paul had written.

 *****2Co 7:8  For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

 A church that has begun to believe in false doctrine is a church headed for trouble. It is the duty of that Pastor, that Man of God, to make sure that church gets back to the truth.

 There is a great possibility that some members will leave that church because of this.

 A Pastor must be very careful with who he allows to share his pulpit.

 A church must be very careful about who is allowed to teach any of the classes of adults down to the children.

 Once false doctrine gets into any church, it is hard to get rid of.

 The answer to this is that every Christian has a good understanding of a proper translation of those Hebrew and Greek Scriptures that never change.

 Paul regretted the necessity of having to take such a stern approach, but the Holy Spirit had required him to do so.

 It is every soul that brings joy to Heaven, and losing even one is in itself a tragedy.

 To give credit to this church in Corinth, they mourned, wept, wailed, and lamented over the sin that was within their midst and over their true minister, the Apostle Paul, and they made the necessary corrections, and then the church began to grow in the "Grace of God".

 *****2Co 7:9  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 

2Co 7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

 To cause grief is never a pleasant thing, and no man of God wants to be a cause of grief, but every true man of God must preach the message given to them by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not allow a true man of God to preach against the written word of God.

 If that church has been led astray, then that person was not a true man of God, and that person did not have the Holy Spirit living in them.

 We are never to intentionally make people feel sorry for their actions; we are to simply give them the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit do His work in them.

 We are always to work with the lost or the backslider in a way that God would approve.

 The Lord Jesus died for the saved and for the lost, for we were all lost until we met the Lord Jesus Christ and had faith in His work.

 It is sin that causes sorrow, but sorrow has no healing power by itself.

 Only a change of mind or a turn of life (repentance) can heal the heart of that one suffering from sorrow!

 **There is worldly sorrow: Sorrow over doing something wrong or coming up short from what is expected of us.

 It can be said to be a violation of one's values.

 It can also be sorrow from being found out for something that you thought was hidden, or suffering the consequences from doing something that was wrong, or even from punishment when you know what you did was wrong.

 The sorrow of the world works death!

 It eats us up on the inside with guilt and remorse.

 Remember Judas who sold out the Lord Jesus: Mat 27:3  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 

Mat 27:4  Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 

Mat 27:5  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 

 It can cause bitterness and rebellion: Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 

Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

 **There is godly sorrow: This is the sorrow we feel from Holy Ghost conviction. Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 

Eph 4:31  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 

Eph 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. 

 The Holy Spirit will go quiet in us: 1Th 5:19  Quench not the Spirit.

 The Holy Spirit will do His best to lead us in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we can hinder that work: Mat 26:75  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

 Godly sorrow will always lead to repentance, where worldly sorrow leads to bitterness.

 Isa 55:6  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 

Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 

 *****2Co 7:11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 

 Repentance and returning to God will always bring the fruits of good living to honor and glorify God with our lives.

 We should remember that this church had not at first acknowledged this individual as sin.

They had not immediately corrected this offender nor themselves for ignoring these things, even laughing about it.

 Repentance cleared them of God's displeasure!

 When the heart is changed, then life and the actions will change.

 We must hate sin, but at the same time not hate the sinner.

 We must see the hatefulness of sin!

 It is the hatefulness of sin that will bring us to repentance!

 Godly sorrow will repair our relationship with the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

 *****2Co 7:12  Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. 

 The modern church today seems to forget that we are all accountable to God.

 We must take our stand on the complete, infallible Word of God and stay the course.

 There is no room in the Church to veer to the left or to the right.

 God says over and over that He will not and does not change, and we cannot read into the Scriptures hunting for an excuse to say He has changed or that He is not the same God from the beginning.

 Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 

 God has a purpose for every word He has given to us, and God has a plan that will be fulfilled just as it is written.

 We can accept Him as He is, just as He accepts us as we are.

 Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 

 There is nothing that is taught in this world that will ensure our future in God's New Heaven except the truth of the Scriptures!

 It is only the truth of God that will bring comfort to the soul!

 *****2Co 7:13  Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. 

 We know that the Word of God brings results!

 Look at the conversation that Moses had with Jehovah God.

 Exo 34:6  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 

Exo 34:7  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 

 This is the God that I serve. He is not some old grandfather figure that does not care what happens to us.

He is not some wimp of a God who will let us get away with not repenting and returning to Him as our Creator, our Savior, and our Redeemer.

He is the God who gave us His Words to live by, and He expects us to do so.

 Titus was comforted by what he saw of the church in Corinth, as they had repented as he had preached the Word of God from the Apostle Paul.

 Paul was comforted at knowing that the Word the Holy Spirit had given to him to put in this Epistle had brought that repentance.

 Paul was also comforted by the comfort of Titus, as he had been an eyewitness to the truth that the Word of God brings Holy Ghost conviction, Holy Ghost conviction brings repentance because the Word of God brings results.

 There was now great joy in the Apostle Paul because the church could have closed its doors but became a powerful church in their community, and the work of the Lord continued its journey all around this world just as it continues today.

 Paul was refired up to continue in the work that God had given him to do, and many souls were saved because of it.

 Our biggest problem is that we do not listen to what God has to say.

 We do not take the time to read and study our own Bibles.

 We listen to men who tell us the same thing that the old Serpent told Eve. "Ye shall not surely die".

 That same serpent, the Devil, is still spreading this lie in every church, and far too many of them have strayed from the truth of God.

 God is not a tyrant, but He does expect us to obey Him!

 God expects every local church to teach the truth!

 *****2Co 7:14  For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth. 

 This church at Corinth had a complete revival as they learned the truth of God.

 The Church needs to have a complete revival today and get back on the right track.

 The purpose of revival is always to revive the real, inner, spiritual life of each believer!

 True revival will cause a dead church to come alive again.

 True revival means each church member will come to new life.

 God had used Titus as an instrument in His hands to turn this church around.

 Titus was full of joy just to be a part of this revival, and so it rubbed off on Paul.

 We all need to get caught up in revival!

 Psa 85:5  Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 

Psa 85:6  Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? 

 We need to stir up the gift of God who is within us, which is the Holy Spirit.

 Deep on the inside of Paul, he could just feel that these people in the church at Corinth would make the right choices.

 In fact, Paul may have bragged about it to other Christians.

 A true church will do its best to make the right choices that coincide with the Word of God and the Will of God.

 In his heart Paul knew this church would respond to the love of God.

 *****2Co 7:15  And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. 

2Co 7:16  I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things. 

 When Titus arrived at the church at Corinth, it was said that he had another letter from the Apostle Paul, and it brought fear and trembling to much of the church.

 They were afraid that they had not done enough to rid the church of sin.

 We must remember these were babes in Christ and had not fully understood the Word of God, and there is no one who can say that they fully understand the Word of God.

 How to be saved is the most important part of the Word of God; then we need to pay particular attention to the Lord Jesus Christ and then the Apostles with us Gentiles, paying particular attention to the Apostle Paul and the Book of Acts, all the New Testament, then all the Old Testament, or we will never understand why God does what He does.

 We must go back to the beginning and know that the same God who saved us is the same God who made us!

 We must accept our creation and the creation of this world just as it was written in the Book of Genesis.

Church discipline must be exercised for the good of the whole church!

Church discipline must take place in every church to protect spiritual purity and the reputation of the church that is obedient to the Word of God using a proper translation of the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures.

Let it be known that you can change your own translation to say what you want it to say, but the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures have not ever changed.

2Pe_1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

There are no mistakes in these Scriptures!

The Pope cannot change the Word of God, nor anyone else!

Mal_3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not;

We can only have confidence in the Word of God because we know that God will never change.

The Bride of Christ must remain pure, or the Bridegroom will reject her, and our Heavenly Father will never allow His Son to return to get His Bride.

Amen

Godly Living

 The Ministry of Godly Living

 Book of 2 Corinthians Chapter 6

 

 What is living Godly? We could say that Godly living is living in obedience to God's commands, the Word of God.

 We could also say that Godly living is living according to the will of God for us.

 We must understand that the decrees of God have been established in eternity past and refer to God's sovereign control over every realm of His creation and over all events that happen.

 Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 

 There are two options:

 1) God is sovereign over all His creation with absolute control.

2) God does not have sovereign control, and He was not our Creator.

 "There is no truth" in those who say God has predestined certain people to be saved and the rest to be lost, so keeping God's commandments is not necessary.

 God indeed knows who will accept His Son and who will not because He is omniscient and knows all things.

 Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 

 Our salvation depends upon our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

 2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 

2Ti 1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 

 Though many will not accept it, the decision for the Lord Jesus to take on humanity and shed His blood for us was made before we were created by Him.

 1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 

1Pe 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 

 We will never understand all these things until we meet Jesus in the clouds.

 Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 

Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 

Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 

Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 

 God has a plan, and we can be part of it, or we can reject God's plan and spend eternity in a real Hell.

 This is the choice we must make before we die. God will not make this choice for us!

 What is God's purpose for all these things? God's plan is designed to reveal His glory to us all!

 Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

 Act 2:23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 

Act 2:24  Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 

 God has decreed all these things, yet every individual must be presented the Gospel, and they must believe the Gospel to be saved!

 Act 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 

 Rom 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

 Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

 Godly living begins when we stand in awe of the God of Creation who is wise, powerful, merciful, and loving.

 In fact, love may be God's greatest characteristic.

 1Jn_4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

God cannot be other than love!

 1Jn_4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

 We can entrust our lives to the Almighty Living God.

 We should rejoice in the wonder of our salvation.

 We can rest in peace now knowing our future eternal life has been secured.

 God still holds people responsible for their sin!

 The main problem we have as humans is the fact that we want to run our own lives, and pride and self-righteousness become our greatest enemy.

 *****2Co 6:11  O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. 

 Anytime we are speaking to the church or to the lost, our words must come from the heart.

 If our thoughts seem to be fake, then we will be seen as fakes.

 The Lord Jesus expects a personal relationship with us, and we must have personal relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

 This is not kissy, kissy love but a heartfelt love as family, because we have the same Heavenly Father.

 Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 

Mat 12:35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 

Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 

Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. 

 These things must hold as we witness to others and as we live the Christian life.

 Rom 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 We must give the Lord Jesus all our heart, all our soul, and all our body, just as Jesus gave us His all.

 Our body must truly be the Temple of the Lord.

 Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 

 The Lord Jesus is like His Father; He is jealous in a Godly way and He wants all of our heart not just a part of it.

 *****2Co 6:12  Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.

2Co 6:13  Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. 

 The Apostle Paul is saying his heart was open to them and his affection had grown since he had been sharing the truth with these Corinthians.

 The word "straightened" is used of these same Corinthians to say that their hearts were not yet open to grow in the Lord.

 We should understand that the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ poured out all of the blood of Christ to make room for the love He has for us.

 Now He does not expect us to spill our blood for Him, but He does expect us to make room for Him in our hearts.

 If we open our hearts to receive the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we will also open our hearts to receive those who preach the truth of the Gospel.

 At the same time, if our hearts are not open to the truth of the Gospel, we will never accept the children of God nor His witnesses.

 That word recompense means, open your hearts as the Lord Jesus has opened His heart for all sinners.

 1) Those who preach/teach the truth in the church must be open and honest and have a loving heart toward God's people.

2) That church must also be open and honest and have a loving heart toward God and His chosen preachers/teachers.

3) All those who are to witness of the truth of God must also have a loving heart for those who are lost.

 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. 

 Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 

Joh 15:11  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 

Joh 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 

Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

 A church that does not show the love of God in their hearts is not a true church!

 *****2Co 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

 Many believe that Paul is speaking only of marriage here, but in truth believers should never be unequally yoked with unbelievers in any situation.

 God gives us such a situation in the Book of Deuteronomy: Deu 22:10  Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

 Here it was forbidden to plow with an ox and a donkey together.

 This represents doing a work together for the Lord.

 An ox was a clean animal and a donkey was an unclean animal.

 A believer cannot do a work for the Lord together with an unbeliever.

 In a marriage, the problems show up immediately, and the believer will suffer serving the Lord, and not many unbelievers in this situation will come to the Lord.

 A true believer is radically different from an unbeliever.

 1) How can we expect to have fellowship when there are two opposing views of the things in this world and the things of the church?

The unbeliever will live and do as they please, and the believer will try to obey the Word of God.

2) An unbeliever has already rejected the truth of Jesus Christ and will not obey God. That person is their own god.

3) They are not seeking the Kingdom of God, and they think they are righteous without the laws of God.

4) They do not hunger and thirst for the truth but say what truth is to them. The truth of the world we know about.

But God says: 1Jn_2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

 The word "fellowship" means sharing and participation.

 The word "communion" means to be in union, in partnership, in a bound fellowship, to be closely bound together.

 When you take a light into a dark room, darkness will do its best to hide from that light.

 It is the same with the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see it in our world today.

 When you take the Lord Jesus Christ anywhere in the darkness of this world, that darkness will try to hide its sin, or it will rebel at any sign of Jesus, and hatred will appear.

 A believer's home is Heaven, the unbeliever's home is Hell, and these two places can never come together.

 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.

 If we worship the One true God, and are a Temple for God, we will want no part of unrighteousness!

 Eze 37:27  My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 Lev 26:11  And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. 

Lev 26:12  And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. 

 *****2Co 6:15  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 

 To be a child of God is to be righteous.

 To be a child of Belial(the Devil) is to be lawless.

 To be lawless is doing your own will, ignoring the will of God, without recognizing any authority.

 To be in "concord" is to be in agreement, have similar opinions, have similar sentiments, similar views, or similar interests.

 A believer belongs to Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the world.

 A non-believer belongs to the Devil, who is the darkness in our world and worthless. (as useless as a pile of trash)

 To be a believer is to be a follower of Christ not only throughout eternity but now in our daily lives.

 The unbeliever hates Jesus Christ!

 To be a believer is to say, "I completely trust the Lord Jesus Christ"; it's called faith.

 Faith is the sincere and hearty assent and consent of the mind to the belief of the being and promises of God, as especially revealed to the church in the person and redemption, work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Faith is the believing of the testimony of Jehovah(Yahweh), through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 

 *****2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 Since the Holy Spirit dwells in me, there is no room for idols in my life.

 Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 

Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. 

 As I go about the business of serving the Lord Jesus Christ, I proudly wear the seal of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

 As cattle are branded to show ownership, I am branded with a Heavenly branding iron, which is the Holy Spirit.

 The Lord has paid my sin debt, and I belong to Him; He owns me!

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

It is the Holy Spirit who is that Seal; God the Father is the Sealer.

The Holy Spirit that gives us the power to show the characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.

Everything about salvation is about the Triune God, and there is no other such God as He!

1Jn 4:15  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

In the Temple of God, God is honored, praised, and served by the true believer.

There is no room for idols of any kind.

The Church, the Body of Christ, is the dwelling place of the One True God.

The God of the Bible has a desire to dwell with His people and walk with us.

God wants to feel at home in His walking, talking temples and move around freely.

Psa 93:5  Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.

This is only possible when there are no disturbing elements within us.

So-called believers who associate themselves with the world are not walking with God within them.

*****2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 

2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

The people of God must be radically separated from the world and everything found in the world.

Yes, we have to work in this world.

Yes, we have to deal with the unbelievers in this world.

But we must remember that any association with unbelievers is what may give us an opportunity to tell them of the Gospel of Jesus Christ so they may have an opportunity to be saved.

God has given us His truth and those denominations that have rejected the truth of God were never saved to begin with.

God warns us about allowing the world into the Church!

Jesus did say to love our enemies, and the best thing we can give to our enemies is the truth of the Word of God.

In the end every believer must break all relationships in which God does not have the first place.

This means relationships that we enter into ourselves.

This means relationships where we have to compromise the Word of God just to remain.

This means the relationships that ruin our testimonies.

This means we must not join ourselves to nonbelievers even in business ventures.

2Ch 20:35  And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: 

2Ch 20:36  And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber. 

2Ch 20:37  Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

This means a believer should never marry an unbeliever, but once the marriage takes place, there are only certain reasons that this marriage should be broken.

Keep in mind that as Christians, we may be better off than an unbeliever, but we are not better than they are or anyone else.

There has never been, but One who was/is perfect, and He is our Savior.

We are only better off because of the benefits in choosing the Lord Jesus, which He really chose us.

He came searching for me as He did for every Christian. We must want to be found!

We must never participate in worldly, ungodly events with an unbeliever.

We must not even look like we are being sinful.

We must not question, try to rationalize, twist these words to some other meaning, or ignore this command of God.

If we want God to receive us, we must obey all His commandments!

If God is not our Father, then we are not His children.

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

We cannot say we are Christians if we refuse to repent from our old life.

Amen

Spiritual Understanding

 The Ministry of Spiritual Understanding

Book of 2 Corinthians Chapter 5

 

 Most people look at Christians as a bunch of religious fanatics, but this is true for only a few people who have their doctrine mixed up, and they need to get it straight before the Lord returns.

 There is nothing fanatical about preserving our future, and this is what a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ will do; it will preserve your future.

 I may get a little off track for just a moment, but I think we need to know these things.

 According to those who live by the Marxist movement in our nation today, the greatest enemy of America is the white Christian. They say so without blinking an eye.

 The truth is their greatest enemy is Jesus Christ because they are the children of the Devil.

 A Marxist is a supporter of the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels:

 Marxism, a body of doctrine developed by Karl Marx and, to a lesser extent, by Friedrich Engels in the mid-19th century. It originally consisted of three related ideas:

 1) philosophical anthropology,

2) a theory of history and evolution.

3) an economic and political program.

 There is also Marxism as it has been understood and practiced by the various socialist movements, particularly before 1914.

Then there is Soviet Marxism as worked out by Vladimir Ilich Lenin and modified by Joseph Stalin, which, under the name of Marxism-Leninism which has become the doctrine of the communist parties set up after the Russian Revolution.

Offshoots of this include Marxism as interpreted by the anti-Stalinist Leon Trotsky and his followers, Mao Zedong’s Chinese variant of Marxism-Leninism, and various Marxists in the developing world.

There were also the post-World War II nondogmatic Marxists who have modified Marx’s thought with borrowings from modern philosophies, principally from those of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger but also from Sigmund Freud and others.

 In nations that adopt some version of Marxism, they have started in a way that looks good to many people, but in the end, it turns to socialism, and then some version of communism, and it never works out to be a benefit to the real people who have to give their lives to support such a system and have no say-so in that government.

 Marxism has never worked because evil men enforce their version on the people, and the government will then control every aspect of their lives and their economic classes.

There is no home ownership for the people and really no true freedom.

In fact, in Marxism, the government owns everything from land to homes, and all else.

 Capitalism, far from perfect, allows freedom to those who are willing to work for it.

The trouble with people today is they do not want to work for anything and expect everything to be free.

Free health care, free education, free life to do as they please, but they do not want to think that someone has to pay for these things, or they are okay with these things as long as someone else is paying for them besides themselves.

Look at how many of them refuse to pay for the education that they borrowed from the taxpayers.

Marxism still uses an anti-supernatural approach to life and its origin and begins with the premise that there is no God and tries to explain a life that is lived without God, which we, as Christians know, is not possible.

We have already tried life without Christ, and found it meaningless.

They all believe in the theory of evolution or some part of it, even if they claim to be liberal Christians.

The term "liberal" has come to mean "my way or the highway"!

Liberal so-called Christians accept the Gap Theory or some version of a gap theory and many of the theories of evolution and try to put them in the Creation Story given to us in the Book of Genesis.

To accept this is to say sin was in the world when God created us and that the death of the Lord Jesus was unnecessary and just a fable.

To accept this is to call God the Holy Spirit a liar!

 The truth is, if God created man, then man is a morally responsible being. Responsible for his own actions.

This is not some new thing!

Jdg 21:25  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

Much of this is coming from the younger generation, and God warns them about these things.

Ecc 11:9  Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. 

Ecc 11:10  Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

Those without God say they are not morally responsible for themselves or to any god and are free to do as they please.

See if you believe you descended from some animal, you are taught that animals do not have a moral understanding, but even this is a lie.

 This is the very reason the world was destroyed in the day of Noah and will be destroyed when the Lord returns.

When the Lord Jesus says, “as in the days of Noah,” this is part of what He was referring to.

 In either case, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, but there is far more corruption in Marxism than in Capitalism, and the people have no real say-so in the government with leaders who put forth their own version of Marxism.

The same ones who teach Marxism made their own millions under Capitalism, so they are hypocrites to begin with.

What many of them seek is the destruction of America and a full-on atheist society.

 Every Marxist politician has their own version of Marxism, and none of them are the same.

 It is a fact that it was Marxism that began the Liberalism we see in the false church today!

It is Marxism that began liberalism in our government.

 It is Marxism that is pushing the Liberal church into social change, which goes against the Word of God.

 It is Marxism that pushes liberals to conceive that change is not achieved through individual salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but through the church itself confronting society concerning injustices.

The Church is not to be an object of worship, and it is becoming nothing more than an idol.

The Book of Revelation says the Church has left its first love, who is Christ Jesus.

The only true Church is based upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co_3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

 Marxism in itself is humanism, more indebted to liberal theology than it is to Scripture, and Scripture that does not go along with their Marxist liberal thinking is removed from Scripture.

This is why there are so many versions of the Word of God today.

 As Christians, we place our hope in the Theocratic government of the Almighty God!

 We will answer to God for everything we have done, even for every word that we have spoken.

 God says: Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

 Marxism and liberal theology are all about works, and there is no hope in works!

 Where is our hope and the hope of the true church?

 *****2Co 5:1  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 

 We must not get discouraged every time our body will not let us do what we want to do.

 We will fall into a state of exhaustion and weariness from time to time, and we will suffer for the cause of Christ.

 With all our troubles and difficulties, it does not change what we are waiting for. What are we waiting for?

 We are waiting on the day we will be with the Lord where we will receive a new body with none of these difficulties.

 Through all our uncertainties, we can be certain about this thing that Jesus promised.

 For we know it is true!

 We will not receive some temporary body when we get to Heaven; we live in our temporary body now as we live upon this earth, but we will receive a glorified body when Jesus Christ returns to take us home.

 1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Much of the world looks upon this as some imaginary fable, but there is more physical proof that the Word of God is true than it is false!

 So, what does happen to us when we die?

 When we die, we go immediately to Heaven to be with the Lord! Here we will stay until Christ returns to claim this earth as His own on the Day of the Rapture.

 Rev_6:11  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 You cannot place a robe on a spirit; there has to be a body to wear a robe.

 1Th 4:13  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 

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. 

 One thing is sure, even if we existed for a time without a body, we would still be more alive than we are today!

 Just as our present bodies will be part of our eternal bodies, temporary bodies could be part of our eternal bodies.

 That glorified body gets in there somewhere!

 Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 

 1) We will receive immortality!

2) We will receive a home, an eternal mansion in God's New Heaven.

 As we get older, we all feel the truth of verse 2.

 *****2Co 5:2  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 

2Co 5:3  If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 

2Co 5:4  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 

 God never said it would be fun growing old.

 One thing I have noticed as I aged is that time seems to fly by.

 The years are going so fast that it’s Christmas before you know it and another birthday has taken place and you get to see doctors more than you see some family members.

 As Christians the Scriptures give us a picture of our bodies as a tent which houses our spirit.

 In fact, our spirit is our conscience, and our heart is our soul, and this is our real self and this sack of flesh that covers them is the thing that is perishing with age.

 God is a spirit; the human soul is a spirit.

 God made man after His own image and endowed him with attributes which belong to His own nature as a spirit.

 Therefore, man is different from all other of God's creations.

 Only man is capable of communion with our Maker.

 If we were not like God in some of our characteristics, we could not know Him; we would be like the animals that God created.

 The human spirit was rational, moral, and a free agent before the Devil caused Adam to sin, but we still have those attributes, so we can be saved.

 This sack of flesh we wear as a covering will spend some time in the grave unless you are alive at the time of the Rapture, but this flesh must certainly die one way or the other.

 2Pe_1:13  Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;

2Pe_1:14  Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

 Job 19:25  For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 

Job 19:26  And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 

Job 19:27  Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

 The body we have now is our means of glorifying God since after salvation the Holy Spirit moves into our heart.

 1Co 6:19  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? 

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 

 Our bodies are not to be our masters; our bodies are to be submitted to God in order that Jesus Christ can be glorified in that body.

 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. 

 Php 1:20  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 

 Once Adam and Eve had sin in their hearts, the first thing they realized was that they were naked.

 Noah cursed his grandson because he looked upon Noah while he was drunk and naked.

To the Jew, nakedness was a terrible sin because Adam and Eve knew their nakedness after sin, and they were ashamed.

 This is the way Jesus Christ presents to us the modern church.

 Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 

 Nakedness describes a soul that is uncovered before the Lord.

Our nakedness must be wrapped in the Lord's righteousness!

 A sinner who remains lost has nothing to cover himself against the wrath of God.

 Those who know the Lord are now clothed with the robe of righteousness.

This is the robe that we will wear when we first get to Heaven!

 Isa_61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

 *****2Co 5:4  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 

 Once we understand we will be clothed, which means our bodies will be transformed at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

 Any underclothing we had on will be swallowed up by our upper clothing until nothing is left of those garments.

 The old is completely replaced by the new!

 1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 

1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 

 Don't you just love the Word of God that never leaves anything out?

 We do not have to guess about our salvation; it is real!

 Our salvation is also eternal!

 *****2Co 5:5  Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 

2Co 5:6  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 

2Co 5:7  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 

2Co 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

 The Holy Spirit is not some influence sent to us from Heaven; the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Triune God.

Believe me when I say there is no order in those three persons of the Triune God except for the order that Jesus gave us.

God is the same no matter what person you are dealing with; He is One God, not three Gods!

 The Holy Spirit has characteristics, and He has personality.

 He has intellect, knowledge, a mind, and emotions and a genuine personality.

 He teaches, He testifies, He guides, He convicts, He regenerates, He intercedes, and He commands.

 When He moves into our hearts, we will know it and our transformation will begin.

 There is a saying that our youth used to use: "If you are what you were, then you ain't".

 It's simple: if you are the same old person you were before your salvation and you just say the Holy Spirit moved in, then you have been deceived, and you are not saved.

 2Co 1:22  Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. 

 That word "earnest" can be interpreted as "a down payment" on our redemption which will come when the Lord Jesus returns.

 We have this confidence when we no longer look at our circumstances, but we only look upward and forward to a future so wonderful that it is hard to imagine the wonderful things God has planned for us.

 1Co_2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

 When we walk in the faith of the truth of God, then surely, we can put up with this wicked world for a few short years.

The greatest relief we can obtain in this world is to be busy serving the LORD.

 No matter what we face, the Holy Spirit will stir up our courage to face it all, if we listen to Him.

 We need a refilling of the Holy Spirit daily and sometimes on the same day, and God will provide that refilling if we ask Him, in the name of Jesus.

 The Holy Spirit will stir up the faith that is in us, so if you have no faith, the Holy Spirit has nothing to work with.

 Now this does not make us blind to the things going on around us; He just gives us the courage to go through them.

 This shows up in our power to be a witness for the truth of the Gospel!

 *****2Co 5:9  Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 

We must make it our ambition to speak and act in a way that our life pleases the LORD.

If we live only for the LORD, it does not matter if we are still in the body that the Lord gave us or we are absent from that body which is to be at home with the LORD in Heaven.

Wherever we are, our goal is to make the Lord rejoice by living for Him and in His will for us.

If we are not in the will the LORD has for us, we will be miserable even though we may be saved.

The "Judgment Seat of Christ" is the judgment of believers, not unbelievers.

There will be no unbeliever there.

Paul is speaking to the Church, all the ones who have a new nature in Jesus Christ.

Only believers have a new nature in Jesus Christ.

1) The judgment of believers is a surety; it will happen, and nothing can stop it from happening.

2) The judge who will judge us will be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Joh 5:22  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 

Joh 5:23  That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

3) Each believer will be judged for the things we have done in the body we lived in after salvation until that body died.

a.) We will not be judged for sin because the Lord Jesus died for all our sin and our sin is under the blood.

God will never again charge us with any sin. Though we must still ask for forgiveness because it is like a slap in the face to our Lord Jesus Christ.

 b) Each believer will be conformed perfectly to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We will receive that perfect, eternal body, a body just like the one that Christ went back to Heaven in.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 

1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

 c) When God saved us, He had a purpose for each of us, and He will judge us on how well we have accomplished what He gives us to do.

This judgment will decide on any gifts we may or may not receive.

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 

1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 

1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

4) This judgment will determine our rewards and the degree of those rewards, whether good(gain) or bad(loss)

All those who survive the fire of the "Bema Seat Judgment" will be greatly rewarded. So great that it would blow our minds if we knew them today.

Glory, honor, immortality, part of the inheritance of the Lord Jesus, a mansion, just a few that are mentioned in the Scriptures.

We will behold the face of God and have a glorified body. We will be treated as kings and priests. The joy of life and pleasures that never end are just a few more of the rewards we could receive.

This is just a taste of the rewards we can receive at the "judgment Seat of Christ," which will take place at the Rapture of the Church when we meet the Lord Jesus in the clouds.

Only the Church will be at this judgment at that time. Not one lost soul will be there!

*****2Co 5:11  Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 

I know that God will use everyone He saves, but we have to wonder sometimes what keeps that good Pastor from quitting on God.

They are attacked and criticized for the stance they take on the Word of God.

They have to deal with problems on the inside and on the outside of the church.

They have to deal with church members, many who are still babes in Christ and others who think they know it all.

This verse gives us some idea of what keeps good men of God preaching and ministering, and we should take notice of what God says here.

The word "terror" here means fear, reverence, being in awe of the Lord.

It does not mean the kind of fear that trembles and shrinks back from God, though he must be aware of it.

The Lord must be held in the Highest regard and respect; He is God!

These things compel that good Pastor or Evangelist or Missionary to spread the "Good News" of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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.

He will preach the judgment of God:

Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

He will preach the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

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

He will preach the desperate need for all of us to reconcile our relationship with the One True God:

2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 

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.

God knows what kind of person we are, and He will use that to assign us all a ministry.

1Co 4:1  Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 

1Co 4:2  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 

That good man of God will preach faithfulness!

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 

1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

Amen