Selfless Faith

Respect can be defined as the condition of being honored or as an admiration or esteem. It seems we search our entire life to be respected. We feel as if we deserve respect. We even demand it. We puff our little chests and yell “I will be respected!” Why is respect so important in our lives? In Ephesians 5:33, the Bible tells wives to respect their husbands. God knows how important respect is to men. The Bible also tells husbands to love their wives. God also knows how important love is to women. However, we always forget right before wives are commanded to respect their husbands and husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church, we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit that came upon Jesus while being baptized by John the Baptist. The same spirit that goes to and from the earth and sees all things, knows all things, hears all things, knows our deepest thoughts, and all the secret desires of our heart. Without the Holy Spirit, the third person of the God-head, dwelling in us, we will never be able to truly love and respect each other.

However, something that I have realized lately is people are getting this idea that they deserve respect and can demand it. I’m not sure who put this idea into our mind. In actuality, we are not owed anything by anyone. We owe our lives to Jesus Christ for His sacrifice on the cross for us. He paid a debt that we could not pay. He paid it in full. Yet we always say we must be respected. We want the world to respect us. It seems we haven’t realized that the world hates us and its ultimate goal is to see us painfully and slowly die. It is like an insanity cycle. We say respect ME and the world spits in our face, so we try again and then the world slaps us. When will we learn to stop prostituting our lives with this world? We need to stop reading the parts of the Bible that make us feel good and dive into the complete and perfect word of God. We need to ask Jesus to live His life through us. We need to have the Holy Spirit empower us.

To all who are in Christ, yet demand respect from the world (one of our enemies), let’s take a logical approach at this. The world hates God and our Lord Jesus Christ. They always resist the Holy Spirit and blaspheme Him. Now, if we are in Christ, why would we expect respect from the same world that hates and has no respect for our Savior? That doesn’t make much sense.

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 Simplicity of Jesus Christ [42:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

For those who receive this through e-mail, click on the link to watch the video attached to this message!

We often try to complicate the simplicity of Jesus Christ and the Good News that He came to bring. The Bible, regardless of what translation we use has the same central message: Jesus Christ. Jesus said to a crowd of people, “You search the scriptures looking for eternal life, but the scriptures point directly to Me.” Again, Jesus said “the will of the Father is to believe in the Son in whom He sent.” Yet, we say we believe in Jesus BUT we also have to do something. That is not part of the Word of God. There is nothing that can be added to what Jesus has already done to secure our salvation and there isn’t anything we can take away from it. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is perfect. Now, when Jesus says to be perfect just as our Heavenly Father (which seems impossible), but it is to simply believe on the one whom He sent and He will make us perfect. We cannot make ourselves perfect. It is not through our works but it is through our faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone.

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The definition of practice is the repetition of an activity to improve skill; a customary action, habit, or behavior; a manner or routine; the act of rehearsing a behavior over and over; or engaging in an activity over and over, for the purpose of improving or mastering it.

If we want to be good at something, then we must always continue to practice it so we can master it. Musicians practice, athletes practice, politicians practice; we all have practiced something or another in our lives. Overall, sinners practice.

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

Romans 1:28-32 have a similar list and Romans 1:32 it says, who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who PRACTICE such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Some people, well most people, get very upset when hearing these sections of scripture. Then they will quote their favorite scripture from Matthew 7:1, “Don’t judge others, and you will not be judged.” However, the world fails to realize this is not judgment by people; this is merely the quotation of scripture.

We can get so hung up on how we dress, what we eat, the music we listen to, and all the meaningless aspects of life, yet we turn a blind eye to what is specifically said in scripture. We can get so worked up about the sacrifices we think we make for God, yet we are practicing all types of wickedness. In 1 Samuel15:22-23, Samuel says to Saul, the first king over Israel “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of the rams. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you from being king.” To OBEY is better than sacrifice. To OBEY is better than sacrifice. To OBEY is better than sacrifice. It cannot be stressed enough.

I guess the question we have to ask ourselves, what are we practicing? What do we desire to become perfect at? Naturally, the flesh desires to practice the things that we mentioned earlier from Galatians 5:19-21 and Romans 1:28-32. The flesh will try to keep us out of the kingdom of God because it knows it is not welcomed there. If we think we can kill the flesh on our own, it is foolish thinking, deception of the devil.

Even Paul the apostle struggled with his own flesh. Let’s take a look at Romans 7:13-25 in the Message translation.

¹³I can already hear your next question: “Does that mean I can’t even trust what is good [that is, the law]? Is good just as dangerous as evil?” No again! Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God’s good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own.

^14-16I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.

^17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

^21-23It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

²⁴I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

²⁵The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Jesus Christ can and He does! Jesus Christ can and HE DOES!

“I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20

Well, what are we to practice? Galatians 5:22-23 says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” How in the world can we practice such things? It seems impossible. It is impossible in the world. However, we have heavenly strength to do it for us and through us. Jesus Christ can and He does. Call upon His name and He will free you and fill you with Living Water. Always and only in Jesus name we pray! Amen!

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 Christ Crucified [32:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Have we left our first love? Many times we get so busy being involved in serving the Lord that we forget all about loving the Lord. Then whatever it is that we do becomes a burden for us and we feel the weight of the world upon us. This is how the enemy traps us. We end up Being Under Satan’s Yoke. Have we left our first love? Join us in this special message directly from the heart of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Deliver on how much He loves us and desires us to return back to Him, our first love. Continue reading

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God’s Vision

JESUS and ONLY JESUS is our great deliverer. He makes all things new! A new beginning! A new start! A life worth living! So what was God’s vision of the American Dream (and the vision for the entire world) when we placed the thoughts in the hearts of the finding fathers of the United States of America? It is obviously not to gather up more and more stuff. How do we provide our children a better upbringing than our parents were able to provide for them? We give them more of Jesus. Raise them in the ways of the Lord. We think that children just want parents to buy them fancy things. We think that is the desires of their hearts. We are pretty much saying they know better than us. A child will never know what he or she needs in life until much later. I surely know this from experience. I am assured we do not need big houses, fancy cares, diamond rings, the latest technology, and even religion. All we need is Jesus, the love of Jesus Christ to be ever so radiant in our lives.

Hard work, courage, determination! It surely is the key to prosperity and success ONLY if it is guided, geared, centralized, and focused on Jesus Christ, a faith that cannot be broken! We are too weak to do it on our own. Many say they do not need a “crutch” to get through life. However, they are the ones who are falling over and over, harder and harder. They are sinking in the middle of the ocean and when the rescue helicopter comes to save them, they say “oh no it’s okay; I do not need a crutch!” Foolish thinking leads to foolish deaths. I wonder the hardcore atheist trapped on a tiny raft in the middle of the ocean was to see God come out of heaven to stretch out his hand to deliver him, would he not grab onto the mighty right hand of God. Like I said, foolish thinking and foolish talking leads to foolish and avoidable deaths. We are not holding on to Jesus but He is holding tightly onto us. Jesus is not our “crutch,” He is our LIFE SUPPORT. There is no life outside of Jesus. In John 10:27-29, Jesus says “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”

In actuality, the American Dream is not really a dream but can simply be God’s true plan for us if we know Him or our worst nightmare if we are trapped by the devil. Dream big! Love God! Follow Jesus!

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