“..If any man will..; or Whosoever will…”

Let us talk of Jesus’ invitation: “If any man will…”

Have you ever come to the conforming of your will to God’s revealed will?

It is stated by our Lord Jesus to His disciples: If any man will.
He says there is a choice involved. It is not something that is forced upon us. No, Jesus said, If any man will; therefore you can say “no” to the act of bringing your will into conformity to God’s will.

And those who are born again, are the ones who can make that choice in reality; for they are the only ones who are enabled to know and do God’s will.

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Jesus said:
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, IF ANY MAN WILL come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.
For WHOSOEVER WILL save his life will lose it: and WHOSOEVER WILL lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

Here, in Matthew, Jesus is talking to his disciples. He states the requirements for discipleship.
“IF” they were going to be His disciples, then they must choose (for it is always a choice) to deny their self-lives, and follow Him into every circumstance (some very unpleasant) that He leads them in.
The cross is the individual’s choice to give up to Christ, in that moment (this can not be done once for all), his “rights”, or plans, or attitudes, etc.(You get the idea).

You see Jesus was telling them that to be His disciples in this world, was not an easy path leading to accolades, and position.
(Remember, that is why the Chief Priests and Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, they did not want to give up their “place”.
John 11: 47-48 “Then gathered the chief priests and Pharisees a counsel, and said, What do we? For this man doeth many miracles.
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall come and take away our place and nation.”)

No, to be His disciple, was a path which would lead to greater knowledge and communion with Him. (If that was what they wanted, and plainly to walk a little way with Christ, is to want to know Him more, then they would be blessed in that knowledge, with joy, peace, love, etc. It was an exciting and blessed path, but only if you love Jesus Christ)

If you want the world and Heaven, too. You will never be a true disciple of Christ.

If you want to follow Christ wherever that leads, you are choosing discipleship.

A disciple is one who has voluntarily placed himself under the discipline of his Master.
For us, our Master is Jesus Christ, who not only commands, but takes us by the hand and leads, helps, strengthens, encourages, and empowers for what He leads us into.

The same is stated in: (only here He is talking to all the people that were following Him, as well)
Mark 8:34-35 “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, WHOSOEVER WILL come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For WHOSOEVER WILL save his life shall lose it; but WHOSOEVER WILL lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”

Luke 9:23-24 “And he said to them all, IF ANY MAN WILL come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For WHOSOEVER WILL save his life shall lose it; but WHOSOEVER WILL lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

The life we lose is our life in ourselves.
You know that the life inside of you is often VERY different than the one you show to everyone.
You may look happy and carefree to people; while there are depressing thoughts, or anger and resentment inside.
Your desires may rule your heart and mind, but you continue to show everyone (you think) that you are in control.

If you are in these situations, and you are a Christian; Christ has made provision for you for true liberty….If any man will.

Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take the water of life freely.”

There are a lot of “And”s here. That is because Christ is stressing to those in this world yet, that He has not left them without a means of everything they need.
First, it is to “Come”.
No problem can be solved if you stay away from Christ.

Second, it is to hear Christ words, or the Bible. If you are not reading, because you say you can not understand it; then say “come, and explain it to me”. And He will.

Third, it is to recognize your “thirst”. In what is your desire? Just get honest here, He knows anyway. But if you can, say it out loud, alone with God, you will be amazed how much you “see”. (when you willingly come and admit your need.)

Fourth, it is to take, freely. But it is to take of the water of life. That is the refreshing communion of the Holy Spirit within, bubbling up into true life; Christ’s life within you, and the power for you, that He brings.

This happens, when you come to Christ. The invitation is IF ANY MAN WILL, or WHOSOEVER WILL.

Awake thou that Sleepest
Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

When we are asleep, spiritually, our senses are dull. We don’t hear clearly. Our eyes are closed, not seeing what is going on.
That is why Paul, here, exhorts the Ephesians to “walk as children of light.”
(Ephesians 5:8)
Light is a great benefit for those who are growing sleepy in their walk as Christians.
It is like opening the curtain to let the sunshine come in, in the morning.
It makes you want to get up and get busy!

Darkness, on the other hand, tends to make us sleepy.
So with the darkness which comes to us spiritually. We are lulled to sleep. We begin to talk a great deal about “rest”, becoming discontent with the work we have been given for the Lord.
We look for ways to do God’s will quickly, or for a more “easier way” of walking with the Lord; for we do not want to take the action required to come to the light….for then our slothful sin will be seen.

So Paul calls on every Christian to “Awake”.
Awake, and arise; and Christ shall give you light.
Light to see what you need to do to get out of the darkness.
Light to see the world, as it is.
Light to see that Christ is worth the loss of everything.

Then Paul writes:
Ephesians 5:15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”
Circumspectly means there will be light for the path, for we are to keep our eyes on the path, that we don’t get tripped up.

Awake, and walk wisely. For Christ shall give us light.

 

Temptation

Luke 8:13 “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for awhile believe, and in time of temptation fall away.”
Here is described some who hear the Word of God; and their hearts respond to it with joy!
They believe for awhile, for they receive the word, not just hear it.

This means that their hearts want Salvation. They understand the promise of it, as well as what it demands of them.
They will to obey it, and go along great…..until something halts their progress.
That “something” is Temptation.

To tempt is to arouse to action or anger; to induce to do something; to persuade.

Temptation comes along and knocks at the door of your life.

Life might be treating you badly. You might already be hurt, or angry, or discouraged (and this is a BIG one: discouragement. We did not get what we thought we should.
People do not “like” us. They did not appreciate us.).

So the devil, our Adversary, who is behind each temptation, sends “Complaints” to speak to us.
Complaints comes and knocks at our door. When we open to see who it is, he says, “How many times are you going to put up with their ingratitude?”
“You deserve to have that position. You work harder than anybody else!”
“They should never have said that about you. You are so much nicer than they are.”

He says exactly what we want to hear.

Should you listen? (First mistake. Eve was tripped up by listening to the devil, she should have run away at the first suggestion out of his mouth)
Should you open to see exactly what “Complaints” is offering? A “little” revenge, maybe?

Now if we are “sober (serious about standing with Christ), and vigilant (watchful); we can refuse Complaint’s suggestions.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

Because, devour is what the devil wants to do, with this Temptation. To eat up every determination to do God’s Will; by us yielding to this temptation.
(Believe me, every temptation we yield to; weakens our faith. If you would be strong in the faith, flee temptation.)

Remember, that is what it is: it is a Temptation, no matter what name it comes knocking under.

If we listen, and consider what Temptation is offering; a foothold is made in your heart (you wanted this), or your understanding (you’re not stupid, you knew once you start to think of “getting even”, then anger can consume any thought of forgiveness).

Christ Jesus taught His disciples to pray:
Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

There are two parts to dealing with Temptation:
0. “Lord, lead us not into temptation”. Help me to keep asking for the help I need, and to say and do ONLY what I should
James 1:19-20 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear (God), slow to speak, slow to wrath:
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

0. “but, deliver us from evil”. For there is a way out of Temptation, once we are in it.
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you, cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts ye double-minded.”

The first is submit to God: confess your desire to listen and go along with Temptation, and confess your anger (or what ever the sin was, you wanted to do).
This submission is a deliberate act of your will, and the real Victory is in the submission.

Then resist the devil: “The Lord rebuke thee.” (We certainly can’t in our own power, but in His name, we can.)

Then draw near to God, and HE will draw near to you: This is a military movement. It is going back, to take cover in Christ Jesus, our Rock; and He will protect us, and fight for us in a special way.

Temptations are common to man.
But we can be delivered from them:
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

And God has promised a blessing for all those who endure. Endure means that you stand with Christ Jesus; and when the temptation is over, you are still standing with Jesus.
(You may fall. But He has provided His forgiveness, and cleansing power to get us up and stand again.)

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

The Calling of Matthew

Matthew 9:9 “And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.”

Matthew was a publican, or tax collector. These men were hated of their own nation, because they worked for the Romans.

They were also often corrupt, and took more than they were suppose to, or stole from their own people.

But Jesus passed that way, and did something others would not (unless it was in cursing). He spoke to Matthew.
And called him to follow Him as one of His disciples.

By this time He had called the fishermen, Peter, James, and John.

He had preached the sermon on the mount; and a conversation with the scribes, and Pharisees, had been started.

This conversation was about His authority.
Did He have the authority from God to do what He was doing: healing the sick, forgiving sins, and calling disciples?

Many people were interested in His authority; not to submit to it, but to prove it wrong, so they could go on in their own way.
(And this is what Jesus came to save his people out of:
Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”)

So the Pharisees and scribes every opportunity to question His actions, and His words. If they could just prove Him wrong, then that would prove themselves right. Right?

(Of course, it would not; but sin makes us believe a lie. How much we need a Savior from it!)

Matthew 9:10 “And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house (of Matthew), behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.”

After his call to follow Jesus, Matthew invites Him into his home. Anxious to have others of his acquaintance, know Jesus, he has a supper for Him, and invites many.

(Perhaps Matthew was going to give his testimony about how Jesus had called him, and how he knew that it was a call from God; and he had answered it.
They would not see him at the receipt of customs any more, for he knew that Jesus was from God, and he would leave all and follow Him.)

Matthew 9:11-13 “And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
And when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus is quoting what God has told His people in the Old Testament. Verses that set forth what God wanted from His people:
Hosea 6:6 “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
Micah 6:8 “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to have mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?”

God wanted His people to love Him, and each other. The sacrifices, set forth the means of coming close to God because of sin, and in fellowship.
But they were to be given, along with the inward love of their hearts; not just in outward show.

“Mercy”, here, means brotherly kindness. They were always to be helping each other, as brothers. They were to be seeing to their well fare.
And what better way to give mercy to another, than to introduce them to Jesus?

Jesus then rebukes these Pharisees, by saying what His work, as the Son of God is:
“…for I am not come to call the righteous,”
For if they were truly righteous, they would know that I am the Son of God, when they hear Me; or hear of My works.

“…but (to call) sinners to repentance.”
That is what this supper was about. To introduce Matthew’s Master to Matthew’s friends.
Yes, they were publicans and sinners.
But they, like Matthew, needed to hear and see Jesus.

Matthew loved his friends, so he wanted them to know Him, who was the Savior.
This is true love.

Jesus said later:
John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another.”

Surely the Pharisees knew that Matthew was now a disciple of Jesus.

How many believed on Jesus because of this supper, it does not say. But love was present; even for the Pharisees, if they would receive it, and receive Jesus.

To “receive” Jesus, is to let Him come in as Master; into our hearts, and lives.(John 1:12)

Matthew certainly did this, for he manifested the greatest calling of a disciple: mercy and love.

 

Afterward

Hebrews 12:11 “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless,  AFTERWARD it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

Hebrews 12:17 “For we know how that  AFTERWARD, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

Twice in Hebrews 12, we have the word “afterward” (I have capitalized it for effect in both verses).
Afterward, here, means simply that something happened before; God chastened; and something happened as a result of the chastening: or “afterward”.

You will notice for both cases, it is a matter of the will, willing one way or the other.

To explain:
We will begin with “them that are exercised thereby”.
Now they would not have been chastened, if there had not been something wrong in their lives.
Something which needed to be set right before Spiritual Weakness, then Spiritual Atrophy set in.
(in the next verses it describes the beginning of this: “Therefore lift the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet,….” Hebrews 12:12-13)

But with the chastening from God, comes the knowledge that He does it out of love.

Hebrews 12:6, 10 “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he recieveth.
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he (God) for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.”

Although this does not make the chastening pleasant; it does work within us the desire to learn from it: to be exercised by the chastening, so that we will not have to go through it again and again.

Because He loves us, and He is doing this to help us grow in grace; we stir ourselves up to learn all we can in this chastening; to please Him.
This is the AFTERWARD of those who are exercised thereby.

Now for Esau:
Hebrews 12:16 “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”

Esau and Jacob were twins. Esau, being older by a few minutes, was the inheritor of the birthright. This did not mean riches or cattle; but it meant the Spiritual blessings that God promised Abraham, a people separate to God, the land of Canaan, and mostly: The birthright meant that Christ, the Savior, would come from his line, in the future.

It was a blessing for  the one who wanted Spiritual ties with God.
Jacob did.   Esau did not.

Esau had been out hunting, and came by Jacob’s tent, without game. He was hungry, and saw Jacob (he was more of a farmer and cattleman) cooking something on the fire.
It was a pot of red beans, and Esau asked that he be given some.

Jacob, always trying to figure out a way that he might inherit the blessing instead of Esau, told him; “Sure, but only if you sell me your birthright.”

Now any Spiritual person would have said, “No, I will wait, even though I feel faint, till I go to my tent.” (maybe on the other side of the camp)
But not Esau.
He was not Spiritual, and  thought more of his belly, than the privilege of being the holder of the Promise of the Lord to come.

Genesis 25:32-34 “And Esau said, Behold I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do for me?
And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Now for the AFTERWARD:
It is time for their father, who was nearly blind, to bless the one who would inherit; so he calls Esau, who was firstborn, in, and told him to prepare a special feast for him, and he would bless him.
I will not go into all the details, but Jacob, afraid to trust God, dressed up as Esau.
He fooled his father and received the firstborn blessing.

Then Esau came in (afterward) and sought the blessing, but could not receive it.
He cried, then.

(How many tears do we cry; not for losing fellowship with God, or for losing Spiritual Blessings, but because someone has gotten something we have not?)

Genesis 27:34,38 “And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.”

Esau had not wept, and sought repentance for his foolish behavior with the food; no.
He had not wept when he thought of the bargain he made with Jacob, for he thought he could still have everything, even though he despised it in his heart.

He would still be the best. He did not need to have a change of heart before God about anything; wasn’t he doing alright without bowing before God?

You never hear of Esau building an altar or seeking God. Even in the tears that flowed when he was denied the blessing, he did not cry to God; just to his father, for repentance. And it was a repentance of his father’s actions, not a repentance of his.

AFTERWARD, he was rejected, he cried; but only for self-pity, not for despising the birthright.

Afterward,….will we receive God’s correction, and learn from it?
Or we will go on thinking we are alright, till…afterward, there is no more time to have what God wants for us.

God corrects us for our profit.
And we must always consider profit and loss; only Spiritually consider it.

Esau said, “What profit is this birthright?” And despised it. And lost it.

The one who is exercised, weighs profit and loss by God’s thoughts.
God said this is for my profit, and although I do not feel like it; I am going to trust Him, pick up my hands and my feet (stop feeling sorry for myself), and take the next step with Him.
I know that afterward, I will feel differently about this correction.
Afterward,  I will rejoice,  because God has seen me through.

 

 

How am I filled with the Spirit?

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

We are filled with the Holy Spirit, just as much as we are emptied of our self will.

In order for that to happen, we need to submit to the rule and sway of Christ as King; our King.
And let His kingdom come within us.
It will only come to us, by His Will being done by us.
Subjection has become a “bad word” today. Of course to the wrong elements, it is. But subjection to Christ is freedom.

“What!, you say, that can’t be. Subjection is bondage; you HAVE to do.”
The Reality, which is subjection to Christ is a love relationship. You KNOW that He loves you (No, it is not just the knowledge of the head, having heard it so many times).
It is a closeness of His Spirit, a sweetness of His Voice (even when He corrects us), and such a sense of Rest of heart, and mind (and my mind usually goes around in circles pretty good).
Hosea 11:4 “I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.”
Jesus Christ came as a man to show us the great love He had for us: by His sacrifice to save us from our sins (and they are the real bondage).

Song of Solomon 8:7 “Many waters can not quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.”
We can not give anything for the Love of God, for He has loved us with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3). Before we were born, God loved us; by the Love of His Will. It was not because there was anything in us that drew Him to us; definitely not as far as I am concerned!
Nor was it because He saw what we would do for Him, after conversion. Or because of what we would become.
No, He loved us because of one reason: He willed to do so.

Matthew 6:10 says, His kingdom come, His will done in earth, as it is in heaven.
And Jesus taught that we should pray this.
In heaven it is done willingly, joyfully, completely. But also with fullness of power.

He has this sort of power for us; but to get it down here into us we need to have His kingdom come with in us.

It is not so much: How much do I have of God? But how much does He have of me?

For we are filled with the Holy Spirit to the degree or extent, that we are willingly emptied of ourself life.

Imagine jars filled with water. Now, imagine you are going to fill them with oil.
They won’t mix, so one of them will “push” the other out.

The oil comes in; and the water flows out.
This is the filling of the Holy Spirit. He flows in, at new birth.
But if we just let Him have that much of us, it is like a skim of oil on top of the water.

But if we yield to Him, and be obedient to His direction; then He keeps flowing in, and our self life, flows out.

We have more “want to”, more power to do, and more knowledge and joy in the doing.
This is to be being filled with the Holy Spirit; and it is only as we submit to Christ’s rule in us; as subject to King.
Under His command, doing His Will.

It is the Eleventh Hour

I am going to speak frankly about some searching internal things of God, and my soul I experienced years ago.

For years I had gone along, (a Church goer, Sunday School Teacher). But over a series of months, I was “forced” (by the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment) to admit to myself and God, the lack of permanent spiritual fruit in my own life.
I would be peaceful and joyful, at times; then angry and bitter, at other times.

I began to doubt the reality of my conversion.
My obedience I knew was partial, so I sought to be obedient in all things; to be more diligent.

Yet I longed with a greater and greater yearning to hear some Word from the Lord about it all.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

I started to pray that He would search me, hoping that it would lead to an experience.
A once accomplished setting in order, if you will. Then my life would be under the control of the Holy Spirit. No problems.

But time and time again, the Lord lead me to discover the times I simply did not deny myself in this attitude, or in that reaction.
Our reactions to people and things tells God, as well as others, a lot about our true spirituality.

To “deny myself” (Matthew 16:24); this was not what I wanted to hear.
I do that; I’ve done that.
But time and time again, I came face to face with the fact that I had started to do it, but my “reasons” for putting up with myself, seemed too good.
Or I had denied myself in the action.   I did not do what was wrong.
But I sure wanted to.
Was that really “denying myself”?

So then the Lord showed me that I was born again, but I was not walking with Him.
I was following my own way.   A way which was not producing fruit for Him, or true life for me.
He showed me, that time is important. I had made choices in things I could not change: consequences I must bear.

So, what could I do? How can I do for the time I have left?

Matthew 20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.”

The Kingdom of Heaven,  if it is to be gained, is by One man. The householder here; our Lord Jesus Christ;   and His call to us.

God’s call is always to Himself: it may be to Salvation, or it may be to a work, or it may be to more knowledge of Himself.
But His Call is always to Himself.

Christ calls those who would be part of the Kingdom of Heaven, not to sit around, but to labor in His Work in this World.

The Lord showed me, through this parable, my life; and how I had served Him.
Will you see yourself here?

Now, within every believer, there is a “clock”, so to speak.
This clock begins to tick the moment we are born again.   It is like a time clock for our work , for the Lord.

When Christ calls to the Work:
Some respond early, and go to work for Christ.
Matthew 20:1-2 “…a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.
And when he had agree with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”
(Back then, there were twelve hour days, and a penny was a good days wage.)

Some respond later, but still go.
Matthew 20:3-5 “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.”

But some, stand idle all the day; inactive, and barren.
Matthew 20:6-7 “About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that ye shall receive.”

How can religious people be idle?
Because they have been brought into the Christian faith without any confrontation of the total commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord.
Without any instruction that real Christian Victory, means complete abandonment of our self and person to Jesus Christ.

So when the householder said, “Go into my vineyard”; Jesus was giving us the opportunity of doing that. How many times in my life had He done so?

Now where were these “idle” ones during the times He came before?
He accuses them of standing idle “all the day”, so they must have been there.
Yet they did not heed His call to go and work.

What about you? Has the Lord Jesus called for laborers, and you stood idle?
When others went, you were relieved that you did not “have to” go?
Yet the time (remember each of us have a clock, ticking) goes by, and the emptiness with us seems to weigh us down.
Now the day is almost gone.
Oh, if He would just call again; for the Kingdom of Heaven is wrapped up in the laborers He has called.

Then He does, rebuking you for your laziness, for your attitude of letting someone else do the work.

What will you do now?
Let this last opportunity go by again? For it is the eleventh hour.   I did not.  What will you do?

Matthew 20:9-10 “And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they received every man a penny.”

Here is the wages of these workers. (Not the wages of sin; Christ took those upon Himself)
But in Him we receive the “wages” of our Obedience to His call; and our faithfulness (even after we were unfaithful).
Some labored longer; some a very short time.
Yet the householder, Jesus Christ, pays out the same wages to all.

Those wages are the reward for the faithful following of His call. The faithful putting of yourself aside for Christ’s sake, and for the faithful love which (finally) follows Him.

In that day of receiving, we will enter into His Joy and into His courts with praise.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

 

 

Light

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

The first thing God said to His re-creation, was: Let there be light.
God did not need it. But it was to be in opposition to the darkness prevailing, at that point.

When He created the Sun, the moon, and the stars; He did it so that their light (even the reflected light of the moon) would “rule” the day and the night.

Genesis 1:16 “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”

When light comes, darkness has to flee. They can not exist together. One rules the other. Even in the dusk of day, when shadows come on, it is still light enough to see.
The night comes, and God still has a witness in the moon and stars; but then the dawn breaks. It is grey at first, but light comes, and darkness goes.

Darkness is a terrible curse. When the last judgement has sounded; God will cast all those who have refused His Blessed Son into great torment, and darkness.

(Jude 12-13 “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

Most think of the Lake of Fire as light. No, the fire of torment will burn forever, but the darkness will be thicker and blacker than being down in a cave with out light. You can not even see the person standing next to you.)

1 John 1:5 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

God is light. He is the author of it and the maintainer of it.
He came as Light, to a world darkened with sin, to save all who come to Him, that He might give us light.

John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”

Psalm 36:9 “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”

He shines the light into our hearts (Notice, it is our hearts, not our heads. We are to love Him, not just know about Him.):
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus was the perfect example of God: His Will and His Goodness. God’s Will was that Christ manifest God to the world. (Which shows how far the thoughts of God were from Reality, at that time, and now.)

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”
But He does not just call us; He enables us, for all He has for us.

Colossians 1:12 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:”

 

And then He calls us to walk in the Light, so we will not stumble and fall; either by the wiles of the devil or the influence of others:
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?”

To do this we need to protect ourselves with the armor of light:
Romans 13:12 “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

Christ is that light, and His Word gives us light:
Psalm 119:105, 130 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
The entrance of they words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
When we are obedient to the light we get by the Holy Spirit, we receive more light.
His light enables as well as reveals.

As we are covered with His Light as armor, we become lights in this world:
Matthew 5:14,16 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is city that is set on a hill can not be hide.
Let your lights so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Micah 7:8 “Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.”

God is Light, He enlightens us by His Holy Spirit when we are born again, and He enables, guides, reveals, and encourages us by the light.
As we walk in His light, we become lights ourselves; as the moon is light, by reflecting the sun.

And when His light comes, darkness flees.

Keep yourselves in the Love of God

Jude 21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

In other words: Walk in the sunlight of His love.

There is a lot of talk about God’s love today, which is just not so.

Would a loving parent let his child do something which would hurt them, just because he “loved” them?
Sin is the ultimate hurt. Through sin, Adam fell; which means that he left the state of innocency he was in, to know evil. (Good he knew, for he knew God; after he rebelled, he knew evil. Genesis 3:6-7)

So when it says that God loves us; you need to look beyond the sentimental affection we think is love; to the Will of God.
There is nothing more powerful in the universe than God’s Will; therefore if He wills to love us: He will provide for us, hold us up, protect us, and correct us; that we might stay in the bright and warm light of His love.

To measure His love is impossible; for the measuring line would have to stretch across the immense expanse of when God sent His Beloved Son to die on the cross. And this was because He willed to love us. (John 3:16)

When we are born again, we are receivers of His Love. (It was always there, we just had our backs to it.)

The only thing we are told to do, is walk in it.

This walk signifies that you are obeying His Word to you.
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
If they are “grievous” or burdensome, then you are not walking in His love. You might be walking in anger, as Jonah. (Jonah 4:1-4)

Or you might be walking in fear, as when the disciples were at sea. (Mark 4:37-38)

But when you walk in love; His commandments are the lightest things. To sin or turn away from Him, at this time, would be the hardest thing. For love gives songs in the darkest night, and makes work, joyful.

This walk in the Love of God is also shared:
1 John 4:7, 11 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

This tells us that the love of God is to be shed abroad through us to other Christians, and to those in the world, to show forth God’s love.
(Remember, God’s love is willed love. There is nothing in us to draw out God’s love, but He willed to love us.
So we should love others. Often there is nothing in them that merits our love. No, love is never merited; either God’s to us, or ours to others. That is called respect and honor)
But God commands us to love others, so we will, to do so; and walk in His love.

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
The Precious Presence of God within us, comes with His love.
This Presence is felt.
To walk in the love of God, is to appropriate the joy found in the statement:
1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”

This reaches down into the depth of our being, if we receive it.
What a Savior, that saves with love!

(You will notice I have quoted a lot from John’s books. John and Paul were the authors that spoke most of the love of God, either for their own selves, or for the Church.
1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Ephesians 3:17-19 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is that breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Though Peter was restored with the famous question, “lovest thou me?”, which the Lord Jesus asked him, yet it is not Peter, but John and Paul that bring forward again and again, the Love of God to His own.)

Let us walk in the love of God.

 

Behold, I am at the Door

Revelation 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

What door is He at?

He is at the Church door. In the second and third chapters of Revelation, we have the letters Jesus Christ wrote through John to the churches.
They were a cross section of the church of that period; and of all the church ages.

He speaks very personally with each: telling each age what needs to be changed, what He praises them for, and what He promises those that overcome through these changes.

When He comes to the Laodicean Church, it is not their actions that He corrects; but their seeing and hearing.
They don’t see what they truly are, and they are not hearing Him as they should; for He stands outside the door, knocking.

He is calling to those who will hear inside.

But what are they? They are lukewarm Christians.

First, let me say, that though it is the church door Jesus is standing and knocking at; it is to “any man” (man or woman, boy or girl), that He speaks to. For it is His Voice which is heard, within.

This fact, that we are within the Church, is important.
He is not calling, in this way, to the lost in the world.
He is calling to those in the Church; to those who should recognize His Voice. (John 10:4)

What should they do to open the door?

To “open the door”, or to answer His call, in this Laodicean Age, is not an answer of words (even at some altar, though it may start there), but an answer of a life open to and receptive to Him.

In this age, we have mostly forgotten Christ as Lord.(As A Lord, yes. But as our Lord, no.)
For the Lordship of Christ is mostly thought of as: One day He will be Lord of All.
Of course that is true, because He is Lord of all, now. (Matthew 28:18)

But when we speak of Christ as Lord, we mean that He is our Lord. That He commands and we will do, that He can do what He will with His own; meaning me.
It is a surrender of the whole man, active, to Christ. All our faculties are brought into subjection to Him.

So to open to Christ is to give our life to Him, a once done act. And live our lives to Him, receiving every word He says, because we receive Him.
(Tell yourself honestly, have you received Christ? Has He a place in your life? You may say, He is in my heart. How much of your heart does He have? For your heart signifies your life: your thoughts, feelings and affections, and actions.)

He is standing; therefore He is ready to do for that individual who will hear Him, and open the door.

Ready to come in and impart power, power within us and power through us; and to have that fellowship which is the backbone of power.
Daniel 11:32b “…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

We can do nothing without Him. The real power of life is Christ’s life within our lives.
His fellowship, then is paramount.
It is the “sup with” us, that speaks of the kind of fellowship. For in Bible times, you could never eat with an enemy. If they were brought into your house, and fed, they were worthy of your best, both in food and conversation.

If we are not fellowshipping with Him, we are lukewarm.
Not hot, so He can bless us.
Not cold, so He could forget us.
Just lukewarm. And those lukewarm Laodiceans, He promises to vomit out.

We think we are just hot enough to get by, He can’t possibly refuse our prayers, our service, our activities.
We are warm. We are O.K.

But that is not the way God sees it. (Revelation 3:15-17)

And He sees everything.
(There used to be a children’s song “Be careful little eyes, what you see. Be careful little feet, where you go. Be careful little mouth, what you say….For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes, feet, mouth”

Children were trained to know God saw them every where, what they did, what they said, what they saw; and that He loved them, so they should stay close to Him.

It has been stressed of late, that we might be scaring our children, by such language.
No, no, no.
Where love is, there is no fear.
1 John 4:16-18 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath for us. God is love: and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in God; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Caution is a good thing. A little preparation, is better that a lot of sorrow, especially where our children are concerned.
To know they are being seen, yes, if they are going to get themselves into trouble, is good.
But to know they are being seen when ANYTHING is going on. God loves them. He knows, He sees.
If they are Christians, this is powerful stuff, for God is powerful for them, as well as in them.)

He is standing at the door of the Church, and His voice is calling us to “open to Me”.
If any person will:
First, hear His Voice.
Second, Open your life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You might say you did this when you were born again.
Yes, you should have received Him then (John 1:12). But have you somewhere shut the door to part of your life?

For those who realize they are lukewarm; His call to come is for you.
Come, and open your life to Him, completely.
Think of the doors in your life you have shut to Him, and bring them to Him, and open them to Him.
Remember His love to you, and talk to Him about it. And keep talking.
He is Standing ; Ready to do, for you.