The Scribe Which Is Instructed Unto the Kingdom of Heaven.

(I am copying again the first message we put on our blog)

Matthew 13:52 ” Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

We are starting this blog for Christians. To strengthen and encourage God’s people to seek, and trust the Lord.
All given with the prayer that they meet the need of those who read them.

We believe that one of the greatest needs of this Church Age is to understand and Have Christ’s kingdom come within the heart of each of His own.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.”(KJV)

Notice it is “in earth”, not on it.
This is His Personal Kingdom coming with in your life. When you make Him King, and He reigns there.
When we are born again (John 3:3, 7) and “ye must be born again”….we enter His kingdom as His citizens. But it is only when we are obedient to His laws and ordinances that we make Him King in our lives.

If we are still “running the show” ; He is not King, Personally.
“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done.”
When this becomes a fact in our everyday lives, we are subjects of that Kingdom, and expressions of it:
Our Wills are His, and are then empowered to do His Will.
For it is then, He sits on the Throne of our Hearts.

Not that we make others do His Will….but that  we do His Will.

Then His Kingdom has come within us.

It is a great feeling to come to the place where the arguments WITH GOD, end; and the Holy Spirit–instead of correcting , empowers to go forward in peace, joy and faith.

Manasseh

Manasseh was one of the Bible’s worst persons, he was a king, born into luxury and position.
Loved of his father, Hezekiah, who was a Godly king.

As a matter of fact, Hezekiah was going to die, and he prayed that he might live. That God would extend his life.
He had no son, and wanted to have an heir, before he died.

Manasseh was the result.

From the first, he departed from the ways of his father. And forsook the worship of God, for idols.
The pleasures of this life was all he was interested in; that, and leading others into the same sin.

2 Kings 21:1-2 “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign,…
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.”
2 Kings 21:6 “And he made his sons pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.”

He destroyed those who spoke out against him, and became worse and worse in “having his own way”.
2 Chronicles 33:10. “And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.”

How often it is, that sin leads to more sin. We can begin by getting angry, and the next minute, we can be thinking about getting even.
We can begin by speeding, and end up endangering others.
Sin is addictive; that is why we need our Savior, Jesus Christ, to save us from it. (Matthew 1:21)

The blood he shed, (it is supposed that he killed Isaiah for preaching against him) and the idols he worshipped, brought the curse of God on to the nation of Judah.

2 Kings 21:16 “Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end unto another; besides his sin where with he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

2 Kings 21:11-12 “Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.”

 

Yet….

And this is amazing grace….Manasseh repented.

2 Chronicles 33:11-12 “Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,”

To “humble ourselves” in the Hebrew is to “bend the knee” or submit to God.

This is what Manasseh had never done. He had not submitted to anyone or anything.
No matter what image he had brought and set up; there was always something else to seek after.
For none of them satisfied Manasseh’s real desire. He had used power to do what he wanted, when he wanted, as he wanted; no matter who got hurt in the process. (Remember he sacrificed his own children.)

But God was to be sought, heard, and obeyed; not refused and rebelled against.

And God knows how to bring down a person’s pride.
How to finally awaken the person to His claims, upon the life He gave us.

2 Chronicles 33:13 “And prayed unto Him: and was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom.
Then Manasseh knew that the Lord He was God.”

Repentance brought him to the place he needed to be: saved from his sins by belief in God.

And brought him to his kingdom again. This time he was in subjection to God, bringing back the worship of God to Judah; whereby saving many of his people.

2 Chronicles 33:15-16 “And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.”

Peace offerings! Because he had found peace with God. (So can we. Romans 5:1-2)
Thank offerings! Because he had finally found true satisfaction in God.

James writes:
James 4:6. “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Grace is the unmerited favor of power in our lives, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

He has power for us: everyday power to live for Him, and enjoy the peace and joy, He only can give.

 

 

 

 

Time to Take Inventory of our Progress

It is tax time, when everyone takes stock of their finances for the last year.
How much did we actually make?
How much will the tax be?
How much will we get back?

So let us pause and take stock of our spiritual gains and losses; for this last year.

 

Let us look and see if we have walked along with Christ; or let cares and troubles burden us down.

How much of last year was spent in rejoicing in the Lord, and how much was spent in worrying?
Philippians 4:4, 6-7. “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice.”
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

 

Last year, how much time did we spend in prayer?
Colossians 4:2. “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

Matthew 21:22. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
Have we prayed for our brothers and sisters in Christ? Those close or far away?
Has our time of prayer, increased or decreased?

 

Has our knowledge of what Jesus Christ will do for us personally, increased?
It comes often by our obtaining the promises we have been given.
Or increasing in God’s grace which He gives us by His Spirit.

2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature (having Christ’s character), having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

 

What about our stand as Christians?
Are we standing on the Rock?
It is quite true that amid the many anxieties and troubles, we may be shaken.
But our Rock never moves under us.

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken unto a wise man, which built his house upon the Rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a Rock.”

 

Have we let troubles deprive us of God’s joy or peace?
Do we know His sufficiency? In illness? In loss? Amid anger?
Are we letting His Presence comfort and guide us?

Romans 8:32, 37-39 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Paul wrote even after years of serving the Lord:

Philippians 3:12. “Not though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”

And how did he do that?
Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

So….

Whether we have learned a lot; or not gone very far with Him, in the past year; we still we have a new year to gain.
To go on and get into our lives what has been given us in Christ Jesus.

Rejoice in the Lord.
Pray for ourselves, and others.
Believe, and obtain the promise of peace, everyday.
Stand on the Rock.

Forget those things which are past.
Reach forth for those things Christ Jesus has for us ahead.

 

 

Are you yoked with Christ Jesus?

The Christian experience is an ever upward movement.
When we fall or fail in our walk, we lose ground.

But coming to Christ Jesus is always the first step in being restored, or in what is next for our lives. (Even after we have failed)

He is our hiding place, our fire within, our rest of soul, our peace. Coming to Him should be one of the easiest movements for us, as Christians, because we know His great love for us.

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy ladened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

When we come to Him, the first thing He gives us is rest. It is rest of spirit (this you feel, as the sea was calmed by the Voice of Jesus), and it is rest of soul (this comes with understanding His Word, and knowing His love in our hearts).

And then, with the rest of heart and mind, He shows us His way of progress.

Whether two oxen are plowing, or harvesting, or pulling a wagon to town; the way the work gets done for them both, is the yoke.

This yoke, then, represents His way of bring His will to pass in our lives.

You say, of course His way is His will.

Example:
There are two Christians. Each one knows someone that  needs to come to Christ. And they feel they are to help them come.
That is God’s Will.

God’s Way for one is to witness of Christ in life and word, whenever opportunity comes.
God’s Way for the other is to pray for that person everyday until they are born again.

Christ’s Yoke is the way He will lead us to do His Will.
You can fret against it, and become hurt in the process. (Many oxen had sores on their shoulders because they chaffed against the yoke)
Or you can yield to His way, for you; and enter into a rest of soul beyond which you have ever known.

Personal Example:
Years ago I had a medical problem which was not going away; and no money to go and see to it.(it could have been extensive)
My wife had prayed about it, and felt that she should pray for the Lord to heal it.

We both felt this was God’s Way of dealing with this problem, so she prayed for it.

Now my wife (she told me this latter), like so many who have a conviction from God about a problem, thought that she could pray for it once, and it would be gone!!!
(for some, it might happen that way, but it was not here)

But it wasn’t gone. It was still there, and I told her it was a little more sore.
(This made her mad, she told me latter)
So we prayed about whether this was indeed the way to have it taken care of.
“Yes”, was the answer we both had.

This set up a test for my wife, which I did not really enter into. She had thought God was going to heal it right away.
So how was it to be healed? Was her question to the Lord. (And she admitted later that she had quite a fit with the Lord, before she got around to REALLY asking this question. But she wanted the healing the Lord had for me, so she yielded to His Way.)

The answer:
Luke 11:9-10 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

She was to ask, and keep asking for my healing.
She was to seek for any means (other than this) that should be utilized.
She was to knock on heaven’s door till I was healed.

Well, she did.   And the Lord did heal me.

The Yoke that the Lord offers to us, is His Way for us. But it is His Way, worked out with Him, pulling and doing with us.

My wife learned a lot by those prayers. And I was healed. But it was Christ’s way of doing it. (For us, it may not be the same way again.)

By yielding to His way of bringing His will to pass, we are saying we will learn of Him.

As we learn of Him, we begin to see more and more of His heart behind all that He wills and does for us.

Matthew 11:30 “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The picture here is, not as some imagine, The Lord putting the yoke or burden on us alone.

No, the picture here is the Lord and I, being so much in union, that when He says “my yoke” and “my burden”, He is speaking of “us”, together in everything.
The work is easy and light, for it is always easy to do with the Strength of Someone you love.

 

 

Pete and Repeat

2 Peter 1:12-13 “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle (body), to stir you up by putting you in remembrance:”

Peter is saying that those he writes to, know these truths, and practice them; but he is still going to remind them of the basics.
Why?
Because he remembers his denying Christ three times, even after he had walked three years with Christ, and after he vowed his faithfulness to Him.
Mark 14:29-31 “But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet not I.
And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.”

So, since he failed, he knows that it can happen, even to those who feel that they love the Lord so much, they would never deny Him.

So what are theses basic truths, Peter wanted to repeat?
2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Grace and peace are not just greetings; but a real prayer for that grace of God in their lives which influences them to follow on.
And for the peace of God to be their fortress in times of trouble and fear.

He wanted them to obtain these promises. These exceeding great, and precious promises. That they might be partakers of the Divine Nature. But weren’t they? Weren’t they born again?
Yes, but the salvation of God for us, is a living thing. It begins with new birth and goes until we are in heaven, standing before God.
And Divine Nature is just not Christ’s life in our life (that we get at new birth); but His character formed in our character. That takes time; just like the forming of your child’s character takes teaching and discipline.
Salvation is to be:
We are saved from the love of sin: by conviction of the Holy Spirit, which turns the sin you love into a curse in your heart, so you begin to seek a Savior from it.

We are saved from the guilt of sin: by being born again.

We are saved from the power of sin: by the power of the Holy Spirit, delivering us from the influence it has on us. This is to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. (Corruption is to decay, shrivel up. Your heart, which has the Holy Spirit in it, becomes sick. The place you have for Him, becomes smaller. While the place and affections you give the world, grow larger. Lust is not just sexual lust. Lust of anything is inordinate affection for it. Your mind is always occupied with it. Your heart is drawn toward it. And then your steps will go after it; even if the way you do it is wrong.). This we are saved from by the power of the Holy Spirit within.

We are save from the presence of sin: when we are taken to heaven.

These verses cover that journey, promising His presence and power at every step.

And it is “through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord”.
This is, of course, personal, experiential knowledge of Him.
Knowledge through His Word; how important reading the Bible everyday is, for it’s guidance and help.
How can we best know how to pray? Listen to the prayers of those written of here.
Knowledge of what He wants to do for us, today, in the very circumstances we are in; with the very people we are called to be around.
Knowledge of His fearless, powerful, and encouraging Presence. What a blessing it is!
And knowledge of what we need to put aside as we grow in grace, and what we need to cast off.

But behind His promises, is His power, by the Holy Spirit.
We need to yield to this, and obtain these promises in our life; for He is with us and has these for us, if we want them.
Yes, it is a journey which takes time; but we have our lives to learn and develop into Spiritually Mature Christians.
And He accompanies us, never leaving us; and sends down His enabling, so we can go through anything with Him.

 

 

Mile Markers for Spiritual Growth

Peter had determined to remind those he is writing, of the basics. So he began with the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ; and how that knowledge leads to spiritual growth. Now he continues with the mile markers, which come along the path to Spiritual Maturity. This is how you know you are going the right way.

2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this , giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;”

Faith is the foundation of our spiritual life. We are justified by faith (Romans 5:1).
But our faith is also to grow. As Peter says here, it is to be added to.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth:”

Virtue is to be added to faith. Virtue here is Artea or force. Virtue is the force of the Holy Spirit within you; the power of the Holy Spirit having freedom to influence and help.
Basically, by faith in God and His Word, we are to yield to the Holy Spirit’s direction and correction; and know the liberty that force within us gives us. To know that God knows all; and has chosen this way, at this time, is very liberating. It is to see the mile marker that says: He has guided me in the right way, and taken care of me so far; why should I fear what is coming next? My welfare is always before Him; why should I look for another way?

And when we have virtue, we get knowledge. This knowledge is the knowledge of what He will do for me.
What He has done in the Bible; great.
What He has and will do for me, personally; wonderful! This knowledge, stabilizes our hearts and minds in adversity, as well as good times.

Can you see us getting stronger in the Lord, by this path?

2 Peter 1:6 “And to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness;”

And to this knowledge, we grow into moderation. We’ve come to the place where we know God will take care of us; so we need not try and get more than He gives, or hate the fact others have “more” than we do.

And as we are temperate, we begin to exercise patience.
And this is how we possess our souls.
Luke 21:19 “In your patience possess ye your souls.”
As we come to this mile marker, we realize how much of ourselves we know. How much of ourselves we can now master. And how much of ourselves we have yielded to the Holy Spirit.

To patience, godliness.
This mile marker comes as our character is taking the shape of the character of Christ.
He came to save us, we should seek the salvation of others.
This is where we “Let your light so shine before men, that they many see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

2 Peter 1:7 “And to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.(love).”

To godliness, the mile marker is brotherly kindness. How much do you love your “brother”?
1 John 1:10-11 “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”

And to brotherly kindness, charity or love.
1 John 4:16-17 “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.
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.”

When we reach this mile marker in our journey toward Spiritual maturity, our affections are influenced by the Holy Spirit, and our thoughts are regulated by His good pleasure.
What liberty is this! To be free from the influences of the world’s anger and bitterness; and to follow Christ with joy.

Paul and Silas in Jail

A little background:
Paul and Silas were on a missionary trip, when Paul received a vision.

Acts 16:9 “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”

So they went “immediately”. Once there, they went to Philippi, which was the chief city.
There they stayed for several days, but on the Sabbath they went to the river side, and spoke to the women who had gathered to pray.

One woman was born again and baptized, and she opened her house to us, so we had a place to stay.

As we were going to prayer, a demon possessed girl, who could tell fortunes; began to follow us, crying out, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation.”
This she did for several days.

Perhaps to some, this might seem good publicity.
But not to Paul, who was grieved that the gospel was shouted about like a piece of meat.
Also, that they were spoken about.
The gospel is about Christ.

Yes, there is a “way of salvation”, but cried out like that, made it seem cheap. “Give me a coin and I will show you what to do.”

That was her line.
Not God’s.

So…
Paul turned:
Acts 16:18 “And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

Her masters, who got money from her predictions, were furious.
They grabbed Paul and Silas, and brought them before the magistrates, in the market.

With a false accusation, and no chance of defense; Paul and Silas were given over to being beaten; and jailed.

Acts 16:23-24 “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely:
Who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”

Not at all a good result, it would seem. They were beaten and put into a filthy, small space with their feet in wooden stocks.

But…
Paul and Silas, beaten and sore; were not going to stop seeking God’s Will.
They had been sent there, and so now they needed to know whether what Paul had done about this demonic girl was the right thing to do.
Or just his idea, because he disliked what she said.

Acts 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”

First they prayed. Maybe groaned more than prayed. Yet God heard them.

When they had heard that it was God’s Will, then they sang praises unto God.
There was no stifling the Holy Spirit, here. They prayed, then praised Him for these circumstances. Power, real power to praise rose within their hearts and spilled over into song.

They had preached to many people. They had come to the place God sent them. They had preached and led some to Christ Jesus.
And they had done what they should, about this girl.
This was still God’s Will; Hallelujah!

Acts 16:26-27 “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison wakening out of his sleep, and seeing the doors open, drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

The glory of God, and His power came down to them in that prison.
They sang.
There was an earthquake. It opened all the doors.
When the doors opened, not one of the prisoners escaped! They were all there.
But the real power was in their praise.
It took beaten, sad men, and turned them into praising, joyful peacemakers.

Acts 16:28-30 “But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas.
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The power was also there for the jailer. He would have killed himself, for if those in his charge were missing, Rome would have killed him anyway; and if he killed himself, his family might be spared.

Acts 16:32-33 “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, and all his, straightway.”

When the Holy Spirit is not quenched; power is the result.
Power for you, and through you, to others.

Paul and Silas were badly treated, jailed.
But both praised God for the opportunity to suffer for Him.
And by that praise, power was given to bring other souls to Christ.

The next day the magistrates told the keeper to let them go.
But Paul said, No, for they have beaten us publicly, and we are Romans, and now they want to let us go privately? No, let them come and let us out themselves.
Romans had rights: they could not be accused without a hearing, or beaten, uncondemned.
Paul and Silas had been rushed into prison; and beaten at the whim of these magistrates.
Now Paul speaks, not in anger, but for justice. He could have had these magistrates judged, but instead required them to personally see to their release.
And they came, themselves, and let them out.

God’s Power, for the Christian, is first in us, working joy and peace, and guidance.
Then it is through us, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, to others to show them Christ.

 

 

“..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.

The Greatest Need for our Day is a Return to First Principles

We need the power and authority of the first church.

They had it by being of one accord.

Acts 5:12 “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. “

Acts 2:46 “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”

To be of one  accord is to be in harmony with the Lord.     For the accord is the Lord’s accord, or harmony.

You can hear it when someone is out of harmony in a choir.   Someone singing either out of tune,  or trying to sing a solo in the group.

It is the same way with God’s Purpose for us.   We can surrender to His Will:  that is like being in the choir.

O.K.  You are ready to harmonize.

But we also need to submit to His Way of bringing His Will to pass,   in this circumstance.

Have you ever found yourself knowing that you should say or do something;  but are unsure how to do it?

This is to know “how to”.   It is to rest assured by submission to what He wants,  that He will show us:  when we should,  and also what exactly what we should do.  He will give us the words:  often He has brought verses to mind, and the testimony of what those have meant to me.

And He will give us the time.

This is finding your pitch and tune in the harmonizing of God’s Will.

Being “in tune” with the Holy Spirit within you,  you are placed in the flow of God’s Music;  and led into the joy and peace, within.   And the power of the Lord’s accord in your life.

 

The Peace of God

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

The word “keep” here means to protect, to garrison.

That is what God’s peace does for us. It protects our hearts, which are our emotions. (How often they run away with us!)

And it protects our minds, which are our thoughts, both random and reasoned.

His peace puts us in a strong place, where things don’t upset us; or hurt us, like they usually do.
His peace gives us rest of mind; not panic or wild imaginations of what could happen.

But it is His peace. We very often have none of our own.
But He comes and speaks to us, calming our fears; and delivering us by His protection.

It passes all our understanding, for we can try and reason away bad thoughts or anger….but it usually does not work.
But, when we let His peace come, we know real power and rest in the situation.

He has it for us; He says:
Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing (do not worry);
but in everything (yes, everything, big and little)
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
He hears and gives us His peace. Just talk to Him, and receive His peace, and praise Him for it.