Hear HIs Voice

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

And this is The Lord standing outside His Church Door. But it is to “any man” or the individual He speaks to open their life to Him.

As Christians, we often feel, that once we are saved; the journey is over.
But it actually is just beginning.
If you have heard the Holy Spirit’s voice call you to come to Christ…and you have; then it is a step by step walk with the Lord. Hearing His voice , again by the Holy Spirit, to follow Him.
But to follow Him in what?
1st: Growing in grace. We are saved by grace. And we are kept by His grace. And we are enabled to do by grace.
Grace in the Scriptures is the unmerited favor of power. The Power of the Holy Spirit within you.
This is a process of Denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following Christ.
For we deny our self life to gain our Christ life….not for salvation, but for fellowship and power in our everyday lives.
This used to be called “liberty of spirit”
2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord it that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is , there is liberty.”
But people stopped using it because, it became an excuse for sin. Something the Apostle Paul warned against.
Galatians 5:13 ” For, brethren, ye have been called unto Liberty; only use not Liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
True Liberty of spirit , is freedom from our sin and self, to know God’s Will; and His peace and joy, in doing it.

2nd: In our Walk with Jesus, there is service. We are all called to serve Him as witnesses.
Acts 5:32 “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost , whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
We may not be called to preach or teach; but we are all called to witness of the love and goodness of God in us.
There are other callings…but whatever it is, it is to be done in love to Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 : 1)”Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity(love),I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”

In other words, just so much noise.

2) “And though I have the gift of prophecy , and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

Boy! What service. But not to God, for it was not done in love for Jesus.

3)”And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

Surely this will gain me some reward! But to God it gains you nothing, because the motive was self.

Remember what Jesus said when He was here:
Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”

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.”
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Love to God leads to Obedience in life.
Doing Things, even spiritual things without love to God, leads to deadness of heart.

Our Message is To hear His Voice. Have you heard it call you to go on with Him ? Then in love to the Lord Jesus Christ, take the next step with Him.
Deny yourself, and do your calling.
There is liberty of spirit to all who will “follow on, to know”

Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know, if we follow on the know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”
As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow morning (there may be clouds, but the light comes); God will come forth to help those who truly want to know Him and His Will.
He teaches us to love…Him, and others; if we will follow Him.

The Still Small Voice
1 Kings 19:12 “And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
When we think of POWER; we think of miracles from the Bible, or the sun standing still (Joshua 10:12-14) or time going backward (2 Kings 20:8-11).
Indeed, there has been power there.
But, when God’s POWER is seen, it is usually thru His Word.
(He stressed this , at the first:
Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” He did not have to speak; All He had to do was Will it. But He did speak, to show the Value He places on His Word.)

To stress the real Power of His Voice, we would do back to a cave and a hiding Prophet.

1 Kings 19:9 “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?”

Indeed, What was Elijah doing in that cave? How did he come to this?

Elijah was a man of Gilead, who was distressed at the low spiritual state of Israel. So he began to pray. God had told Israel that if they worshipped other gods , then He would withhold the rain. (Deuteronomy 11:16-17). Elijah prayed God would withhold rain, to get Israel’s attention, so they would turn back to God.

James 5:17 ” Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain:and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”
For six months Elijah prayed for God to withhold the rain, and He did.

Then Elijah was told to go to Ahab, king of Israel and tell him:
1 Kings 17:1 ” And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD GOD of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

This might seem the wrong way to go about it….but Ahab did not believe in God…he had completely become an idol worshipper.
But someone coming and saying , in effect, God is listening to my prayers,
And HE is going to stop the rain until I pray again.

That got Ahab’s attention!

Elijah was told to go and hide…for Ahab would try and kill him. He did TRY. But God hid him till:
After 3 years, Israel was in famine….cattle, crops, everything withering,
Then…
Elijah was told (1Kings 18:1). “….Go, show thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.”

How would he do that? Through Elijah’s prayer…but first, Elijah wanted to showed Ahab and all the Israelites , the power of the prayer of God’s servant.
So , he set up a “contest” between the priests of the idol, and him.
1 Kings 18:19 “Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred which eat at Jezebel’s table.”
It was a simple contest :
1 Kings 18:23-24 “Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and PUT NO FIRE UNDER: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.”
So the prophets of Baal began:
1 Kings 18:26 “And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. BUT THERE WAS NO VOICE , NOR ANY THAT ANSWERED. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.”

So now it was Elijah’s turn. Remember Elijah began this, by praying that God would withhold rain, so Israel would be awakened to their sin of idolatry and come back to God. But how would they be awakened? By a mighty demonstration of God’s Power?
Called to a certain work: Which was to make everyone know that God was NOT pleased with Israel’s sin. This he did when he went before Ahab. EVERYONE knew that he had gone before the king and declared “No rain or dew” till he said.

And there had been no dew or rain for 3 years!

What were the means to Awaken the hearts to God’s demands for His people?
How were they to “hear” for themselves?

Elijah was told to go back and God would send rain. As for the “contest”, I believe Elijah got into this, by thinking (as most of us would), if the people could just see some MIGHTY WORK , that only God could do, then it would be settled –once for all–that God was God, and that he was God’s servant.

1 Kings 18:30-35 ” And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, ….And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time. And they did….And he said, Do it a third time. And they did it the third time. And water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.”
(Where did he get the water? Mt. Carmel is about a few miles from the Mediterranean Sea)
He made the Altar so wet it could never burn….except by the Power of God.

Listen to the Prayer of Elijah:

1Kings 18:36-39 ” And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said,
LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know a that thou art the LORD GOD, and THAT THOU HAST TURNED THEIR HEART BACK AGAIN.
The the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.”

Two things to notice:
Elijah did not pray for rain, here.
And the people said “the LORD, he is THE God…..not OUR God.

The fire came down! First the burnt sacrifice was consumed, which meant God heard Elijah, and honored him before the king and the people.
Then the wood,
Then the stones of the altar, itself
Then the very dust on the ground where the altar sat.
And licked up the water in the trench.
Then the prophets and priests of Baal were slain!
This was a mighty demonstration; so….
Everything is set in order , RIGHT?

But what did it do for King Ahab, or the people?
Where was the rain?

It came, and at Elijah’s prayer, but who was noticing , then?
1 Kings 18:42-45 “So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now , look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand……..And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”

The fire falling was a mighty answer to prayer, but the people’s hearts were not turned back to God.
They might have been shown the true GOD . But I believe, that to turn their hearts back , required Elijah to preach to the people that he had prayed for, till their hearts said The Lord is OUR God.
That requires people hearing for themselves God’s requirements on their own lives.
And that comes through Preaching and Teaching and prayers.
(We can know God is able, without ever knowing God is able for me. That is the problem here; God was real now, They had to believe in His power…but they did not believe in Him for their lives)
Then what did this mighty demonstration do for Elijah? For Ahab? For the people?

For Ahab there was no change in his heart.
1 Kings 19:1 ” And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.”
He ran home and told Jezebel; nothing changed in life either.

For the people? Some say that the worship of Baal was never the same. But most did not turn back to God, even tho they knew He was “The God.”

And for Elijah? That is the saddest situation of all.
Having done such a Mighty Demonstration of God’s Power….
Since the rain was given in answer to his prayer….he thought:
Surely everything is over with….Israel will now worship The Lord God , and Elijah could go and relax.
Everything was fixed…they were God’s People again. Right?
God enables His servants….there was ample power at Elijah’s disposal.
But God requires His servants to see the job done; and Elijah thought the job was over with.

But it wasn’t:
1 Kings 19:2 “Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time”
Now as God’s Servants, we should expect trials, and enemies in this world.
But Elijah was thrown off guard, by thinking that the work was done, that he and God had won. There would be no opposition.
But, again, that was not the case.
1 Kings 19:3 “And when he saw that , he arose, and went for his life,….”
After such a mighty demonstration, then running for his life.

Now , I would not judge Elijah….I have been tricked up myself, thinking things were not what they actually were.
And thinking that if I could just somehow show God’s Power, too, things would be different.

What we need to come to is God’s Word, and Voice.
What was it that began Elijah’s ministry?
The Word of God spoken to Moses so many years before…a promise that God surely would; and did, bring to pass by his seeking it.
And what caused Elijah to return , to pray for rain, after three years….God’s Word to him.

So now let us consider a lesson that God used to teach His runaway prophet. (For He was not done with him, though he had run away.)

1 Kings 19:9-10 “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life , to take it away. ”

Maybe he actually thought he WAS the only one left. A sure sign that no one seemed to stand with him. And here he was hiding inside the cave.

1 Kings 19:11-13 “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by , and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE WIND: and after the wind an earthquake; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE EARTHQUAKE: And after the earthquake a fire; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE FIRE: and after the fire A STILL SMALL VOICE. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”

God’s Word and Voice began his ministry; and here God teaches His prophet a lesson about His Voice in comparison to Mighty Demonstrations of Power.

God calls Elijah to come out of hiding, after showing him He was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire….but it is His Voice that brings out His real servants to Himself. Here God gives his runaway servant some instructions, and Elijah just goes and does it. No need for anything else.

And what else does God show him? The prophet who said “I only am left”?
1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.”

There were seven thousand of God’s servants, through out Israel.

The important thing here, is: Having heard the Word of the Lord again, Elijah just goes and does it.
There is no fear, no hesitation, he just does what he is told.

This is true power…God’s Voice speaking to us. He can do what He says, and He can take care of us , too.

By the Foolishness of Preaching
1 Corinthians 1:21 ” For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

By the profound exposition of God’s Word?
By the deep and mighty expression of the original language?
By the charisma of man, speaking in man’s wisdom?

No. Not by any of these, has God been pleased to use. But by preaching.
And, yes, He calls it foolishness.
Why?
Because it is foolishness to the men of this world. No one can talk another person into believing. (As the Lord explained to me once, when I had spent a great deal of time “reasoning” with some people….”You may have won some arguments, but you did not win any souls.”)

1 Corinthians 1:18-23 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved; it is the power of God.
For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; ”
The wisdom of this world will not lead a soul to Christ. It looks to the reasonings and understanding that does not “know God”; therefore will never go beyond that, though it may understand things about Him.

Nor will it answer to the deep longing of the soul of man. It can’t, for the satisfaction of the soul can only be found in God.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
The word “world” here is in the Hebrew “concealed from the beginning to the end, or eternity”
The soul of man has Eternity set in it, and he has longings to know those expressions of eternity for himself.
In other words…man has and does want to know his part in the eternal plan of things.
To know God, and to meet him personally.
The fall of man, by sin, has marred that glorious view, and now, man can not find out the things of God without the power of the Holy Spirit’s work.

Man’s soul was made for God…to have fellowship with Him. It can know no rest, till it rests in God.
Man’s eternal spirit, that part of him most like God,(though darkened and empty from the fall); longs for the Spiritual Reality that is communion (talking and walking) with God…in the most personal and real sense.
It is something of Eternity within us that cries out for expression in our lives.
It is a longing within our hearts and souls that knows no other satisfaction from any other source, but God.
He has created this within us to draw us to Him or we would never come.

And this is done by the foolishness of preaching.
1 Peter 1:23-25 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away:
But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
We are born again by the Word of God; this is the seed that is sown in the heart and it liveth and abideth forever.
All things of this life are transitory and fading…there is nothing permanent in it. Nothing of the Eternal things we seek.
Yet all speaks of something more.
There is more than what we can see…there must be a quickening force behind it all.
It could not have come of itself. This we know, though we may not know how we know.
But God’s Word will stand when all else fails and is gone.
“And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”

How important to God is preaching the Word?
Very.
1Corinthians 1:21 “And after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
It pleased God….and if He is pleased, should we be looking for “better” ways of doing our duty?

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in His presence.”
We will not be able to stand before God and say:
Look here and see what I’ve done for You.
Look at this great place I’ve built.
Look at all these souls I’ve saved.
Look at what my power and wisdom has done.
No, no , no. We will not stand before God and say any of these things…”no flesh should glory in His presence.”

Jesus paid the price for everyone saved. For everyone sanctified. For everyone who goes to heaven.
There is no merit in any work for God we do. None.
The value of the work comes in the submissive obedience to Him;    and the results come from Him.

A man can never be too small for God to use.
But he can be too big, too wise, too mighty;   to fit into God’s pattern of usefulness.
Foolish things to confound the wise.
Weak things to confound the mighty.
And base things, and things that are despised…these God has chosen.
And things that are not, to bring to nought things that are.
God is not looking for men who know what they are doing already….He is calling men who will look to Him for everything.
The Word, and the enlightenment to preach it.
Guidance.
Strength.
And Blessing.
Do we want to “please” God? Then it will be by the foolishness of preaching.

There was added to the Church Daily such as should be Saved

Acts 2:47 “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”

But how did this come about?
Acts 2:37-42, 46-47
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For this promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying , Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto the them about three thousand souls.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

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,
Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

This is the New Testament Church. You can trace its history thru the Book of Acts, and every place where you read of their being of “One Accord”, you will find great and mighty things happening.

This “One Accord” is the Lord’s Accord in the Ministry of the Church. His being in charge of His Work. The Harmony of us working together with Him to bring His Will to pass.
Each individual, saved by grace, being Obedient, and working together to see His Will done in the Church, out of love to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And to do this we each must have The Holy Spirit’s Power at work in us.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh IN US.”

Unless that Power has been, and is , at work in us….we will never see it in the lives of others.
And how is it at “work” within us? By bringing us into subjection to God’s Word , by the Holy Spirit’s speaking to us.
By each of us hearing His Voice in our hearts, and minds.

Now we believe that certain things are a part of our ministry, and one of those things is His spoken Word to you.

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

HE Stands and Knocks; But it is HIS Voice that is heard.
And as we said , we believe that His Voice is to be heard.

We believe there is Power in that voice.
Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

He did not have to speak. To Will , would have been enough.
But He did speak, to show the Value He places on His Word.

What God says will be, will be! There is Authority in the Voice of a King.
Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done IN earth, as it is in heaven.”

Most say ON EARTH, and it surely will be one day….But Jesus said “IN EARTH”.
When you are a subject of His Kingdom, then you can speak for your King.
When His kingdom is within you, then His Power is also at work within; and then through you.

2Timothy 2:6 “The husbandman that laborth must be first partaker of the fruits.
This was the first verse the Lord gave me about my ministry of preaching.
What He said to me was that anything I was willing to get into my own experience, then He would require it at those who heard me preach about it.

Luke 4:32 “And they were astonished at his (the Lord Jesus) doctrine: for his word was with power.”

Matthew 7:28-29 “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
The scribes knew the Word of God…so they could tell the people what it said to do.
But they had no authority because they, themselves, did not do.

Matthew 23:13 “But woe unto you , scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in”

There used to be a saying “Practice what you preach”
They didn’t.

But back to the Kingdom of God, Coming to you.
Remember this is Jesus teaching His disciples. And a prayer we are to pray.
For to have His Kingdom Come to you is to have His Authority yielded to in your life..and then you can show forth His kingdom.
And how are we to submit to Him, practically?
James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
To receive something with meekness, you would not offer any resistance to it.
We should stop resisting the Word of God to us.
In preaching
In teaching or reading.
It is an engrafted word; not according to Nature , but contrary to it. But the Lord places it within us with power, when we don’t resist it.

Then you can enter into the harmony of being of One Accord with the Lord.
And can be a blessing to others, in your Church, and in your everyday life experiences.
God can use you to express His kingdom, for you are a subject of the King.

Without Reservation

And just what is a reservation?
It is the act of keeping back, or withholding. A limiting condition or making a exception.
This is what a reservation is.

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

We often speak of the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit, but we fail to mention the path to that power, lies beyond the Cross. Our cross.

We stress the fact that Jesus Cross has paid the full price for us ;
And let drop, that the only way for us to know the reality of HIs presence and power in our everyday lives, is to do what The Lord Jesus clearly stated:

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 shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it”

We must lose our self-life, if we will gain our Christ’s life. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives comes as we, by our wills, deny our self-life. Then the Holy Spirit is not limited in our lives, and we can find our Christ lives, in this circumstance.

Galatians 2:20 (above)
No one is crucified until he no longer resists the Lord’s Will in anything.

This is not instant Obedience. But final Obedience.
Once this is done, we can expect the blessings He has for us.

But you cannot hold on to your life in yourself, and have that which He has for you.

There are no detours in this Way. It is always straight and narrow, before you.

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.”

They were all with one accord. The Lord’s accord. They were all in subjection to the Lord’s Will.
They were all individuals, saved by grace, gathered to see the Lord’s Will done in the Church….with each in there place in that meeting–praying, singing, speaking,–each to see that Christ was honored there. The motive of all their actions was love of Christ.
Is He not able to abundantly bring His Will to pass?
Certainly! But He seeks our willing cooperation with Him, in our lives.
He seeks that fellowship with us as Friend to friend.
Well, then, what is it that hinders us from having all this?
We simply have not met the conditions.

Our message is : Without Reservations.
And this we have plenty of. We need to get honest with God about our reservations; And be done with them.
There should be no open door behind us….so that we can go back to our old life.

But be committed wholly and fully to Him–without reservations.

The danger of anything less than a full and complete surrender is set forth in the example of Saul the 1st King of Israel.

1 Samuel 15:1-3 “Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid in wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”

Here were clear instructions. All he had to do was what he was told.
But what happened?

1 Samuel 15:7-9 “And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the oxen, and of the fatlings,and the lambs, and all that was good, and WOULD NOT utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”

Was that what Saul was told to do?
The real danger of not being in subjection to the Word, is that you make it say things it just does not say.

1 Samuel 15:10-11 ” Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying , It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: FOR HE IS TURNED BACK FROM FOLLOWING ME, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night”

If not subjection to God’s Word then you are choosing to turn your back on following the Lord. And God rejected Saul for this. Here is the final end of all who continue in having reservations.

1 Samuel15:13 ” And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”

What is this: But Saul’s version of the Lord’s Will? And what of us? Are we obeying the Lord’s Will for our lives…or our version of it? With all our reservations concerning it?

1 Samuel 15:14-15 “And Samuel said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen , to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

They have brought. The people have spared.
None of that made any difference…for they were Saul’s army; he should have been in charge; seeing to the Lord’s Will.

1 Samuel 15:17-21 “And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight , wast thou made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obey the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which SHOULD HAVE been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.”

Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And probably thought he had.

After all, what is wrong with a little trophy? I am a king, and all the kings do it! And surely God would be grateful for all those sacrifices?

Whenever we start to decide what is God’s Word to us, and what is not , we have become : TOO BIG in our own eyes.
When we say, this does not apply, or that does not apply to me; that may be fine for her or him, but it does not fit me and my life…I don’t have to do it.

When ever that happens, you have reservations. You are too big in your own eyes.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 “And Samuel said, Hath 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 HEARKEN THAN THE FAT OF RAMS. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

There is nothing that will take the place of OBEDIENCE.
Not service!
Not sacrifice!
No matter what it costs you!
There was no honesty with Saul about his disobedience. No setting it right with God. He thought he had the right to CHANGE God’s Word to him, when it suited him.

Our message is : Without Reservation.

And this is what our life for the Lord should be…Without reservations.
We should be rid of our reservations about being obedient to God ,and His Word to us.

Nothing we can gain, by refusing to obey , will make up for what we will lose.

We are to lose our self-life, to gain our Christ’s life.
Or we will lose our Christ’s life, to gain what our reservations have placed above God:
Ambition.
Applause from others.
Success.
What are your reservations?
Isn’t it time you removed them?

Let Us Lay Aside Every Weight And the Sin that So Easily Besets Us.

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

Each of us, as Christians, have a race that is set before us, by Christ. We run, not to beat others, but to finish the race, to be crowned. (As Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”)
And to finish the race we need to follow the course or way that is set before us. Not to detour here; or sit down there. But to finish the race.
Many things interfere with this “running”.

First, let us consider these weights.
Just what are they?

These weights are anything and everything, that hinders our spiritual growth.
External things that we can lay aside, as well as internal things that draw you off from following Christ and His course for you.
They should be laid aside.

To run well, you should not be burdened with anything.
Good things , as well as Bad things!
Anything that slows your progress, hinders your strength, or takes your eyes off the prize.

Most believe you can be saved, and then anything but lost. When the real truth is far from that.

Weights are things in which we have a choice: whether we carry them or not.
They are just not necessary for our race.

Some of our friendships may be weights.
Another weight we should learn to lay aside is failures:
Past failures, Present failures, Future failures.
We must confess our failures, but then we need to lay them aside.
And this you must do with real effort; Or the Adversary of our souls, the Devil, will burden you down until you are useless, for the work that is now.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Old things are passed away–behold all things are become new.
We have no excuse for carrying these old things around with us.
And by the Power of the Holy Spirit, all things are becoming new.
And to Him they are! What about you? Do you want to drop these old things–Do you want them passed away?
Well, if you do, God’s Power , by the Holy Spirit within, enables you to drop the burden of these things…to know the cleansing Power of His blood; and to also have a cleansed conscience.
Paul said (Acts 24:16) “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men.”
This was the persecutor, who became the apostle.
This was the Pharisee, who became a servant of Christ.
Old things had passed away, New things were becoming new for Paul, everyday!
And his conscience had become new, too.

Another weight you should lay aside is old habits.
Things that are naturally your way of doing things:
“Now I can’t do that, because that is not the way I do things.”
“Now, wait a minute, Lord…if you want that done; it would be more reasonable to do this, this way. (My way)”

Another weight is time:
We think we have an endless supply of time to do what God has said.
We can change that habit–later.
We can witness to that friend–later.
We can pray for them–later.
But “later” usually never comes…and if it does, the Holy Spirit often has been quenched so the power for the work is gone.

And that is what we lack , the Power of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.
We often try and make up for it with uplifting services, or acts of charity. (There is nothing wrong with either).
But substituting emotional things , for the power of the Holy Spirit, robs us of Reality.
Instead, we are left going up and down , draining ourselves of real joy.
That weighs us down.

These weights are anything which slows our progress. Anything which unfits us for the discharge of our duty to God.
Anything which dulls the conscience , blunts the edge of our spiritual Appetite (our hungering and thirsting after righteousness), or chokes the Spirit of Prayer.
Things that tire us and depress us, so that our Christian Life is wearisome.

Hebrews 12:1 (above)
“So great a cloud of witnesses”!!
A witness gives facts—And these tell of GOD’s faithfulness; of what HE has done for them.
And what others have done by the faith given them by the Holy Spirit.
Old Testament saints did not have the light that we have. Yet they believed, and hoped and loved the Lord. Should not we, who have known Christ’s coming and His great sacrifice for us?

Hebrews 12:1 (above)
“And the sin which doth so easily beset us.”
Our Besetting Sin is a sin which we are most prone to; most sorely tempted with.
For some it is one thing , for another it is something else.
You might say, “Why does that tempt you? It doesn’t me!” And that is true.
But your besetting sin, might mean nothing to me.
“Beset” means to thwart, or block a racer in every direction.

But the real Besetting Sin is the sin of unbelief.
Because of this, we NEVER OBTAIN THE THINGS GOD GIVES US.
Hebrews 11:33 “Who thru faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
Promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ”
“Obtain” means you have it in ACTUAL EXPERIENCE.

Now obtained promises!!
You maybe think that if God gave you a promise, that would be the end of it.
He will see you get it…..Maybe twist your arm till you have it?
But a promise is ONLY a promise; UNTIL YOU HAVE OBTAINED THAT WHICH IS PROMISED!

And you obtain them thru means.
With God the means to the end cannot be overlooked.
For there are always means to the obtaining of these Promises.
It can be the means of believing,(Believe ye that I am able to do this? Mat. 9:28)
It can be the means of praying (Ask, Seek, and Knock. Luke 11:9-10)
It can be the means of Obedience (Go show yourselves unto the priests. Luke 17:12-14)
With God the means to the end cannot be overlooked.

If HE has given you a promise, than lay aside the Besetting Sin of Unbelief; and seek His face by prayer and the Scriptures….and do so until you have obtained it!
UNTIL YOU HAVE IT IN ACTUAL POSSESSION.
When you have it, you will know it.

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.”
Here is a clear promise from the Word–about our weights and sins.
But to obtain this Promise we will have to do two things:
Resist the Devil !
And look very diligently for that way of escape !
For God is faithful , Who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able.

Here our Wills must be exercised . We must will with God by the New Nature through the Power of the Holy Spirit; Or will, with what the Devil offers us, through the Old Nature.

In our spirits, lives the Holy Spirit for us. Not just as a seal that we are Christians, like a stamp to get us into Heaven.
But He is God the Spirit, indwelling us for good….our good. He guides; He shows , by the Scriptures what Christ has and is saying to us; He enlightens; He gives joy, peace, strength, wisdom;
But He MUST BE YIELDED TO; WE MUST EXERCISE OUR WILLS TO WILL AFTER HIM.

The Devil, our Adversary, usually works, from without.
What we see….What we hear…..What companions we have….Where we go.

1 Corinthians 10:14 “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”
Anything that draws you off from GOD, could be considered an idol.
Anything that takes 1st place in your heart, could be considered an idol.
To whoever, or whatever, you give final obedience; that is to be considered your God.

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
Paul said about his race:
(1 Corinthians 9:26) “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly;…”
Paul knew his course. He was to preach the Gospel of Christ, crucified and risen; in every place he was told to go.
And Paul knew his God, that HE was faithful in all things.
Remember, from the 1st deliverance in a basket over the wall, from those who sought to kill him in Damascus (Acts 9:22-25)….to the end, when no one would stand with him before Caesar (2 Timothy 4:16-17) “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me…”

We, too have a race to finish.
Are you weighed down with things of this life, or with your plans?
Have you laid aside the sin of unbelief?
This is not unbelief of Christ….but unbelief of what He will do for you.

The call is :”Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us”

Are you ready to go on with Him in your race?

Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Acts 9:1-9 “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of he Lord, went unto the high priest,
And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”

For how long had God been dealing with Saul, I don’t know.
Maybe from the time of John the Baptizer.
Surely, when hearing all the things that Jesus did: The Sermon on the Mount, the Parables, the miracles, and how many people were healed and cured from demon possession. Then there was His raising Lazarus.
All these things could not be done without God being with Him. He knew the scriptures and just how many Christ had fulfilled.
Whether he was in Jerusalem at the time of Christ’s crucifixion or not; he would have been well informed as a Pharisee, of what was going on.
As he later proclaimed: (Acts 26:26) “…for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.”

And when he was at the execution of Stephen, he knew how wrong it was; and that Stephen’s calling on the Lord Jesus was right. But when Stephen forgave him, it made him exceeding mad against any of this Way.
“Who did he think he was, forgiving me? I have followed the law all my life…I am blameless.(Phil. 3:5-6). I don’t need forgiving. I’ll show everyone just how wrong these people ,of this Way, are. I’ll get them to give up this Christ, they trust in.”

So, men and women he carried off to prison, “and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme: and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities” (Acts 26:10-11)

The more God dealt with Saul, the madder he got.
As God told him on the road to Damascus; “…it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
The “pricks” here is, in the Greek, the goad. A sharp point on a long stick that was use to keep the ox moving forward.
God had been moving Saul forward to this meeting, since the day he decided that he would fight against what he knew was right.
Stephen had been right…those men and women he had imprisoned and forced to choose between Christ and their life, had been right.
But he refused to see it. God was saying, “This is for you”
And Saul was saying, “I’ll have no part in it. In fact, I will destroy it!”
And he had set out vigorously to do just that. How many had testified by their lives
That Jesus was the Son of God? How much of the light of God, he had refused?

Now that Jerusalem had been shaken…some Christians killed, others had scattered abroad. (Acts 8:4) “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.”
Saul wanted to go after others of this Way, and to throw them in prison, too, at Jerusalem.
Until….God had goaded him far enough, and then…Christ Jesus struck him down, manifested Himself to him in great light, and spoke.
At this place; the place God chose; Saul was given an ultimatum.
“Saul, Saul, you have been persecuting Me when you have struck out at My disciples. I am speaking to you now, plainly. Stop fighting against Me, for you cannot destroy
Me; but I can destroy you.”
Completely helpless, no more proud boasts of who he is or what he will do; nothing else he could do! But to yield or perish in his rebellion.
“Who art thou, Lord?” Here is a very good beginning…Saul calls Him, Lord.
He does not know His Name, but he knows He is Lord.

And Jesus introduces Himself: “I am Jesus”. He does not say anymore. No other name is needed.
Paul later declares, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
The Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
This caused this rebel to “tremble”. The one who had been exceedingly mad…now became exceedingly afraid.
And in fear, he said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Simply:
“What can I do to make myself ,or this outcome different? I had no intention of fighting against God; so tell me what I can do to rectify this foolishness.”

And God never leaves one who truly wants to know His Will, in doubt.
“Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

Don’t worry, Saul; you have placed yourself in my hands now…I will guide, and direct,
In My way.
And so He did.
Paul could say, (2 Cor. 2:11) “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”
Paul knew that terror in full amount, for the light he sinned against was great.
(Therefore, I believe, God shown that light in full amount on Saul when God knocked him down. Acts 26:13 “…I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me…”)

Are we, too, being goaded into knowing “the terror of the Lord”, because He has been speaking unto us, and we are refusing to hear? He has been showing us light, and we have refused to look and see?
Well, if this happens, It should lead to; “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

For what Christ Jesus wants for us, what His purpose for us is?
Is for us, as Saul here,to yield to Him and place ourselves in His hands and get His guidance.

To Walk in the Way of the LORD

Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left”

Have you , Christian, ever heard His Voice?
Are you in the Way He has for you?

Have your ears ever heard that Word behind you saying this is the Way , walk ye in it?

This verse is about direction for your life.
He will not give us the 10th mile direction, when we are still in our 5th mile relationship.
We can not know to turn to the left or right, until we come to that place of turning.
And we must go on till we come to that place of turning.

Hosea 6:3 “THEN shall we know, If we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”
Rain is always a sign of mercy. And God had the latter and former rains–those necessary rains–for His people; if they followed Him.
This is a promise that rings down thru the ages.
This is not for those who lack diligence to seek; or will not do the will of GOD, once they know it.
It is not: Tell me , Lord, what you want me to do, and then I will decide IF I want to do it.
He is NOT LORD , then.

But there is sure and certain mercy , for those who WILL follow onto know the LORD.

Jesus said the same thing when He was here:
John 7:17 ” If any of you really determines to do God’s will, then you will certainly know whether My teaching is from God or is merely My own.” (Living New Testament)

We can know what The Lord Jesus wants us to do. We can hear His Voice, speaking to us by the Holy Spirit within.
But we must come to the Place of deciding that we WILL DO HIS WILL.

Israel was VERY PIOUS with their mouth. But far away, in there hearts.
God said :
Hosea 10:2 “Their heart is divided…”

He called them:
Hosea 6:4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.”

In the morning, there are often clouds, looking as though they might bring rain; But as soon as the sun is up and warm; they disappear.
The dew gives moisture , but disappears as soon as the heat of the day comes.

As soon as there was any difficulty; Israel withered in there righteousness.

What God required was :
Hosea 6:6 “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
He very plainly told them what they needed to do.

What of us? Have we been doing “all the right things”, but not the things God really wants us to do?
Have we been consistent in religious activities? But not in seeking the Lord about the resentments, and anger of our hearts?
And what is this…knowledge of God? Certainly, we should know ABOUT Him.
Certainly, we should know His Word.
But the knowledge of God , He wanted them to have was that personal relationship with Him, which brought their hearts and lives before God; Not just their sacrifices.
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.”
Are you walking in the “way” of the Lord?
Luke 18: 9 “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others”
They trusted in themselves. They thought they knew what God wanted….and did it:
But they despised others.

Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God , I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust , adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smite upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, (Remember this is Jesus speaking) THIS man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalted himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”

Interesting to note: The Pharisee stood and prayed thus WITH HIMSELF…..certainly God was not his object.

And he that humbleth himself ,SHALL BE exalted.
No man stands in the Presence of God in his own righteousness.

Justification is not by our righteous deeds. It is not ; “I do this for You , if You do this for me.”
Nor is it that you can pile up points against the day of need.
A lost man needs to be found, a sinner needs salvation.

And this salvation is also from the Power of sin, As well as the guilt of sin.
We are lost sinners, in need of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ .
Or we are saved sinners, in need of forgiveness, and cleansing from our sin, by our Lord Jesus Christ, daily.

Remember when we mentioned : “the heart is deceitful”. “And desperately wicked”?
Yet God said that “He searches the heart…to give to every man according to his ways”
Now, here is a “WAY” of God:

Luke 8:15 “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

THE HEART IS “GOOD”, HERE; ONLY BECAUSE IT IS HONEST.
Come before God in honesty, and God will give you “according to your ways” of honesty. He will with the truth….give grace.

John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”

If you will get honest with God, you are planting your feet squarely into His Way, and He will give you grace.
The UNMERITED FAVOR OF POWER. It is unmerited, we do not earn it….it is by Christ’s Sacrifice that we can receive it.
The “favor” is POWER….power to meet the need…now.

Luke 8:16-18 “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but sets it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have.”
Take heed: how ye hear!

Luke 8:4 ” And when MUCH PEOPLE were gathered together, and we’re come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:”
There were much people who came to hear…but did they hear?

Luke 8:8 “And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, HE THAT HATH EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR.”
These were the ones to whom HE always spoke….those that had ears to hear.
Again, is Jesus speaking to you? Do you have ears that hear His Word to you?

“For whosever hath, to him SHALL be given.”
The more we have by the Holy Spirit within, the more we are going to be given. For the ones that “have”, are they that have heard and gotten honest with God , and received grace to do what they need to.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Proverbs 25:12 “As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.”
Here are those “hearing ears”, again. Obedient ears.
And we must always consider, as children of God, His correcting us; for to reprove, is to “back strike with words”. To get us back in the Way.

Hebrews 12:11 ” Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, AFTERWARD it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
AFTERWARD is a great word here….if we receive the correction, then afterwards we also receive the peaceable fruit of righteousness….The joy of fellowship restored…the mercy of sin forgiven….the grace and power of the Holy Spirit strengthening us to new steps.
How Great is our God….How loving He is to not let us go on in the wrong way of anger, bitterness and sin!!!

Proverbs 29:1 ” He, that being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy”

To Answer the Call of Christ
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.”

We believe this is the Laodicean Age of the Church. It is the age in which Christ is standing outside the Church, knocking for entrance into His own house.
(Some believe that all the Churches described in Revelation 2 and 3, are in all the ages of the Church….if you do, then I would ask, prayerfully, that you would check to see if any of the things spoken of , to this Church, applies to you.)
And to answer the call of Christ in this Laodicean Age, requires not an answer of words, But an answer of a life, open to and receptive to Him.
It is by hearing His voice, we open our life’s door. How many who are Christians, are living a life closed to Him.
Come in and save…just keep Your hands off my time, my emotions, my thoughts, my money,…my, my ,my.
This is not a life open to Him.

And when you hear Him and open; it is also a life receptive to Him.
Receiving Who He is , as well as what He will do.
Receiving His corrections, as well as His blessings.
In other words…continuing to receive Him, and His Word.

He spoke about this when He was here on earth:
John 8:30-32 “As he (Jesus) spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

They believed on Him….except when they thought He was saying they did not know freedom…
John 8:33 “They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, ye shall be made free?”

So Jesus explains: freedom from sin.
John 8:34, 37
“Jesus answered them, Verily, Verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is a servant of sin.”
“I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, BECAUSE MY WORD HATH NO PLACE IN YOU.”
I capitalized, for emphasis, because it’s says they believed on Him.
There is a difference in believing in God, when we like what we hear.
And allowing God’s Word to have “place” or a place of honor, in us; when it is not what we like to hear.
This is the same as “a life, open to and receptive to Him.”

Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
This perfection is to attain to that which you were brought into being for.
It is to see completed the work started within you, when you were born again; And the only way we see it completed is by cooperating with God in our sanctification.
And it is “through the blood of the everlasting covenant”
For the Everlasting Covenant is the agreement that God, the Father and God, the Son and God, the Holy Spirit made before times eternal concerning the Salvation, and sanctification of His People.
God the Father agreed to draw a people to Christ (John 6:44-45, 65)
God the Son agreed to come in the fullness of time and become the Man, Christ Jesus and pay the penalty for sin for His people. (John 6:37, John 10:9, 11)
God the Holy Spirit agreed to dwell with us as our Comforter (John 14:16, Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Each has a part in our perfection/completion. ( You were always in His thoughts and Purposes.)
Our part in this “life open to and receptive to Him” is:
Let nothin come between you and your Lord.

Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
These agreements with our Lord, and they are individual agreements; they are not the same for me as they are for you. (He may deal with me about my temper, I have mentioned this in a earlier blog; and He may deal with you about your temper. But it is individual, and not a general bandage that can be put on every sore.)
We walk before Him as individuals–not that we should be individualistic, but that is His choice to walk and talk with us personally.
And we are to agree with Him. The word in the Hebrew “agreed” is to “fix upon”. It is a determination on my part to stay with Christ, to yield to Christ, to make my steps conformed to His…because I love Him. For “fix upon” speaks of the will, mind and heart.
Let us yield to God’s work within us and determine to follow Him whithersoever He goes.

Every now and then we will place a small note about people of faith in the Bible.

Abel:
Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice then Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

Very few verses describe Abel. But they all describe a man of faith; faith in action.

When God drove out Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden, because they had sinned; He placed at the east gate, a Cherubim with a flaming sword, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24) They could no longer enjoy the paradise of the garden, nor eat of the tree of life, but they could come to that gate and offer sacrifices. This was the only way God could be found of man, now.

To Abel, this was a sign that God still wanted to have fellowship with man; with him.
There was, at the outside of that gate, a place to seek God. Not to trespass, but to worship. And this is where Abel came.
Genesis 4:3-4 ” And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.”
Here we see Abel coming in “the process of time” or in the Hebrew ” at the end of days”…. Perhaps, it suggests the day of rest on the seventh day(Sabbath).
Worship is counting God worthy all that we have, and all that we are. And Abel wants to come to worship God.
Faith must be present in worship. You must believe that God is, and that HE is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Abel did. He believed God. That God was holy and he was a sinner; that in order for him to come to God, a sacrifice of an animal needed to be presented.

This he learned by his parents, telling their children about their sinning. Then before God drove them out of Eden, how God slew animals to take their “coats of skins” to clothe their nakedness. The sacrifice to cover their sin, would have to die, to be offered.

So Abel did what was required. He brought the best that he could: (Genesis 4:4) “of the firstlings of the flock and the fat thereof.”

And because Abel sought God in faith, and obedience; God “had respect unto Abel and to his offering.”
This stress two answers: “unto Abel” was an answer of peace between God and him.
“To his offering” , acceptance. I believe by fire, for Hebrews said “he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts.”
God manifested Abel’s righteousness by burning it up to Himself.
(Of course, it is the first type of Christ’s sacrifice: The Lamb of God.
John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”)

Abel is an amazing witness of faith. With so little light as to God’s plans for man; but the knowledge that He could be sought….Able did seek Him.

(Of course some will say Cain sought, too. And I would argue that God did not think so. He might have been seeking appreciation for his own ability, but he was not seeking God. God plainly told Cain “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” Do the offering required, is to come and seek Me. If you don’t do what is required, then the sin, the offering was to cover, is right at your doorstep ready to come in and rule over you.
I believe the sin of pride was what Cain should have come to God about. Why else bring a sacrifice of his own work and sweat? But instead of sin being covered by the sacrifice…it ruled over him , and caused him to kill his own brother.)

Abel is also a witness of the drawing power of God in faith. Sin is a terrible ruler of our lives. (And I am not just talking about the horrible sins everyone instantly recognizes). It refuses to relinquish it’s power. That power must be broken by the power of God. And that is only by the cleansing blood of Christ…or for Abel, faith in the blood of the sacrifice of the lamb.
What Abel’s sin was, doesn’t matter, for it was covered by his offering. Hebrews 11:4 “…he obtained witness that he was righteous”.

Faith seeks after God, to have fellowship with Him; because it gives the knowledge of the emptiness of our lives without Him.
Faith leads us to seek God in His way.
Faith in Christ’s offering gives us peace with God, covers our sin, and makes us righteous in Him.