“Slave or Not a Slave”

“Slave or Not a Slave?”

 

Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—-but if you get a chance to be free, take it. And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now FREE in the Lord. And if you were FREE when the Lord called you, you are now a SLAVE of Christ.  1st Corinthians 7:20-22

The Apostle Paul is speaking to the Corinthians, concerning their status of being a slave or not being a slave. He told them NOT to WORRY, but if they ever got the opportunity to be SET FREE, they should take it.  He reminds them that IF they were a SLAVE when the Lord called them, they were FREE now in the LORD. 

However, IF they were FREE when the LORD CALLED THEM, they were NOW a SLAVE of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  FREEDOM is a PRECIOUS thing and SHOULD BE enjoyed by EVERYONE.  Being a SLAVE, means to be OWNED by SOMEONE other than themselves, and to SERVE their OWNERS and OBEY them at any cost.

Now, the fact of the matter is that we ALL are SLAVES to SOMETHING or SOMEONE. Our scripture tells us that:  “IF you were a SLAVE when the Lord called you, you are NOW FREE in the LORD.”  For those who are NOT FREE in the LORD, because they are HELD CAPTIVE by their TASKMASTER, which would be the WORLD, and the SINFUL THINGS that the WORLD offers, it is NOT CHRISTLIKE in any way. And the REASON is that this OLD WORLD has become very WICKED and people like to be their OWN TASKMASTER, which will lead them to an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once they are there. 

For those who are FREE when the Lord CALLS them, they become SLAVES of Christ Jesus.  God paid a HIGH PRICE for YOU and ME to be able to spend our ETERNITY in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS.  And that PRICE was the DEATH of His ONLY SON, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED and was RESURRECTED from DEATH and the GRAVE.  It is the TRULY FREE BELIEVER’S responsibility to be OBEDIENT to God’s LAWS and to SERVE our MASTER, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, with LOVE, JOY, PEACE, and FREEDOM, which is NOT FREE.

So, if you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to GOD, through the LORD JESUS, but you are being ENSLAVED by this SINFUL WORLD, and your TASKMASTER is the devil, then you MUST ADMIT that you are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS, who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your SOUL from an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS.  You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART, that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and be set FREE with the SPIRIT of CHRIST being your NEW TASKMASTER.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can!!!  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“ToTRUST God is to KNOW God

 “To TRUST God is to KNOW God”

 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Prov. 3:5-6

 

TRUST: CONFIDENCE, ASSURANCE, CERTAINTY, DEPENDENCE, RELIANCE, these words describe what SHOULD BE in our MIND and HEART, when we CONSIDER the word: TRUST, especially in dealing with RELATIONSHIPS. It is to YOUR BENEFIT to KNOW the PERSON or even the THING you will put YOUR TRUST in. In other words, do you have CONFIDENCE in them? Why? Do you have the ASSURANCE that they will ALWAYS be around when the NEED ARISES? Will you have the CERTAINTY that they will DO what they SAY they will DO. Can YOU have DEPENDENCE on them in your RELATIONSHIP? What about RELIANCE, can you RELY on them, especially ON THEIR WORD?

Our verse instructs us to; “TRUST in the LORD with ALL your HEART.” WHY? Because He will SAY what He will DO and DO what He SAYS! And HOW do I KNOW this is TRUE? I KNOW because I KNOW HIM. And I KNOW about Him because I READ His WORD (Bible). I am His Child, and I have a CLOSE RELATIONSHIP with Him. And He WALKS with ME and TALKS to ME. I am NEVER ALONE because, He is ALWAYS WITH ME. And I CAN TRUST in Him for ALL my NEEDS, and in EVERY SITUATION.

God tells us NOT to DEPEND on OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, and we are to SEEK His Will in ALL we do, and He will SHOW us the PATH we SHOULD take. And through the WORK of His HOLY SPIRIT, we can have the CONFIDENCE, ASSURANCE, CERTAINTY, DEPENDENCE, and RELIANCE, in GOD ALONE. How can a person TRUST GOD?

First, you MUST HAVE A RELATIONSHIP with Him and to do that you MUST BE DRAWN to His SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED and RAISED from DEATH and the GRAVE to GIVE HUMANKIND an ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN and to be able to ESCAPE HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY TO ESCAPE, once you are there. You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for YOU before GOD. You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS. You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFE-STYLE and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and TRUST in the LORD with ALL your HEART; do NOT DEPEND on YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. SEEK His WILL in ALL you do. And He WILL DIRECT your PATH. DO this NOW, while you STILL CAN!!!  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  PLEASE, Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“So, how is Your Earthly Tent?”

“So, how is Your Earthly Tent?”

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in Heaven, an ETERNAL body made for us by God Himself and NOT by human hands.  2nd Corinthians 5:1

So, how is YOUR EARTHLY TENT?  I am OLD, and my EARTHLY TENT lets me know, every morning just how OLD I am.  And I am SO looking forward to my PERMANENT MOVE to Heaven, where I will have a BRAND-NEW BODY, one that is FASHIONED by the CREATOR, Himself, THE ALMIGHTY GOD. 

The Apostle Paul tells us that, we GROW WEARY in our PRESENT bodies, and long to put on our Heavenly bodies like NEW CLOTHING. And we WILL put on Heavenly bodies; we WILL NOT be spirits WITHOUT bodies. And LIVING in this EARTHLY TENT, we GROAN and SIGH, but it’s NOT that we want to die in order to get RID of these bodies that clothe us.

But we want to put on our NEW BODIES so that these WORN OUT, EARTHLY TENTS will be SWALLOWED UP by LIFE.  NOT just life but ETERNAL LIFE in Heaven, which GOD Himself has PREPARED US for and He has GIVEN His HOLY SPIRIT as a GUARANTEE.  Though we KNOW that as long as we LIVE in these BODIES, we are NOT at HOME with the Lord.  Remember we LIVE by BELIEVING and NOT by SEEING. 

We are FULLY CONFIDENT, and would rather be AWAY from these EARTHLY TENTS, when that happens, we will FINALLY be at HOME with the Lord. What a TIME that will be!! Whether we are HERE in THIS BODY or AWAY from this BODY, our GOAL is to PLEASE GOD!! We MUST ALL STAND BEFORE CHRIST to be JUDGED.  We will RECEIVE WHATEVER we DESERVE for the GOOD or EVIL we have DONE in our EARTHLY TENT. So, HOW IS YOUR EARTHLY TENT?  Are you READY for the JUDGMENT SEAT of CHRIST?

Here is WHAT you MUST DO to RECEIVE HEAVEN as your ETERNAL DWELLING PLACE, with a NEW BODY that is FULLY EQUIPPED for ALL ETERNITY.  When the HOLY SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD visits you, you must ACCEPT His invitation and ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, God’s ONLY Son, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED. And was RESURRECTED from DEATH and the GRAVE.  You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN making Intercession for YOU before GOD.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and RECEIVE a NEW BODY and GET RID of YOUR OLD, SINFUL EARTHLY TENT. And ACCEPT WHATEVER YOU DESERVE at the JUDGMENT SEAT of CHRIST JESUS.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can!! He’s WAITING and COMING SOON !!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIN

“Yielding to God”

 “Yielding to God”

 

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.  Romans 6:12

Yesterday, we talked about “The Great Rescue”, how the LORD JESUS gave His LIFE to SAVE us from standing before the ALMIGHTY GOD and being JUDGED for our SINS.  He YIELDED Himself to GOD’S Plans for RESCUING us from an ETERNITY in Hell with all its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there.  He took the PUNISHMENT that you and I should have to take for our OWN SINS.  But He YIELDED HIMSELF in OBEDIENCE to God’s plan to RESCUE US from such a HORRIBLE DESTINY. 

You understand that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is ALL MAN and ALL GOD. Really you don’t have to understand how that can be, just KNOW IT and BELIEVE IT (John 14:10).  So, Jesus, God’s ONLY SON, LOVES like His FATHER GOD, and that LOVE was aimed at humanity to RESTORE the RELATIONSHIP between GOD and HUMANITY. This LOVE that the FATHER and SON have for human beings not ONLY RESCUED us but RESTORED our RELATIONSHIP.

This is why our verse, today, tells us:  “Do NOT let SIN control the way you live; do NOT give in to SINFUL desires.” Instead, those who have been RESCUED should YIELD THEMSELVES to GOD and His PLANS for their lives. 

In verses 17-19, the Apostle Paul says: “THANK GOD! Once you were SLAVES of SIN, but now you wholeheartedly OBEY this teaching we have given you. Now, you are FREE from your SLAVERY to SIN, and you have become SLAVES to RIGHTEOUS LIVING. Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of SLAVERY to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be SLAVES to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever DEEPER into SIN. Now you MUST GIVE yourselves to be SLAVES to RIGHTEOUS LIVING so that YOU will become HOLY.”

If you are a TRUE BELIEVER and are STRUGGLING with some aspects of your OLD SINFUL NATURE, you NEED to PRAY for God’s AMAZING GRACE and ask Him to HELP you develop a STRONG STEADFAST FAITH. Work HARD to STAY AWAY from those things or people that are causing the PROBLEMS and YIELD yourself to GOD for a RESTORATION of your RELATIONSHIP with Him. If you are an UNBELIEVER, you are a SLAVE to WHATEVER your sinful nature desires. And if you continue to let your SINFUL NATURE control your actions, you are a SLAVE to the SIN and headed to an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE, ONCE you are ALREADY THERE. So, this is WHAT you MUST DO to CHANGE that DESTINY:  You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, who DIED for YOU, so, you could LIVE your ETERNITY in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS. You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before GOD. You MUST CONFESS your SINS to HIM and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BE WILLING TO TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and YIELD YOURSELF to GOD and STOP YIELDING to that WRETCHED SINFUL NATURE. Do this NOW, while you STILL can. He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

“You Will Harvest What You Plant”

 “You Will Harvest What You Plant”

 

You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant.  If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest Eternal Life.   Galatians 6:7-8

 

Most of us know that when a farmer sows carrots, he will NOT reap potatoes.  So, we are going to talk about what happens when you decide to plant the WRONG thing.  The Apostle Paul was talking to the Galatian Believers about SALVATION and PLEASING GOD.  He told them that FOLLOWING the LAW would NOT bring them the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God. 

So, Paul used the illustration of the FARMER planting his crop, and when harvest comes around, the FARMER KNOWS that he will REAP what he sowed, and NOT ANYTHING ELSE. God has established certain laws that governs the universe that HE has created. For example, the LAW of GRAVITY.  And this is TRUE of the SPIRITUAL WORLD also: “Whatever a person SOWS he will also REAP.” This law is UNIVERSAL —it applies to PEOPLE everywhere, and it proves TRUE without FAIL.  Don’t fool yourself: GOD IS NOT MOCKED! 

A person MUST NOT fool themself into thinking that they can EMBRACE SIN without an EFFECT.  God gives us the choice of SOWING to OURSELVES (pleasing ourselves and NOT PLEASING  GOD) or SOWING to the SPIRIT, (that is PLEASING GOD).  Satan would like nothing more than to convince us that we can REBEL against God without any CONSEQUENCES.

Our Scripture tells us that: If you follow your selfish desires, you will HARVEST DESTRUCTION, but IF you follow the Spirit, you will HARVEST ETERNAL LIFE. So, whatever YOU are SOWING you will also be HARVESTING the SAME THING.  Why not GIVE your HEART and LIFE to GOD through His ONLY SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your SOUL from an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there. 

This is what you MUST DO; you MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN making intercession for you before God.  You Must CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and SOW to the SPIRIT, FOLLOW HIM and HARVEST an ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  Do this NOW while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!! Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

 

“The Real Children of Abraham”

“The Real Children of Abraham”

 

What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in His Sight because of their FAITH. God proclaimed this Good News to Abraham long ago when He said, “ALL nations will be BLESSED through you.   Galatians 3:8

The Apostle Paul, was trying to tell the Galatians that SALVATION and the Gift of the HOLY SPIRIT, is NOT because they have OBEYED the LAW. For that to be the case, they would HAVE to KEEP ALL the LAW, ALL of it, ALL THE TIME.  EVERY DAY, EVERY MINUTE, EVERY SECOND, and it is IMPOSSIBLE for ANYBODY to do so, unless they are PERFECT in EVERY WAY.  Now, you may THINK YOU ARE PERFECT in EVERY WAY, try telling that to GOD, because you are DEFINITELY NOT!  No one IS.  Only one, The LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Paul went on to tell them that; Abraham BELIEVED God, and God counted him as RIGHTEOUS because of ABRAHAM’S FAITH, it was NOT because he KEPT ALL the COMMANDS that are written in GOD’S BOOK of the LAW.  It is because of ABRAHAM’S FAITH in the ALMIGHTY GOD; ALL nations will be BLESSED through ABRAHAM. This means that ALL who put their FAITH. In CHRIST JESUS SHARE the SAME BLESSING that ABRAHAM received because of his FAITH.

However, those who DEPEND on the Law to make them RIGHT with GOD are under His CURSE. (V10) The Scripture says: “CURSED is EVERYONE WHO DOES not observe AND obey ALL the commands that are written in GOD’S Book of the Law.” So, it is CLEAR that NO ONE can be made RIGHT with God by trying to KEEP the WHOLE LAW.  For the Scriptures say, “It is through FAITH that a RIGHTEOUS person has LIFE.” (v11)

But Christ Jesus has RESCUED US from the CURSE pronounced by the law.  When He was HUNG on the CROSS, He took upon Himself the CURSE for our WRONGDOING.  For it is written in the Scriptures, “CURSED is EVERYONE who is hung on a tree.” Through Christ Jesus, God has BLESSED the GENTILES with the SAME blessing He promised to Abraham; that WE who are BELIEVERS might receive the PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT through FAITH.

So, the question is: Have you been RESCUED FROM the CURSE? Or are you one who is still searching for the WAY to an ETERNAL LIFE with JESUS CHRIST, who PAID in FULL the PENALTY for YOUR SINS?  This is what YOU MUST DO to have the ASSURANCE of an ETERNITY with JESUS and GOD in Heaven and ALL its BLESSINGS that are waiting for YOU.

You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, who gave His Life, to SAVE your SOUL.  You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART, that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He IS ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK HIM for His FORGIVENESS. You MUST be WILLING TO TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT GOD’S GIFT of SALVATION and become a REAL CHILD of Abraham and the ALMIGHTY GOD.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can HE’S WAITING and COMING SOON!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“ Living A Godly Life In An Ungodly Word”

 “Living A Godly Life in an Ungodly World”

 

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s Right Hand.   Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His Glory.”  Colossians 3:1-4

 

The Apostle Paul was instructing the Believers in Colossae about LIVING their NEW LIFE in CHRIST JESUS, in an UNGODLY WORLD.  Paul encourages THEM and US to “set our SIGHTS on the REALITIES of Heaven, where. Christ sits in the PLACE of HONOR at GOD’S RIGHT HAND.  And THINK about the THINGS of HEAVEN, NOT the THINGS of EARTH.

Your ACTIONS begin with your THOUGHT PROCESS, they begin in your MIND. And if you are under the assumption that YOU can BREAK these BAD, SINFUL ACTIONS, YOU are fooling YOURSELF.  If there is NO CHANGE in your MIND, then there will be NO CHANGE in YOUR ACTIONS (life). This is why Paul tells us that we NEED to have a RENEWING of OUR MINDS. (Romans 12:2)

When you FIRST came to JESUS for His FORGIVENESS, IF you were SINCERE about LIVING for GOD in this UNGODLY WORLD, then you DIED to this WORLDLY LIFE and your REAL LIFE is in CHRIST JESUS.  There SHOULD BE a BIG CHANGE in your MIND and HEART which determines your ACTIONS. 

In order to have a VICTORIOUS LIFE, you MUST be WILLING TO CHANGE your FOCUS.  And look at things from a HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE.  In other words: Have a HEAVENLY MINDSET for EARTHLY LIVING.  When we put our FOCUS on HEAVENLY THINGS, we have a HEAVENLY MINDSET, and we SHOULD LIVE by that MINDSET in EVERY SITUATION. 

So, if you are a TRUE CHILD of the LIVING GOD, then you need to PRAY and ASK God to give you UNDERSTANDING of HIS WORD, and STUDY the WORD of GOD, KNOW what it MEANS to have a KINGDOM MENTALITY. 

If you are NOT a CHILD of the LIVING GOD, but feel like God is dealing with you, then you NEED to COME to JESUS with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  And ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, God’s ONLY SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  You MUST BELIEVE that JESUS DIED for YOUR SINS, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven making intercession for YOU, before God.  You MUST CONFESS ALL your SINS to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and PUT AWAY your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and ACCEPT A VICTORIOUS LIFE with a KINGDOM MINDSET!!  Do this NOW, while you STILL can, He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!