“The Rock That Is Higher Than I”

“The Rock That Is Higher Than I”

 

Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer.  From the end of the earth, I call to You when my heart is faint; lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a Refuge for me, a Tower of Strength against the enemy.  Let me dwell in Your Tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of Your Wings.   Psalm 61:1–4

 

 

King David was OVERWHELMED, and somewhat FAINT of HEART, because of the threat of his enemies.  So, he did what he KNEW was the BEST thing that he COULD do, and that was to PRAY for DIVINE SECURITY.  Although he was WEAKENED in his spirit, and FAINT of HEART, his GOD is his ROCK.  And David realized his LIMITATIONS and God’s UNCONQUERABLE MIGHT.  This is SOMETHING WE ALL NEED to RECOGNIZE in OUR OWN lives.  

 

So, we have seen God as a ROCK, now, let us look at Him as our REFUGE; He ALONE is our TOWER of STRENGTH against our ENEMY.  The King wanted to REMAIN in the presence of the ALMIGHTY GOD, which is the BEST PLACE he could be.  David, KNEW that the BEST place to be was UNDER the COVERING of GOD.  And he petitioned God to let him DWELL in His Tent FOREVER.  That was an INFALLIBLE PLACE of SAFETY from his ENEMIES, and it was/is a WISE place to be able to carry on with his life and to SERVE THE ALMIGHTY GOD.

 

Is God YOUR ROCK, REFUGE, YOUR TOWER of STRENGTH?  He CAN and WILL BE, if YOU will ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, God’s Only Son, who SACRIFICED His OWN LIFE to SAVE your SINFUL 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.  And you MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and ALLOW Him to be YOUR ROCK that is HIGHER than YOU, YOUR REFUGE, and YOUR TOWER of STRENGTH.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

  

“Keep Watch and Be Ready,”

 “Keep Watch and Be Ready!”

 

So, you, must keep watch!  For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.  Understand this:  If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.  You must also be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.   Matthew 24:42-44

 

I truly BELIEVE that we are living in the LAST DAYS.   The Lord Jesus gave His Disciples instructions for living in the LAST DAYS.  Two things He mentioned that a TRUE BELIEVER should do while waiting for the RETURN of JESUS to RAPTURE His Church, which consists of ALL TRUE BELIEVERS, no matter where you are at.  Whether you are in the DEEPEST PART of AFRICA or the CROWDED STREETS of NEW YORK CITY. If you are a BORN AGAIN, TRUE BELIEVER, you are a PART of the BODY of CHRIST, the CHURCH.

 

There are TWO parts of the SECOND COMING of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  The FIRST PART is the RAPTURE or SNATCHING AWAY the TRUE BELIEVERS, the CHURCH.  This can happen at ANY TIME, maybe before I finish this lesson.  And our verses we are using today, are referring to the RAPTURE of the CHURCH.  The SECOND PART of the SECOND COMING is when JESUS RETURNS to the MOUNT of OLIVES, and to set up His KINGDOM and His THOUSAND YEAR REIGN.  So, we are going to look at the FIRST PART the RAPTURE.

 

Many of US, who are TRUE BELIEVERS, those who have come to JESUS for the INNER CLEANSING of our SOULS and the OUTWARD TRANSFORMATION of our BODY, MIND and SOUL, which adds up to the ACT of SALVATION.  We then become the CHILDREN of the LIVING GOD.  We have been ADOPTED into God’s Family.  And we have become JOINT HEIRS with His SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the one who SUFFERED, BLED, and DIED in OUR place, in order to SECURE for us— ETERNAL SALVATION.  

 

This process is a PART of BEING READY, and it is a MUST that you do it.  Those who have done it are very ANXIOUS and EXCITED about the RAPTURE.  We are KEEPING WATCH, like the homeowner who is KEEPING WATCH over his family and home.  KEEPING WATCH is being ALERT and READY because the TIMING of the RAPTURE is UNKNOWN.  And BEING READY is STAYING CLOSE to the LORD and STAY AWAY from things that are of a SINFUL NATURE, things that could cause a TRUE BELIEVER to LOSE their REWARDS.  Being READY and on ALERT is also living in a way that is PLEASING to the Lord at ALL TIMES.  This will prevent you from being ASHAMED when He COMES for the CHURCH.  

 

In order to be ABLE to go in the RAPTURE, you MUST BE A PART of the BODY OF CHRIST.  To do that YOU MUST be DRAWN by the HOLY SPIRIT, which means that He will CONVICT you about your SINFUL LIFESTYLE. And when He does this, YOU MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who DIED for YOU.  He PAID the PRICE YOU could NOT PAY.  YOU MUST BELIEVE 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 KEEP WATCH AND BE READY for YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN HE WILL COME.  So, do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

“God’s Plans”

 “God’s Plans”

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD.  “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”   Jeremiah 29:11

 

This verse of Scripture is one of my FAVORITE verses.  This was God’s message for the Jewish exiles, who had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.  The Prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the EXILES.  Jeremiah said: “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s ARMIES the GOD of ISRAEL says to all the captives He has EXILED to BABYLON from JERUSALEM.”  Build homes, and PLAN to STAY.  Plant GARDENS and eat the FOOD they produce.  Marry and have CHILDREN. Then find spouses for them so that you may have MANY grandchildren.  MULTIPLY!  Do NOT dwindle AWAY! And WORK for PEACE and PROSPERITY of the city where I sent you into exile.  PRAY to the LORD for it, for its WELFARE will DETERMINE YOUR WELFARE.”  Vv4-7. This was the PLANS that God had for His people. He told them, through JEREMIAH, that they would be there for SEVENTY YEARS.  And He told them that He would do GOOD things for them, and that He would bring them HOME AGAIN.  

 

This was ENCOURAGING to the EXILES, because God told them that they would be in EXILE for SEVENTY YEARS.  The SEVENTY YEAR EXILE was a part of God’s Plan for the exiles in order to give them a FUTURE and a HOPE.  They were His COVENANTAL people, and at the END of the SEVENTY YEAR EXILE and the END of God’s Judgment, God would provide for THEIR WELFARE, and NOT BRING them CALAMITY.  The JUDGMENT was to cause the EXILES to SEEK GOD with ALL their HEART.  And He PROMISED that when they CALL UPON HIM, HE WOULD LISTEN, and when they would SEEK HIM, they would FIND HIM.  

 

We, who are TRUE BELIEVERS and have TRUSTED IN JESUS for our SALVATION, when we are facing PROBLEMS, we NEED to REMEMBER that GOD has a PLAN, a GOOD PLAN for US too, that may even include the PROBLEMS we are facing.  And like those EXILES, we NEED to CALL UPON the LORD, PRAY to HIM, and BELIEVE that HE is LISTENING.  We should do these things instead of getting ANGRY with GOD and SHUTTING HIM out of our lives.  We SHOULD SEEK Him with ALL our HEART and SEEK HIS GUIDANCE and HELP in our times of TROUBLES and TRIALS.  We SHOULD READ the BIBLE DAILY and be FAITHFUL to our CHURCH.  And OFFER UP THANKSGIVING for what GOD WILL DO.  OR for what He is DOING THROUGH OUR TRIAL.  HE is FAITHFUL and TRUE!!

 

However, if YOU are NOT a TRUE BELIEVER, and a MEMBER of GOD’S FAMILY, He has a PLAN for YOU too.  That PLAN is JUDGEMENT, CONDEMNATION and SENTENCING, which means YOU will be SENTENCED to an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE once you are there.  This PLAN is for those who KEEP REJECTING God’s MERCY and GRACE.  And they don’t BELIEVE in the WORD of the LIVING GOD.   Nor are they WILLING to ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED, and was RESURRECTED from DEATH and the GRAVE.  He DID this to PROVIDE SALVATION to a LOST and DYING WORLD.  A WORLD without HOPE!  If you want to CHANGE your DESTINY: This is what you MUST DO.  You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.  You MUST BELIEVE 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.  And 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 His PLAN for YOUR GOOD and NOT for DISASTER, and to GIVE you a FUTURE and a HOPE.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

 

 

“The Cursed and the Blessed”

 “The Cursed and the Blessed”

 

This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD.”  

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.”   Jeremiah 17: 5,7

 

Some of the people of Judah had TURNED AWAY FROM God and had TURNED to FALSE IDOLS, and FOREIGN ALLIANCES for their protection.  Verse six, tells us what happens to those who follow these UNGODLY COMBINATIONS.  (6) “They are stunted shrubs in the desert, with NO HOPE for the future.  They will live in the barren wilderness in an uninhabited salty land.”  God was indicating that the person who DEPENDED ON and TRUSTED IN a MERE HUMAN, is CURSED because their HEART has TURNED AWAY from GOD.  And they are like a DESERT BUSH, they would not be PROSPEROUS, and they would be UNFRUITFUL, and would WITHER AWAY.

 

But the BLESSED are those who TRUST in the LORD. And they TRUST in the LORD who is their HOPE and CONFIDENCE.  Verse seven tells us that a RIGHTEOUS PERSON is BLESSED because they have PUT THEIR TRUST in the LORD and have made the LORD their HOPE and their CONFIDENCE.   (8) “They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach DEEP into the water.  Such trees are NOT bothered by the HEAT or WORRIED by long months of drought.  Their leaves STAY GREEN, and they NEVER STOP producing FRUIT.”  In other words, when DIFFICULTIES COME the RIGHTEOUS PERSON will NOT FEAR, but they will CONTINUE to PROSPER and BEAR FRUIT.  

 

Now, we have seen the differences between those who TURN AWAY FROM GOD and those who TURN TO GOD.  Those who DO NOT put their TRUST and CONFIDENCE in GOD, have NO HOPE.  And they are CURSED. And those who PUT their TRUST and CONFIDENCE in the LORD, DO HAVE HOPE!    Remember, the very FIRST part of verse five says: “This is what the LORD says:” These are the WORDS of the ALMIGHTY GOD.  And that means that this is HIS CALL.  

 

But the questions are:  Are YOU among the CURSED OR the BLESSED?   Do YOU put YOUR TRUST and CONFIDENCE in GOD or MANKIND?  If you are FULLY TRUSTING in MANKIND, then you are in the CURSED group.  BUT you have the OPPORTUNITY, NOW to TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, and BECOME one of the BLESSED, by FULLY TRUSTING in GOD and you do that by:  ADMITTING that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S ONLY SON, 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.  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.  Then 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 part of GOD’S FAMILY and a part of those who are BLESSED by the LIVING GOD.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

“Disobedience to God’s Word”

 “Disobedience to God’s Word”

  

 

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.  You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.  He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.  All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.  By our very nature we were subject to God’s Anger, just like everyone else.    Ephesians 2:1-3

 

 

EVERY person outside of JESUS CHRIST, is SPIRITUALLY DEAD, they are SEPARATED from the ALMIGHTY GOD, and ALL that is RIGHT and GOOD.  They LIVE in DARKNESS, with NO HOPE. 

They are CHAINED to their TRESPASSES and SINS.  

 

Let’s look at three things that KEEP an UNBELIEVER from becoming SPIRITUALLY ALIVE.  FIRST, is the WORLD, the ways of this WRETCHED OLD WORLD.  SECOND, is the DEVIL, the RULER of the POWER of the AIR.  THIRD is the FLESH, our FLESHLY DESIRES.  We who are NOW BELIEVERS, were ONCE just like those who are REJECTING GOD and His HOLY WORD.  We too were SPIRITUALLY DEAD, and we also lived, FOLLOWING the PASSIONATE DESIRES and INCLINATIONS of our SINFUL NATURE and we LIVED in DARKNESS and CHAINED to our TRESPASSES and SINS, and WE, by our VERY NATURE, were subject to GOD’S ANGER, just like EVERYONE ELSE.

But we TURNED AWAY FROM the DEVIL and his SCHEMES and have TURNED to GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  

 

And by GOD’S AMAZING GRACE, we now have been set FREE from SPIRITUAL DEATH and have received SPIRITUAL LIFE with the HOPE of an ETERNAL HOME in a place called HEAVEN. We are NO LONGER SUBJECT to GOD’S ANGER, but we will have FREEDOM FROM ALL the CHAINS that KEPT us in DARKNESS, and SUBJECT to the ANGER of the ALMIGHTY GOD.  In HEAVEN we will have SWEET FELLOWSHIP with GOD, the FATHER, and HIS SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who by the GRACE of GOD made US, the TRUE BELIEVER, CLEAN and PART of GOD’S FAMILY.  And we NOW HAVE a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with GOD.  And it is ALL because of the OBEDIENCE of JESUS to GOD and His WORD.  JESUS PAID the PRICE for our FREEDOM by SHEDDING His PRECIOUS BLOOD on the CROSS.  And He was VICTORIOUS over DEATH and the GRAVE.  He made us SPIRITUALLY ALIVE.  Are YOU SPIRITUALLY ALIVE?  YOU ARE if you have TRULY GIVEN your HEART and LIFE to God, THROUGH His SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  And IF you have NOT been DISOBEDIENT to GOD and His WORD. 

 

However, if you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to GOD, but you KEEP REJECTING God, then you have NO HOPE for an ETERNITY in HEAVEN.  But your ETERNITY will be an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there. You have the OPPORTUNITY to CHANGE from being SPIRITUALLY DEAD to being SPIRITUALLY ALIVE!  This is what YOU MUST DO:  You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, and You MUST BELIEVE 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 STOP being DISOBEDIENT to God and His Word. And become SPIRITUALLY ALIVE and NO LONGER SPIRITUALLY DEAD.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

“Prayer: Mankind’s Communication with God”

“Prayer: Mankind’s Communication with God”

 

If My People who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.   2 Chronicles 7:14 

 

This passage of Scripture is God’s CALL for His People to PRAY.  His PEOPLE is referring to His COVENANT PEOPLE.  We, the TRUE BELIEVERS of TODAY can approach God because of our NEW-COVENANT RELATIONSHIP, with His SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  One thing that will MOVE God is the ATTITUDE of the HEART of those who are SEEKING HIM.

 

This ATTITUDE is one of HUMILITY.  A HUMBLE BELIEVER gets through to God, because they GIVE UP their ATTITUDE of PRIDE.  The word HUMILITY gives us the thought of being DEPENDENT on GOD, and not ourselves.  It brings to our mind the thought that without God we can do NOTHING.  As a matter of fact, PRAYER is admitting that WE are WEAK and in NEED.  Many Christians don’t PRAY because of their PRIDE.  And of course, there is the PRAYER of PRAISE and ADORATION, which really puts the PRIDEFUL ATTITUDE to SHAME.

 

Another thing that is EFFECTIVE in PRAYER is the CALL of GOD to SEEK His Face.  This means to SEEK His FORGIVENESS and FAVOR. PRAYER that will MOVE GOD is the RECOGNITION of our SINS.  The UNCONFESSED SINS TURNS GOD’S FACE AWAY from US. And they TURN US AWAY from Him.  In order to have EFFECTIVE PRAYER, you MUST BE WILLING to AGREE with GOD’S TERMS for RECONCILIATION.  The GOOD NEWS is that God CALLS us to SEEK His FACE.  He is OPEN to us.  

 

The FINAL thing that will give us EFFECTIVE PRAYER is that we ARE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM OUR SINS, those things that are NOT PLEASING to GOD.  And that we are WILLING to TURN TO HIM and HIS WAYS.  If we want an EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE, we NEED to COME TO HIM, through His SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART and TURN AWAY FROM OUR SINFUL LIFESTYLE.

 

If YOU have NOT GIVEN your HEART and LIFE to Him, then you really do not have a LINE of COMMUNICATION with Him UNLESS YOU DO THIS:  ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  Then 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.  Then 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 HUMBLE yourself, PRAY and SEEK His FACE.  When you DO these things YOU will be ABLE to have an EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!! 

“ Grace Upon Grace”

 “Grace Upon Grace”

 

And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.   John 1:16-17

 

GRACE UPON GRACE, now, you may be wondering; “what does that mean?  REMEMBER GRACE means that we receive something that we DON’T DESERVE.  So, what John is saying is this:  The Old Testament Law that was given to Israel through Moses, was a GOOD GIFT to the Israelites.  Because they were able to know God’s Character and His will for their lives.  The PROBLEM the Israelites had with the Law, was that it couldn’t help the PEOPLE to KEEP it.  It POINTED OUT their SINS, but it could NOT CHANGE their HEARTS.  

 

Then GRACE and TRUTH, which came through JESUS CHRIST, the SON of the LIVING GOD, who DIED for our SINFUL SOULS, became the SUBSTITUTIONARY LAMB that was SACRIFICED for ALL of MANKIND.  He took ALL the SINS of ALL the people who have EVER EXISTED and COVERED them with His PRECIOUS BLOOD.  And for those who PERSONALLY ACCEPT this ACT of GRACE and TRUTH, they will RECEIVE something they DON’T DESERVE:  FORGIVENESS and ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  And that is what we call “AMAZING GRACE.”  

 

The GOOD NEWS of JESUS CHRIST and GOD’S AMAZING GRACE, does something that the LAW could NOT DO.  It TRANSFORMS the SINFUL, HUMAN HEART and BRINGS the UNMERITED and UNLIMITED favor of the ALMIGHTY GOD.  GRACE is the ENDLESS SUPPLY of GOD’S GOODNESS that brings an UNLIMITED FAVOR of God to His Children.  Doing for US what WE CAN’T do for OURSELVES.  He will PROVIDE for the TRUE BELIEVER, an UNENDING SUPPLY of GRACE upon GRACE THROUGH the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  Have YOU RECEIVED this GRACE UPON GRACE?

 

If not, you can COME to JESUS CHRIST for the FORGIVENESS of your SINS, if you will do these steps:  FIRST; ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS, God’s ONLY SON, who took YOUR place on the CROSS, and SHED HIS OWN BLOOD to COVER your SINS.  Then 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.  Then you MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and RECEIVE His GRACE UPON GRACE.   Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t be LEFT BEHIND!!!