As I continue my teaching series
this week before Resurrection Sunday, I would like to teach on Jesus’ baptism
and how it impacts us. Before looking
into the baptism of Jesus, I would like to discuss one important person and
that is John the Baptist. There was a false teaching back in those days where
people believed that John the Baptist would be greater than or equal to Jesus
Christ. This false teaching or heresy was addressed in The Gospel of John. John
1:6-8 (NKJV) tells us, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was
John. This man came for a witness, to
bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear
witness of that Light.”. Jesus is the true Light, and John the Baptist is a
forerunner for Jesus. John the Baptist baptized people with water for the
remission of sins, however, we know that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:13-14 (NKJV) says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the
Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need
to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?””. John the Baptist wanted
Jesus to baptize him because he knew who Jesus was. However, we will find out
that Jesus wanted to be baptized by John the Baptist. We will also find out why
Jesus got baptized by him.
So why did Jesus wanted to be
baptized by John the Baptist? Jesus was clearly without sin so why was it
necessary? Matthew 3:15 tells us, “But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit
it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed Him.”. Jesus got baptized so He could be identified with
sinners. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”. Reading further into the passage in Matthew,
verse 16 goes on to say, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately
from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”. John the Baptist
witnessed the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus, it appeared to be like a dove. John
1:32 (NKJV) says, “And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending
from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.” The Holy Spirit remained on
Jesus during His earthly ministry, and we know that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit
to the disciples after His ascension as you would read in the Book of Acts.
John the Baptist also got confirmation from heaven that Jesus is the Son of God,
Matthews 3:17 (NKJV) tells us, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.””.
So now that we know about what took
place during the baptism of Jesus, let’s look at two key Old Testament
scriptures. There are many Messianic scriptures found in the Old Testament that
often get overlooked. First Isaiah 42:1 (NKJV) says, “Behold! My Servant whom I
uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”. Jesus is God’s Elect One, who He
sent His Spirit upon. Matthew 3:17 is also confirmed in the Old Testament, look
at Psalm 2:7 (NKJV) which says, ““I will declare the decree: The Lord has said
to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”.
Now that we have a background on
the story of Jesus’ baptism and why He got baptized let’s look at the
difference between water baptism and salvation. First, salvation needs to come
before water baptism. Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) instructs us, “that if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth,
confession is made unto salvation.”.
Salvation is what is required of us to make it to Heaven when we
die. If water baptism was the way to
heaven then we would be saying we are saved by works, which we know is false
teaching. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) tells us, “For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”.
This would also cancel out the largely popular tradition of newly born babies
being baptized in water. Pouring water over a newborn baby in a church is no
greater than giving your baby a bath at home, except you don’t invite the whole
family to watch your baby get a bath at home. Also, we cannot be forgiven by
anyone except Jesus, and we can go directly to Jesus in prayer. We don’t need
any priest, bishop, or pope to go to Jesus, simply come as you are to Him. 2
Timothy 2:5 (NKJV) says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and
men, the Man Christ Jesus,”. Once we are truly saved at salvation, water
baptism is an outward expression of the old man dying and the new man coming
forth. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he
is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become
new.”. I encourage you this week to reflect on the following questions:
Think
about how this scripture impacts your specifically: 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)
says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him.”.
Read
2 Corinthians 5:17. Describe the transformation that took place in your life
after your salvation?
I welcome you to feel free to share
your comments to this post.
As we are in the month of April it
comes time to remember Jesus going to the cross and dying for our sins and
conquering the grave. I will be giving a few teachings over the next few days
about Jesus’ earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. During His earthly ministry, He did many
great things. One of the things Jesus did was preach because this was one of
His purposes in His earthly ministry. Jesus said in Mark 1:38 (NKJV) “Let us go
into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I
have come forth.”. Jesus also performed many signs; He had several healings
that we will find an account for in the Gospels. Many of His signs were related
to healings, for example, when He healed the blind beggar, John 9:7 (NKJV)
says, “And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is
translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.”. Another great
sign Jesus performed was raising Lazarus from the dead. As I was studying the story of Lazarus God
put the word bondage on my heart, which is what I will be discussing in this
teaching. In this teaching, we will not only look at the story of Lazarus but
also why we need to be loosed from our bondage. Also, I am going to discuss
eight common bondages many people, including Christians, deal with. And most
importantly I will address how to be loosed from these bondages.
When Jesus went to the tomb that
Lazarus was buried in there was a stone in the way. With this stone in the way
there would be no way that Jesus could speak life to Lazarus, this is why He
said: “Take away the stone” in John 11:39. Jesus could have called angels down
to remove the stone, but He had the Jews remove the stone. Sometimes God will
want us to remove the stone in our life before the breakthrough comes our way.
If you look at the many miracles Jesus did in His earthly ministry you will see
He wanted to get people involved in some way in their miracle. Maybe you might
have to ask yourself what is He wanting me to do in my situation? If we read
further into the scripture, we will find that when Lazarus was raised from the
dead, He was still bound to the graveclothes. John 11:44 (NKJV) says, “And he
who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was
wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.””. There
are many born again Christians who are still bound to something and need to
come loose of it, or maybe you became bound to something after you got born
again. Regardless of the situation there is one person who can make you be
loosed of your bondage, and His name is Jesus and He is alive and working
today!
As I was studying bondage, I then
obviously came across the word ‘loose’, so I got my Strong’s Concordance and
dug deeper into the word ‘loose’. Jesus told us in Matthew 16:19 (NKJV), “And I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven.”. So, do you have something that needs to be loosed here on earth,
before you make your way to heaven? God wants us to be loosened of our bondage
because He desires us fully. Matthews 21:2-3 says, “saying to them, “Go into
the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a
colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.
And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of
them,’ and immediately he will send them.”.
When we are fully loosened of our bondage God will do even greater works
in our lives, therefore we need to really step back from our circumstances and
look at the Spiritual roots of our circumstances and deal with the Spirit in
the mighty name of Jesus!
I am going to go over eight common
bondages that we could all be facing or could face. I must remind you that we
live in a dark world and there are many demonic doors the enemy can use to
enter our lives. Many of these problems will have a demonic spirit behind them.
Therefore, we must deal with the spirit, and once we deal with the spirit the
restoration can begin if we fully trust in God and His Word. I am going to warn
you I am going to be to the point on these items, it is not to be offensive but
to stress the importance of taking each of these to God. If we continue
tolerating these things in our lives and churches, they will dominate us if
they already haven’t. I would also like
to make the disclaimer that some of the problems we face can be self-inflicted
also and may not have a spiritual root behind it. Therefore, it is important to
seek God to properly deal with our problems in life and be open to hear His
voice. So here is my list of eight
common bondages that have Spiritual roots behind them:
1. Addiction
You might be addicted to drugs,
alcohol, gaming, pornography, sexual immorality, or unhealthy food. Regardless
of the addiction, it can be broken by putting your faith in Jesus and getting
the Word in you daily. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) says, “No temptation has
overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will
also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
2. Depression
Let’s face it the Spirit of
Depression is so common anymore, so many people turn to psychology and
medications rather than focusing on God’s word. Don’t get me wrong it is
important to follow your doctor’s recommendation, but God is above all things.
If you fully put your trust in God on your depression you can be delivered, and
even get off your anti-depressant (please consult with your doctor first before
getting off any medications). Psalms 34:17-18 (NKJV) says, “The righteous cry
out, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord
is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite
spirit.” If you are dealing with depression, I would encourage you to not only
read but study the whole Book of Psalms.
3. Anxiety
With as hectic as life can get, we
can worry from time to time, but then some people have issues with chronic
anxiety, they might even have panic attacks. When I was younger, I had issues
with anxiety. I was on medication for it until one night at church I got
delivered of it and never had the problem again and never needed any medication
for anxiety. 1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV) says, “casting all your care upon Him, for He
cares for you.”. Another word for care is anxiety, so cast your anxiety to the
Lord.
4. Rejection
Some people might be dealing with
rejection. Whether it stems from an abusive relationship, abusive parent,
rejection from another person, or even self-rejection. Rejection may also lead
to poor emotional health and may even lead to poor physical health. Your
medical condition may not be caused by the Spirit of Infirmity but might be a
result of rejection. Remember 1 Peter 2:4 (NKJV) says, “Coming to Him as to a
living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,”.
5. Infirmity
If you have sickness in your body,
turn to Jesus. Healing might not be instant; it might be a process. More
importantly, we should not let our sickness hinder our walk with God. The enemy
can use infirmities to hinder or even destroy our faith. Luke 13:12-13 (NKJV)
says, “But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman,
you are loosed from your infirmity.” And
He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified
God.”. When you feel fatigued, get The Word into you. We need to get to a place
when we are at our weakest, we turn to God and His Word first rather than the
pill bottle. While God can use medicine and doctors to heal us, it important to
always put God first in every situation even sickness.
6. Trauma
Whether this is an emotional or
physical trauma it must go in Jesus name. The bondage of trauma can come
together with any of the previous five bondages I just listed. Maybe a trauma
resulted in your self-rejection, or maybe a trauma resulted in anxiety or
depression. Maybe a trauma resulted in arthritis, and you might have become addicted
to pain medicine or alcohol. Or maybe you are suffering from arthritis because
of a past injury. Regardless Jesus can heal us of both our physical and
emotional traumas. Have you truly given your pain that you have buried away to
Jesus? Or do you cope with it from something of this world? Remember Mark 10:27 (CSB) says, “Looking at
them, Jesus said, “With man, it is impossible, but not with God, because all
things are possible with God.””.
7. Generational Curse
You might have one of the six problems
I just listed, and it might stem from a generational curse. You might have had
a grandparent or great grandparent who suffered from addiction, depression, or
anxiety. Or maybe someone in your bloodline had cancer or another disease that
you are dealing with right now. Generational curses can run up to the third or
fourth generation. Exodus 20:5 (NKJV) says, “you shall not bow down to them nor
serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those
who hate Me,”. When one becomes born again, they should not only ask for
forgiveness of their own sins but also the sins of their ancestors that run in
their bloodlines. John 8:36 (NKJV) says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free,
you shall be free indeed.”.
8. Religious Spirits
Oh man, I can really go into this
one! Christianity is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ our Lord and Savior. Many people get stuck on tradition and man-made
doctrine and fail to truly accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you
look back to Jesus’ earthly ministry you will see that the Jews did not accept
Him because they were stuck in tradition and because they were looking at human
standards. A question I would like to
challenge you on is why do the Catholics have mass at every service? Mass is
the continued sacrifice of the cross, why are Catholics continuing to redo this
sacrifice today? There is no need to because Jesus said, “It is finished”. I am
calling on the Catholic Church in general because the Catholic Church is the
largest seed planter of Religious Spirits that are straight from the pit of
hell. Let me be clear I love all people of all denominations, but people need
to wake up and read their Bible and realize the truth and be set free. Romans
10:3 (NKJV) says, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness
of God.”.
I am hoping by me listing some
common bondages you might be able to realize that you have some in your life,
or maybe a loved one has them in their life. Regardless, these bondages can be
broken in the name of Jesus. Galatians
5:1 (NKJV) tells us, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has
made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”. God loves
you so much that is why He sent His only Son to save us, to heal us, to deliver
us, and to set us free. He sent His Son to die on the cross for us, and His Son
conquered the grave. John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.”. I encourage you to take some time in prayer
and seek God to be delivered of any of these eight bondages I just discussed
with you. Also ask God to reveal areas of your life that you need to correct so
there can be fewer doors for the enemy to enter in through. Finally, be sure to
be in The Word everyday of your life as much as you possibly can along with
prayer and worship.
In my previous teaching in the Book of Acts we just learned
about the powerful Filling of the Holy Spirit the disciples received. The Jews
have just witnessed the powerful gift of Tongues. Now we are going to begin to
look as to how the Jews reacted to this powerful movement of the Holy Spirit. My
teaching is going to be based from Acts 2:12-36, I would encourage you to take
some time after reading this teaching, and really dive into these scriptures
yourself.
Acts 2:12-13 (KJV) says us “And they were all amazed, and
were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said,
these men are full of new wine.”. The Jews were confused, and they also thought
that the disciples were drunk. They did not know how to take any of this, we
know from Jesus’ time on earth that the Jews had a hard time understanding
Jesus because He spoke in the Spirit, and they were stuck in the natural realm.
The disciple Peter then takes time to explain Pentecost to the Jews. As Peter
was speaking to the them, he quoted two prophets form the Old Testament, Joel
and David. In Acts 2:16-21 (KJV) Peter said, “But this is that which was spoken
by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those
days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven
above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the
great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”. This prophecy
from Joel, can be found in Joel 2:28-32 in the Old Testament. If we look at
Acts 2:19-20 we can see that the power of the Holy Spirit is still available to
us today, until the return of Jesus Christ. We also know from what Joel tells
us is that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.
Romans 10:13 (KJV) tells us, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.”. Joel wrote about salvation in Joel 2:32. Too often churches
only focus on the New Testament, and we often forget the importance of the Old
Testament. I would highly encourage a new born again Christian to read the four
Gospels, and then start reading in order from the Old Testament and work your
way up through the whole New Testament.
After Peter referred to the words of Joel, he then quoted
the prophet David from what he wrote in Psalms 16:8-11. In Acts 2:25-28 (KJV),
Peter spoke saying, “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord
always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh
shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt
thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.”. Peter
reminded the Jews of something the prophet David once wrote, and there is much
in this scripture that is important to us today. There are four key things that
David said in this passage, that every true believer needs to be reminded.
First, we must know that we are to rejoice truly from our hearts. When you
become born again as a true believer, you know that your joy comes from the
Lord. Philippians 4:4 (KJV), “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say,
Rejoice.”. Secondly, we know that Jesus is our true hope, 1 Peter 3:15 (WEB)
says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an
answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you,
with humility and fear:”. Thirdly we know that the Word of God teaches us how
to live our lives, Psalms 119:105 (WEB) reminds us, “Your word is a lamp to my
feet, and a light for my path.”. When you are not sure on what to do in your
life, turn to God in prayer and read His Word. Lastly, we know David told us
that we will have full joy when we are in the presence of God. Therefore, we
need to spend as much time as we possibly can in Gods presence. James 4:8 (ESV)
reminds us, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”.
Peter then tells the Jews something very important, and that
is in Acts 2:36 (KJV) which says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ.”. Peter told the Jews that Jesus is both Lord and Christ, this is
something everyone needs to know truly in their hearts. Luke 2:11 (KJV) tells
us, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord.”. Also, Romans 10:9 (KJV) instructs us, “That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”. I would really like
to dive into the word ‘saved’. If we investigate the Greek, we find the word
saved comes from the Greek word sozo. Some definitions for the word sozo from
the Thayer and Smith Greek Lexicon are:
To save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from
danger or destruction.
To save a suffering one, one suffering from
disease, to make well, to heal, restore to health.
To save from the evils which obstruct the
reception of the Messianic deliverance.
Once we are true born-again believers and know the Word of
God, we really need to drill down on what we have in Jesus Christ, through the
promises in God’s Word. Most importantly we need to know how much God loves us.
Some people suffer from a lot of buried emotional and physical wounds, I feel
so strongly in my Spirit that many believers need to really know and accept how
much God loves us. Some people have rejection in their life, and maybe
self-rejection. John 3:16 (KJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.”. Also Psalms 139:13-14 (ESV) reminds us, “For you
formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise
you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul
knows it very well.”. God loves you so much, that He took the time not only to
form your physically but to make the plans for your life here on earth. God has
a plan for each of our lives, you might have been born with a medical condition
or a physical abnormality. Just remember that God never says oops.
My next teaching in this series will be on what Peter
instructs the Jews to do. Before my next teaching I encourage you to take some
quite time with God, and really soak into His presence, and begin to realize
how much He loves you. Also take some time and ask God what barriers in your
life are blocking you from receiving what He has in store for you.
I recently discussed the promise of
the Holy Spirit, and then some lessons we can learn from the disciples in the
Upper Room as a part of my series in the Book of Acts. As I continue this
series, I would like to begin teaching on Chapter Two, which shows us what
happened on the Day of Pentecost. Some people often confuse the Day of
Pentecost to only be historically significant to the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, however, there is more to the Day of Pentecost. The disciples filling
of the Holy Spirit just happened to occur on the Feast of Pentecost or also
known as the Feast of Weeks. This was one of the three required feasts of the
Jews. This celebrated the beginning of the early weeks of harvest. A historic
event tied to the Feast of Pentecost was when Moses received the 10
Commandments from God. The Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Pentecost occurs this
year on June 9, 2019, it usually occurs on our calendar at the end of May or
beginning of June. If you would like to look further into the Feast of
Pentecost in the Old Testament, I would like to encourage you to read into the
following scriptures:
•
Exodus 34:22
•
Leviticus 23:15-22
•
Deuteronomy 16:16
•
2 Chronicles 8:13
Now that we have some Old Testament
background on the Feast of Pentecost, we can now dive into what happened on the
Day of Pentecost with the disciples. In Acts 2:1 (KJV) it says, “And when the
day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”.
The disciples were all gathered together in one place, based on what took place
in the previous chapter, I believe the disciples were praying together. Acts
1:14 (KJV) tells us, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and
supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his
brethren.”. If you remember from my previous teaching, I discussed the
importance of us praying together as followers of Christ. Continuing to Acts
2:2-4 (KJV) it tells us, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And
there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each
of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”. There is so much here just
in these three verses to digest. As the disciples were gathered together
praying, they heard the sound of a strong wind from heaven that filled the
whole room. Right, when this happened, they had tongues of fire, and they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit. I would like to dig deeper into what happened
in this scripture. First, the disciples were praying together, then all the
sudden a sound of a powerful wind filled the room, and then they became filled
with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit goes where He is invited, the disciples
wanted the Holy Spirit and they wanted the moving of the Holy Spirit. We as the
church need to truly invite the Holy Spirit into our church services, there are
so many churches dry right now of the Holy Spirit. The enemy is succeeding at
oppressing people with sickness, depression, anxiety, addiction, pride, and
much more. We need the Holy Spirit flowing in our churches not only for people
to be delivered but for people to receive the Holy Spirit in their lives too.
Jesus said in John 14:16 (KJV) “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”. The Comforter
Jesus is talking about is the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised His disciples that
they would receive the Holy Spirit, I believe they were praying for this as
they were gathered together. Jesus told them in Acts 1:8 (WEB) “But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to
me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the
earth.”. Not only was the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus it was also prophesied
in the Book of Joel. Joel 2:28 (KJV) tells us, “And it shall come to pass
afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men
shall see visions”. In my next teaching, I will go more in-depth on the
prophecies of the Holy Spirit.
Lastly, I would like to touch upon
the Gift of Tongues, which are still available to us today! Acts 2:6 (KJV)
says, “Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were
confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.”. When
the Jews saw this they were first confused because they heard each of the
disciples speak in a language of the Jews who were all from different nations
as mentioned in Acts 2:5. Reading further, Acts 2:7-8 (KJV) says, “And they
were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these
which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we
were born?”. The Jews were amazed to see the disciples speaking different
languages that they clearly did not learn. The Jews were able to understand
what the disciples were speaking, because each of the disciple’s gift of
tongues from the Holy Spirit, was a language of the Jews. You might ask how did
the disciples speak a language they did not learn? The answer is the Holy
Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4 (KJV) again says, “And they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.”. A reason
why people have difficulty beginning with their Gift of Tongues is that they
let their mind get in the way. We must realize that the Gift of Tongues is from
God, and the Holy Spirit will give us what to say. The Type of Tongues the
disciples had was the Tongues for Public Administration, which I will go into
more detail on in one of my next teachings, along with the two other Types of
Tongues that you can receive from the Holy Spirit.
I would like to encourage you to
subscribe to my blog so you can be notified on when new teaching is posted. My
next teaching will be on how the Jews responded to the Gift of Tongues. After
that, I will break off shortly from the Book of Acts and we will take a look at
the three Types of Tongues one can receive from the Holy Spirit, along with the
other Spiritual Gifts as listed in the First Book of Corinthians.
If you have been following my teachings lately you will see recently I had a teaching titled ‘Conformed to this World’. I would like to expand upon this based off some items that were revealed to me by God. The main scripture in my previous teaching was Romans 12:2 (NKJV), which says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”. We are in a period, where there is too much of the world not only in the church but also in many Christians lives. It is also sad to note, that we are so distracted to even realize these things, these distractions lead us to not fully accepting Christ in our life, and in our trials. So, my question to you is, are there too many distractions in the church and in your walk with God? Before I begin, I would like to point out that this teaching should be looked at as how we can improve as the Body of Christ and as individuals in our walk of faith. I myself am never 100 percent perfect, but there come times when we all need correction for our own growth.
With as busy as we are in life, it should be no surprise that we will face distractions. Yet some of these distractions can hinder our walk of faith. So many people are busy with the many aspects of their everyday lives and they become blind to these distractions. 1 Corinthians 7:35 (NKJV) tells us, “And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.”. There are six common distractions I feel that many of us can fall short of in our own lives. The first distraction is not having any true joy in Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) tells us, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”. If our joy and happiness does not originate from having Jesus in our life, then we really need to work somethings out. The second distraction is being married to or even dating an unbeliever. When you enter a relationship whether that be in dating or in marriage, and you know the other person is an unbeliever or their beliefs conflict yours and you continue in that relationship without addressing it, you are welcoming in a distraction. I myself was with someone who was an unbeliever, I thought I could change her. The relationship lasted four years too long before the Lord intervened and ended it. I am glad He intervened in the way He did, because this relationship was blocking me from receiving what God truly had for me. To all the people out their looking for a spouse, please take your time and look for someone who has the same beliefs as you do, don’t try wasting years to convert them. 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV) tells us, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”. There are also some people who let themselves spend so much time finding joy in their relationship with their spouse first, rather than with God first. Both you and your spouse should find your joy in the Lord first and let that be a foundation to your marriage or relationship if you are dating.
A third distraction we can all lack
at times, is a lack of discernment. We must discern what is truly of God, and
what is not. Remember wolfs can appear in sheep’s clothing. 1 John 4:1 (NKJV)
tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether
they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”.
Another distraction we might have personally is holding grudges. I have
witnessed many families be torn apart over grudges. Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV) tells
us, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God in Christ forgave you.”. Along with
forgiveness of others we must forgive ourselves too and not let our past
mistakes haunt us. Proverbs 4:25 (NKJV) instructs us, “Let your eyes look
straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.”. One last reason we
can become distracted as individuals is not properly managing our time.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV) instructs us, “See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” You
might not be spending as much time with the Lord as you should be and claim you
don’t have enough time. Maybe it is time to cut back on the TV or video games
and spend more time in the Word and in prayer.
So, if we can be distracted
personally, can the church be distracted? The answer is absolutely, and many
are already distracted. One thing I would like to point out is the era of
technology we are in. I realize that many people use a Bible app on their
smartphone to follow along with the sermon. Whether we want to realize it or
not, our phones can be a distraction. What if a notification pops up on your
screen during the sermon while you are following along in your Bible app? Do
you ignore the notification, or do you open it up, and end up looking through
your news feed? I believe that technology can be useful in the church, if it is
used correctly. But if it is not used correctly, it can lead to many people not
actively listening to a sermon. A sermon is like a meal to our Spirit, if you
aren’t fully paying attention you won’t absorb everything. Just like if you
don’t eat your whole meal, you might miss out on some key nutrients.
These distractions in our church
and in our own lives can prevent us from fully and truly receiving Christ. We
need to spend more of our time focused on Jesus, rather than the world.
Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJV) tells us, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek
those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of
God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”. God wants all of us, not just part of us. You
cannot become born again and have one foot in the world and the other foot in
the Kingdom of God. James 4:7 (NKJV) tells us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist
the devil and he will flee from you.”. I
would really like to encourage you to take some time and really think about
these distractions I mentioned, do any of these apply to you or the church you
are in? If so then you need to seek God and ask Him for guidance on how to deal
with these distractions appropriately so you can be in a more serious walk of
faith.
As I continue my series in the Book of Acts, I would like to pick back up at Acts 1:9 and go all the way to the end of the first chapter. You can click here to read this section in the Bible online. There are some lessons that can be learned from the disciples in the upper room but first, I would like to touch upon the ascension of Jesus Christ and His second coming. Acts 1:9 begins to tell us about the ascension of Jesus Christ. The scripture tells us, “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”. The ascension of Jesus was already promised to the disciples in John 7:33-34 (NKJV) which says, “Then Jesus said to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.””. We know that God was the one who sent Jesus to Earth, and as scripture says He will return to who sent Him, which is God. The Book of Acts tells us Jesus was received by a cloud, the cloud was the presence of God in this case. We also have examples in the Old Testament when God appeared as a cloud. Moses wrote in Exodus 13:21-22 (NKJV) “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”. We also know from the Book of Acts, that Jesus will one day return to us, Acts 1:11 (NKJV) tells us, “who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.””. I believe today that we are in the last hours before the rapture. I do promise you that I will do a teaching series on the end times after my current series on the Book of Acts. It is also confirmed that Jesus will return in a cloud in Luke 21:27 (NIV), “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”.
Acts 1:12 (NKJV) tells us, “Then
they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near
Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.”. The disciples have just returned to
Jerusalem and if you read the first part of the next verse it mentioned they
went to the upper room of the place they were staying at. I would like you to
notice in verse 12 where it uses the term Sabbaths Day, which is the distance
that Jews could walk on the Sabbath, which is roughly less than a mile. Verse
13 also provides a listing of all the current disciples in the upper room. In
the next verse, there is an important lesson that we can learn from the
disciples, and that is as Christians to come together with the same purpose, to
seek God, and pray in the name of Jesus. Acts 1:14 (NKJV) says, “These all
continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”. The disciples prayed together in
the Name of Jesus, whatever your need is ask for it in the name of Jesus. Jesus
told us in John 14:13 (NKJV), “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”.
Some synonyms for the word disciple are a follower, believer, and
admirer. If you think about it every true Christian is a disciple, we need to
come together and pray as one. I have been in several churches in my years of
being a Christian, I recall one that had a prayer service every Sunday evening
were people that came prayed together as a group. There were not many people
that came, and sadly the attendance for that service dwindled down so much,
that it got discontinued. Let me first say I understand that some people must
work certain hours, and children have school activities that they participate
in, but what about the Christians who do have the time to go to a church
service, other than Sunday morning. I feel every church, regardless of
denomination could benefit from having a prayer night throughout the week along
with its Sunday and mid-week Bible Study service. Does Sunday football rank
higher than God? Does your favorite TV Show rank higher than God? Do you put
God first, or do you put entertainment from the world first? Did we not forget
Romans 12:2 (KJV) which says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”. God should and must be our priority
in our life, and everything else can follow and He will provide for us. Matthew
6:33 (GNT) reminds us, “Instead, be concerned above everything else with the
Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with
all these other things.”.
Continuing through Acts 1:15-26,
the disciples had a decision to make, they had to find another person to join
them and take the spot of Judas Iscariot. As many of you know Judas was the
disciple who betrayed Jesus. Acts 1:17 (NKJV) tells us, “for he was numbered
with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”. Because he betrayed Jesus, he
was just a ‘member’ of the disciples, but he was not truly saved. We should
really drill down on Judas as Christians. There are many people in the church
who are ‘members’, but they are just going through the motions. There are many
Christians who get saved and do not have the desire to discontinue their sinful
life. They go up to the altar say the sinner’s prayer and go back to their sin,
but they still attend church every week, and they might read their devotion
sometimes, but they never get serious with God. I’m not saying that when you
become born again that you will never sin again, but you should have a strong
desire not to sin and should correct yourself when you do fall short and seek
God continually. When you become born again as a follower (synonym for
disciple) of Jesus Christ, and you go back to your sinful life you are
betraying Jesus Christ as your savior. I say that boldly after taking some time
to study the word betray. Some synonyms for the word betray are break faith,
break a promise, and break trust. When you proclaim Jesus as Lord of your life
that is a promise to Him, that is putting your faith in Him. When you go back
to your sinful nature you are betraying him by breaking that faith you
proclaimed when you gave your life to Jesus Christ. If you read Acts 1:18 you
can see that Judas died a shameful death in which he hung himself. In this part
of Acts, it talks about the disciples having to appoint to someone to take the
spot of Judas. If you read verses 21 and 22 you will see whoever they pick must
be a man who was with the disciples during Jesus’s earthly ministry. In verse
23 they proposed two men, Justus and Matthias. Another important lesson we can
learn from the disciples is to turn to God for guidance in decision making. I
have taught on several times before on the topic of making decisions, as
Christians, we must turn to God in all the decisions that we make. Acts 1:24-26
(NKJV) tells us, “And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts
of all, show which of these two You have chosen
to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by
transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And they cast their
lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven
apostles.”. The disciples knew that they had a decision to make, they looked to
God and prayed and asked Him to reveal who was the one to pick to be among them
as a disciple. If you notice in verse 26, it mentions that while they prayed,
they cast lots. Casting lots was a custom of the Jews to put names on stones
and place them in a container and shake it until one fell out, this was an
acceptable method used to decide with prayer before the Holy Spirit came to
them. Isn’t it great that we don’t need to cast lots like they had to? We can pray in the Spirit and seek God on
what the best decision is for us, and He will reveal His answer to us in a
unique way for our own individual situation.
I would like to encourage you to
follow these examples I have outlined from the disciples which are one to pray
together as the church, and second to seek God in every decision you make by
praying in the Holy Spirit. We must also keep in mind once we turn to Jesus
Christ, and fully surrender our lives to Him, we must not go back to our old
sinful nature. I would like to encourage you to click the subscribe button on
this page so you can receive email alerts for when a new blog post is made
available. My next teaching will be on the Day of Pentecost, please stay tuned
for more!
I have been seeking God recently as
to what my next series will be on, as I have just finished my teaching series
on decision making. My last two posts dealt with a prophetic word I received
from God. I don’t know about you, but I strongly believe the Gifts of the
Spirit are available to all who ask for it today. I have felt led to start a
new teaching series on the Book of Acts. Some people give this book the title
of ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles’. Officially the Book of
Acts author is unknown, but many believe it was written by Luke. The main
purpose of the Book of Acts is to show how God worked through the Holy Spirit
in people who were truly devoted to Christ. If you want to have the Holy Spirit
work in your life, and outpour in your life, then I suggest that you become
truly devoted to Christ 100 percent.
Acts 1:1-8
In this teaching I am going to cover Acts 1:1-8, you can read the full text by clicking here. I would first like to point out a few items in verses 2-3 (KJV), which say: “Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”. Jesus gave instruction to his apostles through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit was the power behind the earthly ministry of Jesus. In the King James Version of these two verses, it uses the word passion, if you dig deeper into this the passion it is talking about is when Jesus died on the cross. Why did Jesus die on the cross? To save us and give us eternal life. John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”. Also, Romans 5:8 (NKJV) tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”. After Jesus arose from the dead, He stayed with the apostles for 40 days before he ascended to be with the Father.
Acts 1:4 (NKJV) tells us, “And
being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you
have heard from Me;”. So what is it that God promised them? Let’s look back at
John 14:16 (NKJV) where Jesus said to His disciples, “And I will pray the
Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you
forever—”. The word comforter comes from
the Greek word Parakletos, which means an advocate or helper. Now let’s jump
down a few verses to see what Jesus told His disciples in John 14:26(NKJV),
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to
you.”. The Greek word Parakletos refers to the Holy Spirit which is our
advocate, who tells us what is to come. The Holy Spirit is our helper who
teaches us everything. If you are struggling to understand something in the
Word of God, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. The Holy Spirit is also the
mediator that glorifies Christ.
If we read Acts 1:5 (NKJV) it says,
“for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy
Spirit not many days from now.”. This scripture tells us about how John the
Baptist baptized people with water, which was symbolic of repentance. Repentance
is still important today, we all need to repent of our sins, and sin no more. However,
we know Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. When we become born again the Holy
Spirit makes our spiritual being new. We are to sin no more after our second
birth when we become born again. However, going away from sin 100 percent is
not an overnight process, and there is no quick way to do it. This requires us
to spend time in the Word of God, in prayer, in church and fellowshipping with
other Christians. Once we are born again our Spirit knows not to sin, but often
our soul and body get in the way. Our soul is our mind, and our body is the
flesh. We must renew our mind with the Word of God and apply it so that our
newborn Spirit can overtake our soul (mind), and then our body (flesh). Romans
12:2 (ESV) tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of
God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”.
Many people are religiously, and worldly brainwashed and do not accept
the fact us having a Spirit, soul, and are inside a body. I would encourage
those people to read 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV), which tells us, “Now may the
God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul,
and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I would next like to skip to Acts
1:8 (NKJV) which says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we
receive a power inside of us, therefore we must allow the Holy Spirit to
overflow in us so that we can receive which Gifts of the Spirit God has for you
when you ask to receive them. Often, we become too busy to truly overflow with
the Holy Spirit. We need to be constantly sensitive to the moving of the Holy
Spirit. Often in church, you look back at the clock. We should not limit the
Holy Spirit. Ministers should not be concerned about the timing. If a church
service goes longer than expected, then it was meant to be, someone might have
needed to hear a word or maybe someone needed prayer. We need the Holy Spirit
to run our churches, not the world. When we let the Holy Spirit in our churches
and in our lives, we can expect a breakthrough to happen in our lives, and in
other people’s lives inside our churches. If we keep trying to run on a
restrictive time schedule, then we put a limit on the Holy Spirit. It is wrong
to limit the Holy Spirit because it is given without measure. John 3:34(NKJV) confirms
this, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give
the Spirit by measure.”. I felt God tell me as I was writing this to not limit
the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit knows how to do His job and He does His job
perfectly. Furthermore, in Acts 1:8 it discusses the disciples being a witness
of Jesus Christ to people all over the known world at that time. That applies
to each of us today, we must take the Word of God to all the world. Mark 16:15
(NIV) tells us, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to all creation.”. God told me that someone will read this teaching and that
God is calling you into going on the mission field. If God is calling you to do
something, He will make a way for you to do it if you stay faithful to Him.
Philippians 1:6 (NIV) reminds us, “being confident of this, that he who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus.”. However, you may not be able to go on a mission’s trip to another country,
or that may not be your calling. But what about spreading the Word of God in
your own town, city, state, our country. There are many people who live near
you who need to hear the Good News!
As I close this teaching, I would
encourage you if you have not done so already, to accept Jesus Christ as your
savior. As you begin to develop a personal relationship with Him, you need to
ask God to baptize you with the Holy Spirit as they were in the Book of Acts.
Everyone will have their own unique gifts. Also, allow the Holy Spirit to
overflow in your life, don’t try to manipulate the working of the Holy Spirit,
otherwise you will get stuck in a rut. Not letting the Holy Spirit overflow is
what causes constipated Christians, it lets the enemy put pebbles in living
water that is flowing within us from Jesus Christ.
If you haven’t read my previous blog post, I encourage you to do so (click here to read it).I gave a prophetic word that I received from God, I am trusting in God to continue to give me more to share in the future. I would like to teach you about the importance of realizing how real God is to you as an individual person.
As many of you know from some of my previous posts, I have
begun to answer the call that the Lord has placed on my life. I have had
multiple confirmations from people about this calling on my life. Four years ago,
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Since then, I have sought after God more
than ever before in my life. You might ask why did you begin seeking the Lord
more after this diagnosis? Many people would assume it would be for healing.
While that is part of the reason, there is another reason that is more
important to me than that. When I first saw my primary care doctor at that
time, she misdiagnosed it as a virus. I took a day and rested. The next
morning, I felt a little bit better and decided to go to work. About halfway
through my shift, things took a turn for the worst. My mother ended up calling
the doctor and the doctor told my mother that she would call an inhaler in for
me to the pharmacy. As my parents were still at their work, I had one of my friends
pick me up from work and take me to the pharmacy so I could pick up the
inhaler. Something was telling me “no, you need to get to the hospital now”. I
first ignored that feeling and proceeded to the counter. They told me that
nothing was called in for me from my doctor. My friend then took me to urgent
care that was right down the road. They did a urine test, which showed high
amounts of ketones. This led them to check my blood sugar, which was too high
for their meter to read. I ended up being taken to the hospital, they admitted
me, got my blood sugar back in range, and showed me the basics of managing type
1 diabetes. Upon being discharged from the hospital, my mother went to the
pharmacy to pick up all my insulin and diabetic supplies. She asked the
pharmacist if they ever got that inhaler, and they told my mother they never
saw that prescription come through. One of my doctors told me that if I would
have gotten that inhaler, I would not have made it that night. From the
beginning of this trial with Type 1 Diabetes, God has proved himself real to
me. He was already at work from the beginning. He could have not intervened and
could have let that prescription make it to the pharmacy, but He didn’t let
that happen. God has bigger plans for me.
For God to start working in you, you need to realize how
real God has been to you in your life. The story I have told you is what really
showed me how God proved himself real in my life. Often in life, we become too
busy to really realize what God has done for us individually. As Christian’s
together we know God sent His only Son to save us and give us eternal life.
Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) tells us, “But without faith, it is impossible to please
Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him.”. We must have faith to be able to draw near
to God. Building our faith can come from reading the Word to praising God, to
hearing other people’s testimonies, and going through trials in life. Each
trial you go through and seek God will build your faith. As God continues to
provide for us and work in our lives in different ways, we have more
testimonies to back up how real God is to us. In order to seek God, we must
believe he is real. How real is God to you? It’s a question we all should
really ask ourselves because unbelievers will question us also. We can quote
scriptures to unbelievers, but more importantly, we should be able to tell
unbelievers what God has done for us in our lives. We are reminded in Mark 5:19
(NKJV), “However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your
friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He
has had compassion on you.””. Also 1 John 5:11 reminds us, “And this is the
testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”.
You are only for real with God, as He is real to you.
If you read my previous post, which was a prophetic word,
you will notice the importance of intimacy with God. When getting real with
God, we must realize how real he has been to us. When we get to the place when
we realize how real God has been to us in our own unique life, we will begin to
truly seek God from our heart. Jeremiah 29:13 tells us, “You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart.”.
I would like to encourage you to take some time, and really
look at how much God has done for you in your life. Once you realize that, give
Him thanks and praise from the bottom of your heart. You can only seek God when
you seek Him with all your heart. You can’t only just seek God when trouble
comes, you need to be seeking God every day. As you do this you will build
intimacy with Him, and you will become more equipped in your faith for when
trouble comes knocking at your door.
As I continue in my series on
decision making, I would like to discuss crossroads. I was unsure of what to
teach upon next in my series, and then God revealed to me to teach on crossroad
decisions. This required me to take some time for me to seek God on what to
discuss regarding this subject. No matter your age, you will go through a
crossroad at least once in your life, if not many. A crossroad is when one must
decide between something of the world and something of God. This can be
anything from a job, relationship, health, or finances. It is important to
recognize when you are at a crossroad and seek God to make the best choice for
your life.
Sometimes in life, we get to caught
up in the excitement of what is trending, and we often forget to turn to God
before making decisions, both big and small. We often want everything right
away, at the push of a button, or the swipe of a credit card. We see something
that is on sale and we think that we must buy it, or we see someone we are
attracted to and think, I must get their number. If we turn to God’s word, we
can find guidance for many of the decisions we make. Sometimes a decision will
take some time, it might even take getting advice from someone else. You might
have been faced with a diagnosis and might need a second opinion. Regardless of
the situation or circumstances one thing never changes and that is God and His
word.
When it comes to making any
decision in life, we can often become distracted by fear of the unknown.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known
to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”.
Regardless of whatever the circumstance is do not become worried,
worrying does not accomplish anything. The time you spend worrying is more time
lost to prayer and reading the Word of God. When praying for a need in your
life or for wisdom in a decision, you must pray for your specific need with
thanks to God for what you currently have, and His continued provisions for
your life. Regardless of the situation
we know we have peace in God, we must allow that peace to guard our hearts and
our minds.
Often when we are at a crossroad in
life, it will be a difficult decision. We may not know what to do at first, or
we might want to turn to what looks like the easiest route. James 1:5(ESV)
tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to
all without reproach, and it will be given him.”. No matter what type of crossroad decision you
have to make in life, turn to God for wisdom and it will be given. God’s wisdom
might not be given to you right away, it might take consistent time in His Word
and in prayer in the Holy Spirit.
When it comes to cross road
decisions in our Christian life, there is one scripture I want to look at and
that is Isaiah 30:21 (AMP), which says “Your ears will hear a word behind you,
“This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”.
There are two paths we can walk in life, one is the path of the world which is
full of darkness and leads to death. The second path is the path of godliness
which leads us to life. God will bless those who walk in His path. Psalms 1:1-2
(NKJV) says, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But
his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law, he meditates day and
night.”. There are two types of people in this world, the Godly and ungodly
people, there is no in-between, and you cannot be both at the same time. If we
read Psalms 1:1-2 from the Easy to Read Version it says, “Great blessings
belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners,
and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s
teachings and think about them day and night.”. If we want to be truly blessed
by God we must love and follow His word, we must also meditate on it as much as
we possibly can. We must also turn away from turning to advice from ungodly
people. So many people follow the advice of mainstream media as to how they
should live their lives. Yet much of the mainstream media is ungodly, but we
still follow it to get the news on what is brewing in our government, or what
the traffic or weather conditions will be like before you head into work or
send your children off to school. While mainstream media can give us much
useful information, we must discern with our spirit how much of the mainstream
media we should let run our lives.
Many people might want to turn to
talk show hosts on what they should do in their life. I could give a long list
of ungodly talk show hosts that people follow but, that is not what is
important. What is important is my question to any of you who follow these talk
show hosts, is will any of these talk show host on TV get you into heaven? The
answer is no, only knowing Jesus Christ as your savior and following the Word
of God will get you into heaven. You must also ask yourself a similar question
when you are at a crossroad in your life. Here is a list of crossroad questions
that might match certain decisions you have to make now and in the future:
•
Is this job going to take away too much time from my relationship with
Jesus Christ?
•
Is investing money in this worth it in the long run? Will it eat up the
money I could be giving in tithes or to help those in need?
•
Will staying in this relationship hinder my relationship with Jesus
Christ?
•
Will saying or doing this be of good fruit according to God’s Word?
I have been at a crossroad in my
life before that was related to one of those questions. I was in a relationship
with someone who was not on the same page with me biblically. I stayed in the
relationship hoping I could guide them to Christ in time. It wasn’t until I was
baptized in the Holy Spirit when I heard an audible voice tell me, ‘I am going
to remove someone from your life’. I also knew from when I was baptized in the
Holy Spirit that God had a calling on my life, but something was hindering me
from moving into it and was keeping me from truly realizing there was a calling
on my life. It just happened to be the day I was baptized in the Holy Spirit
was the anniversary date of that relationship. Two weeks later the relationship
ended mutually. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hold anything negative against that
young woman I was with, it was simply not who God wanted me to be with, and He
was at work in the situation even before I was baptized in the Holy Spirit to
put the relationship to an end before it progressed. And I thank God for doing
that in my life.
A few final points I would like to
make. When we are at crossroad decisions in our life it is often to test our
faithfulness to God. I strongly believe that God honors us when we make the
right choice. I would also like to point out that it is important to start
seeking God first for as many decisions in your life. I believe when you start
seeking God for anything in life, He will do a great work according to His will
if you stay in His word with steadfast faith.
The subject of who we are in Christ is a question that all Christians should know both individually and collectively. I would like to teach on this subject as I continue my series in decision making. You might ask what knowing who you are in Christ has to do with the decisions you make? The simple answer is truly knowing who you are in Christ helps you in your decision making in life. When Christians do not know who they truly are in Christ, they will begin to believe lies on who they are. These lies will either come from the enemy or the world.
Back when Jesus came to start His ministry on earth there was a false belief that people had that John the Baptist was either greater than or equal to Jesus. Isaiah 40:3-5 (NKJV) tells us, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.””. This is prophesying that there will be a forerunner of Jesus Christ. If we look into John 1:19-28 (NIV) “Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally, they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” In this example John the Baptist knew who he was in Christ, he knew he was the forerunner of Christ. He could have believed lies on who he was in Christ, but he did not he stood firm in who he truly was in Christ.
When one becomes born again in Christ their past is gone and new things have come. The process of old sinful habits going away is not an overnight fix, it is a process. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) reminds us, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”. Once we are born again, we must put our best effort forth in living our life according to what God commands, and not to what the world says is the way to be. If you are struggling with an addiction to sin or are in a bad relationship you are in seek God on helping you with that. I would even encourage you to seek advice from another Christian. We as Christians should not be too quick to judge each other so critically, but we should help guide each other in our weaknesses. 1 John 2:29 (NKJV) reminds us, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.”.
I would also like to touch upon the subject of the belief of
‘once saved, always saved’. I have asked
God to lead me to some scriptures in my studies to use on teaching on this
matter. People can assume once saved always saved by how they interpret
scriptures, and with how many scriptures they read. Jesus told us in John 10:28
(NKJV), “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither
shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”. Jesus did say no one can snatch us
out of His hand, but can anyone put themselves outside of Jesus’ hand? I think
we can answer that by looking at John 15:6 (NKJV) which Jesus said, “If anyone
does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they
gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”. So yes,
someone can put themselves outside of Jesus’ hand. Therefore, we must know who
we are in Christ. We must know the promises we have in the Word of God. One of the most important things we have in
Christ is everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us, “For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.”.
So, what are you doing with your salvation, are you walking in your
salvation with true faith, and making efforts to improve? Or are you abusing
our salvation from the precious Blood of Jesus Christ? We all have a choice on
this, God gave us a free-will. Jesus told us in John 15:5 (NKJV), “I am the
vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”. I want you to really evaluate what
fruit you are bearing. Are you only bearing good fruit on Sunday mornings, or
are you bearing good fruit 24/7?
Colossians 1:21-23 (ERV) tells us, “At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him. But now he has made you his friends again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while he was in his body. He did it so that he could present you to himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before him. And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that’s the work that I, Paul, was given to do.”. Let’s think about this scripture… I would have to paraphrase this scripture myself as, “Before we each accepted Christ, we were in sin, which is evil and against what God wants in our lives. We have become Children of God, through what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Jesus did this for us so we could present ourselves to God as holy. This will happen IF you continue to believe in, walk in, have faith in, and not let anything get in your way with your relationship with Jesus Christ.”. Notice both the scripture and my paraphrasing of it have a conditional word on it, and that conditional word is “IF”. The condition is we must walk in faith and remain in our faith and not let anything get in the way of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is what makes us branches on His vine, and we know what happens when we don’t abide in Christ from John 15:6, we are thrown into the fire and burned. I have an illustration I have made of the condition in Colossians 1:21-23.
It is not only important to know who we are in Christ by knowing what the word of God says, but also by what fruit we are bearing. We must also know if we are truly abiding in Christ, or if we are letting something get in the way of our relationship with Jesus Christ. I challenge you to truly evaluate who you are in Christ based off what the Word of God says and determine if you are truly abiding in him. Also, examine your life for anything that could be hindering your relationship with Jesus Christ. It is so important to be sure and aware of how the decisions we make impact our identity in Christ.
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