New Year

What does 'New Year' mean to you? Surely not the display of colourful fire-works,spraying of foam,scattering confetti, partying, eating, drinking and merry making.

New year is just the beginning of another 365 days cycle. It's just a reminder to us that the cycle is not broken yet but it will be someday, whenever God wills it. God alone is still in charge of everything in this universe. Some people behave as though they are always in charge of this universe.How can they be when they cannot even create a particle of dust or air that we breathe. Where does all these empty bosting come from, I wonder?

People who claim to represent New Year Celebrations aren't actually representing the truth about New Year.For, they don't know who is in charge. It's God who created heaven, earth and everything in it. He is eternally in charge of all human affairs.If we know this truth we will be afraid to misbehave.

OLD THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW DAY

OLD THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW DAY
Copyright © 2006 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.


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Many of the church routines we have known are now vestigial. From the present hour forward fundamental changes will occur—sometimes being forced on us by circumstances. However, no fundamental Christian doctrine will be altered in any manner. The foundation of the blood, the Spirit, and the resurrection has been permanently established.

The painful travail of our forefathers has brought us to the present momentous hour. Many traditions have accumulated that are unscriptural and will vanish from the thinking of succeeding generations. The base camps were constructed by the faithful efforts of those who have gone before. Now the summit is in sight.

We have the authority through the blood of the cross. We have the wisdom and power through the Holy Spirit. Now the task has been set before us. It is time to take the Kingdom.

Change.

There do come momentous changes in the Kingdom of God, such as the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai and the blood atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

We are in one such period of change right now.

"Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites." (Joshua 1:2—NIV)

The change signified by the death of Moses and the installation of Joshua as the leader of Israel was very great. One aspect of the change was the transition from personal survival to the invasion and occupation of the rest, the land of promise. The enemy no longer was Moses, Aaron, and the irritations of the Israelites because of life in the wilderness. The enemy was external: the warlike tribes of Canaan, people determined to protect their ancient homelands.

Today the Lord Jesus is taking off His Moses hat and putting on His Joshua helmet. We are not accustomed to the idea of war against an external enemy. In fact, our major effort today in some instances is that of resolving problems in our own families, turning the hearts of the parents to one another and to their children and the hearts of the children and young people to their parents.

It is difficult and sometimes impossible for believers of today to take up their cross and follow Jesus. Until their own personalities and relationships are healed they may have a problem bearing witness to the world of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God. They may not be ready to ride with Jesus in the attack of Armageddon.

The Lord Jesus will help with the healing as we turn to Him. We already have seen people helped who have had marital difficulties, women who were molested as children, conflicts with young people and children, and so forth. Such healing is necessary if we are to submit to the rigors of discipleship.

Perhaps the next generation or the generation after that will be healthy enough emotionally and spiritually to move forward in God to the extent God desires.

Pulpiteering.

I wonder if the American people can see what is taking place before their eyes. In this morning's newspaper there is an account of children in school strafing their classmates resulting in the death of four children and a teacher who attempted to shield a child.

I wonder why the whole nation doesn't stop and have one massive town meeting on interactive television and make realistic plans to change some of the influential and formative messages that proceed from the entertainment industry, the media, and other sources of persuasion, even if it means doing away with some of our "rights." A society that clings to its rights at the expense of the safety of its children is not wise.

It isn't going to happen. Next week there will be something more heinous while the nation is involved in professional athletics. The parents of the four little girls who were shot will continue to stare in unbelief at the empty bedrooms and try to continue to exist. It's a great country until your child is murdered!

We are not repenting, so God is going to bring America to her knees in the near future.

The concept of an introduction, three points, a few well chosen anecdotes, and a brilliant conclusion coming from the pulpit must be looked at again. It is not doing the job. The minister must stir himself to seek God until the congregation is actually praying and seeking God with fiery intensity. The "service" as usually perceived may not be strong and demanding enough spiritually to enable the believers to cope with the spiritual darkness invading our nation.

The worship must be extraordinary, perhaps including pageantry, until the people are moved and involved. A few hymns, a choir number, a musical special, served "Moses." But this pattern does not meet the needs of "Joshua." It is vestigial.

How about next Sunday morning having the congregation march around the pews, led by young people with banners portraying the ramping Lion or the Rider on the white war stallion, accompanied only by a drumbeat. Keep marching until the people get the idea they are being prepared for war. Such behavior in church is much more effective and realistic in terms of the needs of society when children in school are shooting other children with high powered rifles.

Returning to the Scriptures.

If we are to be successful in moving forward with God there are some principles we must observe. Foremost among the guiding principles is that of very careful adherence to the written Word of God, the New Testament especially, and also the Old Testament as applicable.

We of the Pentecostal-Charismatic camp do not have an enviable record when it comes to adhering to the written Word of God. We are emotionally oriented to the Gospel. We are in clear danger of becoming the False Prophet, that is, believers who attempt to maintain their own soulish life and at the same time employ the gifts and powers of the Spirit of God.

We are not checking with the Scriptures as carefully as we should. We are not testing the spirits. We are not trying the apostles. If we are to survive and stand before Christ at His appearing we must return to the Scriptures and meditate on them day and night, not being so ready to follow the crowd in seeking spiritual thrills.

You Can Count On the Promises of God
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.


Sermon Summary: God is faithful and true in everything that He says and does. So you can count on the promises of God to be absolutely trustworthy.

2 Peter 1:4 He has given us his very great and precious promises.

•• There are thousands of God's promises in the Bible. Learn to receive them, because God is faithful!

•• Today: “You Can Count On the Promises of God.”

Genesis 28:12-15 [15b] I will not leave you UNTIL I HAVE DONE what I have PROMISED you.

•• God’s absolute steadfastness over a long time.

• Hebrews 6:12 ...imitate those who through faith & PATIENCE inherit what has been promised.

• Fulfilled in Israel in Christ’s time and today = long time.

## Short-term promise or LONG — you can COUNT ON God's promises.

Numbers 23:19 God is NOT a man, that he should LIE, nor a son of man, that he should CHANGE HIS MIND. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

•• Don’t evaluate God’s reliability like a human’s.

• God will never lie, never deceive, never mislead you.

• And God will not change His mind.

## If God has promised, the promise is TRUE, and God will not change His mind. You can COUNT ON God's promises.

Joshua 21:43-45 So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn.... [44] The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn.... [45] Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Joshua 23:14 ...[b] not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

•• God promised Israel land ... promised them rest.

• EVERY promise of God was FULFILLED.

## The Bible is a historical record of the ABSOLUTE RELIABILITY of God’s promises. The promises have always proven trustworthy, so you can COUNT ON them.

Psalms 119:140 Your promises have been THOROUGHLY TESTED, and your servant loves them.

•• Over thousands of years, the promises of God have been “thoroughly tested” and found to be true.

• Jehovah-Rapha healed Abraham’s wife’s barrenness.

• Five centuries later He still healed (the snakebitten Israelites in wilderness)

• 1,500 years later He still healed (Gospels, Acts...)

• Another 2,000 years later He still heals today!

## Over the space of 4,000 years (Abraham to now), God’s promises have been THOROUGHLY TESTED and found TRUE.

Psalms 145:13 ...The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.

•• “God is faithful” (2 Cor. 1:18).

•• “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

•• Hebrews 10:23 “...he who promised is faithful.”

## You can COUNT ON the promises of God because God the Promiser is FAITHFUL.

Romans 4:13, 16 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.... [16] Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace ...

•• “The promise comes by FAITH...by GRACE.”

• God is a God of infinite grace.

• You can’t earn or deserve the promises of God. They are ours by grace!

## If you can BELIEVE God, you can COUNT ON His promises, because they are FREE gifts of His grace.

Romans 4:19-21 ...[20] Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, [21] being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

•• The promises of God don’t depend on your abilities, but God’s.

• Abraham was 100, Sarah 90 When Isaac was born. They themselves had ZERO ability to bear children.

• The key was Abraham’s confidence that “GOD had power to DO what He had PROMISED.”

## If you can focus on GOD’s unlimited power, then you can COUNT ON that power to fulfill God’s promises.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

•• All the promises of God are “YES in CHRIST”!

• God says, “I promise” ... Jesus says, “YES!”

• Jesus is the Guarantee of God’s promises.

## You can COUNT ON the promises of God because Jesus is saying, “YES and AMEN” to them on your behalf.

SUMMARY

• Short-term promise or LONG — you can COUNT ON the promises of God.

• If God has promised, the promise is TRUE, and God will not change His mind. You can COUNT ON the promise.

• The Bible is a historical record of the ABSOLUTE RELIABILITY of God’s promises. The promises have always proven trustworthy, so you can COUNT ON them

• Over the space of 4,000 years (Abraham to now), God’s promises have been THOROUGHLY TESTED and found TRUE.

• You can COUNT ON the promises of God because God the Promiser is FAITHFUL.

• If you can BELIEVE God, you can COUNT ON His promises, because they are FREE gifts of His grace.

• If you can focus on GOD’s unlimited power, then you can COUNT ON that power to fulfill God’s promises.

• You can COUNT ON the promises of God because Jesus is saying, “YES” and “AMEN” to them on your behalf.

Preached at South Valley Church, Wednesday, November 17, 2004
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of the Zondervan Corporation. All rights reserved.

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© 2004, James H. Feeney, All rights reserved.
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Website owners: If you find this sermon outline on the promises of God helpful for your website's purposes, you are welcome to post a link to it entitled "Count on the Promises of God". The URL is http://www.jimfeeney.org/countonGodspromises.html

More free online bible study and free sermon outlines on speaking in tongues, divine healing, gifts of the Holy Spirit, pro-life vs. pro-choice, traditional marriage, apostles and Christian prophets today, divine inspiration, and more may be linked to or viewed at Online Bible Studies and Free Sermons by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D. (http://www.jimfeeney.org).






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The Lordship of Christ in your life.

As we already said earlier, if Christ is Lord in your life, that should mean that he is King and that you live your life to please Him. But a lot of us struggle with giving Christ total control. And even though we want to live good Christian lives, we seem to commit the same sins over and over. It's as though there is a battle going on inside of us. Well, tonight we're going to talk about what might be hindering you from following Christ's voice and letting him be Lord.

Did you know that the moment you decide to live for Christ, you get Satan's attention? Satan's sole desire is to take as many of us as he can to hell. When you didn't care about God, you were already on your way to hell, so Satan didn't bother you. But as soon as you accepted Christ into your life, you became a target. The bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." This verse is telling us that we have to be self-disciplined and on guard at all times. Satan is your worst enemy, and he is trying to figure out ways to keep you away from God. And you know how he does it? By getting you to compromise in your walk. Does anyone know what the word "compromise" means? It means to give in. Instead of standing firm on something 100 percent, you "make a deal." (Give examples)

Satan (and our own flesh) will talk us into believing that we should hold on to our old friends, you know, the ones who are always up to no good. And he'll tell us that getting high and drinking is a habit that we don't need to give up, that we can handle it. Ultimately Satan tricks us into not giving God our all. This is why we repeat the same sins over and over. And by our actions we tell God, "You can't have this area of my life. This is my territory." But the only way you are going to be successful in your Christian walk is if you leave behind all of those old sinful friends and habits. You have to stop playing both sides. Christ said, "He that is not with me is against me" (Matthew 12:30). You can't have two homes. Either heaven is your true home or this world is. God wants to lead you to a new place, but there is no room for all of your old junk. Deuteronomy 30:15-18 reads, "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go possess it."

We are given a choice: Choose life and good with God, or death and evil with Satan. God wants us to follow his words while we are on this earth until he leads us to our heavenly home, but are you obeying his voice or still allowing Satan to have a stronghold in your life?

Well, let's see what you have to do to break Satan's hold in your life. There is a story in the bible that we can learn from that tells us of a man who was very similar to Satan. This man tried to manipulate a group of God's chosen people because he wanted to keep them in bondage. This man owned these people and didn't want to let them go, similar to how Satan used to own some of you and is still trying to keep you in his grip. This man we are going to read about had the title of Pharaoh. We'll compare his strategy to that of the devil's. (Give background on the Israelites being in slavery and God sending Moses and the plagues to Pharaoh to get him to let the people go so that they could serve God.)

But Pharaoh was stubborn. The Israelites had been his slaves for 400 years, and he wasn't about to let them out of his sight. In Exodus 8:27-28 we read that Moses told Pharaoh: "We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me."

* Moses wanted to take the people to a place to worship the Lord that would have taken them three days to reach. Pharaoh was saying, "I'll let you serve your God, only stay here and do it where I can see you," i.e., where I can still control you. This is similar to how Satan works. Satan will tell us "Okay, you can serve the Lord, but don't go too far. Don't become too radical. Be an undercover Christian. Blend in with society. Walk, talk, and act just like the heathens of the world do. And don't go to church. Only go to church on Easter and Christmas."

Satan knows that if we really prayed and read our bible and fellowshipped with other believers, that we wouldn't have time to be tempted. We would grow strong. So he wants us to remain weak baby Christians who are easily manipulated and who easily fall into sin. And Satan lies just like Pharaoh did. Pharaoh said that he would let the Israelites go, but then he said no, that he wouldn't let the Israelites leave for even three days. And because Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, God caused some more bad plagues to happen in Egypt, until even Pharaoh's top advisors were telling Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. But Pharaoh was still trying to control the situation.

Let's read what happened next. Exodus 10:8-10, "And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go? And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you."

At first it sounds like Pharaoh is going to let them go, but in the very next sentence he says this: "Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence." (Exodus 10:11).

Did you catch that? Pharaoh said, "I will let the men go." Moses wanted everything and everyone to go serve the Lord, but Pharaoh said that only the men could go. Pharaoh knew that he could control the situation if he held the women and children and all of their possessions under his power. He was trying to make a compromise with Moses!

* What areas of your life does Satan still hold you hostage with because you have compromised and you have not yet entrusted that area to God? Maybe you feel as though you can't give up your ways to make quick illegal or ungodly money, and that is holding you back (selling weed, stealing, cheating on your taxes, credit card scams, illegal cable) . Or maybe you can't let go of your lustful thoughts and actions, and that is keeping you from 100% obeying God (R-rated movies, flesh magazines, fornication, masturbation, porno). Or maybe your pride is holding you back. You have a certain reputation to uphold, and that is keeping you from walking the way God would have you walk (gang activity, being accepted at work amongst your unchristian friends, wanting to seem "manly" with the ladies). Maybe you are as bad as this greedy monkey:

Greatest Prophet

It is here promised concerning Christ, that there should come a Prophet, great above all the prophets; by whom God would make known himself and his will to the children of men, more fully and clearly than he had ever done before. He is the Light of the world, Joh 8:12. He is the World by whom God speaks to us, Joh 1:1; Heb 1:2. In his birth he should be one of their nation.

In his resurrection he should be raised up at Jerusalem, and from thence his doctrine should go forth to all the world. Thus God, having raised up his Son Christ Jesus, sent him to bless us. He should be like unto Moses, only above him. This prophet is come, even JESUS; and is to �He that should come, to � and we are to look for no other. The view of God which he gives, will not terrify or overwhelm, but encourages us. He speaks with fatherly affection and Divine authority united.

Whoever refuses to listen to Jesus Christ, shall find it is at his peril; the same that is the Prophet is to be his Judge, Joh 12:48. Woe then to those who refuse to hearken to His voice, to accept His salvation, or yield obedience to His sway! But happy they who trust in Him, and obey Him. He will lead them in the paths of safety and peace, until He brings them to the land of perfect light, purity, and happiness. Here is a caution against false prophets.

It highly concerns us to have a right touchstone wherewith to try the word we hear, that we may know what that word is which the Lord has not spoken. Whatever is against the plain sense of the written word, or which gives countenance or encouragement to sin, we may be sure is not that which the Lord has spoken.

Picture of a Prophet

Picture of a Prophet
By Leonard Ravenhill


The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.

Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, "No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected." The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his "brand name."

The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him "Man of the year" when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!

The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, "has almost always been that of recovery."

The prophet is God's detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.
He has no price tags.
He is totally "otherworldly."
He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
He marches to another drummer!
He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
He is a "seer" who comes to lead the blind.
He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a "thus saith
the Lord."
He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of
impending judgment.
He lives in "splendid isolation."
He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
His message is "repent, be reconciled to God or else...!"
His prophecies are parried.
His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!
He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with
epitaphs when dead.
He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few "make the grade" in his class.
He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint
by posterity.
He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of
Life to those who listen.
He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
He talks to men about God.
He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in
the marketplace.
He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
He is ordained of God but disdained by men.

Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!

I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the "seven years of plenty" are over for us. The "seven years of famine" are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).

Millions have been spent on evangelism in the last twenty-five years. Hundreds of gospel messages streak through the air over the nation every day. Crusades have been held; healing meetings have made a vital contribution. "Come-outers" have "come out" and settled, too, without a nation-shaking revival. Organizers we have. Skilled preachers abound. Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?

GOD'S MEN ARE IN HIDING UNTIL THE DAY OF THEIR SHOWING FORTH. They will come. The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history.

There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.
Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and
stagnant "churchianity."
Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.
Let him, too, say and live, "This ONE thing I do."
Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.
Let him be self-abasing, nonself-seeking, nonself-projecting, nonself- righteous,
nonself-glorying, nonself-promoting.
Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move
men to God.
Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has
received the order of the day.
Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the
clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.
Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision
no man in this century has seen. God send us this Moses to lead us from the
wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where
enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.


God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!





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You asked for Saul as king,not me!

If you have asked for Saul as your king, that's what you will get.

If you thnk in your heart that you are greater than anyone else around you, the evil spirit of pride and arrogance that was found in Saul is in you too!

Saul was a king elected by the masses but he made a mess of everything and still claimed that he was only doing God's will.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 (New International Version)

22 But Samuel replied:
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has rejected you as king."

It's easy to say "I am doing God's will" which even the Devil boasts about.It's not in what we claim we are but it is in our actions in the end.It's not in our sacrifices that others can see and reward you here on earth but it is in our personal obedience to God.You may have convinced the whole world that you are but can you convince God whom you can't see with your physical eyes?

Saul could not convince God. You may have convinced men, which is easy to do, but can you convince God with your actions ,thoughts and motives?
The verses below tells us that if your love is not sincere, you sre not of God. You have to convince God that you are obedient.If you only do what you want to do and not do what God tells you to do, then these verses below apply to you.

1 John 3:11-20 (New International Version)

This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

If we select to do what we feel like doing only but not obey God like Saul, then it is all in our words and our tongues only.Our actions that should speak the truth of Christ in us will not be seen in us.

Saul's sins were deeply rooted in his own assumptions.Assumption was his sin.He assumed that he was the chosen one of God but he was not.Unlike King David, Saul was a jealous and obsessive man.Jealousy recked up his life as a king.He always imagined that he was above King David, when he actually was not.King David was a humble man but Saul was too proud to admit that King David was above him in authority and the calling of God.

Unbelief in your heart will not get you to 'Canaan Land'...

John 12:37-40 (New International Version)

The Jews Continue in Their Unbelief

Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
"Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
"He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them."

Many of God's own people who were saved from Egypt did not reach their ultimate destination intended by God during Moses' times. The reason was; there was unbelief in their hearts towards God's leading in the desert.They looked back to Egypt at every turn and their hearts refused to believe that God was leading them there.

There were two different groups of God's people led out of Egypt, one believed in God no matter how dificult it became for them to carry on but the other kept looking back and prefered Egypt and all it's fleshful attractions.The unbelieving ones were pleasure centered and missed the pleasurable lives they had lived while there.

Those who believed that God was with them and leading them and did not turn and look back at Egypt, reached Canaan Land in the end but the rest did not make it. Two of those who reached Canaan Land successfully were Joshua and Caleb. They were the two who believed that God was leading them in that dry and thirsty land.

This is what the Lord Jesus Christ said to his disciples,

Matthew 16:24-27 (New International Version)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

You will be rewarded accordingly for the pathway you have chosen; a way of belief or unbelief towards God? If you have turned and looked back to the world for all it's pleasures and are full of unbelief towards the Lord's leading of you to full Christformation in you, then only you will be paying for that mistake of your life, eternally.Count your cost now, won't you!(To be continued)

No Christformation in Judas Iscariot!

Even though he was one who moved very closely with the Lord Jesus Christ on earth and was named as one of the twelve disciples of Christ, there was no guarantee of Christformation in him. How do we know this? Being where Christ is, did not guarantee Christformation in him.


Matthew 26:23-24 (New International Version)

Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

Judas Iscariot even took part in the Lord's supper and was so close to Christ our Lord and yet he had missed Christformation in himself. Reason being, whom he has chosen to obey and make the master of his life made the difference. Judas had chosen to obey the overwhelming power of the sinful nature of the Devil in him.He had refused to obey Christ who was standing infront of him, in person.

If we were born into this world just to obey the sinful nature of the Devil in us and not be freed from it's bondage at all, it would have been better if we were not born at all. Judas was one clear example of such a person. Many are predestined to be that way. What is life without having the chance to meet our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. But, here is a man who met the Lord Jesus Christ in person daily and yet missed Christformation in himself.

Is this possible? Is it possible to just forfeit every Christformation in us, even though we claim to be one of His people He had chosen for His eternal purpose. The sad answer is "yes". You can forfeit Christformation in you if you stubbornly continue to please the sinful nature of the Devil in you and have decided that the things and pleasures of this world are more important to you than gaining Christ.
Judas' motive of being with Christ has been wrong all the while and it showed up in the end.

Matthew 27:3-5 (New International Version)

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

So we often think that being sorry and remorseful over our sins will wipe away our sins.Yes, if there is no condemnation following it. In this case,Judas who wanted to see the Lord Jesus Christ stand condemned before men, was condemned in himself. Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for financial gains. He hanged himself.
He wouldn't have hanged himself if he didn't feel condemned.

John 13:18-30 (New International Version)

"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'
"I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."

After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."

His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."

Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"

Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

"What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

The Lord Jesus said, He knew those whom he has chosen for Christformation in them.But, Judas He knew who he was,but he wasn't afraid of him,even though Judas had good relations with the Romans who ruled Israel. His trust was in His almighty God( To be continued )

"A thorn in my Flesh......

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (New International Version)

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me,

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I'd rather boast in my weaknesses than take pride in my strengths for fear that I may trust in them instead of trusting in my God.For the Lord has made me a 'tester of metal' for His own people to see if they will receive me or not. It's easy to receive one who deceives with their worldly attractiveness and one who conforms to the standards of this world,meaning one who is from the world.It will be very difficult to recognize one who comes from the Lord if he appears with his weakness and as'foolishness' to the standards of this world.

The Lord Jesus appeared poor,born and placed in a manger because there was no place for Him. Later, when He grew up to be a man,He said ,"I have no where to lay or rest my head".Even birds have nest,foxes have safe holes to rest but the Son of Man had nowhere to safely rest His head on this earth because the enemies of Christ were always after Him. His situation was that He made Himself lower than that of the animals.

He could have summoned for God's help with the legion of God's angels assisting Him but how else will the scriptures be fulfilled,except that He offer up His life for His sheeps."Dogs" surrounded Him always.God the Father allowed this to happen to show clearly the difference between good and evil.Who could have shown what is good, other than Christ himself? For all men had failed and had sinned.Judas Iscariot was His 'thorn in the flesh', being very close to Him among the twelve who finally betrayed Him to the Romans.He was the son of perdition.

For apostle Paul, a physical lack was the thorn in the flesh for him.

Galatians 4:13-14 (New International Version)

As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.

The Lord Jesus Christ warned and still reminds us today that many will be deceived into thinking that God's prophets and His humble servants will appear with great worldly qualifications and attractiveness of the world,but the opposite will be true.

They will appear sickly,sometimes unfairly imprisoned,poor with material lack,despised,forsaken and rejected before men and their families.

Matthew 25:40-46 (New International Version)

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Why else would their punishment be so severe! These are God's humble servants least suspected by hard-core,unrepenting sinners that they are sent by God. The delusion is that they would think a servant of God will appear as one who is outwardly impressive and successful in this world.They would judge them by the color of their skin,appearance and forget that the Holy Spirit lives in these humble servants of Christ.They will deceive their own kind and be deceived themselves to their own destruction.They would not know the difference between those who are truly God's servants and those who only claim to be one.

These easily deceived ones will judge everything by the things of this world,as the world judges them.

A stage for actors and actresses....

This world is no doubt a stage for actors and actresses but God isn't an actor.
So who is 'the Actor' and where does acting originate from? God certainly does not do any acting because acting has an element of untruth in it.It's not a real situation, so, some element of untruth could be found in it.

God is Truth,His Son is that Truth revealed.The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.
None of them do any acting for they are the Truth.There is no need for acting. On the other hand the Devil is the actor.He is the originator of every lie and untruth.
He makes the whole world go into acting.Everyone seems to be acting and they don't seem to be their real self.

Corinthians 11:14-15 (New International Version)

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

John 8:43-47 (New International Version)

The Lord Jesus Christ said; "Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

The worst thing you could do on this earth is pretend to be believers in Christ but persists in your old sinful ways and beliefs while trying to bring your defiled thoughts and actions to general acceptance just to justify yourselves in the eyes of men.But, you have forgotten thet our God is not an idol who cannot see and hear.

He sees and hears every action and words uttered.He examines every motives and intentions of the heart and minds of man.You may not know it that He does.
He surely does.

The Lord Jesus on neither sides.......

Joshua 5:13-15 (New International Version)


Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

The Lord Jesus Christ knows where we stand, so He came to declare His stand.
He said I'm on neither sides. I am on the side of my Heavenly Father always.I came to do His will and not man's. For He knows,both sides were wrong.In supposedly God's camp was the presence of sin too. He is never on the side of sin,even if they would approach Him in His name.He told Joshua,don't forget;I am Holy and be thou holy as I am holy."Take of your sandals" as a sign of that relationship.You must have that fear of God that He is holy and He doesn't change in His nature.

He is saying : I can see the lack of that fear of God in both camps.Don't just say it ,do it by obeying God. Show me with your actions that you fear My Holiness.I don't see much difference between the two camps.(To be continued)

You smell,look,appear like this..... before Me, says the Lord.

Lazarus was placed before the very eyes of the 'rich' fool to remind him of how he appears before God,the Creator of the earth,but yet he did not know it.How blind that fool must have been to the things of God?

[Your time is running out for you to change now, or you are about to face the same end as the rich fool.Do not be proud before your own eyes because that's not the way you appear before the Creator God.]

Luke 16:19-31 (New International Version)

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell,[a] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead

What we are witnessing in this world today is just the opposite of what's in Heaven.
The situation there in eternity is also going to be in direct reversal to what we see here now.

God was actually trying to warn the 'rich' fool through Lazarus that; the same way he views and treats Lazarus, is the way God views him and is going to treat him for eternity.The rich fool did not see himself as he actually was just as Lazarus had accepted himself with his physical lack.If only he had,he would have escaped that judgment in heaven.He,all the more exalted himself above beggar Lazarus and treated him as he would treat a dog and not a human. What do you think should the punishment be for the rich fool in the hand of God? He forgot that there was a Just God who was watching everything he did on earth? For didn't Lazarus live as a despised beggar in the eyes of men while on earth? As much as the 'rich' fool despised Lazarus in his heart,God had despised the rich fool.

Many are living like this blind and 'rich' fool today.

Your sins on this earth stink like this.... in His nostrils in Heaven.

Who are you trying to deceive? All the sins that you continue in, stink like this... in His nostrils in Heaven.He is only reminding you of how you stink before him with all your sins that you are committing on a daily basis. He is trying to tell you that you cannot hide from Him and that is why He has placed the 'smelly beggar' before your very eyes. For, that's how you stink and appear before him with all your sins that you keep on committing.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (New International Version)

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

Pride and arrogance is a stinking nature of the Devil that God had to throw The Devil and the fallen angels from His presence to this earth.After it's time on earth, it will be thrown straight into the lake of fire together with the ugly natured demons with him.The rich fool did not realize this or did he chose to shut his eyes and ears and not heed God's warning? It was too late for him now.

The 'chasm' he himself created while on earth,appears again to torment him in hell.
The rich create this 'chasm' between them and the poor on earth to their own eternal peril.God does not require all our sacrifices that are tainted with self will, the will of the Devil or the world. He requires absolute obedience to His commandments.

He does not need any sacrifices that come from the sinful nature of the Devil in us especially that which is not put to death yet.God requires our personal obedience to Him above our earthly sacrifices.Our earthly sacrifices alone will be useless if there is no absolute obedience to Him and all His commandments.Remember, the rich fool was reminded about 'Moses and the prophets'.It's about obeying God's commandments."The new commandment I give unto you.....". The new commandment is to love God with all you have within and without, i.e. with all your obedience to Him, and to obey to love others as you love yourself The 'golden rule' sums up with...What you'd want others to do unto you,do unto them while you are on earth.

Didn't this rule apply to them both before God? The rich fool treated the poor beggar badly on earth,now he is paying with the same measure for what he did to poor Lazarus. God's rules stand forever.

Watch it, your test is at your door front!

Matthew 25:34-46 (New International Version)

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

A personal invitation from the Lord Jesus Christ for Christformation in you.

Introduction

Matthew 11:28-30 (New International Version)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

This passage from Christ our Lord is his personal invitation for Christformation in you.You have the freedom of accepting or rejecting this invitation of Christ.

Before He goes on speaking about Christformation in us, He talks about the unneccessary burdens we carry and the weariness attached to that carrying of them.
These burdens have their origin from the Garden of Eden placed on Adam and Eve by the Devil. Adam and Eve were deceived into believing that these burdens were both "good and pleasing to their souls". Out of their own disobedience to God, they fell into the trap of the Devil.

Now the Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to us to destroy the evil works of the Devil in us. For this He says,"Come to Me all you that are weary and burdened" with this evil deposit of the Devil in you.

Remember this invitation is only for those who are feeling weary and burdened and it's not opened to those who do not.

This means that;if you are enjoying or basking in that evil deposit of the Devil temporarily,you are not invited here.You can remaim where you are and enjoying eating the 'fruit' of the Devil now. But,at anytime you begin to feel the weariness or burden, He says:"Come to Me"

This is where the fault lies, Christ never invited those who do not have weariness or burdens of the soul.Very few indeed will feel the weariness or burden of the soul.

In Sodom and Gomorrah,only Lot felt this burden and weariness or distress of his soul.Even his own wife did not feel the same with him.She never felt the distress but enjoyed or basked in its pleasure.She turned back to that pleasure to become a useless pillar of salt in the end.

Rest

Hebrews 4:6-11 (New International Version)

It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

The invitation of Christ our Lord was for those who needed rest for their souls. Do you need that rest? Come to Him,then! If you don't,please continue in what you are doing now until you really feel the pain and weariness to come to Christ.

Lot felt the pain of his soul and so did Noah,Moses,Joshua,Samson,Gideon,Esther,David,Jeremiah,Daniel and all the other prophets and servants of God. We have to make every effort to enter into that rest in Christ.

What is this 'rest'?... you may have asked.
This 'rest' is the rest you'll get from the restless sinful nature in you. It's the sinful nature of the Devil in you that causes all the restlessness in you. This restlessness of your soul to sin results in you sinning.This sinning brings guilt with them that makes you weary and burdened. There are some who sin and do not feel this weariness and distress of the soul.To those who feel the weariness and burden He says "Come to Me"

If you are one of those who do not feel that weariness or burden even when you sinned, please don't come to Christ.If you feel better pleasing the sinful nature in you, remain where you are. Don't come and mingle with those who feel the weariness and burden of the sinful nature of the Devil in them.This is where the fault lies. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be preached to those who are poor in spirit only, meaning; those who are weary and burdened by the sinful nature of the Devil in them and not to those who enjoy it.

If you do not feel the guilt of sinning against God with your sinful nature, please do not come,you are not invited to Christ.You should stay out of this and continue doing what you enjoy doing outside.Do not come where you do not belong.

Rest for the restless is what this invitation is about.Rest from the sinful nature of the Devil in you.We have to make every effort to enter into that rest. If you are still enjoying that sinful nature and are basking in its temporary pleasure and glory, this invitation isn't for you.

You will only confuse the flock of God shepherded by Christ Himself.The sheeps will be confused!This invitation is only for those who are weary and burden by the sinful nature of the Devil in them.So,stay out!

This is where the fault lies; in simply inviting anyone.Rest is only for those who feel weary from that restlessness of soul and the burden of carrying that guilt around.

Don't you know by now that the sinful nature of the Devil sowed in us through Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is the cause of all the restlessness of soul in man?
You should know that by now.If you still do not know that,please don't step in where you don't belong.You will be responsible for all the confusion.

Come and rest in Christ all those who are weary and burdened. He is the Lord of the Sabbath(Rest).There is no other "Lord" in whom you will find that rest for the restlessness of your soul.Only in Christ is your rest from your restless soul to sin and continue sinning.

Christ our Lord said and promised us; "I will give you rest if you would come to Me.

What the Lord meant was that,when you come to Him,you must be sure that you're tired of that sinful nature of the Devil in you and you have come to Christ to put that earthly nature to death,like He had died on the cross of Calvary,not counting this life on earth as more valuable than the eternal life and glory He will inherit in the Father.

The Cross of Christ is a sign of us crucifying our sinful nature on it, when we believe and obey Christ instesad of obeying the sinful nature.

Take my Yoke upon you

Galatians 6:7-8 (New International Version)

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

This is a subsequent invitation for you to partake of Christ.

It's like you were invited into a house and were told to leave your dirty shoes outside.When you were already in that house, you were invited again to sit at the dinner table to sup with the host.

"Come,take My yoke...."
You may ask, what is this yoke?
I came with a burden,am I to carry another 'yoke'?

Well,yes!!
This burden is lighter but will result in rest for your souls.The older yoke brought on you restlessness of your soul but this new yoke will bring rest for your soul.

So, what's this 'yoke'?
This newer yoke is the divine nature of Christ to be formed in you. But, Why "yoke"?
You see, we are created beings and we must be yoked to our Creator God for we live to serve His purposes alone.

This was the same choice given to Adam and Eve in that Garden of Eden.
Do you want to be yoked to God or the Devil? Sadly, they chose the Devil!
Do you want to obey God or the Devil?. They rebelliously chosed the Devil!

So, "yoke" means obedience.Who do you want to obey,God or the Devil?
If you obey God,you'ii have rest for your souls but if you'd obey the Devil,you'll have restlessness of soul. So, the choice is still yours.

Romans 8:13 (New International Version)
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

The guilt of sinning will be a burden and weariness of the soul.
Would you still obey your sinful nature of the Devil in you? For, you should know it's a sure pathway to destruction.

This invitation "take my yoke upon you" is an invitation for Christformation in you by way of your obedience to all the commandments of the Lord.

Come learn from Me

Philippians 2:12-13 (New International Version)

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Gentleness and humility is the basis for all lasting and eternal relationship.
The relationship of Christ our Lord with the Heavenly Father is one of gentleness and humility.

The opposite of gentleness and humility is rebellion,pride and arrogance.The Devil displayed these characteristics of a sinner while he served as Lucifer in God's presence.He was 'thrown down to this earth like lightning' after that, awaiting his total anihilation in the Lake of Fire at Christ's glorious Second coming to earth.

The difference between Christ our Lord and the Devil was that; The Lord Jesus prayed:
"Not mine, but let Your will be done on earth" to the Heavenly Father. The Devil instead challenged God " I will be lifted above all throne"
Christ showed and proved obedience to the Heavenly Father with His life on earth but the Devil showed rebellion towards God, who is the Creator of everthing.

Christ learnt obedience through His humility to all the sufferings He had to endure while on earth. Now He invites us to come and learn from Him that same obedience to the Heavenly Father,the same way He had obeyed God,even death on the Cross.

Will we put to death the sinful nature in us and not obey it anymore, so that the divine natures of Christ may be filled in us through meekness and humility of heart.

Christformation can only happen in us when we come humbly and meekly to Him and not with a rebellious and proud heart.Christformation will never happen with you holding on to the sinful nature of the Devil in you.If you cherish the sinful nature in you, you're certainly going to forfeit Christformation in you.

"For my yoke is easy" meaning you'll only need to fully obey the leading of the Holy Spirit in you for full Christformation now that you have believed in Christ.You will become more like Him with all the divine natures formed in you. It's "easy" because all the work has been done for full Christformation with a 'Helper' standing by for you that at anytime you'd obey His voice,Christ will be formed in you.

Conclusion

In conclusion,if you'd come in dire need of rest or deliverance from your sinful nature to Christ and repent from it, you'll have it.If you'd come with two minds about it,don't come in yet, for you'll make a mess of things for others who come sincerely to Christ to turn away from their sins.

Rest from all your evil works through the sinful nature of the Devil in you is what a broken and contrite soul in Christ will seek.He or she will have to come humbly, free of all rebellion towards God.If rebellion persists in that unrepentant soul, then rest in Christ is not for that soul.True rest of the soul comes through Christformation in you.That rest remains forever and ever in you. That rest will show up in your relationship with God as you'd walk Him.God will give you that rest that only comes through Christ.

The ultimate invitation from Christ Himself is for you to "take His yoke" which is your willingness taking upon your new born again self the full divine natures of Christ.Letting that divine natures of Christ to be formed in you is Christformation in you.You cannot do it on your own though,it's the result of the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in us, as we obey Him and his complete leading to Christformation in us.

"The Blind leading the blind...."

Making Your Calling and Election Sure Through Christformation In You.

Making Your Calling and Election Sure Through Christformation In You.

2 Peter 1:3-11 (New International Version)

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Introduction

Only the called, chosen and faithful of Christ and God our Father, will make every effort towards making their calling and election sure through Christformation in themselves. The ‘careless ones’ as in the Parable of the Ten Virgins would not even have a clue of what it is to have Christformation in themselves. By that time, when they would have discovered the need to, while they are still busy with the things of the world, it will be too late for them to return to Christformation in themselves.

What were the ‘wise virgins’ faithful with, you may ask? Faithful in making every effort to add to their faith full Christformation in themselves.

Full Christformation is the full formation of the divine natures of Christ in you. This is the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in you, in spite of all the trials and tribulations of your faith which you had to endure patiently with His strength till the end.

This requires perseverance on your part to hold on to all of God’s unfailing promises given to you through Christ Jesus our Lord. You will have to make every continual effort to escape or overcome the corruption of this world caused by the evil desires of the sinful nature.

Overcoming of the sinful nature, one by one, will pave the way for the divine natures of Christ to be formed in you. The hunger and thirst for Christformation must be answered. Every effort is to be made to resist the sinful nature in order to be filled with the divine nature of Christ. This sinful nature is the nature of the Devil (Satan) that was sown into Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It’s the ‘fruit’ of the ‘Tree of Death’ that they disobediently chose to eat from. They spiritually died at that same moment they disobeyed God.

We, who are born of Christ, must put to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature of the Devil in us by the power of the Holy Spirit within to circumcise away that ‘foreskin’ of our hearts. The sinful nature is the ‘foreskin’ of our heart.

Following that circumcision, we must make every effort to be filled with the divine nature of Christ by actively adding these eternal qualities of Christ into our born again spirit through our personal obedience to the Holy Spirit here while on earth.

This divine nature of Christ formed in us will affect while
transforming our souls and finally our bodies with that incorruptible body, corresponding to the degree Christ has been formed in our born again spirit and soul through our active “asking, seeking and knocking”. These active asking, seeking and knocking is meant more for eternal things and this is what apostle Paul meant by urging us to “make every effort”. and “work out our salvation with fear and trembling”. In the book of James we are encouraged to work towards “the salvation of our souls”.

Make Every Effort

The Holy Spirit of God will remind us about all the promises in Christ our Lord, so that through these great promises, every fulfillment of full Christformation in us will happen without any hindrance, as we obey His leading and guidance and not be willfully rebellious against Him by breaking God’s commandments.

“Making every effort” is actively “putting to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature” while actively “adding” to our faith in Christ into our born again spirit with all the eternal divine natures of Christ.

This involves a lot of alertness on our part and active resistance to the sinful nature and the Evil One who goes around “prowling” on those who are caught off-guard, those ignorant of the evil schemes of the Devil and its demons on this earth to pollute and corrupt continually.

If your life is controlled by the sinful nature, the devil has a gripping hold on you and it seeks to take total control over you so that you are hindered from being filled with the divine nature of Christ.

The Devil seeks to take control of your thoughts and actions through the sinful nature in you, that is, if you keep yielding to it. The Holy Spirit in you who is greater than the evil power of the sinful nature in you will “help” you overcome the urge of pleasing the sinful nature only if you completely obey His voice and leading in you.

If you are half-hearted about obeying God’s commandments, then it is you who will suffer the consequences of the Evil One having its control over you. Allowing the Devil to have control over your life is a sure pathway to eternal destruction.

Mark 7:20-23 (New International Version)
He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

The Lord Jesus Christ said that from within the hearts of men come all these sins that defile your spirit, soul and body. From within the heart meaning that; there is a part of that heart that needs circumcision, a” throwing away” of that which has been sowed by the Devil (Satan) - its ‘sinful nature’ through Adam and Eve.

The long list of evils that come from the sinful nature will make you unclean in God’s sight, if you willfully continue yielding to its temptation. This “unclean” state is referred to as “spiritual death” by the writer of the book of James as in:

James 1:13-15 (New International Version)
When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

God does not tempt us to sin but the sinful nature which is the “fruit” of the Devil, does tempt us with all the evil desires embedded in that evil nature. This evil nature is also referred to as the “earthly nature” by the apostle Paul in the book of Philippians.

This evil “fruit” is only grown in this world because the Devil and its demons were thrown like “lightning” to this earth. This earth has become the temporary “home” for the Devil and its demons until their eternal damnation takes effect at the glorious “blessed hope” which is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth to defeat the Devil and its demons.

These evil desires found in the new “home”, the earthly nature, will entice and drag you to sin. We call this the ‘urge to sin’. When this urge to sin grows inside of us after we have yielded to its temptations, it gives birth to sin. This same sin will not leave us easily but will seek to “grow” from one sin to another inside of us.

For example, evil thoughts will grow into sexual immorality; sexual immorality will grow into all other kinds of sexual sins such as; adultery, lewdness and to cover up these sins you may commit deceit, malice, folly, lies and even murder. We have seen these happen before.

On the other hand, greed for money, position or social status may grow into covetousness and covetousness into idolatry, as something you have ‘treasured above God’. In these situations, you will not hesitate to kill or destroy the hopes of others to illicitly climb above others in status or position. That’s why this is called the “earthly nature”.

It may sound harmless to you, but it is deadly. This earthly nature is deadly, because sin, when it is “fully grown” gives birth to death.

Romans 8:13 (New International Version)
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

For the wages of continual sinning is death. If you continue to live according the sinful nature and not put its misdeeds to death by your obedience to the leading, guidance and conviction of the Holy Spirit in you, than you will “surely die”. God’s rule in the Garden of Eden still holds for you, if you eat the “fruit” from that tree of death, you will die.

You will not die if you eat from the Tree of Life that the Heavenly Father has sent to us. We will live an everlasting life in Christ if we continually “eat and drink” Him. But first, the sinful nature must be circumcised by the Spirit of God in us.

There is constant battle in us if we continue to yield to the temptations of the sinful nature. We must put it to death. “Throw away “these evil desires and start “eating” from the Tree of Life, who is Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, Himself. We must choose to “eat” His divine nature instead which is, His eternal “fruit”. The word”eat” here means, filling our lives with Christ’s divine nature in increasing measure.

These eternal qualities in 2 Peter chapters 1 are the divine nature of Christ that is to be “added” or formed in us fully. Only then shall we become effective and productive testimony of Christ in God the Father’s eyes.

These qualities which are the divine nature of Christ are formed in us with increasing measure as we obey the Holy Spirit bringing about full Christformation in us.

As You “ADD”, SUBTRACT too.

As you add these qualities of Christ’s divine nature in you, through the power of the Holy Spirit by way of obeying Him fully, you would need to subtract away ‘one by one’ everything of the sinful nature of the Devil which was sowed through Adam and Eve in that Garden of Eden. We have to actively subtract away this evil nature with all its misdeeds and only then will we become overcomers in Christ or else we will remain defiled forever.

God allows sufferings into our lives as a means of subtracting away the sinful nature of the Devil, only if we are humble enough to accept and learn obedience to God through those sufferings.

Peter 4:1-6 (New International Version)
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

The Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered in His body and learnt obedience to God the Father in that human body, is being formed in us and that same attitude and humility, will surely be found in those in whom Christformation is happening. They will be ‘armed’ with that same mind and be ready to go through all kinds of trials and testings of their faith.

We are obligated to live according to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit; if Christ is to be formed in us fully. This is living for the will of God.

We do not live according to the human or earthly desires when we have willfully chosen Christformation in us.

We will suffer much in this world when we choose Christformation in us. Others who wallow in their earthly desires around you
will think it strange that you have chosen that path and will ridicule and discourage you. A word of caution tough, these attacks may come from your close family members too. Do not be disheartened but continue with your complete obedience to the Holy Spirit in you.
Trust all of God’s promises through Christ for you and you will inherit Christ fully.

Romans 8:12-17 (New International Version)
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Remember, you will “die” and not be heirs of eternal life in Christ if you continue to be obligated to the sinful nature of the Devil and willfully refuse the sufferings that come the way of Christformation in you.

We will become “more than conquerors” when we turn others from sin and lead others to the path of Christformation in them too.

Christformation in “Increasing Measure”

We often think what will be the eternal use of all the trials and testings we go through while on earth. All these sufferings produces perseverance and perseverance leads to hope and hope leads to obedience to God our Lord.

We have to learn obedience through our sufferings. Each one of His called, chosen and faithful ones will have to learn obedience to God. This obedience to God will be necessary in the new heavens and the new earth. This earth is where we will learn obedience to God through Christ.

Christ our Lord is the Firstborn of God and the perfect example for obedience. We must be like Him in our obedience to God. In order for us to be fully like Him in our obedience to God the Father, full Christformation must take place in us. The Holy Spirit fully helps us with this.

In increasing measure, Christ’s obedience will be formed in us fully if we obey the leading of the Holy Spirit fully. If obedience to God was only thirty percent, then you will be ‘clothed’ only with thirty percent of Christformation in you.

Hebrews 3:1-6 (New International Version)
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

Possessing all these qualities of Christ is Christformation in you. It is not that easy possessing them. It requires obedience on our part, yes full obedience to God. To possess is to guard. You will have to guard Christformation in you like you guard a valuable possession. You will not trade it for anything else in this world.

With Christformation in you, you will be productive and profitable to God’s eternal Kingdom.

All the eternal natures of Christ formed in you through obedience to the Holy Spirit will be of great use in God’s Kingdom, that is if, with the same obedience you have learnt from Christ our Lord. There is no short-cuts. Remember what the Lord Jesus Christ said in

John 10:1-10 (New International Version)

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Conclusion

Full Christformation is what God desires in His chosen, called and faithful children. We have to make our calling and election sure with full Christformation in us with our complete obedience to the Holy Spirit who leads us to all Truth- that is, Christ himself. Christ is Truth. The Spirit who leads us to Him is the Spirit of Truth. God is Truth.

In order to participate in the divine nature of Christ we must escape from the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Let’s subtract the sinful old self from us and “add” on our new self in Christ by allowing full Christformation in us with goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love which is the eternal nature of Christ in us.

Obedience to God the Holy Spirit forms the most important part of Christformation in us.

Without obedience to God, there is no Christformation in you.


Written by Ronald K.Pillai: for Christformation in you Ministries.