Monday, March 31, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #11




Many times when we follow Jesus we ten to get the "I" problem.....I did this and I did that, we must be very careful of that because when we are in the Lord we do all things through Christ as we have no power in ourselves. I want us to think about this in the context of our salvation this morning.



As a Christian I have a responsibility, a decision of following Christ or rejecting Christ. When the Holy Spirit calls I have to respond! Yes or No, pretty simple really. So when folks say I did something in receiving the Lord, in reality the Lord does it we just choose rescued by Him.



For an example as far as salvation, look at these verses:



Luke 15:1-7 The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.



As you know we are the sheep in this story and Jesus is the shepherd is Jesus. Sheep are dumb, wander off, and get lost. That's us! We wander off from where God wants us. Jesus comes after us, nothing we have done deserves that, just Jesus love for us! So the sheep can not say look what I have done for Jesus to come find me and save me! No all we can do is thank Jesus for finding us when we were lost, and bringing us home! He does all the work! Now as a sheep we can run from Him, we have a responsibility to either allow Jesus to pick us up or we can reject Him and run off!



Oh what a beautiful picture of Jesus coming for us! "I" did nothing, Jesus did everything! When one of the lost sheep come home there is a party in heaven! Has that party been thrown for you? It can be...allow Jesus to rescue you! It's that simple, then follow Him the rest of your days!



I hope you get the point here, it's all Jesus not "I"!



Tom

Friday, March 28, 2014

Do something!




Taking a little break from Follow Me series as I am a little pressed for time this morning. Take a little time and listen to this song and then act on it. You are the hands and feet of Jesus! You are to be a doer of the Word! God wants you to do something not wait on someone else!~



1 Corinthians 12:27



27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.



James 1:22



But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.



Do Something by Matthew West






I woke up this morning / Saw a world full of trouble now / Thought, how'd we ever get so far down / How's it ever gonna turn around / So I turned my eyes to Heaven / I thought, “God, why don't You do something?” / Well, I just couldn't bear the thought of / People living in poverty / Children sold into slavery / The thought disgusted me / So, I shook my fist at Heaven / Said, “God, why don't You do something?” / He said,“I did, I created you” / If not us, then who / If not me and you / Right now, it's time for us to do something / If not now, then when / Will we see an end / To all this pain / It's not enough to do nothing / It's time for us to do something / I'm so tired of talking / About how we are God's hands and feet / But it's easier to say than to be / Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves / It's alright, “somebody else will do something” / Well, I don't know about you / But I'm sick and tired of life with no desire / I don't want a flame, I want a fire / I wanna be the one who stands up and says, / “I'm gonna do something” / We are the salt of the earth / We are a city on a hill / But we're never gonna change the world / By standing still / No we won't stand still / No we won't stand still / No we won't stand still



Let's get busy!



Tom

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #10




To follow Jesus means we have a good understanding of what Jesus has done for us because He loves us. Remember what Isaiah predicted about Jesus?



Isaiah 53:5-6

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.



Take some time to think about that. Jesus shed His blood for you! Even when we were in sin, He took that sin to the cross to make us right with God if we will follow Him as Lord and Savior....wow!



We need to remember there is a penalty for sin:



Ezekiel 16:58

You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.



Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.



Death is the penalty of sin. Two kinds of death....Spiritual, which is separation from God because he can not be in the presence of sin. Also physical death. All will die one day unless Jesus comes back first! Separation from God? Do we understand what that means? Do we care. Nothing is worse that separation from God.



I have good news though...God has a gift for us!This free gift is Jesus.



Do we understand that you can have all the money, all the parties, all the sex, all the drugs/ alcohol, all the entertainment, all the fame the world can offer, ect. but there is nothing better than Jesus??? NOTHING!



When we get right down to it, the way we live our lives either following the ways of Jesus or the ways of the world prove if Jesus is Lord of our life or if self is lord of our life!



Jesus saves us from the penalty we deserve if we put our trust in Him and follow Him.



John 3:16-17

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.



So the penalty is huge for our sin but the Love of God is unbeatable! Accept the free gift of God, His son Jesus! Follow Him the rest of your life, you won't regret it! He died for you, you live for Him today!



Tom

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #9




So we seen yesterday how much God hates sin! So if God hates sin does that mean He hates sinners. Now read all of what I am going to say before you jump to any conclusions because it is not a simple yes or no answer! So here we go:



Yes God hates sinners! Ouch! How can I say that???? Look at these verses:



Psalm 5:5-6

5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.



Did you see God hates evildoers? A evil doer is a sinner correct?

God will destroys liars....lying is a sin right?

The Lord abhors bloodthirsty and liars. These are sin right? A synonym for abhor is hate! Are you getting the picture yet?



Now here is the rest of the story, God hates sinners but He also loves His creation created in His image:





John 3:16

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."



So here is how I look at this. There is no doubt God loves man, but when we are in sin He can look at us, we are wicked and He hates wickedness for He is Holy and Righteous. The only way we can be reconciled to Him is by being covered in the shed blood of Jesus. Once we are covered in that blood by following Jesus Christ with our lives then we can be in God's presence. The sacrifice has been made by Jesus which shows how much God loves us by sending His Son to die for us....sinners which He can not stand! Whew....what love.



This is not even close to explain the love/hate of God towards sinners like us but it may help you understand a little more. Remember back to dating in high school? One day you love them, the next day you hate them because they hurt you, then you love them again, ect. haha! Only God is not wishy washy like that. He can not tolerate sin, but when that sin has been covered by the blood of Jesus nothing can separate us from His great love!





Romans 8:35-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.



Do you see in verse 39 where the love of God is? In Christ Jesus not in our sin! For in Jesus we are covered!



So once again we can see as we follow Jesus, sin is a very serious thing before God....He hates it. We must take care of our sin through the blood of Christ! The world laughs at sin and thinks its funny and can be played with, do not fall into that trap!



I hope I got the point across this morning!



Are you following or doing your own thing?



Tom

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #8

Today when thinking about following Jesus lets try to grasp how God sees sin. We must get a handle on the seriousness of sin to a Holy Righteous God!

First we must see God hates sin:

Proverbs 6:16-19 
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Romans 1:18

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Psalms 5:4

For You [are] not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. 6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

Psalms 45:6

Your throne, O God, [is] forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness.

Hebrews 1:8

But to the Son [He] [says]: "Your throne, O God, [is] forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

Colossians 3:5-6    

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.  Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.

Isaiah 59:2

2   but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.


I think it is clear here that God hates sin and it is just common sense a Holy God would hate sin! There are many more verses we could look at but for times sake we won't....look for yourself. With that said if God hates sin then there will be sever punishment for any unrepented of sin that comes before Him and we see that in the bible in the old testamnet:

* Sodom and Gomorrah- Genesis 19

* God gives law on Mt. Sinai and not long after a man is stoned to death for picking up sticks on Sabbath! Numbers 15

* Achan and family die for disobeying God's command not to keep plunder from battle. Joshua 7

* Nadab and Abihu, Aarons sons, die for unauthorized fire before the Lord. Leviticus 10

* Uzzah dies for touching the Ark of the Covenant. 2 Samuel 6

An example in the New Testament would be:

* Acts 5:1-6

5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

Then the over whelming reality of sin in us and we die without repenting and following Jesus is this:

* John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

* Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

*Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

So we see God hates sin and will not be in its presence and I will end here for today, tomorrow we will look at how does God feel about us as a sinner? Does He love us, hate us or what?

Tom

P.S. Don't play with sin, it is a dangerous thing before God!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #7




When we begin to understand what following Jesus is all about we need to think about another word that fits into our understanding of what God has done for us and that word is adoption. Read these verses:


Ephesians 1:3-6

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.



Jesus is God's son, we are not. BUT God has always had a plan in place to adopt us to become His sons and daughters! This is a good spot for an amen or a hallelujah!!!



When we think about adoption there is one thing we need to grasp. In adoption the parent pursues the child. The child generally has no idea who is coming after them or may not even know that anybody is coming after them at all! Now think about that...God has come in pursuit of you! Not because we deserve that but because God loves you even though we are dirty rotten sinners! Oh thank you God for coming after me!



We are blessed, praise the Father for His amazing love for us, we are blessed, praise the Father for sending His Son to die for us so He can adopt us, we are blessed!!!!



Tomorrow we will look at how much God hates sin!



Tom

Friday, March 21, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #6




As we have been talking about following Jesus we have used the word disciple many times. What is a disciple? The definition of a disciple is this from the dictionary:



disciple: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower:



To define it even further for a follower of Christ, it is to live with faithful adherence to HIS teachings. So the question we must ask ourselves is.....am I a disciple? Am I learning, listening and doing what Jesus Christ "The Word" has said? Remember this from the book of James:



James 1:22

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.



Many are deceiving themselves into thinking they are disciples but are not because they are not doers of the word but just observers if even that! So many have no idea what the bible says because they do not read it! How can you be a doer if you do not know what it says????



To be a disciple as we have see already will be costly in your life. Jesus told us to be a disciple or follower it is a narrow gate to enter:



Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.



What gate did you go through? The narrow or the wide? Look at your life and it don't take long to figure it out. You can see clearly by who you are following Jesus or the world.



So are you disciple? It is a most important question. For if you are then you are to be following this teaching:



Matthew 28:19

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,



One last comment as you see above....a disciple makes disciples. That is how the message of Jesus has continued on these 2000 years and it is the only way it will continue to carry on. Someone cared enough to tell you, do you care enough to tell others?



Tom

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #5


As we closed yesterday we seen that God chooses us. He wants all of us to follow Jesus. So here is the question for today....Why does God choose us? For a purpose! Look at these two verses and see if you can find the purposes:

Matthew 4:19

19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.Did you find it?

In the Matthew verse we are told we will be made fishers of men. Which means we will share the gospel with others if we are followers of Jesus. Then in the John verse we are told if we are in Jesus we will bear much fruit! Bearing fruit means a number of things for the follower of Jesus, one being winning souls for Jesus while also living out the fruits of the spirit in our lives which are found here:

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

So you see God has a purpose for all of us because of two things:

First is this, out of His great love for man:

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God does not anyone to go to hell but to come and join Him in heaven through the shed blood of His Son whom He provided for a sacrifice for our sin! That is unmatchable love!

Second is this, God deserves glory:

Revelation 4:11
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,    to receive glory and honor and power,for you created all things,    and by your will they existed and were created.”

When we are being fisher of men and bearing fruit for our Lord we are bringing Him glory and honor! This is our main purpose to worship God and have fellowship with Him. Because we love Him and follow Him we bear fruit and try to bring others to Him and folks their is no greater purpose on this earth. Jesus is the answer!

Are you living out your purposes for God? I pray you are and if not no better time to start than today!

Tom

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #4


Speaking for myself, I see from the bible there i much more to being a follower of Jesus then spitting out a few words about I believe in Jesus. I want us to think a little more this morning about our love for Jesus. These verses have always made me do some thinking:

Matthew 10:34-39

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Everybody loves their mom right? The bible makes it clear we should. So what in the world is Jesus saying here? First, He is saying that when we follow Him it can be costly. We may have to leave mom and dad behind if they stand in our way of our Lord Jesus.

Second, I love my children and would die for them but Jesus says here our love for Him is to be so much that in comparison with our children our love for them is like hate! WOW! When we get right down to it though our kids did not die for our sin, our kids do not love us like Jesus does, our kids did not create us, our kids did not leave heaven for us, Jesus is worthy of unmatchable love!

Third, When we realize our life is in Jesus we lose our life as we know it. We no longer live for self. So when we offer our life to Jesus we actually have found the life God intended for us! Following Jesus is true life!

Here is another amazing fact....you did not choose God-He chose you:

John 15:16

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

GOD chose you! He loves you! Again we see He chose you but He also has a purpose in choosing you...that you may bear fruit! What is that fruit? Well part of it is telling others the gospel and then discipling them. Are you doing that?

This following Jesus is serious business, I pray you already knew that and I pray you are busy about the Father's business!

Tom

Monday, March 17, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #3




Today lets look at the word follow as it relates to following Jesus.



When we put the word follow in its proper context in relation to our King this is the proper definition- to live with radical abandonment for His(Jesus) glory. the first thing we must do to follow Jesus is repent:



Matthew 3:2

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”



Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”



So what does repent mean? It means to confess we are sinners to God, to be sorrowful of our sin, to turn from our sin and head toward Jesus and away from our sin, and to renounce self! We are no longer belong to ourselves bur are willing slaves to Christ!



1 Corinthians 6:19-20

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.



When we follow Jesus, we see from the disciples following Jesus and also from the mouth of Jesus it costs us some things. Here are some things that we may be called to leave behind:



*comfort



Matthew 8:19-21

19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”This sound like comfort to you?



*careers



Luke 5:27

Jesus Calls Levi(also known as Matthew)

27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”



All the disciples left their jobs at least for a time. Are you willing to if God leads you to?





*possessions



Matthew 19:21-23

21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.



Are you willing to give everything away and follow Jesus? He may call you to do so...this young man could not do it!





*positions



John 19:39

39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.



Nicodemus was a big wig in the Jewish circle, obviously he did not care about his position as he went and helped prepare the body of Jesus for burial!



Are you worried about your position at your job or in society or are your going to follow Jesus no matter what?





*families



Matthew 10:34-37

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.



Do you love Jesus more than your own family? Are you willing to give them up for Jesus if that's what it takes?





*safety



Matthew 10:16-20



Persecution Will Come



16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.



If you haven't received at least verbal persecution chances are you are not doing much for Christ and physical persecution may be part of our following....are you willing?



*Your life



Matthew 10:26-28



Have No Fear



26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.



Following Jesus may cost your your life, it did for most of the original disciples, are you willing?



Hmmm are you willing? If your are to be a true disciple these are all on the table! Like I told you from the beginning, to follow Jesus is not easy and He never said it would be! Easy believism is not biblical!



Chew on this today....I know I am!



Tom

Friday, March 14, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #2




Jesus made the first call to follow Him here:



Matthew 4:18-22



Jesus Calls the First Disciples

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.



Now let us think about who he called for a moment. Fisherman. Average men. Nothing in their background makes them of any exceeding value for Jesus to call them. They weren't high on the totem pole of society in this day. They were not even educated well. So what does this tell us? Jesus can use anybody for His purposes, that includes me and you!



Let's look at part of the calling Jesus said to these men today. "Follow Me". Let's look at the Me part first as it is the most important. The Me is Jesus. Name above all names:



Philippians 2:8-11



8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.



Obviously this not just anybody. This is Jesus, who would die for all mankind. God gave Him the name above any name! Everyone should bow and one day will and also confess who Jesus is....Lord!



Me is also Savior:



Luke 2:11

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.The One and only One who can save us from our sin and the wrath of God.



Me is also Messiah:



John 1:41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). Messiah means the promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish people. Thankfully Jesus delivered not only the Jews but also the gentiles which are you and me!



Me was fully human:



John 1:14

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.



The Word is Jesus and he dwelt among man here on the earth.



Me was also fully God:



John 10:30

30 I and the Father are one.”



Obviously if Jesus and the Father are One then His is God! That's why we also call Jesus Immanuel which means God with us!



Matthew 1:23

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).



Me is also King and Lord:



1 Timothy 6:14-15

14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,



Me is also Righteous Judge:



2 Timothy 4:8

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.



Me is also filled with the Spirit and pleasing to the Father:



Matthew 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”



Me is also the new Adam which means He is the perfect man:



1 Corinthians 15:45

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.



Me is also the great light:



Matthew 4:16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”



There are more descriptions I could give of this ME(Jesus) but what we have seen from the bible is sufficient to get the point of this.....Isn't Jesus worth more than:



*casual church attendance????

*casual association like he is just an old friend????



When Jesus calls us to follow HIM, He is worth:



*TOTAL abandonment

*Supreme adoration

*Everything in our life will change as we give our life to HIM! Think about it!!



So how much is ME(Jesus) worth to you? Think of the description given of Jesus and who He is, then decide what is He worth?



A casual ho-hum relationship or a give it everything you got relationship?



Sadly many who call themselves Christians choose the ho-hum casual and this is very dangerous and we seen yesterday because Jesus will say depart from ME....I never knew you!



Monday we will look at what the word "follow" means.



Tom

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Are you following Jesus? #1




Yesterday we talked about failing the test of being a follower of Jesus. If we do so it will be an eternity in hell but we can pass the test and know it! That's what we are going to jump into today. Over the next several days we will look deep into what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Warning: It will make you do some serious thinking and hopefully if changes need to be made you will do that too!



I have recently read a book called "Follow Me" by David Platt and some of the thoughts come from the book which come from the bible. So if you want a good book to dig much deeper on this subject go get yourself a copy.



The first question we need to ask ourselves is can I be deceived as in thinking I am a follower of Jesus but in reality I am not? Well think about these stats:



*4 out of 5 people in America claim to Christians. We know this is not true because of the morals of this country



*50% of Americans claim to be born again, well that don't even jive with the other statistic that I just gave. Plus is their any other kind of Christian than born again? Not according to Jesus:



John 3:1-7



You Must Be Born Again!

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’



* Many of these 50% believe good works will get them to heaven. Not according to the bible:



Ephesians 2:8-10



8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.



Our works do not save us, faith in Jesus Christ saves us and as a result we do good works for His glory!



*Another portion of that 50% believe Jesus sinner while on the earth. If anyone who calls themselves a Christian believes that, they believe a different gospel which automatically disqualifies them from being a follower of Jesus for the bible says:



2 Corinthians 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.



Hebrews 9:14

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?



Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.



If Jesus sinned then He could not be our lamb of sacrifice for it had to be perfect!



There are many more things that could disqualify one from being a follower of Jesus such as:



*not believing in the virgin birth



Matthew 1:23



“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).



*not believing Jesus died on cross for your sins



1 Peter 2:24



24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.



*not believing in the resurrection



John 11:25



Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,



*believing that there in more than one way to heaven



John 14:6



6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.



*believing that all you have to do is say a prayer and be baptized



Note: I believe faith alone by the grace of God saves you but the bible also teaches once you are saved works prove your faith. Fruit will fall from your trees!



James 2:26



26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.



These are essential to our being followers of Jesus. Non-negotiables!



Now here is where we end for today...a warning from Jesus to those who have been pretending to be followers but did not have a relationship with Jesus:





Matthew 7:22-24



22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.



Jesus says to these folks "I never knew you"!! They did works but did not listen to His words! No relationship to our Savior! Let us all heed this warning. Have you built your house on the rock?



We will dig deeper tomorrow of what following Jesus is! Much to chew on for today!



Tom

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Failing the test!




Warning...do not be caught failing the test as the result will be an eternity in hell.



2 Corinthians 13:5



5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!



For some reason we get all bent out of shape when people judge us. For one thing nobody's opinion matters but God. Some may judge to try to hurt us but others may judge us in which they are trying to help us in our walk with God. For that we should happy! Our problem is we tend to think who is anybody to look at my faults when they have faults of their own. While that may be true we need to look at it in a different light, as God using them to help us get closer to Him. Ever thought about that?



One thing is clear as we are told in this verse we are to examine ourselves. The key question is are we in the faith? There is no greater question then that. Get your bible out, see what God says about being of the faith. See if Jesus Christ is in you.



There is more to it then simply saying I believe in Jesus. For even the demons believe in Jesus! Over the next few days we are going to dig into this more deeply. Test yourself and see where you are in your faith, some things may need to change! It could be a matter of where you spend eternity!



Tom

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Beware of different Jesus!

 
Paul warned the Corinthians here of false teachers coming in and proclaiming another Jesus, may we also be on the lookout for this:

2 Corinthians 11:2-4

2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Lets catch a few things here:

1. Paul brought ONE husband to the bride (the church).....Jesus.

2. The serpent(Satan) is still in the business as deceiving just like he did Eve! He will lead you to wrong thoughts! This is another reason we need to be in the bible so we know if someone is teaching false things!

3. If some one proclaims a different Jesus than is in the bible or wants you to receive another spirit then get away from them and point out their evil ways! Don't put up with it or allow others to be deceived. Warn them!

Sadly we have many false teachers out there! Many are on TV and teach things that are not in the bible or alter the bible. Know your bible and be on the lookout. There is no new revelation from God, He has given us His Word so stick to the bible! Many claim new revelation from God like Joseph Smith of the Mormons....wrong! The only revelation he received was a spirit of the devil to teach falsely!

So let us remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus our Lord and Savior! Not man!

Tom

Monday, March 10, 2014

Spiritual Thirst? Only One way to quench it!




This passage tells us the way to quench our spiritual thirst which everyone has but may not want to admit it!



Isaiah 55:1-7





55 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.



Pretty simple huh? Come, everyone who thirsts. It will cost us nothing but it cost Jesus everything! Isaiah received this message of from God 100's of years before Christ but yet it reveals so much about our Savior!



I am thankful for verse 5 for it talks about us gentiles! The Jews were God's chosen people but He loves all His people and called us to Himself.



Se the Lord and He will be found says verse 6. Call on Him. Isn't it awesome that God wants us to call upon Him? We are so fortunate to have a God like that.



Verse 7 says forsake our wicked ways and thoughts. A picture of repentance, turn and walk away for sin. If we do then God will pardon us from our sin! Wow. Thank you Jesus.



Now back to the thirst again, have you heard that somewhere else in the bible? How about here:



John 7:37-39



37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.



Or here:



John 4:1-15





4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”



This woman is a picture of us....strangers to Jesus but He wants to fill our thirst so we will never thirst again spiritually. Have you took a drink of this water? Promised to satisfy! Praise the Lord!



Tom

Friday, March 7, 2014

Celebrate victories!




I have a brother in Christ, Dave, who lives in Minnesota. He has been lead by the Lord to lead a bible study but the devil has been putting barriers up to keep this from happening in hopes that Dave would just give up. Dave didn't and kept pushing forward to serve God in the way that God laid on his heart to teach men to be Men of God and lead their families as God intended them to. God gave Dave the victory and will be teaching these classes...Praise the Lord!



1 Corinthians 12:26



If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.



So many times we let the victories slip by and do not praise God enough for them. We are quick to ask for thing but slow to praise. This should not be so church. Praise for God should flow from our mouth like a rushing river. I am rejoicing this morning and giving God the glory for Dave and his dedication to serve God.So that brings me to this question, where are you serving God. God has a place for all of us in His church to serve both inside and outside the building. Are you seeking to serve Him? For a follower of Jesus it is not an option. We are servants of Jesus.



Maybe you are seeking to serve but the devil keeps putting blocks in your way, don't give up! Keep fighting. If you know it is something God wants you to do, don't stop til you get it done!



Folks as the Lord says, the fields are ripe for harvest but the workers are few, lets get busy. Be a harvester not a bench warmer!



God is good! Thank you Jesus for Dave!



Tom

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Only ONE to boast about.




Many like to boast about themselves or a sports team or their children or job or money or whatever but when we get right down to it their is only ONE who deserves to be bragged about....Jesus our Lord.



2 Corinthians 10:17-18



17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.



Basically in the context of the above verse Paul had been accused of boasting about his ministry but here we see Paul making it clear to all their is only ONE who deserves the boasting and that is Jesus. For when we get right down to the nitty-gritty it don't matter what we think about ourselves it will matter what the Lord thinks of us and what we have done in service and obedience to Him. God is the ONE who approves and disapproves and His opinion is the only one that counts in the end!



So what are you boasting about today???? Jesus or something else?



Tom

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Best Gift of all time!




What is the greatest gift anyone has given you? Money, a car, or maybe some sort of jewelery? All that stuff is nice but one gift that was given is greater than all by an overwhelming amount. Here it is:



Romans 6:23



23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.





Romans 8:32



32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?





2 Corinthians 9:15



15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!



Can you tell me a gift greater than Jesus Christ and an eternity in heaven for those who follow Him? Yeah neither can I!



The 2 Corinthians verse tells us to thank God for this gift, I hope you do daily if you are a follower of Jesus. The background for that verse is Paul had just shared in a great number of verses about giving to help brothers and sisters in Christ and he wrapped it all up with this verse. Why? Be cause this is the greatest gift of all time. Jesus left His heavenly place to come to earth to take on the form of a man and die for you and I so we can dwell with Him in eternity. We could not get their on our own so Jesus provided a way, the only way for us to get to heaven. Wow what a gift! We need to thank God constantly for this free gift!



If you have Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life awesome!!! If not what is stopping you from this free gift? God forgives all things if you will just ask. He loves you more than you love yourself, and wants you to spend eternity with Him, make that decision today! If you need help, I would be glad to talk to you, just ask!



Thank you Jesus for giving me the greatest gift of all time.....YOU!



Tom

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Example for the church on how to give!




If you ever think about how you as a part of the church are to give to others, here is the example we should go by:



2 Corinthians 8:1-4



Encouragement to Give Generously

8 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—



Here are the points to hold onto here:



1. Paul wants others to know of the grace God poured out on the Macedonia church because of their great giving. I don't know about you but I want all the grace from God I can get, one way to get some of that grace(which I have already received more than I deserve) is by giving to others out of love! God then will give to you.



2. Macedonia gave even though they they were under the affliction of extreme poverty! If they can give under those conditions take a moment and think how much you can give. Ouch! May hurt to think about.



3. Paul says their generosity overflowed. I believe it is safe to say they gave until it hurt them! Does our giving overflow or do we give just enough so we think we satisfy God and no more? As you see in the verses above they gave beyond their means! Would we dare do that?



4. Macedonia begged to give relief! Now that is love and service! When is the last time we begged to help ur brothers and sisters in Christ?



So take time to think about your generosity today. The bible says:



2 Corinthians 9:7



Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.



Tom

Monday, March 3, 2014

Good grief or bad grief?




There is a difference in kinds of grief. This verse clearly shows us the good and the bad:



2 Corinthians 7:10



10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.



Let me try to explain, What I call good grief is actually know as conviction by the Holy Spirit. This is when you sin and the Holy Spirit lets you know you have done wrong by grief, the feeling you know you have sinned. Many times the Holy Spirit even had warned you before you had done that sin but you chose to do the sin any way and now you feel guilty before God which you are! This kind of grief leads to repentance, which is confessing your sin to God and asking for forgiveness and striving never to do that sin again!



Now if this is the first time in your life that you are calling upon God then it leads to salvation, being made right with God by accepting the shed blood of Jesus to cover your sins. However, if you have already followed Jesus, you are saved but asking God for to forgive you of the sin you have just committed and again striving to live a holy life before God.



The other side of the coin is bad grief. This is where you have a knowledge of right and wrong but you are unwilling to totally surrender to God, you may even have yourself fooled into thinking you are saved, so you feel bad for you sin and you may even confess it to God but you go right back to doing the same sins as before which eventually leads to death and an eternity in hell. This is worldly grief. Sadly many churches are full of folks like this who have fooled themselves into thinking a Sunday morning in the pew makes everything all right when in reality the only thing that makes us right is a relationship with Jesus Christ and a lifetime of following Him and His Word.



So what kind of grief do you have this morning? Godly or worldly?



Tom