Tag Archives: Christ

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Humility Under Fire

Have you ever been under fire? There is a gun ship in the military that “brings the rain,” to those on the ground. This is what is happening in your life. You are attacked non stop until you look like Swiss Cheese. Even though its unwarranted, when it goes and comes through your life you’re left devastated, but it makes you reflect over your life. It makes you think about what you have done. Things happen in our life, and the first person we blame is God. “Lord why did you allow this to happen to me? Am I not Your child? Lord why me? I can think of quite a few people on my list who need this, but I don’t need this.” We come out and we have issues. But can you be humble? Can you be humble when someone is sticking you with a pitch fork, or talking about your mother?

The Word of God tells us about humility while under fire. Its hard to love someone when they’re choking your neck. Then you have to look at them an say “I love you in spite of yourself.” But humility, when you’re going through a process in your life of growth, can you be humble, submissive, genuinely honest with yourself and say ‘I understand I will be humble”? Humble and fire; you just can’t put those two together; they are like oil and water, they just don’t mix. Can you remove yourself out of the picture and be understanding to someone else and be humble? Most of the time we can’t because we’re looking at the way they are hurting us. You remember the old saying about sticks and stones? Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

Hurting on the outside on your flesh is temporary, its for a moment for the physical pain. Take an aspirin or midol and the pain is over. But when you hurt me with words, they cut and leave scars you can’t see on the inside. These scars don’t heal. They don’t heal do they? No they don’t. When you cut on the inside, you leave a mark that only I can see. A lot of times people they leave a mark that only you know about. They say one thing, but do another and you say, “I thought you cared, I thought you loved me, I was under the impression. When you said it before it meant something else. Do you care about how I feel. No, because if you did, you would never have put that scare within me. So all of this time you lied?” Its amazing to me that people allow their lives to be controlled by a lie from youth to now and never got over it. Just because someone calls you something doesn’t make it so, you make it so because you begin to act as so. We look at our lives and say “I am not what so and so said I am.” Then we question ourselves and and ask “am I?”

We justify that scar within us. We do just what a clam does. What does it do when it gets a spec of sand within? It builds up a shield over it, a slimy shield that gets hard over and over until it rises up, so when they go over it, they won’ t feel the pain of a little grain, but now they have the pain of a pea. This is what we do on the inside, covering it up over and over, thinking that this will justify and make us worthy. You don’t need anyone to validate you. You, are you. Validation only brings accreditation to the person giving it. But if the accreditation isn’t good, neither is the validation. You say, I’ll drown myself in alcohol. I’ll takes drugs that will help me forget. It never helps you forget, it makes a bad situation worse. Now you have drug addiction added to the bunch. Every layer you’ve covered that scar tissue up with, you have to pay for it, and go over it.

Humility under fire, that moment when you thought you’d fight back and say, ok. So what is taking place in your life? God is watching every move you make and trial your take. He’s seeing you in that trial. When people go through grief recovery or anything like that, they have to talk it out or write it out and say if they have a problem with someone. Then what are you going to do with it? But I just gave you all my problems, now you have them. You’re wondering why you got on his nerve? Can you look at someone and say “I’m sorry for the way I treated you?” Nothing can come at you unless you allow it to come at you. Nothing can get on your nerves unless it gets on your nerves. Things only bother you because you allow them to. Some people set time bombs in your soul then leave because at a certain time it will explode. They’ve been gone for a whole week and your suffering and they aren’t even around. You’re sitting there struggling, getting mad with yourself for getting mad at them. People set things in your soul to distract you from your course. If I keep you lingering and wondering and wondering and lingering over things guess what? How many hours in a day? 24? So if I get you to spend 15 of your hours thinking about what I just did to you and i’m not in the picture, whose life am I wasting? They aren’t there, and you are struggling. Satan does it all the time to us and we love it. He gives us things to muddle over in our brain. One person comes through and says I don’t like you?  You’re struggling on that, at home, on your job, everywhere you go you’re struggling on that. Meanwhile your soul is getting beat up. Who’s beating up your soul? You are! That is a time bomb they set in your soul.

People have ways of doing things to you that you don’t want to see or know. People drop stuff in your life to destroy you to make you think less of yourself. They make you unsure of yourself, they don’t give you the opportunity or growth to grow. They stunt your growth at an early age. Parents do that with kids at an early age saying “you’ll never amount to nothing.” So your pursuit is to amount to make them wrong, but it hurts you to your core. We all know what nothing is right? If they say you’ll amount to nothing, then where is all the love they gave to you going? To nothing? You don’t wast love on nothing. “So who am I,” the little kid thinks? So the little kid grows up to be nothing. You know how many people are in prison because their parents put them in there? Some people spend all of their life trying to prove to their parents they were wrong about them being nothing. So what do they wind up doing? Theft, mugging, violence; and its all because of their parents. He gets his parents attention, and is now in prison, but the parents say I love my child, I love I love.

Can you still have humility under fire? Humble: to have less pride, or none at all. Low; down to the earth low. To be subdued. To be submissive.

Does that mean let people walk over you? No. Not wanting to have the last word out of everything. Not wanting to have the last word. What does that mean? Do you want to have the last word? Because if I give you the last word, you have to think about it. They got the last word. How often do you have the last word? Then the word comes, the one we don’t want to hear “you no good…” We brought that on ourselves, we chased it down. There is no humility in the person who wants the last word. You argue, you argue, you argue, you argue…arguing is someone trying to get the last word. Not just the last word, but the last hurting word. How many can be big enough to say “alright you can have the last word,” and then turn around and say I love you? It hurts the other person. Christ did it for me. So we can do it too. We bring a lot of undue fire in our walk with Christ because we want to get the last word. Do you try to have the last word with Christ? How many can just apologize to that person and say I still love you? We can’t do that, we have to bring out the big guns and fire, emptying the first magazine, then when all the clips are emptied, we bring out another set of guns!

Jonah – Lets go back to that wonderful hot summer when Jonah was sitting under a gourd tree. The Lord told him to go down to Nineveh and tell them to repent. But Jonah said, but Lord those people are evil and bad. God could have continued on with the conversation, but He let Jonah go on. How many are big enough to say “but” to God? You tell God, “but,” and He’s the one who made you! Everything that is He made. But then you tell Him no! This is the same God who put a big ball of fire in space, and have planets orbiting around it. When is the last time you put up a couple planets up in space, and you give Him a but? He is so humble and says “Have it your way.” Now when He has a purpose for you to do, then He will be after you. Like Jonah. Jonah just went and waited thinking the Lord would destroy the Ninevites. You have to be humble in your walk, even when people dislike you and treat you bad, look at them with an eye of love. That’s humble, and by you doing that you win their heart and soul back. One major thing we look for, we look for things to happen instantaneously. We say to the Lord, “You said that You would curse those I curse.” While the Lord is thinking, “why can’t you say something like bless them to help them see what you see?” Everyone is going through their own test to different degrees. You have to realize this, don’t judge another man’s test with yours. When you fail a test, you go through it again, and it becomes harder because you knew better. When you see someone go through their own walk and trail, don’t judge them. If you make fun of them, then you get home and wonder why you feel bad.

1 Peter 4:12-19

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Don’t think it strange that you go through because if you’re trying to find out who God is, you’ll go through! If you know who God is, you’ll go through. You’ll always go through. You know what’s important about the test? Its not so much getting through the test that matters, but its your attitude during it. Are you complaining about the test, like the Children of Israel on their 40 year journey that could have been a 2 day journey? How soon we forget when we were in a situation how Christ delivered us from it. Being out of it we’re complaining. When you were in it you loved God going through your motions. When you got done with the test you say “Jesus? Jesus who, Jesus what?” As soon as we go back into another test what do we do? We cry out to Him. We don’t feel close to Him unless we’re going through something. When you were going through, you were all on the floor, you were foaming at the mouth seeking God. When you go through tests, you know you makes vows to the Lord, then when the test is over you go back to your old ways. Why because you have no humility. Going through a trial when you’re under fire, knowing that there is purpose in the trial for God to take a bad quality out of you.

The biggest thing we don’t know how to do is forgive other people. You have to forgive totally, not a surface forgive, forgive totally. Its a hard thing to walk in your own self righteousness. Do you have a heaven or hell to put people in? We need to look in the mirror and talk to ourselves. Healing starts. How can you be healed when you still have something inside against someone else? You ask “Lord restore me.” How can He when you don’t have enough love to restore your brother or sister? You are your brother’s keeper. Can you be the bigger person and say I apologize, I should have thought of you more than that, forgive me? Guess what? That bridge is repaired and that connection is repaired. If you are claiming the blame, the whom do they have left to blame? Now if they’re still arguing then they’re arguing with themselves.

While you’re walking through a trial, its your attitude during the trail. If you’re attitude is to get back at a person while you’re in a trial, you’ll repeat it. That could determine whether you go to heaven on hell. If you haven’t gotten salvation the right way, you have to get it right.

Matthew 18:3-4

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

You may have to eat crow sometimes to be humble, eat it with a smile and with dignity. You can be humble with dignity.

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Don’t Let Another Man’s Burden Become Your Test

People have a way of uploading to you their mess. We’ve been allowing people to download mess back and jack us up. The burden of them, what they’re going through becomes our test. Allowing people to put weights upon your life, and then wanting you to deal with it. They dump and dump. Some of us make good dumping grounds. If I dump usually its off of me. But now my burden becomes your test. We have our own to deal with. So if you have some dumping to do, don’t dump it on me. I don’t want the mess you’re in to become my mess. Burden, loads, responsibilities…When you grab a hold of something from someone else, it becomes your responsibility. I don’t want someone else cross to become my burden.

Burden: Greek word is baros meaning load, abundance, authority, weight. Anything pressing on one physical thing.

I understand what you’re going through, but when you take someone else burden it makes a demand on one’s life, spirit, resources, time…most people don’t realize that. When you look at a test. What is a test? Everyone has been to school. When you take a test its a critical examination and evaluation of ones trial. How many have done an evaluation on yourself? Did you find yourself wanting? Lacking? The point is…how often do we admit our failures to ourselves? I have come to the conclusion its a daily battle to exist and a daily war to walk upright before God. Daily. The Bible tells us no one knows what tomorrow will bring. One day you’ll be all together, with inspiration of wisdom, and you think wow, I must be going somewhere. Then the next day, you are miserable and think everyone hates you. The point is that one moment we’re this way, another moment were that way, but we don’t even realize there is a day-to-day life we lead, and live walk and breath. You cannot fix things that moment. You cannot fix things that day or hour or month. Even the world can’t fix problems because it’s not them who are fixers, they are causers.

How many have ever had an evil thought? Think about it, so the negativity in the air is also because of what you thought and did. So, this world is the way it is because of us. We have allowed another man or woman’s burden to become ours and we’ve spread that disease like never before. People use the term, “I hate your guts.” No one’s ever seen your guts, how would you hate someone you’ve never had a gut to gut relationship with? You walk away feeling proud, and then when you walk away you say “why did I say that.” Now you’ve taken over someones problem. Have you ever thought about why you hate an individual? Because it didn’t meet a personal need or physical awareness, because they kept you from being fulfilled by a thing. So you traded your love for hate. How could you love one moment and hate the next? Sometimes we don’t even have to say we hate, we just live a life of hate toward that individual. How many are carrying others burdens right now? How many are in a test today? Did you create that test?

When you look at a test scenario, evaluation of yourself, a lot of times we get mad at a person because it’s expressing who we are. We’ve painted a picture of us being something different, but the truth comes out of what we really are. When our mind has told us that we are what we made ourselves out to be, then we get mad at the person calling us out. Then we inspire others to see our point of view. When we set a trap for ourselves, the Lord tells us to love everyone. But Lord I can’t love someone who treated me bad, talked about me, stabbed me in the back, called me names…sometimes we’ll reap things we’ve done from a long time ago… thought we got away with it, when the Lord says He has a time for us. Then we don’t understand and say “Lord why me? I’m the one that loves You.” As you define love and relationship in your life, what are the elements you use to define love?

How many forgive people? The sort of prayer that says “Lord I forgive them for what they’ve done and what they’re doing.” When you allow the hardship and burden of someone else to become your difficult state, then they become a detriment to yourself. You may not have said it out loud, but you may have acted like it. Its like this…you speak things into existence. Out of your mouth you condementh yourself. And that is just after you sang “I could sing of your love forever.” When you come into the house of God, I don’t want you to leave the same way you came. Most come jacked up, broken, confused, and then whats next? Did I speak about trials earlier…if you didn’t get it right the first time…you’re going to repeat it. And it doesn’t come on a time schedule. It comes when you are doing everything you like under the sun. Weigh it before you say it. Before things come out your mouth out of hatred, anger, lust, even love, make sure you weigh it against the heart and mind of God. Don’t say anything out your mouth that hasn’t been checked. The words that come out of your mouth vibrate. Everything has a vibration to it and it is stored in objects. If you take the test of someone else upon yourself when no one asks you to, then if they get an F, you get an F. Don’t get mad when the result is not positive toward you. Don’t get upset and say “Lord that wasn’t my test it was their test.” The Lord will look at you and say “were you in agreement with them or did you entertain it?” Your test is your test. So if someone is in a test, say I don’t want your test. Your test is a mess. If you aren’t able to bear it, or go through your own personal test, how will you bear it? Another man’s burden will not be mine.

Galatians 6:1-18

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Don’t call someone out of their name, or say you hate their guts or say you can’t stand them. “Galatians 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.” “Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” When it says this, it doesn’t mean bear another persons sin. Your walk is your walk. If I see another person going through, I will help, but I won’t bear it. How do you help? By praying that God’s will be done in his life, not to grab it and try to work a will, but to pray that God’s will be done. So if you take on another persons burden in another way other than prayer, it becomes your test, and it’s not what God has given you. Now, you’re bearing another’s burden through prayer because its your brother/sister, don’t get involved. We get sick, they get well and we’re still sick. Don’t hold onto some else’s burden because if they go down hill, so will you.

Jonah was given a command to go to Nineva to preach to the heathen man. The Lord said that if he preached to them, they would repent. He instead took his burden to a great fish. He said swallow me! If you do then I don’t have to say what He has to do. You’d rather be swallowed by a big fish than to do what the Lord told you to do, then you deserve everything coming to you. But the Lord didn’t let that happen. So the fish spat him out. He made a 2 weeks journey in 2 days, and did what God told him. When someone is disobedient to God, don’t be around them, run. When a grenade goes off, does it make distinctions about whom it will blow up? No it blows up everything. So if God is after someone because of their disobedience and you are associated with them, you will take the burden too. Rather you should pray that God deals with them, that God delivers them from themselves.

Why do we go through for someone else’s mess? I want to go through my own trials, because its something I didn’t get right. I don’t want you to go through for me because I won’t get the point. I won’t get it if I don’t go through because the Lord takes us through to make us, not to break us. You can’t go through what another person goes through because God is dealing with them individually. You have to realize you help people better by allowing God to take them through. God is trying to let us know He wants to make us.

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Warring Against the Mess in the Flesh

How many times have you started out doing what was the right thing to do but it turned out worse? You started out with a good intention. Did you know that good intentions are not good enough? We try to do things that our Lord would be happy and pleased over. In dealing with life itself you must understand that the first word that you see in the word “intention,” is intent. The word intent is starting something, but not completing that thing. For example, he did have intentions to save money, but he never held on to any money. She intended getting a good job in her field, but never took the time to search out her field. There needs to be some action behind the intentions. I have intentions to go get food, but if I don’t cough up money to get the food, I won’t get it. With intentions there is always a presence of a struggle with you or some opposing factor in your life that causes you not to fulfill the intention. Good intentions are not good enough.

Good intentions without action behind it means nothing. If you don’t put fire behind your intention, that intention dies. How would you like if the Lord only intended to die for us? If He’d not put action behind it, we’d be a most miserable people. If you really intend to do something, it would have been done. So when you are in a warring with your flesh, its a conflict. I’m glad the Lord didn’t get cold feet when it came to us. I’d rather for someone to say that they can’t do something, than to say they intend to do something, and don’t do it. When thinking if a person will go forward with doing something for someone else they say “Well how did they treat me last week? They didn’t treat me right. They borrowed money from me last time. No I don’t like them. You borrow money and didn’t pay me back.” The other person says “I was intent on paying you back.” We’re always in a conflict with ourselves. We do things for people according to if they did something for us. Conflict and intentions have a hand in hand relationship, because conflict keeps you from carrying out intentions. Opposition keeps you from carrying out intentions. Your attitude towards a person keeps you from being a brother or sister in Christ to that person. There is war between brothers and sisters in Christ. If a brother or sister didn’t do something we didn’t like, we hold back brotherly love. The Bible says we should care about others more than ourselves. If we don’t, we spread discord because a sister or brother didn’t get the love needed, and so they spread bitterness and it trickles down to the next person. We ought to know how to talk to our brothers and sisters, motivating them to do good and not to do jackedupness. I don’t want you to leave hurt. If we don’t do go to our brothers, their hurt will be internalized and the hurt will be spread. Care about your brother or sister. Isn’t something how we get jealous? We have so much opposition. Why because there is a selfish nature inherited by humans. Jesus with the disciples who were going to dinner rebuked Jesus for sitting with publicans and sinners. Jesus said He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. We must not have a selfish mentality.

James 1:5-8

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We want to look good before other peoples eyes, because our intentions are not good. There is a war and conflict going on. Don’t think God is going to answer you when you have a mindset to do things for show. Did you know being a Christian is a lonely road? You go through a lot of trials and tests, because He wants to make you. We say to the Lord, why are You taking me through all this? Why me? I don’t want to go through another test? We complain through the entire thing, then at the end, we say Lord, it was good for me to go through that. There is always a conflict because our flesh wants to kick against everything. We say I’ll go help sister or brother so and so clean their house, because its filthy. You work tirelessly. When you get to your own house, you’re so tired and fall asleep, and miss your time with Lord because you were too busy doing something for someone else. When you have an intent to do something, make sure you carry it out.

How do we get beyond not carrying out our intentions? Its selfishness. It’s alright to be selfish, but not to the detriment of being with Him. When we have intentions the pray, and we don’t what kept us? Its the warring that takes place in our lives, souls, and day to day operation. We intend to do good, but you can’t be double minded as James says. When you’re warring it means a struggle between opposing forces. The word conflict is a clash between forces. There is a clash inside of you. What are you warring against? What things are distracting you? Phone calls, frivolous things? But you just told Jesus that you don’t have time. We make the time for what we want to make time for, and then we complain when we think Christ isn’t coming on time. When we get in trouble when do we want Jesus? Before hand so when we get in trouble we don’t need to worry about calling Him. Can you imagine Jesus talking to the Father about us saying “oh Lord.” Then the Father says to Jesus, “Well You died for them.” Our intent needs to be carried out. The Lord asks one thing of us: to Love Him. Then He said after you love Me, love others. He didn’t ask you for your car or to burn 20, 000 houses to sacrifice to Him, He just said love Me, and as you love Me, love one another. Its your reasonable service just to love. So when you intend to do something, don’t intend, just do it. Its you who makes the promises you don’t keep.

Do you remember Samson? He had all that strength to be used for Lord, but he was fighting against the people who were fighting against his people, the Philistines. He had a conflict. How about David? He had conflicts. How about Saul? People don’t realize that these conflicts in their lives were destroying their communication and walk with God.

Proverbs 16:1-9

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

A man plans his ways, but God guides his steps in the way they should go. There is a way that seems right to a man, a woman, a child, but the end thereof is death. Your mind plays tricks on you. If your mind is jacked up, then how will your way be? Those who think themselves something are nothing. When you think your something, your nothing, there is a way that seems right to man, but the end thereof is the way of death. When you think you’re something, then your end is death.

Point your finger at yourself and say “You’re always getting me into trouble.” No one makes you do anything. You do things because you want to. You remember the old song “The devil’s on my back.” The devil isn’t on your back, if he was, you’d be all jacked up. He doesn’t care about you. He has too many other things to do than to be on your back. The Lord is the one that cares about you. Satan just doesn’t want you to win more souls to God. Satan knows there is a God and he trembles. You hear some people say “I ain’t scared of no God,” meanwhile, Satan, God archenemy trembles at Him. We need to realize that we can’t beat God or jack Him up.

Make sure the intents of your heart are genuine.

Further reading on this topic: Proverbs 17:14-20,1 Corinthians 1:9-17, Philippians 2:1-16

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Lord it’s Me Again

The word that goes in you, it marinates and gets in you.

Psalm 139:1-13

O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

You have searched me. How many feel that the Lord has searched you? So who knows you better than the Lord? No one. When David got excited about something, he put a tune to it. Send for the chief musician, not the understudy, because people need to hear what I have to say. God knows our ways. He knows what we will say in the next moment before its even uttered from our mouths. When you know to do good and don’t do it, its not because you can’t do it, its because you desire NOT to do it. We only bring up excuses because we don’t want to do it. This is a man talking to a God he has a relationship with. So when you say words, you know they are powerful. You can kill with words, which are worse than a bullet or knife, because words kill the soul. So when you tell someone you hate their guts, or everything that makes them exist, that is a strong saying. Sometimes people get upset with you, not realizing their not upset with you but with themselves.

Lord it’s me again. You remember the one who was hard headed and didn’t want to come to Church, and fought you every step of the way? How many times have you heard people say “I love the Lord,” when everything they do is against the Lord? Their ready to fight you. But the Lord doesn’t need anyone to fight for Him, because He died for you.

We can’t go anywhere where He doesn’t know us, or see the mess we’re sitting in. You know you can’t be doing stuff in the dark. If you are, your deeds are evil. There is no darkness in Christ. Darkness to Him is like Him wearing a permanent night vision. Natural eyes can’t see in darkness, but He sees everything you do and the intent of your heart. When the Lord looked for one of His disciples, they were hid; everywhere else but the House of God. I’m not talking about the physical House of God. Everyone figures that they have to be on their knees to be praying. It’s what a man thinks in his heart that will he be. If you’re on your knees and thinking wrong, your still sinning. Lord it’s me again, standing in the need of prayer? Why? Because I’m trying to fight me. You’ll never win the battles fighting against yourself, because yourself has to have the last word. The Lord says no…let me have the last word in your life. We always tell ourselves that we can’t do certain things, because we always put limits on ourselves. You know why I can’t do it? Because there is something holding me back. Lord its me…again.

David would do stuff. Did you know he was a murder, adulter, and abuser? But how could it be said that David was a man after God’s own heart? When David did what he did, he knew how to go to God and repent, and fall on his face prostrate and dress in sackcloth and ashes. It wasn’t him putting on a show, he was being genuine. How many times have you gotten on your knees and said to God “I’m jacked?” How many have ever prayed “God forgive me for being me?” Or “Lord why did you choose me?”  God is trying to tell us He chose us because He knows us. Inside and out, our whole mindset. Nobody, man or woman knows the heart of another. We were never set a judges over each other. No man can tell you where you go. The point is, God knows you. You know how people say they know you like the back of their hand? God knows you. He died for you. Not knowing you in the physical state, but in the spiritual state. He knew you before the foundation of the world. He knew you, you were already predestined, and if so, you had every choice in the world to change that route. It won’t work, but it sounds good. So God is trying to us know He knows our thoughts before we ever think it. So when we come to Him and say “its me again,” know this, He knows what your coming for, but He wants to see how much it effects you. Are you shaken or stirred? I’ve not given your the spirit of fear, but of peace love and a sound mind. What does that mean? Things shouldn’t soon shake you. We can’t be disturbed because someone said no.

You have to realize that while you were getting your clothes on, He already knew what was going to happen. Do you know these things are tests to see if we’ll break down? And we do it without no problems at all, we breakdown. I will breakdown Lord, but I need You to pick me up again after the breakdown. The Lord knows that when we get into situations in our lives, He knows when we say “Lord its me again.” He is not a condemning God. He know that already, so come to him with honesty and genuineness.

We must believe that when everyone else fails, Jesus doesn’t. People fail in your life because they don’t know the outcome of what your life will be. But Christ gives you the real deal. He knows everything about you. The moment you’ll cry at the moment you’ll cry, and the moment you’ll lie at the moment you lie.

Romans 8:28-39

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All that you’re going through, see or feel, is for His purpose. A daddy that loves you will always set you up for a blessing. Because what people may think is for your bad, God already knows its for your good. Because I love being set up by God. Jesus set me up. All things work together for the good to them who are the called according to His purpose. As a Child of God your will is not your own but to do His will. So the trials He takes you through, will not compare to the trails of another person. What they need to make them be real will all work together to make you…We all work together. If you’re jacked up, down trodden and everything, and everyone is jacked up, how can you help anyone?

Do you get dirty in your justified body, are you filthy in your justified body? You haven’t took it to the dry cleaners in so long. Some of us are walking around with a dirty justified body. Some of us are nasty. How do you know its dirty? It is God that justifies. Is it man that justifies? Man can’t do anything for me, he has too much of a mouth and is too opinionated. Man justalies. When things don’t go well in the way they want for their glory, they get mad with God. If you’re representing God, they’ll get mad at you. Who has rights to blame the Children of God. No one can talk about me except my God because He is justified, because He knew me before I even came down here. He knows you, and if He sees something in you He doesn’t like, know this, He’ll take you through a test. He wants to make you, so He’ll break you down. You have to destruct so you can constructed. When you can’t get it right, He’ll put TNT on you, and blow up everything. When He puts tests and trials on you, its to make you and not break you. So understand this, God will do what He said He’ll do, to make you what He wants you to be. He wants you to be an awesome powerful saint and minister for Him. You can’t be that if you have a lot of issues constantly going on in your life, because you’re too busy worrying about the issues.

So when you come before the Lord and say Lord its me again, He already knows what you’ll say to Him. How many of you ever brought God a problem and didn’t bring a solution? When you come to God, don’t come with all these problems and no solution. You are you’re own worst enemy. As long as you allow this world to control you, you are at the beck and call of this world. You can’t allow this world to dictate you. You should be praying to the Lord “deliver me from me. Lord its me again. I can’t get over myself.”

Galatians 6:9-10

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Lord its me again, help me not to be me, help me to be what you want me to be. You need to spend quality time with the Lord, not quantity. A matter of a fact. In order to have a relationship with any person, you need to spend quality time with them. God wants you to spend quality time with Him. You should set an A/B/C time plan with that personal place or thing to fulfill the need of that relationship. Then spend quality time to complete that cycle of commitment, and above all things do not let a laps of time take place between A/B/C plan because a laps in time will bring about an air of lackadaisicalness and disappointment.

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Case of the Missing Faith

Matthew 8:5-13

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

This man of the Roman army, a leader of the Roman army came to Him and said “My servant…” One thing we have to understand is that he cared about those under his authority, under his leadership. Jesus marveled. Why did He marvel? When the Centurion said he tells the one to go and he goes, when he tells the one to sit down, he sits down. Why are the Children of God so disobedient? When you were at school and your teacher told you to be quiet, you sat down and were quiet. At your job, the boss tells you go pick up that thing and bring it over here and put this together. You don’t look at him and say why. If you do, you won’t have a job long. If you challenge the one in authority, he can ask you why are you here? “I’m here because I need the money and have nothing else to do.” So he will ask, didn’t you sign some papers saying you will abide by the rules of this company? The point is, when God gives us authority, we have to obey His authority. We want people to do what we say, but we won’t do what they say. Can you imagine the sight of Christ saying that He’d not found so great faith in Israel, after having been teaching to His disciples on faith? The Centurion had great faith in Jesus Who commands the air, the spirits. The Centurion believed that Jesus authority was sure. He had enough faith in Jesus that He had authority. He knew that when Jesus said it, it would be done. He knew that all power was in Christ hands. He had not found one, no not even in Israel as faithful. Can He say that to you today? The Children of the Kingdom will be cast out..those who walk around thinking they are Christians when they aren’t. Because the servants boss had faith, the results went to the servant. It wasn’t about the servants boss, but about God because of the Centurions faith.

Do we have faith like that today? Or do we need something to crank us up? So if you’re going through something, could it be you’re the one going through, and its waiting on you?

Matthew 8:14-16

And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

God was showing His authority over sickness. Some people are sick because they want to be sick. If you serve a God who can heal, why are you sick? We sometimes use sickness as a crutch. Has your salvation become a crutch so that people will look at you and praise you instead of God? Sometimes things may not seem so clear as to where we are in Him. We’ll do things because we’re not sure where He is or where we are, to test our faith to see if Christ will be there to help us out. We’ll stretch the limit, come almost there to only find out that maybe He’s not really watching me right now…”God are you there?” Sometimes things might not seem so clear where we are in Him, even if we may have strayed away from salvation, a little off mark from the high calling of salvation.

What do you tell children when crossing the street? You stop, look both ways and listen. Have we done that in our lives with our sin, and asked how it will affect our walk in Christ, affect my Salvation? Do you know its a personal walk, not a public one? You don’t need anyone poisoning your walk by their views or understanding. Words are powerful, and even more so to the feeble-minded. It’s important that you get the right info the right way and in all you’re getting get an understanding. It’s important that we stop look and listen for the Breath of God. People breathing down our neck, talking to about everything under the sun except the Son. Misery loves company, and company has friends. He has been exhaling in our lives, but we continue doing what we’re doing in hope that He understands. We’ve used that term before “He understands me. We’re that tight.” He understands what we are doing, walking by sight and kind of by faith. At one time or another we’ve done that. The Bible tells us we walk by faith and not by sight. But most of us blend it: a little bit of sight a little bit of faith. We comfortably do that. When your mind is walking by sight, then your mind is influenced around you, you are walking by others. When they are jacked up, you’re jacked up. Sometimes we allow things, emotions and situations to dominate our walk. In most cases we begin to second guess ourselves and our faith begins to wean, leading to faithlessness.

 

Hebrews 11:1-6

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

Everywhere you see faith in these passages, substitute for “complete trust.”

Have you ever gone to someone who you know can’t help you? Most of the time we go to someone who can help. You have faith that they can do what you know can be done. If you can’t trust in anybody, then you’ll not go to the “body,” but go to another body to help you take care of your body! We’re sick because we want to be sick, laid up, stressed out, and prostrate before everyone because we get attention. We’re sick because we want attention. What about those who really are sick? Where is their faith? The case of the missing faith. If you have the faith of a grain of a mustard seed…

I have a concept of what faith is: trusting in something that you don’t have an idea or clue about, because you have complete trust. You exhibit and use complete trust everyday. When you get out of your bed do you step on a cloud or the floor? You trust that the floor is going to hold you. You don’t have to think about it because you trust it completely. This is how it should be with Jesus. We don’t have to think about Him because we know He is faithful. This is what faith is, not having to worry about your salvation. Not arrogantly, but not having to worry about if you are going to be healed, or going back with Him. Why do we read the Word of God? Because we completely trust in it. Do you completely trust God? Then why are you limping? By His stripes you are healed. Our complete trust is conditional. What we don’t want to accept is we’ve given Him conditions for our life, when He never gave us conditions. How many love the Lord? We love Him on conditions and completely trust Him on conditions. Have we lost our hope? Or more than that, have we quietly lost our hope in Christ Jesus? Maybe a dream we’ve had that didn’t come to pass or a relationship that did go the way you planned and you quietly blamed Jesus because it didn’t come to fruition. And now you sit in your pity, patty party, blaming yourself and Jesus too, instead of standing on your most holy faith and asking the Lord to forgive you and forgive yourself. Hope lost. You have no faith when hope is lost. Without faith you can’t please God. Hopelessness sets into you.

In conclusion, we can’t allow our self pity to rule or ruin our walk in Christ Jesus.

Romans 12:1-16

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

 

5 Points to remember:

1 Do not lean-to your own understanding, Proverbs 3:5-6

2 Change the way you have been thinking from a selfish worldy mind to a Christ Jesus mind, Romans 12:2-4

3 Don’t allow things or your situations to dictate your walk, Ephesians 4:14-16

4 Without faith you cannot please God, Hebrews 11:6

5 You can do all things through Christ, Philippians 4:13