Hello again my most wonderful co-adventurers. Yes, together we will take another journey and adventure into the glorious world of the Spirit. It is good to partake of the Living Bread together. I am so blessed that you could join me again. Our flagship verse for this session is found in I Peter 4:17-19. "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, 'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?' So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."
Let me share with you some words that I speak to my grandson from time to time. They are the following: "Sarge, when you come to a place where you do what is right when no one is looking, then you are beginning to walk in the Fear of the Lord." Now you might be saying to yourself, "KennyG, how do all these things tie together? You have given us several things to chew on and it's hard to understand. You have given us a redbird who is doing a Clint Eastwood imitation. You have given us your saying to your grandson about judgement and the verse about judgement. What does it all mean?" To be honest, my dearly beloved, I really don't know at this point. That is usually how it is when I sit to type these messages of truth and love. The Holy Spirit, in most cases, gives me the words as I go. With that said, let's go to the Almighty One in prayer, for help making sense of all of this.
Almighty God, You are glorious and most powerful. You know all things. You are everywhere. Everything is upheld by Your Word. We worship You and we adore You. Thank You for loving us by sending Your Son, Jesus, to take our place. The place of the cross. The place where mercy meets judgment. Our sins placed upon Him and judged. Your mercy and forgiveness toward us who believe. Help us now to understand the Holy scriptures, most wonderful Holy Spirit. Help us to do the Word and not just be hearers. In Jesus name...AMEN.
Yes, someone is looking at you and I. And it is all the time. Proverbs 15:3 says, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." Now, that could be good or bad news, according to how we are living our life. If your life is hopeless and miserable because of sin. If you feel empty, then by all means, repent now and receive your forgiveness. Now, look at what else God does with His looking. Check out 2 Chronicles 16:8,9. "Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." What an awesome promise. Let's put our faith out there right now and together dare to believe this promise.
Notice the highlighted words in the above paragraph. Hang in there with me, we ARE getting somewhere. The Bible says that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And we found out in earlier messages that the Fear of the Lord is tied to obedience. Well, most importantly, a sold out to the Lord type of obedience. We found that out while we were studying the life of Abraham. Let's go there now for another visit. Do you have time? Cool! Genesis 22:9-12 says, "When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an alter there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the alter, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, Abraham, Abraham ! Here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Boy, we could preach volumes of sermons about those few verses.
What do we have so far? We understand that the eyes of Almighty God is everywhere. We have learned that the commandment of the Lord is that we should revere Him and obey Him. And with that lifestyle we can believe He will always show up on our behalf when we are in dire straights. Now for the not so fun part. Judgment. Yes, contrary to many so called "feel good" messages out there, God is still in the judging business. I can hear it now, "but brother Ken, Jesus was judged in our place." Yes that is true....a thousand times YES ! Actually our sin which was placed on Him was judged. If we believe in God's salvation through Christ Jesus, by faith, through grace (His doing) then we have a right to ask for forgiveness. We have a right to be washed in His blood so that we may be cleansed of all unrighteousness. We have a right to sing the Hallelujah chorus because Jesus even went to hell in our place, so we would not have to....if we believe. But God does use many ways to get our attention. Many trials and tribulations come our way in order to test our faith, to sanctify us and to chastise us. We most certainly do suffer consequences for our sin and iniquity. God does whip us for our own good here and now. We may do a study on this most wonderful subject in the coming weeks, but for now just know this: When we sin we do have a High Priest who covers us with His own blood on the mercy seat before God the Father. But we still have all sorts of circumstance that come our way, from God, which keep us headed in the right direction.
Brothers and sisters, we are at the end of the end. Jesus, even now is beginning to ease off of His throne to come and meet His beloved in the air. But His Word describes many things that must take place before the Bride meets her Groom. We will be caught away before the tribulation period, but even now we are experiencing the shadow of its coming. The whole world will soon know that there is a God in heaven. The Glory of God will fill the whole earth. It will flow through us, His beloved. Those who are holy, sold out and sanctified. Many will come to the Gospel of Light within us because of the darkness which will cover the whole globe. God desires that all men would be saved. We are about to witness the greatest revival known to man. Can you do a little jig with me and sing, "Oh hail King Jesus !" Good times....good times.
Now for the part about God judging His church(remember our flagship verse). Are you still with me? Sorry this is getting so long. I must keep typing away until the Holy Spirit releases me. Take a break if need be. Get a beverage. Take a walk (even if it is only in your mind) through the glorious atmosphere of God's green earth. Sing a tune. Meditate with great thanksgiving in your heart for the many wonderful things He has done. Relax beside a cool mountain stream. Be still and know He is God, and then come on back for the conclusion. It's going to be a good one...I can't wait to see how the sweet Holy Spirit wraps this message up.
How was it? Isn't God good? He can't help Himself...that's who He is. OK, we have learned from past studies that God's latter temple is going to be greater then His former. Speaking of the former tabernacle of David. We also know that much in the Old Testament has proven to be a shadow of things to come. We even see such a shadow in the New Testament (covenant). Turn with me to Acts 4: 31-5:1-16.
31 While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God's Word with fearless confidence. 32 The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn't even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, "That's mine; you can't have it." They shared everything. 33 The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them. 34 And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale 35 to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person's need. 36 Joseph, called by the apostles "Barnabas" (which means "Son of Comfort"), a Levite born in Cyprus, 37 sold a field that he owned, brought the money, and made an offering of it to the apostles.
Almighty God, You are glorious and most powerful. You know all things. You are everywhere. Everything is upheld by Your Word. We worship You and we adore You. Thank You for loving us by sending Your Son, Jesus, to take our place. The place of the cross. The place where mercy meets judgment. Our sins placed upon Him and judged. Your mercy and forgiveness toward us who believe. Help us now to understand the Holy scriptures, most wonderful Holy Spirit. Help us to do the Word and not just be hearers. In Jesus name...AMEN.
Yes, someone is looking at you and I. And it is all the time. Proverbs 15:3 says, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." Now, that could be good or bad news, according to how we are living our life. If your life is hopeless and miserable because of sin. If you feel empty, then by all means, repent now and receive your forgiveness. Now, look at what else God does with His looking. Check out 2 Chronicles 16:8,9. "Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." What an awesome promise. Let's put our faith out there right now and together dare to believe this promise.
Notice the highlighted words in the above paragraph. Hang in there with me, we ARE getting somewhere. The Bible says that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And we found out in earlier messages that the Fear of the Lord is tied to obedience. Well, most importantly, a sold out to the Lord type of obedience. We found that out while we were studying the life of Abraham. Let's go there now for another visit. Do you have time? Cool! Genesis 22:9-12 says, "When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an alter there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the alter, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, Abraham, Abraham ! Here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Boy, we could preach volumes of sermons about those few verses.
What do we have so far? We understand that the eyes of Almighty God is everywhere. We have learned that the commandment of the Lord is that we should revere Him and obey Him. And with that lifestyle we can believe He will always show up on our behalf when we are in dire straights. Now for the not so fun part. Judgment. Yes, contrary to many so called "feel good" messages out there, God is still in the judging business. I can hear it now, "but brother Ken, Jesus was judged in our place." Yes that is true....a thousand times YES ! Actually our sin which was placed on Him was judged. If we believe in God's salvation through Christ Jesus, by faith, through grace (His doing) then we have a right to ask for forgiveness. We have a right to be washed in His blood so that we may be cleansed of all unrighteousness. We have a right to sing the Hallelujah chorus because Jesus even went to hell in our place, so we would not have to....if we believe. But God does use many ways to get our attention. Many trials and tribulations come our way in order to test our faith, to sanctify us and to chastise us. We most certainly do suffer consequences for our sin and iniquity. God does whip us for our own good here and now. We may do a study on this most wonderful subject in the coming weeks, but for now just know this: When we sin we do have a High Priest who covers us with His own blood on the mercy seat before God the Father. But we still have all sorts of circumstance that come our way, from God, which keep us headed in the right direction.
Brothers and sisters, we are at the end of the end. Jesus, even now is beginning to ease off of His throne to come and meet His beloved in the air. But His Word describes many things that must take place before the Bride meets her Groom. We will be caught away before the tribulation period, but even now we are experiencing the shadow of its coming. The whole world will soon know that there is a God in heaven. The Glory of God will fill the whole earth. It will flow through us, His beloved. Those who are holy, sold out and sanctified. Many will come to the Gospel of Light within us because of the darkness which will cover the whole globe. God desires that all men would be saved. We are about to witness the greatest revival known to man. Can you do a little jig with me and sing, "Oh hail King Jesus !" Good times....good times.
Now for the part about God judging His church(remember our flagship verse). Are you still with me? Sorry this is getting so long. I must keep typing away until the Holy Spirit releases me. Take a break if need be. Get a beverage. Take a walk (even if it is only in your mind) through the glorious atmosphere of God's green earth. Sing a tune. Meditate with great thanksgiving in your heart for the many wonderful things He has done. Relax beside a cool mountain stream. Be still and know He is God, and then come on back for the conclusion. It's going to be a good one...I can't wait to see how the sweet Holy Spirit wraps this message up.
How was it? Isn't God good? He can't help Himself...that's who He is. OK, we have learned from past studies that God's latter temple is going to be greater then His former. Speaking of the former tabernacle of David. We also know that much in the Old Testament has proven to be a shadow of things to come. We even see such a shadow in the New Testament (covenant). Turn with me to Acts 4: 31-5:1-16.
31 While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God's Word with fearless confidence. 32 The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn't even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, "That's mine; you can't have it." They shared everything. 33 The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them. 34 And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale 35 to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person's need. 36 Joseph, called by the apostles "Barnabas" (which means "Son of Comfort"), a Levite born in Cyprus, 37 sold a field that he owned, brought the money, and made an offering of it to the apostles.
1 But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, 2 secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it. 3 Peter said, "Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field? 4 Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn't lie to men but to God." 5 Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. 6 The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him. 7 Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. 8 Peter said, "Tell me, were you given this price for your field?" "Yes," she said, "that price." 9 Peter responded, "What's going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door, and you're next." 10 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down, dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.
They All Met Regularly
12 Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. 13 But even though people admired them a lot, outsiders were wary about joining them. 14 On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Master were added right and left, men and women both. 15 They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter's shadow when he walked by. 16 They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.
Acts 5:1-16 (MSG)
So much meat found here. I encourage you to read it for yourself over and over again. Do I believe that we will see things like this in the churches and houses of worship we attend today. YES ! Now is the time to make Jesus your Lord and Master (if you haven't done so already). If you are already a believer...then ensure that you come to a place where you are 100% sold out. A person who abhors evil, and is quick to repent when you sin. The world as we know it is on the brink of a major shift. But that's OK because the beloved of the Lord are also going through changes. We are being sanctified. God is making us vessels of honor through which He will pour out His glory so the whole world can see. We will also be the mercy seat of Christ. His glory will flow through that mercy before sinners and the like can experience Him in His fullness or they would quickly perish.
Remember...God's eyes are ever upon us. Be quick to repent. Spend time with Him in your secret place. Wash yourself with the Word often. If you haven't done so yet...pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. You will need Him to teach you, even about the things yet to come. And the next time someone asks you, "Hey, You looking at me?" You can reply most humbly, "No, but I know that Jesus, who died in your place, has His eyes upon you because He loves you with an everlasting love." Get ready my fellow vessels of light. The church which has slumbered for so long is awakening. The multitudes are about to come to the Glory in you like moths are drawn to light. Please have great, great faith...YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT. Until we meet again, peace and great joy be yours this day in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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