So many times in Christendom we go into habits that distance us from God. We don’t experience God in a personal way because we become very regimented. I want us to look outside of the normal way of what we do service. I don’t talk about being disloyal or lack of reverence. But we need to become attached to God, not detached. Let’s not be “churchy”, but let’s keep it real.
Philippians 2:1-2 “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”
I want you to really think with me about the subject of prayer. How should it be performed?
Matthew 6:5-7:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Jesus tells His church how to connect with heaven. We don’t need to be like the hypocrites - those who play out. They love the attention from men. They have their reward and missed heaven.
Eve followed Satan. How enemy deceives us? 1 Peter 5:8-9: “8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
First , be sober - we must not be intoxicated. Our mind has to be cleansed. How? By His Word. We have to watch out for the enemy. Not in fear, because we are not ignorant. He did it before, he will do it again.
People today believe the soul cannot die. We think majority rules, that is popular, so it must be right. But the Bible says otherwise. Ezekiel 18:20: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” If we stay the course of God’s word, we clear up that lie.
It says, if we believe in Christ, we shall not perish, but will have everlasting life, but if we don’t have Christ, we will perish. The enemy taught us, that souls that sinneth will never perish, but will exist for eternity somewhere. Unbiblical, but we laid hold of this. Why? Because it is popular, because some people with higher education teach it.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Many think today that Christ came to do away with the law and the prophets.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17, 18).
What did He fulfill?
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:9-10)
You are not saved by works, but by faith. The law cannot save. Only through the sacrifice can you be forgiven.
What was abolished in the Coming of Christ? Sacrifices and offerings.
“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8).
Christ did not alter the commandments of God. They are still here today.
Paul wrote to Timothy, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word.” (2 Timothy 4:1-2).
What are we preaching? Jesus Christ. He is the Word!
We can’t cut pieces of God’s Word out. We must take the full counsel of God.
Jesus told us, “If ye love Me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15).
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage– with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Paul talked about instruction, that comes from the Scripture, which is the Old Testament. He said, “Preach this Word”.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:13-16).
So many times we become involved in church things and our life is consumed by necessary things, like studying. There are many students of the Word who don’t really know Him. We are coming to the living Word of God.
Salt has ability to preserve - a wonderful gift God gave. With our weather we are thinking about salt having the ability to melt. “You are the salt of the earth.” We have the ability to preserve, keep life. In preserving life we share life.
I can’t find life in a grocery store on the shelf and to buy life. The only place to find life is in the presence of the life giver. People teach that we have endless life and that we are immortal. Even though the Bible never calls men immortal, only through the relationships with Christ can we experience real life now and in His coming we will be transformed and become immortal.
Salt can melt lies, melt stony hearts. You are salt. You. Because of Christ indwelling us we can melt down barriers. We can reach the world because we are salt. There is no limit to what we can do.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
To persevere means: to persist in spite of counter influences or opposition or discouragement; to remain unchaged or fixed in character, condition or position.
We are not developing the character of God. We are very shallow: when a slightest obstacle comes, we’d throw a towel: “Maybe it was not God’s will,” and we’d go on.We are suffering from lack of perseverance.
“3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs– he wants to please his commanding officer.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)The word is given to you for the benefit of your spiritual soundness. Stand up and quit being candy.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17).
Let’s be honest, many of you think, “If those children don’t make noise it will be much better.” Children’s hearts remain pure and simple.
Last night I watched my grandson. He sat on my lap and started playing with my face, laughing, pulling my ears. How many of us are like that? How many of us want to look in the face of our Master?
You can also watch this sermon in video format:
Touch the Face of God from Tatyana Noel on Vimeo.How many of us have fun with Christ? How many of us truly know Christ? If we really truly know Him we won’t have regimented, cut and dry, stagnant and boring things. (more…)
Denominations cause people to think, “I can’t go to that church, because I’m this [denomination].” Ephesians 2:19-22: “19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. ”
We are really out not to witness to unbelievers about Christ, but to convert other Christians to our way of thinking. If someone disagrees with you, doctrinally speaking, bear with them in love “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” [Ephesians 4:13]. The same Spirit that is in the Baptists, is in the Pentecostals, in the Adventists, in Methodists, etc. “There is one body and one Spirit” (Ephesians 4:4).
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 2:1-3).
The word “Sabbath” in Hebrew means to cease, to rest.
The question at hand today is, “Do I observe the Sabbath day at my choosing or the Sabbath day is appointed in creation by God?”.
“1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth justice to the nations. 6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” (Isaiah 42:1,6-7 )
God wants us to realize who we are. He sends His Son, His ambassador. He commissioned His special servant to stir us up to reflect His glory.
Jesus was meek. Meekness is not meekness, but power under control.
Christians have to know who we are. “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” (Psalm 82:6)
There are people in our community who are totally in the dark about observing the 7th day Sabbath. They say, “You are wrong, this is a cult.” It’s only going to get worse. I want you to be prepared to stand for what is right.
When I just started pastoring, two Advent Christian ministers brought me to a book store. One of those men grabbed “Great controversy”, handed it to me and said, “You need to read this.” I was spellbound. I connected with the mission for my life, what God wants me to do. The controversy is not between us and Satan, but between God and Satan. We are in the center, because we are on God’s side. We are successful, because we stay the course with God.
I came to understand that I was worshiping on a wrong day. In observing the Sabbath day there is a protection, joy. It goes back to honoring what God has established. I heard all those excuses, “it is really does not matter what day to worship on.” If it does not matter, why not to give up your Sunday? It mattered to God; it should matter to us - to observe the 7th day.
“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:8-10).
What He is saying in verses 9-10 - if we continue the trend of following the traditions of men after God is showing us what He wants then we are drinking of that cup and going into our own damnation, in bondage, that will come on them. This has been a mesmerizing passage to some, “Oh, we will receive an implant or a tattoo.” The passage is so simple, if you understand the Bible. (more…)
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth: (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
So many times in Christendom we go into habits that distance us from God. We don’t experience God in a personal way because we become very regimented. I want us to look outside of the normal way of what we do service. I don’t talk about being disloyal or lack of reverence. But we need to become attached to God, not detached. Let’s not be “churchy”, but let’s keep it real.
