1 Timothy 3:15, "...that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
Zephaniah 3:14, “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
(31) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
(32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
(33) They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
(34) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
(35) And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
(36) If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
(37) I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
(38) I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.”
-Winston Churchill
We call it the Fourth of July, July 4th, or by its proper designation, Independence Day. It is the celebration of citizens of the United States as they commemorate:
…The Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.
The Founding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4.[1]
On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail:
The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.[2]
Truth leads to freedom: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
There is a difference between being set free and to make free = you can be free physically, but bound. Prisoners who have been in prison for many years are now put in classes to help them transition from the mindset of a prisoner to that of a free man when the date of their release gets close. Some people don’t know how to handle freedom.
“…The truth shall make you free…” Knowing Jesus – The Way, The Truth, and the Life – will make you free.
Free from the prison of guilt, slavery of evil desires, immoral tendencies, and debased opinions.
The condition of a sinner, or anyone who hasn’t given themselves completely to King Jesus, is that of a captive…a slave to sin.
Romans 6:16-22
(16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
(17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
(18) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
(19) I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
(20) For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
(21) What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
(22) But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
The effect of the Gospel is to break this hard bondage to sin and to set the sinner free. We learn from this that obeying the Gospel and serving Jesus is not slavery or oppression. It is true freedom.[3]
Often, in life, people are mistreated and find themselves bound by others.
Moreover, people find themselves bound by their own choices.
Jesus sets all people free.
Reminds me of a chorus I heard when I was young:
Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, For He sets me free!
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”[4]
I am certain that there is someone here who has been battling with something that has robbed you of your peace of mind.
You can’t seem to get the rest you need because of it.
You feel bound by it.
It is not a sin, but it has put chains on you and you want to be free.
Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, Jesus breaks every fetter, For He sets me free!
“Joseph was a type of Christ in the Old Testament. The famine was an event designed to bring the brothers to repentance and a saving knowledge, both physically and spiritually. The tragedy of the famine created the circumstances that led to freedom for these men, for they had been in bondage to a wicked crime against their brother for many years. It was forgiveness from Joseph that led to that freedom.”
-Os Hillman
Let Freedom Ring
Genesis 37:26-36
(26) And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
(27) Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
(28) Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
(29) And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
(30) And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
(31) And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
(32) And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
(33) And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
(34) And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
(35) And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
(36) And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.
Decisions that stick with you
Good ones
Bad ones
These brothers lived years in the knowledge of what they’d done and it effected every part of their life, UNTIL they heard of the salvation available in Egypt.
Their bad choice, with all its years of negative consequences and grief was about to be reversed and where bondage was there would now be freedom.
John Bevere, Killing Kryptonite:
My freedom didn’t come until I changed my priorities. In the beginning, I wanted God to set me free because I was worried my sin would get in the way of my ministry. But then my heart shifted, and I began to focus on how my decisions were affecting my intimacy with Jesus. I started caring about how my sin affected God.
Duke Ellington’s Four Major Freedoms to Live By and Enjoy (4-29-1969):
Freedom from hate, unconditionally.
Freedom from self-pity.
Freedom from fear of possibly doing something that may help someone else more than it would help you.
Freedom from the kind of pride that could make a man feel that he is better than his brother.
August 28, 2023 will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech.[5] In this seminal speech, King addressed the inequalities and injustices that severed, and still sever, the black citizens and white citizens of the United States of America from one another. His dream was for that division to end and true brotherhood to begin, which is why he would say:
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaveswho had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny, and they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied [applause] as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating for whites only. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia), the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification,” one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: “My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”[6]
There are moments in life that we call, “mountain top experiences.”
Like a GPS (global positioning satellite), our minds can take us back to places and locations where we fought battles that effected our hearts and minds.
Sometimes, the struggles wrestled within our spirits, and barrages of attack where even our bodies were worn down to the point where we couldn’t see a way through the craggy pass.
There is a place on top the mountain for you.
God has established it there.
Text: Daniel 2:31-35
(31) Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
(32) This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
(33) His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
(34) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
(35) Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
I am preaching tonight from this thought:
The Great Mountain
It is 606 B.C., and four young men (teenagers really) have been forcibly taken from their homes in the nation Judah, and marched 880 miles into a land of exile to serve Nebuchadnezzar in the gentile city of Babylon, in the land of Shinar.
In Babylon, their captors try to rob them of their identity and these four Hebrew boys (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) receive new Babylonian names (Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego).
It might seem simplistic to say this, but I rise to tell you once again that your adversary, the devil, seeks to devour you.
Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”[1]
He wants to erase all identifying markers from your life that would remind you of your identity.
You are a child of the living God. Your Father is the One who created you and made you. You are part of His people and the sheep of His pasture.
You can rest sure tonight in your identity in Jesus.
This foe would love to put on you a name of shame that marks you as his possession, but we serve the only wise God – Jesus Christ.
There are places in Scripture where people received new names, either by the LORD or some loved one because they refused to allow some negative moniker be put on them for the rest of their life.
How would you like to go around with name “Ichabod” (“no glory”[2])? Why Ichabod? Why No Glory?
“And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.”[3]
Every time Ichabod entered a room they all knew he was named for the day God’s presence left the children of Israel when the Philistines in battle took the Ark of the Covenant.
“…The glory is departed…”
There was no one there to say, “NO! We are not going to call him by that name.”
And he went his entire life with that name of shame upon him.
There is Rachel, she is dying, and she is getting ready to pass this life after giving birth to her second son with Israel.
“And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.”[4]
Benjamin = son of the right hand[6](“right hand” symbolizing strength)
You have a name given to you, by the Lord. Do not let the enemy put a name on you that separates you from His presence, and hinders you from reaching your potential in Christ, and in life.
Names like: Loser, Failure, Liar, Thief, Addict, Useless – some of the many names the father of lies has tried to put on you.
But, Jesus, “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,” has a name for you.
What is that name?
Will you choose to wear it?
Isaiah 62:1-4
(1) For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
(2) And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
(3) Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
(4) Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah [my delight[7]], and thy land Beulah [to marry[8]]: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
God has a great name for you. He wants to delight in you, you are the apple of His eye, and He loves you with an unfailing love.
The name of Jesus Christ is the name we take on when we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
That name is “a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…”[9]
You became espoused to Jesus Christ the moment baptism took place. Why? Because you were baptized in His name.
If you have not been baptized in His name, then you have not taken on the family name.
You need to take on that name because in Jesus “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”[10]
When you take on that name in water baptism all the characteristics of God are available to you.
Let’s talk about our Husband:
Isaiah 54:5, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”
Our secular culture today resists the Creation account in Genesis, but when you stop believing in the Creation then you lose contact with your Husband.
You were made in the image of God.
Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
2 Corinthians 11:2, “…I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
When were you espoused to the Husband? When you were born again of water and Spirit.
When you went down in the waters of baptism and took on His name as the preacher said, “I now baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,” and you came up out of that water a new creature in Christ Jesus taking on His name.
Ephesians 3:14-19, “(14) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (16) That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; (17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (19) And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
Our identity is complete in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are filled with all the fullness of God, and He has a great love for you.
So, never allow satan the pleasure of calling you by some other name because you have been called by the only saving name that is above every name:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”[11]
We love the fight, the grit, the determination and the dedication of these four young men to Jehovah:
Daniel and the lion’s den – he refused to stop praying
The three Hebrew children and the fiery furnace (Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) – they would not bow to an idol. They were told to bow, they were commanded to bow, but they refused to bow.
Don’t bow to an enemy who wants nothing but your destruction.
Do not compromise yourself for other people.
David Johnson & Jared Runck point out the parallels present in the time of Daniel and today:[13]
People are allowed to believe anything at all so long as they don’t happen to believe their beliefs are right and the beliefs of others are wrong.
There is only one way to be saved: you must be born again of water and Spirit to enter into the kingdom of God.[14]
This is the Word of God, this is what Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”[15]
Nebuchadnezzar didn’t care what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego believed, or who they worshipped, as long as they bowed to his great image (Dan. 3:5-6).
Martin Luther King, Jr: The most dangerous type of atheism is not theoretical atheism, but practical atheism —that’s the most dangerous type. And the world, even the church, is filled up with people who pay lip service to God and not life service. And there is always a danger that we will make it appear externally that we believe in God when internally we don’t. We say with our mouths that we believe in him, but we live with our lives like he never existed. That is the ever-present danger confronting religion. That’s a dangerous type of atheism.
In our day, we feel the constant pressure to conform and to be accepted, but that only occurs if you worship their gods (small “g” gods) and cease to worship the One True God.
To stand when everyone else bows…to pray when all others fall silent. You can do that because “we serve the God who delivers from fiery furnaces and lion’s dens.”[16]
These mountain experiences were also proving grounds for their faith: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
Do you think it was easy for these four men to face down everybody? The peer pressure must have been at least as intense as the heat of that furnace.
However, it all began a long time ago when they were teenage boys and the refused to eat the king’s meat.
Do you want to know how to be successful in God? It is in the consistent every day practices and disciplines of faith. Every day growing your faith by doing the right thing one day at a time.
Do not compromise yourself and give up the principles of the Word of God to be accepted by a society that simply wants to destroy you and count you unworthy of the Living God.
Do not allow yourself to turn back to the valley below while climbing the mountain.
You belong spot on top of The Great Mountain.
There is no time to preach about Mt. Horeb, Mt. Sinai. Mt. Moriah, Mt. Gilboa, Mt. Nebo, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Carmel, the Mount of Olives, or Mt. Zion.
No time to tell the stories related to those places where mighty men and women saw their faith’s reward.
Life will take you to a mountain.
We talk about how beautiful it is on the top of the mountain, but nobody wants to talks about the struggle to get to the top of the mountain. We like the valley, the well-watered plains, and we often sing:
When I’m low in spirit I cry Lord lift me up I want to go higher with Thee
But nothing grows high on a mountain so He picked out a valley for me
And He leads me beside still waters somewhere in the valley below
And He draws me aside to be tested and tried in the valley He restoreth my soul[17]
We like it there in the valley. It’s green and plush. The Shepherd has placed us by a stream where we can be restored, but you have to get up at some point and climb that mountain in your life.
It matters really matters what mountain you are climbing, and if you are going to give your all, or not.
Just make certain you make it to The Great Mountain
The Great Mountain
Isaiah 2:1-5
(1) The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
(2) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
(3) And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
(4) And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
(5) O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
In our text, Daniel shares a vision of a great image.
That vision is a prophetic look at four major world powers that would rise and fall:[18]
Head of gold = Babylon = Lion
Breast and arms of silver = Media-Persia = Bear
Belly and thighs of brass = Greece = Leopard
Legs of iron = Roman empire = Dreadful and Terrible Beast[19]
These kingdoms, each in their own time, would become the dominating power in that part of the world, and would conquer the other kingdoms and territories near themselves.
Nevertheless, the Word of God tells us that there was a stone hewn out of the mountain that struck the feet of the great image and that stone became a Great Mountain.
That Great Mountain – The Great Mountain – The Stone, the Rock, the mountain, is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The “LORD’S house” that Isaiah told us would be “established in the top of the mountains,” which is going to fill the whole earth…
…Just prior to the coming of the Lord for His Bride, the whole earth will have heard of Jesus Christ, and The Great Mountain will have filled the whole earth.
That House, on The Great Mountain, is the Church.
The Great Mountain is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Children of Israel (2 million of them with their animals) were wandering in the wilderness and had a water supply problem, and they murmured against Moses:
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.[20]
Paul later tells us the identity of that Rock at Mt. Horeb:
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.[21]
The Holy Ghost is a River tonight that comes out of the Rock.
…Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.[22]
Jesus Christ is the Rock and the Stone
Daniel 2:45, “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.”
Deuteronomy 32:31, “For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.”
Deuteronomy 32:3-4, “(3) Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. (4) He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
Psalm 18:2, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”
Psalm 18:31, “For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?”
Psalm 95:1, “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Isaiah 2:10, “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.”
How do you “Enter into the Rock?” How do you get in Jesus? Peter told us on the Day of Pentecost how to do that:
…God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.[23]
The answer is simple.
Obey the plan of salvation and be born again of water and Spirit.
That is how to enter into the Rock.
Upon this Rock
Matthew 16:13-18
(13) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
(14) And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
(15) He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
(16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
(17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
(18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
“Thou art Peter” = Petros – “a (piece of) rock.”[24]
You are a small pebble, Peter, I’m not going to build My church on you…
“And upon this Rock” = Petra – “a (mass of) rock.”[25]
I am going to build My church on this massive boulder, this Stone hewn out of the mountain, which is going to come and crush the feet of this worldly governmental system…
…and establish an eternal Spiritual kingdom that cannot be destroyed.”
That is what Isaiah was prophesying about: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains…”[26]
Jesus declared it: “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”[27]
You are the Church; you are God’s House sitting in the top of the mountain – The Great Mountain – Our Lord Jesus Christ.
No foe can defeat Him; nothing can overcome Him, or supersede Him.
You can be like the foolish man who builds his house upon the sand, if you want to, or you can be like the wise man who says, “I’m going to build my house upon the Rock.
I am going to build my life upon Jesus. I am going to trust in the words of the Master and know that He is going to be with me no matter where I go.
God is with me.”
God is with you.
What have you built upon?
Have you built upon the Rock? The Rock is here to touch, heal, save, deliver and redeem you, if you will simply turn your heart to Him.
The New Testament tells us about that Rock, the Stone, and we understand who Jesus is: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.[28]
In the Old Testament, the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on stone:
Exodus 31:18, “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”
Exodus 32:15-16, “And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.”
Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the Law written on tables of stone by the finger of God.
He sees the children of Israel doing what they should not be doing and he destroys those tables of stone in exasperation.
You would think that destroying those stone tablets is what stopped Moses from entering the Promise Land.
The reason was that he disobeyed God’s Word, not because he broke stones tablets, but because he broke God’s Word.
Do not break the Word of God through disobedience.
It is established on the Rock, because those stones are a type of Jesus Christ.
That was the Word of God, given to the people of God in the wilderness, and the Bible is says that “Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”[29]
God hewed the tables of stone out of the mountain, and God’s Word was inscribed on them.
Jesus Christ is that Word made flesh – the Stone hewn out of the mountain.
The Church is established upon the Rock.
We stand upon the firm foundation of who Jesus is.
So, no enemy, no foe, can defeat you, or put a name on you that is not identified with Jesus Christ
Unless you allow it.
You have been baptized in His name. You have been established upon the Rock, and wherever you go, you take the Rock with you because you are in mountain of the Lord’s House on the top of the mountain – The Great Mountain – an ever-growing mountain.
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end….”[30]
How and when does the Stone destroy the image?
How and when does it destroy the godless system of this carnal world?[31]
Through the preaching of the Word, the preaching of Jesus Christ – The Great Mountain – the spreading of the Gospel destroys the kingdoms of this world.
That is how the stone in Daniel’s vision broke the great image.
Daniel 2:34-35, “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”
The Great Mountain is the Lord Jesus Christ; on top of that mountain is the Church, the kingdom of God.
In addition, we, the Church, will preach Jesus until the Gospel is preached throughout the whole earth.
The message of Jesus Christ is filling the whole earth right now.
When that happens then Daniel’s vision is fulfilled: “and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.[32]
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”[33]
Apostolic Life Cathedral | April 9, 2023 | 7:00 PM
Matthew 26:1-2
(1) And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
(2) Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
In this passage we see
The Christ – The Chosen – The Crucified
The Christ
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 16
(11) For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
(12) As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
(16) I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
An absolutely oneness view of the Messiah. He came Himself to save His people:
Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:24-25
(24) And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
(25) And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
“…David shall be their prince for ever.” = God manifest in the flesh
1 Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
It was this Christ, this Messiah, This One True God in flesh, that gave Himself on the Cross for you.
The Chosen
John 15:15-19
(15) Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
(16) Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
(17) These things I command you, that ye love one another.
(18) If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
(19) If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Jas_2:5, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”
1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
Rev. 17:14, “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”
The Crucified
See paper: The Crucifixion Fulfills the Passover
Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Gal. 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Mat. 10:38, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”
Mat. 16:24, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
The Christ – The Chosen – The Crucified
Ezekiel 36:26-27
(26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
(27) And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
(4) Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
(5) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
(6) Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
(7) But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
(8) Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
(9) Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
(10) See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Ancillary: Jeremiah 29:11
(11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Moses
He is walking one day along a path when he turns to inspect something he has noticed for some time, but never investigated…
A bush that burns but is not consumed…
There, in that holy place, he meets the I AM and receives a calling that changed his life and resulted in the formation of a nation.
Here, in the The Exodus, we meet God as Savior.[1]
400 years in Egypt have turned a small tribe of 70 Hebrews into a mighty tribe of 2-7 million.
They have become, through no fault of their own, a threat to Egypt and so the Pharaoh of that day, forgetting the salvation brought by the hand of Joseph, enslaves these children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Children of promise enslaved.
You know the story, Moses comes to Pharaoh and delivers the Word from the I AM, “Let My People Go.”
Refusals and plagues ensue until eventually the Egyptian ruler let’s God’s people go.
When they leave, they make a journey, over the Red Sea, on dry ground, and their enemies are never seen again – Water Baptism.
On Mount Sinai God gives Moses the Ten Commandments and these Hebrew descendants of Jacob become a nation and take on his new name – Israel.
The Law – The Torah – 613 Commandments containing “248 Positive Commandments (do’s) and 365 Negative Commandments (do not’s).” [2]
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17):
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet…
Then they travel the wilderness for forty years
Why? An evil report…
After those long years, God sends Moses to Mount Nebo where he views the Land Promise and dies.
Moses introduced Israel to God as Savior and as the God of their Exodus who brought them out of bondage and made them into a nation.
God has done that for you tonight, He has put into place a way for you to exit sin, addiction, bondage, wickedness and given you a new name and put you into a holy nation:
(9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Israel rejoiced in this identity, but in time they lost sight of something important – Relationship.
They had the covenant, but they lost the relationship.
Jeremiah
Over the course of 800 years, from Moses and The Exodus to Jeremiah’s day, these Israelites had turned away from and back to Jehovah – their Savior – untold times.
They would fall away and God would allow an enemy to rise up to chastise them and they would repent.
They would backslide and same process would take place again…
It became a cycle that denigrated the relationship God wanted with them to mere ritual and religion.
Would you want a relationship with someone who treated you like that?
They were Religious, But Lost.
These covenant people would sin, eventually feel guilty, offer the required sacrifice, go on their way forgiven — until they sinned again.
They had covenant with God, but no companionship with Him.
Into this atmosphere of sin, repent, sin, repent, sin, repent, we are introduced to Jeremiah. God knew and had a plan for him before he was ever conceived by his parents:
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”[3]
That passage alone is a primer on God’s view on the sanctity of life…
Jeremiah then tries to get out of his calling, much like Moses before him, and he tells God, “I cannot speak: for I am a child.”[4]
And the Lord replied, Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.[5]
You see, Jeremiah had a job to do
While Moses introduced the people to God as Savior, Jeremiah’s job was to introduce Him as God the Judge.[6]
So, The Exile of Judah becomes the main message of this young prophet as he begins his prophetic ministry at the age of 20.
He sorrows, laments, grieves, lives in depression at times as he deals with the loss that he witnesses over the course of 40-50 years.
Why? Because somewhere along the way these covenant people lost sight of their relationship with God and simply did not follow Him
WHEN THEY DID FOLLOW HIM it was with mere formalism, religiosity and ritual.
They knew what to do, but not how to do.
“He that knoweth to do good…”
Jerusalem falls, the Temple is destroyed, all the best and brightest young men and women are gathered by the Babylonian king and sent into exile.
And adding insult to injury, every time Jeremiah would open his mouth to speak the Word of God he was horribly mistreated. He prefigures Christ as a Suffering Servant with both his lamentations and his mistreatment.[7]
He was mistreated, imprisoned, beaten, lied on and abused – FOR THE WORD OF GOD – by kings, prophets, friends and even family.
This “son of Hilkiah” could have been a priest, but God ordained Him to be a Prophet.[8]
As such, he was mistreated, to the point where he said, “O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jeremiah 20:7-9).
In this environment of destruction and disappointment, heartache and hurt, fear and frustration, Jeremiah writes a prophecy of Hope and healing from the Lord (Jeremiah 29:4-14):
(4) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; <<Marduk v. Jehovah = no match. Jehovah did this>>
(5) Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
(6) Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
(7) And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
(8) For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
(9) For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
(10) For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
(11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
(12) Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
(13) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
(14) And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Deliverance and return is on the way. Even for the Religious, But Lost
You who love and want a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus still desires to dwell in the midst of His people.
He still wants relationship with you.
The Danger of Religion is that you lose relationship with Jesus and become religious, but lost:
Repentance is not about confession to change, but you just want to relieve guilt.
Your clean robe of righteousness (bag of sins is full) becomes dirty with sin and you pray, “I’m sorry, Lord. Please forgive me.”
The routine of repentance has nothing to do with change, but in just “feeling” better.
You feel better now, since you confessed, you’ll be ok until you forget what the guilt felt like and then you sin again. Why not? Your robe of righteousness is clean now anyways (your bag of sins is empty now).
How can you maintain a relationship with someone who treat you like that?
God is not into religion, but He loves relationship![9]
The People of Judah has lost that connection of relationship with God. Their behavior towards one another and their worship of God was addressed by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:9-11):
(9) Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; (10) And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? (11) Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
It appears that Jeremiah is listing the Ten Commandments in reverse order to show that God is more interested in righteous behavior (right relationship) than in covenantal position.[10]
How you treat your neighbor is more important and a more clear indicator of your relationship with God than if you are born again and speak in tongues all the time.
If you speak in tongues all day long and don’t know how to treat your neighbor right then you are Religious, But Lost.
“He is a God of completion, not competition.” –Harold Hoffman
Come to Jesus – Get to Know Him – treat each other right
It’s all about relationship
[1] Runck, Jared S. and David P. Johnson. (2017). Handbook on the Prophets. Weldon Spring, MO: Pentecostal Publishing House.
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
2 Corinthians 7:10
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
I am interested in the spirit of renewal and expectancy that has entered into the Body of Christ, and I’m thankful for the people who are rising up to say, “I see the Hand of God at work among us and want to be part of this end-time revival.”
To be renewed simply means to retrace our steps to the beginning of our walk with God making new those precious commitments we either let slip from us or that we forgot.
Paul wrote to us to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph 4:23).
Tonight, I am fighting for your minds in order to re-establish a principle there, which if grasped will lead you to a fruitful life in Christ Jesus.
My subject:
“The Forgotten Commitment”
-OR-
“The Forgotten Message of Pentecost”
The first word that Jesus preached was not about the gifts of the Spirit, or how to receive your miracle, or seven steps to a prosperous life.
The first word of the Gospel preached by our Lord Jesus Christ is found in Mark 1:15 where He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
This is the first commitment our Lord requires of us – REPENT.
Repent = “to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider,”[1] and “to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins.”[2]
When we initially came to repent we wept, or at least we should have had some sort of sorrow. We sorrowed for the pain we had caused ourselves, others, and Jesus because of our sinful nature.
We were through with living lives of recklessness, and selfishness, and we abhorred the ways that we had treated others, and were appalled by the way our lifestyle had effected those around us.
We repented, we knelt, and we grieved.
Snot, sweat, and tears mixed at the altar as we searched our hearts for every sin and wrong deed we’d ever committed.
Then we made promises, and new commitments. We said, “Lord, I’ll never do that again.”
I look at this altar here in this church house.
I’ve come to ask you, “How many knees have bent at these altars to repent? How many tears have been shed in sincere grief and guilt for sin here on this floor? How many people have stood up and felt the overwhelming sense of joy that a clean conscience gives the repentant child of God?
John the Baptist preached loudly a message of repentance. He said, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
The Apostle Paul gave his testimony to Agrippa and said, “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:19-20).
Repentance is accompanied by a certain conduct that people all around you can observe. That is the fruit, that change of action and behavior is the “works meet for repentance” Paul was speaking about.
When you repented you changed. Your friends noticed it, your spouse noticed, your kids, parents, siblings, co-workers, employees, employers, and acquaintances all noticed the new you.
You didn’t talk like you use to talk, or go where you use to go, or do what you use to do.
You were modest in speech and in dress.
And sin, the very presence of it, sickened you to your stomach.
So, I look at these altars and thank God for the many conversions and repentant hearts that have knelt here over the years that this church has been in this city. They’ve knelt by the hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands.
What happened to them, where did they go? Why aren’t they here anymore?
Some have gone to their eternal reward and have become for us a great cloud of witnesses – Heroes of the Faith.
Others have walked away, fallen, died, or turned back to their former lives of sin.
It takes time for a person to walk away from God. Sometimes they become cold and indifferent to His Presence. So much so that they are even unaware that they’re drifting away from Jesus and turning back to the world of sin and carnality.
How many times did those same knees bend at the same place to repent of the same sin at these very altars?
Repentance is not a one-time thing. You cannot expect to live your entire life without living a lifestyle of repentance.
When you repented you made commitments. Every time you are tempted that commitment is tested. Your response to that testing determines how much your commitment to God really means to you.
Some here have repented & sinned, repented & sinned, repented & sinned for so long over the same things that you don’t even think you can be delivered.
You’ve gotten yourself into a cycle of behavior that is difficult to break.
BUT—you can overcome this trap that you’ve fallen into.
You’ve got remember:
Repentance is not saying, “I’m sorry.” That’s an apology.
Repentance is not feeling bad that you got caught. That’s guilt.
Repentance is not feeling sorry for yourself. That’s egotistical; and self-absorbed.
Repentance is a grief that comes from God, which helps you to confess your sins, forsake your sins, and then commit to never sinning again. It’s a lifestyle.
Repentance becomes “The Forgotten Commitment” when we fail to keep our word.
Repentance becomes “The Forgotten Message of Pentecost” when we rush people through it just to pad our evangelistic numbers of souls filled with the Holy Ghost.
It is time we stop leading people through some sort of Spiritless prayer where no conviction resides and allow God Almighty to once again convict the heart and lead people to repentance.
I long to see bent knees and bodies draped across altars racked with the heaving great sighs of tears, grief, and repentance.
You, sitting there thinking, “This message isn’t for me, you’re preaching to the choir.”
There’s an old Indian Proverb that says, “Whatever you are overflowing with will spill out when you’re bumped.”
What bumps produce incorrect responses from you?
Listen to Romans 2:1-11 tonight:
(1) Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. (2) But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. (3) And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? (4) Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? (5) But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; (6) Who will render to every man according to his deeds: (7) To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: (8) But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, (9) Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; (10) But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: (11) For there is no respect of persons with God.
Jesus is calling us tonight to renew our commitments of repentance we made at our conversion.
Remember what you told Him as you repented. You cried out for mercy and He granted it. You made promises and vows that you need to keep…that you must keep.
Some of you have been living a repented life for 20, 30, 40, & 50 years. I’m reminded of a prayer I read about a couple weeks ago: “Lord, let me not today ruin in anything what you have taken all these years to do in my heart and provide for my life”[3]
The late Apostolic preacher and Bible teacher, Bishop Morris E. Golder once said, “The badge of discipleship is a cross.”
This is a daily thing—this life of repentance. Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31).
So, how can we make it? There are so many temptations and influences bombarding us from without and within. How can I keep my commitment of repentance when I’m attacked externally and internally?
Grace is the answer. Grace has always been the answer for the Body of Christ.
Repentance is a daily commitment one works at to maintain. Grace is the teacher helping us to maintain that commitment:
“(11) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:11-14).
ESV, “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death”:
“(8) For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. (9) Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. (10) For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (11) For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (2 Corinthians 7:8-11).
(16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
(17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
(18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
(19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
(20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
(21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The Spirit of the Lord…
Ezekiel 47:1-5
(1) Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
(2) Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
(3) And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
(4) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
(5) Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
Ezekiel’s vision was of waters to swim in, but these waters began flowing from under the threshold…then they deepened every 1,750 feet.
According to Albert Barnes:
The deepening of the waters in their course shows the continual deepening of spiritual life and multiplication of spiritual blessings in the growth of the kingdom of God. So long as the stream is confined to the temple-courts, it is merely a small rill, for the most part unseen, but when it issues from the courts it begins at once to deepen and to widen. So on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the company of believers, little then but presently to develop into the infant Church in Jerusalem.[1]
This small stream steadily deepens to ankle depth, knee depth, waster deep, and then
Waters to Swim In
How many times have we been the beneficiaries of such waters.
We find ourselves overcome in the presence of the Lord.
His Spirit is so manifest that we just swim in the current of His power.
The Church, born on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, is a Spirit-filled body of believers.
We have enjoyed the deepening of those waters and we can frolic, swim, rejoice, and celebrate in them.
But – There’s more to this river than the satisfaction of our own spiritual highs
These waters carry with them a purpose for the anointed of God.
Ezekiel 47:6-12
(6) And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river [The Dead Sea / The Salt Sea].
(7) Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
(8) Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
(9) And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
(10) And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
(11) But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
(12) And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
The Temple
Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost
Every Spirit-filled believer has an anointing resting on them.
Psalms 1:1-6
(1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
(2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
(3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
(4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
(5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
(6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Wherever this river flows there is healing, growth, bounty, and all manner of fish are caught…where once the waters were polluted
Now the Spirit of God moving from and through the Church brings life
Let the River Flow
Let the River Flow
So, Jesus goes to church one day, as His custom was…
He’d just finished a 40 day fast following his baptism in the River Jordan…
He was full of the Holy Ghost…
He was handed the scroll of Isaiah and begins read these words…
Luke 4:18-21, “(18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. (21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to do something for somebody else.
I am not a receiver of spiritual experiences whose only purpose is to keep them all to myself.
The anointing flows through me and I become a tributary, a river, a bridge between God and man.
“…He hath anointed me…” = The anointing is from God, it is not a result of my own merit, but of His pleasure.
He hath anointed me – “…To preach the gospel to the poor…”
To share the Good News of the Gospel to the “…spiritual zeros—the spiritually bankrupt, deprived and deficient, the spiritual beggars, those without a wisp of religion.”[2]
To tell them that Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save all that are lost – including them.
Jesus did not go to the fashionable and the rich, but to the poor.
Those who exclusively pursue the rich and the so-called elite of society are doing so to “get something” from them.
Jesus went to the poor to “give something” to them.
It was a ministry for their benefit, not His benefit.
He hath anointed me – “To set at liberty them that are bruised…”
2 Cor. 3:17, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Not only is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, but He is also the Giver of that Spirit.
John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
It is a mistake to think that because you’ve been “anointed” that you’ll automatically be lead of God to the highest peaks of ministerial power.
Jesus was anointed and then driven or led into the wilderness.
If you are presently in a wilderness experience then it is a sign that you are being prepped by God to be a vessel of His anointing.
Any time we read about a demonstration of anointing it was and is preceded by a trying and a crushing and a preparing of the vessel for the Holy Ghost flow.
It is not the plan, will, or divine intent of God for us to hoard to ourselves these ecstatic experiences of the Holy Ghost, the shouts of joy, the running and dancing and victory parades, but…
He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted.
Not just to look at them
Not just to weep and mourn with them
Not just to feel sorry for them – – to pity them
He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted.
He has not me sent to folks who already have it made, or that think they do, but…
But to preach deliverance to the captive.
To preach recovering of sight to the blind
To set at liberty them that are bruised.
This is what He has filled me with His Spirit to do…
Out of your belly flows living water…
It is the Holy Ghost in you…
He has given you the power, delegated His authority to you and through you…like a flowing river…
Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
Anointed Preaching and Anointed Deeds
Acts 2:22, “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you…”
Anointed preaching is common among us
What we are in short supply of is anointed deeds
Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
We need, in 2023, a powerful ministry of God-directed anointing that delivers people
Not self-anointing, but God-anointed.
Quit guarding the Holy Ghost
Let it flow……..
[1]Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Ezekiel 47:1.
(23) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
(24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Hebrews 12:1-2
(1) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
(2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
In Luke 15 we have the account of three men – a father and two brothers.
Prodigal son was met by his father, and the older son was met by his father.
The father met both because he loved them both equally.
However, the prodigal son had a son mentality, but was willing to be a servant – Luke 15:17-20, “(17) And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! (18) I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, (19) And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. (20) And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (KJV).
The elder brother had a slave mentality longing to be a son – “All these years I’ve worked like a slave for you” (ISV).
We need a revelation of the Father’s love.
“Jesus, give me a revelation of Your love for me.”
Without a revelation of the Father’s love we will try to somehow earn our place in His family,
Children don’t earn a place in the family – they are born into the family, and we are born into the family of God.
The new birth puts you in the family of God.
What does it mean to be a bastard and not a son?
What does it mean to be illegitimate in the eyes of God?
The church is a family.
When Jesus says I go to prepare a place for you, He is preparing a place for His Bride, His Church, His family.
Why?
So that where He is there we will be also.
Relationship
Relationship demands proximity, it demands closeness.
It’s that “where I am there you may be also” intimacy found in healthy relationships.
The devil’s tool for destruction is isolation.
To put a gap between you and God.
Sin will surely do that, but so will your inability to see yourself as a son.
You need to be confident in your identity = I AM A CHILD OF GOD.
To be unaware of your true identity and all that comes with it — the benefits of sonship is – detrimental to you.
Know the benefits of carrying His name
Ephesians 3:14-21
(14) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(15) Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
(16) That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
(17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
(18) May be able to comprehend [to understand] with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
(19) And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
(20) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
(21) Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Verse 18-19
You are the temple of the Holy Ghost
The Church of God is a building: a heavenly house, a habitation for God to dwell in through the Holy Spirit
The Love of God for His Church is wide and long and deep and tall.
Length = Love is eternal.
Breadth = All people have access to His Love in every place, age or nation.
Depth = His love will find people at their lowest point.
Height = His love will take people to the highest state of glory in Christ.
I remember laying in the top bunk at the age of 11 or 12 with my Walkman cassette player on listening to the Imperials and crying as I told God
I’d do whatever He wanted me to do,
go wherever He wanted me to go,
and be whomever He called me to be.
I can still feel the wetness of the tears as they pooled in my ears.
I don’t remember the exact song, but I remember the moment of calling, response, and commitment I made on that top bunk with my pillow wet with salty tears.
It was there I took up my cross to follow Jesus.
After that night, the devil worked to destroy my young heart, innocence and pure desire.
You may think that devil ain’t worried about a child’s commitment, future, destiny, or ordination.
You would be wrong
The Antichrist Spirit in Herod tried to kill the Christ, and did indeed kill many children in the process.
Abortion is a satanic tool to destroy the hope and future of our next generation.
All the OT youth: David (lion, bear, giant), young Joseph betrayed, Josiah barely escaping Athaliah’s treachery.
Moses in the bulrush escaping death.
New Converts – young babes in Christ – fighting for their spiritual lives against an enemy who seeks to kill, steal and destroy.
The devil will sift because he wants to destroy, but what he sees as victory is actually God blowing away the chaff that hinders you from fulfilling your purpose.
“The 3D Strategy of Satan: Detour, Distract, Delay.”
-Ken Gurley ?
The devil will try to put a false cross on you if you let him.
This weight might be a legitimate concern that the devil inflates into an illegitimate cross.
The burden he wants to saddle you with doe not lead to victory and resurrection power,
But it leads to hopelessness and despair.
He seeks to get you isolated in order to plague you and burden you down the inner struggles and secret parts of your life,[1]
There – Alone – feelings of depression, desolation and inadequacy overwhelm us.
We then keep the struggle of this False Cross to ourselves and tell ourselves the lie, “This is just my cross to bear.”
That’s a lie.
You have a cross to bare, but this ain’t it.
If you carry this illegitimate cross you’ll be worn away.
Your true cross will lead to full and complete deliverance, power and victory.
The true cross will lead to death, yes, but also to true resurrection:
Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings…”
Take up your cross and follow Jesus.
Stop carrying the false cross of weights and sins.
Quit listening to the voice of the serpent whispering in your ear.
The devil is a LIAR, and the father of all lies.
Because of this, whatever he tells you is a lie and an attempt to get you to believe what he knows is untrue.
So, anytime the devil tells you something just ask yourself, “what is the exact opposite?”
When you find out what that opposite is, it’s a good indication of where the Lord is likely taking you.
Also, if the devil tells you he’s going to kill, destroy, ruin, harm, rob, etc.
You can be certain that he will not do that because he doesn’t have the permission to do it.
If he did then he would have already done it and wouldn’t warn you.
When he speaks it is a play to intimidate and a sign that you are safely in the protection of God.
When you’re up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams
And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes
And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears
Don’t let the faith you’re standing in seem to disappear
Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seems to bind you
Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him
Now Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think
That we are paupers when he knows himself we’re children of the King
So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won
We know that Jesus Christ has risen so the work’s already done
2 Corinthians 2:11
Four Attacks of Satan
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
John 10:10
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Obsession
Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.
A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.[3]
Oppression
The act of oppressing; arbitrary and cruel exercise of power:
“There can be no really pervasive system of oppression… without the consent of the oppressed.” -Florynce R. Kennedy
The state of being oppressed.
Something that oppresses.
A feeling of being heavily weighed down in mind or body.[4]
Depression
A mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity.
Sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy.
A state of depression and anhedonia (the absence of pleasure or the ability to experience it) so severe as to require clinical intervention.[5]
Possession
The state of being dominated by or as if by evil spirits or by an obsession.[6]
“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
The Blood of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
Our Testimony.
Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
The Name of Jesus.
Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
The Written Word of God.
Matthew 4:1-10, “1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
Prayer and Praise.
Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Angels of the LORD.
Hebrews 1:13-14, “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
Psalm 103:20, “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.”
The Holy Ghost.
John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
[1] Kenneth V. Reeves. The Angels, Demons & People (Vol. 1). p. 20
Apostolic Life Cathedral | More Than A Song | 5/11/2021
Text: Song of Solomon 2:12-13
“(12) The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (13) The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”
Psalms 104:10, 12
“He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills….By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (You will be judged by the type of speech that comes from your mouth).
Spring has come, and with it the beautiful melody of birds singing. I particularly love to sit on my porch, or in my home office with the windows open, and listen to peaceful songs delivered by the birds.
We even have a rooster here in the Hills of Guyandotte that crows all day long: morning, noon & night.
We tend to equate the singing of birds to the praise of the saints, and while we can agree with that we also see that their singing teaches us a far greater lesson.
They need to have proper space and conditions to raise their offspring.
They will do many things to raise their families.
I understand that there can be a danger in people being too territorial when it comes to trying to reach the world and not allowing others the opportunity to do a work for Jesus, but tonight I am focusing on your families.
You need to guard your family.
Birds will choose their territory based on the availability of food, water, shelter and nesting locations, and then they seek to attract a mate.
Well, the Church is the perfect location for you to begin nesting, and you already have a mate:
Isaiah 54:5, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”
Paul wrote:
(11) Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. (2) For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:1-3).
Birds also claim territory to renew bonds and to let other fowl know that this area is taken.
Birds claim territory through several behaviors, including:[2]
Nest building: Some birds, such as different types of wrens, will claim territory by taking advantage of the nesting sites it offers. The males will build multiple nests in suitable locations throughout their territory. The females will then investigate those nests and choose the one they prefer, even if they eventually rebuild the male’s construction to suit their preferences.
The Lord Jesus Christ is preparing a place for us, as we prepare ourselves for Him:
John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Drumming: Woodpeckers and several types of game birds claim territory by drumming as an alternative to singing. These low-pitched, rhythmic sounds, whether made by pounding on a hollow tree or by using air sacs, will carry great distances. This alerts competing birds that the territory is not available, as well as lets potential mates know that a strong, healthy bird has claimed the location.
“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Psalm 47:1).
Clapping, like drumming, shows an encroaching enemy that we are strong and victorious
And to our Lord, it is offered as an expression of praise, worship and thanksgiving for who He is and what He has done.
Psalm 66:1, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands.”
Visual displays: Visual displays such as puffing up colored feather patches, tail flicking or fanning, wing spreading, and other behaviors are all part of claiming territory. These postures and actions also show off a bird’s strength and health to a potential mate. These behaviors are commonly a part of courtship rituals between opposite sexes as well as territorial displays between two male birds.
We lift our hands as a visual display of praise and worship:
Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. (Psalm 63:4)
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. (Psalm 134:2)
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. (1Timothy 2:8)
Worship is closely tied to a life of holiness.
Everyone can praise the Lord, but not everyone can worship Him.
We dance before the Lord as a visual demonstration of praise:
Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. (Psalm 149:1-3)
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. (Psalm 150:4)
And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. (2 Samuel 6:14)
Chasing: As a last resort, aggressive birds may directly chase intruders or competitors out of their territory. This is frequent in areas where many birds are seeking to claim the same space, or when a dominant male is discouraging younger males that are struggling to claim their first territory. In bird species where family groups remain together in the winter, the male parent may chase away his mature offspring the following spring so they do not infringe on his territory.
In this day, you better be aggressive about protecting your home, your nest, your territory.
The devil is trespassing on your home and in your mind with all the competing distractions. Why is he so set on distracting you, because he wants your most precious possession:
Your relationship with God.
Your family’s soul.
That old serpent will slip near your nest just to consume your future hope.
Singing: Singing is one of the most common ways birds advertise that territory belongs to them. Songs will carry quite far, and birds will perch near the edge of their territory to broadcast their claim to the maximum range. At the same time, a strong, vibrant song will help attract a mate. For some species, such as the northern mockingbird, a more complex song will help birds defend a larger territory and are more attractive to females.
Singing is so important that the largest book of the Bible is a songbook – Psalms
Psalms 66:1-4, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: (2) Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. (3) Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. (4) All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.”
We are told to “be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:18-20).
Psalms 150:1-6, “(1) Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. (2) Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. (3) Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. (4) Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. (5) Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. (6) Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”
Your Song is More Than A Song.
Your Song is A War Cry.
You are conducting Holy Warfare
Hebrews 13:15, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
Psalms 149:1-9
Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Apostolic Life Cathedral | The Agenda for the Ages | 3/16/2021
John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
There are competing agendas at work today, which have been at war before your birth, and your response to these plans determine not only your eternal destiny, but also your present and future.
Thieves come in to steal, seize, invade, and rob you away from Jesus Christ. How? By appealing to your heart of flesh, your desires, your lusts (longing for what is forbidden).
Your desire for power, position, material wealth, food, illicit relationships, are all part of a grand scheme, an agenda, formulated by the satan to deceive you and steal you away from God.
This devilish plan was put into action long before you were born:
There are some who have called this generation “The LAST, LOST, LUST Generation,” but I don’t believe that. I see this generation as:
· The First Generation because God always saves the best for last and He planned for you to be alive in this time.
· The Found Generation because you won’t stop searching until you have become exactly what Jesus designed the Church to be.
· The Favored Generation because you to want and desire what is real and true and will pursue it without with all you have in you.
1 Corinthians 4:14-15, “(14) I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. (15) For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”
Listen to your pastor, read your Bible, pray every day, and carve out some time every day to praise Jesus.
1 Corinthians 14:10, “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.”
This is speaking specifically about the gift of tongues, and the fact that there are many languages in the world with each conveying definite meaning of thought, but unless verbally expressed it remains silent.
1 John 4:1-6
(1) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Be careful of those who would pull you away from Jesus. False teachers, false christs, false men and women who influence you without you even knowing the seed of sin they sow into you.
You have no business watching or listening to anyone who displays actions in direct violation to the Word of God.
So, Disney has some good shows, but many are full of dialogue and scenes that disrespect the mother and father. Youtube and Instagram are full of “influencers” (hear that??) who in some way shape or form are working a plan to get you to buy what they are selling, or to desire (lust after) that which cannot satisfy.
And music, there are some good songs out there today, but many are full of words that either celebrate the accumulation of things, encourage violence, openly mock Jesus and His name, or they objectify the opposite and secretly plant in your mind the idea that premarital sex is ok with anyone of any sexual orientation.
2 Peter 2:1-2
(1) But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
(2) And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Anyone who tells you that repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, or receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues is not necessary is a false prophet secretly working an agenda placing seeds of doubt and destruction.
If the enemy can get you to doubt the very foundation of salvation he can invade territory that is not his and steal you away from Jesus.
(2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
(3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
(4) Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
(5) They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
(6) We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
We have an image in our mind of how things ought to be; the devil has a scheme of how he wants things to be (steal, kill, destroy); but, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, has an agenda for your life that will last throughout all age and time and eternity.
Jesus has planned for you “life and that more abundantly” – the fullness of all that life has to offer.
He has added – superadded – blessings available for you, that the thief wants to snatch from you.
It would have been enough to have been born again – that is life; but He also gives us much more: Love, Joy, Peace, Grace, Adoption, Salvation, Eternal Life…
We need to lay our image of how we think things ought to be and tell Jesus, “I want the abundant life you have for me.”
Someone recently said to me, “I never want to control God, until I do.”
Most of your fear and anxiety (those butterflies or the stomachache you sometimes get) result from trying to forcefully control and shape your life into the way you think it should be, but if you’d allow Jesus to work His Agenda in your life you could have all the abundance this life has for you.
With Jesus, even when my day is rough, I have abundant life.
With Jesus, even if I’m picked on at school, I have abundant life.
With Jesus, even when my future seems uncertain – abundant life.
With Jesus, family troubles won’t stop His abundant life.
The Agenda for the Ages is Jesus’ plan for you that He outlined from the very foundation of the world to give you a more abundant life.
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
–John the Baptist
Do you feel as if you’re the last one on God’s list tonight? He chose you of all the people who have ever lived to be alive at this crucial moment in time and is entrusting you with His message of Abundant Life – The Gospel
Do you feel lost tonight? Seek and call out to Jesus tonight and there’s no doubt you’ll find Him because He’s never far from you.
Do you have trouble with lust tonight? Give it to Jesus. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 