The Name of Jesus

Philippians 2:10
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.

There will come a day when the wheel of time we stop and ceases to turn, that Jesus will be all that remains. He who controls time and space will be sitting on the throne . He is the Lord of all, King of kings, His Name will be lifted up on high and all will recognize that He is God. All will worship Him, will see the folly of their way and the deception of Satan. The atheist, the agnostic, worshipers of false religions, and all who refuse to believe in Him will fall to their knees and confess that He and He alone is the only way to eternal life. Those who believe already have bowed their knees, kneeling at the foot of the cross, confessing their sinful state and asking Jesus to save them from eternal damnation.  Confessing the Name of Jesus and believing that He is God and the Savior of the world. The Christian has humbled himself before God can now approach the throne of God and speak Jesus to the Father. For in the Name of Jesus, all is well, and we can trust in His Name to do all things according to His will.

Ask God in Prayer

 Matt 6:8
..your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him.

We come to God daily, not because we always need something. It is good to keep in touch daily with our heavenly Father. He does take pleasure in our petitions, and He entreats us to “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. and all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Asking God in prayer helps us to realize that we depend on Him, that our life is in His hands and we can’t do anything without His help. Volumes of books have been written on the subject of prayer, and not enough pages can be written about what God wants to do for us through prayer. The prayers of the hypocrites stem from spiritual pride and arrogance. They ask so that they may be seen for their ability to speak eloquently, and appear that they are spiritually enlightened. Their hearts are far from God, and God turns a deaf ear to their request. It is but vain repetition, without sincerity of heart. Our heavenly Father is all knowing, and already knows what we need. We don’t need to form a perfect prayer in our asking, we just need to come to Him with a humble heart and contrite spirit. Bow your head, bow your knees, but most importantly, bow your heart, and ask.

Pride Before Fall

Pros 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

The thin line between pride, arrogance, and self confidence is determine in the attitude and spirit of an individual. Paul said, “I can do all things..” but he qualifies his ability and determination by recognizing that it is not him, but Christ living in him that he is able to accomplish and achieve the goals set before him. God has given us all gifts and talents. They all differ and are manifest in different ways. He expects us to exercise those talents to their full potential. In doing so, we become more confident in our abilities to be the best at what we can do. We lose protective when we begin to think that we have done this in our strength and will. Pride is what brought the kings of Babylon down, it was pride that cast Satan out of heaven, and pride that cause Adam and Eve to think they could be as God. “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud” vs 19. In all things, give God the glory.

Spiritual Pride

Luke 18:14…for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Guarding against spiritual pride requires discernment of knowing what God requires of you is not always required of someone else. As we become more God conscience, it is easy to assume that everyone else should be following our footsteps. God’s word is clear on many issues on how we should live as we draw closer to God, He reveals more of His word to us. But not everyone is on the same spiritual journey. Staying humble before God requires that we acknowledge our righteousness is of God, and without Him we are lost and most wretched. As we humble ourselves before a holy God, He imparts to us His holiness and give us the grace to live pleasing to Him. Living and being right only happens when we allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives. When He comes, we look at humanity differently. We reach out in love and kindness, showing the grace of God to those who need God. We do not condone sin, for God hates sin, but it is the job of the Holy Spirit to judge the world of sin, it is our job to point others to the One who can save us from our sins.

Go in Peace

Luke 7:48,50b “ And He said unto her, “Thy sins are forgiven… Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace”

The wonder of having sins forgiven. Who is this that can forgive sins. He is not a mere man, but the High Priest for all who will come to Him and bow at His feet. It matters not our station in life, our social economic state, or our physical condition, Jesus, He who forgives sins desires to speak the words, “Go in peace”. When the burden of sin is lifted from the heart and guilt and condemnation are gone, peace comes and fills the heart with contentment. Knowing that God now sees us as new creatures, washed by His love, we can go and face life with peace that the world cannot give. Real peace, the gift of God comes only through knowing Jesus, knowing that God’s love reaches any heart that is willing to humble themselves and be a servant of the Master. He is the God of peace in a world of turmoil. 

The Mind Set of Jesus

Phil 2:5.8 “ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,… He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death—even the death of the cross.”-

The mind set of Jesus was always on serving others. He, who is the Son of God became human flesh to serve and die for humanity’s sins. The mind of Christ is to seek the will of the Father, to humbly submit to the needs of others, preferring others before self. This radical mind set is foreign to the philosophy of the world that promotes self gratification and self importance. Seeking to make a name, to make it to the top, climbing the ladder of power and popularity. Such is the mind of this world. Followers of Christ, that have the mind of Christ have picked up the cross, crucifying the flesh with all of its sinful desires that they may serve God and others as obedient servants of God. 

America, Bend The Knee

1 Tim 2:1-2 “I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,  for kings and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

America! A Nation that was founded on the principles of God’s word. We celebrate a Nation’s 240th birthday today. The United States of America has drifted far from it moorings. God’s word has been put aside for a more progressive form of thinking. Our Nation has fallen far from it’s God fearing days. Our leaders have no regard for what is right and holy. They ridicule the teaching of God’s word as being outdated and no longer relevant to our modern day culture. Tolerance of sin and deviant life styles has replaced godly Christian living. Standing between the wrath of God and our Nation are those who pray and intercede for the saving of our country. We pray that God will have mercy and that He will show His love to sinners and once again awaken our leaders to listen to the voice of God. God speaks, and He desires America to bend the knee and give thanks and honor to Him. We pray that our Nation will humble itself before the hand of God, confess their sinful ways and turn once again to the Almighty. He waits with open arm to see this great Nation turn their heart toward God. 

Waiting in Submission

Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry” 

Waiting is this verse is not a reference to time, but one of service and submission. As a waiter, waits to serve others. As we humble ourselves in God’s presence and submit our will to His, He listen to us and desires to meet our need. He hears to anguish of our hearts and see the real desires and motivation of our prayer. In His timing, He answers our cry and meets our need. The secret is always in our waiting to submit to His divine plan. 

Humble, Submit, and Cast

1 Peter 5:6,7 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you.”-

 Does God really care? When the load gets heavy and life’s pressure starts to squeeze the breath out of you. Sometime it takes times like these to get us to realize how much we need Him. May I dare say, that God often allows us to face these difficult situations to test our faith. Are we willing to humble ourselves before Him and acknowledge that He alone is our answer. Humility is best demonstrated when we realize that we are nothing and He is everything. That it is only when we allow the pride of our heart to be slain and summit ourselves to the might hand of God that we will know the freedom in casting all our cares on Him. He does care, but we must humble ourselves to Him and His will.

The Call of Gideon

Judges 6:11-16, 22-26
January 20th, 2008

Before heeding the call of God, one may often be faced with fears of uncertainty. “What does God really wants me to do?” Feelings of inadequacy and inability to perform the task plague the mind with doubt. “Does God really expect me to do this?” It is not until we see God for who He is that we begin to realize that it is not through our capabilities, but through the mighty power of God’s presence and His promise to go with us, that we can accomplish the task. We can rest in knowing that God will be with us and help us through our battles.

Visitation of The Lord (vs11. There came an angel)
• The ordinary world- Gideon doing his job
• Silent invitation- “Lord deliver us”
• Mercy of God to visit mankind
Valor Man (vs12. Mighty man of valor)
• What does it mean to be a valor person?
• Backbone, fearless, firmness, gallantry, fortitude, true grit
• Character that matters.
Verification of His Presence (vs13. if the Lord be with us)
• It is important to know that God is leading
• Gideon’s doubts seem to be founded-
Vessel of God (vs14. Thou ‘Gideon’ shall save Israel)
• God uses men and women to fulfill His will.
• He promises to “clothe us with his presence”
Void of Pride (vs15. I am the least…)
• Humbleness of spirit- God desires to use the humble
• It is not in our abilities, but our availability
Victory through God (vs16. Thou shall smite…)
• There is no god compared to thee O God!
• It is through Christ that we can do all things
• It is God who receives Glory- It is He who give the victory
Vision of the LORD (vs22. I have seen… the LORD)
• When we see the LORD all else fades away into the background
• Seeing Him for who He is.
Voice of Assurance (vs23. The LORD said… fear not)
• When He speaks all is well
• The assurance of knowing he keeps His promises
Veracity of Gideon (vs24. Gideon built an altar, and threw down Baal)
• Gideon is a true man of God and does what is right
• Returns to worship and opposes false worship

Living in God's Sight

James 4:7-17

Review: The words we speak and write can be used for good or evil. Speaking harshly, critically (judgmental), disrespectfully, or unkindly causes division among the body of believers. We must have the Holy Spirit to help us control our words. Do our words reflect the fruits of the Spirit?

Question: Do we live what we believe?

Submission to God
• Say “No” to that which is wrong
• Get close to God
• Ask for cleansing- forgiveness of sinful deeds
• Double minded Christians- Removal of the carnal mind-
• Attitude toward our sinful carnal condition- mourn and weep
• Humble yourselves- Not I, But, Christ! His strength

Speaking Evil
• Back to the power of the tongue
• Are we called to administrate the law or to live it?
• Only God can rightly judge who is living after the law
• We are not to set up ourselves as God. God knows the heart

Surrender our days to God
• Our days are given to God
• Life is short- Live each day as your last
• Make it a habit- The Lord willing….

Sin defined
• Willful transgression- He that knows.
• Refusal to do what is right
• Living a life that pleases God.