Category: Stories
Lock, Stock and Barrel Christians
Several years ago two ships collided. It happened far out in the calm quiet Atlantic Ocean on a dark foggy night. The smaller ship with two hundred and six people on board sank within thirty minutes. Immediately the larger ship put out life boats to retrieve the passengers who were floating in the calm sea.
Only thirty four were found!? They were all picked up and saved. At first it seemed a great mystery why a hundred seventy two people were lost and so few were saved. The problem was not a lack of life jackets or life boats.
** I don’t know if any of you have ever been in a collision, things happen so fast that you don’t always get time to think about them or think about what to do. You just do them.
I was once on a ship that had a collision with another ship many years ago. We too did not have time to think, We knew that our ship was going down and we needed to get off and off fast. So when the Captain gave the order to abandon ship that is what we did, with in fifteen minutes the ship sunk, but all of our lives were saved, only because everyone followed the order giving.
But there was a different problem here on this ship, the people heard the Captain order, but many did not want to go when the call to abandon ship was giving. Why?
What in this world would keep you on a sinking Ship? The order is giving get off, Abandon ship and save your life. What’s keeping you from getting in the lifeboat?
Later it was found that the primary reason so few were saved was that most if not all of them had busied themselves during those last thirty minutes in seizing their gold and silver and securing it to their clothes or belting it around their waist.
They were weighted down and unable to remain afloat until the rescue boats could reach them. They lost both their life and their money. They were Jeopardized by greed.
What hinders you from giving Christ your all?
Cast off the carnal things that weigh you down. Many of good Christians are like a waterlogged raft, they are just barely afloat. They have soaked up so much worldliness and are so absorbed with little sinful traits that it is almost impossible for them to be towed into the heavenly harbor.
Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Sorry: but you can’t have your pie and eat it too. No heart can mature two crops at the same time. We must decide which is more important.
Immerse yourself in Jesus. Lighten your load of temporal doodads. Give Jesus your total heart and sole and stop living your life in a world that is dying because the temporal reward looks great.
Just remember the word temporal means just that. “temporary, brief, short lived”.
When an immigrant comes to America, before He or She can become a citizen they must renounce all commitments and allegiance to their former homeland and pledge one hundred percent allegiance to America. Then and only then will the U.S. Government grant citizenship
That’s the way it is with Jesus. When you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you renounce Satan completely. You can’t “split time” by serving Satan part-time and Christ part-time.
For a Christian there can be no moonlighting with the world.
It is impossible to have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. Very quickly you would have to do the splits because the path of the church and the world are zeroing in at two very different destinations. One is eternal Life the other is eternal destruction.
Like a boat leaving the dock, you can’t have one foot on the boat and one foot on the dock for very long or you will end up in the drink.
An individual who divides his heart between God and the world will eventually be wholehearted for the world and fainthearted for God! You can’t dine at the Devils table on Friday and at the Lord’s table on Sabbath. You can’t sing “All The Way” in the pew and swear at the fax machine at work.
Luke 14:33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
We must be willing to give up everything. You can’t hold onto the world and its knickknacks with all your strength and equally hold onto Jesus.
You can’t get your high from Jesus on Sabbath and get your “High” from drugs on Saturday night.
Brown-nosing with Satan when you are with the crowd and pretending at church makes you a hypocrite!
1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus wants us one hundred percent, Completely, Totally, All or nothing, Lock, stock, and barrel Christians! Loaded up and ready to fire.
I remember as a boy in Honduras we drove across the country to visit some friends, I reckon we hadn’t gone a stone’s throw before we came to a vacant lot. The problem was that it had not been empty long, just a few days before a family had lived there in a home. My Uncle said, “Boy, they moved out Lock, Stock and Barrel!” The clothes-line was gone, the mail box, and even the dog house was gone they were out of there completely. I said man it looks like they took everything.
Then I came here to the US and found out that when people here move our they take the Very light bulbs out before leaving.
So what does it means to be a Lock, Stock, and Barrel Christian. It means being ready that if Jesus would call saying “Who could we send”. Being able to jump up and say here am I Lord send Me.
I can do all things through Christ who strength me.
Isaiah 29:13 God says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me
We sing songs like “I’ll go where you want me to go Dear Lord… I’ll do what you want me to do…
But don’t ask me to sing in the choir or play the hand bells, or teach in the little kid’s department or help with VacationBibleSchool or sit on a committee. I just want to sit among the saints. I don’t want to be involved to much, I just don’t have the time!”
God’s yardstick is total devotion or none at all. We modern Christians come to the celestial check out lane and when we reach the cash register we say,
“I would like to buy about three dollars worth of God please.
- I don’t want enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep.
- I don’t want enough to make me love people I don’t like.
- I want gladness but not transformation.
- I want the warmth of the womb, but not the new birth.
- I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.
- I want a sprinkling but not an immersion.
- I want a taste of God but not a total meal.
- I want to sample Jesus but not be over involved.
- I want to do God’s will as long as it doesn’t interfere with what I am doing.
David eventually became a man after God’s heart by going all the way with total commitment.
Psalms 119:2 David says: Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
Those who seek him with all their heart!
I’ve had a lot of people come and say, I just can’t get victory over sin. I’m trying to be a good Christian and I just can’t do it. How do I get strength to live the Christian life?”
( Stop Trying)
I’ll tell you how to get Christian strength. You seek it with all your heart. You’re going to get what you’re really seeking.” If you go at it with all your heart you will find it.
God is there waiting, reaching out to take your hand.
Pray and when you finish praying pray somemore. Jesus is not tired of hearing your pray, or your request, he is willing to do what every it take to help you, he proved it by dying for you on the Cross.
Do you know what God’s minimum requirement is?
He is the celestial Teacher, we’re the students in the classroom. As our Divine Teacher, in the great schoolhouse of life, passing is not 70%. Passing is not even 90%. Passing is 100%. And he will give you the strength, the courage, and the will when you ask for it and believe it by Faith.
Revelations: 3
14: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
God wants your heart, the whole heart, and nothing but the whole heart. He wants all of you or he doesn’t want you at all. Lock, stock, and barrel commitment is what God is looking for in His people in these last days.
Unless you love Him totally, you do not love Him at all. There is no such thing as lukewarm commitment. If you don’t crown Him Lord of All, you really do not crown Him at All.
Notice that our heavenly Father does not expect what He is not willing to give. Does God give totally? Does He? Yes, He does.
Does He give half-way? Do we have a part time daddy? Our awesome God gives totally! The bible is full of examples of how God give totally.
Let’s look and see!
Luke 8:48 (KJV). And He said unto her, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
Does God heal us half-way? No. He heals us all the way. Her faith had made her whole. She was not healed half- way she was healed completely by her faith in the one who could give healing.
When Jesus died on the cross, He totally paid for all my sins. His forgiveness is absolute. God’s healing power is unbounded. When we all get to heaven, we will be given access to the immeasurable universe.
He’s not going to say,
“Well, I’ll just give you a little bit of heaven.
I’ll give you just a touch of it.” No!
Does He give us just a sample of heaven? No!
He gives us the whole thing. It’s ours completely, Lock, Stock and Barrel, all of it!
We will be able to fly. We don’t need to have reservations. We just go to all these other worlds. Every corner of the universe is yours to explore. He doesn’t hold back. Total freedom to go and come, to observe it all.
We can obtain a knowledge that exhaustively takes in the alpha to the omega of the universe. We can fly at more than the speed of light and picnic in a far off corner of the universe. We have unlimited access.
But to completely experience the joys of heaven then, you need to be totally committed to Jesus Christ today. Without that total commitment you won’t be there.
Now you could say, “Well, I attend church on Sabbath morning. I’m here. I’m sitting in the pew. But when I go home, I don’t dress like I dressed here. In fact I put on some of the world, you know. I start acting like the world. Swear words occasionally come out. That’s not total commitment is it. When you are total committed you are committed 24hr a day.
Let’s suppose you are going to get Married but before getting Married you’re soon to be tell you
“I’ll be true to you ninety nine percent of the time.” That would be pretty good, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t that be great? “Ninety nine percent of the time I’ll be true to you. I will.” How many of you would accept that? And yet we expect God to accept that, don’t we?
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the partial armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Is that what it says? “Put on the whole armor of God.”
The young David was able to slay Goliath because the giant did not use the whole armor. Where did that little stone find its mark? It sank into his forehead.
Where was his shield that came over his face, or his helmet? Where was the shield that his shield-bearer should have had? They were missing.
He was not wearing one, he did not feel the need to put it on, after all Davit was just a little small boy, not very big at all, what could he do to a Giant like Goliath
Goliath didn’t have the whole armor and so he died, you cannot become a Christian today without the whole armor of God or you too will die.
One little loophole was all it took for David’s stone to transform the mammoth monster into a dead dwarf.
Don’t ever think satin is not taking aim! He wants nothing more then to keep you from a total commitment to Jesus. Satin does not care if you have a 70%, 80%, 90% or even a 99% commitment to Jesus. He just wan to keep you from having a 100% commitment
Ellen White speaks of Spiritual dwarfs: “Many professed Christians are in a fair way to lose both worlds. To be half a Christian and half a worldly man makes you about one-hundredth part a Christian and all the rest worldly.” Testimonies, Vol. , p.264.
There is no such thing as half-and-half unless you get it at Wal-Mart. In Christ there is a hundred percent or nothing.
A Hog and Chicken sets a good example.
Visualize a chicken and a pig vacationing together. They travel for many miles and many hours. Finally they get hungry. The sharp-eyed chicken spots a restaurant. Approaching the door, they read a sign which says, “Ham and Eggs: Our Specialty!” “Hold it!” oinked the pig. “What’s the matter?” clucked the chicken. “Plenty,” said the hog. “All they want from you is a little compromise. They are asking me for total commitment!” That’s exactly what God wants.
How do you become a lock, stock and barrel Christian? By total commitment to Jesus!
How do you have a great marriage? You are totally committed to it. These are marriages that last seventy-five years, those people are committed to it. Commitment! That’s what we need to pray for.
When a little trouble come to a great marriage, when both of them are committed to it, they’re going to stick with it. They’re not going to run.
Mark 8:34-36 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
That’s what happens.
A few years ago a super fast concord jet was zooming off the runway in Paris, France, with its load of passengers. Everything was going fine. Do you realize that the pilot of a jet aircraft comes to a point of no return on that runway.
It gets going so fast that you cross a line where you have to decide to “fly or stop”. Once you cross that line you have no choice but to fly or to crash. The pilot of that fast jet came to that line. It seems that when he came to that point, a tire blew out and large chunks crashed into the fuel tank. The plane took off in a fireball and crashed in an explosion.
Unfortunately, churches are filled with many members who have never left the ground. They have been sitting on a spiritual runway for years and years gunning their spiritual engines but they never really reaching the point of total commitment, that line that you must cross as a Christian or you are not going to make it.
You cannot stay on the runway and reach heaven at the same time. You’ve got to get committed and get off, take off.
Paul was an accountant. I think he was a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). He worked in the business office at Southern Adventist University, probably, because he has a profit an loss statement here.
Philippians 3:7,8. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Praise God for Paul! That’s beautiful!
Man’s greatest possession.
What is man’s greatest possession? I would submit to you that man’s greatest possession is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s the greatest thing you can have all else is rubbish.
Jesus wants you totally: Hook, Line, and Sinker and that is another Sermon.
Do you want Him with all your might?
Just pray this little prayer: “Dear God, you be the needle and I’ll be the thread. You go first and I’ll follow wherever you may lead.” That’s what thread does.
***** In the beginning of this sermon I ask you a question!
What in this world would keep you on a sinking Ship? The order is giving get off, Abandon ship and save your life. What is keeping you from getting into the gates of Heaven?
An old song goes like this: “I Surrender.. how much? All.” Yielding totally to Jesus. Another song says – “All The Way My Savior Leads me!” Are you willing to go all the way with Jesus?
The ship is sinking and there is not much time left, what are you going to do!
Think about it, but don’t take too long are you might find yourself drowning with sin unable to keep afloat
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
McDonald Road Church
The Prophet and the Donkey
Numbers 22: 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
Do you sometime feel you are standing in your own way?
![60-wrong-way[1]](http://www.restoringgodstruth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/60-wrong-way1.jpg)
Have you ever wanted to go some where and all most went to the wrong place, because you found you were going in the wrong direction.
I missed my plane at an airport in Paris once, I wanted to get on a plane going to Brussels but somehow I was waiting at the gate for one going to Brazil. Has this ever happen to you while you are traveling, don’t feel you are all alone. We are born going the wrong way because of sin, and it is Jesus who puts us back on track.
How many time do we miss the Signs that God has giving us to direct and guide, all because we become careless as Christians.
In the Bible we are told that there is only one thing that is importance, and that is to follow Jesus. There is nothing else that Matters.
But it is so easy to become careless, when place ourselves on satanic ground
We sometimes try to get things that God know it not good for us, because it will not lead us closer to Him; but father away from him.
The world strive for more everyday, everyday you see people who are court up in a world of making more, weather it is more Cars, more Houses, more Land, more Crops, more Investments, More, More, More, MONEY.
I once asked a rich man how much is enough, he look at me for a while and then said, until, I said until what, he said until I have it ALL.
So I then asked, when you get it all, what are you going to do with it. Try to get more?
Mark:8: 36:
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
As Christ representative how are we supposed to look each day? How are we supposed to act each day?
Many times a person life may be determined just but the way we act or look in a giving situation.
One day the Pastor told me that there was a complaint about me, I ask him what is was, he told me that a cretin Man who told him he will never come back to Church again because of the way I looked at him. I was floored by what he said; I don’t understand I told him.
He told me that one Sabbath after study service was over; I was coming down the hall getting ready to go up and start the worship service with the other Elder. This Man was standing in the Hall and he looked at me and said I looked back at him, and he could read the expression on my Face “by the way I looked back at him” that I did not want anything to do with him, that I through little of him.
This all happened a few years ago while I was in the middle of Radiation and Chemo treatment the second time.
I know I was not the best persons to be around at that time in my Life, even my Children moved out of the house. Most days I should have not even came to Church, but I did because it made me fell better then just sitting at home. But I wish now that I would have stay home that day, because of an expression of my face there is a person who may never come to know Jesus.
It is hard, but it is true; that it does not matter if the expression on my face was because of Pain, Sorrow, Sickness, Suffering, or just Contempt. He read something in my Face that should not have been there, and a soul may become lost because of it.
How about with doing Gods will, do we sometime jump the gun, and take off running with our fully listening to what Gods is saying.
How easy is it to misinterpret what Gods real plan is when we are bent on doing something we want to do. I am sure that no one here has that problem.
Lets go to the Book of Numbers Chapter 22: and see if any other Christian had this problem
1: And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
We find here that the Children of Israel had not yet intern into the promise Land, for we are told that they were still on the other side of the Jordon in the plains of Moab.
Now if you were the King of that country and all of a sudden a large amount of People just showed up and camped in your back yard, how would you fell about it?
To make matters worse, you hear all kinds of stories about them and how there God goes before them. In fact you hear stories about how they have walk through Rivers of water on dry-land, how they eat food that come down from the Heavens, and how there God goes before them into battle.
This would make you pretty up-set would it not? Balak was indeed up-set!
2: And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
The Amorites were a strong people in the Land, but were powerless to stand before the Children of Israel when God was with them. Notice: I said when God was with them
This is a good lesion for us today, we should only fight the battle for God when he is with us, don’t try and do it on you own
3: And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
They were afraid and they were scared because they have seen what had happen to the Amorites and figure it will also happen to them next.
4: And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
Normally when an approaching army comes and besieges a City, they pretty much eat off the Land and do what ever they want. Because there were no re-enforcement in those days
But this was not Balak main concern, his main concern was that Israel was going to defeat all the Kings round about them, and it would only be a matter of time before he to would have to defend his kingdom.
Now let me ask, was God fair in his dealing with these Kingdoms?
Did they have the opportunity to know who God was?
Did they have the knowledge of the great God of Creation?
How do we know that the knowledge of God existed in that part of the world, look at verse #5, what does it say the King did.
5: He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
I just love the way this King describes the people of God, there is a day coming when the people of God will again cover the face of the whole earth.
6: Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
The King knew and understood one thing, he had a big problem on his hand and this Man was in contact with the one person who could help.
What he did not know was that this same God was the one bringing these people into his homeland because they had refused to acknowledge him as there Lord and Master.
Moab was a descendent of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. So they had ever opportunity just like we do today to know God, but they do just like we do, they choose to turn away from God and serve another Master.
Jesus well said in the Book of Matthew 12:
30: He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
The people of Moab knew who Jehovah was but they choose the pleasures of sin for a season rather then to serve the God of creation, so the cup of there transgressions had finally reached it limit.
We too have the same problems; we too choose the pleasures of sin, rather then to give God not only our Life, but our Time, our Money, and our, Heart.
The Day of Judgment will come when we lease expect it, and rather then asking God for his forgiveness the world like Balak will search and hope to find someone who can curse the people of God who dire stand in there way.
Now the King is sending his delegate, his diplomat, his representative, his ambassador, what every you may want to call them; on a very special mission.
Numbers 22:
7: And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
So they are doing what the people of this world would do when in trouble and need a quick fix.
How many times when you are having a problem do you look for a quick fix. You don’t need to raise your hands; it is just about all of us at times, right.
We are always looking the fast way out rather then having to stay in for the long hall. The King of Moab was no different he needed a quick fix so he is sending now for Balaam’s help.
Now let’s take a close look at the Man of God and what he is going to say to this envoy of people from the Moab
8: And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. Way to go
As Christian we should never take matters into our own hands. Always before entering into a matter we should make it a time of prayer and seeking to know God will. Here we have a very good example of how to handle every type of situation.
9: And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
I am sure God did not need to ask Balaam who these men were or what they were doing there. But God always gives us a chance to explain the matter in clarity, so that God and Man are talking on the same terms and we can’t say later “I did not understand”.
10: And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
11: Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
Balaam also knew who these people were and he also knew that the Lord God was bringing them out of Egypt to possess the land before them.
12: And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
Case is now settled and the matter is closed, right.
13: And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
Now I have a problem here with the way Balaam handles this, I think he should have used better words then the Lord refused to give me leave.
Maybe something like; you better get home and get your house in order because the Lord God of Israel is going to give your Land to the people before you, and don’t call on me again.
In the way Balaam answer these men he left an opening for the King of Moab to come back. He left an opening for satin to inter, for he wanted to please God but he also wanted to please the King of Moab, who was to give him a very lard reward.
14: And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
Balaam just needed to find a way around God not letting him go to claim this reward; after all he could do a lot of good with that kind of money.
He could build a School, go on a missionary trip, and maybe even hold some evangelistic seminars right there in the mist of all these Idolatry nations. BUT God does not need Money he needs a people who are faithful to him in every aspect.
15: And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
16: And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:
When people are bent on doing something there way, they will stop at nothing, even selling themselves to achieve what they want
17: For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
This is the reward Balaam was hoping for; if he could curse these people for the King of Moab and get paid before the children of Israel invade Moab he could take is easy for the rest of his live.
But Balaam knew one thing, it was not up to him, he must inquire of God.
18: And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
Does God change his mind, do we need a second time to go and ask God it is still Not OK to go.
How do you feel when your Children come to you and ask?
Dad I know you said No on this; but I want to check to see if it is now OK.
People may change, but God does not, if God told you to go,
you need to ask what’s stopping you, and if God told you to not to go,
you need to shut it down fast.
19: Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.
Balaam knew who these people were he knew that God was with them and he knew God was going to answer him the same way.
20: And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
Now please notices what God told him” If these men come to call thee, rise up” and go with them
Here is a big problem with many of good Christian people of God
These men knew that God would not give Balaam permission to go with them and so they did not go to inquire of Balaam but broke camp and made ready to depart.
When Balaam learned this what did he do?
![RidingDonkey[1]](http://www.restoringgodstruth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/RidingDonkey1.jpg)
21: And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
Balaam did not wait for the men to come and ask, he was ready that morning to go with them; He was standing in the wrong line, waiting to go to the wrong place.
This happens when we know what God will is but we try and input our own will instead. Balaam did the same thing we do; and that is to try and rationalize what God said.
Good Christian people everyday try and explain what God is saying rather then just paying attention to the words in God Holy Book, just read it for yourselves.
God was not pleased with the actions of Balaam.
Balaam was double-minded, pursuing a course to gain and retain the favor and honor of the enemies of the Lord, for the sake of rewards he received from them.
At the same time he was professing to be a prophet of God. Because the Idolatrous nations believed that curses might be uttered which would affect individuals, and even whole nations.
22: And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
If there were every a Man between a Rock and a Hard place I believe Balaam found it.
23: And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
Any one here have a Donkey, not only are they ugly but they are about the most stubbing animal there is; the only reason to ride one is because it is better then walking.
I am sure in Gods eyes sometimes we are just like Donkeys
24: But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
25: And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
Balaam did not know what was happing, but that pore little Donkey new, and he wanted nothing to do with the Angle who stood in the path he was going in.
26: And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27: And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
This kind of reminds us of what happen when we are in traffic and there is a slow poke in front of you and you just want to beat them out of the way.
Now please notice what the Lord does here.
28: And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
Balaam is so mad that he does not even realize he is talk to the Donkey,
29: And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30: And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.
As he now starts to realize what is going on by the way the Donkey is speaking to him, God open his eyes
31: Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
32: And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
The Angle told him, Because your ways was wicked before me:
33: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
34: And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
Balaam sure changes his tune now. Why do we have to wait for an Angle of God to knock us off our Donkey before we start to go the right way. (And there is another word I would like to use in place of the word Donkey), Paul had to get knock his Hose
35: And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Here is a solemn warning for the people of God today, to allow no un-Christian trait to live in our hearts. A sin which is cultivated becomes habitual; and, strengthened by repetition, it soon exerts a controlling influence, bringing into subjection all the nobler powers.
Balaam loved the reward of unrighteousness. The sin of covetousness, which God ranks with idolatry, he Balaam did not resist and overcome.
Satan obtained entire control of him through this one fault, which deteriorated his character, and made him a time-server. He called God his master; but he did not serve Him; he did not work the works of God
There are a lot of times in life we try and go our own way and do our own thing, forgetting that God is right there everyday watching his children.
We sometimes go where we should not go, and do things we should not, even look at someone the wrong way.
We as Christian must always be on guard against the attack of satin, sometimes when we know the will of God we too like Balaam want to go when God is saying stop.
We are sometimes just like Balaam when we want to follow our own way rather then following God way. Sometime we make excuses or try and put words in God mouth of what he has not told us to do,
We need to make sure we are following Jesus, following the Cross and not following the world.
If you follow the world it will lead you to destruction just like it did to Balaam, but if we follow Jesus he will lead us to eternal life is a land that eye’s have not seen and ear’s have not heard of.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
Restoring Gods Truth
You Are What You Eat!
Did you ever hear someone say these words to you before?
What do they really mean?
Are we to believe we are what we eat, or we eat what we are?
I have heard a lot of different sermons on this subject, but my question is this what does the Bible and the Bible only say about food?
We hear everyday someone preaching on the Radio or we see them on the TV, and most of the time what they are saying really sounds good. They are even giving Scriptures to back up the opinion that was made.
But you know what, “I found that you could take the bible and use a few scriptures and make it say whatever you want it to say”. “Is that not what satin does all the time?”
Because we form our own opinion about a subject, or because we were tart a subject in a way that you could never see truth, unless the Holy Spirit is your guide.
Well we are going to look at what the Bible say about Food, not what I say or the preacher on the Radio said about it.
We will let Gods book speak for itself on the matter.
First of all we need some rules:
Rule #1
The Bible and the Bible alone will interpret itself, it does not need mans help!
Rule #2
If in doubt see rule #1
How should we study the word of God?
First Let’s have Prayer:
You should never open the word of God with out first asking for his spirit to guide you into all truth
If you find something hard to understand you should never give up and except what the world said about it, keep searching till you understand the meaning.
We are going to jump in head first by looking at the Book of Leviticus:
I will be using a lot of Scripture today and it may not be possible for you to keep up, so if you like I will make available free of charge to anyone a copy of this sermon.
Leviticus 11
1: And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
2: Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
Here we have God saying to Moses, I am going to show you something Moses if you want to live a better life and a longer life, do what I tell you. There are beasts I have created that are ok to eat and there are beasts that are not ok to eat.
I am going to show you that there is a different between them.
3: Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
No need to be a professor to understand what that just said, right. God did say that what is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud among the beasts (Mammals) are OK to use as food. Is that clear?
4: Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
5: And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6: And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
7: And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud;he is unclean to you.
God said that all Mammals as described above are not clean and you should not eat them. Is that clear?
Now God goes on to tell Moses the same thing is true of all I created in the Sea
9: These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10: And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
When God said something is an Abomination people need to wake-up a smell the Coffee.
What is another word for Abomination, “eyesore, loathe, abhorrence, repulsive, detestation” do you kind of get the picture God was painting about what he thinks of man eating these things.
God said Moses I am not finish yet there is more we have to talk about things that fly.
13: And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
14: And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
15: Every raven after his kind;
16: And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
17: And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
18: And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
19: And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
20: All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
These are all birds of pray and God said don’t eat them, they are not good for food.
21: Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
22: Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
I don’t know of anyone standing in line for a grasshopper burger, are better yet a grasshopper burger toped with locust. But God said there were clean and OK to use as food.
Matt 3: 4
And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
God goes on talking to Moses he said.
Leviticus 11:
23: But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
God also told Moses, I created a Dog to be man best friend not on his plate for lunch.
27: And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.
42: Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
Look good at the next scripture:
Who is telling us this “ Can man change what God said !
44: For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
God’s gave these requirements to His people His holy people. Back then God’s holy people were the Jews. Today God’s holy people are His true followers
What does Paul tell us in 1st Corinthians 6: 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
We are not to believe that our bodies are ours to do what we please, our body belongs to God and they are giving to us for a short time here on Earth.
45: For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
46: This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:
Why do you think God gave us laws? If you know that giving your children too much food with sugar in it will make then sick, what do you tell them. Do you not make rules or Laws of what they can or can’t eat? God is no different; He knows what is good for our bodies and what is bad.
47: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
Are we still to obey these old laws today; this is the big question.
We here a lot of Christian preachers saying that they are out dated, they were for the Jew only, we Christian are not under the law so they don’t apply to us today.
Is that Scripturally True:
Let’s keep going to find the true answer to the question, remember I am not going to give you my opinion of the subject, I am going to give you all of what the word of God said on the subject and you will draw your own conclusion.
There is nothing I dislike more then hearing a preacher read the word of God and then say well it don’t really mean that it mean this, are it was for these people and not us, we are different.
Were the Jewish people, Gods holy people?
Careful of what you say now, are we today Gods holy people?
What makes the different!
They were Gods people then, and we are Gods people now, they were the church then, we are the church now.
The only different is the Cross of Jesus. They looked forward to the Cross; we look back at the Cross.
Lets doing a little digging here and go back to creation.
Does the word Meat mean Flesh food in the Bible? Let’s look at Genesis: 1: 29: And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Does any one need a preacher to understand what we just read? What we read is God gave to man his food, and it was not the beasts’ (animals) of the earth, it was the fruit or meat of the fruit as the Bible calls it.
For this reason you will find many Christians who are vegetarian and not meat eaters.
The diet of man was altered after Sin entered into the Human family and man became so wicked that God had to make an end.
Genesis 6
5: And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6: And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7: And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
We are not going into the book of Noah, because of time; let’s just take a look at what happen.
We know that God told Noah to build an Ark because he was going to destroy the earth with a flood. God gave Noah the plan for the size of the Ark, why because he knew it would have to hold a pair of all the beasts of the earth.
Lets pickup on the story where God is calling the animals and they are going into the Ark.
Genesis 6
19: And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20: Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
Let’s dig a little deeper here into what is happing right here.
Genesis 7
1: And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2: Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
Did we just read that right, did God say Clean beast by sevens and un-clean by two.
Did God make a distinction between what animals were clean and unclean back in the time of Noah?
So why do we here men preaching telling us we don’t have to worry about those old Laws, we can eat anything we want, just put a little more gravy on it. It is ok to eat what God said is an abomination
Were those laws for the Jew only and not for us today? Was Noah a Jew?
We have the same problem with the Sabbath, God said Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Preachers are saying that was for the Jew not for us, we can worship God on any day we want.
But yet we find God resting on the Sabbath in Genesis.
Genesis 2
1: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3: And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested
We here preacher saying the Sabbath was for the Jews only, yet we find God gave it to our first parents Adam & Eve, Were they Jewish ?
God said Remember the Sabbath day, man said No Forget it, we go to church on Sunday. Who are you going to believe; God or your preacher?
God knew that all the vegetation would be destroyed on the earth, and he knew man would need to eat, so he permitted man to eat the clean beasts of Earth.
It was not Gods intended food for man; he did not create our body to consume Flesh food. It was only a substitute after man Sinned.
This is the 3rd time we find God lowing the Food standard for man, did you know that.
Let’s look at the Facts
Genesis 1: 29
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
This is the first and best food God gave to Mankind, Is this correct, their more, lets look
Genesis 2: 9
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Did you understand what we just read, in the garden there was a Tree of Life, this with the fruit of other trees was Man Food. The perfect mixture that could keep the bodies God created running forever and ever and ever.
Did you know that in each of us God created our bodies to repair themselves. It’s all there inside us; the problem is we no longer have access to the perfect mixture of food that was in Gods plan for man, Why. “SIN”
Science today has discovered that the body uses different compounds to aid in repairing itself. It get these compounds by the food we eat, it brakes down the food and absorbs the chemical. Then it uses the chemical in a microscopy way to aid in the repair of cells. But they all agree on one thing. That there is one Chemical Missing and they have no idea what one that one is. Could it be the Fruit we can’t get anymore “the Tree of Life”
Look at the next scripture:
Genesis 2: 17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
So there was a Tree that gave Life, and a Tree that gave Death, would anyone like to guess which Tree man chose.
That’s correct we chose Death,
So we know the Hi octane food needed for man to live forever was removed because we chose to die rather then live.
What did God do next!
Genesis 3:
17: And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18: Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
God never intended for man to eat the herb of the field, or vegetables of the earth, that was our choice; guess what happens when you no longer had access to the Food God made for you.
Genesis 5: 5
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Conclusion:
- God created hi octane fuel for our body “ Tree of Life and the Fruit of the trees in the garden”. We will call this No# 1 Premium grade Fuel. If your body is running on this is will run forever.
- God substituted man food after sin interned by taking away the Tree of life and giving him the Vegetables as well as the Fruit of the tree. We will call this No#2 Medium grade Fuel. And man life went from Forever to about 900 years.
- After the Flood we again find God substituted man food by giving him permission to eat the clean beasts of the Earth. We will call this No#3 Low grade Fuel. And again what happen, man life went from 900 years to 500 to 300 to 200 to 125 to 70 years. Its all in the Bible read it.
All I want to do here is give you the facts from the Word of God and not my own opinion
Are we what we eat or do we eat what we are.
Now I am going to ask you to form your own opinion on this one.
If God gave permission to eat the low-grade #3 fuel “Clean Animal”
What would you call the Un-clean Animal; Extreme low grade #4 or #5 Fuel, now you understand why God said don’t eat them they are an abomination to you, “Don’t even touch them”
I hear a lot of good Christian people saying, in the New Testament we are told we can eat anything we want. Well that great my friend but you will never find that Scripture that said you can eat anything unless you take it out of the content it was written in.
Why because God’s people are still Gods people today, from Adam to Noah to Moses and the Jews and you and me who by Faith in Jesus are grafted in to the true vine.
God gave his Laws to our first Parents, and told there Children 2500 years later to Remember them. 1500 years later he came to this Earth to prove he Loves us and even died showing it.
As a Christian I can eat anything I want to eat, but I choose Gods way because I know that he would want me to keep this body running in good condition for as long as possible.
1Cor:6:19: What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
My body is the temple where Gods Holy Spirit lives and I want to put only what God said to put in it. If the so called old laws were good enough for Gods people back then, they are good enough for Gods people now. God does not change and His laws are still binding no matter what man may say. Let the Bible and only the Bible speak, Gods Holy Spirit lead Men to write it and God Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth and make clear what God is saying.
Most of you know that I had Cancer and it came back 3 times. I fought it with all the radiation and chemo’s, but it did not work. Then the last time I just gave it all to God and because my body was in better health then normal by eating the right foods God stopped the cancer from growing. I still test positive for NPC and my doctors can’t understand how I am still alive 8 years later. Then again most of them know nothing about the correct food that Gad gave to man.
STORY: New Car
If you buy a new can what is the first thing you do, read the owner Manuel right. Why would do you do that?
Because when we buy something new we want to know what the Manufacture said about our new car and how to take care of it
The Manuel will tell us the type of Spark Plugs to best use and how often to change Oil and Filters where to put water and where not to put it, and most of all what type of Fuel is best for our New Car to keep it running at Maximum performance and keep all the internal part clean and working good.
Now we have a chose to make, we can do what the Manual said to do and keep our New Car in tip top shape, or we can through the Manual away, and put what we want into the car fuel tank, it just that simple.
You know it seams like we all start out making the wrong chose at first, look at Adam & Eve. Our first parents made a bad chose, but when they found out, they ask for forgiveness and God forgave them. So it was with our Fathers before us, so it is with us today.
When we finally realize that we make some bad mistakes in life all we have to do is say Father please forgive me, and he will. We may have to live with the result of the many bad mistakes we made, and that is understandable. So did our first Parents, but we can change our live and start living for Jesus today
I don’t know if this message will make you change your life style or not, or after hearing it what you will do. I pray it was a clear subject on the word of God dealing with what we should or should not eat; only you and God will know the answer to that.
The Choice is your!!!
Are you what you eat, or do you eat what you are?
I have changed my life style back to a vegetarian because I don’t like the taste of meat and because I believe God knows what the best things are for me to eat. After all who knows better but the creator.
Remember God gave these laws to His Holy people, back then they were the Jews, today they are His true follower His true Church.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
Restoring Gods Truth.
God Answers Pray
James: 5:16: Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. 
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
There was once a Church in a small town that had a problem, a saloon open upped across the street. Church members were very angry about this and tried to get the Owner to close it or move somewhere else.
They appealed to the city official, who because of taxes refused to do anything about it.
So the Pastor called on the Church to Pray that God would shut down the Saloon, They meet at the Church everyday in special prayer meetings asking God to intervene in there behalf and help them to shut down the Saloon.
Sure enough about a month later during a very bad storm lightning struck the Saloon and burned it down to the ground.
The Church was delighted until they got served with a legal suit.
The owner of the Saloon was suing the Church, Claiming that their Prayers had resulted in Lightning striking his saloon, and so he held the Church as responsible and was suing them for damages
The Church Lawyers claimed that the Church and there prayers were in no way responsible for the saloon keeper’s damage.
The judge decided in favor of the Church!
But the judge said.
It is very confusing to find that the saloon keeper arguing in favor of the power of prayer and the Church arguing against it.
Do we really believe in the Power of Prayer?
Let us Prayer!
—————————————————–
Have you every prayed for something and it came true, How do you know it was not just a coincident that it happened
I have seen many of prayers answered in my life that there is no possible explanation for; Except God answered pray
What is Prayer and why is it important in a Christian life.
Prayer is the act of addressing God for the purpose of worship or petition. Specific forms of this may include praise, requesting guidance or assistance, confessing sins, as an act of reparation or an expression of one’s thoughts and emotions.
The words used in prayer may take the form of intercession, a hymn, words of gratitude, or a spontaneous utterance in the person’s praying words. Praying can be done in public, as a group, or in private.
What does Jesus tell us to do when we pray?
Mt:21:22: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
What ever we ask in prayer believe and you shall receive
Believe is another word for Faith and the Bible tells us what Faith is
Heb:11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
James tells us when we are praying we are to ask in Faith believing that we will receive what we have prayed for.
Jms:1:6: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Many times we pray but don’t really believe God will answer our prayer, Why because it may take too long or our prayer don’t get answered right away we think God does not hear us.
Some prayers are not answered right away and other prayers are answered in different ways that we are not aware of
Jms:5:15: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Question: is God a respecter of person
The answer is no, God treats everyone the same; we are all equal in Gods eyes. What God does respect is a person Faith in Him.
God has used Men and Women of Faith through history to foster his plan for mankind’s salvation
Jesus tells us what Faith can do.
Lk:17:6: And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
This is why; Jesus said when you pray Believe
Story: of the King who was Sick Hezekiah
2 Kings 20:
1: In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2: Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
3: I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4: And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
5: Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
6: And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
God hears our Prayers always
Story: Zacharias
There was a man by the name of Zacharias who prayer asking God to give them a child, but for years his Wife remained barren. He is now in his late 70 and so is his wife.
It was his duty to go into the Most Holy place of the sanctuary and minister before the Ark of the Covenant.
There he sees and Angle, and the Angle tells him something wonderful, his prayers have been heard and that his wife was going to have a Baby
But he questions this is not possible because I am now too old and my wife is passed the age of life
That is unheard of, Old women having children They do when God answers pray.
He must have prayed for many years, until his wife was well passed the years of child bearing, but God heard his prays, and in God’s time he answered this old mans pray.
Lk:1:13: But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Here is a lesion for all of us We must learner to wait on God’s timing.
If we would learn to wait on Gods timing we would find life so much easyer.
God does not promise that when you become a Christian you will not have problems. What he tells us to do is to pray and he will give you the strength to overcome your hardship, your difficulty, your danger, your misfortune, and your hard times.
Zech:2:8: For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
Jesus prayed for each of us, that our faith in him in times of trouble would not fail, for He tells us in John
Jn:14:1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
What did we say belief was, Belief and Faith are the same.
So if you have Faith in what you are praying for then you need to start getting ready to receive your request.
Acts:12:5: Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
What happened to Peter, an angle came by night and loose his chains and walked him right out of prison.
Why because the Church was praying for him.
You know you might say, Good Stories Tim, I like them all,
But does God do anything for His people today like he did for those in the Bible..
First thing; There is a big different between the Church of the 1st and 2nd century and that of today
People then were willing to Die for what they believe, rather then enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season.
Today it is hard just getting Christians to come to Church if they are not mad at the Pastor or someone else in the Church.
Sometime God does not answer us because we don’t really believe that he will bottom line
I really can’t speak for anyone else but this I can tell you; and that is what God has done for me
Story: Me and the Truck
I was on call for work one night many years ago and had to drive a fuel truck into some plants to fill up the air compressors that were keeping the plants running. While driving the truck I notices that the light were not very bright, but did not think too much about it till the engine died coming off a bridge and all I could do was to cost all the way down. As I came off the bridge I pulled over and then tried to restart the engine, but all I could hear was clicking under the hood. Oh no I said the battery is dead, that is why the lights were getting dim on me. I tried everything but no luck is was 1:30am and I called all the emergency contact numbers for my company and no one answered.
Oh no I said I just started this job a few months ago and knew I needed to get fuel in the Air compressors or they would soon start shutting down. I called my Wife who was at home sick and told her what had happened and how I could not get anyone at the office on the phone, I also knew she could not help me being as sick as she was. I was just a new Christian believer at the time and all I could do was to think why don’t you just pray about it. Yes right like that is really going to start the engine, I got out the truck again and did everything I know but nothing worked. I was stranded all alone and in a very bad part of town. Again my thought went to just pray, ok what do I have to lose, so I did I prayed. Not long after praying I got a feeling to try and start the engine, I flagged it off because just a few minutes before I already tired that. But again the feeling came try the engine. OK I will try it, and as soon as I turn the key the engine started, I could not believe it. I put the light switch on and the light were brighter then I ever seen. So I made my run that night and filled all the equipment and drove back to the shop parked the truck. Wow I could not believe it then I thought to my self maybe it was just a bad connection after all. But when I went to try and start the truck again it was dead and I mean completely dead. The next day I came in to work and one of the mechanics was working on the truck and so I ask him what was he doing. He said do you know who drove the truck last night I said yes it was me. He looked and said boy you are a lucky guy I said why, he told me the alternator was out and the battery was totally dead. I knew then for sure it had to be an angle help me that night, all because I prayed in my time of need.
I believe we all sometimes ask God for things we don’t need or for something that is not good for us.
God in his Mercy understands and sometimes said no, it is the same thing that any good parent would do for Children you love.
One time my son Patrick came home with a big fish tank full of Tarantula (Spider) and he said Look Mom Dad can I keep them in my room.
Do I need to tell you what our answer was NO
God is the same way; sometime things are not going to be good for us so he just said NO
I was in Love with a girl once when I was 16 and remember praying asking God to help me to marry her.
I event went as far as telling her we could get married and no one will ever know.
Then one day God let me see something in her I never seen before, and right then I realized why he said no. Then I prayed and said God thanks you for not answering that prayer of mine.
So the next time I prayer about getting married I ask God to provide me a Women to be my Wife.
About a year later, guess who came into my Life. She has been so much more then I could have ever asked or even hoped for, why because she was Gods choice for me. This year we will be married for 39 years, God is so very good
Phil:4:6: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Eph:6:18: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Col:4:2: Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Only God could have lead her into my life and on Gods time not mine.
2Tm:1:3: I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
1Pt:3:12: For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
Have you ever wonders where your prayers are kept.
The Bible tells us that God has a special place where are kept the prayers of all his People.
Rv:5:8: And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rv:8:3: And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rv:8:4: And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
There is nothing that is impossible for God to do; God hears the prayers of his children, He longs to talk to each and everyone one of us.
Sometimes we are too busy, sometimes we just don’t have time to give to God because we have so many things going on in our life.
Have you every wondered where do all these things come from, these time takers. They are all a vice from satan to do one thing, keep you away from God.
One of the best time taker satan every invested in was Music
Here he enter the ear and mind of many people, but that was not enough he wanted more so he invested in a tube we call TV
Now he has the ear, mind, imagination of the people all at the same time and he has them doing nothing.
The Prayers of a Father:
A minister concluded his sermon one Sabbath by saying, “If there’s someone here who wants help in getting to know God, and you would like me to pray for you, please raise your hand.” A young man stood up and said, “Please pray for me, sir. The burden of my sin is too heavy to bear.”
After the service the minister talked with the man and led him to faith in Jesus. The young man had been wandering around the country for 8 years without contacting his parents, so he decided to write to them and tell them about the change in his life.
Several days later, a reply came from his mother: “My dear son, you must have accepted Jesus Christ at the same hour your father went to sleep in Jesus. He had been sick for a long time, and that day he was very restless. He tossed from side to side on his bed, crying out, ‘Lord, please save my poor, wandering boy.’ I’m sure that one of the reasons you became a Christian was Dad’s unceasing intercession.”
A praying father will “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” in behalf of his children, persistently trusting his wise heavenly Father to do what is best (Matthew 7:7-11). Let’s thank God today for faithful parents who never stop praying for their children.
Parents never stop praying for your Children, It is never too late to pray for them and never to early to start praying for them
Jesus said in Jer:1:5: 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.
God bless and remember God knows what you need He is just waiting for you to ask, then He will provide it at the right time in your life; not too early and never too late.
Elder Tim McNab
Don’t give up!
John: 15:12: This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
There was once a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants…
The race began… Honestly: No one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.
You heard statements such as: “NO, WAY it’s too difficult!!”
“They will NEVER make it to the top.”
“Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”
The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one…
Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher..
The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!”
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up… But ONE continued higher and higher and higher…
This one tiny frog however wouldn’t give up!
At the end, everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog, who after a big effort, was the only one who reached the
top!
THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?
A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal.
It turned out… That the winner was DEAF!!!!
Let’s Us Pray!
————————————————————
Whatever you do Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic
Because they take your most wonderful dreams and wish them away from you–
the ones you have in your heart!
Always think of the power words have before speaking.
Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!
Therefore: ALWAYS be… POSITIVE!
And above all: Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!
Always think: God and I can do this!
Most people walk in and out of your life……but FRIENDS leave footprints
in your heart!
We all need to have some encouragement at time in our life.
We all get Tired, we get Lazy, Wore out, Burnt out, even feel Defeated at times.
Especially when we hear people telling us, you can’t do that! It’s too much for you! No one really expected you to complete it!
In our weakness, we find strength only in the Lord.
When all the world seams to be against us, we know that He is right there, He is there to give guidance, to give instruction, and to give us consul when needed.
God’s love is forever with His people who have put there Trust, there Faith, there very Live into His hands. He never gives up on you.
In the opening story what made the difference between the frogs who did not finish and the one who did. Being —- Deaf to what people were saying.
Sometimes we too need to learn to shut the world out. Don’t listen to what others are saying to us, or about us. Just continue doing what Jesus said.
Do what God is telling you to do, and go where God is telling you to go.
What do you think would have happened if Jesus listened to what others were telling Him, that He was not the Son of God! That He was not the Savior!
When the world does not encourage or help you, remember God love never stops.
What would have happen if Jesus would have became discouraged? He almost did.
Turn to the book of Matthew chapter 3:
Look at the story of Jesus baptism, hear what His Father said.
- Jesus at His Baptism:
Matthew:3:
16: And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
All of Jesus life he heard only negativeness from people around Him. His own Brothers and Sisters, His Aunts & Uncles, the Religious Leaders.
They all thought Jesus had some loose screws in his head They failure to realize the what the Scriptures said about Him.
Do you hear the same things where you work, how about at Home, how about at Church? People telling you that you are not good enough, you are just not able to do this.
It is almost like they want to see you fail, They themselves can’t do it and they want to make sure you can’t as well..
Funny with Jesus it was only the Common people who heard and believed in Him, because He gave them hope.
Hope that there was something better for them then this life of pain & suffering. Hope of a place where there will never be Hunger, Sickness, or see Death again.
All through Jesus life He did only works of Good, He showed Love, & compassion, But the world hated Him all the more. Who Hated Him, The very people who he came to save.
- Look at what is said in the Book of Luke 22:
40: And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
41: And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
“Tarry ye here, ” He told his disciples, “and watch with Me.”
He went but a little distance from them, but not so far that they could not see and hear Him as He fell prostrate upon the ground.
Why was He here, what was He doing, He was paying your death, all your sins and all my sins. Look now at what it was doing to Him.
He felt that by sin He was being separated from His Father. The gulf was so broad, so black, so deep, that His spirit shuddered before it.
But In this agony He must not exert His divine power to escape or save His self.
How many of us if we had the power in our hand, would not have freed ourselves and said tuff luck and walked away
But not Jesus: As a man He must suffer the consequences of man’s sin. As a man He must endure the wrath of God against transgression.
Christ was now standing in a different attitude from that in which He had never stood before.
His suffering can best be described in the words of the prophet, “Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zech. 13:7.
Holy angle spirit angel
As the substitute and surety for sinful man, Christ was suffering under divine justice. He saw what justice meant.
Hitherto He had been as an intercessor for others; now He longed to have someone intercessor for Him.
As Christ felt His unity with the Father broken up, He feared that in His human nature He would be unable to endure the coming conflict with the powers of darkness.
In the wilderness of temptation, when the destiny of the human race had been at stake, Christ was then conqueror.
Now the tempter had come for the last fearful struggle. For this he had been preparing during the three years of Christ’s ministry.
Everything was at stake with him. If Satan failed here, his hope of mastery was lost; the kingdoms of the world would finally become Christ’s; he himself would be overthrown and cast out.
But if Christ could be overcome, the earth would become Satan’s kingdom, and the human race would be forever in his power.
With the issues of the conflict before Him, Christ’s soul was filled with dread of separation from God.
Satan told Him that if He became the surety for a sinful world, the separation would be eternal. He would be identified with Satan’s kingdom, and would nevermore be one with God.
Again the Son of God was seized with superhuman agony, and fainting and exhausted, He staggered back to the place of His former struggle.
His suffering was even greater than before. As the agony of soul came upon Him, “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
The cypress and palm trees were the silent witnesses of His anguish. From their leafy branches dropped heavy dew upon His stricken form, as if nature wept over its Author wrestling alone with the powers of darkness.
A short time before, Jesus had stood like a mighty cedar, withstanding the storm of opposition that spent its fury upon Him.
Stubborn wills, and hearts filled with malice, had striven in vain to confuse and overpower Him. He stood forth in divine majesty as the Son of God.
Now He was like a reed beaten and bent by the angry storm. He had approached the consummation of His work a conqueror, having at each step gained the victory over the powers of darkness.
As one already glorified, He had claimed oneness with God.
He had spoken to His disciples in words of courage and tenderness.
Now had come the hour of the power of darkness. Now His voice was heard on the still evening air, not in tones of triumph, but in human anguish.
The words of the Savior were borne to the ears of the drowsy disciples, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
The first impulse of the disciples was to go to Him; but He had bidden them tarry there, watching and prayer.
But when Jesus came to them, He found them still sleeping.
Jesus longing for companionship, for some words from His disciples which would bring relief, and break the spell of darkness that well-nigh overpowered Him.
But their eyes were heavy; “neither did they know what to answer Him.” His presence aroused them.
They saw His face marked with the bloody sweat of agony, and they were filled with fear. His anguish of mind they could not understand. “His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.” Isa. 52:14
Turning away, Jesus sought again His retreat, and fell prostrate, overcome by the horror of a great darkness.
The humanity of the Son of God trembled in that trying hour. He prayed not now for His disciples that their faith might not fail, but for His own tempted, agonized soul.
The awful moment had come–that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance.
Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man.
It was not yet too late. He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, and leave man to perish in his iniquity.
He might say, Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father.
Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humiliation and agony? Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty?
The words fall tremblingly from the pale lips of Jesus, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice.
But now the history of the human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer.
He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish.
He sees the helplessness of man. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamentations of a doomed world rise before Him.
He beholds its impending fate, and His decision is made.
He will save man at any cost to Himself.
He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him millions may gain everlasting life.
He has left the courts of heaven, where all is purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that has fallen by transgression.
And He will not turn from His mission. He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin.
His prayer now breathes only submission: “If this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, He said My Father Thy will be done.”
Having made the decision, He fell dying to the ground from which He had partially risen.
Where now were His disciples, to place their hands tenderly beneath the head of their fainting Master, and bathe that brow, marred indeed more than the sons of men?
Jesus trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him.
Please don’t think that the Father did not suffer with His Son for in that trying hour all of heaven was still as the Father and Son agonize over the one lost sheep.
Angels beheld His agony. They saw their Lord enclosed by legions of satanic forces, His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. There was silence in heaven.
No harp was touched.
Could mortals have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as in silent grief as they watched the Father separating His beams of light, of love, and glory from His beloved Son, they would better understand how offensive in His sight is sin.
The worlds un-falling and the heavenly angels had watched with intense interest as the conflict drew to its close.
Satan and his confederacy of evil, the legions of apostasy, watched intently this great crisis in the work of redemption.
The powers of good and evil waited to see what answer would come to Christ’s thrice-repeated prayer.
Angels had longed to bring relief to the divine sufferer, but this might not be.
No way of escape was found for the Son of God.
In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the sufferer, the heavens opened.
A light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and the mighty angel who stands in God’s presence, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ.
The angel came not to take the cup from Christ’s hand, but to strengthen Him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father’s love.
He came to give power to the divine-human suppliant.
He pointed Him to the open heavens, telling Him of the souls that would be saved as the result of His sufferings.
He assured Him that His Father is greater and more powerful than Satan, that His death would result in the utter discomfiture of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High.
He told Him that He would see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied, for He would see a multitude of the human race saved eternally.
Christ’s agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him.
The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury.
He came forth calm and peaceful. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face.
He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
The sleeping disciples had been suddenly awakened by the light surrounding the Savior.
They saw the angel bending over their prostrate Master.
They saw him lift the Savior’s head upon his bosom, and point toward heaven. They heard his voice, like sweetest music, speaking words of comfort and hope.
The disciples recalled the scene upon the mount of transfiguration.
They remembered the glory that in the temple had encircled Jesus, and the voice of God that spoke from the cloud.
Now that same glory was again revealed, and they had no further fear for their Master.
He was under the care of His Father; a mighty angel had been sent to protect Him.
Again the disciples in their weariness yield to the strange stupor that overpowers them.
Again Jesus finds them sleeping.
That same night they took Jesus and place Him before a marked trial of Evil men. But he stood before then not as one having been defeated, But as one who has gained the Victory
3. Jesus at the Cross: Luke 23:
39: And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40: But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41: And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42: And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43: And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
On the Cross there was only one man who called upon the savior, Even while Jesus was suffering on the Cross Himself, His ears were open to hear the cry for help.
Have you become discouraged in your walk with Jesus, when we pass out literature and no one seams to accept what you have. When we have evangelistic seminars and no one comes. When we preach the word and there are no followers.
Do you get dishearten because no one heed the warning, and you feel like a failure.
We all need to be encouraged at time to complete the work giving us. Somehow when we have other pulling for us it makes the road easier to bare.
It can’t be explained and we don’t know why it is.
But pain and suffering somehow becomes bearable when we know you are not alone when we know others are praying for us.
A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled
with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to
do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained
that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the
man did, day after day.
For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set
squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing
with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and
worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to
enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: “You have been
pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t moved.” Thus, he
gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a
failure.
These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said, “Why kill
yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort;
and that will be good enough.”
That’s what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a Matter of
Prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
“Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all
my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I
have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am
I failing?
The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve
Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock
with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to
you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you
come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is
that really so?
“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and
brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have
become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your
abilities now surpass that which you used to have.
“True, you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and
to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have
done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.”
*At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect
to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple
obedience and faith in Him.
At time we hear people telling us like satin you can’t do it.
You can’t Speak, You can’t Teach, You can’t Preach, You can’t, You can’t, You can’t.
When people are putting you down, when you hear the voice of Satan telling you what you can’t, we need to look to the word of God that tells us.
I can do, I can do, I can do…….
Phil:4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Don’t let the world stop you from reaching the finish line,
Sometimes all you need is to become Deaf to the world in order to hear Jesus.
Whatever you do always remember” Never Give Up”
Elder Tim McNab
Restoring Gods Truth
DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
MATT 7:13-14
13: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods.
They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, ‘Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems.
I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.’
Then the second tree said, ‘Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world.
Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.’
Finally the third tree said, ‘I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the Hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching.
I will be the greatest tree of all times and people will always remember me..’
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said,
‘This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, ‘and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree the woodsman said, ‘This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.’ The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.
One of the Woodsmen said, ‘I don’t need anything special from my tree, I’ll take this one,’ and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.
The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.
The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.
The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree.
The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said ‘Peace’ and the Storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. The tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
When things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him,
Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways.
But His ways are always best ways.
Let us Pray!
————————————————————
ISAISH ; 54:17: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
LOOK AT YOUR SELF : AND ASK WHAT WOULD I DO IF GOD CALL ME??
WHAT IF HE SAID I HAVE A MISSION FOR YOU..
DON’T WEREY ABOUT A THING JUST TRUST ME…?
AND GO WERE I SEND YOU AND SAY WHAT I TELL YOU….
WOULD IT CHANGE YOU…? ARE WOULD YOU LIKE JONAH JUST TRY AND RUN AWAY.. MAYBE YOU BE LIKE MOSES AND TRY TO ARGUE WITH GOD AND SAY LORD I am NOT THE MAN YOU NEED SEND SOMEONE ELCE…
ARE THERE STILL THOSE WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT??????
ARE HAS THE SUBTLE, HYPNOTIC BEAT OF THE DRUM MADE EVERY MAN AN UNWITTING SLAVE.
LIKE IT OR NOT, WE ARE STRANGELY SENSITVE TO THE MYSTERIOUS POWE OF CONFORMITY,
WE STAND IN AWE OF IT . FASCINATED AND FRIGHTENED BY IT SURGING AND UNSHACKLED CONTROL OF THE MINDS OF MEN…
WE FEAR NOTHING SO MUCH AS TO STAND ALONE,
REJECTED BY POPULAR OPINION…
WHY THIS STRANGE URGE TO CONFORM???
WE MARCH AROUND LIKE ROBOTS, LOST IN THE GROUP, TERRIFIED AT THE THOUGHT OF BEING DIFFERENT…
WHERE IS THE CREATIVE NONCONFORMITY THAT MADE THE HEROES AND MARTYRS OF THE PAST?
WHERE IS THE EXCITEMENT OF TAKING A STAND?
WE SEEM TO BE HYPNOTIZED WITH THE CHILDHOOD GAME OF FOLLOW THE LEADER AND SIMON SAYS…
WERE ARE THE MEN WHO DID NOT FEAR TO STAN UP AND BE COUNTED FOR THE LORD.
MEN LIKE MOSES WHO HAD A MISSION FROM GOD? WHO STOUD BEFORE PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT AND SAID..
THUS SAY THE LORD THE GREAT I AM, LET MY PEOPLE GO..
STORY: MOSES (WHO WAS THIS MOSES) LORD NOT ME SEND SOMEONE ELCE I CAN NOT TALK…
MOSES: WAS JUST A MAN LIKE ENY OTHER.. BUT HE WAS WILLING TO LET GOD USE HIM
WERE ARE THE MEN LIKE MOSES TO DAY…
STORY: ABRAHEM CALL OUT FROM HIS KIM FOKE TO A LAND GOD WOULD GIVE HIM.
IF GOD CALLED WOULD YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME AND YOUR FAMILY AND GO SOME PLACE ELSE .
MAYBE GOD WILL CALL YOU TO PREACH HIS WORD IN ANOTHER CITY OR STATE OR COUNTRY..
ABRAHEM WAS GIVING A PROMASS OF A SON. THAT HIS SEED WOULD BE AS THE SAND OF THE SEA.
AND NOT UNTILL HE WAS WELL OVER 100 AND HIS WIFE IN HER 90 DID HE HAVE THE PROMASS SON
GOD TOLD ABRAHEM TO GO TO A PLACE THAT HE WILL SHOW HIM AND THERE TO SACKREFICE HIS SON…
FINISH STORY::: ABRAHAM HE DID NOT QUESTION GOD
HE DID WHAT GOD TOLD HIM TO DO.
STORY: THE SON WAS WILLING HE WAS A STRONG YOUNG MAN
BUT THIS YOUNG MAN LEARNRD FROM HIS EARTHLY FATHER ABOUT HIS HEAVENLY FATHER AND IN OBEDIENCE WAS WILLING TO GIVE HIS LIFE.
AS HE LAY THERE AND ABRAHEM READY TO TAKE HIS LIFE THE ANGLE STOP HIM
JESUS WAS WILLING TO GIVE HIS LIFE… BUT NO ONE WOULD STOP THE HAND OF GILTY MAN FROM KILLING HIM
WERE ARE THE MEN LIKE ABRAHEM
WAS IT NOT THE PROPHET ELIJAH WHO TOLD THE PEOPLE FROM THE TOP OF MOUNT CARMEL
CHOOS YE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE GOD OR MAN
DID THE PROPLE REALY FORGET WHO GOD WAS ..
MAYBE SERVING THE LORD GOD WAS NOT THE FAD AT THAT TIME.
THEY WERE SO DECEIVED BY POPULAR OPEION THAT THEY COULD NOT TELL RIGHT FROM WRONG DAY FROM NIGHT
TRUE FROM FALSE
HOW COULD THIS BE.? NOT GODS PEOPLE…
THE MAJORITY, IT SEEMS HAS SELDOME BEEN RIGHT.
THE MAJORITY, EXCEPT FOR EIGHT PEOPLE REJECTED TRUTH IN THE DAYS OF NOAH
STORY: NOAH NOAH STOOD ALONE WITH A MESSAGE FROM GOD
Animal listen to the Voice of God more then those who were created in the Image of God.
HE PREACH OF GODS LOVE AND A SOON COMING DISTRUCTION.
GOD WAS GOING TO DISTROY THE EARTH WITH A FLOOD
GEN, 6:6 GOD REPENTED AND WAS GRIEVED IN HIS HEART THAT HE MADE MAN.. THE EVEL WAS SO GREAT IN THE EARTH.
A FLOOD::::: PUBLIC OPINION SAID IT COULD NEVER HAPPEN..
IT DID NOT STOP NOAH…. NOT FOR THE NEXT 120 YEAR
HE PREACH FAITHFULY THE MESSISH GOD GAVE HIM
MANY PEOPLE WANTED TO GO IN THE ARK
MANY BELIEVE WHAT NOAH WAS PREACHING.
BUT BECAUSE “PUBLIC OPINION” YOU SEE..
1. NO ONE WENT FIRST
2. I DON’T WON’T ANY ONE TO LAUHTH AT ME.
3. IT HAS NEVER RAIN BEFORE.
4. THE LEADER DON’T BELIVE HIM
5. DAD SAID HE IS A CRAZY OLD MAN
6. NO ONE BUILD A BOAT WERE THERE IS NO WATER
7. HE FORGOT TO PUT A RUDDER ON HIS BOAT
8. IT WILL NEVER FLOAT.
TRUTH IN ELIJAH DAYS WAS SO UNPOPULAR THAT HE COMPLAINED TO GOD THAT HE ALONE WAS LEFT.
AND THE SEVEN THOUSAND LOYAL HEARTS OF WHOM HE WAS REMINDED WERE A PITIFULLY SMALL MINORITY.
THERE WAS LITTLE DIFFERENT IN THE DAYS OF MARTIN LUTHER..
IT TOOK COURAGE FOR MARTIN LUTHER TO STAND ALONE BEFOR THE COUNCIL THAT CALLED HIM TO ACCOUNT, AND DEMANDED THAT HE RECANT
BUT HIS WORDS RANG CLEAR AND STRONG..
AND FEARLESS INTO THE EARS OF HIS ENEMIES;
I CAN NOT, AND I WILL NOT, HERE I STAND, I CAN DO NO OTHER….
THE BIBLE HAS MANY STORY ABOUT MEN AND WOMAN WHO STOUD UP AGENTS THE POPERLAR OPINION
FROM ENOCH TO ESTHER THE 12 APOSTLES AND CHRISTION CHURCH OF THE FIRST 3 CENTURE.
ALL STOUD FOR THE LORD, MANY PAID THE PRICE WITH THEIR LIFE FOR WHAT THERE BELIVE.
WE CANNOT EXPECT RIGHT & TRUTH TO COME TO US CHRISTENED AND BLESSED BY PUBLIC OPINION..
JESUS SAID;
ENTER YE IN AT THE STRAIT GATE: FOR WIDE IS THE GATE, AND BROAD IS THE WAY, THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION, AND MANY THERE BE WHICH GO IN.
BECAUSE STRAIT IS THE GATE, AND NARROW IS THE WAY, WHICH LEADETH UNTO LIFE AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT… MATT 7:13-14
RIGHT CANNOT BE DETERMINED BY STATISICS. TRUTH CAN NEVER BE MEASURED BY THE NUMBER WHO ARE WILLING TO FOLLOW OR BELIVED IT….
A WAY MAY BE POPULAR… BUT IT MAY ALSO BE WRONG….
THERE IS A WAY WHICH SEEMETH RIGHT UNTO A MAN,
BUT THE END THEREOF ARE THE WAYS OF DEATH.. PROVERBS 14;12
WHAT IS IT THAT WE FEAR?
BECAUSE WE BELIVE THAT GOD WILL NOT WORK WITH US THE SAME WAY HE HAS WITH OTHER IN THE BIBLE…
PREHAP WE FEAR WE DON’T HAVE THE FAITH OR WE ARE NOT STRONG ENHUFF TO CARRY OUT THE WORK..
WE FEAR WHAT PEOPLE MAY SAY OR MAY LAFT AT US.
IN EVERY AGE THERE HAS ALWAYS BEN A PEOPLE, WHO DISPITE POPULAR OPINION HAS REMAIN TRUE TO THE LAWS OF GOD….
STORY:::: PROFESSOF AND THE STUDENT THE CHARK TEST
HOW MANY OF YOU BELIVED THAT THERE IS A GOD RASE YOUR HAND.. ABOUT ½ WELL WE ARE GIONG TO TEST TO SEE IF IT SO FINISH STORY::
HOW MANY OF US WOULD STAN UP FOR JESUS AT THE COST OF OUR LIFE. IT IS A HARD QUESTION, BUT SOME DAY YOU WILL HAVE TO ANSWER IT.
IN THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY SISTER WHITE WRITES
THE SPIRIT OF COMPROMISE AND CONFORMILY WAS RESTRAINED FOR A TIME BY THE FIERCE PERSECUTIONS, WHICH THE CHURCH ENDURED UNDER PAGANISM.
BUT AS PERSCUTION CEASED, AND CHRISTIANITY ENTERED THE COURTS AND PALACES OF KINGS.
SHE LAID ASIDE THE HUMBLE SIMPLICITY OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES, FOR THE POMP AND PRIDE OF PAGAN PRIESTS AND RULERS.
AND IN PLACE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD SHE SUBSTITUTED HUMAN THEORIES AND TRADITRONS…
IN EVERY AGE THERE WERE WITNESSES FOR GOD. MEN WHO CHERISHED FAITH IN CHRIST AS THE ONLY MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN.
WHO HELD THE BIBLE AS THE ONLY RULE OF LIFE…?
IS THIRE ENY REASION TO FEAR TO DAY WHAT MEN MY SAY OR DO
WE ARE THE GENORATION THAT WILL SOON SEE ALL THE PROPHCY FORFILL
THE BIBLE SAID, “AS IT WAS IT THE DAYS OF NOAH SO SHALL IT BE IN THE END”
THE WORLD DID NOT BELIVIED WHAT NOAH TOLD THEM
SO IT WILL NOT BELIVIED WHAT WE WILL SAY
THE FACT IS GOD TOLD NOAH TO PREACH, AND HE DID FOR 120 YEAR
WARNE THE PEOPLE OF WHAT IS TO COME..
GOD HAS TOLD US TO PREACH TO THIS END TIME PEOPLE WARNE THEM OF WHAT IS SOON COMING, SO THAT THIRE BLOOD MAY NOT BE ON OUR HEADS.
We may Plan for our Future in many different ways, but when you don’t see it going the way you would like it, don’t be discourage.
God may have another plan in mind for you much better then you could imagine
he just needs people who are willing to be used and are willing to be different.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
Believe also in Me
John 14: 1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
There was once a tightrope walker who was crossing Niagara Falls. After he had held the crowds spellbound with his daring act, he asked, How many of you believe I could cross the tightrope again, this time Blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow with someone riding in it.
The crowds applauded.
They were sure he could do it. But then he said, Who will volunteer to ride the wheelbarrow?
There was a vast silence.
The audience had just been reminded of the vital difference between belief and trust! It’s one thing to believe that the wheelbarrow would make it safety across the Falls. It’s quite another thing to put your own life on the line.
Total Trust is putting one foot forward and walking with both eyes closed
Faith is like thread
One peace all by its self can not do much, but each time Faith is used it becomes stronger Until that thread becomes a rope, a life line to Jesus
Faith still trusts God even when things don’t work out the way we want them to.
It’s easy to trust God when life is going smoothly. The real test of faith comes when our prayers seem unanswered.
The Lord would have you trust in his love and mercy amid clouds and darkness as well as in the sunshine.
KNOWING GOD RESULTS IN TRUSTING GOD.
IF YOU DON’T KNOW HIM, YOU WON’T TRUST HIM.
IF YOU DON’T TRUST HIM, IT IS BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW HIM.
Let us Pray!
————————————————-
Several years ago some visitors to the US Mint in Philadelphia listened to a worker in the foundry area. The man said that if you first dip your hand into a bucket of water, a small ladle of molten metal could be poured over the palm of your hand and it would not burn you. The worker said, “Do you believe that?” Well, they all believed that. “Who would like to try it?” A man stood there and said: “Not me!” “I’ll take your word for it.” The workman turned to the man’s wife, and said: “Perhaps you would like to try it?” She said, “Certainly.” She put her hand in the bucket of water and calmly held it out while the hot metal was poured over her hand. And it didn’t hurt. I don’t think she held that molten metal very long. Now, don’t go try this. Both the husband and the wife believed. Was there a difference in their belief? Only the wife trusted completely. You may say she was a fool for doing that. If you trust Jesus completely you’re not a fool. That’s the type of trust that it going to take to be saved. That’s the type of belief that it take to be saved.
You’ve got to completely trust your life to Him and totally believe in Him; His perfect life will be accounted to you in place of your imperfect life. You will be saved by His blood. Jesus’ righteousness will be freely given to everybody who really and truly believe in Jesus. We are saved not by works but by faith, belief, and trust. This is called grace. That is called the good news.
John 14:
1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2: 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.
It is one thing to Believe something is going to happen, but quite another thing to totally put you Truth and Faith ahead of you belief and see it fulfillment
AFTER A FEW OF THE USUAL SABBATH EVENING HYMNS, THE CHURCH’S PASTOR SLOWLY STOOD UP, WALKED OVER TO THE PULPIT AND, BEFORE HE GAVE HIS SERMON FOR THE EVENING, HE BRIEFLY INTRODUCED A GUEST MINISTER WHO WAS IN THE SERVICE THAT EVENING.
IN THE INTRODUCTION, THE PASTOR TOLD THE CONGREGATION THAT THE GUEST MINISTER WAS ONE OF HIS DEAREST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND THAT HE WANTED HIM TO HAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO GREET THE CHURCH AND SHARE WHATEVER HE FELT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE SERVICE. WITH THAT, AN ELDERLY MAN STEPPED UP TO THE PULPIT AND BEGAN TO SPEAK.’
A FATHER, HIS SON, AND A FRIEND OF HIS SON WERE SAILING OFF THE PACIFIC COAST,’ HE BEGAN. ‘WHEN A FAST APPROACHING STORM BLOCKED ANY ATTEMPT TO GET BACK TO THE SHORE. ‘THE WAVES WERE SO HIGH, THAT EVEN THOUGH THE FATHER WAS AN EXPERIENCED SAILOR, HE COULD NOT KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND THE THREE WERE SWEPT INTO THE OCEAN AS THE BOAT CAPSIZED.’
THE OLD MAN HESITATED FOR A MOMENT, MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH TWO TEENAGERS WHO WERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE SERVICE BEGAN, LOOKING SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN HIS STORY.
THE AGED MINISTER CONTINUED WITH HIS STORY,’GRABBING A RESCUE LINE, THE FATHER HAD TO MAKE THE MOST EXCRUCIATING DECISION OF HIS LIFE: TO WHICH BOY WOULD HE THROW THE OTHER END OF THE LIFE LINE.
‘HE ONLY HAD SECONDS TO MAKE THE DECISION. ‘THE FATHER KNEW THAT HIS SON WAS A CHRISTIAN AND HE, ALSO, KNEW THAT HIS SON’S FRIEND WAS NOT.
‘THE AGONY OF HIS DECISION COULD NOT BE MATCHED BY THE TORRENT OF WAVES. ‘AS THE FATHER YELLED OUT, “I LOVE YOU, SON!” HE THREW OUT THE LIFE LINE TO HIS SON’S FRIEND. ‘BY THE TIME THE FATHER HAD PULLED THE FRIEND BACK TO THE CAPSIZED BOAT, HIS SON HAD DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE RAGING SWELLS INTO THE BLACK OF NIGHT. HIS BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED.’
BY THIS TIME, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE SITTING UP STRAIGHT IN THE PEW,
ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE NEXT WORDS TO COME OUT OF THE OLD MINISTER’S MOUTH.
‘THE FATHER,’ HE CONTINUED, ‘KNEW HIS SON WOULD STEP INTO ETERNITY WITH JESUS AND HE COULD NOT BEAR THE THOUGHT OF HIS SON’S FRIEND STEPPING INTO AN ETERNITY WITHOUT JESUS…
THEREFORE, HE SACRIFICED HIS SON TO SAVE THE SON’S FRIEND.
‘HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD THAT HE SHOULD DO THE SAME FOR US. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SACRIFICED HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WE COULD BE SAVED.
I URGE YOU TO ACCEPT HIS OFFER TO RESCUE YOU AND TAKE A HOLD OF THE LIFE LINE HE IS THROWING OUT TO YOU IN THIS SERVICE.’
WITH THAT, THE OLD MAN TURNED AND SAT BACK DOWN IN HIS CHAIR AS SILENCE FILLED THE ROOM.
THE PASTOR AGAIN WALKED SLOWLY TO THE PULPIT AND DELIVERED A BRIEF SERMON WITH AN INVITATION AT THE END. HOWEVER, NO ONE RESPONDED TO THE APPEAL. WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE SERVICE ENDED, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE AT THE OLD MAN’S SIDE.
‘THAT WAS A NICE STORY,’ POLITELY STATED ONE OF THEM,’BUT I DON’T THINK IT WAS VERY REALISTIC FOR A FATHER TO GIVE UP HIS ONLY SON’S LIFE IN HOPES THAT THE OTHER BOY WOULD BECOME A CHRISTIAN.’
‘WELL, YOU’VE GOT A POINT THERE,’ THE OLD MAN REPLIED, GLANCING DOWN AT HIS WORN BIBLE. A BIG SMILE BROADENED HIS NARROW FACE. HE ONCE AGAIN LOOKED UP AT THE BOYS AND SAID, ‘IT SURE ISN’T VERY REALISTIC, IS IT? BUT, I’M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT STORY GIVES ME A GLIMPSE OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR GOD TO GIVE UP HIS SON FOR ME.
YOU SEE… ‘I WAS THAT FATHER AND YOUR PASTOR IS MY SON’S FRIEND.’
I WOULD RATHER LIVE MY LIFE AS IF THERE IS A GOD AND DIE TO FIND OUT
THERE ISN’T, THAN LIVE MY LIFE AS IF THERE ISN’T AND DIE TO FIND OUT THERE IS.
Several years ago two ships collided. It happened far out in the calm quiet Atlantic Ocean on a dark foggy night. The smaller ship with two hundred and six people on board sank within thirty minutes. Immediately the larger ship put out life boats to retrieve the passengers who were floating in the calm sea.
Only thirty four were found!? They were all picked up and saved. At first it seemed a great mystery why a hundred seventy two people were lost and so few were saved. The problem was not a lack of life jackets or life boats.
** I don’t know if any of you have ever been in a collision, things happen so fast that you don’t always get time to think about them or think about what to do. You just do them.
I was once on a ship that had a collision with another ship many years ago. We too did not have time to think, We knew that our ship was going down and we needed to get off and off fast. So when the Captain gave the order to abandon ship that is what we did, with in fifteen minutes the ship sunk, but all of our lives were saved, only because everyone followed the Captains orders.
But there was a different problem here on this ship, the people heard the Captain order, but many did not want to go when the call to abandon ship was giving. Why?
What in this world would keep you on a sinking Ship? The order is giving get off, Abandon ship and save your life. What’s keeping you from getting in the lifeboat?
Later it was found that the primary reason so few were saved was that most if not all of them had busied themselves during those last thirty minutes in seizing their gold and silver and securing it to their clothes or belting it around their waist.
They were weighted down and unable to remain afloat until the rescue boats could reach them. They lost both their life and their money. They were Jeopardized by greed.
What hinders you today from giving Christ your all?
Cast off the carnal things that weigh you down. Many of good Christians are like a waterlogged raft, they are just barely afloat. They have soaked up so much worldliness and are so absorbed with little sinful traits that it is almost impossible for them to be towed into the heavenly harbor.
Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Sorry: but you can’t have your pie and eat it too. No heart can mature two crops at the same time. We must decide which is more important.
Immerse yourself in Jesus. Lighten your load of temporal doodads. Give Jesus your total heart and sole and stop living your life in a world that is dying because the temporal reward looks great.
Just remember the word temporal means just that. “temporary, brief, short lived”.
When an immigrant comes to America, before He or She can become a citizen they must renounce all commitments and allegiance to their former homeland and pledge one hundred percent allegiance to America. Then and only then will the U.S. Government grant citizenship.
That’s the way it is with Jesus. When you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you renounce Satan completely. You can’t “split time” by serving Satan part-time and Christ part-time.
For a Christian there can be no moonlighting with the world.
It is impossible to have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. Very quickly you would have to do the splits because the path of the church and the world are zeroing in at two very different destinations. One is eternal Life the other is eternal destruction.
Like a boat leaving the dock, you can’t have one foot on the boat and one foot on the dock for very long or you will end up in the drink.
An individual who divides his heart between God and the world will eventually be wholehearted for the world and fainthearted for God! You can’t dine at the Devils table on Friday and at the Lord’s table on Sabbath. You can’t sing “All The Way” in the pew and swear at the fax machine at work.
Luke 14:33: In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
We must be willing to give up everything. You can’t hold onto the world and its knickknacks with all your strength and equally hold onto Jesus.
You can’t get your high from Jesus on Sabbath and get your “High” from drugs on Saturday night.
Brown-nosing with Satan when you are with the crowd and pretending at church makes you a hypocrite!
1 Thessalonians 5:23: May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus wants us one hundred percent, Completely, Totally, All or nothing
I remember as a boy in Honduras we drove across the country to visit some friends, I reckon we hadn’t gone a stone’s throw before we came to a vacant lot. The problem was that it had not been empty long, just a few days before a family had lived there in a home. My Uncle said, “Boy, they moved out fast and took everything!” The clothes-line was gone, the mail box, and even the dog house was gone they were out of there completely. I said man it looks like they took the very dirt.
Then I came here to the US and found out that when people here move out they take the Very light bulbs out before leaving.
Look what Paul said, I can do all things through Christ who strength me.
Isaiah 29:13: God says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me
We sing songs like “I’ll go where you want me to go Dear Lord… I’ll do what you want me to do…
But don’t ask me to sing in the choir or play the hand bells, or teach in the little kid’s department or help with VacationBibleSchool or sit on a committee. I just want to sit among the saints. I don’t want to be involved to much, I just don’t have the time!”
God’s yardstick is total devotion or none at all. We modern Christians come to the celestial check out lane and when we reach the cash register we say,
“I would like to buy about three dollars worth of God please.
- I don’t want enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep.
- I don’t want enough to make me love people I don’t like.
- I want gladness but not transformation.
- I want the warmth of the womb, but not the new birth.
- I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.
- I want a sprinkling but not an immersion.
- I want a taste of God but not a total meal.
- I want to sample Jesus but not be over involved.
- I want to do God’s will as long as it doesn’t interfere with what I am doing.
David eventually became a man after God’s heart by going all the way with total commitment.
Psalms 119:2 David says: Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
Those who seek him with all their heart!
I’ve had a lot of people come and say, I just can’t get victory over sin. I’m trying to be a good Christian and I just can’t do it. How do I get strength to live the Christian life?”
( Stop Trying )
I’ll tell you how to get Christian strength. You seek it with all your heart. You’re going to get what you’re really seeking.” If you go at it with all your heart you will find it.
God is there waiting, reaching out to take your hand.
Pray and when you finish praying pray somemore. Jesus is not tired of hearing your pray, or your request, he is willing to do what every it take to help you, he proved it by dying for you on the Cross.
Revelations:3: 14: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
God wants your heart, the whole heart, and nothing but the whole heart. He wants all of you or he doesn’t want you at all. Lock, stock, and barrel commitment is what God is looking for in His people in these last days.
Unless you love Him totally, you do not love Him at all. There is no such thing as lukewarm commitment. If you don’t crown Him Lord of All, you really do not crown Him at All.
Notice that our heavenly Father does not expect what He is not willing to give. Does God give totally? Does He? Yes, He does.
Does He give half-way? Do we have a part time daddy? Our awesome God gives totally! The bible is full of examples of how God give totally.
Let’s look and see!
Luke 8:48: And He said unto her, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (NIV)
Does God heal us half-way? No. He heals us all the way. Her faith had made her whole. She was not healed half- way she was healed completely by her faith in the one who could give healing.
When Jesus died on the cross, He totally paid for all my sins. His forgiveness is absolute. God’s healing power is unbounded. When we all get to heaven, we will be given access to the immeasurable universe.
He’s not going to say,
“Well, I’ll just give you a little bit of heaven.
I’ll give you just a touch of it.” No!
Does He give us just a sample of heaven? No!
He gives us the whole thing. It’s ours completely, all of it!
We will be able to fly. We don’t need to have reservations. We just go to all these other worlds. Every corner of the universe is yours to explore. He doesn’t hold back. Total freedom to go and come, to observe all that He has created.
We can obtain a knowledge that exhaustively takes in the alpha to the omega of the universe. We can fly at more than the speed of light and picnic in a far off corner of the universe. We have unlimited access.
But to completely experience the joys of heaven then, you need to be totally committed to Jesus Christ today. Without that total commitment you won’t be there.
Now you could say, “Well, I attend church on Sabbath morning. I’m here. I’m sitting in the pew. But when I go home, I don’t dress like I dressed here. In fact I put on some of the world, you know. I start acting like the world. Swear words occasionally come out. That’s not total commitment is it. When you are total committed you are committed 24hr a day.
Let’s suppose you are going to get Married but before getting Married you’re soon to be tell you
“I’ll be true to you ninety nine percent of the time.” That would be pretty good, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t that be great? “Ninety nine percent of the time I’ll be true to you. I will.” How many of you would accept that? And yet we expect God to accept that, don’t we?
What does the Scriptures say we need to do:
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the partial armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Is that what it says? “Put on the whole armor of God.” Partial of anything may not be sufficient to keep you safe.
The young David was able to slay Goliath because the giant did not use the whole armor. Where did that little stone find its mark? It sank into his forehead.
Where was his shield that came over his face, or his helmet? Where was the shield that his shield-bearer should have had? They were missing.
He was not wearing one, he did not feel the need to put it on, after all Davit was just a little small boy, not very big at all, what could he do to a Giant like Goliath
Goliath didn’t have the whole armor and so he died, you cannot become a Christian today without the whole armor of God or you too will die.
One little loophole was all it took for David’s stone to transform the mammoth monster into a dead dwarf.
Don’t ever think satin is not taking aim! He wants nothing more then to keep you from a total commitment to Jesus. Satin does not care if you have a 70%, 80%, 90% or even a 99% commitment to Jesus. He just wants to keep you from having a 100% commitment
There is no such thing as half-and-half unless you get it at Wal-Mart. In Christ there is a hundred percent or nothing.
STOEY: A Hog and Chicken sets a good example.
Visualize a chicken and a pig vacationing together. They travel for many miles and many hours. Finally they get hungry. The sharp-eyed chicken spots a restaurant. Approaching the door, they read a sign which says, “Ham and Eggs: Our Specialty!” “Hold it!” oinked the pig. “What’s the matter?” clucked the chicken. “Plenty,” said the hog. “All they want from you is a little compromise. They are asking me for total commitment!” That’s exactly what God wants.
How do you have a great marriage? You are totally committed to it. These are marriages that last seventy-five years, those people are committed to it. Commitment! That’s what we need to pray for.
When a little trouble comes to a great marriage, when both of them are committed to it, they’re going to stick with it. They’re not going to run.
Mark 8:34–36 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
A few years ago a super fast concord jet was zooming off the runway in Paris, France, with its load of passengers. Everything was going fine. Do you realize that the pilot of a jet aircraft comes to a point of no return on that runway.
It gets going so fast that you cross a line where you have to decide to “fly or stop”. Once you cross that line you have no choice but to fly or to crash. The pilot of that fast jet came to that line. It seems that when he came to that point, a tire blew out and large chunks crashed into the fuel tank. The plane took off in a fireball and crashed in an explosion.
Unfortunately, churches are filled with many members who have never left the ground. They have been sitting on a spiritual runway for years and years gunning their spiritual engines but they never really reaching the point of total commitment, that line that you must cross as a Christian or you are not going to make it.
You cannot stay on the runway and reach heaven at the same time. You’ve got to get committed and get off, take off.
Philippians 3:7,8. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Praise God for Paul! That’s beautiful!
What is man’s greatest possession? I would submit to you that man’s greatest possession is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s the greatest thing you can have all else is rubbish.
Jesus wants you totally: Hook, Line, and Sinker and that is another Sermon.
Do you want Him with all your might? Just pray this little prayer: “Dear God, you be the needle and I’ll be the thread. You go first and I’ll follow wherever you may lead.” That’s what thread does.
***In the beginning of this sermon I ask you a question!***
What in this world would keep you on a sinking Ship? The order is giving get off, Abandon ship and save your life. What is keeping you from getting into the gates of Heaven?
An old song goes like this: “I Surrender.. how much? All.” Yielding totally to Jesus. Another song says – “All The Way My Savior Leads me!” Are you willing to go all the way with Jesus?
The ship is sinking and there is not much time left, what are you going to do! The longer you wait the lest chance you miget have.
I pray that today you will give Jesus a chance, a chance to save you from a sinking world. Jesus said in Matthew:11:28: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
In Noah time only he and his family were saved God was giving a warning to the people of Noah’s time for 120 years, telling them the ship was sinking. Get into the safety of God provision but no one believed what the man of God was preaching. The same is with our World today, God has done all he can do to save you, but the choice is your.
I pray that God will be with you as you decide today if you are staying on board this sinking ship or if you are following the command to get off this sinking World and into the hands of a God that loves you.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
Mothers Day 2013
My Mean Mother
Lyn Chatman tells her story of growing up.
She says by far we had the meanest Mother the world ever know.
Mother did not believe in someone sitting idle with nothing to do, so everyone had there jobs around the house, we worked.
We had a TV but it was only for watching the news, Mother would always say it was Satan time piece and that it was better to read a good book and use ones mind.
When we got home from school Mother made us do all our home work first before we could do anything else.
Many of times some of my friends would ask me to come over to there house after school and chill and have some fun, but I would tell them I can’t I have to get home and they would always laugh and ask if I was always punished.
Mother insisted that we went to Church and be on time, if you missed you better know you were sick, because if you were not sick, you were when Mother finished giving you medicine
My life growing up was hard and it did not get any better as a teenager, if I went out with some of my friends, Mother had to know who, and where we was going and how long we would be.
If someone came to pick me up there was no meeting them in there car outside, they had to come inside and talk to Mother.
By far the worse part was Mother dead line to be home at 11 O’clock and not a second later. Most of my friends would say man the party does not start to 1am.
As time went on my friends and I drew apart, drifted in different direction and there was no one to blame but my mean Mother.
I went on to collage and got a degree, most of my old friends went to jail and some of the others were killed in gang fighting.
Through the years I look back at those days and thank God that I had a mean Mother who loved me so much to care about me.
I find now that I am also a mean Mother who Loves and cares about her children.
Let us Prayer and thanks God today for Mothers!
———————————————————-
There was a little girl, age eight, Diane.
She wrote a little note and handed it to her mother,
“I hope you like the flowers I got you for Mother’s Day. I picked them myself out of Mr. Smith garden when wasn’t looking”. Good intentions, but villainous methodology.
A mother is someone who can love and reward the good intentions of a child’s best efforts. (EG White) says: “No other work can equal (the work of the mother) in importance.”
Lets pretend that we are in need of a mother and we are going to run an add in the news paper What are we going to be looking for.
Needed one hard working Woman to rise and bare children must also double as a part time made.
For most of us the Mother is a 24 hour on call live in made.
She must be on call rain or shine, and sick leave is not option
There are many things we have in this world that we take for granted but none so much as our mothers.
Job Requirement:
Must be On Call 24 hours a day
Medical back ground a plus, but on the Job training can will be provided.
Teacher
Taxi Driver
Banker
Baker
Cook
Cleaner
Washer
Seamstress
And a reminder of thing to be done
No Vacations, No pay and little or no admiration
A mother is one that when we are sick can make us feel better, a Mothers her baby is the most pretty in the world.
Have any of you ever been visited by an angel? I am sure you have, many times unknown.
One day the angel of the Lord said to Mary: The Lord is with you! God was pledging Himself to guide this mother. God does that for every Christian mother.
The Lord was with Mary. Who was Mary?
This Mother was entrusted with the most importance job of all Mothers;
She was giving the task of raising Gods Son.
Mothers you will never be a Success unless God is with you. Success comes from above.
There was a mother name of Monica.
When her son became a teenager it was like living with a total stranger.
Then her son broke her heart by leaving the church. After much conflict he finally ran away and took up with some local scum of the earth.
His Mother continued to pray for her son. She found out that her son planned to sail to Italy in a great ship and live with some buddies in a life of sin.
She pleaded for him not to go. But he went anyway. Once in Italy he met AMBROSE and he led him to Christ.
In rising Children I can understand this, how when they become teenagers they turn on you.
I too growing up were not my Mother best son
Mothers all you can do is pray, and pray, and pray God hears the prays of faithful Mothers and Fathers
Mothers, pray for your children. Even when it seems that your prayers are not being answered, don’t give up praying for your son or your daughter.
Never give up. Remain on your knees. You may be the only person praying for your child.
Mary was a mother of prayer.
LUKE 1:46–55 Records one of the beautiful prayers of Mary which she sang as a song to God.
Here are the actual words written by Jesus own mother. This is a spectacular prayer.
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
Obviously Mary knew God in the depths of her heart.
If you are to be a success as a mother you must be a Mother of prayer.
No wonder Jesus did so well. His Mother was a woman of prayer before she had Jesus.
Blessed are the children whose mothers & Fathers go to church and are an example for them to follow
Luke 2:27 pictures Jesus parents going into the temple as the custom was.
Mary was a church going mother. She and her husband spent the full number of days at the Passover.
They went to camp meeting and attended as many as possible. They went in for all they could get out of the worship experience.
MARY LOST JESUS TWICE!
And both times she lost Him for 3 days!
Once at the temple when they thought he was with relatives. This shows that Jesus had relatives who also went to church. Godly aunts, uncles, grandmothers!
The second time she lost Jesus was when He was on the cross. Gone from her Three days.
It is hard to lose your son when you are already a widow.
Jesus showed His love for his Mother by placing her into the care of one of His disciples.
Mary risked her life to be with her Son there by the cross. This shows MARY WAS A LOVING MOTHER.
Mothers; love your children. Your children need your love.
Barbara Barton was a loving mother. She lived in Oregon and delivered TWINS in 1994.
She refused treatment for leukemia during her pregnancy because that could have harmed her babies.
She died Jan. 22, 1995 leaving behind her husband, twins and a 4-year old daughter. She, like all true mothers, placed her children above her own life.
Mothers are special. Their love is priceless.
Back in the old days the UPS delivery drivers had to get your signature before they could drop off a package.
Now they just leave it there and the dogs shred it and eat it up.
One day the driver knocked on the door and a little boy answered.
HI, Little fellow. Are you all alone? Yes, Mom is in the hospital and me and my brother and my 2 little sisters and my daddy, we are here all alone!
When the mother is gone, you are all alone!
The mother makes the house into a home, and Jesus makes the lady into a great mother.
Invite Jesus into your heart. Jesus will make you into a woman of integrity. Your children will be blessed.
With Jesus in the Mothers heart—you will have a happy home.
Look at what is said in Proverbs 31 said about Mothers
Proverbs 31:
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
There was a woman in the Bible named Hannah who had no Children
Understand the setting of Hannah’s times, the glory of a Woman was to bare Children to her Husband,
Woman who had no Children were looked down upon and made fun of.
Hannah was a woman that feared God and gave him glory and praise, but for some reason God had shut her womb
Finish the Story of Samuel
What are you going to do for Mothers Day? Maybe do the one year visit at the nursing home to see if the old girl is still alive.
Send a Card saying happy Mothers day and sign your name
Send some Flowers
Call on the phone…..
STORY: Mother & the Rat My story when I was growing up
My Mother had passed away for almost 25 years now. If I could do one thing, I would like to thanks her for all the tears she Cried, and ask her to forgive for all the hurt I caused.
I would like to hug her and tell her something I never said to her while she was alive.
Mom I love you! Thanks for being the best Mother…..For it was her prayers that helped me to find Jesus…
Truth of Obeying God
Scripture: Matthew: 7:21: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
To Obey and Live or Not to Obey and Die which will it be?
There was once a Church in a small town that had a problem, a saloon open upped across the street. Church members were very angry about this and tried to get the Owner to close it or move somewhere else.
They appealed to the city official, who because of taxes reused to do anything about it.
So the Pastor called on the Church to Pray that God would shout down the Saloon, They meet at the Church everyday in special prayer meetings asking God to intervene in there behalf and help them to shut down the Saloon.
Sure enough about a month later during a very bad storm lightning struck the Saloon and burned it down to the ground.
The Church was delighted until they got served with a legal suit.
The owner of the Saloon was suing the Church, Claiming that their Prayers had resulted in Lightning striking his saloon, and so he held the Church responsible and was suing them for damages
The Church Lawyers claimed that the Church and there prayers were in no way responsible for the saloon keeper’s damage.
The judge decided in favor of the Church!
But the judge said; it is very confusing to find that the saloon keeper arguing in favor of the power of prayer and the Church arguing against it
Let us Pray!
===========================================
God is a God of love so why not serve Him instead of serving the World (Satan)
People think that God is a God of revenge, a God that will get you if you don’t do what he says; nothing is further from the Truth. God is a God of Love and all he asks is that we simply obey what he tells us. Why because He knows it will keep us happy and in good health.
Don’t you as good parents tell your children things not to do because you know it will not be in there best interest. When a child reaches to touch a hot stove, don’t you stop him because you know it will hurt them. God is no different, He knows what is not good for us and what will hurt and maybe kill us; so He tells us what to do and not to do. For all who wants eternal life must learn to listen to what God said and no one else, for He is our creator.
If you buy a brand new car right off the showroom floor what is the very first thing you do. That’s right look for the owner’s manual because it will tell you how to take care of the new car, when to change the oil and what type of fuel to use in it. You don’t want to put Diesel in a Gas engine or Gas in a Diesel engine do you. The One that made the car knows what is best to keep it running in perfect condition. God is the same He knows what is best for us and that is why He gave us His laws to live by.
Did you ever hear the quote “It was an act of God” why does God always get the blame when something bad happens?
I have a friend who Son died of Cancer and he blamed God for it. God did not ordain that Sin should come into this world. Sin was mans act of not obeying and trusting God Word, not obeying His Laws, His Commandments.
Obedience is all that God has asked from the beginning and still requires from His true people today.
Adam & Eve failed the very first test of obedience
Everything was Good
Genesis: 2:
15: And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Here is God giving instruction to His Creation, telling them what is best for them and how to stay happy and live forever. God has created our first parents and has giving them everything that they needed. He created a beautiful paradise home, and decked it with all kinds of delicious tasting food. He made the climate just right not to cold and not to hot; there was no sickness, no pain, no suffering, and no Death.
The only condition was one simple test of obeying what God said not to do. Why because God knew what was best for His creation and God wanted Man to server Him out of love. So God gave Man the freedom of choice, and put one tree in the mist of the garden as a test of Man Obedience and love for his creator.
This one tree and only one tree was off limits to Adam & Eve, there were hundreds of others trees with many many different kinds of Fruit. But this one tree was to be man test of loyalty and love to his creator.
One day while busy with the day’s activity Eve found herself by the forbidden tree. And as she looked at it there was a serpent in it, and the serpent questioned her about what God said.
Genesis: 3:
4: And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Now Satan comes into the picture, his main goal if to put doubt into the mind of Eve as to what God said and the reason He said what He did.
Simply put it was a test of obedience, who do you believe is telling the Truth. God said if you eat it you will die, and Satan said if you eat it you will not surely die.
This is the first and biggest lie ever told and it is the same lie we hear being told to many of God people by men who clam to be Gods representative. But just who are they truly representing God who said you will die or Satan who said you will not surely die.
The Bible says when you die you do not go on living in some spirit world; when you die you go to sleep until Jesus comes. Who do you believe Gods word or Satan?
Let’s look at what happens when you obey what God says. The Bible says that Noah and only Noah found grace in the eyes of his God.
Genesis: 6:
7: And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
11: The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12: And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
God had giving His Law to our first parents who passed it down to there children by example. There were to believe what God said and follow His direction, but as the Bible says “for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth”. No one was trusting God or believing what God said. That sounds a lot like our world today, everyone wants it there way and then they expect when they die to go to Heaven.
Only Noah and his family found grace in the eyes of God, why because they were obedience to the Laws of God. Noah found grace in the eyes of God because Noah believed in what God said and Noah lived by what God said word by word. So when God looked down upon this sinful world He saw Noah a faithful man and so Noah found grace in the eyes of his creator. Because he was Obedience to Gods Law and lived his life in doing what God said to do. His standards were in doing Gods will, man standards are in doing what the world said to do.
The Children of Israel wondered for 40 years in the wilderness, why because they refused to listen to what God was telling them to do and doing it exactly as God told them to do it.
Numbers: 14:
35: I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
36: And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
Men who saw the goodness of the land that God had promise, but instead of looking at the land they were looking and the problems that stood in the way. God said go, but Man said stay. They did not believe God could deliver them. Even those He parted the Red Sea for them to cross on dry land and did many of miracles right in front of them, they did not believe.
30: Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
God will take care of those who put there trust and faith in Him and are obedient to His will.
Again those who were supposed to be the people of God were complaining about God and Gods servant Moses. So God withdrew his protection from them
Numbers: 21:
5: And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
Here again we find Gods people disobeying and speaking against God.
Did they not know who it was watching over them day and night, to protect them and keep them safe?
6: And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
God withdrew His protecting and now they could see what was all around. And when they realized it they went back to Moses and said we have sinned
8: And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9: And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Look at what God told them to do, look upon the brass serpent and live. Did the brass serpent have any power to heal, no, it was only an object that God said to do if you wanted to live.
There is nothing impossible for God to do, for 40 years God provided food and everything needed for over a Million people in the wildness. God will once again at the time of the end provide food and everything needed for His people who by Faith will trust and believe in Him.
Here again we find, when we do what God said to do, and do it the way God said to do it we shall live. Why because we are obeying the word of God.
All God is looking for is a people who will obey His word, no matter how simple it might be. You have a choice; do what God said and live or not do what God said and die.
Elijah Choose ye this day who you will serve, God or Man
We find again the people of God who clamed they knew Him were not obedient to His Laws and Commandments. They believe there idols of wood, stones and gold over the word of the one true God.
1 Kings: 18:
21: And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
The World today is no different then it was back in History. We today want it our way we want a little of God and a little of the good thing of the world. But God say you can’t sit on a fence you can’t serve God and Man, there is a wide gap between them that will only lead to disobedience and destruction of the soul.
Satan wants only one thing and that is to keep as many people as he can out of Haven. Why because he knows it hurts God to see His creating reject Him and he knows it hurts God not to have someone that He gave His spirit to die and not have eternal life with Him.
When mankind sinned God did not leave us to just die He made provision even before He created this World that if man sinned He would make a way to bring him back into communion with his Creator.
All through the Old Testament we are told of how God will send His Son to come and live in this world of sin to help man learn how to live in Obedience to Gods law. To show mankind that God is not a God of hate but a God of love.
He came to reconciled man back to his creator back to the God who at any cost would save man from his falling state. Even if God had to die in order to give man life. How by believing in His Son Jesus John 3: 16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God knew the only way for man to have life again was by faith in Him providing a way to be brought back in to a relationship with Him. And so God gave His Son, His only Son to be man savior. God would take our sins upon Himself and die the death we deserve in order for us to have eternal life with Him.
Jesus said; and if I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me. All he asks is if we love Him to show the World, by doing what He asks us to do “Keep my Commandments”.
The 7th day is the Sabbath
If you Love me, keep my Commandments
Jesus told us to do only one little thing to show the world that we are not of the world and that we have choosing to be Gods people, Gods true propel. He said John: 14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments.
The only hope that there is in our world is as it was in the beginning. To obey God; it is not some hard thing to do; a simple test of who you obey, God or Satan.
As Elijah said Choose ye this day who you will serve God or Satan.
Choose God and keep His commandments or disobey and choose the World and die.
Sinners can not live forever they will someday die an eternal death, why because God knows that to give someone eternal life in heaven would be nothing more then Hell to them
Revelation:20:
14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Death, Hell, and Satan will all one day be destroyed according to Gods word. God is a God of mercy a God of compassion a God of love; he will not let people who sinned for only a short 100 years burn forever in Hell as told by some Churches. God said that one day Death and Hell will all be destroyed, it will come to an end.
After God has made an end to Sin it will never happen again.
Nahum:1:9: What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
This is why wend mankind sinned through disobedience to His Law He did not destroy us right there and then. He let us live in order to show the many other worlds that He has created what sin will do. It will destroy; it will make misery, sickness, hate, envy, destruction, and finely Death. This is why we live in a world of sin and why God has aloud it to continue
God had allowed this world to become a testing ground after it had sinned, He could had just wiped it out right then and started over, but He did not. Instead he made a way that man could be saved and not have to die, by believing in Him and obeying His Laws, his Ten commandments Law that He God wrote on stone with His own finger.
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.
People please understand, God is not a God of hate and vengeance as Satan would have you believe. He is a God of love, He is the creator of all things, He made us to be happy and to live forever in a paradise world. To never see or have sickness, pain and to never see death, those were the results of our disobedience to our Creator God.
All this mess we live in is of our own making, but God loved us still and gave us one simple test to show that we love Him John14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Don’t believe what the world says about God and don’t believe when some big Religious Leader or Church Pastor tells you it is OK to forget what God told you to do and remember.
In God simple Ten Commandments Law is all the attribute of Gods love to His Creation. God know the only way for man to be happy and live in harmony with one another is to be Obedience to what He has told us to do. In His Ten Commandments Law the first 4 commandments tell us how man should Worship his Creator God, and the last six tell how we should love one another and be happy.
Mark:12:
30: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31: And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
33: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Serving God is not easy in a world of Sin and to people who don’t believe and know God. Look at Gods own Son, He was marked, beaten, spit on, made fun of, laughed at, condemned, and crucified all because He loves each and everyone of us. That is true love, a love that the world can’t understand, why would a Creator God come and Die for His Creation. All because of His Love for you and me.
May God bless you and open your understanding of His great and endless love. Remember what Jesus said in John: 14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments.
The Truth of Obeying God is in doing what He has told us to do and not what the big Religious Leaders or Churches are saying to do. It is simple just like the test back in Eden If ye love me God said then show it to the world by keeping My Commandments.
All Gods wants now is the same thing He wanted back then in the beginning. A people who will love Him and are willing to obey His word; Salvation my friend is just that simple
33: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
In the End times there will be just two categories of people. Those who believe in God and Keep His Commandments and those who believe in God and don’t keep His Commandments.
Revelation:12:17: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Satan is mad but not at the world, he is mad at the people which keep the commandments of God. They are the remnant the few true believers that Obey Gods word.
Revelation:14:12: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation:22:14: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Every Eye will see Jesus coming
My Friend I hope and pray that you are one of them that will stand in the last days for Jesus by obeying His word and what he tells you to do and not the world. Satan is a liar and the father of it, all he wants is to keep you out of heaven and he made all kinds of deception just to do that very thing. But God has warned us about him just like He did to our first parents. Don’t believe the serpent in the tree, turn away and do as God has told you. If you love me keep my commandments.
Salvation is Free but not cheep; it cost the life of Gods only Son Jesus.
Elder Tim McNab
Restoring Gods truth Ministries
What’s between you and Jesus?
Prov:14:12: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
When Joshua and the people of Israel were headed toward the Promised Land, right in the middle of their path was a huge obstacle, it was called Jericho. Jericho was a large, fortified city. It had huge walls surrounding it. The Israelites couldn’t go around the city; they had to go through it.
Between you and your destiny, there will always be a “Jericho” or something that you cannot go around. You have a choice either defeat it, or it’s going to defeat you.
God told Joshua to tell the people to march around the city walls one time for six days, and on the seventh day, they were to march around it seven times. They were instructed not to say a word. No talking. No whispering. No complaining. They had to March perfectly quiet. But on the seventh day, and on the seventh time around, God said, “This time I want you to do something different. As you march, I want you to let out a shout of praise.”
When God tell you to do something, does it mean to do exactly what he says or is it ok to change it just a little.
I can imagine on that seventh day, there was so much excitement. They marched around once, twice, three times with great anticipation. They knew something big was about to happen. On that seventh time around, after the priests blew the trumpets, they let out the high praises of God. They began to shout and cheer and sing, “Hosanna in the highest! To God be all the glory!” so loud that people could hear it for miles and miles.
Then all of the sudden, the impossible began to happen. Those thick, fortified walls began to shake and rattle. In a matter of moments, those walls crumbled and came tumbling down! The Israelites were able to go in and take the city, and eventually, they made it into the Promised Land.
How often in life do we think, “I’ll shout after the walls come down. I’ll shout after my victory, after the promotion, after the breakthrough?” No, that’s backwards.
The shout is what activates God’s power. I realize God hears us even when we whisper, but I believe there are some walls that will not come down without the high praises of God coming out of your mouth. That’s why when you feel like you’re going in circles; you’ve got to turn up the praise! You’ve got to thank God in a greater way. You’ve got to declare His goodness over your life. And you need to do exactly what He is telling you to do.
Maybe you’ve been around that city once, twice, three times. God is saying, “You’re coming into your seventh day. Don’t give-up you’re about to enter into your victory lap.” Now here’s the question: What’s coming out of your mouth? Make sure you’re praising Him. Make sure you’re thanking Him.
Make sure you’re ready because those obstacles, those walls are going to come crashing down in Jesus’ name! Don’t let anything come between you and Jesus, If God say it, believe it, and let that settles it.
Let us Pray!
————————————————————
What is the only thing that can separate you from the Love of God? SIN
Turn with me to the book of 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 Gods ball point pen, written in pencil by God, How then were they written; that’s right written with the finger of God.
Question: Why were there two tables of stone giving to Moses?
- The one had Mans requirement to God
- The other had Mans requirements to his brother.
Today we are going to look at mans requirements to God, what God told us to do
Exodus: 20:
First Commandment
1: And God spake all these words, saying,
2: I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Story:
A long time ago…in a country far, far away…there was a wealthy young guy. He had everything that he could ever want; all the stuff that anyone could ever want and more.
He followed the rules and was a good guy. He didn’t sleep with his neighbor’s wife, he didn’t kill anyone, he never stole anything, he wasn’t a liar, and he honored and respected his mom and dad. He was a wealthy man and followed the rules.
In case you didn’t catch on to the story…this was a brief retelling of the first half of the story of the rich young man from Luke 18. The man came to Jesus and asked him what he had to do to have eternal life.
Jesus told him to keep all of commandments, to which the young man responded, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.”
I can picture Jesus in my head smiling and nodding and then quietly saying, “Yea…but you have this one thing standing between you and Me. Your stuff.”
Jesus told the man to sell all of his stuff and give to the poor. Then he could follow Jesus. He made it very clear what needed to be done, and yet the man walked away from Jesus with sorrow. Jesus didn’t turn his back, the man walked away from Jesus.
The problem with the man was that he didn’t really want Jesus, all he really wanted was eternal life. He probably came to Jesus expecting to hear, “Hey good job, you’ve kept the commandments, you’re in good shape!”
But instead Jesus challenged him and said, “Hey…what’s consuming your life? Your stuff? Okay, now get rid of it and follow me.”
Jesus knew this man’s heart. He knew that his stuff consumed his life. If you aren’t willing to give up what’s most important to you in order to follow Jesus, will you enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
This man let his stuff keep him out of the Kingdom of Heaven. He let his stuff get between him and Jesus.
What stuff are you letting get between you and Jesus? What’s consuming your life that isn’t Jesus? If it were you that came to Jesus, what would he tell you to give up? Would you give it up…or would you walk away filled with sorrow?
Second Commandment
4: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6: And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
From the beginning mankind always worship something. Way back in time we see Man worshiping the Sun, Moon, Stars, Rocks, Trees, Animals why is that.
Satan wants to make sure you are worshiping anything except the real thing and that is the creator God.
Why do you think there are no true pictures of Jesus today, because there would people who would worship the picture more than the person in the picture.
We can see that in many of the world religions today, even in some Christian Churches we see people praying and worshiping statues or as the Bible calls them a graven image.
Inside of Man is the need to worship and that need is only fulfilled when we worship the Creator God.
*** STORY: The stature that was leaking Holy Water in Italy. Years later it was found that a bath room sink was leaking down a wall a few hundred feet away.
Third Commandment
7: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
When my Wife married me, back in 1974 she took my name. At that time and in our culture, that was traditional.
She forsook her parent’s name, and took her husband’s name. The taking of the new name, reflected a change in life, and change in status and a change in priorities.
She was no longer a single woman, she was married. She no longer dated men, she was mated to one. She no longer was a young woman, she was a changed woman. She was now responsible for a family and a relationship that would last over 38 years (so far!).
If her lifestyle did not change from that day forward, she would have been disapprove of by her community. Few, if any, cultures or societies encourage their married women to live in the same way after the marriage as they did before they married
In other words, if my Wife had taken my name, but not changed her lifestyle, she would have taken my name “in-vain”. She would have had a ceremony, but not a new life, and boy would I have been upset, to put it mildly.
When we put on a uniform, we take the name of those whose uniform it is. Whether it is a sports team uniform, a work uniform for that employer or a military uniform.
When we choose a career, we take the name of the best of everyone in that career field. When we take on a title, we take the name of the best of everyone with that title.
If you take the name of God, at a ceremony, and tell the world that you are now part of the ‘bride of Christ’ as the church is called, yet you do not live like a ‘bride of Christ’, you have taken His name in vain, and you will not be considered guiltless.
Live with Jesus as if you are committed to Him for life, not as if He is a friend. A spouse is supposed to be an intimate friend, companion, confidant, friend and a lifetime commitment.
To treat Jesus as anything less than that, is to take His name in vain. Ouch. Are you ‘guilty as charged’?
You get the picture!
** Thou shalt not take
The true meaning of that phrase is made clear if we substitute “bear” for the word, “take”. We would then have this for our scripture from Exodus 20:7: “Thou shalt not bear the name of the Lord in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who bears His name in vain.”
Jesus told Paul that he was to “bear His name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel“ (Acts 9:15). Bearing the precious name of Jesus with integrity, faith, and charity, Paul turned many to righteousness in the ensuing years.
He did not bear, or take the name of the Lord upon himself, in vain. As Paul later testified, “His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all.” (1Cor.15:10).
After Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he took them to Mount Sinai, to enter into a covenant with the Lord. First though, God sent Moses down from the mountain to deliver His “proposal” to Israel: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.“ Exodus.19:4-6.
When we as Christians don’t live up to that name before our friends what are you really telling them. When we don’t live by the standards that God told us what is that really saying about your relationship with God?
Are you beginning to understand what the 3rd commandment is really saying. It does not mean just using the verbal word or expression about God. It means more; it means your marriage relationships to God.
Don’t treat God any different then you would your spouse next to you.
Fourth Commandment Exodus 20:
8: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9: Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
We are told to Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy if we search the Bible no where can you find where the Sabbath was giving to just Abraham or his children only.
So we must go back further in order to find where did the Sabbath that we are told to remember start.
Genesis: 2:
1: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3: And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
So where did the Sabbath come from, the book of beginning, better known as the book of Genesis says at Creation.
Maybe this is the reason why only the fourth commandment starts with the word
Remember.
God is saying to Remember because it was giving at the beginning
Let me tell you something; I would fear to be the minister or preacher who would tell you it is OK to forget something that God wrote with his own finger and said to remember; Especially if there were no scripture to back up or to say otherwise.
The Word Christian what does it mean:
Acts:11:26: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Why were they called Christians? What was it about them that people seen that they gave them that name. They were all doing the same things that Jesus did, so they call them Christians, Christ Like people.
What are you watching is it parsing God?
What are you saying is it praising God?
What are you listening to is it parsing God?
You see these are the things that tell you just how close to Jesus you really are, if they don’t bring honor, glory or praises to Jesus maybe you need to change what you are doing.
It is the little things that we do that keeps us away from fully knowing Gods love. Those little things that come up and get right between you and Jesus; I pray that each of you here today will examine your life and see what is there.
Are you willing to give Your Stuff up for Jesus?
Romans: 8:
35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1John:5:
3: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
John:14:
23: Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
John:15:
10: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Friend I pray that there is nothing standing between you and Jesus today and if there is go to him and ask forgiveness and decide in your heart to change it today, not tomorrow, change it today. We are not giving tomorrow we have only today.
There is no sin in your life that He is not willing to forgive.
He loves you how much, enough to die in your place so that you will not have too. But if you don’t love Him, if you are not faithful to Him, do you expect Him to be any different then you would be if your spouse was unfaithful to you.
Don’t let this world or the things of this world stand in your way to the only one who really love you.
Rv:12:12: Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Satan will stop at nothing to keep you out of heaven, why because he hates Jesus and he hates all who follow Jesus. We as Christians will always have problems in this life, why look at Rv:12:17: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Remnant is not the Majority or large groups; it is the small little groups who follow the truth. Not because it is popular but because it is what God said to do.
The closer you get to Jesus the more problems you might be in for because there is always a Jericho in the way. It is how you deal with that Jericho that really matters.
If you Love me just keep my commandments Jesus said and show the world that you and I have a covenant relationship with each other. I love you and want you to live with me for eternity in a home I am building just for you.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
D5 Creation
