Jesus has seen it ALL

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward. And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln




Hebrews 4:14-15 (NASB95)
     Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

I thought that was a good quote for us this morning from Abraham Lincoln, but as a Christian we can really see the “life in our years” thing can’t we.  Christ is our life and if He is in our years, then He will make our years better and more fulfilling.

I am continually learning to trust that Jesus really has experienced all of those problems that I am facing and He can help me get through the tough things. You know what I’m saying don’t you. It always seems that we are alone in our problems and the Ole deceiver is right there telling us that God doesn’t care or understand and He really just doesn’t like you.

Well, it’s true! We are taking the test first aren’t we? We don’t know everything but we can trust that He does, and at the end of the test we will ascend to Heaven for our eternal lessons with our Lord and Savior. We will, as the old songs says, understand it better by and by. In the mean time while the test is going on, I must learn to trust the Life in my years, and His Name is Jesus…God Bless.

Pastor William

It takes Attitude to Draw Near!

"The ultimate ground of faith and knowledge is confidence in God."

George Herbert

 

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NASB95)  

  Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I’m going to make a bold statement, and then hope that you will agree that God’s Word backs it up. It is this,”we must have confession, and confidence to co-exist with God, to find help in our time of need.”

What I am saying is that you must believe to see, and you must believe that He is God, or you are alone. Am I making sense? If you have no confidence or faith in Him, you will not receive an answer to your prayers simply because God is not going to be there at your meeting if you don’t believe that He is real and powerful and can answer your prayers.

So I must confess my belief to myself and others, and I must also show my confidence in Him to myself and others, and then, and only then will God show up at my time of need and co-inhabit my space with me and help me in my time of need. Wouldn’t you agree with me now? You see if you don’t really believe He can help you, then He can’t help you…God’s Blessings

Pastor William

Are You Rested?

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”

    Ovid;  (Ancient Roman Classical Poet)

 

Hebrews 4:6-11

      Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”  For if 1Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.  So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.     Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. (NASB95)

Have you rested from your works?  A lot of what defeats us is our own fault. We are either trying to meet someone’s approval or have set up a standard for our flesh and we are trying to prove our worth to society or to God.

Well are you ready for a rest? i hope so, I know that I am. I want to rest in the worth of what Jesus did for me on the cross and tell the world that it was enough. If we would all do that we would not feel defeated as much as we do.

Christ has paved the way for you and I and all we have to do is follow in His footsteps. Yes, He will carry you at times, but He still expects us to find His trail for ourselves and do our best to follow Him, and He will cover our mistakes. If we all sought the approval of Christ on our lives, many of our struggles would end…God Bless.

Pastor William

Truth…The Basis of Belief

 

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”

Albert Einstein

John 8:43-47

     “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.  “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

(NASB95)

In John  Chapter 14: vs 16-17 Jesus promised us a “Helper” ( The Holy Spirit) whose nature was described for us by Jesus as, “The Spirit of Truth.” The Spirit of Truth abides in each of us, and with each of us. He is an internal assurance and an outward witness of God’s truth in each of us.

Today’s world cannot receive the Holy Spirit of Truth. Christ told us that they could not see Him or know Him.  That means that truth only abides within the hearts of those that walk with The Holy Spirit and as Jesus said in John 16:13, it is because “The Spirit guides us into “ALL” truth.

The Holy Spirit will give us guidance for today and will give us knowledge of what is yet to come. That is why “Truth” is tied so tightly to “Hope.” We have confidence because the Holy Spirit is God’s lifeline for us while we are here. Do you “Love” the Truth? John 4:24 says it all, “God is Spirit and all who worship Him must worship Him in “Spirit and in “Truth…God Bless

Pastor William

Getting to The Point

 

The whole process of enlightenment and acceptance may be called coming to the knowledge of the truth

Wood, D. R. W. ;New Bible Dictionary

John 8:31-32  The Truth Will Make You Free

 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;   and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB95)

    Coming to a knowledge of the truth is an important truth so often ignored within the Christian community. 2 Timothy Chapter 3 foretold this day, and we would be wise to listen to Bro. Tim’s advice.

The characteristics of last days behavior is described well in these verses, “unloving, without self-control, lovers of pleasure than of good,” are major statements within these verses that describe the reason it is so hard to get Christians committed to the church, much less a lost world.

It is time that we took seriously the words of Christ in John 12:46 “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” That is strait to the point isn’t it, if you really love Him you remain in His Word and in His Light, you will not walk in darkness…God Bless.

Pastor William