Pastor Don said he was going to teach about the split dimensions of faith.  He asked why the ten virgins?  Ten is a spiritual number, represents the ten commandments.  People were under the command of God.  Ten is the number of trial – the commandments were a test to see if you qualify.

Forty is also a number of testing.

Twenty-four elders in positions of power, by age, 24 is a young adult

29 1/2 was the time when a priest could minister.

30 was an acceptable age for ministry.

10 is the age of accountability, beginning to be accountable. when 12 1/2 you are held accountable.

Pastor Don said that seven years is a perfect age, growing to responsibility. 

He pointed out that often parents mention the terrible twos – not a good thing to name them that, because what you speak is what you will have. 

These ten virgins were under a test, under a trial and only five obeyed. The ones who were not invited to the wedding would have to go through the tribulation and those who held to the truth would become martyrs.   The bride is the ones who keep oil in their lamps.

Matthew 25:11-13 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Although a person may say they are born again, not every one who claims that is acceptable to God – God requires obedience. Going to church does not make you a Christian. We will stand before the judgment seat of Christ before the foundation of the World.  God has prepared a place for those who call Jesus blessed. Jesus speaks of helping the least of these, my brethren. This is not blanket charity.  Yes, we can give charity to those who have not accepted the Gospel, but we are to look out for those who are are brethren. 

We try to define God, but God is sovereign.  We tell God how we want Him to be.  We need to discern who God is blessing and cursing, and we need to obey God according to His Word.  We try, for the sake of political correctness, to set the level of tolerance at a place where God does not set it. 

Matthew 25:14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

Jesus was sent to give us revelation – not someone else, but for us personally. He expects us to do something with the revelation He gives us. We are His slaves, His servants.  We are not to take the talents He gives us and squander them, to do nothing with them. We are to use them and multiply them.

Matthew 25:15-16 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

One servant went and put the talent to work and doubled the money, the second servant did the same with what the master gave him.  God gives us what we can use in His service and He wants us to use  these talents.  The third servant buried his talent, and did not even give God an increase.

Matthew 25:19-30 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

We want to be the servants to whom God says, “Well done.”  What we do with the little God has given us will determine what other things God can trust us with.

The unprofitable servant (the one who buried his talent) made God in his own eyes – he said that God was selfish and lazy, gathering where he had not scattered seed – this is not a true picture of the Lord.  We can, if we are not careful, make an image of God from our prideful construction of who we think He is, and this image does not line up with the truth of the Word.

Jesus is meek and kind, but He also is a judge and is coming with a two-edged sword to administer the wrath of God. He is not just coming to pet our heads and kiss our behinds.  He expects obedience to His will.

God gives us talents so we can create more.

The foolish virgins were lazy and did not do God’s commands.  We are to be about doing His work and His will until He comes, not just sitting around and waiting for the next shoe to drop.

I hope this blesses you. I want to be one to whom God says, “Well done.”

Have a blessed and happy new year.

Heather

This Bible study was taught July 8, 2011 

Matthew 25:1-7 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

Pastor Don did a bit of a review of the previous Bible study.  He said that the Church has been using this passage to beat up on the saints.  We are to use it to do a self-examination to see if we have oil in our lamps.  The virgins take their lamps and trim the wicks. Trimming the wicks makes the light brighter and reduces the soot that is created by burning the oil.  The soot is the negative deposits that slime up people. 

Pastor Don said that if a believer criticizes others in negative ways they can leave a cripple.  And we don’t want that to happen.

We are to examine OUR LAMPS, NOT OTHER’S

They heard the cry about the Bridegroom. This was a prophecy for their time but also one for our time (end times).  Bible prophecy is made to tell us to be ready when the Bridegroom (Christ) comes back for His Bride.

Notice that ALL slept, most in the church are not awake to the signs of the times.  We are to be looking for His coming.

There are those who make it happen and those who wonder.  We are to be the ones to make it happen.

The cry of the Bride Groom happens at MIDNIGHT which is the darkest time, the most difficult times. We are seeing these times in our day, with commercialization, globalization, problems with housing and realty, and lawlessness.

We have reached a time of final judgment.  Our economic systems are not working. We are using up all our resources.  We are crossing over into the midnight hour. 

Paul tells us that we are not to worry in these last days. Most do not recognize the problems and just like in the time of Noah, they are still reaping and sowing, marrying, etc. 

Jesus is the voice of prophecy, and we need to listen to His Words. 

The Church is immobilized and doesn’t know how to act.  

Jesus tells us what will happen so we can gear up and change. The last days should not be a surprise to believers.  Don’t let the oil in our lamps go out.

We are under pressure, and we need to clean up our act.  Most of the Church is missing something today – oil in their lamps – the oil being the working and presence of the Holy Spirit. We are not functioning in the full power and authority Jesus gave us.

It is important to remember that all ten virgins had oil, the Holy Spirit, but only the wise brought enough oil.  The foolish did not bring extra oil. 

Paul tells us to keep being filled with the Holy Ghost.  We do have the Holy Ghost in us, the power of the Holy Spirit, and we are to be pouring out and refilling our lamps. 

The presence of the Holy Spirit brings knowledge and power.  A Rhema Word from the Holy Spirit lasts a lifetime. 

Pastor Don said fear isn’t the problem, courage is. We are to pray for the courage to overcome fear of obeying the directives of the Holy Spirit and doing the actions He wants.  We need the courage to overcome the fear to get the job done. 

God needs the glory of your doing it, not the glory of Him doing it.  God is for us and wants to empower us to do what He wants.

The foolish have put up a wall of separation between the foolish and the wise.  The wise work in abundance with the Holy Spirit. 

But outward signs are not always an indication of who is filled with the Holy Spirit.  You can be a tongue talker and still have no oil in your lamp.  You can’t keep being filled without flowing out to others.

Matthew 25:8-9 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’  But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’

The wise realize that there is not enough oil for themselves and the foolish.  You are responsible for your own filling and the filling of the Holy Spirit can’t be transferred.  We have to get our own faith.

Faith is qualitative, not quantitative – you don’t get more faith – it is error to ask God for more faith – you are either IN faith or NOT IN faith. We are all given a mustard seed of faith and it is up to us to use it.

faith is:  I know it is done.  It may not be seen in the external yet, but you KNOW that you KNOW that you KNOW that it is done.

If you are praying and what you are praying for doesn’t happen you are not praying in faith.  Faith accomplishes its task.

Faith is specific for what you believe for. You can’t give your faith to someone else. 

Lack of preparedness disqualifies you to be in the elite of the Bride. All the virgins know the Gospel, but not all are functioning with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells His disciples that if they love Him they are to serve the brethren. 

Regarding the power of the Holy Spirit – and the confusion comes by mistranslation of the Bible when it comes to the words Dunamis and Exusia – both are sometimes translated as authority, but Dunamis also speaks not only of authority but of a power that can be considered dynamite.  If only authority is used, it robs the scriptural passage of the full power of its meaning.  Power gives the ability to perform.  When you read a Bible passage using the word “authority” check to see if it is the Greek Word Dunamis or Exusia.

Another word mistranslated is servant – it means we are a slave for Christ.  Only in two places is the word bondservant used. Mostly we are to consider ourselves slaves to Christ.

When we accept the Gospel we come to Jesus to be His slave and do what He tells us to do. 

We are to keep oil (Holy Spirit) in our lamps and be ready and busy until His coming. We are to serve as a slave and keep His commands about what we are to be doing.

If we don’t obey the Lord, we spend our time in distraction.  We need to pay attention to how we are filling our time.  Is it with distractions or is it in service to the Lord? 

Jesus is the judge of how we spend our time. The wise virgins tell the foolish ones to go and buy their oil from someone else.  

Jesus is looking for a Bride, spotless and clean. As we seek the spiritual and the infilling of the Holy Spirit what is impure in us is cleansed. Jesus knows when we are making an honest effort and he can read our hearts.  We can’t pretend or put a mask on.

Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 

We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling – but it is God who empowers us to make these changes within ourselves.  We cannot do it without His help.

Matthew 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 

The foolish virgins go to buy.  To keep our lamps filled we need to go where the Holy Spirit is flowing and fill up.  Get with people who are seeking a continual filling of the Holy Spirit.  

Pastor Don asked – what do you do to get in the presence of God?  We need to know what it is that helps us get in His presence.  Is it listening to praise and worship music, walking in nature, riding in your car, going to your prayer closet?  What do you do in your private worship to find His presence?  You need to know in case times are tough and you need His presence.  Establish routines that help you.

Matthew 25:11  “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 

After the other virgins found their oil, they came but too late, the doors were already closed. When God wants us, He doesn’t want us to say wait a minute, or when it’s convenient or after I do this or that.  

The benefits of keeping our lamps filled and serving God is that He provides for our needs, our care, can keep us healthy, and in peace. We need to trust God.  He asks us, who are you trusting?  

There is a time when the door is open, and then it will be closed.  We don’t want Jesus to say, I never knew you.

Matthew 25:12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 

We want intimate relationship with Him, and knowledge of His person.  Jesus gets to know us by the Holy Spirit.  

When our thought patterns are disrupted by God it is Him speaking to us in that still small voice.  We need to be ready to hear Him when He speaks. And to discern if it is us, Him, or the enemy. 

Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Jesus is doing everything He can to wait until we are ready, but when the time comes He will come and we do not know the day or the hour.

During our wait for His coming we are to be a slave to God, listening to His voice and doing what he is told to do, that is the oil.  The redeemed understand. Servanthood triumphs. 

The Good New is that Jesus will change our status as servants or virgins, 

Revelation 13:1-7 (not about the saints who are raptured, but rather those five foolish virgins)  Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.  So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe,tongue, and nation.

These refer to the virgins who did not go to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, they are still on the planet because they did not have enough oil in their lamps. They were waiting for God to do what God gave them power to do. They should have been using the oil God supplied for them, but they didn’t.  Now they are going to face horrific challenges and trials. By wanting God to do the things for them they were making themselves idols, instead of acting as servants of God.

Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

Those saints who are still on earth will not worship the beast, but it will be challenging to stand their ground against the power of the beast.  Our desire should be not to remain on the earth in the midst of this, but to keep our lamps filled so we go to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Some who claim they are Christian may not be – only those whose name is written in the Book of Life of the Lamb will be the ones who won’t worship the beast.

Revelation 13:9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 

disobedient slaves will be forced to miss the grace of God to remove them from the tribulation. But they will be under the mercy and grace of God to help them remain diligent even in the tribulation.  Our goal is to hear and obey God so that we can escape what is coming.

Revelation 13:10  He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

The patience and the faith of the saints. Those who do not swear allegiance to the beast and who patiently hold on to their faith in God, God will judge the ones who lead others into captivity and kill with the sword.  We are just to hold on to the truth of God.

Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 

satan will be cast down.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

We overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony. satan will cut off heads and shoot to kill.  God  takes the spirit out of the body and and we are in Heaven.  And the first will be last, the last first. But those who remain on earth after the rapture will have to go through the tribulation.  

We want to be a slave to the Lord and get the Holy Ghost oil. Do the Kingdom work, and worship. We want to keep ourselves in the grace of God (empowerment), so we can be the Bride that goes up first. Those who do not keep their lamps filled will be tested beyond bearing during the times mentioned in Revelation.

Christ can’t change your heart, you change your heart and He helps you to change your mind. You are who you are because God gives you free will. God helps us to do it, but we must choose and desire to do His will. 

Repent of what is in your heart and move on.

Romans 4 speaks of the faith of Abraham. We are to have faith for the spiritual the way we have faith for the natural. We live in the carnal but we need faith for the second dimension, the spiritual. If we get a cut, we know that it will be healed – we don’t worry about the cut, we know it will scab over and then be healed.  We need to have faith for difficult issues the way we have faith for a simple cut healing. 

So often we say we have faith and we hold on to that faith for a short time, then our faith waivers.  Some things take longer than others, and there is a timing of God that is best for the situation. Do we still hold on to faith in spite of what our senses tell us?

There is also supernatural healing where the healing is instantaneous.  But there is also a supernatural healing that takes time, where the body mobilizes the white blood cells and brings them to the wound and healing happens. 

We need to develop faith for spiritual healing to know that the right message to the brain and the brain sends healing to the part of the body, no matter what the disease or problem is. 

Revelation 1:4-17 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

John went into the spiritual dimension, saw what Jesus showed him and then brought it back and spoke the Word of God.

Abraham believed God, we need to believe God -that when He speaks He will do what He says He will do. He will do it in His time.  Abraham believed God, and Sara was too old to give birth.  Yet God did the supernatural and she gave birth to Isaac. 

When God speaks into your life, believe. He will do what He says He will do. Pastor Don continues this lesson in the following Bible study.

Praying your day is blessed.

Heather

We had a visiting pastor from Myanmar (Burma) last Friday at Bible study. I was so blessed by his teaching and the talk of all the ways he is sharing the Gospel with people in his country that I wanted to share this with you.  What he is doing in Myanmar is dangerous because the Buddhists in the area have taken property and killed Christians.

If you desire to contribute or help in this ministry, contact Pastor Morris Remial Liana EMAIL: LIANAM8@GMAIL.COM

Pastor Morris began his teaching by showing us the traditional garment of Burma (Myanmar) called the Longyi.  He demonstrated how the women and men wear the garment.  Men tie it in front, women at the sides. The Longyi is used for shorts (like a diaper), as a fan, as a towel, and as a blanket. The Longyi is also used to carry babies, it can be folded and placed on the head to carry goods on the head, a bag for possessions, a cover, held around the body to permit modestly changing clothes.  Even old Longyis can be used as rags.  There were many uses for this versatile garment.  Below is a picture from the internet so you can see the skirt-like garment.

When Pastor Morris goes to witness to people he says that he has something that is more than your Longyi.  For the people the Longyi is everything, and by using what the people know, he shares Jesus. He also shares the Jesus film..

Burma was ruled by a military junta for a long time, but recently (in March 2011) changed into the semi-democracy government.  Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State will visit in December. For the most part, the residents of Burma are in type of prison for they are  unable to fully worship the way they want, to leave the country or move around.  When Pastor Morris came to the United States to study at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi and Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky, he could not go home to his wife and children because he was afraid that he would not get leave to return to the states; that’s why he studied without going home from 1994-1997, but later he went home for two months each year until 2001  In fact, last year, UBS’ rice paddy field (twelve acres) that they used to feed the students in Mingladon Township, Yangon was taken over by the Buddhist monks (from Ma-Soe-Yain Monastery, Mandalay) and the local officials said that there was nothing that Pastor Morris and his people could do for the Buddhists would kill the Christians if they resisted because the military generals were standing behind the Buddhists in the Capital.

Pastor Morris sent me a photo taken on November 28, 2001 of the Buddhist monastery that was built on their rice field.

Isaiah 61:1-3  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

A lawyer tested Jesus, asking Him what he needed to do to get eternal life.  Jesus asked him what does the law say.  The ruler answered, Luke 10:27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

Jesus told the lawyer that he had answered correctly, then the lawyer asked Jesus, who is my neighbor.

Jesus replied: Luke 10:30-37 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gavethem to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Pastor Morris told us:

Jerusalem: City of God, holy city, possession of peace, or foundation of peace.
Jericho: place of fragrance, moon city, a fenced city in the midst of a vast grove of palm trees

In the parable, Jesus speaks of a Certain man (Samaritan) who went from Jerusalem to Jericho.  Pastor Morris equates this to everybody is going down from birth to death. 

The trip from Jerusalem to Jericho was about twenty miles. Pastor Morris said that we have gone through the twentieth century and are now entering the twenty-first century.  The roads between Jerusalem and Jericho are rough and robbers can hide easily. This certain man was captured by thieves who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 

Mankind was robbed by satan in the Garden of Eden and discovered he was naked (stripped of his glory), wounded (sickness, disease, and death) and had to leave the garden and his close relationship with God. 

Job 14:1 Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.

Even today we are wounded by satan who attacks our lives, our marriages, our children and our churches. We are all half-dead without Jesus.

Three kinds of people will pass by this wounded man.

A priest – Which represents world religion. Priests did not want to touch the wounded man because the man is unclean. Some religions want to help people but are not spiritually helpful. For example in Buddhism, there is a sense that human life is full of suffering caused by desire. Buddhists want to escape from desire. The new age tries to help, but is ineffective. The pagan religions of the day could not provide what the wounded man most needed, salvation and healing. Religions are ineffective to help with what is needed.

The second person to pass by was a Levite.  He comes and looks, but passes by on the other side. Levites were not to be contaminated by death, and he did not help the man. The Levites represent the Old Testament Judaism, which is closer to the truth, but still does not offer salvation.

The third person to pass by was a Samaritan, who saw the man, had compassion on him, bandaged his wounds, poured oil and wine, and then brought him to an inn and took care of him.  Pastor Morris equated this Samaritan to Jesus. The Samaritans were part Jew and Gentile – Jesus was God and man. Jesus came for the Jews, but his teachings also blessed the gentiles, who were later grafted in. The Samaritan did all the things mentioned in the prophesy of Isaiah 61, he had compassion, bandaged wounds, poured oil (Holy Spirit), took care of the man. 

Notice that the Samaritan brought the man to an inn (hotel), which is a temporary place – we are not here permanently. 

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

John 14:2-3 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The Samaritan gave two denarii to the innkeeper to take care of the man. Pastor Morris suggested that the Old Testament and the New Testament could represent the two denarii – and that we need them both to take care of ourselves while we are in this world.  The Samaritan told the innkeeper that he would go and come back, use as we saw in the above verses, Jesus told us that He would come back.

The Buddhists believe in reincarnation, nirvana, nothingness.
The Muslims have no sure sense of salvation.

As Christians, we are sure of our salvation and of the promise that Jesus will come back.

Then Jesus asks the lawyer who was this man’s neighbor. The lawyer replied that the one who helped the injured man was his neighbor.  Jesus tells the lawyer to go and do likewise.

It is our responsibility to help those who are wounded. The Holy Spirit helps us to help others on behalf of God. We are to be like the good Samaritan. 

When Jesus was on earth, there was a time when he went into the synagogue and said, Luke 4:18-20 The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

Jesus read the Isaiah prophesy and told those who heard Him that He was the fulfillment of that prophesy. 

Matthew 18:11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

The Isaiah prophesy was made 600 years before Jesus. We are to do what Jesus did, to take are of the wounded, the broken hearted, set captives free, and heal. 

Pastor Morris told us that Burma has 50 million people who are like captives. They have only had a few years of relative freedom (from 1948-1961). Mostly they are under a military regime. For the past 49 years there has been a military regime and Pastor Morris is believing that the 50th year will be a Jubilee for Burma. 

We are to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and Pastor Morris says that countries, leadership, our leaders need to begin to do the right thing.

Here are a few ministries that Pastor Morris and his wife oversee:

GALILEE CHILDREN’S HOME – orphans are wounded by satan, and many that come to him are in extreme poverty and half dead. His wife takes care of thirty-three children (plus four of their own at home)- and three of the orphans she raised are now attending Bible school and outside boarding class. We are to take care of the orphans and widows.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Psalm 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

Exodus 22:22 You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.

Isaiah 25:4 For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

Not only are there physical orphans but there are spiritual orphans – spiritual orphans are those who do not know salvation, and they do not have God as their Father.

Because of Jesus, we can call God Abba, or Father. We never need to be alone. We are never poor and fatherless.

Pastor Morris told us that a month ago in his orphanage, eighteen kids were baptized.

UBS – Union Biblical Seminary has had 370 graduates, who then become pastors and serve in mission fields among the Buddhists. For example, out of 32 Wesleyan pastors, 28 of them are UBS graduates.  Some graduates are teachers and inland missionaries to the Buddhists.  Of the 37 missionaries in Burma, 21 of them are graduates of UBS.

What Pastor Morris did was to train others so that he multiplied what he received in his training. Pastor Morris’s heart prayer is that the people of Myanmar will be saved.

Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Luke 15:7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Matthew 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

In Burma, only six percent are Christian and the rest are Buddhists.

PRISON MINISTRY, MEDICAL MINISTRY, AND HALF EGG MINISTRY

In a normal Buddhist family there are four to six children and many are hungry.  Pastor Morris started a feeding ministry, figuring that if you feed them, they will come. At one point it was rice and an egg, but when so many came, each person only received half an egg, which is how the ministry got it’s name. But even that little bit of protein is valuable to a hungry person.

Matthew 25:35-40 …for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feedYou, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 

When Pastor Morris and his helpers walk into a prison or feed the hungry, or administer medical care they are doing it for Christ, not the person.  Before the services are rendered, the recipients are given a Gospel message.

Romans 10:14-15  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”

How?  Someone has to tell them.  Pastor Morris asked us if we were a sender or a doer?  We all need to be focused on teaching the Gospel so people can be saved. It is the main ministry of the Church. Yes we donate to ministries that bring the Gospel to areas of the World, but we also need to realize that we must bring the Gospel to people who are starving for the truth in our own area as well. 

We also don’t want to just focus on ourselves and our own needs but to remember that there is a world that is starving for the Truth.

Richardson said, “When the church has no mission work it becomes a mission field.”

Oswald J. Smith said, “While there are some people who have never heard about Jesus, I cannot preach the Gospel to those who do not fear God.”

John R. Mott said, “The church becomes a church only when she does preaching of the Gospel.”

Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

All of the ministries that Pastor Morris does also contain preaching the word of God.

PRISON MINISTRY

In Burma all prisoners (some are chained) have to work long hours. They are given two hours a day on Saturday and Sunday for rest. It is then that Pastor Morris comes in to feed and deal with the prisoners’ medical and spiritual needs. To feed the prisoners, the missionaries have to buy a pig from the prison, cook the pig and then feed the prisoners. 

If there are 150 prisoners, the guards will tell the missionaries there are two hundred prisoners so that the guards and their families are also fed. 

For the CHILDREN’S’ MINISTRY, HALF EGG MINISTRY, they feed the children, giving half an egg, rice,  and tea.  He told us that once an irate Buddhist Mom came to complain about the teaching, and Pastor Morris invited her to tea and food. She would eat and they would invite her back.  As she ate they told her what they were teaching her children and over time she also became a believer.

Sometimes they hand out candy, and even the candy ministry draws children.

THE DOOR IS OPEN IN MYANMAR. 

They are praying to God that the door for the Gospel be opened.  When Cyclone Nargis on May 2, 2008 came, their ministry was placed so they could aid those hurt by the cyclone. People are now calling on the Lord. And one of the UBS teachers is an ex-Buddhist monk and is able to teach in such a way as to reach the Buddhists for Christ. 

Isaiah 65:1  I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 

There are so many souls crying out for the Lord and we want to win them at any cost. Matthew 9:37 The field is white, but the laborers are few.

I hope this teaching blessed you. 

Heather

 

These notes come from a Bible study was taught 7/1/11 by Pastor Don Moore. We covered Matthew 25:1-8 in this Bible study, the 7-13 the following week.

Matthew 25:1-13 is often used to beat up the sheep.

Jesus begins his teaching in Matthew 24 with speaking about the signs of the times and knowing that the end is at hand.  He speaks about the faithful servant and the evil servant.

Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,  the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This sets the context for Matthew 25 about the ten virgins, five wise/five foolish.  The important thing to remember in this story is that ALL ARE VIRGINS.  All are saints with the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  All are called.

Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

All the virgins are called to go to the wedding feast of the Lamb which is being prepaid. We need to up our game to make sure we are prepared.  We are to judge ourselves in this, not try to determine who is and isn’t prepared. We need to figure out what we need to do in our lives to make sure we have oil in our lamps, that we are prepared. We need to look forward to being called and discern those areas that we need to work on in our lives. 

To properly discern the meaning of a Scripture, we need to ask ourselves who is speaking and who is he talking to? In Matthew 25, Jesus is speaking and he is speaking about the spiritual Kingdom. He is talking to his disciples.

Matthew 25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

He was talking about the Spiritual Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom.  But we are also told that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that we can reach out and touch it. Also, the Kingdom of God is within you.  We should experience the Kingdom of God on earth, not wait until we die.  

A parable is a story, and this one is set in a factual spiritual setting and experience. 

Notice the term SHALL BE LIKENED TO – that means it is also prophetic, futuristic.

So, for this parable, the Kingdom of God is in existence at the time of Jesus’ telling and is also in existence now and in the future.

At a future time this will happen.  

The LAMPS – The virgins bring their lamps and come to wait on the Groom who is coming for His Bride. The virgins are not his Bride. The ones waiting for the Groom are the FRIENDS of the Bride.  The Bride is the Church and the saints in the Church.  The Groom is going to come with His friends, the inside core of relations He calls friends – angles, apostles, etc.  Remember, in Chapter 24 it says that Jesus is coming in the clouds to gather His Bride, to separate the sheep from the goats. He is taking a remnant of the elite. He is coming to get the elect that can’t be fooled.

Matthew 24:30-31 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

The word, rapture, is not in the Bible. The early apostles did not use that term. It wasn’t used until the 1800′s.  Also Mary is not considered a co-redeemer with Christ until some false teachings came out in 1844.  

What is called the rapture today was termed the blessed hope, the quickening, the snatching away.

The Wedding of Christ is in the spiritual realm.  The angels and apostles come in the clouds. During this quickening, blessed hope, Jesus’ feet do not touch the ground, He is in the clouds. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Matthew 24:29-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24:36-39  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 

When Jesus comes, everyone will know about it.

Matthew 24:40-44  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

It doesn’t say what season, time, or hour.  Just that we must be ready. If the Gospel and prophesy doesn’t cause you to change your heart, how you are living and acting, how can you be called as a believer? When we repent we change. We are a living, breathing organism and we change – we don’t do the same old, same old.

Matthew 25, is for all saints, Messianic and those who are not Jewish

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”“ O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

The banquet table is ready and we are to come to the feast. Remember the parable where Jesus sends his servants out to the highways and byways to find guests for the feast because the invited guests found excuses not to attend. 

Jesus is looking for virgins with no spot or blemish, who are ready and looking for Him. (Now we can only achieve this by the Blood of the Lamb, not in our own works or our own righteousness.)  We are to be prepared as the bride. 

Matthew 25:2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 

What is the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins?  PREPAREDNESS

Matthew 25:3-4 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

The oil is the Holy spirit.  When we are saved we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. In the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Many receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and then do nothing with it. They let their oil diminish. But Jesus is looking for those who will stir up the gifts and the Spirit within themselves and keep their oil fresh. We can be saved and not use our oil. We can serve God and not be filled with oil, but when we keep our oil levels high, and obey God, much can be done for the Kingdom. The work of the Holy Spirit and operating in the gifts of the Spirit advance the Kingdom. With oil in our lamps we light the world and Jesus wants us to be the light of the World. The gifts of the Spirit are not just for us, but to edify others, and to shine Jesus’ light into the World.

The lamp is our Christian walk. In the book of Revelation the Angel of the Church is called a Lampstand, to give light and direction to the Church.

The Light of Christ manifests in the Church to reflect Jesus Christ. We want to reflect what the Lord has called the Church to be, and reject what is not of the Lord.

In Revelation 2, Jesus tells the Church at Ephesus that they have lost their first love and were not doing what God has assigned them to do.

The Holy Spirit does signs and wonders. It flows in us and through us.  It helps us to do supernatural missionary work. 

We are to be a spiritual lighthouse.  Our light is in earthen vessels.

2 Corinthians 4:7   But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.  

 The Holy Spirit is the oil in our vessels. Our bodies and minds are the work of the Holy Spirit.

Believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and the enemy will recognize that. When we go into atmosphere of the world, our body should glow with the presence of the Lord. When we walk into a room that is dark, because of the presence of the Lord, the atmosphere should change.

Matthew 25:5  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

The bridegroom was delayed. 

2 Peter 3:11-13   Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

By what we do, we can hasten the coming of the Lord. 

Notice that ALL slept – the wise and the foolish.

Matthew 25:6  “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 

Midnight is a dark time. He is not coming in the fullness of dawn. Things are going to be as bad as they get. The virgins are told to go out and meet the Lord.

ALL sleeping, the virgins, the Bride (Church).  Remember in the Garden when Jesus went to pray and the apostles slept. They could not watch one hour.

Jesus was weeping in the garden, knowing He had to go to the cross, but we didn’t wait with Him. Jesus set His face like flint to go to Jerusalem to die. He knew His purpose, to die the death to cover our sins. He knew He had to get to Jerusalem to do this, to go to the Cross. His grief was that His closest friends, who he lived with and ministered with, were all going to leave Him at this time of trial. 

Jesus prophesied this.  Mark 14:27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the  Shepherd,  and the sheep will be scattered.’ ”

Jesus watched his disciples disappear. He went to trial with no support. We want people to know that we know Jesus, not to deny Him.

Matthew 25:7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

To trim a lamp, you cut the wick so that the lamp burns the oil efficiently and produces the brightest light. If there is too much wick soot can cause the lamp to smoke. We want to cut away what prevents us from doing the Kingdom work the way God wants us to do it. We want our robes to be clean and white. To do this, we need to cut the excess, do a thorough self-exam, and only keep what lines up with God, His Word, and His plan for our lives.

Matthew 25:8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 

When we don’t work with the Holy Ghost, keep Him continually filling us, our lamps will go out.  Have we really kept refreshing ourselves in the Holy Ghost? If not we are being presumptuous about the Holy Ghost.  

Pastor Don will continue this lesson in the next Bible study.

I hope this blesses you.

Heather

Taught June 22, 2011

God does things in seasons and times.  Many of those in the church who are over forty are playing church the way we always have and are not aware of the change in season or the times.  We need to get ready, get on the express, or we can sit and watch the tribulation. it is our choice.

Jesus is the Spirit of Prophesy.

There is a new prophetic voice in the Church.  We can’t use old church doctrine to romance the muslims.

Revelation 3:1 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.“

The seven spirits of God – what are they?  We can find that out in Isaiah 11:1-4

Isaiah 11:1-4 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;  He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 

The Rod, the stem of Jesse refers to Jesus.  

The seven spirits are:  The Spirit of the Lord, The Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.

In Revelation 3:1 it mentions the seven stars, angels of the seven Churches John will write to.  The people in this church at Sardis were physically alive but are spiritually dead. Sometimes, unless someone points out our spiritual death, we don’t know it.

People can think they have and are functioning in the Holy Spirit, but not realize they don’t have it.  

We all think we are good, wise, Biblically knowledgeable.  If we feel we are good we think that means we have the Holy Spirit.  We have formulas so our ego is pleased and we think we are okay.  We think we are validated in our own eyes.

When we accept the Lord we are born again and we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, but that is different from receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  

Peter was born again, but not completely.  He still made errors.  After he received the praise of Jesus for recognizing that Jesus was the Christ, he immediately turned around and told Jesus not to go to the Cross.  Jesus rebuked him saying, get thee behind me satan.

We can be saved, born again, or spirits are born again, but there are still areas of our flesh that are still acting in the same way we did before we got born again.  We are works in process.

We receive the gifts of the Spirit by faith.  Everyone has been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

In the Bible Jesus breathed on people to receive the Holy Spirit.  We don’t see many ministries with breathe on services.

John 20:21-23 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin so we turn to Jesus.  We receive the Holy Spirit when we are saved, but we don’t operate in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit until we receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The disciples in John 20 received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them, but they still had to travel to Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit to reside in them and give them the courage and power to do the work of the Lord. 

John 16:5-11 But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me;  of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit resides in us, and we need to stir up the gifts of the Spirit.

2 Timothy 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 

There is a laying on of the hands to receive the impartation gift of the Holy Spirit. Doubt and unbelief can block the ability to receive.

In our personal lives the true purpose of self is to meet with God, obey GOd, and deal with our flesh.  Come to church prepared to worship and minister to God.

The Holy Spirit will guide us in our lives.  For example, Paul wanted to go to Macedonia, but initially the Holy Spirit forbade him to go there.  Later he was sent there and God had people in place for Paul to do the work God wanted him to do.  Had Paul gone earlier to to Macedonia he would not have been as effective and would not have had the people in place.

1 Corinthians 12 speaks of the Spirit, and how we are one body in Christ and the gifts of the Spirit are to edify the Body of Christ. 

Josh McDowell says that we are the last Christian generation.

The Spirit of Christ brings wholeness, completeness, health, prosperity and salvation.

When the Holy Spirit comes to reside we need to choose righteousness and acceptable cultural behavior.  THe Holy Spirit helps us to operate and do what Jesus did.  And don’t forget that Jesus gave many of His sermons through His sermons through His actions, healing, feeding and freeing those who were bound.  

Revelation 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.

God wants our work to be perfect.  We can do works, good works, but they may not be the perfect works that God wants us to do.  We have to assess if our works are the ones God wants us to be doing.  Sometimes we do works but we do them halfheartedly.  God wants us to give 120% and do the works with a right heart.  If God doesn’t want us doing a particular work, it may be that we are doing it out of our flesh.

If the Church focuses on missions and charity, but doesn’t also teach the Word of God the Church is out of balance.  

The power is always with us, the main thing is the Word.  God equips us to do what He calls us to do.

Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 

Jesus will come as a thief, and we will not know the hour of his coming.  The Bible tells us what will happen so we will be prepared.  His main thing is the heart and minds of the people.  We need to make sure our minds and hearts line up with God’s will.

Revelation 3:4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 

There are always a few people, church people, who do the right thing.  There is the enemy in the Church, but there is also a remnant. The Bride of Christ is a small group, not all believers (remember the 10 virgins – all virgins were saved, not all had enough oil).  Know the season, keep sanctified, keep the love of the Lord pure. Be discerning of worship and your inner heart.  Don’t focus on lifestyle, but on the love and obedience of God.  God is concerned about the heart.  God judges.

We want to stay undefiled.

Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 

Some today teach universal salvation, but there is no such thing. One who is impure can have their name blotted from the Book of Life.

Revelation 3:7-10 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:  “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

These believers persevere and Jesus will keep them in the hour of their trial. We are to guard our selves and keep your eye on what you are supposed to do. There will be tribulation and testing, but we need to be faithful.  This happened in modern times too from the 1730′s to 1900′s.  And this opened doors all over the world.

Revelation 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. 

A new name of God, one that has not been blasphemed on the earth, a name that is not known to the enemy. When we go into places of darkness, the enemy will have to respond to us, for we have the seal of God, an anointing of God on us. 

God knows the pressure of our cares, accusations and situations, and these can be altered. We will be sent and are able to deliver a word in season to people in need and in situations that are difficult.  They will respond in kind even if they don’t want to.  We are covered with the blood.  

I hope this teaching blesses you.

Heather

Friday Bible study taught by Pastor Don Moore June 16, 2011 – this was taught at the time when Camping was suggesting the earth would end shortly.  When the first prophesy didn’t occur, he then said it would happen October 21, and guess what?  We’re still here.

Errors we profess follow us around. We need to have compassion for Camping’s people for they have been deceived.  Camping didn’t admit his mistake and that will hurt those who believed this false prophesy, as their faith is shaken.  Camping came forward and said that the judgment was spiritual, not physical when the first date didn’t pan out.  It is easy to wonder if he would have avoided a stroke by honestly admitting his mistake instead of trying to hide it.

The number one way that false prophets deceive is by saying it is spiritual.  When something prophesied for the natural doesn’t come to pass, the false prophet claims it happened in the spiritual.  By claiming that they can see this in the spiritual it elevates them above you, for you may not see what they “see” in the spiritual.  You can’t see it, the prophet says, but I can.  The only one under judgement in Camping’s prophesy was him.

For his followers this is a hard lesson to learn, for their beliefs are shaken.  We must have compassion for the millions who believed he was right, who fell for his prophesy.  These people blindly believed, not reading Scripture, not comparing Scripture to Scripture to seek the truth.  Camping went way beyond the meaning of Scripture in what he taught.  The sad thing is that this is not the first time he made this mistake, he has foretold the end of the world previously three other times.

God will deal with Camping.  We need to be humble.  We all don’t do right or speak the right things in line with the scripture all the time.  We must be compassionate to those who were deluded.

Romans 14:12-13 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

We are accountable to God.  We don’t judge one another as to ultimate outcome of if the person will be saved or not.  This passage does not say don’t judge – just we don’t judge another’s salvation.  We can judge when a person has made a mistake.  We are to judge the fruit of a person’s life.  

Judgment will happen to us if we get out from under the truth of the Gospel, and put ourselves in position and power over people teaching them untruths.  Some teach their followers that the healing, tongues, and the power of the Holy Spirit is not effective today.  They argue against signs, wonders, and gifts of the Spirit, preaching against the things clearly shown in Scripture.  They come out from under the covering of God, and when they believe these false teachings it becomes self-fulfilling prophesy, for the gifts and signs and wonders won’t happen unless the person adds faith to the mix.

The revelation truth of the Word is based on yieldedness.

The meaning of the word Salvation is wholeness, health, prosperity, healing, deliverance.  It is not just about dying and going to Heaven.  

There is no sinner’s prayer written in the Bible – it is about repenting and believing.

We create religion and tradition that is not established on the Gospel.

One of the biggest errors we have is saying we don’t know God’s will.  We often pray for the sick (not realizing it is God’s will that the person be healed) but we pray, “If it be God’s will let that person be healed.”  When we pray like that it shows that we are ignorant of the authority of the believer and we aren’t operating in the authority of the believer.  We are not expressing our relationship to and understanding of the work of the Cross.  

If God tells us to pray and gives us the authority of the believer, and we refuse to do it, we are in disobedience.  

Some people will say that it is God’s will that a person isn’t healed, or that God took the life of someone.  It is blasphemous to speak evil and attribute it to God, when the cause is the devil or neglect of the Word.   It is common to call hurricanes and tornadoes acts of God. Sometimes when a person has an accident it is said that God was teaching the person a lesson.  What?????  God does not need to teach us through tragedy.  

Of course, if we get outside the permissive will of God, and choose to do our own thing, God is not required to protect us from the errors of our judgment.  And sometimes when we are out of God’s will we make stupid mistakes and face serious consequences for those mistakes.

We don’t have to pray, Lord if it be thy will.  We know, through Scripture, what is God’s will in a situation.  We might ask God how to pray in our situation or pray in tongues if we don’t know what to pray.  

1 Corinthians 11:27-32  Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.  For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 

Many traditions have people examine their lives and sins before taking communion so they do not take communion in an unworthy manner.  But the unworthy manner of taking communion refers to our faith, about our not discerning the work the Jesus did on the Cross, and that is why there are many sick – for they are not eating the Body of Christ and realizing that it is by His stripes we are healed, so many are sick and sleep (die).  We need to judge ourselves, to come before God and be chastened by Him, then we won’t have the world bringing us away from God’s perfect will.

Pastor Don said, “If salvation was only about dying and going to Heaven, why don’t we all just drink the Kool-aid?”  Salvation also speaks to the Kingdom work on the earth and our quality of life on the earth.

We need to ask ourselves questions to help determine God’s perfect will for our lives, questions like, what do you want to do?  God wants to know what you want to do and helps you to make the best decision based on his perfect will.  Sometimes the answers are not always evident by circumstances, such as do I take Job A or Job B?  Job A may initially pay more, but Job B offers training and advancement for the future.  We won’t be comfortable in our spirits until we take it to God and hear from Him.  He will help us to clarify the truth.

God gives us the desires of our heart, and He puts those desires into our heart.

1. Is it my will or God’s will?  When we are in doubt we need to ask ourselves if we are choosing something based on our personal will or are we lining up with God’s will.  These are not empty opinions, our decision is based on our understanding of God inside us.  If we want to Know God’s will, we need to be filled with His Word, then the Holy Spirit has the Word of God in us to draw from to help guide us to God’s perfect will.  Stop wasting money on personal will issues, save money for God. Shut out distractions and discern if what you want to do is God’s will or the permissive will of God.

2. Salvation and spiritual outcomes – know the will of God.  We don’t have to ask if God wants us to forgive.  We know that He wants forgiveness. If someone is seeming to deliberately disturb you (after discerning where you are at, that you haven’t contributed to the problem) then maybe ask the person if there is a disturbing spirit that is making you act this way? To ask a question is far better than combat.  Ask yourself why this is so important to you?  You may not know. Often we are taught not to ask questions.  We can pray in tongues if we don’t know how to pray about the situation.  Seek the heart of God for the circumstance.  Know His Word so you can know the will of God.

Paul and Silas tried to get to Macedonia three times and God blocked their trip.  When he finally opened the door to Macedonia, he had Lydia there to take care of them and the church flourished.  Had they gone before it was God’s perfect timing things would not have proceeded so smoothly.

3. We need to pray and hear God’s response.  We don’t have to act immediately.  There are no emergencies in God’s Kingdom.  When we feel we have discerned God’s will we act in faith.  If we get it wrong, God will correct us.  

4. We need to trust in God, cast our cares on Him and not take them back.  So often we pray, give God our concerns then like a fisherman casting out his rod, we reel our cares back.  We need to cast our cares and then cut the line.

5.  Sometimes tough circumstances could lead us to believe we are out of God’s will.  When we are in God’s will, sometimes the external circumstances would seem to dictate otherwise.  Jesus was in God’s perfect will but he went to the Cross.  Paul and Silas were beaten and cast into prison.  But God used the prison to set up another church.  When we know God’s will in our heart, don’t let external circumstances tell you that this may not be God’s will.  When God tells you to do something, be obedient.  Seek God’s will and apply it in your life.

Jeremiah 30:1-2 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 

Jeremiah’s scribes wrote what Jeremiah prophesied into a book

Jeremiah 30:3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’” 

The Israelites wee in captivity – the Jews and the People of the Book (Messiah)  Jew and Christian.

Many of us were raised while in captivity, and brought out of captivity.  They believe God’s promise to return on faith, while they were captive.  They were taken into captivity by the evil one.  They are in a generational curse of captivity.  They were also in captivity in their spirit and mind.  

God will give us (and them) our stuff and what our fathers lost as well.  God will bless, and his blessing will erase the captivity.  God can restore what the enemy stole and give us a blessing that is greater than we can imagine.

We need to stir up hope that God can restore exceedingly, abundantly, above all we can think or imagine, or ask.

I hope this teaching blesses you.

Heather

Taught June 10, 2011

Prophesy causes us to center on the call of our life for the end times.  The Church (ecclesia) is the gathering of the saints, the Body of Christ.

The saints are told not to forsake the assembling of the brethren, together they are the spiritual body of Christ.  

The problem comes when the flesh gets in the way of the spiritual. 

The Church is not a democracy.  And many churches try to shape the church to the image we understand.  But that is not God’s vision.

Ephesians 4:10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

This is referring to Christ.

Ephesians 4:11  And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

Notice – it is given to SOME, not all.  The modern day church does not recognize the apostleship. Not all recognize the prophetic.  To speak to the congregation from the pulpit can be prophetic.  Some tell Forth the Word of God and some tell what will happen.

Evangelists – if there are no evangelists, the church is not destined to grow, no visitors, no one saved. 

Signs and wonders are rejected by the church.  

Today pastors are being asked to do many things, but a pastor’s chief role is to love the sheep and shepherd the flock.  Not all pastors are anointed to teach.  Some pastors are not anointed to teach.  Some can teach, but it isn’t their calling.

God established five offices in the church and each one is important.  What are they for?

Ephesians 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 

The reason for the five offices is for the equipping of the saints, to edify them for the work of ministry.  Ministry does not fall solely on the pastor. The whole congregation should be out there reaching the unsaved.  God is building His church.   Apostles sit in authority.  Not all that call themselves apostles are acting in that role and many are not truly apostles the way Jesus spells it out.

Ephesians 4:13-14 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, The purpose of these offices for the equipping of the saints is for us to all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God…

We should be in the process to be growing in this way.  If we are still caught in some stuff of the past, we need to be showing movement in the direction that God wants us to be, we are not perfect, but should be striving to line our lives up with God’s will.  We need to cast our cares on the Lord and not pull back and wait for our lives to be fulfilled.  If we don’t have faith that God can produce these changes in us, then we won’t possess what God has planned for us.

Ephesians 4:15-16 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

This won’t happen until we die to self.  it won’t happen until the church comes under pressure and gets in line with God’s will.  When the end times exerts pressure on the church, churches will have to pull together to survive, to work together as one body.  God will feed what He has planted.  Judgment begins in the house of God.  We will have a choice – step up for Jesus, or not.  We want to spread the Gospel. 

What happens when we try to reach the lost and it didn’t work.  Why?

Isaiah 28:9-12 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”  For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”; yet they would not hear. 

The world would not hear.  God gives us the power to share the Good News.  We need to be like CIA agents for the Lord, sometimes the price of sharing is difficult, but what God gives you to share is a test for your ministry.  Will you obey Him?

You get the teaching of the Gospel line upon line, precept upon precept.  You don’t get the Gospel listening to a band or at a barbecue.  When you share the gospel, you need to stay with the people and teach them until they understand it.

Isaiah 28:13 But the word of the LORD was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line,  here a little, there a little,”  that they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught. 

We are to minister to the people, and when the power of the Lord comes, some may fall backward and be broken.  God does the surgery, the person gets off the floor and is snared and caught.

Isaiah 28:14-15 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

The Church commits falsehood and lives are not touched.  When the Church brings forth the Gospel, people get saved.  Do we put the Word of God over entertainment in the Church or do we have our priorities wrong?

Isaiah 14:12  How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 

How did he weaken nations?

Isaiah 14:13-20  For you have said in your heart:  ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’  Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’  All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house; but you are cast out of your grave  like an abominable branch, like the garment of those who are slain, thrust through with a sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a corpse trodden underfoot. You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land and slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. 

Leaky praise and worship, false teachings in the church, will pull down nations.  Our culture has become dominated by the airwaves, false teachings, secular music, and satan is the lord of that heaven.  We need to take back the airwaves.  We are not trying to sound like the secular music, but rather to teach the truth of the Gospel.

Ezekiel 28  also speaks about the fall of satan and the world system.

Hope this teaching blesses you.

Heather

Apostle Scales blessed us with another meaty teaching on Tuesday, 9/20/2011, on reconciliation. First he reviewed the previous teachings.  See first post here. 

He spoke about how the enemy is trying to tear apart families, to redefine what a family is, to add competition into families to cause division.  Then the enemy works with our words which can cause miscommunication.  Our words have the power to either edify or to tear down.  What the enemy does is try to change our knowledge base which changes our operation base and our predictable results.  When the second Adam (Jesus) came, His sacrifice restored our Knowledge base to what God intended so that our operation base and predictable results were restored.

The next tactic satan uses is: LACK OF ABILITY TO RECONCILE WITH ONE ANOTHER

This can occur in the family, the home, the church, the workplace.  If there is no reconciliation, there is no way to resolve conflict.

Believers find it easy to reconcile with Jesus, but far more difficult to reconcile with each other.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 

Four times the word reconcile is used in this passage.  We are to become MINISTERS OF RECONCILIATION.  Jesus reconciled us to God, has given us the Word of reconciliation, and now He wants us to become Ministers of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Fifth use of reconciliation.  We are to be AMBASSADORS for Christ.  An ambassador enters a foreign land and represents the Kingdom in a foreign territory. The ambassador speaks for the king of his Kingdom.  All of an ambassador’s clothes, food, and housing is taken care of by the Kingdom.  Those are the benefits.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (see above) we are reconciled to God.

There is a process – reconciled to God, Ministry of Reconciliation, Christ reconciles the world to Himself, and then He gives us the Word of Reconciliation. We are to be the heart of God and that involves reconciliation.

Hatred, alienation, hostility, and conflict are part of the human empire.  But we are ambassadors of the Kingdom.

Matthew 24 speaks of what is going to happen at the end times.  There will be global conflict, pestilence, and famines all over.  

Conflict leads to genocide. We have seen this many times over – the Jews, Armenians, Christians, Croatia, Serbia, Palestine, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Rwanda, and many other places.

These are indicators that Christ is coming soon.

If people label another person as unnecessary, it enables them to decide they can be removed and genocide follows.

The systematic removal of any group is genocide.

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 

We are to be salt and light to the world. If we lose our saltiness, we are not as effective. 

The world does not like what we represent, and it is now setting out to try and do a systematic removal of Christians from the government, the public and private sectors. 

The world is moving past tolerance to an anti-tolerance stand toward Christians. 

Because of the increasingly hostile environment for Christians, we need to be reconciled to each other, to build bridges.  In the last days, global conflict will make it necessary that we are reconciled to each othe.   We are God’s ambassadors and His salt in the earth.  For non-believers, salt is an irritant. If we maintain our savor we are salty, and salt can be used to enhance the flavor of food.  If there is an open wound, salt can sting, but it can disinfect.

Salt is one element that maintains its character no matter what it is mixed with in the environment.  If fish is salted, you see salt and fish.  If pork and salt, you see salt and pork. If beef and salt, you see salt and beef under a microscope.

Salt doesn’t take the flavor of beef, but beef takes the flavor of salt. 

Salt makes food tasty, it preserves and doesn’t decay.  It brightens the flavor.

When salty Christians are in the environment, they brighten their world and creates a new savor.

Salt melts ice, so it can melt an icy heart and make it receptive to Jesus.

In these days of global alienation and hostility, our saltiness can bring reconciliation.  It can bring opposing forces together.  Reconciliation restores harmony where there is hostility.  Jesus reconciled us to God through His sacrifice, and we are saved by His life.

Romans 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

When we accepted Christ, God reconciled ourselves to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 

Romans five tells us that we were enemies before we were reconciled to God

Pastor Scales used to have a bumper sticker that said, “I’ve found Him.”  The truth is that he did not find God.  But rather, God found him. God died for me, and that was something I couldn’t do for myself. He reconciled me to God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Since He died for our sins, we are not to hold things against others, but to reconcile with them.

Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

We are reconciled to God and we need to reconcile with each other.

In Genesis four, Cain did not reconcile with his brother, and killed him over the fact that God liked Abel’s sacrifice.  The lack of reconciliation led to murder. Brother killing brother.  The core is self-hatred.  If I kill someone it is because they look like what I don’t like about me.

The enemy wants to keep us from reconciling.

Matthew 12:25  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 

If satan can keep the church divided and unreconciled he can conquer us.  A nation, a house, the Church, a family divided against itself cannot stand.

Division weakens us.  Unity strengthens us.  Line our actions up with the truth of the Bible, and that will help us to stay unified. 

Pastor Scales spoke of Philemon, who was a wealthy man.  He had a slave, Onesimus, who ran away from his master and had stolen from his master.  Onesimus was probably an indentured servant, and in those day, a slave who runs away or steals could be killed.  The slave ran into Paul, and Paul brings him to the Lord.  In their time together Paul probably asked Onesimus to talk about himself. Paul ultimately tells him that he must return to Philemon. But to make it easier, Paul writes Philemon a letter.

Paul tells Philemon, that Onesimus left him a thief and a useless slave, but is now returning as a brother.  This unprofitable servant will return as a profitable servant.

When Onesimus left Philemon he was a bother, now he is a Brother.

Paul writes Philemon that when Onesimus returns as a Brother, and a profitable servant, that if Onesimus owes Philemon anything, Paul will repay it.  But Paul reminds Philemon of the debt that he owes Paul, his life. Later, we will hear about Onesimus as a leader of the church, and most probably freed by Philemon.

If we consider the debt we owe to God, it is easier to forgive our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Before we get the speck out of our brother’s eye, we need to get the log out of ours.

We need to keep perspective by remembering what God has done for us, then when someone offends us, we realize we must let it go

The enemy lies to stir up trouble, to stir up stuff in us, in the church, in the family, in the community.  But we don’t have to respond.

Pastor Scales told us that when he was a Boy Scout, sometimes at camp a scout would take a stick and stir up the stuff in the outhouse.  When it is stirred up, it smells worse than when things are settled.

The enemy wants to stir up stuff.  God wants us to get rid of it.  In our memories and our memory banks, God wants us to hit Erase and Delete.  When you hit delete, the computer asks if you really want it deleted permanently.  God wants us to delete these things permanently.

God wants us reconciled to Him and to each other.

1 Corinthians 7:11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 

God wants families to stay together, not separate.

In an aside, Pastor Scales spoke about the 7-11 rule.  That in seven seconds when a person meets someone they determine eleven things about them.  Things like posture, accent,demeanor, approachability, etc. 

Being split apart is not part of God’s plan. God wants reconciliation. To reconcile means to bring opposing forces together.  Sometimes when there are problems, the roots may go deep.  We can’t avoid the source of the problem.  We need to face the problem and recognize it before we can bring reconciliation.

Apostle Scales told us that one time he was counseling a couple that had so many disagreements, he finally asked what the first argument they had was.  It turned out that the wife wanted the toilet paper to come over the top of the roll, the man wanted it to come off of the bottom.  Pastor Scales laughed and said, take the roll off of the holder and let each person put it the way they want it.  Some deep problems can begin from little, unresolved issues.

Jesus says that before we come to the table for communion, if we have something against our brother to make it right, then come to communion.  We need to let go of some stuff.

Sometimes we need to be washing each other’s feet.  The dust of the world gets on our feet and gets in our walk, and it needs to be washed off.

When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, John 13:8-10 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”  Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”  Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”  Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 

Jesus was saying that Peter was clean, but in our involvement with the world, we pick up the dust of the ground, and that needs to be washed off so that our walk remains pure.

STEPS TO RECONCILIATION.

1. Confront the issue.  When there is no confrontation there is no change. We need to release forgiveness, but that can’t happen until we honestly face the issues involved. Easy forgiveness is not necessarily forgiveness. People need to understand what is being forgiven.

2. Brokenness – When there is a breech between us, something is broken.  God can help repair this brokenness, but we also need to find a way to help repair the breech between others and us.  We need to understand fully what our actions did that caused this brokenness.

3. Repentance – Godly sorrow brings repentance.  Repentance means to change our mind and go in a different direction. Out of repentance comes forgiveness.

4. Forgiveness – we need to forgive, to not hold on to the hurt and pain.  To let go and move on. Forgiveness brings reconciliation.

5. Reconciliation – means to bring together opposing factions.

6. Come together to do it better, to unify.

God won’t ask us to forgive and reconcile if it was impossible to do.  He gave us the example of Jesus on the Cross.  While on the Cross, in massive pain, where it caused great pain to get a breath to speak a word, Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”  If Jesus could forgive when he had been so battered and bruised by the people he asked God to forgive, that means that it is possible for us to do so.

7. Restoration – sometimes we need to take steps to restore the damage.  For example, if we borrowed someone’s  iPad and it breaks, we need to find a new one to give them, restore, what was broken.   Sometimes restoration isn’t possible and then we need to go to Restitution.

8. Restitution, to give money to get something comparable.  Pastor Scales gave an example of dining in a home in India. In his talking and hand gestures, he accidentally knocked a plate off the table and it broke.  He wanted to pay and replace the plate, but that was not possible.  The only way to make it right was to find another complete set of twelve plates.  So Apostle Scales offered to buy the woman another complete set of dishes, at large cost.  The woman always invites him to her house when he visits India.  But had he not replaced the set of dishes, whenever this woman had twelve guests she would have had twelve cups, twelve bowls, twelve dessert plates, but only eleven matching dinner plates. Every time she saw that she would remember Apostle Scales negatively.  But, because he went out of his way to make it right, to provide restitution, her opinion of him stayed positive.

9. Reparations – groups of people can be offended, for example the Jews and the Luxembourg trials, when a suit is made against Germany for the Holocaust.  Now the victims were not able to have their lives restored, but property and monetary reparations were made to their families.

To reconcile, we just need to say I’m sorry.  In a family we can let stuff go on for years and years. When stuff happens, we have to confront it and let it go.  It is time to move on.

We are reconciled to God. We are given the Word of Reconciliation.  We are to have a ministry of Reconciliation.  And God wants us to reconcile one to another.

The devil wants to devour the family and the child. The world wants to hurt us.  We need to be reconciled to each other and remember, God in us.

Because of the Blood we are one New Man. We can be peacemakers.

Last night we had a wonderful teaching by Apostle Lafayette Scales. He is from the Rhema Christian Center, Columbus Ohio.  Pastor Scales continued his teaching about Revelation 12 from the Sunday service. 

In review:

Revelation 12:1-3  Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.  Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.  And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. There was a sign in Heaven of a woman giving birth.

There was a sign in Heaven of a woman giving birth and another sign, of a dragon who wanted to devour the child. 

Revelation 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 

The woman’s son was to rule the nations with a rod of iron – we know Him as Jesus.

Revelation 12:7-8 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 

There was a war in Heaven, where Michael and the angels fought with the dragon (satan) and cast him and his angels down from heaven.

But there is a word of Hope in verse 11. 

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The enemy makes war against the seed, starting in Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” 

Some think the woman in Revelation 12 is Eve, others think it is the nation Israel for the Bible often refers to Israel as a she. Some believe the woman is Mary, and others think it is the Church.  For the purposes of this talk, Apostle Scales said that the woman is any woman who gives birth to a child and parents that child. The enemy has declared war on every seed, every child and family.

Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.

The enemy wages war against the family. The world is trying to redefine or represent marriage in a different way, to pull what we know as family apart.

Pastor Scales spoke about one of the first problems confronting families.

COMPETITION - After the fall in Genesis, competition and conflict entered the family.  Instead of the family being a cohesive whole, competition began to cause strife in the family.  Strife between husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings.

Tonight he spoke about the second way the enemy wages war against families.

MISCOMMUNICATION.  

The enemy tries to interrupt the message of God.

God is a master communicator.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

God communicated to creation and spoke it into existence.

We looked at the first three words in the following verses.

Gen 1:3 – Then God said
Gen 1:5 – God called
Gen 1:6 – Then God said
Gen 1:8 – And God called
Gen 1:9 – Then God said
Gen 1:10 – And God called
Gen 1:11 -Then God said
Gen 1:14 – Then God said
Gen 1:20 – Then God said
Gen 1:22 – And God blessed
Gen 1:24 – Then God said
Gen 1:26 – Then  God said
Gen 1:29 – And God said

Genesis 1:31 Then God saw

Notice in the account of creation you don’t see it until you say it.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

The whole of creation could have easily been covered by the writer of Genesis by Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

But God wanted to show us that first we say, then creation. Our faith is critical for our success. Words are critical to our faith.  Something comes out of our moth and then we have faith.  See Hebrews 11:3 above.

God continues and communicates.

Genesis 2:15-18 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

God is still talking, commanding Adam.

God spoke a companion into existence for Adam. Wives are complementary components. The women make up what the men lack, and vice versa. If a guy is quiet, a woman will be loud.  God provides us with a companion to help us make up what we lack.

When God creates, He creates the environment first, and then puts His creation in the environment.

He made the firmament, then put in the stars.  He made the Garden, then put in Adam and Eve. 

He creates the environment so that His creation can survive and grow.

God then gives permission (which comes with benefits) and He gives prohibition (which comes with consequences for disobedience).

If you obey you get benefits, if you disobey you face consequences.

At this point God and Adam were communicating perfectly, there was no miscommunication, but then another voice enters the picture.

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

Who is the serpent? satan.   He questions God’s Word –  Has God said?  The serpent will disrupt the information that God gave Adam

Pastor Scales said that when you have a KNOWLEDGE BASE you have an OPERATION BASE and PREDICTABLE RESULTS

If there is a change in the knowledge base, there will be a change in the operation base and the results will change, not be predictable.

Communication transfers ideals, knowledge, wisdom.  Whatever God says will come to pas. Truth is a person and His Name is Jesus. Wisdom is the application of truth.  When we understand a truth, we so comprehend it that we can repeat the same result at will (consistent, predictable results).

If you are not getting consistent results, there is something that you are not understanding.

If you maintain your knowledge base, you have an operation base and predictable results. If you change your knowledge base, you change your operating base and the results are not predictable.

When the serpent spoke to Adam, it changed Adam’s operating base and the results changed.

The Last Adam (Jesus) came and restored the Knowledge Base, and restored the Operating base and the predictable results.  That’s what we call redemption.

Miscommunication is not communicating clearly.  We can communicate verbally, non-verbally, and written. God tells us to keep our communication simple.

KISS – Keep it simple sister,  Keep it simple son.

Matthew 5:33-37 Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’  But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;  nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Communication is critical for operations and results. Jesus tells us to speak clearly – your yes is yes, your no is no. If you say you are going to do something, do it. People put faith to your words, so don’t promise something and not do it.

In the old days your word meant something and deals were made with handshakes.  Your word was your bond. In church or in business you need to mean what you say and keep your word. 

We then turned to the book of Ecclesiastes which Pastor Scales said was an old man’s wisdom – and Solomon gained some wisdom, for he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  Pastor Scales had us laughing when he mentioned, imagine the thousand pairs of pantyhose hanging in the shower.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few. 

Be careful what you say with your mouth.  But what is in your heart determines what comes out of your mouth. To change your mouth, you need to change your heart.  KISS – Keep it simple sister – Keep it simple son.

Ecclesiastes 5:3 For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words. 

Not every dream is spiritual.  The enemy can also plant dreams. There is sin in a multitude of words, the more words, sin becomes inevitable.  Pastor Scales spoke about calling someone on the phone to get information.  After the information is received, then the conversation tends to deteriorate to a more base level.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 

Pay your vows to God. Don’t promise to God what you don’t plan to do.

Ecclesiastes 5:6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that itwas an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 

Pastor Scales said that on the street he used to say – don’t let your mouth get your rear-end in trouble. You can’t stay stuff to people and then say, “I was just kidding.” or “Psych.” Let your words be few.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.

Fear (reverence) God. 

Miscommunication came into the Garden and changed the Knowledge Base, changing the Operation base, and the Predictable Outcome.

The world we know today is not the world that God created, misinformation changed the outcome God planned.

There is a difference between talking and lecturing. We are to talk to people, not lecture them.

Ephesians 4:29 NKJV Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29 KJV Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29 New Living Trans. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Ephesians 4:29 AMP Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.

Keep your communication simple. We want to be aware of what our words will do to the person receiving them. We want our words to give grace to the hearer.  Our words want to be beneficial to the person receiving them, and fitting for the occasion.

What would happen in church, in our homes, in our business if we applied our words carefully?  If we spoke with grace, compassion, and only spoke words that were of benefit to a person’s spiritual progress.

When we speak we need to ask ourselves if what we are saying will help a person’s spiritual progress.

There are some things that we can say that don’t need to be said. For example, if we burn the eggs, we don’t need to be told we burned them.  If someone is usually on time and one time they are late, they don’t need to be told they are late, they already know it.

Avoid NAGGING – which is saying the right thing at the wrong time.  Pastor Scales told us that when he wants to be intimate with his wife, that is not the time for her to mention her need for new pots.

We need to watch our timing.

Keep your communication simple and wholesome.

LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

The lowest level of communication is CLICHE – that is when you talk but are not really saying anything.  For example – How are you doing?  Fine.  How are you?  Blessed and highly favored?  The answers are not really listened to or thought out.

We want to avoid Christianeze – which is saying words to people who don’t understand their meaning.  Pastor Scales told us that he went up to one guy when he was in ministry school and asked the person, “Are you saved?”  The person thought he said shaved, and when it was said saved, he thought maybe at a bank.

The next level of communication is REPORTING THE FACTS – we do that when we talk about the weather, current events, and facts that everyone knows.

Then comes COMMUNICATE AND TRANSMIT OPINIONS ABOUT SOMETHING – How do you feel about something.  This level becomes more revealing for people are careful when they share their opinions. We are aware that people have different opinions about things, so we might be expressing an opposite opinion.

JUDGMENTS – what is our conviction about that.

We begin to get more personal when we SHARE OUR WEAKNESSES – We don’t share our weaknesses with everybody. We might speak about them to a peer, r an elder.  We can be TRANSPARENT with lots of folks, but not share our VULNERABILITY with everyone because they can exploit it.

We can share our FEARS – what we dread, what scares us,

The deepest level is when we share our FAULTS and SINS

Faults are momentary lapses, sin can be habitual. Confessing is therapeutic.  We are told in the Scriptures to confess our sins one to another. Confession can be healing.

We don’t deal with every person on the same level of communication.

Pastor Scales said that, when he teaches new pastors, he tells them that the sheep need to be fed.  If you are hurting don’t bleed on the sheep, feed the sheep.  If you are bleeding take it to the Lord.  Bleed up.  Speak with elders, older pastors, Apostles, and especially the Lord.

NEGATIVE COMMUNICATION

Lies
Deception – leaving stuff out to put a better spin on things
Negative words
Belittling
Backbiting
Fault finding

Don’t list people’s faults.  Don’t tell people you always do ______.  No one is good enough or consistent enough to ALWAYS do things that are negative.

When you speak consider what the Spirit of God wants you to say and you can avoid negative communication.

Lecturing instead of talking.

Don’t say “Thus says the Lord” or “The Holy Spirit told me…” unless you have really heard from the Lord.  Many people who do not have a coherent argument fall back on that, but we do not want to pretend that we have heard from the Lord when we haven’t.

COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

YOUR WORDS:  

Psalm 19:14   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. 

Select the right words to say at the right time.  Remember, what we say comes from our heart. Say words that edify, not tear down.

YOUR GESTURES:

What you do with your hands, your head, your neck, eyes, squaring off for a fight, reaching out in friendship.  Your gestures speak as much as your words.

YOUR SPIRIT

What is in your spirit will be expressed.

YOUR TONGUE 

it can speak loud – if you shout “I love you” it may have a different connotation that a gentle comment.

Your tongue can strike down others and inflict hurt.

CONTENT

Content is crucial, what are you trying to say.  Get to the point.  Do not start at Genesis 1:1, the beginning of creation.  Keep your words short.

LENGTH OF CONVERSATION

Pastor Don Moore speaks of preparing a two minute testimony, a five minute testimony.  People are time sensitive. Sometimes it is more effective to drop words in little bits.

Remember if you have a true KNOWLEDGE BASE you have an OPERATION BASE and PREDICTABLE RESULTS

If you have a false knowledge base, you have a false operation base and your results are not predictable.

What God says is true.  We want to speak from a heart that loves the Lord.  If our heart is right, our mouth changes.  

What we say impacts others.

I hope this teaching blesses you as much as it blessed me.

Have a wonderful day.

Heather

Bible study taught 6/3/11 by Pastor Don Moore

A pastor’s job is to manipulate you toward your appointed destination in time, to find people who know they are called and make the choice.  We want to get to the place where we are closer to what God wants us to do with our life.

Acts 9:1-4  Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest  and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.  Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 

The early church was called – The Way. Saul set out to persecute the Church and the saints.

Acts 9:5   And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”  Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 

The pricks, the briers, an ox goad had a point that, if you kicked against it would end up hurting you.

Acts 9:6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The first step of being called is to receive the call. The first step is to shut up, sit down, and wait for instructions.  We are an asset if we are obedient and cooperative. We are a liability if we are fleshy and doing our own thing, for that embarrasses God.

False teachers will be exposed and people who follow a false teacher lack discernment. Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats.  The goats are those who let their flesh dominate the Word of God, instead of obeying God’s teaching as an obedient sheep.  We can know the Word and begin to identify the false teachings.  Sometimes when God gives us an instruction we don’t initially see God’s purpose. Never judge too quickly.  The Word will help us to discern the truth from the lies. When we admit we are wrong, we show humility.  Pride comes before a fall.  

Many are called, but few are chosen. God throws a call out widely to be fair, but not all will obey and follow God, their pride gets in the way. We want to see what to do, but we can be easily distracted. We need to change our values scale and make a decision not to be distracted. To be chosen we need to be obedient, or we will not be chosen.

Acts 9:7-9  And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Saul lost his vision, his eyesight. He had to be humble and be led, to get in position to receive the call.  The Word does not say that ALL are called.  Only our position places is where we can receive the call.  The Lord can call us and leave us on the backside of the desert for forty years.  The Prince of Egypt (Moses) tended sheep.  The Egyptians hated sheep, so that was a major humbling job for Moses.

When the Lord calls, he has to get our attention. The first test you get is:  Will you wait for instructions?  This is where many people fail. While they are waiting for instructions they begin to complain, are disappointed, etc.  We need to wait in hope.  God will never send a depressed person to win the lost. The lost need to see the blessing of the Lord in their lives. God put the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years because they murmured.

We need an attitude of gratitude if God wants to use us for signs and wonders. Our flesh can limit our capability and makes it hard for God to use us.

God brings us to the place where we could be. We need to learn not to complain.  Until we control our tongue we wait, it could be thirty days, sixty days or thirty years until we get control of our mouth. 

When Moses received the call he killed an Egyptian, not what God would have ordered, and he had to go to the wilderness.  God wanted to lead people out of bondage.  

So we don’t make a wrong choice, when God calls, shut up and wait for instructions.  

Ask yourself, is God able to support what He has ordained?  Of course He is. If a church or a ministry fails God is not in it.  

Pastor Abraham (from India) said something sad to Pastor Don.  He said that he is amazed at how much Americans can get done without praying. Pastor Abraham will pray for days, get directions from the Lord, and do far more by waiting than acting without God’s instructions.

Ruth Heflin said that the Western way of doing church is without God.

Paul was called of the Lord, but he didn’t wait for instructions.  He assumed God wanted him to kill the believers. 

If you don’t wait for God’s instructions, the work he has for you to do may take a long time to come to pass, so our best bet is to be yielded.

Acts 9:10-12 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” 
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”  So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.  And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” 

Paul had to sit and wait until God tells him who will mentor him. God chooses mentors to instruct us. God has great blessings prepared for us. The waiting is worth it for the wonder and joy we will receive when the pieces fall into place.

David spent seventeen years waiting and running from King Saul until God could prepare the hearts of the people to receive David as their king. When Saul was selected, he was everything the people thought a king should be.  He looked like what they thought a king should look.  David was short and ruddy, and did not know courtly ways.  He received Saul’s daughter for a wife.  But she felt was still caught in courtly ways and mocked his worship before the ark as undignified. She ended up living a barren life for she was not willing to humble herself, but David was a man after God’s own heart.

God does not forget us, even if we are waiting for instructions for a long time.  We need to trust that God is putting things into position for us to step into our destiny. If we make a mistake and get off the path, God will bring us back to a place where we are supposed to be.  God wants us to achieve His best for us.

When it comes to matters of the heart, we find it hard to learn from God.  We live with the burden of an inner child that needs to be stoned to death.  Our flesh is not able to hear from God.  The devil is also able to show us signs and wonders.  We can be fooled and lose our path. If we find that we have strayed, we need to be like King David.  When David messed up, he repented and turned back to God. 

Lord, if you want to use me, fix this mess.  Show me how to change so that I can do your will.  

When God calls, stir up the giftings within us, sit down and wait for instructions. Paul waited for his mentor to come. The more talented and gifted you are, the longer you have to sit down.

Acts 9:13   Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 

As a disciple of God, Ananias has the right to ask God questions. when instructions are given, to make sure he understands, but then he has to obey God’s instructions.

Acts 9:14-16 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”  But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.  For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 

God is fair.  If Ananias was in the flesh, he would not have heard and obeyed God. The flesh shuts us down. We can have great vision, but not see what is around the corner. We need to keep walking and obeying God until God shows us what is around the corner.  The flesh can confuse us, for it cannot see God’s plans. We need to listen to God, not the flesh, and be in prayer, waiting on God. We can check to see if it is of God, for it will agree with the Word of God. If our heart’s desire contradicts the Word, it is not of God.

If we say, “No, but…” to God, we can remain in our mess for twenty years. It is important to stay put until God gives us instructions, and then follow them.  Stay away from distractions.

 I hope this teaching blesses you.

Heather