Whoever does not persevere and carry his own cross and come after (follow) Me cannot be My disciple.”
*2 Timothy 2:12-26 “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny and disown and reject Him, He will also deny and disown and reject us.
If we are faithless (do not believe and are untrue to Him), He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself.
Remind (the people) of these facts and (solemnly) charge them in the presence of the Lord to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good but upsets and undermines the faith of the hearers. Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of God.
But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more ungodliness.
…But the firm foundation of (laid by) God stands, sure and unshaken, bearing this seal (inscription): The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names (himself by) the name of the Lord give up all iniquities and stand aloof from it.
…So whoever cleanses himself (from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences) will (then himself) be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work.
Shun youthful lusts and flee from them, and aim at and pursue righteousness (all that is virtuous and good, right living, conformity to the will of God in thought, word, and deed); (and aim at and pursue) faith, love, (and) peace (harmony and concord with others) in fellowship with all … who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.
But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill-informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels. And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered (preserving the bond of peace); he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.
He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth (that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it). And that they may come to their senses (and) escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, (henceforth) to do His (God’s) will.”
*Romans 3:4 “…Let God be found true though every human being is false and a liar…”
*Jeremiah 14:7”O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us…, deal and work with us for Your own sake (that the heathen may witness Your might and faithfulness)! For our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You.”
+ Sin – to miss the mark or purpose (Proverbs 19:2)
+ Transgression – to break God’s commands (Deut.28,
Psalm 51 ; James 2:10-12)
+ Iniquity – unrighteousness, bloodline curses, no relationship
with God, no upright standing with Him
(Jeremiah 5:25 ; Romans 4:7 ; Deut. 5:9 ; Ezekiel 4:17)
*Ezekiel 6:7-10 “And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord. Yet I will leave some of you alive.
…Then those of you who escape shall (earnestly) remember Me among the nations to which they shall be carried captive, how I have been broken by their lewdness and have Myself broken their wanton heart…”
Even though the Father spoke about Israel, His wife, let us know that He is not unaffected by our behavior. We must become the bride of Christ and return from our tone of distrust in God’s faithfulness (Jeremiah 15:19) and worship Him alone, separating the precious from the vile to dedicate it all to Him. He is not mocked at our mere pretensions or professions, what we sow, we will reap. Let us continue to seek Them and not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right. We will reap from the Father what is in His heart for each one of us uniquely if we keep courage and wait upon Him (Galatians 6:7-9 ;
Isaiah 64:1-4 ; Isaiah 40:31). Can we more concerned about God’s heart, than our own or those of others? Become His friends?
*Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it (perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind?”
Proverbs 3:5-7 “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn (entirely) away from evil.”
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flows the springs of life.”
(John 7:38)
*Matthew 6:33 “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His
Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” (Romans 14:17)
1 Cor. 4:20 “For the kingdom of God consists of and is based on not talk but power (moral power and excellence of soul).”
Isaiah 55:6-9 “Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found (claiming Him by necessity and by right): call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let them return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon…For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
We live in a mind-controlled world, do we take our thoughts captive into the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-7)? Do we desire to not only know God’s acts like the Israelites, but His Ways (Psalm 103:7)? Do we choose the vindication of righteousness even if weapons are formed against us, for He said they will not prevail (Isaiah 54:14-17)? Is it more important to us to live in an intimate relationship with the Tri-Une Godhead, than to be known here on the earth – rather be known by Them and in the heavenly realms? We choose…
Those who call unto Him, will be shown great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, the secrets (Jeremiah 33:3). Their prophetic utterances will create new and hidden things (Isaiah 48:6,7). Do we desire to prophecy unto God in the unseen realms, or are we like Thomas who need to see in the visible realms? May we yield to the Holy Spirit to enable us live now already in our spirits in Their Presence in infinite realms…of eternities within, God’s kingdom within (Eccl.3:11).
It is the soul that hinders us, so let us willingly lay down the “self” to be annihilated, for all human latent power to be broken (Hebrew 4:12), as the Word of God as the Sword of Truth clearly reveals to us that the spirit (born-again) alone, can experience Christ. All things were made and came into existence through Him. God does not exist, He is Existence Himself!
(John 1 ; John 5:26)
*If the “Rock” is then within us (revelations of God the Father of Who Christ is: Matthew 16:16-18) – what do we yield to the Holy Spirit from ourselves to lay Christ as the Foundation within and build our lives (houses) on Him as the Rock (Matthew 7:24), that the Holy Spirit as the Dove will desire to dwell within us?
(1 Cor.6:17,19)
Can we handle it when Christ the Rock within becomes a stumbling block to some people we meet, yet a Rock to lean on for others, pouring oil forth to them? (Romans 9:32,33 ;
1 Cor.10:4 ; Job 29:6) Do we have the mind of Christ? (1 Cor.2:16)
*1 Cor.3:6-23 “…let each (man) be careful how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is (already) laid, which is Jesus Christ (the Messiah, The Anointed One).
But if anyone builds upon the Foundation, whether it be with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
The work of each (one) will become (plainly, openly) known (shown for what it is); for the day (of Christ) will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done…”
*Job 23:10 “But He knows the way I take (He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it). When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold (pure and luminous).”
May we have the courage to lay our lives (the “self”) down for our ultimate Friends – the Tri-Une Godhead, that They may change us and transform us into the likeness of Christ, to live in higher dimensions and realms as the first Adam, for we can be transformed from one degree of glory into another eternally as new creations and live in more incredible authority because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us!!!
Let us not become faint-hearted when God deals with us, He promised: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering (dimly burning) wick He will not quench, till He brings justice and a just cause to victory. And in and on His name will the Gentiles (the peoples outside of Israel) set their hopes.” (Matthew 12:20)
Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for the Antichrist will soon set up His temple of abominations there and God promised we would prosper if we pray for this holy city to which Christ will also soon return! (Psalm122:6)
As much as God’s Word will bring division between the soul and spirit, so that we may know the difference between personality (soul) and character (spirit) – Hebrew 4:12; He also said that a house divided in itself won’t stand (Matthew 12:25), promising us reconciliation within ourselves in the Resurrection and Ascension Glory of Christ, once “self” is dealt with enough, that we will live from the spirit!
*Luke 6:26 “Woe to (alas for) you when everyone speaks fairly and handsomely of you and praises you, for even so their forefathers did to the false prophets.”
May we break with all people-pleasing, compromising, false prophecies and not even dare to say “God says”, for we have all sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. (Romans 22,23)
We are not here to receive praise from men, but to give God the Glory as we continue to love, obey, fear and worship Him alone! Even Jesus had to grow in wisdom and favor with God and men
(Luke 1:80 ; Luke 2:52 ; John 5:44).
*Philippians 2:2-16 In the Name of Jesus Christ every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, to the Glory of the Father God!!! JESUS CHRIST IS GOD!!!
*Philippians 1:21 Can we say : “For me to live is Christ (His life in me), and to die is gain (the gain of the glory of eternity).” ?
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us! For (even the whole) creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs for God’s sons to be made known (waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship).” (ROMANS 8:18,19-39)
CREATION CALLS CHRIST!
*John17:21-26 Jesus prayed and asked His Father: “That they may be one , (just) as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.
…O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has failed to recognize You and has never acknowledged You, I have known You (continually)…I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make (You) known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them (felt in their hearts) and that I (Myself) may be in them.”
May we restore God’s Glory in this network ; The Father God is Sovereign and His Perfect Will alone be done – Jesus decides if and when you can meet Him (Luke 10:22 ; Romans 12:2) ; Jesus Christ is God and the only Savior and Way back to the Father (John 14:6 ; Romans 10:9,10 ; John 3:3-6) ; the Holy Spirit convinces and leads, we are only an influence (Acts 17:27, 28).
We will preach Jesus Christ! (2 Cor. 4:5,6 ; 1 Cor. 1:23-31)
*Job 28:28 “…Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord – that is Wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”
We will only fulfill the deep desire in the heart of our Beloved Jesus Christ if we FEAR GOD, for only then will we become ONE and live in Wisdom (1 Samuel 11:7). The Bride prepares herself…
(Revelation 19:7) Are you preparing yourself?
*1 Cor. 2:1-16 May our language and messages not be set forth in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and His power (Zechariah 4:6 ; Isaiah 59:19), allowing Him to raise up the Standard, when the enemy comes. In our weaknesses, He will be strong (2 Cor.12:910). Only through the Holy Spirit can we say “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor. 12:3). May we not grieve, quench or ever blaspheme Him (Matthew 12:31,32).
*Job 23:10 When we have been tried as through fire, may we be as pure and luminous gold (divine). (Hebrew 10:31 ; Jeremiah 18)
*Hebrew 12 Let us then strip off and cast away anything or anyone who hinder us from running this race until we see His Face (1 John 3:2,3 ; Matthew 5). Let us allow the Lord to be Sovereign in His dealings with us for the Eternity set before us as we follow Jesus Christ as our Norm. We need to be disciplined in order to really LIVE from our hearts!!! “For our God (is indeed) a consuming fire.”
*1 Thess.5:11 “Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another…”
*2 Cor.13:10 “…of the authority the Lord has given me (to be employed, however) for building (you) up and not for tearing (you) down.”
*Colossians 3 Let us set our minds on the things above (Phil.3 and 4), that we may find our real lives as hidden in Christ. We must clothe ourselves as God’s chosen ones (many are called, but few are chosen : Matthew 20:16), that our behavior will be marked by LOVE (1 Cor.13 ; 1 John 4:8-19 : for GOD IS LOVE), by tenderhearted pity, mercy, kind feeling, lowly opinion of ourselves, gentle ways, patience, power to endure, peace (soul harmony in Christ) and fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
*1 Cor.10:8-14,24 Let us not gratify the longings of the flesh
(1 John 2:16) or tempt the Lord by trying His patience in becoming a trial to Him, or exploiting Him. May we never think we can stay standing, but take heed not to fall. We must only carry the yoke of HUMILITY and MEEKNESS (Matthew 11:27-30).
Let us go and make disciples (28:18-20), not spend this temporary time on the earth to build our own kingdoms!!!!
*2 Cor.10:3-6 ; Ephesians 6 The weapons of our warfare are not physical, but they should be mighty before God to overthrow and destroy strongholds. Break free from mind-control and man-made systems and live in obedience to God (Acts 5:29). Thoughts must be made obedient to Christ, and LOVE – INTIMACY with the Tri-Une Godhead will be our Place of Immunity!
*Matthew 10:1-42 All who desire to live godly, will meet with persecution – we are send like sheep in the midst of wolves, let us be wary and wise as serpents, and be innocent as doves (harmless, guileless, without falsity) and on guard not to be misled or to cool down in our love for our coming Bridegroom- Jesus Christ (Matthew 24).
“Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Therefore, everyone who acknowledges Me before men and confesses Me (out of a state of oneness with Me), I will also acknowledge him before My Father Who is in heaven and confess (that I am abiding in) him.
… Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Luke 12:49)
People will be divided because of choices concerning Jesus Christ! Some will be cold or lukewarm and others warm – perfect in their heart’s decision to be “sold-out” to Him alone
(Revelation 3:16).
*Romans 3:4,23 “…Let God be found true though every human being is false and a liar…
Since we have all sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives!”
*Isaiah 40:25 “…to whom then will you liken Me, that I should be equal to him, says the Holy One.”
The eyes of God are too pure to behold sin, He looks at us through the Blood (Life- Deut.12:23) of His only Begotten Son and God- Jesus Christ! (Habakuk 1:13)
CHRIST WILL RETURN VERY SOON!
Let us not be found without knowledge (Hosea 4:6)!
Or revelations!!! (I Kings 8:26)
*Habakuk 2:3,14,20 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end…But (the time is coming when) the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
…the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth hush and keep silence before Him.”
Nahum 1:3 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will by no means clear the guilty. The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.”