Abiding

“Be ye Holy; for I am Holy”: Eternal Security Exposed [podcast]

Paula White Exposed [video]

THAT’s My King! Pastor Lockridge [video]

Powerful Prayers from Children-This Will Shake You [video]

The Fear of the LORD is to Hate Evil: Pride, and Arrogancy #shorts [video]

FlashPoint

God requires your personal participation. Otherwise there is no relationship.

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

What is holiness? Holiness is being born again and presently set apart to the LORD, the very “first love” of your life – otherwise repentance is essential (Ezekiel 33:12-13; Luke 13:3; Revelation 2:4-5; 1 John 1:7-9, etc.).

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

“HOLINESS IS NOT THE WAY TO JESUS. JESUS IS THE WAY TO HOLINESS.” ANONYMOUS

“When the saint ceases to seek after holiness, purity, righteousness, truth; when he ceases to pray, stops reading the Word and gives way to carnal appetites, then it is that Satan comes.” unknown

Beware of the false teachings, the false teachers who do not preach the cross, the blood, the absolute necessity of the crucified life, enduring to the end, the holiness of God and His requirement that you be holy in order to be ready to meet Him at His soon coming.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17-18

As is the case in this message, the remnant body of Christ will absolutely obey the mandate of our LORD to mark, to expose the heresies and those who peddle them.

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness (license to sin), and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude 3-4

OSAS is simply a lie of Satan, told by his human emissaries, to cause saved people to disregard the things God says in His Word concerning the essential requirement for them to endure to the end, of keeping all sin out of our lives, of truly fearing God, of worshipping Him with our whole spirit, soul, and body.

“Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.” Ezekiel 33:12-13

Concerning this passage above, one believer wrote the following:

“What a rebuke to those who think that a man once born again will be saved regardless of what he does (see Righteousness Defined). It is plainly written here that “the righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression.” There can be no misunderstanding of such a simple statement. It is clear that a righteous man cannot continue to be righteous when he sins; and his past experience in God, grace, the new birth, and obedience cannot and will not save his soul if or when he sins. The fact is emphasized by being stated another way: “neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.” Again, the truth is declared that if righteous man trusts in his righteousness to save him, should he go back into sin, the fact is that all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; “but for his iniquity that he committed, he shall die for it” (Eze_33:13). Still again, in Eze_33:18 it is stated that “when the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.” Thus four times here God plainly says that a backslider will not continue to be saved when he goes back into sin again, all statements being uttered by Him to the prophet in answer to the question in Eze_33:10, “If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?”

A 14-fold Answer to This Question:

1.    God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked—either a wicked man who has not repented or one who has repented, lived for Him for a time, and then gone back into sin (Eze_33:11-19).
2.    The wicked must turn from his wickedness to live (Eze_33:11).
3.    The wicked man is invited and commanded to turn from his wickedness or he will die in his sins and be lost.
4.    The righteousness of the righteous shall not even deliver such a man if he returns to sin (Eze_33:12).
5.    In the day that a righteous man goes back into sin he will incur the penalty of the broken law, and be separated from God as all other sinners are (Eze_33:12-13).
6.    Past righteousness will not save a righteous man when he transgresses and becomes a sinner again (Eze_33:12-19).
7.    The wickedness of the wicked will not damn his soul if and when he repents and turns from his wickedness to serve God and live in righteousness (Eze_33:13-19).
8.    God shows no partiality. He will not save the wicked until he repents and turns from sin to live right; and He will not continue to save the righteous man if he turns from his righteousness and lives in sin (Eze_33:12-19).
9.    All the righteousness of the righteous will not be remembered to cause God to excuse him in the day that he sins; for his iniquity that he commits he will die (Eze_33:13).
10.    When God says to the righteous that he will surely live if he continues in righteousness or die if he goes back into sin, that is what is meant.
11.    When God says to the wicked that he will die, and he turns from his sins to do that which is lawful and right, then he will live and that is what is meant (Eze_33:14-15).
12.    All the sins of the wicked will not be remembered and mentioned to him to damn his soul when he turns from them to do that which is lawful and right; he will surely live (Eze_33:16).
13.    When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will even die thereby (Eze_33:18).
14.    When the wicked turns from his wickedness to do that which is lawful and right, he will live thereby (Eze_33:19).”

As you die so shall you be, eternally.

“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11

“This states the fact that as a man dies he will be forever, so there will be no second chance to improve the life and character of any lost one in all eternity (cp. Heb_9:27).”

IF those living in sin weren’t in danger of eternal hell fire, WHY O WHY would the Son of God have spoken the following words?

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into THE FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED: 44 Where THEIR WORM (consciousness) DIETH NOT, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into THE FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED: 46 Where THEIR WORM (conscious feelings) DIETH NOT, and THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, and THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. 49 For every one shall be salted with fire (preserved in suffering), and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.” Mark 9:43-49

The divine threat of being “CUT OFF”

“Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Romans 11:20-22

Jesus came to save us from our sins not to give us an excuse for them or to arbitrarily cover them (Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; Titus 2:11-14, etc.). We are saved by grace and from sin as we abide in Christ – on His stated terms, the cross (Romans 6).

Here below is my reply to a lady who chided me for not agreeing with her OSAS/eternal security tirade – that is, her peddling this lie and deceiving others by doing so. She claimed I wasn’t rightly dividing the Word of truth.

REPLY:

It’s convenient to throw out the “you’re not rightly dividing the Word” Scripture to cover for your own agenda…. especially when you’ve never launched an honest, full scale study of God’s Word for yourself, following His truth no matter where it leads. No person in History has ever been saved, began immediately studying God’s Word for themselves with no man’s input, and come out with the idea that they are “once saved always saved” or “eternally secure”… cliche’s that appear nowhere in God’s Word. The same satan who animated and spoke through the snake in the Garden to mislead mankind, is doing the same today through snake pastors who pass on this doctrine of devils and cause men to “depart from the faith.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

Please tell us what happened the last time sin was found in Heaven.

Then, tell us all what Satan’s very first lie was to mankind (Genesis 2:17; 3:4). Then tell us the result (Rom 6:23). “Death” always means separation.

The wages of sin is still “death.” (Romans 6:23)

Then please tell us how that God somehow changed His definition of sin … after He sent Jesus. “I am the LORD, I change not.” (Malachi 3:6, etc.)

After that, tell us how the LORD Almighty is no longer “Holy, holy, holy” and somehow will now accept into His holy presence those who die in rebellion against Him (Ps 5:4; Heb. 1:13; Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Rev 4:8; 21:8, etc.).

Eternal security is the promise Satan gave to the man and the woman in the Garden of Eden. So how could it not be a doctrine of devil’s???

“unite my heart to fear thy name.”

This may be the most important prayer you ever pray!!!

“Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.” Psalms 86:11

Heavenly Father, arrest our hearts today with Thy holy fear. Quicken Your conviction in our innermost being to love, to worship, to fear, and to obey You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen LORD.

Being saved by grace doesn’t mean we have license to living in sin and God’s Word addresses this much. Romans 6:1-2, 15; Titus 2:11-12… Jude even warns us of the OSAS grace perverters who teach another gospel, a false gospel grace-perverting gospel that gives license to sin (Jude 3-4).

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2

Let’s look at what real divine grace looks like in the life of every individual who truly has it – as opposed to those who falsely claim to have it while using it as a license to live in sin.

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:11-14

Have you noticed that the false OSAS preachers NEVER show their prey that passage above? And, notice that readiness, holiness at His coming are inseparabe. Those who are truly saved by His grace are “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts” in light of “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” If that’s not what your life looks like, you are in utter need of repentance. And, the reason you’ve been sold on a false grace message is because of your own lack of truly repenting and laying down your life in this fleeting world, denying self, taking up the cross, and following Jesus for real (Luke 9:23-24; 14:33; 17:33; 19:27).

“EVERY man” who is ready for the return of Christ or to meet him in death, is doing what?

“And EVERY man that hath this hope in him PURIFIETH HIMSELF, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3

False leaders today also hide this one below from the dupes who refuse to read God’s Word thoroughly and honestly for themselves:

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Hebrews 12:14

There are a whole lot of personal pronouns used by the osas clan. Their “salvation” seems to be all about them and not God who is “Holy, holy, holy” and will no co-exist with sin (Psalms 5:4; Habakkuk 1:13; Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8; 1 Peter 1:15-16, etc.). They have created a false god in their own unrepentant imagination, a god who allows them to live as they wish and still promises them eternal glory. False. The last time sin was found in Heaven God ejected it and the sinner – lucifer. So what makes us falsely believe we are going to God’s holy Heaven with sin in our lives?

Have you studied Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins? All 10 were engaged to the Bridegroom, Jesus. Yet only 5 were welcomed into His bridal chamber. The other 5 were rejected after being engaged to Christ (Matthew 25:1-13).

What was the very first lie satan told? Who did he tell it to? Did they take the bait? If so, did they then fall – were they separated from God? Yes. Genesis 2:17; 3:4.

This message below blows the lid off the false grace message of the modern church:

******IF YOU STILL believe the heretical myth of “once saved always saved,” (OSAS) or “perseverance of the saints,” it is certainly not because you learned such a fairy tale in God’s Word. Also, those who believe this doctrine of devils, stand to be weakened and lose out in the end due to the robbing effect such a lie has on the hearts of men whose hearts are vanquished of the fear of the LORD for believing such a myth.

According to the New Testament record, authentic saving faith is NOT un-forfeitable, but rather can be:

“Cast off” – 1 Timothy 5:11-12
“Put away” and “Made shipwreck” of – 1 Timothy 1:19
“Denied” – Revelation 2:13
“Denied” – 1 Timothy 5:8
Departed from – 1 Timothy 4:1
Failed – Luke 22:32
Overthrown – 2 Timothy 2:18
“Erred from” – 1 Timothy 6:10
“Erred” from – 1 Timothy 6:21
Fallen Away from: One can “fall away” from his believing/saving faith and be lost “again” – Luke 8:13; 15

OSAS death nail …. just how dishonest can you be to ignore this? “IF we deny him, HE ALSO WILL DENY US.” 2 Tim. 2:12

Speaking TO HIS OWN people, the LORD says “IF we deny him, HE ALSO WILL DENY US.” 2 Timothy 2:12

Was the apostle Paul lying to us? Speaking TO HIS OWN people, the LORD says “IF we deny him, HE ALSO WILL DENY US.” (2 Timothy 2:12)

Repeatedly we see that many OSAS people simply do not wish to abide in an obedient relationship with the Savior they claim is their LORD, on HIS stated (Bible) terms. “Depart from me” is what they will hear if they do not repent (Matthew 7:21; 25:41).

Loving and being faithful to Jesus is not works salvation. It’s called a relationship, something the OSAS rebels simply do not want – because they love darkness rather than light, they love this world and their sin more than Christ (John 3:19-21; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15, etc.). So, they misuse Holy Scripture to justify their sinful rebellion against the LORD.

Those who are truly saved by grace are His workmanship CREATED in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Yet some are fully allergic to personal responsibility and seek to treat Christ as a whoremonger would use a woman for his own self-serving gratification when he feels like it and ignore her until he wants to use her again.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15

“Ye are my friends, IFFF ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:14

“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4

“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16

Since when is obeying the One you love – IF you in fact love Him – legalism or works salvation? Sounds like a love problem going on….a “first love” problem where people serve the god of self and vainly believe they are going to use Jesus to get them out of hell and into Heaven. Scripture assures us that Jesus sees it all and each of us shall reap what we sow and so we are not be deceived by false teaching like OSAS (Galatians 6:7-8).

Sir, if you are not faithful to your wife, if you commit adultery against her, she has the God-given right to divorce you …. Just as the Bridegroom divorced 5 of the 10 virgins He was espoused to. He shut them out of the eternal bridal chamber (Matthew 25:1-13).

So you are saying that JESUS CHRIST, the Great Bridegroom of Heaven, is going to bring into glory an unfaithful bride, a blemished, a sinful whorish bride to be married to Him eternally? If so, you don’t know Him! Read Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins, all of which were espoused (engaged) to be married to the Bridegroom (Jesus) but only 5 of them made it into the bridal chamber. The other 5 were shut out. Read Matthew 25:1-3.

“OSAS (eternal security) creates believers who emphasize faith in Jesus while dismissing obedience to His commandments as self righteousness, trying to earn salvation, trusting in your own works etc.” Teddy Caldwell

Is Your Wife a Legalist for Wanting You to Love and be Faithful to Her? [podcast]
Is a wife asking too much if she desires and requires her husband to be faithful to her in their marriage for the rest of their lives?

Some say that JESUS CHRIST, the Great Bridegroom of Heaven, is going to bring into glory an unfaithful bride, a blemished, a sinful whorish bride to be married to Him eternally. If so, you don’t know Him!

Is a wife asking too much if she desires and requires her husband to be faithful to her in their marriage for the rest of their lives?

Is Your Wife a Legalist for Wanting You to Love and be Faithful to Her? [podcast]

Does Sin Defile a Saved Person? [podcast]

Can You Forfeit Salvation by Living in Sin? [podcast]

Grace vs Holiness [podcast]

ARE THE BELIEVER’S PRESENT AND FUTURE SINS AUTOMATICALLY FORGIVEN? [podcast]

Is YOUR Work Finished just Because Jesus’ Work is Finished?

The Truth about Holiness [podcast]

Abiding

“A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey” [podcast]

DADDY’S IN THE HOUSE!

There will not be even one rebel in glory …. The LORD loves and calls you to Himself today….. to settle down humbly in true repentance …. asking God to forgive your sinful stubbornness, rebellion, and self-idolatry, self-adultery. Ask Him to give you a heart of flesh and to take away every trace of a stony heart in you (Ezekiel 36:24-26).

If you had a real dad growing up, you know HE was large and in charge in his house…. and so is God!

He’s Large and in Charge!

He’s Daddy, “Abba Father”! (Romans 8:15).

He’s Your Father – yet only if you endure His chastening! (Hebrews 12:5-12)

“A land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8) is a biblical phrase that describes a place of great abundance and prosperity, symbolizing the fulfillment of God’s promises and the richness of the Promised Land. It emphasizes a land that is fertile, nourishing, and provides an abundance of sustenance, with milk and honey serving as symbolic representations of this richness.”

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba (Daddy), Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8:15-17

Growing up in daddy’s house, you did things his way, right? Not your way but his way…. he was the man of the house, not you. You abode under his provision and his care and love for you, as your daddy, right? Well, that’s how it is with God. He loves you beyond measure and yet you must simply humble yourself and do things His way. When you do, the blessings will flow, will overwhelm you, will consume you, will flood your life! BAM. Memorize Matthew 6:33 today.

Let’s get something straight …

NO DOUBT: There’s no doubt that God wants to bless your life! Yet, you must do it His way beloved. He wants to bless you and yet, you must ask yourself if you really want Him. Are you truly hungering and thirsting for more of Jesus, more of His righteousness?

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

The Old Testament summed up: In dealing with His people, His transactions, our LORD’s business concerned their salvation and restoration – promised land blessings! Read Numbers 13-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. And, we are now “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). All these things were written and are on record for us – for our learning, comfort, peace, and blessings (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11).

As was the case with Old Testament Israel, God brought you out of a life of sin in this fallen world (Egypt) in order to bring you IN – into His land of abundant blessings, walking victoriously in a cross-abiding relationship with Christ (John 15).

“And he brought us OUT from thence, that he might bring us IN, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.” Deuteronomy 6:23

There’s a promised land of blessedness, of abundant fruit, the likes of which we have not even begun to taste. Yet, appropriating, walking into this treasure house, this field, this gold mine of blessedness, requires that we closely, diligently trust and obey the Giver of “every good gift … every perfect gift” (James 1:17).

HE BROUGHT YOU OUT OF SOMETHING FOR GOOD REASON – TO BRING YOU INTO SOMETHING MUCH GREATER – WHICH HE PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD ON THAT CROSS!

Many who read these words are seeking to get and to live out what God alone can provide – as you abide in a real relationship with Him, loving Him with all you are, wholeheartedly.

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalms 37:4

Delighting in the LORD assures that we will be possessed with His desires and they will be granted!

Truly Trusting and OBEYING God

Are you forgetting any of His “benefits” – the ones Jesus died to give? Are you neglecting to appropriate them by a real walk with Him? “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalms 103:2).

Jesus was the perfect example of delighting in God. In the days of His flesh, Jesus toiling as He faced going to that cross for us, cried “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Have we cried out to the LORD today with a “Not my will but thine be done”?

“First” means First, not Second. Putting God where He Belongs in Your Life – “First”

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

If you are out of Bible order, you are out of Bible blessings!

If your life is not in Bible order where Jesus is literally FIRST, you will not walk in the blessings of God – the blessings Jesus died to give you!

“IF”

“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 19-20

GOD DESIRES TO BLESS YOU – to bring you into “A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey.”

The phrase “milk and honey” appears 20 times in God’s Word and in every case, refers to God’s desire and declaration to bring His people into His land of rich blessings, flowing with the bounty of His goodness!

“And I am come down to deliver them (salvation) out of the hand of the Egyptians (the world), and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites” (Exodus 3:8).

In other words, “I’m going to bring you into a land flowing with milk and honey right in the middle of your enemies!”

The LORD brings us OUT of sin, “OUT of darkness INTO his marvellous light”!

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (special) people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you OUT of darkness INTO his marvellous light:” 1 Peter 2:9

“Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.” Exodus 33:3

The LORD brings, saves us out of the world and into His kingdom family and blessings!

“And I have said, I will bring you up OUT of the affliction of Egypt (sin; the lost world) unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey (salvation).” Exodus 3:17

The “Milk and Honey” of Christ’s Salvation!

God brought His beloved people OUT of Egypt (represents the world) to bring them INTO the promised land He ordained for them! In the same way, God has brought you and me out of sin, out of the kingdom of the world, in order to bring us IN to His promised land of blessing in Christ! Read Ephesians 1 afresh beloved of God.

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (fit) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us FROM (out of) the power of darkness, and hath translated us INTO the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” Colossians 1:12-14

God never brings you OUT of something not to bring you INTO something much better! safeguardyoursoul.com

He made us to bless us and yet – will only do so as we walk with Him on His stated terms.

“That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.” Jeremiah 11:5

“And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.” Deuteronomy 11:9

God Sent His Son to Bless Us – His People

“Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts 3:26

Repentance Always Leads to Refreshing from Heaven!

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:19-21

God Requires Repentance and Faith in All Who will be His and Receive His Ultimate Blessings

¨I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.¨ Deuteronomy 30:19-20

¨Numbers 14:8 says if He delights in us, then He will give us a land flowing with milk and honey. This means in order to receive a land flowing with milk and honey He must delight in us. This notes a condition of obedience and faith. We have to embrace and conform with His ways (the cross) to receive the spiritual blessings and to receive eternal life.¨ Karen Cochran

¨And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. 19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.¨ Numbers 14:17-19

PRAYER: Heavenly Father thank You for being so unimaginably loving and benevolent to Your creation, to all those You made in Your very image. I love You LORD Jesus and here and now give You praise and thanksgiving for coming to die for my sins and then buried and raised again for my justification. Now dear LORD, please make me whole, from the inside out. Please pour out Your Holy Ghost on my life now and use this vessel to bring eternal glory to You. Bless Your people to abide in You Jesus, to have vital union with You and thereby the abundance of fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. In Jesus´ name. Amen.

Fresh Start with God

You can Have a … Jesus is the Great Shepherd of His Sheep (Heb. 13:20; Lk. 15) A FRESH START WITH GOD (First, if you are not certain that you are genuinely born again, please go here first) Let’s get something straight…. the disciple, the mere man writing this message is more in need of JESUS than anyone who ever lived! No one needs Jesus more than I do and yet, we must do things HIS way, not our own (Ephesians 3:8). “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs […]

Conditions and Consequences: Beware of False Prophets

God is not getting ready to bless any person who has not repented and put their lives in the hands of the nail-scarred risen Savior Jesus Christ. Beware of the promise peddlers who indiscriminately dish out promises and never mention the necessity of meeting the conditions. We’d better begin noticing the “IF“‘s in God’s Word – the conditions, the things God requires. Here you go, let me assist…. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be […]

"Fruitful in the Land of My Affliction" [podcast]

FORGETTING AND BEING FRUITFUL ! God’s Word speaks about forgetting the things that are behind us (Philippians 3:13-14) and also speak volumes about abiding in Christ and being fruitful (John 15). Forgetting leads to fruitfulness. Let go and let God. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 G1950 ἐπιλανθάνομαι epilanthanomai ep-ee-lan-than’-om-ahee Middle voice from G1909 and G2990; […]

Abiding

Following the Faith of Abraham [podcast]

“There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; ALL came to pass.” Joshua 21:45

The LORD Keeps His Promises to His People

God could trust Abraham:

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” Genesis 18:19

Of Abraham who lived by faith, the LORD says “For I know him” and if we love God, like Abraham, we are known of the LORD also.

“But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” 1 Corinthians 8:3

Does the unchanging God ever tell His people to leave where they are and go to another place? Yes.

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him…” Genesis 12:1-4

Abraham met the condition and God fulfilled His promise. Could the LORD have blessed Abraham had Abraham not trusted and obeyed Him?

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

“The key is to say ‘Here I am.’ Abraham responded 3 times to God in Gen 22, when God called His name. It was an immediate response of obedience. Did he know exactly why God was calling him? No! It was the posture of his heart. Because of his faithful obedience the Lord knew Abraham was a God fearing man, who only cared about doing God’s will.” Karen Cochran

“And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6

“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Hebrews 11:8

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” Luke 17:5

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please forgive my unbelief, which is a sin. Please wash this heart afresh in Your precious blood dear LORD Jesus. Fill my heart with faith, with love, joy, and peace. Please order my every step and be glorified in this life You gave. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

"Though He Slay Me, Yet will I Trust in Him" [podcast]

DO WE have the “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” spirit and disposition of the beloved Job? “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Job 13:15 Going though a season of testing and trials and yet not worshipping God through it all, is a waste. Personally I had to learn this the hard way. God has been so wonderfully gracious! “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, […]

Are You a "A FAITHFUL MESSENGER" of the LORD? [podcast]

The faithfulness of God is where we begin …. every word in the Bible. His Word oozes with His faithfulness. He was faithful to us “while we yet sinners” (Romans 5:6-8), to forgive us our sins (1 John 1:9). ruling over cities – see Luke 19 See examples of faithfulness to God in Hebrews 11: “he pleased God” “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5 “But whoso looketh into the perfect […]

Abiding

The Flesh will Never be Reformed it Must be Crucified [podcast]

The Divine Prescription is Clear and there are No Shortcuts

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24

The law brings repentance, salvation while thereafter the crucified life, the cross keeps us from that sin which once separated us from the LORD, who now has saved us (Psalms 19:7; Romans 6).

There are lots of people peddling the lie of “self care” which is ultimately nothing more than absolute selfishness. Pure evil. We need SAVIOR care! Such “self-care” only perpetuates the prey, the victim, in their misery. The only way to deal with the wicked iniquitous nature, is to crucify it, not pamper it (Luke 9:23-24). It’s your time to get into God’s Word and follow Jesus (KJB). Repent, deny yourself, lay down your life and serve God and others, not yourself. Loving your wicked self IS your problem and so all “self care” is accomplishing is to make your problem bigger, to fortify the evil within (Galatians 5:16-24). Crucifying that evil by the power of the Holy Spirit who is then raising your upward in His grace, glory, and power, is the divine prescription (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:3, etc.). Read Philippians 2:3-5 each morning this week. Jesus commands you to love God. Worship God. Obey God (Matthew 22:37-39).

All whom Jesus has saved make a decision every day, including this day. All who were initially saved and yet aren’t searching out and taking up the cross daily, prove they do not love Him, even though they may claim such. Each of us prove who we really love by who reigns in our lives, and by who dies. See Matthew 6:24.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16

WHO we yield ourselves to today, proves who we truly love – either the Savior or self.

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:” 2 Corinthians 1:9

We must declare and establish “the sentence of death in ourselves” so that our trust is in God who raised Christ from the dead and raises up all of His saints as they are crucified with Christ.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Tired of sinful self and wanting it out of your way? Here’s the divine prescription: “But I keep under (subdue) my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

The fact that Jesus is coming back for a church, a people who are holy, let us peer into what the Bible tells us concerning overcoming the flesh, sin (Romans 6-8).

Jesus never said to try or try harder. no, Jesus says you must die to follow Him (Luke 9:23-24; John 12:23-25, etc.).

Jesus is sanctifying and cleansing by His Word a people, a church “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Times of fasting and prayer are doing yourself a favor and not God. Yes. You are crucifying self, getting self out of God’s way so that Christ is reigning in your life in place of sinful self! This should be viewed with absolute delight! (See Psalms 37:4; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13, etc..) You are crying, you are driving a stake in the ground and declaring: “LORD, You must increase but I must decrease!” (See John 3:30.) That’s the “daily” operation of the cross God has ordained to be transpiring in our lives (Luke 9:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12; Galatians 2:20, etc.).

What’s your plan for a special time of fasting and prayer this week? There’s no mystery – you will not overcome the flesh, sin, without being crucified with Christ and there’s no better way than fasting and prayer. It’s the most direct route to being dead, buried, and raised up in the victory Christ alone can grant. Lay it all down, now. Memorize Colossians 3:3 and walk it out.

We simply can’t know just how deep we are buried in pride until we begin to obey God in fasting and prayer. Isaiah 58

Overcoming the flesh, walking in victory requires continually delighting in the LORD, worshipping Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11

HOW many of us know that the flesh is never going to behave itself, never going to be tamed …. until it’s slain by the cross, crucified?

The flesh IS going to rage, be bent toward and do evil. That’s a given (Romans 7). This is why the cross, the crucifying of the “old man” and putting on “the new man” are essential to God bringing the victory in our lives! (Romans 6-8; Ephesians 4:23-25; Colossians 3:5-10, etc.)

Doesn’t the fact that our flesh does not like the cross, only confirm the need for it? What are the “works of the flesh” that will separate a once saved Christian from God? (Galatians 5:16-21) Though it’s never heard in the apostate modern church world, Jesus commanded the cross in the life of each and every person who would follow Him (Luke 9:23-24). The fact that our flesh hates the cross in no way changes God and what He said concerning the severity in which we are to deal with the flesh, with sin – and the eternal damnation that awaits all who don’t crucify the deeds of the body (Mark 9:42-49; Romans 6; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Revelation 21:8, 27, etc.). When’s the last time you read the words of Jesus recorded in Mark 9:42-49 and took Jesus at His Word? IF you truly love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15).

God fully expects for His people to induce, to participate in the crucifixion of our flesh, putting the self-life to death (Isaiah 58; Matthew 6:16; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 2:20, etc.).

Holiness is not the way to Christ but rather Christ is the way to holiness. Abiding in Christ IS abiding holy – in the divine definition of holy. The key is that holiness is NOT the way to God but rather Christ is the way to holiness, His way, His definition – which is the daily cross (Luke 9:23-24). Abiding fellowship with Christ, on HIS terms, is holiness – being set apart to the LORD, in the LORD (Psalms 4:3; John 15).

Sin is man’s master until Christ is man’s Master (Matthew 6:24).

No one overcomes by accident. Those who love the LORD, truly, not just in mere profession, will seek Him diligently and obey Him and therefore are brought into His victory by Him (Matthew 7:21; 22:37-39; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:3-6; Revelation 2-3, etc.). The disciple must truly repent and cease all excuses for the sin that displeases God and walk as “MORE than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:1, 5-6, 13-14; 37, etc.).

Jesus came from Heaven to earth and successfully confronted evil, sin, death, and the devil by going to the cross and defeating them! Read Colossians 2:14-15; Hebrews 2:14-15 and 1 John 3:8. In Christ, with Christ, we defeat death by dying, laying down our lives (Hebrews 2:14-15). And Jesus, who conquered death, hell, sin, Satan, and the grave, sends us to the cross – co-death with Him to defeat all of our sin and Satan also (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6; 8:29, 37; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, etc.). His precious blood alone atoned for our sins positionally, and yet to enforce that victory in defeating sin and Satan in our daily lives, Jesus prescribed to us the cross life (the practical).

The only thing we can do about this reality – about the iniquitous fleshly nature – is to crucify it (Galatians 5:16-24). There can be no negotiation.

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:11

The one way to master sin is bow to Heaven’s Master and let Him master sin! The cross.

BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST ROSE AGAIN, ALL WHO ARE BORN AGAIN IN HIM ARE RAISED UP SPIRITUALLY IN THIS LIFE TO OVERCOME ALL SIN, SATAN, AND THE WORLD, AND WILL SOON be RAISED UP INTO ETERNAL GLORY WITH HEAVEN’S KING.

Rhetorical Question: What’s your fasting and prayer plan beloved? Your answer to this important, prompting question is before you and your LORD….

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

You are not serious about overcoming sin if you’re not yet setting apart regular times of fasting and prayer. The fact that you don’t want to fast is the clear proof that you need to fast. Currently, your flesh is in control! Once you are broken, you will delight in, you will look forward to those times of regular fasting! Read Isaiah 58. | The Amazing Benefits of Fasting and Prayer

Times of Fasting and prayer get YOU out of the way so Jesus can reign supreme! Isaiah 58

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:13-14

“He must increase but I must decrease.” John 3:30

FASTING IS STARVING THE FLESH AND FEEDING THE SPIRIT IN ORDER TO BE BROUGHT BY THE LORD INTO FULL ONENESS WITH HIM AND THE FATHER, AND INTO THE COMPLETE VICTORY AND FRUITFULNESS HE’S ORDAINED YOU TO WALK IN (ISAIAH 58).

Read Romans 6-8.

I am not a good person. Neither are you. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Admit it. The Bible and our own failing experience in this life clearly reveal such to be the case. The sooner we become HONEST with that which is more than obvious, announcing freely and transparently that there is “no good thing” in us except CHRIST, the sooner God will begin a fresh, deeper work in us! See Romans 7:18, 24—the cross!

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Romans 7:18

“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” Colossians 3:9

The SINNER, the vile wretch I must first and foremost confront, is myself! See Job 19:28; Rom 7:18, 24; Ps 39:4-5 and Eccl 7:20. It’s essential to begin to understand the flesh, the fallen man, the iniquitous old man, in order to realize what we’ve been saved from and what must be crucified daily. The cross is God’s solution, His prescription to “put off the old man with his deeds.”

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;” Ephesians 4:22

The cross subdues the flesh, it separates us from being held captive to the dictates of the old man, the carnal fallen nature.

The Root of the Matter is in Me! | The Daily Cross

Either Crucify the Flesh or it will Crucify Christ out of Your Life [podcast]

Fight the temptation or die the death? Where’s the victory come from? The Cross – something counterfeits intentionally evade (Philippians 3:18-19). The cross is how we know who is real and who is fake. Refusing to take up the cross means one has denied Christ. This would account for the vast majority of men in ministry today. They are cross-less. The only people who are truly following Christ are those who are doing it HIS way – and His stated way is the cross, the crucified life (Luke 9:23-24). There is no other way to follow Jesus. If we don’t […]

To the Flesh we must declare “Shut up and die!” [podcast]

There can be no mercy on the flesh. As opposed to making excuse for the fallen nature in us, we must declare war on it – by the cross (Romans 6:1-23; 8:12-13, etc.). Jesus never said to try. Jesus says you must die to follow Him (Luke 9:23-24; John 12:23-25, etc.). The flesh cannot be cast out, like a devil. It must be daily crucified, put to death (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6, etc.). The Holy Spirit alone can crucify the deeds of the body and this only happens as we are dead and buried with Christ. Read Romans 6 […]

Sin: Man’s Core Problem [podcast]

People don’t have a “mental health” problem, they have a SIN problem and sin is what gives way, gives full access to Satan! “When people hear voices telling them to harm themselves or others, that’s not a chemical imbalance, it’s demon possession.” Rachel Gould “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 Jesus taught us that man’s sin comes out of his “desperately wicked” heart (Jer17:9; Mark 7:20-23). The devil and his agents have created a million ways to divert us from stopping our lives, getting honest, taking personal responsibility, humbling ourselves, […]