Good morning friends and family. What a great time to be alive. What I mean is, we will be right in the midst of what prophecy said would happen during the end of times here on earth. Are you ready? I said are you ready? I pray so.
Turn, if you will to Matthew 6:24. We all agree again today that every word of your Bible is true and from the Lord Himself? He is the same yesterday, today and forever? Praise God! The passage we are going to start with is Jesus' message on the mount. I am blessed that you have all taken the time to be here and learn and fellowship together. Matthew 6:24-34 KJV No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (25) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (26) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? (27) Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? (28) And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: (29) And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (31) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. What is Jesus saying in this part of His sermon? There are many lessons we can find and I believe a time is coming in history that this passage is very, very important for us to grasp for our own lives. Praise Jesus!! Prayer. OK, I want to read from another translation so that those that have a hard time following along with the KJ might understand better. Matthew 6:24-34 GW "No one can serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth. (25) "So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothes? (26) "Look at the birds. They don't plant, harvest, or gather the harvest into barns. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they? (27) "Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying? (28) "And why worry about clothes? Notice how the flowers grow in the field. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. (29) But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. (30) That's the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it's alive, and tomorrow it's thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith? (31) "Don't ever worry and say, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?' (32) Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. (33) But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you. (34) "So don't ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. This part of the sermon on the Mount tells me many things. First and probably most important, it tells me to trust in God more than anything else. Amen? We need food. God knows that and He will provide when we trust Him. He knows we need fluids to keep us alive. He will provide again, trust in Him. Clothing? Did He not provide for Adam and Eve after they disobeyed? Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. "So what are you trying to teach on, brother Jim?" Well, I think we will hit on many things. Fear that we all may have, for one thing. Just sharing what I feel the Lord has laid on my heart. Praise His name. First, I want to ask you all to think to yourselves about where you put your faith. Do we really put our full trust in God? For those with jobs, do you put your trust in God, or the boss and company that you work for to supply the pay check? Now I am not saying to leave your job. We are to work according to the Bible. What about our government? This is a hard question and I am going to ask the question and then zip my lips. Do we put our faith in the government to take care of us? Moms, dads, any youth that may be hearing us or reading this at a later time, this next question is for you. Who do you put your trust in? The dads that bring the money in to support the family? Maybe in a single mom role, is she who you put your faith in? Many will say they put their faith in family. I am even talking to devout followers of Christ. I bet I raise some eyebrows. My Bible tells me to put faith in God. Jesus said it many times. We can read in Hebrews that it is impossible to please God without faith. Let's turn there, please. Hebrews 11:6 KJV 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. Let's turn quickly to Habakkuk 2:4. It is one of the greatest declarations of faith to be found in all the Bible. It presents a contrast between those who are arrogantly rebellious, and those who are humbly submissive. It reveals the striking difference between the proud and the just man. The future belongs to the righteous, while the wicked have no future. Wickedness carries with it the seeds of its own destruction. Pride, tyranny and evil cannot last, but the righteous shall live by faith. Actually, let's start with verse 1. Habakkuk 2:1-4 KJV I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. (2) And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. (3) For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (4) Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Now, someone may still be stewing over not putting faith in family. Usually it is the man. I am not saying don't love your family and not doing your part to keep the family together and healthy, educated and so on. What I really want all families to understand is this. When we put our faith in God for every aspect of our lives and for our families, the rest falls into place. But we shouldn't put our faith in God half-heartedly. Let's get back to what the Bible says about fear. please turn to Isaiah 41 and verse 10. Church, what we need to get in our brains and in our hearts is that Jesus loves you and me like we cannot fathom. In Him we need to trust. Christ is the Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel, engaged by the promise of God’s people. In Him help is found. We should be worshiping Him in all His beauty of holiness. Amen? Get this, friends. Isaiah 41:10 KJV Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Friends, my God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable. He has been in charge since the beginning of time and will be until the end of time. Praise God!!!! Let us therefore depend upon Him as the God sufficient for us in the worst of times. His grace can silence fears, even when there is the greatest cause for them. Do we get this? We can look at scripture throughout Psalms and find where trust was put in God during good times and times even unto death. When troubles come, do you call out to God, in faith, telling Him you will trust in Him through your circumstance? Psalms 56:1-4 KJV To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath. Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. (2) Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. (3) What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (4) In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Friends, fear is not from God. When we are surrounded on all sides with difficulties and dangers because of enemies, we have but one retreat—the mercy of God. Faith in Him will surely banish fear. God did not give us fear. In fact, let's go to 2nd Timothy 1:7. 2 Timothy 1:7-9 KJV For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (8) Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; (9) Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Church, We can see right here in this chapter the 3 reasons Jesus came to earth. First, to abolish death which is the result of sin that you and I were born with and every single person that was ever born, except Christ. Secondly, to bring to light salvation through His finished work. What work did He finish? Glad you asked. Please turn to John 19: 28. John 19:28-30 KJV After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. (29) Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. (30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. These were the last words that Jesus spoke in the flesh. This marked the beginning of the New Covenant, Praise God, by which we are now under grace and not under the Old Covenant of the law. Turn to Matthew 27:59. Matthew 27:50-51, And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. So much could be taught on just these scriptures, and I urge you to read them on your own. The death of Jesus fulfilled every sacrificial ceremony of the Old Testament. He was the “passover lamb.” As the blood of the Old Testament sacrifice was sprinkled seven times (Num_19:1-10), so there was a seven-fold sprinkling of the blood of Jesus in His crucifixion. 1. Scourged—Joh_19:1. 2. Thorns—Joh_19:2; 3–4. Each hand pierced. 5–6. Each foot pierced. 7. The spear thrust—Joh_19:34. Again, check these verses on your own. The third reason was to illuminate the subject of immortality, which believers are to have through Him at His return. If Jesus had not arisen in a glorified body, immortality would not have been brought to light. "So brother Jim, I didn't see this happen. All I have is these books written years ago by people that I didn't know. How do I know it is not made up so that some church can get my money?" That is where faith comes in. I cannot see Jesus, but I know He loves me, died for me and saved me, I know that I will see Him again. You may say, "How can you know, love, or trust what you cannot see?" Hebrews 11:1 KJV Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The effect of faith with God is “good reputation.” Is it any wonder that God cannot be pleased when men are devoid of that trust in His Word and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent, which receives Him as Savior and Lord and impels to obedience and good works? Someone reading this may say, "I still won't believe anything I can't see." Okay, let me ask you this. Can you see the wind blow? No. You can see things the wind blows around, but you can't see the wind itself. I am filled with Christ. You can't see the man Jesus, but the fruit that He produces through me, you hopefully can see. My friends, believers of Jesus or not, I urge every one of you to read the whole Gospel of John this week. I would also ask that you pray before you read it and ask God to reveal His mystery to you. I ask that you are serious about that prayer and that you honestly read and study the words you read. Friends, I feel I went way off track from where I thought this was going, but I am trusting that the Lord had a purpose for this and that it wasn't my will. We love you and thank you for joining with us today. May the Lord bless you. Prayer. Communion.
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