IS GOD Obligated to Perform...

...   IF  we SAY the Right Words ? 

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.

Acts 3:19

Is  GOD  Obligated to Perform ... if we simply SAY the "Right Words " ?

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:

who can know it?

I+ the LORD search the heart,

I+ try the reins,

even to give every man

according to his ways,

and according to the fruit

of his doings.

Jeremiah 17: 9-10

GOD, The ELOHIM:  

·                   The HOLY FATHER,

·                   His Beloved SON+ our LORD JESUS CHRIST,

·                   and the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT 

cannot be tricked.

The ELOHIM Who moved upon the face of the waters and "made man in our image"    knows.

What does HE+ know ?

HE+ knows our down-sitting and our up-rising.  HE+ knows every word on our tongue before we speak it.

HE Who planted the ear, can HE not hear ?  HE Who formed the eye, can HE not see ?

We cannot out-maneuver GOD. 

We cannot deceive The LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

We cannot lie unto the HOLY SPIRIT and succeed any more than Sapphira and Ananias did. 

We canNOT lie unto GOD with our un-holy, self- centered lives to practice a pretense of holiness... without its substance.

If we try, we only deceive ourselves and learn to adroitly practice living a lie. We try hard to convince ourselves that we are “right” before GOD and our fellow-man.  

Thus, we cleverly live a well-practiced lie before the eyes of others. And we become self-righteously  INDIGNANT if confronted about it.

Our allegiance, however, REMAINS TO OUR SELF....  not to CHRIST.

The SPIRIT of GOD reveals to those with a discerning heart --- to those who await the development of holy fruit --- what is truly happening, much to the chagrin and shame of the deceiver.

Now understand, the deception may OR MAY NOT  be willful or purposeful.  It occurs in the inner man under the tutelage of Self ...  that Old Man which has refused to die.  Unfortunately, that wretched Old Self is never dealt with in the Light of His+ Word.   

When Old Man Self refuses to die, he emerges out of the burial waters of baptism, dragging along a fishing string with Old Man LIES hooked upon it.

What went wrong ?  How could this possibly have happened ?  Were the waters of Holy Baptism not efficacious ?

The Necessity of CONVERSION

Conversion is   

as necessary   

as repentance, 

in order to be born again.

Persons may indeed REPENT when they receive the regretful and painful consequences of their sins.  That is good.

But REPENTANCE is only a FIRST step ... a GOOD  and necessary  first step... but one cannot stop there. 

Seekers cannot enter the Holy Waters of Baptism upon the strength of their repentance for one or more of their sins. 

NO.  Repentance is meant to LEAD US unto CONVERSION. Our allegiance NOW should move from Self to JESUS CHRIST.  Repentance of our sins is to lead us unto following CHRIST JESUS now, in all our ways and in our heart.

We cannot ASSUME 

that repentance 

automatically leads 

everyone to conversion.

If we ASSUME so,

chaos will be brought

into the Christian camp.

Scripture teaches that there is more to becoming that "New Creature" in CHRIST, born of water and The SPIRIT ... besides simply repentance.

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.

Acts 3:19

Hopefully, REPENTANCE will indeed lead seekers to RENOUNCE the world and its lying ways. 

The repentant one, hopefully, will say "NO MORE !" to being led by the nose through the slop-trough of satan's lies to retain  Self  as "god."

Hopefully, the seeker will determinedly FORSAKE the ways of his old, Adamic nature, honestly and sincerely yielding unto JESUS as he sees Old Man SELF  rear its ugly head.

He will be as a newborn babe, humble as a little one, seeking to learn how to walk in The LIGHT of CHRIST. He will seek to hold onto the Hand of his Beloved LORD CHRIST Who+ has washed him from his sins. 

The seeker , while not perfect, should be turning his WHOLE HEART to The LORD JESUS, purposing in the inner man to follow JESUS now as much as he can.

THAT   is   "conversion."

If conversion is MISSING, the seeker will still retain control of his own life. If conversion is missing, then the HOLY SPIRIT will be missing too.

The LORD JESUS will NOT be the LORD of his life, his mind, his heart... nor his home.

The lack of fruit will be evident  in one NOT converted. This lack of fruit produced by the HOLY SPIRIT is NOT simply personal “struggles" encountered during his new walk. 

IF the seeker, even though baptized upon confession of faith, has not YIELDED his life nor his will unto The Living WORD+ of GOD…. nothing will "happen"  in the waters of Holy Baptism to such a one because The HOLY SPIRIT cannot be tricked . 

HE was not tricked by Ananias and Sapphira.

Likewise, HE is not tricked by those who retain CONTROL of their own lives and values and ways.

Are, then, the Holy Waters of Baptism efficacious to bring about the New Birth ? 

YES. The HOLY SPIRIT effectively divides and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Thus, very accurately and deftly, the Living WORD+  will NOT transmit the New Birth to those kind of seekers in the Waters of HOLY BAPTISM.

And, The HOLY SPIRIT knows all hearts which are with-holding ALL of  themselves from JESUS as LORD. The HOLY SPIRIT  knows where our basic allegiance lies:  with CHRIST JESUS -- or -- with our SELF. 

How LONG will the HOLY SPIRIT wrestle with the heart of such a one? 

Only The LORD knows when the cut-off point is reached.  At some point, the heart that does NOT hold allegiance to The LORD is allowed to go his own, unyielded way... right into the arms of the satan and his tormentors. 

The LORD will not stop this from happening.  Nor should we.

Hopefully, when life becomes intolerable enough, the woebegone seeker will turn BACK to the Truth he once heard.

And THIS time --- if time is still allotted to him --- he will yield the total control of his life unto The LORD.

 

And ye shall seek ME+,

and find ME+,

when ye shall search for ME+

with all your heart.

+  +  +

For I+ know the plans that I+ have woven toward you, 

declares The LORD,

thoughts of peace, 

and not of evil, 

to give you a hope-filled future.

( literal Hebrew )

Then shall ye call upon ME+,

and ye shall go and pray unto ME+,

and I+ will hearken unto you.

And ye shall seek ME+,

and find ME+,

when ye shall search for ME+

with all your heart.

And I+ will be found of you,

saith the LORD:....

Jeremiah 29: 11-14 a...

+  +  +

This, dear friends, is the key to realizing why some nice folks, some well-churched nice folks, operate the way they do.

They simply have not been CONVERTED to follow CHRIST JESUS.

They are still following SELF.  True, they may perform out-ward allegiance to the church "system", but their inward, heart's allegiance is to SELF.  The HOLY SPIRIT recognizes who they align their hearts with. 

Our part is to discern the difference between FRUIT and deadness. In a New-Born's struggle to walk with CHRIST JESUS, there will be fruit even when he tumbles and falls. 

However, even in those tumbles, the New-Born will be bearing witness to CHRIST... to His+ help, His+ mercy, His+ love, and His+ Life.

Life will flow from the New-Born who is trying hard to follow CHRIST JESUS, even as he is so sorry for his errors and wrong-doings.

If this LIFE flowing from the HOLY SPIRIT is  missing , then CONVERSION is missing too. Conversion has not taken place. The HOLY SPIRIT is still on the "outside" of that person's heart, knocking on the door. 

CHRIST JESUS simply does NOT share the throne of the heart with Self. 

Discernment is necessary to separate godly struggles from willful obstinacy and its consequences. 

This is not only true for the people we deal with spiritually, but it is also applicable as we deal with our inner man, in our own lives.

This is why some church Christians are not moving along in TRUE Life with CHRIST JESUS. This is the essence of the problem. 

When CONVERSION happens, then the messy problems will be worked out in CHRIST.  

Without conversion, though, 

nothing will ever be made right, 

dear fellow-laborer in CHRIST. 

The CONVERSION to CHRIST ,  moving our allegiance from Self to The LORD JESUS CHRIST,  is  the essence for LIFE in CHRIST. 

The opposite, alas, is only too evident.

 +  +  +

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.

Acts 3:19

Fighting RESENTMENT ... A SPIRITUAL Battle

The Disciple's CROSS  for you and for me. 

RESENTMENT

is an ugly  word and it leads into very ugly sins.

 

Bitterness, anger, harsh words, and all the sins  accompanying this un-loving attitude reveal the UGLINESS of resentment.

 

We all have it. RESENTMENT descends upon every person, upon us all from time to time. 

 

Oftentimes, someone we have counted on for help abandons the plan, the help promised... in short, us... and leaves us with an EXTRA load of responsibility and duties.

 

Sometimes agencies or institutions with-hold something promised or something we THOUGHT was promised, even something we purchased for security.

 

RESENTMENT develops when we are disappointed and the agency renigged on its word.

 

• When family members do not respond in support,

• when our co-workers neglect their part of the assignment,

• when the church committee does not show up for the scheduled event  or  work project,

... then we are disappointed and RESENTMENT settles into our hearts.

 

Furthermore,

we think our RESENTMENT  is JUSTIFIED.

 

WE did not do anything wrong; we were wronged against -- AGAIN ! And our old companion of Self-Pity rears his ugly head, beckoning  Bitterness and Anger to come along.  The satan has us  set  in line, now, for a BIG  fall. 

SIN lurks at the door-latch,

waiting to trip us.   

 

Whether from un-supportive persons or from an un-responsive institution ,  RESENTMENT is a natural human reaction when we are hurt and sorely disappointed when NO HELP arrives.     

 

Regardless of the reason for it , we all know the cure for RESENTMENT is repentance.

 

However... how do we move that great lump in our hearts from RESENTMENT to VICTORY over it, after we repent ?

 

Yes, REPENTANCE is the very first step.  We see that resentment on our part  is wrong. It does NOT  reflect the love of CHRIST JESUS. It is NOT turning the other cheek, going the 2nd mile.

 

HOWEVER...  we are exhorted to live in TRUTH.  So, we must face this resentment head on and prepare for Battle, SPIRITUAL BATTLE in the Name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

 

We must CONFESS that we RESENT it when hurt and disappointed by our family, our co-workers on the job, our fellow-helpers in the church.  

 

Hastening to REPENT and acknowledging our desire to sin, we must call upon the LORD to cleanse our hearts from this RESENTMENT.

 

Bless GOD, the victory SOMETIMES comes after this repentance. 

 

Sometimes, however, we are still sad.  We may not be angry any longer, but we are still not happy.  We remain sober and down-cast in our soul.  We are still heavy-laden and the work is harder  to  embrace. 

 

HOWEVER... the work still needs to be done though, the event still needs to be carried through, the bills still need to be paid, and the big dinner still needs to be cooked, regardless of the missing,  promised help.

 

So we are down-cast, looking at that extra load of responsibility draining our energy, our time, our resources.

 

NO, DO NOT BE CONTENT to STAY in that down-cast state after repentance.  

 

Here is a way to move into JOY after REPENTANCE.

 

When others do not do their part and their part is placed on us... tell it to JESUS alone. Talk to HIM+ about it.

 

 

HE+ will  inevitably  ask us one question: 

 

" Can you do this task 

FOR ME+  ? " 

 

Immediately,  HE+  will bring  to  mind   ALL that HE+ has done for us.

 

Our response then will be a hearty

 

"YES, LORD.  Of course,

I can do this FOR YOU+."

 

 

That is going the second mile, going that extra mile carrying that extra load ...  simply for the sake of JESUS. 

 

 

THAT IS WHEN  the JOY re-enters our heart. 

 

It is really HIS+ JOY, as HE+ promised.   HE+ will joy in us as we JOIN HIM+ in  His+  mis-treatment, in His+ Suffering,  and OUR joy will become full !  IMMEDIATELY ! 

 

Obediently repenting is our necessary DUTY... but JOY comes when we join CHRIST JESUS "on the cross"  in sacrifice. 

 

"Can I do it for HIM+ ? "  

YES,  I  CAN .

 

 

If we walk with HIM+  through this exercise of Godliness, we will experience an amazing thing: 

 

HE+ now enters into the activity

with His+ Divine help. 

 

HE+ sends His+ strength into us. HE+ supplies our need. The  task moves  more  swiftly. HE+ makes all the plans fall neatly into place for us  and the event or situation turns out BETTER THAN BEFORE ! 

 

EVEN  BETTER ... The Divine COMPANIONSHIP WITH CHRIST JESUS  is there for us, full of life and light and love. 

 

HE+ loves obedience WHEN IT IS HARD to obey. 

 

HE+ loves a cheerful giver when we are not happy about the situation. 

 

We love HIM+ because HE+ first loved us.   And we KEEP ON loving HIM+ ... because HE+ keeps on loving us !   

^{John 15: 9-13}

As The FATHER  hath loved ME+,

so have I+ loved you: continue ye in My+ love.

If ye keep My+ commandments,

ye shall abide in My+ love;

even as I+ have kept My+ FATHER'S commandments,

and abide in His+ love.

These things have I+ spoken unto you,

that

My+ joy might remain in you,

and that

your joy might be full.

This is My+ commandment,

That ye love one another

as I+ have loved you.

Greater love hath no man than this:

that a man lay down his life for his friends.

LET   US   PRAY :

O LORD JESUS, forgive my grumbling and complaining when others forsake the task at hand, abandoning both the work and me and I am left to do it all myself. 

I know my resentment is NOT RIGHT.  I repent.  I forgive them for  ignoring me when I need help, forsaking their promise to me.

Cleanse me of anger and resentment and bitterness.  Create in me a CLEAN HEART and renew a right SPIRIT within me, O CHRIST. 

And NOW,  O LORD, I bend the knee of my heart.  My only help is from YOU+, O Defender of my life.  Send me help from Your+ Sanctuary to do this job as YOU+ see fit.  

Thank YOU+  for handling my distress of spirit and heart, when I was over-whelmed.  I could not handle it myself. Help me to ALWAYS turn to YOU+ in times of distress. 

O Ruler of the Universe, great deeds are they which YOU+ have done, surpassing human understanding.  YOUR+ Ways are Ways of  RIGHTEOUSNESS and TRUTH, O KING+  of all the Ages.  

Who can fail to do you homage, LORD, and sing the praises of YOUR+ Name, O CHRIST.  Glory to The FATHER, The SON+ our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and to the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT... ONE GOD, now and forever. Amen. 

Glory Be to GOD:   The FATHER,  The SON+ our LORD JESUS CHRIST,  and the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT.  ONE GOD, now and forever. Amen. 

  

The REPROOF of ELISHA ... A WARNING !

"Is it the TIME ... ?

to receive money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep, oxen, male and female servants?"

With these words, Elisha the Prophet issued correction to his guileful  servant, Gehazi, a correction which Gehazi never forgot.

Elisha's corrective was accompanied by a most dire consequence: instantly the leprosy of Naaman descended upon Gehazi. Gehazi left the presence of Elisha leprous, as white as snow.  

It was also promised to descend upon his family line forever. 

What did Gehazi DO

to warrant such terrible consequences ? 

 

Let's look at the account in 2 Kings 5 of Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, being healed of leprosy. 

First of all, Naaman was NOT a Jew and was NOT part of the commonwealth of Israel or Judea.

 

He came to the king of Israel to be healed of leprosy, and the distraught king said, 

" Am I THE ELOHIM, to kill and make alive...

to heal [Naaman] of his leprosy ? "

Elisha intervened and comforted the king, telling him to send Naaman to him that Naaman “might KNOW there is a prophet”  of The Most High God   “in ISRAEL.”

 

Likely, there were quite a few OTHERS who received this knowledge, along with Naaman !

 

Naaman almost missed his blessing, though, angrily refusing to dip himself in the Jordan River.

 

However, he eventually listened to the pleadings and counsel of his servants who seemed to have loved him, calling him  “my father.”

Humbling himself to listen to servants, humbling himself to set aside his anger, humbling himself to obey, obediently dipping himself 7 times in the Jordan river, Naaman was miraculously cleansed.  

Thus, Naaman's healing was a testimony to this important army commander himself that THE ELOHIM really existed and was known among GOD'S people Israel.

 

NAAMAN'S RESPONSE ...

"Now I KNOW there is no ELOHIM in all the earth, except in Israel," Naaman the Syrian said, in open testimony before Elisha, who now received the Syrian.

 Naaman was so thankful to be healed of that dreaded leprosy that he wished to bless Elisha with silver and changes of garments. 

Elisha refused all gifts, vowing before The LORD  

"… before Whom I stand"  to receive NOTHING.

 

GEHAZI'S RESPONSE ...

Gehazi , unlike Naaman,  seemed not so impressed with the miraculous healing.  Perhaps, Gehazi was not so glad GOD  healed someone who was not of the tribes of Israel, saying, "  ... my master has spared Naaman  this Syrian."  vs. 20

Obviously, Gehazi DISAGREED with Elisha's refusal to take a blessing, a gift, Naaman offered after his healing.

THUS, a disgruntled heart about the Syrian's healing and a disagreement in the inner man with his master Elisha's decision nested in Gehazi’s bosom.  

Two problems Gehazi had in his heart.  Two problems not dealt with in righteous repentance before GOD.  Two problems paved the way for a life-time of sorrow.

BECAUSE Gehazi ignored

those two UN-righteous things working in his heart ... Gehazi’s judgment became skewered.  Thus, we next see Gehazi DECIDING to step beyond the authority Elisha had placed upon him.

Operating out of his now-warped judgement, Gehazi planned out exactly what to do in order to control the situation for his benefit and receive temporal wealth and goods.

He pursued Naaman's chariot, and that good man stopped to see if all was well.

Gehazi promptly told lies to Naaman in order to receive silver and garments; now they become STOLEN GOODS and he used Elisha's name to do it.

WHAT HAD HE DONE ?

Gehazi injured Elisha's word to Naaman, when Elisha said, " As The ELOHIM lives, before Whom I stand, I will receive nothing."

Gehazi, you see, told Naaman that "... my master has sent me.... please give ..."

Elisha would not receive a gift for Naaman's healing because the healing was from GOD, The ELOHIM.  

Naaman's healing was freely given to him.  It was to be used as a witness to The ELOHIM to draw all the nations unto The ONE TRUE GOD.

Naaman's healing showed the character of GOD. It showed The ELOHIM'S mercy to sinners when they humble themselves to obey The Word of the LORD... whether they like it or not, whether they even understand it or not. 

Instead of reflecting the true character of The ELOHIM ,  Gehazi reflected the character of  the father of lies and his demon, mammona.

His eyes still dazzled by the demon mammona, Gehazi's judgment was confused enough to lie to the Prophet Elisha ! 

 WRONG Move...

Elisha's heart, Scripture says, accompanied Gehazi when he met Naaman in his chariot. vs 26

We notice that Naaman did NOT give Gehazi   "... olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, male and female servants."

Those plans were only in Gehazi's guileful heart. The SPIRIT of The LORD made Elisha very much aware of these secret schemes.

+  +  +

There is NO hiding place where The SPIRIT of GOD cannot see, hear, or go.  To invite the demon mammona into a miraculous healing from The LORD is anathema to The ELOHIM.

To invite the demon mammona into ANY workings of The LORD GOD ELOHIM, is asking for anathema to be written upon one's project and upon one's Self. Remember Ananias and Sapphira.

JESUS said

it is IMPOSSIBLE

to serve GOD and mammon.

Beware of the spirit of Guile.

+  +  +

Psalm 139

 O LORD, THOU hast searched me,

and known me.

THOU knowest my downsitting

and mine uprising,

THOU understandest my thought afar off.

THOU

compassest my path

and my lying down,

and art acquainted

with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue,

but, lo, O LORD,

THOU

knowest it altogether.

THOU hast beset me behind and before,

and laid Thine hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

 

Whither shall I go from Thy SPIRIT?

 or whither shall I flee

from Thy PRESENCE?

+  +  +

A warning to the organized religious systems in the West and elsewhere.

Is it a time  ... to seek more material goods, bigger houses, more land, gold and silver, guns and ammo?

The TIME is upon us...  to begin to live our lives as The MESSIAH-The Eternal SON+ of GOD-YHWH Adonai, has taught and commanded us to live them, to become anchored in CHRIST JESUS. 

It IS Time to stop bringing reproach on HIS+ Precious and most Holy Name with our man-made doctrines and traditions of IGNORING HIS+ Words whenever they do not fit our self-serving life styles  or the political  "correctness"  of the world.

Will the REPROOF of ELISHA settle on a Reprobate church system that refuses to separate from materialism, hedonism, politics and endless mammon-serving? 

The Time for Repentance is NOW.

If corporate Repentance does NOT happen, then by all means SAVE yourself from this untoward and rebellious generation.

Individual Repentance IS possible, even if the religious systems refuse to repent.

When the Fire of The Judgment and Wrath of The LORD GOD/YHWH ELOHIM falls upon a religious system that has brought shame and reproach upon HIS Beloved SON+, it will be too late to avoid being taken in the judgment with the worldlings.

TAKE HEED what you hear.

TAKE HEED not to mingle society's standards with The LORD'S RIGHTEOUS WAYS. 

Now is the time

to Humble ourselves under The Mighty Hand of GOD, and seek HIS Face while HE may be found.

Time is short. Judgment approaches.

+   +   +

LET US PRAY:

O Gracious Heavenly FATHER, we humble ourselves to YOU.  We admit that YOU know us better than we know ourselves. YOU  understand  the  hidden desires of our heart, both good and evil. 

Help us not to hide from YOU.  Help us not to run from YOU or ignore Your conviction of warning. Help us to come clean in purest honesty when we react.  Help us to admit our guilt when we hold unrighteous thoughts that go against Your Word... that besmirch Your character. 

We are ashamed of our guile. Our hidden agenda, expedient for us, is not hidden to YOU, LORD.  We are ashamed of pretending to be pure, when we are not.  We know, O Righteous FATHER, that we have grieved Your Heart with our secrets and schemes.

And worse, we have ignored Your conviction sent to warn us that we are harboring wrong things. How can YOU bless wrong ? 

We are sorry to have hurt YOU, dear LORD.

We lay our hearts open to YOU to  remove those desires --- both good and bad --- that are not Your Will for us; we freely give them up to YOU... good desires as well as bad. 

Set us straight on the path of total  honesty before YOU. We yield  the  controls  over to Thy Righteous SON+ JESUS CHRIST, our LORD and SAVIOR.

Then shall YOU be glorified in our lives, and rivers of Living Water will flow forth from us, Your children. 

We ask Thy help for the sake of Thy Beloved SON+,  our LORD and SAVIOR , JESUS CHRIST ... Who+ lives and reigns with THEE and Thy Blessed HOLY SPIRIT, ONE GOD,  both now and forever. Amen.

+  +  +