Genesis 15:2

Genesis 15:2 2 But Abram said, "Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" Acts 2:47 47praisingGodandenjoyingthefavorofallthepeople. AndtheLordaddedtotheirnumberdailythosewhowerebeingsaved. Acts 5:13 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Last week we learned about Abraham's servant and his prayer. Tolstoy said that people try to change the world but do not try to change themselves. People try so hard to change their world but they don't put in effort to change themselves. Abraham prayed for one thing and that was an heir to his family. He only had one person to give it all to and that was his servant Eliezer who he named in his prayer. What kind of servant was he that he caught the eye of Abraham and that he would consider leaving all he had to him? We know how wealthy Abraham was. When Abraham and his servants went out to war, have you ever considered how disciplined they must have been to be able to lay down their life and go to war at the command of their master? Have you ever thought about what kind of person Eliezer must have been to be the one that is recognized of all his servants? Do you live the life to be recognized by God? In Acts, the people were blessed by God. The believers were not associated by the nonbelievers but the nonbelievers still acknowledged them. The believers were shunned by them but still received praise. Are we living the life like them? We say that we need to witness to others and rather than drawing the line of what we will and will not do, we rather participate in the life of the world and bring shame upon myself and Jesus. We do not separate ourselves and that is the problem. What were the servants able to see that allowed them to follow their master to battle without regard for their own lives and what caused them to obey him and ask for God's help in finding favor to please their master? The life of the servant must be different that others will look upon them and say that they live a godly life and receive praise for their actions. What is your purpose in life? Is it to be the master of your own life? Are you the master of your own life? When you look at yourself you will see that you lack somewhere in your life. Why is it that if I am my own master and I eat to please myself, why do we get sick and have disease? It is because you did not listen to the wisdom to follow how to take care of yourself and now you suffer for the poor choices you make. If you realize this then you need to make the change now, but rather than turn and change we say that we will do it next time. If you say that you serve God then are you his servant? We say that we are his servant but we also want to be his children. What is easier, to be a servant or to be e children? The head of Samsung gave his company over to his 3rd son. He did so because the third one had more potential than the others. We are commanded to be holy but are you? We are told to rid ourselves of sin, but have you? It is our faults that the Christian religion receives a bad name. We are the reason that people look at us and say bad things about us. When the servant is told to do one thing then all the servant needs to do is that one thing. If you fail then you will be punished and if you do it well you will be praised. The life is simple. If you say that you will live your life as a servant of God, and do so in obedience, then the life that you live will be one that gives glory to God. But we make excuses, we ask for material blessings so that we can do our will and that is why suffering and difficulties surround us. Just as Abraham's servant got up and returned the very next moment to give the news to his master, we too must live to please God. Just like Eliezer must have been shunned by others because he stood apart from the rest, we too must be separate from the rest. We must be acknowledged by God and live a powerful life that shows that God is our master. We are to live a life that God will acknowledge. We are to live a life that others will look at and say that is hard to follow and that is the life that goes glory to God. Then you can be blessed here in this world and the next. We must overcome the sins of this world. May you be victorious in living the life that glorifies God.

How Are We Going To Live Our Lives Daily For What Purpose?

How are we going to live our lives daily and for what purpose? How can I live so that God can be glorified? We think that success is having achieved a goal. God prefers that we live a holy and clean life. Jesus has won the victory and therefore our lives must be that of victory. We say that we are Christians but if the is no victory in our lives then we are not Christians. Rather than being victorious we complain. We argue to God about our circumstances. We are supposed to be victorious but that is not the way. Christ was crucified. We too must be crucified. When we truly come to Christ we let go of everything even our very lives. We have no power because it is our lack of faith. It is not because God fails or Jesus fails. It is our failure to do. It is because I do not have the faith and I do not see what God has done. I have not made the blood of Christ mine. We keep seeking the things of this world, but we are to seek the things of God's kingdom first. When we are one with God and doing His work then he will give us the things to get these things done, but we have reversed the order. We want the things first and then say we will do for God. We are not truly following God. We must know what is our priority. First and foremost is our relationship with God. How much time do you pray? Do you spend quality time singing praises to God and seeking Him? If you do not then why do you complain that you lack? You lack because you do not seek God and your purpose is not for him but rather for you. You are more concerned about your finances than worrying about living for God. This is why you do not sleep well at night. Your purpose is to give glory to God, but you want yourself to receive glory. You want to boast about what you do and who you know. How about God? How much do you boast about God and what he has done for you? Instead of praising him, you live lives that bring embarrassment to Him. We are so quick to boast about people we know even if they have no real connection to us, we eagerly boast about who these people are. Our God has created the universe, but do you boast about Him? There are so many people who evangelize in the streets, but other believers talk behind their backs and say that it is embarrassing, but truly do you even have the courage to do what they do? Why is it at you cannot pray for them but rather you find fault with them? Your purpose must be clear. Not your purpose but God's. At times God is specific about who he wants you to witness to, but at other times we must just witness to as many people as we can. How are you living your life? What is your purpose in living today? Do you even think about your life? Are you living for pleasure? Are you living according to God's word? Do you spend time singing praises to Him and being in prayer? There are many people who do not know God. Even though you may be in church, not everyone goes to heaven. If you are only concerned about yourself this world will soon collapse. Even if I am doing well, but the rest of the world crumbles then I too will suffer. If I suffer but the world is doing well, then I too will be well. We must pray. You must pray for the country and bless this land and all the world. It is not right to only be concerned with yourself. You let your problems blind you from the truth about what is really happening in this world. Suffering does not happen because we want it, but without it we will not wake up. God does not give it to us, we put ourselves here. We suffer because we do not know how to let go. When we follow God, there is difficulty but God will bring us through. In hindsight we have been brought here through God's grace. When our focus is clear on God, we do not let the difficulties weigh us down, but rather we find victory in Him. Victory is up to us. Do you put him as the center of your life, or are you losing focus by looking at your life and the things that are troubling you? Do you want victory or defeat? When you compete you want to be victorious. What happens if you lose to Satan? Jesus has already won the victory. May you find victory through Jesus and his word.

Genesis 24:9-27

Genesis 24:9-27 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter. 10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master's camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. 12 Then he prayed, " Lord , God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a young woman, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' —let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." 15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. 17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar." 18 "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. 19 After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink." 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. 22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. 23 Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24 She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor."25 And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night." 26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, 27saying,"PraisebetotheLord,theGodofmymasterAbraham,whohasnotabandonedhiskindnessandfaithfulnesstomymaster. Asforme,theLordhasled me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives." Why is conversation important and why is it important to know the other person? In today's passage we read about Abraham, his servant, Isaac, Rebekah and her relatives. Who is the main character of today's story? Why is important to know how to converse and understand the point of conversation? All of Christ's teaching was given as parables. If you do not understand what he was speaking then all he taught means nothing. If you do not understand the person who speaks to you then what does it matter? Jesus taught us about heaven and how to get there, but we must be able to understand the point of his teaching, to know what he was saying and to achieve it. When we study history we know that war is won by understanding the enemy and knowing what their purpose and thoughts are. When we behave in a certain way in front of others our true thoughts and intentions are seen by everyone. In business, if we fail to sell the things that customers will buy we cannot succeed. If I give service the way I want and do not think about the customer then my business will fail. If I do not have Christ in my heart then I will never be like him. Unless Christ shines in my life then I can never be the true follower of Christ. It is not about raising my voice and interjecting my opinion, but it is listening to the end what the our person desires to say and at the end, with a calm voice saying what will give that person new and clear insight. A turtle can never beat the rabbit, but why do we say the turtle wins? It is all about perspective. The turtle saw the goal and ran his best race. The rabbit did not look at the goal but saw his opponent and was filled with pride. Looking at his opponent he lost sight of the goal and lost the race because he did not see the purpose. If you look at the world and think that you have done enough, you have prayed enough, fasted a few times, that you have been going to church since you re in your mother's belly, then you will fail. Because of your pride you will not succeed in this race to pursue Jesus. In today's passage let us look at the servant. His prayer was to please his master. He asked God to bless his work to please his master. We profess with our mouths that God is our master and that we are his servants. Then why is it that when we pray that we keep asking God for our needs? Why are our prayers focused on us and not for God's glory. We ask for strength, for blessings for all things that we can do for God but who are we really praying for? When Elijah prayed, he asked God to fulfill His word and God answered with fire. When we pray for God to do His will, then He will answer the prayer. The difference is small but the result is either the prayer is answered or not. If God is the focus then the prayer is answered. If you are the focus then the prayer will not be answered. If you are the child of God, as Jesus is His Son, then why do you think that you will only receive blessings when His own Son was crucified on the cross? Is it possible that you are missing the point? In bible times of you had premarital sex, you were stoned. In today's time we look at it as if it is part of the times. Mary put her life on the line to have Jesus. When we pray. We are not to ask for material blessings but we are to seek the things of the spirit, for strength to overcome our weaknesses so that we can do the will of God and transform our lives. It is not about material blessings we are to seek. Like Mary who submitted herself as a servant and risked her own life to bear Jesus as her son, we too need to submit to God so that we can find the strength of the cross in our lives. The bigger the crown the heavier it is. You may want it then you must bear the weight of it. As the world keeps attacking us, we must overcome, if we fail then it is our weakness. If I am not able to receive all the blessings that God desires for me then it is I who fail to to do so. I must have God as the focus of my life and from that focus all my thoughts and actions must be to give God, my master all glory. Just like the servant prayed to for success to please his master, we too must pray to God to help us succeed in pleasing Him. We must start with the very people who are closest to us. May you live the life that gives God glory.

Amazing Orchestra Praising God

The Service of Passionate Devotion

"... do you love Me? ... Tend My sheep" (John 21:16). Jesus did not say to make converts to your way of thinking, but He said to look after His sheep, to see that they get nourished in the knowledge of Him. We consider what we do in the way of Christian work as service, yet Jesus Christ calls service to be what we are to Him, not what we do for Him. Discipleship is based solely on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on following after a particular belief or doctrine. "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate..., he cannot be My disciple"(Luke 14:26). In this verse, there is no arguement and no pressure from Jesus to follow Him; He is simply saying, in effect, "If you want to be My disciple, you must be devoted solely to Me." A person touched by the Spirit of God suddenly says, "Now I see who Jesus is!"- that is the source of devotion. Today we have substituted doctrinal belief for personal belief, and that is why so many people are devoted to causes and so few are devoted to Jesus Christ. People do not really want to be devouted to Jesus, but only to the cause He started. Jesus Christ is deeply offensive to the educated minds of today, to those who only want Him to be their Friend, and who are unwilling to accept Him in any other way. Our Lord's primary obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of people- the saving of people was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father. If I am devoted solely to the cause of humanity, I will soon be exhauseted and come to the point where my love will waver and stumble. But if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity , even though people may treat me like a "doormat." The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of that life is its seeming insignificance and its meekness. Yet it is like a grain of wheat that "falls into the ground and dies"- it will spring up and change the entire landscape(john 12:24). [from "My Utmost for His Highest" Oswald Chambers]

1Peter 3:8-18

1 Peter 3:8-18 8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear their threats ; do not be frightened." 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. Last week I spoke to you about how easy it is to overlook sin in our lives and because of those sins we are not able to receive the blessings that God desires for us. In life there a things that can be known generally and other things that are to be known specifically. What is the most important thing in a conversation? It is listening in order to understand the main point. Without understanding you are just wasting time. When we interact with people it is possible to know the heart of someone without even speaking to them through body language. In war, it is possible to know the enemy through their actions and that can be the difference between victory and defeat. When someone comes to you, depending on the time they come, and how they come to you, you already know why they have approached you. When you are at work, and your boss approaches you, if you are quick to understand why he is speaking to you, and if you are able to move upon that knowledge, then you can succeed. The word of God has been given us so that we are able to receive all the blessings that God desires for us. If you a able to satisfy the need of your spouse, then they in turn will satisfy your need. God desks for us to submit to him, but before we do so, we ask Him to bless us. In today's passage it says that we were called to inherit a blessing. Who receives blessings? It is one who has prepared to receive it, the one who has done something worthy to be blessed. When you take an exam, will you receive a good grade when you refuse to answer the question?  If you think that you a better than the teacher and do not fill out the exam will you pass the class? If you do not do according to what the word says, can you receive the blessings that God has for you? The word of God is not only pastors, or elders, or some other believer.  It is for all.  For all who believe. All of us are to be one and like minded.  We are to turn from evil and to do good. We are to be compassionate and humble.  It stays to not repay evil with insult but do we live like this? How easily we argue with our spouses and say things that are evil to each other. It says that whoever would love life and see good days, then we are to keep our tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. Do you need more clarification? It says to turn from evil and do good, to pursue peace. Have you ever thought that when you do not do these things that of a living in rebellion? You are being disobedient if you do not pursue peace.  Have you thought about this? It says that God has his eyes on the righteous and he hears their prayers. But what about those who are evil, their sin will be shown them on the day of judgement. It says that you are blessed when you suffer for what is right. How much did Paul suffer for Christ?  How many days did he suffer beatings, being shipwrecked even death for Christ? Peter suffered the death on the cross and he was crucified upside down. We think that we need to protect our lives.  We think that we are important because God is using us, but we fail to see that it is God who does His will and God is important not us. When God has provided us for us to share but we use it for our own pleasure, we will be punished.  How much more does one person need? When we are tempted by the things in this world, if we are lazy, or if we become complacent we are facing trials, but if we fail to see this and fall into it then our spirit goes numb to the truth. We fail to see the sin in our lives, we become unrepentant and then our relationships suffer because we have sin in our lives. We cannot be blessed because now there is sin in our life that is hindering us from drawing close to God. If your child asks for forgiveness is all forgiven, or do you wait to see the change in behavior to verify that the child is repentant? You cannot fool God into forgiving you. If there is sin in your heart that you refuse to repent of, then you cannot be blessed by God.  The sin in your life is destroying you. If Christ really is in you, then there must be repentance. The blessings you receive are not for you, but they are to be used by you to be a witness for Christ. You do not always have to go out a proclaim Christ. Your life should be intriguing to make others wonder what makes you so blessed, so that others will want to come to ask you why your life is so, then you can share the gospel of Christ. We need to see that God is speaking to us and that these words are for us to change our lives and then to receive the blessings.  We cannot ask God to give us the blessings first. It is useless to say that you are a Christian if my life does not follow the behaviors of one. When someone is speaking to me, to give me advice so that I may receive the blessings of life, then I must understand what they are saying and put those things into action. If you have things in your life that you need to change, then make the changes so that you can receive the blessings that God desires for you.

What will we eat and wear to live?

What will we eat and wear to live? Jesus tells us to look at the birds of the air. We may think that this means we can sit at home and pray and God will provide, but not so. We are told to work diligently for 6 days of the week. We are to work, but we are not to worry about the things of this world. How much joy do you have in your life? Can yo skip a meal and still be filled with joy? If God commands you to give you meal to one who is hungry will you be upset? Must you be filled to be satisfied? Must you eat every meal and not go hungry? Do you really believe the word of God? Have you put God's word to the test? Have you tried to live the life He commands? Are you more worried about your position at work rather than obeying God's word? Do you think that you need to concern yourself with what you will wear so that you can have the clothes you need? If you trusted God, then you will not have worries. Too many people today live with stress. Everybody has stress. No matter the situation everyone gives themselves stress. Do you complain to God about the stress you have? You say you don't complain to God but your actions speak differently. You tell God that it is too hard to follow God. You tell Him that if God will give you what you need then you will not be stressed be because you could do more for Him. God does not want your sacrifice. He does not care about what you want to do for Him, He wants you to obey Him. He does not care that you sacrifice your time for the church, ministry and others. He desires that your relationship is right with Him first. It is easy to do other things than to be right with God. It is easy to spend time doing things, but God does not care for your works. You think that God has abandoned you but that is wrong. There have been many times that we have missed meals, or not had nice clothes to wear, but what you fail to see is that God did provide the meals and you still had clothes to wear.  You may have not eaten what you wanted when you wanted, or had the clothes that you desired but you were clothed. Do you come to worship? Are you here telling God that you came, heard the message and sang some songs, so now you want time to do what you want? Are telling God that you have made great sacrifices because you had not bought name brand clothing in a while? Do you tell God why did you not stop me when I was going down the wrong path? You always find something to complain about.  What do you want God to do for you? How can you obey God when you don't even listen to your parents? Are you a citizen of heaven when you are wanting to do the things the way that Satan desires and not what God desires?  Then who is your master? The one you listen to is your master. Who do you serve?  Are you following God or are you following the devil? When you worry who are you serving? While you worry about life you say that you follow God, but how can that be? You are faced with the decision daily, but you must decide what you must do. Everyone has worries, but when you realize what you are doing you must stop. You must put your trust in God. We think that when we follow God that our lives are to be easy. That is not so.  The deeper you go, there are more trials.  This is to teach you. When we worship it is to serve God.  It is not time for us to be passive.  We are to be active in worship.  We are to be giving God our whole heart, mind and body.  We are to hear the message but how many times do we close our hearts and refuse to listen to the message because we don't want to change. How many times do you use the question 'is this the only way?' There is only one way, any other way will lead to hell. You must be right with God. How easy it is for us to praise God one moment and in the next moment when we are angry we speak profanity. Is this what God wants? If you repent and turn to God you will have peace, but you refuse to let go of your pride. Each of you knows this but you refuse. You act like you don't know but the truth is you don't want to. You cannot fool God. Do you want to be filled with joy, then turn to God. If you do not have anything to eat then skip a meal, if it goes for a few days then fast, if it goes to long then you will die and go to heaven, what are you worried about? I suffer greatly, but I have joy in Him. As I was praying, He showed me that He has never left me or any one of His children, but it is you who thinks that He has left you. Rather than worrying pray.  Rather than worry sing praises. Stop reading the bible with what you think, but read it the way God intends for you to read it. God is good whether you are in a good mood or not. God does not let you down, it is you who fails to see God the way he is. May you find the way to serving God the way he is deserves.

David Platt

What it really means to follw Jesus

Do we remember ethics?

Heresies of Pope Benedict XVI

Colossians 3:5-6

Colossians 3:5-6, 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. Last week I said that when we read the bible you should not open your heart to only the things that you like and close it to the words you do not like. Depending on our moods we either accept the words of someone or let them burden us. Are we not like this? We are all sinners before God. You can think of yourself this way or you can think that you are righteous before God. How do you see yourself? It is said that the one who thinks highly of themselves are the easiest to fool. The one who think that they are the smartest are easily taken advantage of. These are sayings of people who are not believers. We have the word of God that tells us these things but we refuse to listen. We don't listen to God or even the teachings of others. So who are you living your life after? Where are you going? What are you doing? We think that people are attacking us and we don't have the heart of humility to listen to the words that are spoken to us. We are told to love others as ourselves. We are told that the entrei law is summed up in love. If I truly love God can I withold my tithe offering? If I realize what God has done for me I should be willing to give everything to God, but rather we demand that God gives us more. The perspective is wrong. We should be giving thanks and not asking for more. If you are reading the bible with you as the focus then you are not seeing things properly. When we judge rather than love it is because we see with our eyes and not the heart of God. Do you further yourself from the temptations of this world, or do you do what you want to do first and then seek God after? Is God who you seek first, do you make time to worship Him, or do you seek Him when you have time left from having done everything else that you desired to do? 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. You may think that you do not do any of these so you may think that you are fine, but what about greed? Greed is not only the desire for more, but it is the lack of contentment. If you lack gratitude then you a greedy. Rather than thanking God for allowing us to have work, even though we may not have benefit that day, you complain that you did not get what you wanted. You have no gratitude in difficult times, even though you say that God is sovereign. Rather than looking at yourself you grumble to God. Rather than getting closer to Him, you start to calculate the cost of what you need and refuse to humble yourself before Him. You know that you must sacrifice all to follow Him, but you refuse to do so. You only want more from Him, without sacrificing anything. When I was married, my wife told me never to put my hands in my pockets or things into them. The reason is when you hands start to go into your pockets you start to slouch and your posture suffers. The more you put things into them, the more you hands go into them. Clothes that you care for last much longer and are more presentable. My wife told me many times, not for her sake, but for me. So that I may be more presentable to others. I was also told by an uncle to never cross my arms. He told me that it gives others bad impression to others of weakness and separation. I was also told once, as I was using a toothpick, to never leave it in the mouth, because others will find it dirty and wil be repelled by it. All three examples are of me, when I did not think that others were looking at me. I only thought of my comfort, but others are judging me and I am leaving an impression on them. If you are young, then start making the changes, so that you may be presentable to others and others may see you at your best. It will not be easy and it may bring you much struggle, but commit to making the changes so that you will reap the rewards. Abraham Lincoln before he became president recieved a letter from young girl who had suggested that to her, she felt that if he were to grow a beard, he would give a better impression because he was thin and did not leave an impression warmth to her. He took her advice and changed his image. We know what happened to him after. If a king leaves his palace without his clothes who would know that he was a king? Not many. If you are a Christian, how will people know that you are? Have you put on the clothes of Christ? Are you living the life that follows him? Peter says that the one who does what he reads is the one who is blessed. You cannot expect God to bless you when you are not following what He tells you to do. Refusing to change is pride. It is because of this that you will recieve the wrath of God's judgement. God will bless you to the degree that you do. That is His way. You can pretend that you are a Christian but if you keep refusing to do what God tells us, then you will recieve punishment and not receive the gift of eternal life. If you fail to realize that you are being punished in order to be blessed then you will never enter into His blessing. We must rid ourselves of laziness, judging, giving up, and the thoughts that God will bless us even though we do nothing. Everything that is not right must be thrown away. God will discipline you and break you until to agree right with Him because He desires that you recieve His blessings. You must change all that is keeping you from receiving God's blessing. Compare your life to the words of the bible and see what it is that is keeping you from receiving the blessings of God and make the decision and commit to doing the things that will allow you to be blessed by God.

Jesus is broken-hearted for America

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" Isaiah 1:18

What have you been doing this week? How have you lived your life? Everyone goes through struggles and difficulties, but you do not let those things consume you. We have taught you how to separate yourself through prayer so that the world does not enter you. Why are you here without having prayed? Prayer is not lip service. Either you believe Jesus or you do not. You cannot serve Jesus and serve Satan. Yes, we live in this world but it does not mean that you are to be a part of this world. You need to focus. Your hearts are blocked. You can fool people, but you cannot fool God. Though your sins be as scarlet, He will make you white as snow. We think that the blood of Christ washes me everyday, but do we ever consider what it means to be cleansed and the life that I must live because of it? The blood means nothing if I do not repent and change my life. You are fooling yourself if you think that you are cleansed but do not live differently. If you are darkened by sin, do you think that making that clean is easy? You do not become clean without action. You must repent. Without repentance there is no value in the blood. If my husband has been cleansed, it does nothing for me if I stay close to him.  I must repent myself if I want to be clean. How easy it would have been if my parents faith was transferable to me, but the bible says that it is not the case. You may think that you are better than those who are in prison, or cleaner than someon else, but in God's law you do not prevail. God is love and he is forgiving. But you are not forgiven for saying only a prayer. The words of God will not pass away. We teach how you must live and think here. We teach you that you must rid yourself of stubborness.  Your will never obey God if you are stubborn.  You think that God must obey you. You will never get into heaven that way. I do not teach what I want, but what the bible says. You may complain that what we teach is hard, then you are free to leave. I teach what I have learned and God has shown me. God will not bow down to you.  You must bow to Him. God does not need to use you.  He can use anyone. If you want to be used by Him, then you must direct your life into the direction He wants. In this world, you can succeed doing whatever want. If you want to succeed in Christ, then it will never be easy. Your job, position and status does not matter to God. God never directs me where I want to go.  I have to go where He leads me. He will teach and guide me until the day I die. It is endless.  The degree of which I humble myself will be the degree to which He uses me. There is no end to His teaching. Even the knowledge of the world is vast but the wisdom of God is infinite. How well do you know the bible? How many times have you read it? You have made God an accessory.  Something that you carry around. You also think that you are not stained by sin.  You think that you a not as bad as others. God is greater than you but you think that you are greater than God. That is why you demand from Him. Who is the master and who is the slave? You will never know completely all of God's word. Even the most Bible educated people will tell you that they don't know completely. Do not let pride fool you into thinking that you are better than someone else, that you know more than someone else. Confess to God your sins and stop pretending like you are not a sinner. The blood of Christ can only wish you when you repent of your sins. Just to look at it does nothing. There were many around Jesus when He was crucified, but because they were there does not mean they were saved. To believe in Christ you must confess to Him the you are a sinner and repent. Then Christ will forgive you and cleanse you and give you eternal life. Will you believe Him and follow Him? Do you want the blood of Christ to flow through you? Do not think that when you follow Him that you are free from difficulties. Blessings and trials happen to both believers and nonbelievers. You are not a believer because you are better than the nonbeliever. Rather pray for those who do not believe.  Pray for this city you live in. Bless those so that you too may be blessed. If you truly are a follower of Christ, then pray for those who do not believe, and pray for the country and people of Israel. They are God's chosen people.  We are not to judge them, just pray for them.  Bless them, do not curse them. You are filled with frustration because you only think about yourself. The world is passing by.  Stop worrying about what you will eat, God will take care of you. Decide which path you will take. Summary of sermon by Pastor Joy Y.s. Park