The Pharisees knew scripture but did not take the time to know the Messiah. The irony is today people claim to know the Messiah but do not take the time to know the scriptures.

John 7:45-52New King James Version (NKJV)

45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”

46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”

47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night,[a] being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”

52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen[b] out of Galilee.”

The Pharisees knew scripture but did not take the time to know the Messiah. They knew that scripture said the messiah would come from Bethlehem, but they thought Jesus came from Galilee… What if they would have taken the time to search it out? Do you think they may have come to a different conclusion? Jesus was indeed from Bethlehem. They missed it and didn't know it.

The irony today is people claim to know the Messiah but do not take the time to know the scriptures.

Acts 17:10-15 NKJV ¹⁰ Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. ¹³ But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. ¹⁴ Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.¹⁵ So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

We are called to be fair minded (open minded)!!!! However, we are also supposed to see if things line up with scripture. We are not supposed to believe everything that e hear without testing it. Many believers today have no idea what scripture says. They hear a sermon or a teaching and that is their gospel. On the other hand some search for hours to prove their point (like the Pharisees), rather than searching the scriptures to find out the truth they search them to prove people wrong.

 John 5:39-40 (NKJV) You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. ⁴⁰ But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Knowing these things we should be careful not to become imbalanced. We must be fair minded (open minded) and then go search the scriptures to see if what is being taught is true. This will do many things. When we hear a teaching, write down the scriptures and then go look it up -it will begin to show you what truth is and what it is not. Eventually, you will know many different truths of the bible. It will not take you hours and hours of studying to test (1 Thessalonians 5:21) the things you hear. You will learn like a child in elementary school, little by little, and not even realize how much you are actually picking up. It will also alert you when the teaching isn't necessarily lining up. 

The Pharisees said no prophet came from Galilee (v. 52) but there were several prophets that came from Galilee. Jonah, Hosea, and perhaps Elijah, Elisha, and Amos were from Galilee or at least close to it. Not to mention, Jesus was not born there but they assumed he was. The scriptures they were referring to said exactly what they claimed it said. The Messiah was to come from Bethlehem. This should raddle you a bit. This means you can know the truth and still not know Jesus. We must know Him. If we know scripture but we do not know Jesus, then it is useless to us. We need to be intimate with Him. Know Him for ourselves, like a friend.


Jesus wants to have a relationship with you…

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV) But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Romans 5:8 ESV But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 6:40 ESV For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

John 3:16 ESV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Radical Stewards

Offering Illustration for 1/21/15:

I want to ask you a question. If you were going to interview me, and your job was to find out if I really loved my husband but you could only ask me one question. What would that question be? Think about that for a minute.

I asked that question on my Facebook a couple of weeks ago and people answered with stuff like…

1.       What do we do together?

2.       Have I been faithful?

3.       How do you help/support your husband?

4.       If your husband would die, would you miss him so much you could not live without him? (In the sense that your life would be drastically transformed.)

5.       Ask someone in the audience…

I ask this question because Jesus asked Peter “Do you love me?”

                                John 21:15-17 (NKJV)

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah,[a] do you love Me more than these?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[b] do you love Me?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[c] do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”

And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

It was a serious conversation…

He calls Peter: Simon, son of Jonas. He says his full name…

Just like it would affect my children if I said their full name…

It gets their attention!

Jesus says, if you love me then feed my sheep and tend to them.

How many of you have heard of the book “Love Languages?” There are several different ways to show our love. The book says that we all have a certain love language that we desire and that we function in naturally...

It is my responsibility to love my husband the way he feels loved the most. I need to speak his love language…whether it is mine or not.

We need to become bilingual AND multilingual in the Kingdom of God.

In fact the bible commands women to respect their husbands and husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. This is love language. 

We know that Jesus loved his church so much that he died for her….

This is the love language.

Jesus tells Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep...

I know we are not all called to be in front of the crowd like Peter.

However, I want to suggest that we are all called to make it happen…..

Romans 10: 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

We are all called to finance the kingdom of God…

Matthew 6:21 (NKJV)

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We should not be insulted to have our sincerity questioned. It keeps us sharp.

He doesn't ask “Do you fear me? Do you honour me? Do you admire me?”  He asks do you love Him? Will you set aside your life for the church, like He did? Will you feed and tend to His sheep and the flock that you are called to be in?

Let’s lay it all down for Him. Let’s be radical stewards of what He has entrusted us with…

Torment Takes Your Strength!

In the past week I have heard two sermons on Samson and Delilah. While I was listening and reading the scripture, this jumped out at me that was not part of the sermons.

Judges 16:15-22 (NKJV)

15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”

16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,

17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.

19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.

20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. 22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.

First, I want to point out that Samson was telling Delilah that his strength was in his hair not being cut, verse 17. He was a Nazirite from birth. I am sure his mom explained the Nazirite vow to him several times. He believed in his hair and in his vow.  

However, when we read on, his strength did not leave him until she began to torment him!

Torment in the Hebrew word is `anah. It has a primitive root [possibly rather ident. with עָנָה (H6030) to answer, respond, testify, speak, and shout] through the idea of looking down or browbeating.

I want to propose that Delilah’s words tormented him and that was the cause of his strength to leave him, verse 19.

Torment is not from God…

Interestingly enough, he was still asleep when she was tormenting him. Words are powerful whether you hear them or not.

Once you lose your strength, the enemy can do as he pleases with you…hence the reason his eyes were plucked out! His vision was stolen and he was in captivity (another picture of being in the wilderness, going in circles, not able to find the promise land-God's promises or best for your life).

Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.

Oddly enough, this verse talks about hair and strength. Samson had his hair cut and his strength was taken. Hair represents our Glory because it is our covering.

1 Corinthians 11:15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.

Glory is the Greek word doxa, which means a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, glory, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity and grace.

                       

Covering is the Greek word peribolaion, which means a veil or a mantle. When I looked it up so I could share the meaning, I was astonished at what I found.  I know about the covering and being under authority but mantle actually means:

Mantle-Noun

1.     1.   a loose sleeveless cloak or shawl, worn especially by women.

synonyms:

cloak, cape, shawl, wrap

2.      2. an important role or responsibility that passes from one person to another.

"the second son has now assumed his father's mantle"

synonyms:

role, burden, duty, responsibility "the mantle of leadership"

The second definition is the one I want to talk about. Samson had a role, a responsibility and duty to keep a vow that he had made to God. Breaking such vows was a sin. When you sin, you lose your praise, honour, and good reputation. This is when torment can affect you and zap your strength!

It is all connected!   

Nehemiah 8:9-11 (NKJV)

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.”

Side Note: I would like to consider that Samson, if he believed God for his strength, he would have said “God’s grace is sufficient for me!” He wouldn’t have been tormented, over taken, or blinded! 

Right beliefs are critical! 

"Flies Don't Land On Hot Frying Pans."- Pastor Brian Rezendes

Flies don't land on hot frying pans- Pastor Brian Rezendes

Yes, I am still thinking about this. I cannot help it. Flies in the bible represent demons (Beelzebub means "lord of the flies," Matt 12:24).

Whats crazy is I just had a whole semester of forensic science. They actually estimate the time of death of a person by the different species of flies that infest the body. Flies find DEAD bodies within the first hour of a persons death! You can study just about any species of fly and find out that their life span is from 1 day to forty days!! Those of you that know the significance of 40 biblically should get excited! Jesus fasted for 40 days!

Matt 12:22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons,” [Beelzebub means "lord of the flies"].

This poor man! He was demon possessed! He was blind in the things of God, and voiceless at the throne of grace! Satan blinds the eye of faith, and seals up the lips of prayer. He was spiritually dead and he had demons!!!

However, 8 chapters prior, Jesus fasted for 40 days. The significance of this is huge!!!! The disciples came to Jesus one day and said that they couldn't cast out a demon. Jesus explained to them that some demons cannot be cast out except by praying and fasting.

Matthew 17:14-21 (NKJV)

And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic[a] and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;[b] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus fasted for 40 days and the longest life span of a fly is forty days. I do not believe this to be a coincidence! If we want to cast out demons, pray for the blind to see, and the mute to speak-we need to fast…the longer the better. If we only fast for 7 days, we may only have dominion of the fly’s that live only 7 days and that leaves room for the flies that can survive 40 days!!

Side note:

If you are alive spiritually, the flies cannot land on you. However, sin leads to death and faith without works is dead. We need to be very careful that we are not professing to be alive when we are actually dead as a door nail! Fasting will raise you from the dead if in fact you are. It will also give you the dominion needed to keep the flys off of you and anyone you pray for.  

I have not been able to fast for more than 2 days so far. My prayer has been for God to give me the grace and strength to go longer. 

Some seeds germinate best after a fire...

Some seeds have a hard coating that can only be penetrated by fire. One of these is conifers. Conifers are evergreens. They are green during every season. They do not need to wait for spring to experience new life. They live in high altitudes and can survive conditions that have less fertile soils or less predictable drought regimes. In these conditions the proportion of evergreen species increases.
I would like to draw a parallel with Christians and evergreens. When Christians are in regimes that have less fertile soil (hard hearts) and hard seeds (hard words)(drug attacks, gangsters, hard sinners) - fire will make them germinate. They will need less water and they will survive extreme weather conditions (good and bad times). They will produce life- all year round, not just in their “season.” They also live in higher altitudes (levels).
Many Christians are planted by with different kinds of seeds in various soils. Some by the river and others in the wilderness- but the evergreens can survive almost anywhere and all year round- Selah!
Oh how my desire is to be an evergreen!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_ecology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest#Classification

Pleasing Him and the Reward...

Hebrews 4:11 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him.

7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

I love this passage. It tells us how to please our heavenly Father and how to be rewarded by Him! It offers hope. I love how it gives examples of different faith. Everyone of us is called to walk by faith. When we hear that still small voice, by FAITH, we get up and act on it!!! It may seem foolish, crazy, absurd and even extreme but when we get up and act on it, it is counted to us as righteous (Genesis 15:6). God loves that! He REWARDS that! Peter got out of the boat because of his faith!!!

What is insane is that Peter walked on water and as soon as he started to sink, Jesus asked him, why he had such little faith (Matthew 14:22-33)!!! Little faith!?!?!?! He walked on water!!! He was radical, he believed God and he didnt care what anyone thought!!!!

Today lets walk by faith like we never have before! Lets ask God to call us out on the waters....no matter how crazy or scary it might be, no matter how big the storm is- be obedient! The more you hear and actually do, the deeper walk you will have.

THIS IS WHAT WILL GET YOUR FIRE BLAZIN AND KEEP IT BLAZIN!

Side note

When Peter stepped out of the boat, I am sure the other disciples were trying to stop him!!! They really were concerned and loved him, they didn't want anything bad to happen to him, but he trusted God!!! When he heard God's voice, he didn't care what anyone said. ‪#‎TrustHim‬