Love The Red Words

I have been studying the words in red in the bible…..

           

The red words are Jesus words. 

The first red words occur when Jesus goes to John the Baptist to be baptized….

1.      Baptism Matt 3:15

a.       Jesus came to John the Baptist and wanted to get baptized

                                                               i.      John thought it was absurd and said he thought Jesus should baptize him

                                                             ii.      Jesus then proceeded to say that

Matthew 3:15(AMP)

But Jesus replied to him, Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for [both of] us to fulfill all righteousness [that is, to perform completely whatever is right]. Then he permitted Him.

                                                           iii.      Jesus did not deny that John should get baptized

HOWEVER!

                                                           iv.      Jesus then humbled himself and got baptized

                                                             v.      he knew no sin but still submitted to a baptism of repentance

                                                           vi.      Preached by example

                                                         vii.      Christ was designed for the highest honors, yet in his first step he thus lowered himself.

1.      Note, those who would rise high must begin low.

2.      Before honor is humility.

2.      The second group of red words is after Jesus gets baptized and he is immediately led by the spirit into the wilderness (the wilderness is a desert…it is a picture of dry , lonely, and a hard place)

a.       This is where he prepared himself for his ministry (He fasted for 40 days and nights)

b.      Coming out of his fast the devil was there to meet him….he devil tried to tempt Jesus

                                                               i.      He asked him to make the rocks bread…Jesus was hungry (he focused Jesus on his weakness so that he could manipulate him)

1.      Jesus responded in

Matthew 4:4 (NKJV) But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (hence the reason I am studying the red words)

                                                             ii.      Then he tried to tempt Jesus again by saying jump and the angels would catch him…Jesus was tired (Jesus was on a mountain, hungry, he could have taken a short cut down the mountain by jumping down it but he refused to take short cuts….as we should not take short cuts

                                                           iii.       ***when we are tired it is really easy to say God if this is you- then do this or that, but that is not what we are to do

                                                           iv.      He then told him to look at the kingdoms and tried to convince Jesus to worship before him in exchange for power. The devil will find anything he can to distract you from Gods will. In this case he tried to use power but he can also use: men, women, clothes, cars, money, ect

1.      Jesus replied saying We are to worship God alone

….. no matter how hard it is, stay focused on Jesus and worship Him by  putting your focus on Him alone

                                                             v.      Immediately after Jesus resisted the temptation  Angels came to minister to Jesus (when you stay strong through your weakness…you push through it and stay focused on God...you will be ministered to)                            

      Jesus begins His ministry Matt 4:18

a.       Jesus first thing he preached was repentance….

Matthew 4:17 (NKJV) From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

                                                               i.      What does repent mean?

1.       "Repentance (Greek word- metanoia, pronounced - me-tä-no-e'-ō 'change of mind') involves a turning with remorse from sin to God; the repentant sinner is in the proper condition to accept the divine forgiveness."

2.        to change one's mind, i.e. to repent

3.       to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with hatred or disgust of one's past sins

4.       It is a verb-an action word, that is in the present tense, it uses an active voice and it is in a mood that is commanding and  authoritative …

5.       * The Present Active Imperative verb form occurs 592 times in the New Testament…..change of the heart and soul, of the life and actions

6.       What does this mean….it means we need to be aggressively changing our mind when it comes to sin. We do not flirt with it…

Christians getting violent!

If you want to be all God wants you to be- you need to expect opposition.

We are not called to easy things as Christians- we are called to hard things. He never gives us more than we can handle

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV)

¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence [taken by storm], and the violent take it by force.

 

Matthew 11:12 (NLT)

¹² And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.

 

Luke 16:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.

We are like fish swimming in a river against the current-going up stream. All the other fish are going with the current and are swimming down stream. Not only are we swimming up stream, but  we are swimming against the other fish that are going the opposite way. It makes it twice as hard to swim. If we stop swimming and pressing against the current or the flow of everyone else, we automatically start going backwards....the current takes us with it naturally.

It is also a lot like climbing a mountain, if we fall and skin our knee, we do not retreat but we get up dust ourselves off and continue climbing. We do not turn around and go back down the mountain, we press to the top!

 

(press with a holy violence into the kingdom of God.” Note, Those that would go to heaven must take pains, must strive against the stream, must press against the crowd that are going the contrary way-Matthew Henry commentary)

The word "Press" is a verb ( it is an action word) (Greek biazō) = to use force, apply force, to inflict "violence" on,

1) to use force, to apply force

                        2) to force, inflict violence on

Opposite- of doing nothing, not do anything, ignoring issues or to quit

It occurs twice in the new testament (the two scriptures that are listed above)

• to press against the current the Holy Spirit is the one that gives us strength. It is not in our strength, it is in Gods strength

• our opposition is not against people, sometimes it comes through people but they are not the battle

Everybody has to press through something…

IN OTHER COUNTRIES…THEY ARE IMPRISONED, KILLED AND TORTURED FOR THEIR FAITH

HERE …We want it to easy…we are the microwave generation

We press against:

 Rejection

Abandonment

Offense

Self-pity

Vengeance

Jealousy

Sickness

Pain of feelings

Betrayal

UN-forgiveness

Trials

Disappoints

We gain strength through fellow-shipping with God, talking to Him and learning His word. If we are not in contact with Him, we are not being strengthened and that is when we are pressing in our own strength (John 15:4)

Not only should we be in fellowship and communication with God but we must be obedient to Him.

James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers [readers] only, deceiving yourselves.

We need to press and fight against the current with zeal and passion. Not apathetically, with a lack of concern or interest, or by being lazy.

*Just like when we go to the gym to get physically fit, to get fit, or to get muscles.…we press the dumbbells, we push ourselves forward, we make ourselves keep running on the treadmill

IT IS NOT A PASSIVE THING.... IT IS AGGRESSIVE, and ACTIVE.....IT IS VIOLENT!

Matthew 5:28-30 (NKJV)

²⁸ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

This verse is not telling you to actually cut your hand off and pluck your eye out, it is telling you pto do what ever it takes to not sin. It is telling you to be violent with your sin!

Examples: if you have a problem with porno on the computer

a good way to be violent is to get rid of computer, get a filter, have an accountability partner to reveiw your history, ect...

alcoholics: stay away from bars

gossip: stay away from people that gossip, avoid phone conversations

anger: you pull yourself away when you feel like it is boiling and you calm down

***everyone will have to do something different, we all have different struggles***

You need to get violent with your circumstances…do not be passive

When you are doing yard work and you are trimming bushes, you need to use all your strength to saw a branch off, it is the same thing with your sin, it will take a lot of effort, strength and patience.

When I want to lose weight, I get violent with myself, I press in at the gym, and do not eat junk food...when I mess up, I start over. I do not just throw my hands in the air and give up. 

Focus on the Goal

Philippians 3:12-16

¹² Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. ¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
¹⁵ Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Love it, learn it, live it!

How important is it to know the scriptures?

Why?

What if you get some scripture right and then some wrong, or twist it a little, is that okay?

 

Eve was deceived because of this very issue. If you know the word of God, the devil's lies will not be able trip you...

Genesis 3:3-5 (NKJV) 3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

***God did not say she could not touch the tree, he said she could not eat of the tree

 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

          
            ***imagine with me:
             Eve thinks she can’t "touch" the tree.

What if she picked a piece of fruit from the tree, and she noticed that nothing happened…

do you think at that point she might have believed the serpent?

Eve might have said, Look he is right, I did not die...so then she took a bite of it

The command not to eat from the tree...

Gen 2: 15-17 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

·         God told Adam don’t eat of the tree, lest you die

·         Eve added to what God said by saying- she couldn’t even touch the tree

·         The devil picks up on the mistake, the twist that Eve added to the command

DIG

Take a Dollar bill, rip it in half, tape it with a fake dollar bill that has been ripped in half.

Is it real?
How do you know – because you are familiar with it...

***just because it looks real, and it is taped to some real money doesn’t mean it is real, it is still counterfeit

o   Counterfeits have a little truth with a little twist added

The same thing happens a lot of time with the word of God.  We get bits and pieces of it through sermons we hear, bible studies we go too, our pastors and teachers. We hear a lot of information out there.

We need to be able to recognize the truth and when there is something suspicious or a question about it, we need to figure out and separate the truth from the lie.

===just like the money it may have some truth with the lie….if we are not careful like Eve we can learn the hard way!

A lot of the times, the things we hear are from people, are people we trust and they are not necessary trying to give us wrong information, but they too must make sure what they say, do, and believe line up with the Word of God….

 2 Tim 2:14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1.       I do not share this with you so that you can argue about the scriptures with the people around you- that will do more harm than good

 

2. I am sharing it so that you can be confident and approved by GOD not the people around you.

You can have peace within yourself that you know what He expects and what His decrees are.

 

And furthermore you can avoid being ashamed . If know what God wants, says and expects then you can stand confidently against the lies....Eve was able to be tricked!

 

We do not need to learn the hard way like Eve did...We have the tools we need, and we need to utalize them. Cukture and trtaditions chage as well as everyday language changes from decade to decade....

 

1. The Holy spirit reveals and teaches us

2. Commentary's explain things to us about culture, ect..

3. Hebrew and Greek dictionary's explain the words to us...

 

Many times we just repeat what we hear from people that did not take the tyime to search it out.

The truth will set you free, but lies will bind you up, and trip you….it is important to find out what God says about the things your dealing with. If you believe every thing you hear, without testing it to the Word of God- you will end up being very unstable just like Eve. 

James 1:8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

·         Gods promises are Gods promises

·         Same with His commands

·         We need to know them, so that no counterfeit can deceive us or trip us up, as it did with Eve!

Our words, beliefs, and actions should never contradict what the Word of God says…

 Learn it, love it, live it!

 

Girls night for the girls!!!!

Lots of sugar....fire and fun!!! I will post pix!

Friends and Family...

My husband said something that shook me the other day. He said he was studing the past revivals and why the revivals stopped. He said they stopped because of division in the church. Debates on doctrines, and arguments within the body of Christ...I thought that was very interesting, I just happened to be doing a study on relationships during that same time.

 

Relationships are very important to God.

In the beginning, God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3:8).

In fact, over half of the Ten Commandments protect relationships.

 #1-4 protect your relationship with God

#5 Honor your Parents (protects your relationship with your parents)

#8 Do not commit adultery (protects marriage)

#9Do no bear false witness against each other

#10 Do not covet what your neighbor has

When Jesus was being crucified, one of the last things he dealt with- while he was hanging and suffocating on the cross, was relationships.

Think with me for a minute, you are hanging on a cross, and you see your mom standing there and your best friend. When you die, you know that they are going to have some hard times ahead, even though they have God, they also need each other…Instead of focusing on your pain…your love for them makes you tell them to stick together as family.

 John 19: 24-27 (MSG)

While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus’ mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.

 Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

 

God says He is the father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5), he called Abraham his friend (James 2:23), and he commands us to love each other, encourage each other and edify each other.

These scriptures show how family and friends are truly important. So important that it became a commandment.

John 13:34-35
I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves]. A house divided will not stand.

 God knew that we would need each other. It is natural and in our very nature for us to desire relationships and friends. Have you noticed how often people dwell on their relationships? "I don't have any friends," they say, or they are lonely and become depressed.When people feel neglected by family or rejected by their community, a lot of times they end up in gangs or hanging with the wrong crowd. They tend to go where they are loved and feel welcome.

 Genesis 2:18 (NKJV) And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

*Now I know this verse is used for marriage but it is important that we understand that God did not see it fit for us to be alone in life without companionship and friendship.

As Christians, we are a family…

 Galatians 6:10
So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good [ morally] to all people

[not only being useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith [those who belong to God’s family with you, the believers].

Romans 12:10
Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family],

giving precedence and showing honor to one another.

 Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.

 

Proverbs 11:14 

Where there is no counsel, the people fall;

But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Romans 12:4-6 (MSG)

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body.

Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around.

The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people.

Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body.

But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?

So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

 

No matter popular or not, young or old, we (Christians) should be the tightest knit friends around!

***Remember- By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

 We need to look out for each other, if we don’t, who will?

 Proverbs 18:1 (NKJV)

A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment.

 Proverbs 18:1 (MSG)

18 Loners who care only for themselves
spit on the common good.

We are called to have unity amongst each other. We should be so tight that nothing can separate us. Different fellowships, different churches,  different denominations, miles apart, differences of opinions....none of it matters! Sectarianism Is Sin and Jesus forbad it (Mk 9:38, Lk 9:49, 1 Corinthians 1:10, 1 Corinthians 3:1 ). Without love we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13)!

Enter into the joy of the Lord~ good and faithful servant....

So on Wednesday the parable of the talents was talked about. As it was read, I couldn't help but notice that not only will God call us good and faithful for being a good steward of our money (talents), but that when we are faithful steward of them- that is when we enter into the joy of the Lord! Wow, how exciting!

For those of you who do not know. This parable is talking about money. When you are good with the little that you have, more is given to you. Many times people teach that the talents are actual "talents," which serves a purpose and is fine. However, I have been really challenged lately in my finances. This scripture just really ministered to my challenges. God cares how we spend our money. Where ever our treasure is, that is where our heart is. Examining where are money is going is a good test of where we are spiritually as well, whether we are a newer or older saint.

The saying, it is better to give than receive, is right on target!

Even if we use this verse for our spiritual talents, (IE: teaching, prophecy, etc), the more you give of your talents and the more you are functioning in them....the more joy you will have!

I just wanted to share what God showed me...the word of God is truly alive and it is so exciting to have it deep with in you!

Here is the story if you would like to read it! 

Matthew 25: 14 (NKJV)“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰ “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ ²² He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²⁴ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

²⁹ ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’