WHO CAN YOU TRUST?

Last week we made a very truthful, yet difficult statement.  We said the way things are in the world today nobody trusts anybody anymore.  There is no one or thing that seems trustworthy or reliable.  This is a sad conclusion to draw, yet I know it rings true to you, doesn’t it?  Let me welcome everyone to your 24/7 week long, online church service.  I cannot emphasize enough everyone is welcome in this place. 

Now let me be clear.  We all have friends or relatives that we know and love.  But truth be known, we all know that even these loved ones let us down or betray our trust at different times, don’t they?  This does not make them bad people.  It just makes them human.  Because we love them we usually forgive them and go on with our lives.  Yet these human experiences caution us not to give our one-hundred percent trust to any man or woman, doesn’t it? 

My friends, in these difficult times, I will point this out to you.  There is only one that is totally trustworthy and that is God, who presented himself to us through his son, Jesus Christ.  Let’s look at this trust.  Church, we want you to know there is One who will never let you down.  His name is Jesus.  If there is one thing I know for sure, church, is that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.  All through the New Testament of the Bible Jesus is referred to as Lord or The Lord.  Now with that in mind, let’s look at Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.  How many of you know Old Testament shows the character of God?  That character flows through Jesus to us.  So let’s read Deuteronomy 31:8 together:

“And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.”

I ask you, are these comforting words or not?  That my friends, is the character of God.  His Word is true and he is completely trustworthy.  Let’s explore this scripture a little more closely.  Basically the very first thing it says is no matter what your situation in life is, no matter what you are going through – Moses in this scripture tells us clearly that God will  go before you.  You may have heard the saying that God will make a way where there seems to be no way.  That is our God.

Moses goes on to tell us this:  God will never fail us.  Now, that sounds trustworthy to me, how about you?  This scripture goes on to say that no matter what, your Lord will never forsake you. In other words, church, you put your trust in God and his son, Jesus Christ.  No matter what, he will never leave you or turn his back on you.   Now, who else can you say that about? 

One of the biggest things we face on this earth is fear, isn’t it?  We fear so many things – the loss of a job, broken relationships, the lack of money.  So many things plague us with fear.  Yet, in this scripture we are told boldly and clearly to fear not!!  Neither be dismayed.  Why?  Because God is with you and for you.  Believe that, my friends.  It is the Word of God and God does not break his Word.  Listen folks, I understand these words are not easy to believe.  But God has said them to us in his Word.  Jesus in the book of Mark addresses the belief and unbelief that we struggle with.  Let’s read Mark 9:23 together:

“Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to them that believeth.”

Jesus was talking to a distraught father whose son was possessed by demons.  This father needed help for his son, yet no help seemed to be available to him until Jesus came into his life.  That was his situation.  What is your situation, my friends?  The words of Jesus to this distraught father are his very exact same words to you this day.  Now, listen to Mark 9:24.  The father expresses truthfully his feelings and emotions and this is what he said:

“And straight way the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord I believe; help thou my unbelief.”

This points out our situation in so many cases, doesn’t it?  We say we believe in healing, Lord help our unbelief.  We say we believe in deliverance, Lord help our unbelief.  We even say we believe God has forgiven us of our sins, Lord help our unbelief.  Is this message becoming more clear to you know, folks? We are too hard on ourselves, church.  Sometimes we worry so much about our unbelief in a situation we forget to ask God to help with our belief.  God sees our struggles.  Seek him and he will show himself to you.  My  suggestion is to seek God and his direction for you first thing each morning.  Psalms 5:1-3 shows us the way.

“Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.  Herken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; for unto thee will I pray.  My voice shall thou hear in the morning, O Lord.  In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”

You see folks, God gives us direct instructions in his Word on how and when to talk with him.  God is telling you in no uncertain terms that he knows man cannot always be of help to you, but he can and will.  You must just believe him enough to ask for him to consider your thoughts pertaining to your life on this earth.  This scripture tells you it is okay to cry out your needs and desires to God.  You want results, you must cry out to your King and to your God.   The way to do that is to truly receive Jesus Christ into your heart and to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life.

That gives you the right to cry out – My God, help me.  You are learning here to approach God in the morning.  It does no good to wait till nightfall to ask God to bless your day.  Do you understand this?  Listen to me everyone, my desire is to see you begin to believe and trust God in every situation of life that you find yourself in.   Come to know for certain that God’s Word is true.  He does love you.  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Trust is something that is earned.  Jesus died on that cross just for you.  Now that is someone you can trust in.

God Bless You,

Bro. Bob

AND ABOVE ALL THESE THINGS

This week we’re going to talk about compassion, love and unity in the faith.  Believe me church, these are all compatible and built into all true believers.  The problem is, many believers don’t know, have never been taught or just plain don’t practice these God-given traits.  Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.  Everyone is welcome in this place. 

You know church, there are times when we as believers must be reminded of the good spirit God has given us.  The Holy Spirit of God will lead you into being a compassionate and loving person, one that desires to be one with other persons of like faith.  Let’s take a good look of how God expects his children to act toward each other and others.  We will begin by reading Colossians 3:12-14.  And this is what it states:

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any:  Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.  And above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness.”

Notice that this scripture begins by saying ‘put on therefore.’  Then it goes on to say because of who we are in Christ it is our responsibility to on purpose behave and act with mercy, kindness and love towards others.  Even though God has saved us through his son, Jesus Christ, and has given us such holy and beautiful traits, he leaves it up to us to put on therefore his personality and to make it our own. 

Our number one desire as believers should be to be as he is.  The apostle Paul is talking to all believers here.  And guess what folks, that includes us.  Remember the Bible is the instruction Book of Life.  This is a very troubled world, my friends.  There is dissension at every hand.  Nobody trusts anybody anymore.  Manners seem to be a thing of a bygone era.  Everywhere we look from government to churches, people are treating each other with total disrespect.  Do not think for one moment that nonbelievers do not see the hypocrisy of believers preaching love but acting in hate toward those who do not agree with them. 

The apostle Paul is telling us to stop this foolishness and be who and what God has made us - a loving and trustworthy servant of God and his son, Jesus Christ.  It is time, my fellow believers, to practice what we preach.  If believers would set aside petty differences and just show love to one another and others, we would be winning over the lost souls that need a Savior.  If they do not see Jesus in us, why would they want to become like or even be one of us?  We must begin to show love to one another first.  Then we can share the love of Jesus with others in unity.  That my friends, will draw the lost to Jesus.  I John 3:14 states:

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.  He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”

These are pretty strong words, church.  The way some people in the church talk and feel about others, makes you wonder if they have passed from death unto life, doesn’t it?  Understand this – I am not saying these things to be critical of you.  I am saying them to encourage and inspire you to be more like Jesus.  In the first scripture we read today Paul tells us who we are as believers.  He said that we have been elected by God to become his child.  That means God has chosen us to walk with and to serve him.  It goes on to say that we are holy and beloved.  That is all part of what salvation means, my friends.

The truth is, no one comes to God on their own.  That is not built into the human nature.  No, we are drawn by the Spirit of God and that is what is meant by being the elect of God.  The only variable is that we have the right to accept or reject the Holy Spirit’s outreach to us.  But, I am mainly talking to believers today.  You have accepted the urging of the Spirit to become God’s child and representative on the earth.  That is what is meant by being born again.

Now, just as you received and developed a personality in the natural, in the new birth you received the personality of God and his son, Jesus.  As you grow in him by reading his Word and renewing your mind to the things of God, his personality traits become your own.  These traits of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness and long suffering should not fade with time, but should grow in you.  That is why this scripture says so clearly to “put on therefore these things.”

Verse 14 of the scripture we read in Colossians is the icing on the cake.  Here the Holy Spirit so clearly states through the apostle Paul the words we must learn, know and use.  Once again it says “and above all things.”  Did you get that, church?  Above all things put on love!!  Love is the bond of perfectness.  In other words, love is the glue that seals us to the perfectness of God.  My friends, there is no room in the church for hate toward one another.  There is no room for hate toward anyone. 

Love must be our first quality.  When the apostle Paul says “above all things put on charity,” which means love, he is not kidding.  The point I am making here church, is this:  God has given us through his son Jesus a new way of life.  It should be a life of love, peace, mercy and grace.   We should be the most positive people on this earth.  It is built into us that all things are possible with God.  All I am asking you to do is to be who you really are in God. 

We should be praying and encouraging each other in the Lord.  Our prayers should be positive, knowing that God loves us.  Our mission should be God’s mission.  That is not to condemn the world and those that dwell therein, but to save the world.  It is much easier to accomplish this mission with love.  It is impossible to do with hatred and self righteousness. 

This world needs you, church.  Become a light to the world and draw people to Jesus by the love you show to the lovely and the unlovely people that are watching and observing you.

God Bless You,

Bro. Bob

IF WE DID NOT LOVE YOU

The message we presented to you last week was titled “The Truth Is This.”  In fact, every message we preach should come under that title.  In one of our very first messages, over two and a half years ago, I stated this:  My job as your online preacher is to give you the truth of the Word as God has given it to me.  That truth is Jesus and him crucified and each message must be based on the Word of God, which is the Bible.  Teaching from any other book or point of view is not truth.

Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.  Everyone is welcome in this place.  Last week we preached on sin and righteousness.  Not always a popular subject, but one that must be taught.  Whether we are believers or not there is a judgment day coming.  Our mission is to prepare you for that judgment day by presenting Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God to you.

Psalms 85:7 states this:

“Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.”

That my friends, is the cry of the nations.  People from all lands, from Israel to Palestine to all of Europe, every continent, including the Americas need a Savior to show them salvation, mercy, love and grace.  The only person that fits that description is Jesus Christ.  I’m making a point here, church.  Do you understand what I am saying to you?  A note to believers:   Psalms 85:8 gives you some very direct instruction.  It says:

“I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak peace unto his people and to his saints; but let them not turn again to folly.”

What this scripture shows us is this:  You have to be attentive to God.  This scripture points out clearly that God speaks to his people.  Oftentimes in the Bible Jesus is referred to as the Good Shepherd and we as his believers are called his sheep.  Turn with me John 10:27-30.  Jesus is speaking here.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.   My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.  I and my Father are one.”

This should be very exciting and wonderful information for all believers.  Jesus says much in these two scriptures we have presented to you.  Let’s look a little closer at these Bible verses.  We have already established by scripture that God and his son Jesus talk to us and we are able to talk to them.  Psalms 85:8 also tells us what it is that God speaks to his people.  Read it again for yourselves.  It says God speaks peace to you.  My friends, one thing men everywhere in this insecure and crazy world is missing, is peace. 

How many times have you heard someone say or show how stressed out they are.  Even many believers seem frenzied and out of control.  This should not and does not have to be.  Listen to the voice of God, my friends.  He is speaking peace to you.  Now, referring back to last week, God says “I speak peace to you,” but then he gives a warning to you.  That warning is this:  “But do not let them return to their folly.” This is talking about sin in your life.

Let me put it to you this way:  God speaks peace to you.  You hear his voice.  Now, do you want to retain this peace God has given you or not?  If you do, you must not return to sin as  way of life.  I guarantee you peace cannot and will not stay where sin prevails.  Now look, I understand we are all human and sometimes we allow sin back into our lives.  The key is this:  As soon as you recognize sin has re-entered into your life, repent and turn away from it and ask God to forgive you.

Peace will stay with you and comfort you.  Why?  Because God loves you and will neither leave you, nor forsake you. My advice – read the Book and follow the instructions.  What Book?  The Bible of course.  We just read John 10:27-30, didn’t we?  Jesus tells us here that he knows us and gives us eternal life.  Is that not a great gift?  He goes on to say that we as believers will never perish.  Of course, Jesus is talking about eternal life with him.  Listen folks, there are people that teach no one will perish and all on this earth will live with God and Jesus forever.  But, that is just not true.

Jesus said his people know and hear his voice.  He gives peace to his people and his people will never perish.  He even warns his people to not return to sin.  Why would that be?  Because, as the scripture said, no man can pluck you out of his hand and that is truth.  But another truth is this:   You can walk right out of his hand anytime you wish to.  That, my friends, is called free will.

You may say “Brother Bob, why are you focusing so much on sin and accountability as this time?”  The reason my good friends, is because I love and care about you.  God desires that you have knowledge of the effects of sin in your life.  God wants you to have a life of victory and joy while following him on this earth.  I would be doing you an injustice if I did not point out to you the perils of sin.  The truth is, sin is deadly.  It may look and appear to be fun and exciting, but in truth it is ugly and has only one purpose and that is to destroy you physically, mentally and spiritually.  Jesus put it best in John 10:10-11.

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life and that they may have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

There it is, church.  Satan is the thief.  He wants to destroy everything good in your life.  This goes whether you are a believer or not.  He desires to rob you of all you possess.  But most of all, he desires to kill you physically, mentally and spiritually.  The tool he uses to accomplish his purpose is sin, no matter how good that sin appears to be.  Jesus gave you life and life more abundantly by removing sin from your life. 

Our desire is for you to be set free and to stay free from the bondages of sin.  That is why we presented this message.  If we did not love and care for you, you would not be reading or listening to this message today.

God Bless You,

Bro. Bob

THE TRUTH IS THIS

You know church, this is a strange time we find ourselves in.  So many churches no longer teach about the uncomfortable things of the Spirit.  The truth is this:  We are hearing more opinion than Bible facts coming from the church pulpits in America.  The preaching of sin or righteous living is almost nonexistent.  We hear a lot about God’s blessing, but little on accountability or consequences of sin in our lives.   This is a trend that must not continue. 

Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.  Everyone is welcome in this place.  Understand this, my friends, we can preach any subject covered in the Bible.  The teaching of the Word is not to condemn you, but to uplift you and give you hope.  Jesus himself said he came not to condemn the world, but to save the world.  The preaching about sin and righteous living is designed by God to show you the way out, and the way to stay out of bondage.  Preachers should not and must not shy away from these subjects.  Let’s look at John 3:16-17.  These are the words of Jesus.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Isn’t that action by God what believers everywhere will be celebrating today?  A day known as Easter Sunday.  Unfortunately, Jesus will have to share this day with the Easter bunny and egg hunts.  Wonder how he feels about that?  It must be okay though.  Many churches are sponsoring those Easter egg hunts, right?  The correct answer should be – wrong.  What are these churches doing?  What are they thinking?  Truth is, they are thinking like the world. 

I personally think it is sin to dilute the resurrection of our Lord with Easter bunnies and egg hunts taking first place in the hearts of our children.  I used the above scripture to show you that even as sinners God loves us and does not desire to condemn us.  His desire is to save us from the bondages of sin.  He knows that sin in our life is designed by Satan to separate us from himself.  Another scripture that backs this up is found in the book of John 12:46.  Jesus is talking here.

“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”

Should not this be the only focus of our attention on this day called Easter Sunday?  If not, it should be.  What is that darkness Jesus is talking about, my friends?  Simply stated, it is walking without knowing or serving God mainly due to our lack of knowledge and our lives of sin.  Jesus came to give us firsthand knowledge of himself.  And he has given us the Word of God, which is the Bible, to increase our knowledge of him.  Yet, it is our choice to receive him or not. 

Oftentimes as believers we do not understand why we feel so weighted down in despair when we know we should be joyful and victorious in our walk with God.  Dare I say, my fellow believers, that perhaps we should examine ourselves thoroughly for any sin we may have in our lives.  What?  Christians with sin?  How could that be?  My friends, we are all subject to allowing sin back into our lives.  The key is to recognize it and lay it aside quickly.  Remember, God loves us and does not want sin in our lives.  Remember what the scripture said – Jesus came not to condemn you, but to save you.  He has forgiveness for you.  All you need to do is ask.  Hebrews 12:1-2 addresses this very thing.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,  and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

This scripture, by the way, was preached to believers.  That being the case, why should it not be preached today?  This scripture also points out that it is possible to rid ourselves of the very heavy weight of sin in our lives.  Let me point this out to you.  Sin to the true, born again, Spirit filled believer is not a natural thing.  In fact, God hates sin and so does the true believer.  That may explain why believers that return to a sinful way of life do not enjoy their coveted sin as much as they did before salvation. 

The person that was redeemed from alcoholism does not enjoy the drinking of alcohol anymore.  A person delivered from any addiction does not enjoy that addiction they have returned to.  These are just two examples.  The truth is, sin will never be as enjoyable to a believer as it was before salvation.  One very important thing to remember regarding sin is regardless if you are a believer or not, sin pays some very serious wages.  Please turn with me to Romans 6:23 for confirmation of this statement.  It says:

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I want you to understand this, my friends.  Sin will separate you from God.  Not his love, but from his presence.  This scripture also points out something that is so very important to understand.  Whereas sin brings death to you spiritually and oftentimes physically, the gift of God is always there for you.  That gift is salvation through Jesus Christ, God’s love for us in action.

I say to all unbelievers today – God loves you and has prepared a way for you to be set free from the bondages of sin.  Jesus died just for you.  Sin in its truest form is death.  Righteousness in its truest form is Jesus Christ and through him eternal life.   You may be sensing that truth this very instant as the Holy Spirit of God beckons you from death unto life in God.  E-mail me today.  After all, this is an online church.  I will get back with you and help show you the way to the saving grace of God.  I will be waiting for your e-mail.  Don’t put it off.  E-mail me today at BrotherBob@TheSpiritofWisdom.org.

Now I turn to you, my fellow believers.  If you have been struggling with sin in your life, let it go.  Return to that place of repentance and the love of God you first felt when you gave your life to Jesus.  The joy you felt then is still there today.  That joy is your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Let me put it this way:  Sin is death.  Jesus is life.  Which do you choose this very day?








God Bless You,

Bro. Bob