THIS IS NOT JIBBER JABBER

As you know, I have often stated the Bible is the instruction book of life.  In fact, I will be more clear.  Everything we need to know or do to be victorious in life is stated clearly in the Word of God.  All this jibber jabber that people can’t understand the King James Bible is just that, jibber jabber.  Let me welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.  Everyone is welcome in this place.

Now listen folks, I’m not pushing the King James Bible on you, although I must admit I personally love it.  I’m just pointing out the deception Satan uses to keep people from reading their Bible.  The truth is, the King James version is still the best selling version on the market today.  A little tip for you – If you want to say ‘truly’ instead of ‘verily,’ or if it’s important to you to say ‘you’ instead of ‘thee’ or ‘thou’ God will not get mad at you. 

You see, church, when Jesus came to this earth and died to take away the bondage of sin from you, he spoke words of wisdom to us.  He told us who he is.  He is the son of the God above all gods.  He gave us guidelines to follow to have a loving family relationship with him and the Father.  The amazing thing is when Jesus paid the price for our sin by his death, by the shedding of his blood and by his resurrection back to heaven, where he sprinkled his own blood on the mercy seat. God accepted his pure sacrifice and made a way for us to live and be with them In joy, love, peace, mercy and grace forever.  Now that is what the Bible teaches us.  In the book of I John we get a good example of what I am talking about.  I John 5:20 states:

“And we know that the son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God and eternal life.”

This scripture is clearly speaking to us believers, isn’t it?  We know that is so because it says in no uncertain terms that we are in him that is true, even his son, Jesus Christ.  So what does this mean for nonbelievers?  Truth is, we were all nonbelievers at one time, weren’t we?  You are not naturally born into Jesus Christ my friends no matter what church your family attends.  Being one with God comes only by your acceptance of Jesus Christ into your heart as Lord and Savior of your life, and that is a free will choice.  But, notice what this scripture is telling us.  God gives us all his understanding.  No one is left out. 

His understanding is available to every person on the earth.  Whether you accept that understanding or not is totally up to you.  God is saying to you, nonbeliever – Come to me.  His son Jesus is saying, come to us – talking about his Father God and himself.  And this Spirit of Wisdom Ministry is saying to you – come to God today.  Receive his son Jesus in your heart and let his Word speak to you.  This is an open invitation to everyone.  That is why we always say “Everyone is welcome in this place.”

Our mission and purpose of every message we present to you is to lead you to the son of God, Jesus Christ.  We preach this message because of the love of God that he has placed in our hearts for you.  As believers, our hearts should be tender toward the lost.  After all, we are God’s ambassadors of love and reconciliation to a lost and dying world, aren’t we?  Psalms 51:10 gives us instruction in how to ask God to help us be his servant.  It says:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

I know you are saved, my friends.  But do you still have a clean heart?  Maybe it is time for a self examination spiritually speaking.  Remember when we first got saved and we knew, that we knew, that we knew, we had a right spirit within us?  This Word tells us that if we are not watchful over our spirit we can allow it to be corrupted again.  If that is the case with you, just sincerely say “Oh God, renew a right spirit in me.”  God is faithful, my friends and he will hear your cry and restore your spirit to be acceptable to him and a blessing to you.  Psalms 5:12-13 goes on to say:

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

I sense a stirring of the Holy Spirit in you, my friends.  I know how easily we can allow the circumstances of this world to steal our joy.  That free spirit we received at our new birth in Jesus seems now bound and tied up.  We feel guilt because our witness is not as good or effective as it once was.  But this scripture brings good new to us, church.  The psalmist is saying to you that all we feel we have lost can be restored.  It is important that we turn back to God and ask him to restore us.  These are instructions to us, church.  God would not tell us to pray to him to restore our joy if we could not have lost that joy in the first place, would he?

Just look at what happens when we sincerely turn to God and ask him to renew a right spirit within us.  Pay attention to the benefits of coming to God and asking him to restore the joy of your salvation.  Verse 13 in Psalms 52 gives us the answer to what we can experience if we just turn back to God and follow the instructions of the above scriptures.  Psalms 51:13 says this:

“Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

I repeated this scripture to emphasize what a blessing this is to us church and what a blessing to the lost – just because we are faithful to follow God’s instruction in his Word.  When you follow God’s instruction, he will create a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you.  He will restore the joy of your salvation and uphold you with his free spirit.  And then, he will once again allow you to teach the wayward and lost and because of your obedience to the Word of God, he will allow you to once again be a testimony and to cause sinners to be converted to him.  Now folks, this is not jibber jabber.  This is the truth of God’s Word.

God Bless You,

Bro. Bob

THE LEAST OF THESE

Let me start this week’s message by saying this:  Church, please give me your attention!!  In the Book of Matthew, Jesus was giving us some very important instruction on how we as believers are to treat and act toward the poor, the sick and the underprivileged in our society.  Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.  Everyone is welcome in this place.

You know church, for almost three years this ministry has emphasized God’s love, peace, mercy and grace.  This may come as a surprise to some of our self righteous and holier than thou believers.  But these attributes of God are for everyone including the poorest in our land.  The reason I am giving this message today is because I sense an ungodly trend, even in the church world to devalue human life if one is not wealthy or is disabled, or sick, or elderly.  One thing must be clear, my friends.  God values his creation.

Let me repeat myself, God values his creation regardless of their social or monetary status.  Let’s look at God’s point of view on reaching out to and helping the poor.  Or, you might say “to the least of these.”  Jesus is talking in Matthew 25:34.  He says:

“Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. “

This makes it very clear he is talking to all of us, doesn’t it?  We as believers are the blessed, are we not?  Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 25:35-36:

“For I was an hungered, and you gave me meat:  I was thirsty and you gave me drink:  I  was a stranger, and ye took me in:   Naked, and ye clothed me:  I was sick, and you visited me:  I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”

Do you understand, church?  Jesus was pleased that these believers did these things.  Does that not tell you he would be pleased if we did these very same things today?  Nowhere in these scriptures does he say “Do not help the poor regardless of how they got that way.”  No my friends, our mission is to help people.  If you go on to read Matthew 25:37-39, and I strongly suggest you do.  Jesus points out the righteous (true believers) answer him and in paraphrased words said this ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?  Or thirsty and gave you drink?  When did we ever see you as a stranger and help you out?  When did we ever give you clothes or help you overcome your sickness by visiting and help you in any way we could.  Lord, when did we ever visit you in prison for whatever the reason you were there.  When Lord, when?”

Now ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention to the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40.  Jesus talking to us regarding the above questions.

“And the king shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, in as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

This is the message of the day, my friends.  Jesus is talking to us as believers, individuals and to the church.  We are not to be judges, we are to be servants.  In today’s society, help for the poor, the underprivileged, the sick and elderly should have always been the top priority for us and our churches.  Unfortunately, our churches in large part have become more concerned with their own wealth and blessing, than the needs of others.  The old saying ‘Lord bless us four and no more’ comes to mind.

In these hard times in the economy churches are turning inward and believing God for their own welfare while decrying the welfare of others.  This, my good church, is wrong and must be corrected today.  The misguided attitude of many believers today is “Why should I help people who may be on drugs, or alcohol or have other addictions or shortcomings.”  The answer is – just for that very reason, my friends. 

When Jesus was on the earth he spread his love, mercy, peace and grace to all.  The goal is to lead people to Jesus, my friends.  Truth be told, many of us were not so lovely when Jesus came into our lives, were we?  Personally, I was a drunk and a very proud liar.  If believers had not taken the time to approach me and yes even helped me financially, this message may not be written today.  It is time we as believers get back to helping everyone, not just our own.  We must change our religious attitudes about those who have less than we do. 

Listen to me.  The heart’s desire of every believer should be to please God.  We should always show honor to God, shouldn’t we?  Well, Proverbs 14:31 shows us one way of doing just that.  Here’s what it says:

“He that oppreseth the poor reproacheth his Maker; but he that honoreth him hath mercy on the poor.”

I’m telling you straight up, church.  We are skating on thin ice when we devalue God’s creation because of their financial status, their health status or their age.  We must do everything in our power to help the poor.  That way, we are showing honor to God.  Another way of helping our fellow men and women is to support government programs designed to help them.  This is not political, my friends.  Good is good and right is right. 

America is a great country and we are and have been blessed of God.  One of the reasons we are blessed is because we have programs to assist and uplift people out of poverty.  Head Start, Student financial aid, Social security, Medicare, Medicaid and such are not entitlements, my friends, they are investments.  They are investments in our children, our students, our sick and our elderly.  Sounds a lot like what Jesus was talking about, doesn’t it?  Government is not the answer.  Only Jesus is the complete answer, but Jesus has given us the way and each of us as individuals, churches and government can all do our part to honor and bless God by our actions.  Let me end this way:  Please turn to I Timothy 6:17-18 and meditate on this.

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.”

These are words of wisdom to us as individuals, also to our churches and to our government.  So our cry to you is ‘help the poor, be one that truly does help the least of these.

GOD BLESS YOU,

Bro. Bob

LEAN ON ME (Repost from September 26. 2010)

Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service. No one is excluded from this place. Let's start out this week by praising God for his goodness and mercy that endures forever. Each morning, when I wake up, I always say “Thank you, Lord, for this day of life. Thank you, Father, for your son, Jesus Christ. He has saved my soul and I am thankful for salvation. I will walk in all the benefits of that salvation and I will be accountable at the end of the day.”

Praising God is something we can do anytime we choose to. We can praise God in good times or bad times. Regardless of our situation in life, we can thank God for his mercy and grace. I have often pointed out, everything we do in life is a choice, isn't it? I remember telling my youngest daughter, Lyle, it is not what happens to you in life that matters, it is the way you respond to it. There are only two ways to respond, my friends. There is the response from man's point of view or the response from God's point of view. You want victory in your life? I would suggest taking God's point of view. But, once again, that is your choice, isn't it?

I understand the stress and mental discomfort many are going through at this time. The economy has taken a toll on almost everyone, one way or another, hasn't it? Do you understand that people (probably some that you know) are losing their jobs? Many are losing their health insurance that provides health care for their families. Many corporations are taking advantage of the slow economy even though their bottom line is healthy. How are they doing this, Bro. Bob? They are forcing employees to take major pay reductions. They are reducing health care benefits while increasing the cost. And they are then working their employees that are left seven days a week instead of hiring new employees. This is not something made up, my friends. This actually is happening to one of my children as we speak.

We have seen friends, neighbors and others in our communities losing their homes to foreclosure. I could go on, but I believe you get the point. These are anxious times, aren't they? The truth is, anxiety may be at an all time high. It is more important than ever to trust God. This is not the time to turn away from God. It is time to turn to God. Why? Because we need his help.

I was thinking the other day about how when my children were small. We would come to a busy highway. Cars and trucks zooming by us at high speed. We could sense the anxiety in our children. But guess what? My wife and I would take their small, precious hands in ours and we would lead them across that busy and dangerous highway. As the children held our hands and walked with us, their anxiety left and you could tell they felt safe. They knew we were there to help them and to keep them safe. That, my friends, is what God will do for us if we will just get close and put our hands in his. Turn with me to Isaiah 41:13:

“For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee Fear not; I will help thee.”

I believe one of the things that makes things worse, even for us believers, is that we do not realize God is a present time God. He desires to help us today. The truth is, this message is mostly designed to reach believers. God is your Father. You are his child. Please, let him take you by your hand and lead you to safety. Fear not. God says he will help you. Do you believe him?

I understand how bad things look. I understand how it feels. It actually is a burden too heavy to carry, isn't it? You may feel ashamed to admit it, so I will say it for you. Yes!! Your burden is too heavy. But, what can you do about it? In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus tells us what to do.

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and lean on me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: And ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Lay the burdens down, my friends. You cannot sustain them by yourselves. Jesus is saying here what you need is rest. Jesus says “Lean on me.” Remember I said God is a present time God? Your mind, your body and your spirit need a rest, don't they? Think of your soul as a battery in a car. There are times when your car battery needs charging. In like manner, there are times your soul needs to be charged. The question is, how do you charge your soul? By leaning on Jesus and allowing him to give your soul some rest. God said he would never leave you or forsake you. That very simply means, God is with you today and forever.

Where do I get this advice for you? Only one place. The Word of God (the Bible). The answers are there, Church. If I can find them, you can also. I am asking our online church family to join together this week. Pray Church, like you have never prayed before. Pray for each other. Pray that each of our needs may be met. Pray for good jobs with good pay and good benefits for those who are now jobless or under-employed. Pray for financial blessings for those who are losing their homes. Pray that they can retain their homes or even find a better place to live. Pray for healing for those who are sick in body or mind, that they may be restored to good health. Pray for each other, that all our needs will be met. Let's join hands together and allow God to take us by our right hands. That's how we can come out of this victoriously. Let's end up as Habakkuk says. Habakkuk 3:17-19:

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”

In other words folks, when everything that can go wrong, goes wrong, lean on God. Rejoice in the Lord. Know that God is your strength. He will cause you to come out on top of all of this mess. The victory will be like music to your ears. We at the Spirit of Wisdom Ministries will rejoice with you as this happens.

God Bless You,
Bro. Bob

Urgent Prayer Request: Please pray for Evangelist Smokey Barber for a quick and total recovery.