Please pray – Heavenly Father, I ask this message reaches those You have it directed to. Give us the strength and courage to do Your will. Remind us Lord, Your word is our guide to the Kingdom. Give us O’ Lord, the scriptures that make us uncomfortable so that we may understand these scriptures are the ones we need to reflect in us to draw us closer to You. Let us not lose sight of You. We praise You Holy Father, we glorify You and exalt You. Father bless this ministry and let it reach all those You have called, in Jesus Holy name, Amen and Amen.
As a matter of fact – Although facts about the Bible and overlooked scriptures are always fun to read about, one fact that I truly enjoy is one of confirmation. In the message “The Perfect Sleep” there is scripture that I was led to that helped me with conveying the message. This day He confirmed it once more by allowing me the opportunity to read these verses with a better perspective. These verses are in the context of Jesus’ “first” resurrection:
Matthew 27:51-53, 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
I just love the Word, don’t you? Hello, to all. Thank you once again for this opportunity to minister to you, the word of God. I would love the opportunity to stand before all of you personally to deliver these messages; however, it is a true blessing to be able to reach as many of you that I do and I’m very excited to see what God is going to do in this ministry and who it helps. Ok, are you ready for the Word? Let’s get right to it then. During a quiet session sitting on the couch meditating on the scripture, I hear my beloved Lord:
“What do you believe?” he asked. “Is it easier to believe in My Father or is it easier for you to believe in Me?” “What of My Spirit; do you believe in the Holy Spirit?” He went on, “How deep is the well and will you bring up Living Water from it?” You think these questions are easy enough, right? My response, instinctively and spontaneously, was what I thought should be the answer. “Of course Lord, I believe You are the living Christ; absolutely I believe Your Father the Almighty God exists and yes Lord, Your Spirit is here with us.” I said. He knows my heart better than I do; how many times as children have we said exactly what we needed to keep us from trouble? Being completely honest within my heart of hearts and looking Truth in the face, regardless of the consequence, can certainly be very telling on so many levels. These questions need to be examined more closely to see what the Holy Spirit was asking and why.
Is it more conceivable for Christians to believe that the Mosiah lived, died and then resurrected – rather than it is to believe there is a Supreme Being in another realm of existence? What of the Holy Spirit? Is this someone you can absolutely believe in and is dwelling here on earth giving power to willing participants? My answer is yes, absolutely because that is exactly what He said.
John 14:1, 15-17 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me… 15 If ye love Me, keep My commandments 16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; 17 Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
It didn’t end here however, the Comforter pressed on…For some time I have been struggling with some decisions I needed to make. Decisions that are personal and some professional but the main decision I struggle with is spiritual. Not in the sense of doubt or a lack of belief but rather in the sense of direction and purpose. After my conversation with the Lord that morning and after He asked those questions of me, with minimum time to reflect on it, I received an unexpected prophetic word from the Holy Spirit. It’s always a great surprise and an honor to hear from Him in this way.
Clearly I was once again being led in another direction from where the original message was going; In His quiet still voice I hear Him say, “These questions I ask are for you to search your heart (I sensed an emphasis with the word “your”) and seek out your truth of Me and there you will find your way. He continued, “I am the Truth and the Light; (“light” meaning Him showing me the way), I have brought you this far for reasons you do not yet fully know. I say to you, keep seeking Me, search My Word, seek My love for you and there you will find Me.” This word being simplistic on the surface, has so much more depth to it. Being that God is Love, is it safe to assume He has told me how and where to find Him and the answers I seek?
It is so crucial in our Christian walk to understand where we are with Him, truthfully. When I say truthfully, I mean “seriously thought through and decided” kind of truthfulness. He started this conversation with a question, “What do you believe?” I answered everything I am supposed to say when asked this question. He didn’t leave it there though, He wanted me to look deeper, to understand what I truly believed and what was easier for me to attach my belief to, whether it be God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit or is it something else? Could I be going with the flow or do I have a sincere understanding of my belief? When we become new Christians in our salvation, we tend to cling to who we feel most connected to, whether it’s doctrine or hear say or a feeling. It can transition into our mature walk because it’s never been challenged or questioned for fear of being judgmental. By reflecting, (I mean deep reflection), I was able to put into perspective my strengths and weaknesses concerning my belief and their origin.
Believing there is a God who rules over the entire universe seems to be a secure belief for me when I realize all the things in our existence and my lack of understanding its complexity. When I was asked if it’s easier to believe of God stepping down from His thrown and journeyed here on earth as a man to fulfill His commission, I felt there’s no doubt here either and I suddenly was made aware of my spirit being quickened internally and this scripture was brought to my attention.
John 20:29, Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Knowing I’m on a journey with the Holy One, the first part of this verse stood out, “because you have seen me, you have believed”. I was influenced to think if I had seen Him with my own eyes and not knowing anything about Him except for what I’ve heard from others both positive and negative, would I have believed Him to be the living Christ if I were there? I simply concluded it would be easier for me to believe now rather than in the early days of Christianity. Let me tell you what I mean. Stay with me, this gets a little heavy.
If we look at how society is today and how it was in those days it could be very similar. There is a “band wagon” mentality, meaning, how people can be (and are) persuaded or influenced by the masses, politicians, friends, relatives and media. Often time’s people will concede to go in the direction of the least resistance or in a direction that is most acceptable. We know this to be true and the human psyche hasn’t changed much over the years because of a fallen world then and now. The sins of today were there during the times when Christ walked the earth. I believe for the most part people were mentally and emotionally the same then as today, so is it safe to say many today could have been a part of the masses that persecuted Him in those times? Because of this revelation, I wondered what part of the crowd I would have been with. Those who thought Him to be the Messiah or the masses of people who threw stones and mocked Him while He carried the cross to Golgotha? How do we know which side we would have been on, keeping in mind, we wouldn’t have access to the internet or a sound doctrine like the Bible?
It’s a more simple answer for us in retrospect because we know now but this question can really open our hearts and minds to expose our focus. Where would you have stood if you were there and how do you know? Simply put, it’s the character of one’s heart; who they truly were in those days and who we are today. Even though we doubt ourselves sometimes, God called His own. He knows who His children are and His children know Him.
2 Timothy 2:19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are His, and John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
This is comforting for sure, however, what if we didn’t know He said this. In those days the Word wasn’t available as it is now. It’s hard to look at it this way but to walk in truth, real truth – to see our character, this is a crucial step that needs to be considered and addressed. Belief is a key ingredient of our faith. We walk and talk believing Almighty God, the Savior Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwells with us and within us.
His instructions are to seek Him, to read His word and to find and spread His love. If we know our fellowship with Him pleases Him, it should give us the incentive to seek Him out even more, but does it? Do we give Him the time we should for what He’s done for us? What do we believe? Our belief is in Salvation, in the power of the Holy Spirit and it is in the Most High, Supreme God. If we are depending on what we believe to give us everlasting life, then how much value does it have in our lives? The point of this entire message is to “e-value-ate” where we are in our relationship with Him. Do we value His love, His presence and His promise enough to spend time with Him privately and in fellowship?
1 Timothy 4:8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
What is ‘godliness’? The word is translated from the Greek word for “piety” (piety: a belief or point of view that is accepted with “unthinking” conventional reverence). “Unthinking”, meaning “faithful” reverence! When we value something, we find ways to protect and proclaim it; we give it our attention and our time. We reverence it and it becomes a priority in our lives. Look around at how social media, such as Facebook – Twitter, etc. get more of our time than the Savior of humanity does. I wonder how much further we could be with our understanding of His love and in our relationships with Him by giving more value to Him. If we seek and understand the depth of His love, we will find Him. That’s what He told me. Putting this into perspective, He is love and if we seek Him we will find the depths of His love for us.
Ephesians 3:17-19, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God…
We look for and keep what we value, what has worth and importance to us, that’s human nature. Is there value to the sacrifice Jesus afforded to us all? Search your hearts and realize the true value of your salvation and the value of your relationship with Him. Understand by seeing the flaws in your character can help you build a stronger walk with God. Ask Him to help strengthen your character and put value in Him. He loves us more than we can know, the verses in Ephesians have clearly made this point so we should believe He wants nothing more from us but to be with Him. Get excited about knowing God, the Almighty Himself, personally. Get closer to Him and continually seek Him. We do this by just giving Him our time. He only wants a small portion of our day to say good morning and let Him know you thank Him for this day and another opportunity to reach that one person He’s been calling for just as He called you. Cherish the time we have with Him to be precious and rewarding. When we do, we will find Him and His love. The routine that I’ve had the privilege to develop and as some of you may already know; it’s so important for me to have quiet time with the Lord to keep me from the bondages that once held me captive. That battle no longer is mine to fight and I need to show how much I appreciate Him. I wake up to Him with a good morning and thank you for another blessed day. I then read a verse (or chapter), songs of praise and worship play softly in the background, I begin to meditate on Him. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour (sometimes longer if He’s ministering to me in an area I prayed about). This is time that I’ve set aside from my busy life to give to God. I’m not doing Him any favors on the contrary, I’m doing it for me. I am in constant battles from the weakness of this flesh and a fallen world. It only makes sense for a man who was facing an eternity of torment to reach out and build a relationship with the One who saved me. Because of this, I have been able to hear Him more clearly and more often.
Our time with Him is just as important as going to Church to fellowship, seeking Him, obeying His Word and tithing. It’s all relevant and our duty as believers of Christ. My routine is very generic but so crucial for me to sustain my walk with the Lord. I find refuge and safety in His presence. This is not a cliché that we’ve heard all our Christian lives. It’s so vitally important to read His word, pray and meditate. I promise you it will bring you so much closer to Him.
We all have to look deep within ourselves and let there be no distraction to the understanding of where you are exactly in your relationship with God, truthfully and sincerely. If there is a character flaw, which we all have to some degree, salvation is the beginning of our transformation. We begin to change our character when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior and from that moment we are ever growing in the knowledge of His blessed love and mercy. Listen to that little whisper inside you where no one else can go or ever know what it said to you. It’s that voice that tells you the real truth. Only then will see your true character and be able to grow closer to His love. We are either the ones that throw stones at Him or the blessed ones that heard His voice and follow Him regardless.
Lord Jesus, thank you for this message. Thank you for allowing us time to spend with you; have us to understand that each moment we do the closer we will get to You O’ Lord. Father, help us to search our hearts and find those character flaws that are holding us back from growing in You. Allow us to build our faith and find the abundant love You have for us. I ask Lord for a renewed mind, and heart and spirit. Send us Your Comforter to sustain our walk with You Father God; I ask this in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Thank you for taking time with the Lord and reading this message. I pray it blessed you and helped you gain more insight of how to better walk closer with Him. He just wants to be close to us. Please send me email testimonies of how any of these messages may have helped or just a little note saying hi and that you are praying for this ministry. I would love to hear from you.
Next: Message 12; Multiple thieves caught robbing God in His own house. (I know right? It happens all the time…)
Love to all, God bless you abundantly and then some; in Jesus name. Amen
