IS GOD’S FEAR IN YOUR LIFE?

JEREMIAH 2

19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

I love Jeremiah. He is called the weeping prophet for a good reason for he certainly had something to weep about. I wonder if we weep like Jeremiah did.. and if not why not?

The prophet is reproving Judah, to no effect as it turns out! Solomon says that the fear of the Lord is the very start of wisdom, so these people were not wise, because there was no fear of God before their eyes. I wonder is it the same with us?

Verse 20 is especially sobering for the believer; doesn’t that tell the story of most of our lives. Look at what God has done for us. He has broken the yoke of sin from off us and burst the bands and fear of death that once bound us and we say that we will live lives controlled by His spirit. But in reality, we are playing the harlot.

Am I making anyone squirm yet? Yes, it speaks to us today. It speaks to us individually and as the church. We love all the benefits that God gives us and we make promises that we can’t or won’t keep. Most of the promises we make the Lord aren’t worth anything. They are worthless words. Believe me, I know because I have made these promises to the Lord.

We say we will get rid of some pet sin, but we hold onto it, like a baby holds to a stuffed animal. Why don’t we keep our promises? Because we think the Lord is either forgetful or ignores us but He does neither. He weighs everything we say. When we don’t fear the Lord, I know that I/we have no idea who we are dealing with. This is the one who created the universe in six literal days. This is the one who created every single creature, who made you, who understands all the thoughts of the 7.5 billion people all at the same time.

Maybe we should start to fear him, then we wouldn’t wander far off from HIM and continue to play the harlot. We need to be truthful in our words for we can’t fool the Lord. His thoughts and ways are far higher than ours. God is our father, but he is holy and awesome and deserves our respect and godly fear. Amen

God bless you

Keith

EATING WHAT GOD GIVES YOU

EZEKIEL 2

8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe

Chapter 3

Moreover, he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

Jeremiah said that Judah would end up in exile and like everything God says, it came true. It now comes to Ezekiel to tell the children of Israel some difficult things. As you read the book of Ezekiel, you find he has to say things that are very unpopular. Ezekiel is here receiving his commission from the Lord. Here is one of the most important things any Christian worker can be told.

The first thing is to hear what God says to you. Many Christians are so busy talking, they fail to hear God. They are so busy that they block out the words that the Lord wants to speak to them. Literally, the Lord can’t get a word in edgeways.

Ezekiel was told to eat what God gave him and it wasn’t good. It was mourning and woe. But Ezekiel obeyed. He digested the word of God that the Lord had given Him. Do we digest and meditate on the precious word of God that has been given us, even the parts that we have to dig down into?

In verse 1 of chapter 3, Ezekiel is told to go and speak to the house of Israel, a daunting task as this people were not going to listen. They were rebellious and wouldn’t hear his words. As servants of God, we are told to hear what God says to us and through his word, eat and inwardly digest it so it becomes part of us. Then we speak out it’s truth both within the church and to a needy world.

Are you one who says speak Lord for your servant heareth? Do you digest and meditate on the word of God? (Col 3:16) Do you speak the word of God whether it is in fashion or out of fashion? (2 Timothy 4:1-2)

God bless you

NUMBERS 21

8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

LOOK AND LIVE

Israel had complained again against God and he had sent forth fiery serpents amongst them, and all those who were bit by the serpent died.

This is a picture of sin, the sting of sin is the law:

1 Corinthians 15
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Sin has bitten all of us, we have been bitten by sin, and we are now dead spiritually.

But there is hope, God told Moses to put a fiery serpent on the pole, so everyone, who was bitten by the serpents, could look and live.

This is one of the greatest pictures of Jesus in the old testament.
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John 3
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus was lifted up, he has placed on the cross and everyone who looked at the cross and acknowledge their sin and trusted in Jesus, could have everlasting life.

But you have to look, you can see the pole with the serpent on it, you can read about it, you can admire it, but do you look at it?

Everyone, who looks at the serpent, lived.

In verse 55-58 of 1 Corinthians 15, the sting of the law was removed:

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The Christian can say in verse 55, death has no fear for me. I have looked at the cross and now I can live.

He/she can say in verse 57, that he/she has the victory through Christ and that now they can serve God in a new and living way.

Have you looked at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you do, you can experience life in all its fullness.

God bless you
kk

NUMBERS 11

27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28 And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men answered and said, my Lord Moses, forbid them.

29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

MOSES BEAUTIFUL RESPONSE:

The children of Israel were complaining again; this time, they wanted flesh to eat, instead of manna. 

God had provided seventy people to prophesy around the tabernacle, and two of them were undertaking prophesy in the camp.

Joshua, who was Moses’s assistant, is pretty upset and comes to Moses to say that these two men should not be doing this in the camp.

The response of Moses is so beautiful, and it can teach us so much.  

So often, we have people who are doing something outside the box, so, to speak. That doesn’t mean they are wrong.  

We try to put people in a box, and the Spirit of God cannot and will not be confined.

MATTHEW HENRY (Commentary) SAYS THIS:

(1.) We must not secretly grieve at the gifts, graces, and usefulness of others.

It was John’s disciples’ fault that they envied Christ’s honor because it shaded their master’s, John 3:26-36.

(2.) We must not be transported into heat against the weaknesses and infirmities of others. （2）我

Granted, Eldad and Medad were guilty of an irregularity, yet Joshua was too quick and too warm upon them.

Our zeal must always be tempered with the meekness of wisdom: the righteousness of God needs not the wrath of man (James 1:20).

(3.) We must not make even the best and most useful men heads of a party. Paul would not have his name used to patronize a faction (1 Corinthians 1:12-13). （3）即使是最优秀、最有用的人，我们

 (4.) We must not be quick to condemn and silence those that differ from us as if they did not follow Christ because they do not follow him with us (Mark 9:38). Shall we reject those whom Christ has owned or restrain any from doing good because they are not in everything of our mind?

Our response in today’s church should be the same as what he said in verse 29.

 What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5? He is of the same heart as Moses. Amen.  

Finally, he says that he wishes that all people would have the spirit of God upon them?

Let our prayer be that: (capitals are my words), is this your wish that all the people of God are holy and full of his spirit) would God that all the Lord’s people were HOLY, and that the Lord would put his spirit IN them!

Instead of trying to restrict believers from serving God because they do things differently to our rule book, and yes, we need to careful to discern false teachers. Still, we need to encourage people with true spiritual gifts to use them.

We should want all of our brothers and sisters to use their gifts. There are too many pew-sitters in our churches, after all.

ISAIAH 40

9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

THREE SIMPLE WORDS

The book of Isaiah is totally amazing and can be divided into two parts.

The first part (chapters 1-39) describes the deep problems of God’s people.

And the second part (chapters 40-66), outlines God’s answer to these problems.. and the answer is summed up in one word.. JESUS.

The children of Israel failed to keep the Law of God; now what they needed was God’s grace.

But to receive that grace they first needed to hear God’s voice.

What is our message to the world? It is the same as the Prophet Isaiah…BEHOLD YOUR GOD!!

We have to get ourselves up into the high mountain, and shout from the heights of the hills, Behold Your God!

You and I cannot reach the world sitting in the pews of the church.

We go to church to worship Christ…we go to the world to do the works of Christ, proclaiming Him to the sinner.

Think about it. Most of the people we meet, will never darken the doors of a church, so how will they hear the gospel?

We have to take it to them.

We are not to tell them that they can have their best life now or gain prosperity by believing in Jesus.

We are to tell them, “Behold your God!”

We tell them that God is real and he offers salvation and eternal life to those who believe.

Are you lifting up your voice with strength and sharing the good news of the gospel?

Are you afraid to share the gospel?

Ask God to give you the boldness to share His Word to the lost.

Do you know someone who needs to hear the gospel?

Take the time to tell them that you love them and to “Behold Your God!”

God bless you
kk

EZRA 7

8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him.

10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel.

PREPARING YOUR HEART

Ezra is a forgotten hero of the Bible, he was the priest who came back to Jerusalem to help the Jews rebuild the people.

This journey was a long one, it would have taken months, but God’s hand was upon him.

Why was the letter given to Ezra, what made him qualified to not only carry that letter, but to teach the people?

Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, this man had set his heart to study the statutes of the Lord, but not only to study it, but to do it, you know we can study the word of God, but unless we do it, it is absolutely useless, in the new testament, look at what James says in Chapter 1 of his book:

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.

24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Study and meditating on the word of God are good, indeed writing about the word of God is good, but if there is no doing or obedience, then it is worthless.

If I constantly encourage people to read their bible and pray and don’t do it myself, what does that make me? That’s right, I am a hypocrite.

He could teach the statutes of the Lord, because not only did he study the word, he did what he said.

The people recognised it, the King recognised it. If you are true to the word of God and sit under its lordship, you will be able to share it with others.

Note the words in verse 10

set his heart to study the Law of the Lord

Ezra set his heart to study the word of God, he did not set his heart on how many friends he had on Facebook or how many likes he had to his posts, his whole focus was to study and intently know the word of God.

We sometimes ask, why haven’t I been given responsibility to share the word of God?

Maybe, you haven’t been studying and doing what the word of God says.

The word to you is Colossians 3:16, when God’s word takes up residence in your life, it can start to mould you, so like Ezra, you can teach the people, because you are a man who not only studies the word, but does it.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

JC RYLE SAYS THIS:

Doctrine is useless!

(J. C. Ryle)

“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” John 13:17

Doctrine is useless—if it is not accompanied by a holy life. It is worse than useless; it does positive harm. Something of the ‘image of Christ’ must be seen and observed in our private life, and habits, and character, and doings.

Practically speaking do we set our heart to study the word of God every day, especially when we go to church.

I often think that Saturday night is really important, it is then when we set our hearts on either good or bad things.

If we fill our hearts, with rubbish from the TV on Saturday night:

How do we expect to get anything from the Lord on Sunday morning?

That’s why so many Christians see their bible as a hot potato, they put it down as soon as they pick it up, reading a short devotion is not enough.

Study the word and then do it, like those in Berea

11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

Note, searching the scriptures, led to believing, led to changed lives..amen.

Meditate, practice, pray

(Thomas Brooks, “The Unsearchable Riches of Christ”)

You must meditate and dwell upon what you read; otherwise your pains and mine will be lost.

The more any man is in the contemplation of truth, the more deep and firm impression is made upon his heart by truth.

Heavenly meditation brings out the sweetness that is in divine truths.

Not those who get most–but those who keep most, are richest.

So not those who hear most, or read most–but those who meditate most, are most edified and enriched.

You must also practice and live out what you read.

To read much and practice nothing–is to hunt much and catch nothing.

Ah! what cause have most to sigh, that they have heard so much, and read so much–and yet done so little!

You must also pray over what you read.

Many read much, and pray little, and therefore get little by all they read.

Galen writes of a fish called Uranoscopos, that has but one eye, which looks continually up to heaven.

When a Christian has one eye upon his book–the other should be looking up to heaven for a blessing upon what he reads!

Amen

JEREMIAH 6

15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

THE OLD PATHS

The tale of the nation of Judah is our story. It is the story of today’s church, surely not! Have we been carried to Babylon?

Obviously, we haven’t been physically been taken away, but we have in a spiritual sense.

Have we also been taken into captivity by some sin and carried off to be far from God?

Why were the children of Israel/Judah taken into captivity?

The first thing is that they weren’t ashamed of their sin, their sin did not make them blush. When sin dulls your mind and you start making excuses for it, then you need to beware, you are on a slippery slope to being taken captive.

Secondly, they were told by Jeremiah how to avoid this, but they refused to respond to rebuke. So many times, they had been told to repent and ask for the old paths; they were presented with the right way; they knew that these paths were good, but they refused to walk in the right path.

Do we know the right path, but still refuse to take it and walk on it?

There is the sound of the trumpet, you think people would listen to it, but again they refused to listen.

You hear the sound of the trumpet every Sunday Morning and Evening, but your mind is so numb that it has little or no effect. Millions and millions of so called Christians go to church every Sunday, but they leave the church no different to the time they entered it. They are one of two things, spiritually dead or spiritually dormant; which are you?

The nation of Israel/Judah had plenty of chances to repent and to turn back to God, but they refused, so they were taken into captivity. This will happen to us, if we don’t return to the Old paths.

It’s like the church in Ephesus in Revelation, we have to return to our first love.

Jesus says let him who has ears to hear to all seven churches, we have not just to listen but to act in repentance and obedience.

God bless you,

KK

JEREMIAH 4

19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

THE SOUNDS OF WAR

I love Jeremiah! He was a watchman on the wall. He saw and heard the sound of the invading armies.

The church is fighting a desperate battle, and in many cases, it is being invaded. What you say, and we are losing the battle.

Well, the armies that we are facing today are not soldiers, but they are the ideas and ways of the world.

What were the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day saying, “Peace, peace,” and there was no peace. What are many pastors and church leaders saying today?

They are saying, it’s ok to behave like the world; it’s ok to bring worldly music, or worldly entertainment into the church; it’s ok to bring the prosperity gospel into the church.

There is a sound of war church, and what are we doing?

Have we a heart like Jeremiah?

His heart was stirred and so were his lips. He couldn’t keep silent. This is a war situation church, we are not at peace, one day we will have true peace, but until then, we are on a war footing.

Have we heard the sound of the trumpet? This is warning the church! Jeremiah had heard it, and he couldn’t keep silent.

To all the pastors: you are the principal watchmen on the walls. You are to sound the trumpet, the warning signal, if you aren’t doing it, you must question why you are in the ministry.

As ministers of the gospel, we are not here to tickle ears, we are not here to make people comfortable.

2 Timothy 4:3
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

So many preachers can’t or won’t speak the truth, they won’t sound the alarm.

Many churches are so dead, that even if a preacher, came in and sounded the alarm, the church would remain dead.

Is there a sound of war in your life?

You are in a war, a daily battle with the world, the flesh and the devil.

Are you responding to the sound of the trumpet?

Are you as a pastor sounding the trumpet?

Are you calling your church members to war?

The church is being invaded; the enemy is seeking to break down the wall of the church. We are to defend the gospel and fight back and take action.

Oh, for a heart like Jeremiah’s… amen

God bless you

GENESIS 41

38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?

THE SPIRIT FILLED MAN/WOMAN

Asked this question long ago, and it is still relevant today, indeed God is asking this question all through the bible and indeed all through human history.

Someone once said that man is looking for better methods, but God is looking for better men, and that surely is true.

Joseph had come and explained the dream of Pharaoh, so the answer was staring him right in the face, it seemed a bit of a dumb question if you ask me.

Did Joseph had that made him so Spirit filled, what were his characteristics？

He had the spirit of Wisdom

He was discerning

He had a fear of God

He had a deep hatred of sin and offending God （Genesis 39:9）

He had a quiet patience, not once do we hear Joseph complaining about his circumstances.

God prospered this spirit filled man, because Joseph ultimately brought glory upon His God and not upon himself. He sought to uplift God, he told Pharaoh and others that it was God who give them an answer, not him.

In the first World War there was a poster that said

YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU.

God is calling and his word says,

I NEED MEN AND WOMEN LIKE JOSEPH FULL OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

Are you full of the same spirit that Joseph was?

God will and can use you.Amen. It is time to fill ourselves up to the brim with God’s holy spirit （Ephesians 5:18）

God bless you

Keith

LUKE 5:3-5

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

TRUE FAITH

True faith is taking God at His Word.  There are many examples of true faith in the Bible, and in this passage, Peter is about to learn that lesson.

To many of His day, Jesus was the new teacher in town, and when He talked, people listened. In this text, Jesus requests the use of a boat in order to keep the crowd from smothering Him as he spoke. The boat that He got into belonged to Peter.  What Peter did not realize is that the moment Jesus stepped into the boat, life would never be the same.  After preaching to the multitude, Jesus turns His attention to a crowd of one: Peter.  He directs his future disciple to launch the boat out into the sea for a catch.

Peter’s response was based on experience. He was being real with Jesus.  Many times, when Jesus asks us to do something that appears not to make sense, we feel the need to get real with Jesus, and tell him our situation, we often stop at the first part of peter’s answer, we often say, we have tried everything, but no result. The response from Peter is incredible, here he is an experienced fisherman and he is trusting this carpenter turned teacher, would you of trusted Jesus.

Remember that Jesus was and is God, he knows everything, he understands everything, his deity shines through in this story, He knows the us totally, he knows our needs and he provides

Peter shared with Jesus the fact that he and his friends had been fishing all night long and caught nothing.  However, Peter did not stop there.  What he says next would change his life forever: “Nevertheless, at Thy Word I will let down the nets.”

Faith looks beyond our obstacles! Perhaps you have toiled all year at your church and seen no fruit…don’t give up!  Keep letting down your nets.  The fish will come in due time.

Peter obeyed Jesus, even when it did not make sense.  After all, Jesus knew little about fish other than how to cook them and eat them.  And now he was telling men with years of experience at sea to let down their nets and get ready for a catch.  Listen carefully: Jesus did not need to know anything about fishing, because He was in control of the sea and the fish that were in it!

 As soon as Peter let down the nets, Jesus called for the fish to fill them!  And that principle works for you and me today.  Jesus knows what we are dealing with, and He has the power to command every situation to bow to His will.  So take Him at His Word, and wait patiently on Him to move on your behalf.

Faith is summed up in this verse in Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Peter and his fellow fishermen were tired.  They were frustrated.  They were demoralized.  But, this one act of obedience by Peter transformed a long night of failure to a moment of overwhelming success!  However, there is another important lesson that we must consider here.  After looking at the abundance of fish, and the financial benefit that would come from the catch, Peter took another leap of faith:  He walked away from the fish, and the financial success to follow Christ.  As Christians, there are two insights we gain from this passage: First, We need to take God at His Word and let down our nets.  Second, we need to be willing to walk away from the “catch” and follow Christ, depending on Him and Him alone to meet our needs.

God bless you,

Keith

COLOSSIANS 4

⁵ Make the most of your chances to tell others the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them. ⁶ Let your conversation be gracious as well as sensible, for then you will have the right answer for everyone.

DRAWING PEOPLE TO JESUS OR DRIVING THEM AWAY FROM HIM

Life is short.. very short.

We have a very limited time on earth, and we are to take every single opportunity we have to reach as many people as we can.

We have numerous opportunities to share our faith.. some are with people; we will probably never come into contact with again.. they are fleeting.

So many times, I go out without literature in my pocket, now being an Englishman in China, means I can’t converse in depth with the Chinese, but I can Say YESUAINI.. JESUS LOVES YOU.. and offer them a piece of literature. The probable reason I don’t take literature.. apart from being very forgetful, is that I don’t expect God to work and bring anyone across my path.

Paul in his final words to Timothy and Peter also to the churches said these things

2 Timothy 4

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

1 Peter 3

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

These verses tell us that in all our contacts with people, we can even put people off by how we approach them and certainly by our mannerisms and attitude.

But especially by our speech, we want so much to share the gospel, that we forget that the hearer has legitimate questions, they want to hear of that hope that lies within you.

We seek to virtually throw it down people’s throats.. without listening to them.. that’s why we have two ears and one mouth.

How many people have been put off by our attitude, but especially by our speech, we speak over them, we push our literature in their face.? we even run after them begging them to take a tract.

Did Jesus ever do that?.

Did the apostle Paul or Peter or Stephen?

They spoke firmly and truthfully, but they spoke with graciousness and sensitivity.

Our job when we witness is to draw people to Jesus not drive people away from Him

Which are you doing?

God bless you

Keith

ANOINTED NOT ANXIOUS

“And when they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be anxious [beforehand] how you shall reply in defense or what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour and [b]moment what [you] ought to say…Luke 12:11-12

Jesus warned us that we would have to put up with persecution. But every time, we face persecution, we have this precious promise, made by our Savior himself. The precious Holy Spirit, which lives in the heart of the true believer, will teach you what to say.

When you look forward to the book of Acts, you think of Peter and John in chapter 4, Stephen in chapter 7 and Paul in chapters 25-26. All of them were taught and anointed by the Spirit of God. They had no Bible at their disposal. All they had was the Word of God hiding in their hearts.

The next time, you come under persecution, remember: Do not be anxious or worried. The Holy Spirit will give you words from God to testify to the hope within you.

God bless you

2 Samuel 22:2-4

2 And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Saviour; thou saves me from violence.
4 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

POWERFUL PRAISE
What comes out of your mouth is really important.

Sometimes I get very down and depressed, all the focus is on me and my problems, it’s all about me.

The great thing about praise is that it shifts our focus from ourselves to God, can you see David saying anything about himself here?

Sure he uses the words: my, mine and I:
But who is his rock, deliverer, strong tower and Saviour?

It is not himself or anyone else for that matter, praise is giving God his rightful place, the place he deserves, it is taking yourself out of the equation and saying, everything that I have been through, all that has happened in my life is because of God’s care, love, protection and providence.

We need to constantly follow the words of Psalm 34:
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Praise completely shifts our mindset and puts all the focus on God.
Praise also gives God what he deserves… ALL THE GLORY.
Amen

MARK 13

9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.

10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.

11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

DIVINE SPEECH THERAPY

Jesus is speaking in his Olivet discourse, he is giving many warnings to his disciples about what will happen to them.

What he said to the disciples actually happened, I think Peter and John, would remember these words, when they stood before the council in Acts 4, that Stephen would remember them as he shared in Acts 7. They did not have a bible in front of them.

Paul did not have his bible with him, when he proclaimed the gospel In Acts 17 and 26. The holy spirit, who is our helper, brings all things to our remembrance John 14:26.

Have you ever been out on the street and had an opportunity to share the gospel? I have, I remember several times, having no bible, but the holy spirit brought verse after verse to my attention.

This promise is true to us today in the 20th Century.

Two questions, although the holy spirit, brings things to our remembrance, we have to memorise and learn scripture, someone said our veins have to BIB LINED.. LINED WITH THE TRUTHS OF SCRIPTURE.

Have you ever shared the gospel, out on the street?

Have you ever been open air witnessing? Now I know this isn’t for everyone, but this is how I learnt.

It is scary, but the blessing is beyond words.

Ray Comfort said:

I go witnessing hanging my head, I come back clicking my heels.

Listen to what an atheist says about Christians who don’t share the gospel:

I do not believe that you Christians believe your own creed — for if you were persuaded that things really are as your Bibles teach, and that we poor lost people were really going to such a dreadful place as you say Hell is — then you would act more humanely toward us.

If you saw our houses on fire — you would run and help us to put the fire out; or if you saw us in danger of death — you would try to do something to save us. But you pretend to believe that we are going to Hell, and that Hell burns with fire and brimstone forever, and that once there we can never get out — and yet you talk to us about all sorts of things — but never say one word to us about saving our souls from this terrible doom!

So I have reasoned thus: either you Christians don’t believe what you say — or else you must be the most hardened and unfeeling wretches in the universe! Now, as I don’t believe that you are such cruel, hardened, and unfeeling people as this supposes — then I must conclude that, with all your talk — you Christians don’t really believe what your Bibles teach!

For if you really believe what you say about sin, and Hell, and our danger — then you would act differently; and if you have a spark of kindness in your hearts — you would try to save us from such a dreadful doom. And, on the other hand, if you do not believe what you profess — then you Christians cannot be honest; and to say the least, there must be a great deal of hypocrisy among you.

Now, I honestly tell you that these are the things which have stumbled me more than anything, and until I can see you Christians act differently — I will not be persuaded to believe what your sort of folks say.

Taken from https://gracegems.org/2011/07/unsaved.html

Jesus promises that you will be given the words to say.

It’s time to speak.. amen

God bless you

KK

Matthew 21

12 And Jesus went into the temple and drove out all who bought and sold in the sacred place, and He turned over the four-footed tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who sold doves.

13 He said to them, The Scripture says, my house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.

BOOTING OUT THE RUBBISH

Should Christians get angry?

Well, it says not to be angry.. but Jesus certainly was.. this shows us that we can be angry, but angry at what God is angry about.

There is such a thing as righteous anger, remember Jesus was sinless., this was not wrong what Jesus was doing.

This was taking place in the court of the gentiles, this was an area that was supposed to be set aside for worship, but had been turned into a place of commercial activity, and not one of high repute either, these merchants were fleecing the worshippers.

How many churches today have commercial activity going on within their walls.. bookstores, their pastors write books that are sold for many dollars?

What do you think Jesus would do if he came to your church?

Would he have to drive out the merchants from your place of prayer?

When churches become more like a business then they stop fulfilling their calling.

We sure need to clean house church and to remember that church is for reaching out to a lost world.. it is not a commercial operation.. it’s God’s operation to reach a needy and sin sick world.

The church in Ephesus was full of activity.. Jesus said that was good.. but they had missed the point.. it’s not about activity.. it’s about communion with God.. amen

Revelation 2

1To the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him Who holds the seven stars [which are the messengers of the seven churches] in His right hand, Who goes about among the seven golden lampstands [which are the seven churches 

2 I know your industry and activities, laborious toil and trouble, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot tolerate wicked [men] and have tested and critically appraised those who call [themselves] apostles (special messengers of Christ) and yet are not, and have found them to be impostors and liars.

3 I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary.

4 But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].

5 Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.

Two final questions…

How angry would Jesus be if he came to your church?

What would Jesus get rid of in your church?

We need to get rid of the things that hinder us.. Amen.

Jesus was angry because the place of prayer was being misused in the temple. How angry do you think the Father is when he sees the prayer meeting side-lined in the church?

TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE AND TO MAKE THE PLACE OF PRAYER THE MAIN PLACE

WALKING WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL

Philippians 1

27 Only be sure as citizens so to conduct yourselves [that] your manner of life [will be] worthy of the good news (the Gospel) of Christ, so that whether I [do] come and see you or am absent, I may hear this of you: that you are standing firm in united spirit and purpose, striving side by side and contending with a single mind for the faith of the glad tidings (the Gospel).

We are citizens of heaven who are living here in enemy territory.  So how we behave is important, we are representatives of our Heavenly Father.  People cannot see God…  except through us.

It is no good sharing the gospel with someone, if your life doesn’t back up what you say.  Let me give you an example.

You witness to a friend at work and tell him/her about Jesus, and then you are dishonest in your dealings with people at work or you swear at work…  this is not conducting yourself in a manner that is worthy of the gospel.  You are bringing the gospel into disrepute.

Paul had great trust in these believers, that whether he was there or whether he wasn’t, they were behaving in a godly and gracious manner.

Are you just living in a godly manner, whilst you are being watched by your pastor or your fellow believers?  Your life should be the same whether Paul (your pastor) is present or not?

So how can we walk worthy of the Lord?  One of the main things is to be unified.  The song goes…  that they will know we are Christians by our love.  This along with our unity sets us apart from the world.

Why is unity with likeminded believers so important, because the gospel is pre-eminent?  We are not in competition with other bible believing Christians; we are to work together, to transform the world through the power of the gospel.

Let us walk worthy of the gospel… in love, unity, and power.

God Bless You, 

COLOSSIANS 2

2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ

3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

FULL AND PRECIOUS RICHES

As Christians we don’t really understand how rich we are… amen. So often we go around feeling and looking like paupers, when we have JESUS.. isn’t that enough

In Jesus is all treasure and all knowledge, they are hid in Him, he is the source of everything we need.. Amen.

Paul was writing to a church that was being told that they needed Jesus plus something else to be totally free and saved.

Let me tell you this, as a Christian you need Just Jesus. You need to dive into Christ, you need to soak in his presence, all you need is found in Him.

Full assurance and understanding comes to the Christian when they are linked closely to Christ, they are comforted and to them is revealed the will of God.

We need to realise that we are one of the richest people in the world.. rich beyond measure, we have Christ.

WHAT MORE CAN YOU POSSIBLY WANT?

God bless you

Keith

HEBREWS 12

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

29 For our God is a consuming fire.

SERVING GOD PROPERLY

Next to being a child of God through the redemptive power of the precious blood of Jesus, serving God comes a pretty close second, it is a tremendous joy and privilege.

I often refer to this, I have the great privilege of writing and now preaching and there isn’t one time that I either write or preach, that the awesome responsibility of doing this lays heavily on my heart.

Whatever we do, whether it is cleaning the toilet or preaching the gospel, we do it as if God was watching.

We do not serve some vague being, who does not care about how we do things, Jesus is perfect in all his acts, our Saviour Jesus was the perfect Son, perfect carpenter, he was perfect in every way.

We should serve God in reverence and in godly fear, but what is godly fear?

It is the fear of letting God down or of hurting his heart. We want to serve Him excellently in all we do, we must have the standards he has.

For me and here’s a confession.. I am not good at washing up.. I sometimes have to do the dishes twice.. but I seek to do them as if Jesus was going to eat out of them, we should clean house as if Jesus was coming to our home, we should make the bed as if Jesus was going to sleep in it and we should serve Him as if He was sat there watching us, which of course he is!!!!!

Why because Our God is a consuming fire

Everything we do in our lives, some of it will be stubble and some will be rubies and gold, some will remain and some will be burnt off.

Let’s make sure all our service for God is of the ruby type and acceptable to God our precious Saviour and Lord.

God bless you

 2 Corinthians 5

9 So, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 


PLEASING GOD

What is your aim in your Christian life?

Some people use Christianity to get to Heaven.

Some people use Christianity to receive healing.

Some people use Christianity to get money and popularity.

Some people use Christianity to receive blessings.

Paul was interested in one thing and that is outlined in this verse. In every single situation, Paul wanted to please God. In every decision he made, he made that decision on the basis of whether that decision would please God.

We have a well-known initial called WWJD,  which means What Would Jesus Do? We what would He do, what was the aim of Jesus?

It was to do the will of the Father or to put it another way; His aim was to please the Father. If it was Jesus’s aim to please the Father, how much more should it be our aim.

So, what does please God?

God’s will is for our sanctification, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-6 and for us to grow in grace, 2 Peter 3:18. If we are growing in grace, then that pleases God.

To please God, you also need to be continually growing. Stagnation or backsliding does not please God. The five bad churches in Revelation thought they were pleasing God, but they were stagnating and backsliding.

Let me finish with the main way you can please God, from 2 Corinthians 7:1:

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.



God would be very pleased if you did what it says in this verse: Get rid of the things that displease Him. See Galatians 5:15-20 and replace those things with Galatians 5:22-23.

Are you pleasing God or pleasing yourself?

God bless you,

2 CORINTHIANS 4

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.


IN THE LIGHT OF ETERNITY

Some of us are going through very difficult times; persecution is happening to us, illness surrounds us or maybe it is the loss of a close family member of friend.

God understands the pain of what we are going through. He knows our pain and our suffering. He knew the suffering and pain the apostle Paul went through and he knows yours… amen.

In Chapter 1:8, Paul states that the burden on him almost drove him to complete despair. So what is it that kept him from despairing of his very life in 1:8?

Surely we have the answer in these verses in chapter 4. He, like us, is looking forward to heaven which will be beyond all comparison. Compared to heaven and the glory that is going to be revealed, these small inconveniences of suffering are nothing.

Everything that hurts us down here on earth is not going to be in heaven: pain, despair, illness, all will be banished. This is why Paul can look at his sufferings and say in Romans 8:

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

To do this, we need to have the eternal perspective and look at the unseen things and not the things that we can see. Remember everything we see here here on earth will pass away; it is not going to last.

We need to focus on where we are going and that is to glory. We need to focus on heaven and the glory that we will be revealed in us. We will have new perfect bodies, we will see Jesus as He is and we will serve Him.

Every piece of suffering for Jesus is worth it, because it pales in comparison to the glory of heaven, which one day we will see… Amen. I once heard my former pastor, Richard, who was dying of cancer say this:

It’s worth it church.

Jesus is worth it.

It’s worth going through anything.

Even through cancer.

He died shortly afterwards; I echo his words… IT IS WORTH IT

Have you got an eternal perspective?

Are you focusing on things seen or unseen?

Can you say like Paul, the words of Romans 8:18?

God bless you,

KK

JOB 27

4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

BITE YOUR TONGUE!!!

咬住舌头！！！

To most people the book of Job is only about the first two chapters and the last five, but in between we have some of the most glorious passages of scripture in the bible.

Job has to defend himself against his three so called friends, who constantly tell him, why everything has gone wrong.

You will probably recognise these people in your church, they have an answer for everything.

Job maintains his integrity throughout and although God does tell him off at the end, I reckon it’s more about reminding Job, who God is and that he has every right to do what he has done to Job, he owes Job and us no explanation for his actions.

We often have to bite our tongue, we really want to say something, to reply to an insult. but we need to be like Job and keep in mind verse 4, that we will never speak wickedness or that deceit would flow from our tongue.

I imagine James, must have been thinking of these thoughts when he wrote in his wonderful epistle, these words in chapter 3

5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Job was in complete control of his tongue, now this didn’t mean that he didn’t speak, but that the things coming out of his mouth truly were words of love and grace, just look at verses 5-6, his three friends want him to justify their accusations, he wouldn’t do that. He will hold onto his integrity before God. Note that his heart will not reproach him for anything he says, you know it says in proverbs, that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Job’s heart was full and overflowing with abundant thoughts of love, that why love and truth came out of his mouth?

What is coming out of your mouth believer? Make verse 4 a prayer Christian that no words of wickedness and deceit would flow from your mouth…to do this make sure your heart is guarded from all thoughts of wickedness. Proverbs 4:23-27

God bless you

KK

1 JOHN 4

11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
12. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

SHOWING TRUE LOVE

The previous verse has shown us that God has showed his love to us, by sending Jesus to die on the Cross for us.

Yeah, so what!

Because we have been loved by God so much, we have to love others, especially the Brethren.

No one has seen God in all his fullness.. although Jesus has shown us the Father.

So how can God be seen?

One of the ways is that his people love each other deeply and with fervency.

One of the main ways the world sees God is through the love we have for our brothers and sisters.

One of the ways we have the assurance of Salvation that God is dwelling within us.
We know that we are growing in faith… why? Because our love for the brethren is growing and growing.

The Christian and the Church are unique.. individually and corporately, it is filled with love.

God bless you

Keith

2 PETER 3:18

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

CLOSING WORDS
If you are to say some final words to family or close friends, what would you think of to say?

Would it be words of encouragement, words of comfort, words of love?

All these three things are summed up in this glorious verse, I suppose this is our dearest wish for any of our brothers and sisters. This is our dearest and deepest wish for our families, our wives and our children.

In Chapter 1 vs 5-7, Peter tells us to add grace upon grace, now in closing, he tells us to grow in the full knowledge of those graces. Only by growing in grace, can we avoid being dragged back into the world and into error.

We also have to come to know Christ more and more, some of us stop growing at a certain age, this is never the case for the believer, he/she is constantly growing, he is always pushing the boundaries, he is saying like Caleb is Joshua 14:12, give me this mountain, I want to do the hardest work for God.

There is no early retirement in the Christian life, you cannot sit back and relax and say “that’s me done”, life is on a continual upward focus, Paul wanted to know Christ in a deeper way than ever as he got older. See Philippians 3:7-14. Why do we do this?

For his glory and his honor, all our service, all our growth is to bring him glory, praise and worship.

May our constant focus be this verse, lets keep on growing spiritually.
Amen

2 KINGS 6

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

PRAYER PICTURES

Are you in a situation like Elisha and Gehazi? Do you feel overwhelmed? Like there is no way out?

In this passage, Elisha looked through the eyes of faith; Gehazi looked through the eyes of fear.

Note some things here:  Elisha rose early. Early morning prayer and communion with God is the best time to experience Gods presence, and if you are looking to have a good day, start it off with a time of worship and fellowship with almighty God.

Elisha encouraged Gehazi with the words, “Fear Not.” Gehazi viewed the situation through the lens of fear, something that most of us tend to do when confronted with a problem that appears to be too great for us to overcome.  Gehazi uses the word Alas, when we say that in English it’s like, Oh! What’s going to become of us? We are doomed! He was very discouraged and thought that there was no hope in this situation.  When the coronavirus hit, a lot of people were saying, “alas!”  But we know that God is greater than any foe, and when we trust Him, we move from fear to faith.

It says that Elisha prayed.  And his prayer is a lesson for you and I to consider when facing our own trials. Elisha prayed,

‘Lord, I pray thee, open his (Gehazi) eyes, that he may see.’

So often when we encounter believers who are overwhelmed, counsel may not be effective because they are paralyzed by fear. The best thing to do in that case is not to argue or become frustrated, but to pray and ask God to open their eyes. This is a prayer that God is pleased to answer. Not only will He open their eyes, He will open up a way for them to escape and overcome every trial.

When in trouble…pray like Elisha… ‘Lord, open my eyes that I may see’.

God bless you