Mercy

Ron Tovar’s father passed away three years ago. On his death bed, Ron asked his father, “what do you want me to say at your memorial service.” His dad said, “the message for my eulogy is “I surrender all.” Life is more precious the less of it we have upon this earth. It’s precious because it’s rare. Life on this earth is but a vapor… a nanosecond in time.

We’ve been given life because of God’s mercy. Mercy is the nature of God himself. Loving kindness and tender mercy are often-used descriptions of the Lord God Jehovah in the King James Version of the Old Testament. Mercy is God’s forbearance, abstaining from his righteous judgement that we deserve…. not because we’re deserving of his mercy but because love and mercy is the nature of God himself.

Ron is honored to minister to prisoners. He enjoys speaking to a “captive audience.” Prisoners realize that they need mercy and forgiveness through God’s loving kindness and compassion. God is benevolent… his goodness and mercy endureth to all generations.

It’s the goodness, the loving kindness and tender mercy of God that calls people to repentance. (Romans 2:4). Repentance means to turn from sin and toward the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not the threat of eternal death and judgement that motivates people to turn to God…. He has called us unto himself from the darkness of this world and into the glorious light of the gospel of truth.

According to Ephesians, God in his foreknowledge knew us before the foundations of the earth. God inhabits eternity and there is no time in eternity. He saw the timeline of all history from his perspective outside the bounds of time…. before the foundations of the earth he saw that we would be holy and without blame before him in love. God called us to his righteousness through his grace and mercy

Someone said, “I wish God would give me my just desserts.” Be careful what you pray for. If God gave us what we deserved we’d be dead… for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ his son. Ephesians 2 says, you who were dead in trespasses and sin hath he quickened (made alive) for by grace are ye saved.

It’s by Gods mercy that we draw breath upon this earth. We were not deserving of the breath in our lungs. However, even though we deserve death, Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

Prisoners understand that they have lost everything… their possessions, their families, their loved ones. However, as Mother Theresa said, “God works best with nothing.” You can never understand that God is all we need until he’s all we have. The prodigal son’s point of repentance was when he had lost everything, having squandered away his father’s inheritance with riotous living. Then he got the only job he could find, tending the pigs for a heathen pig farmer. He sank so low that he “feigned did fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat.” In other words, he craved pig slop. As a Hebrew, this is as far as a good Jewish boy could sink. To a good Jew, if you associate with pigs, then you are numbered as one of these accursed animals. The point of repentance is when he “came to himself” and realized that he was not a pig… he was still his father’s son.

In Matthew 12:13, Jesus said, God requires mercy, not the sacrifice of bulls and goats. He said, Go learn the meaning of mercy. Then when you learn by experience God’s divine forbearance, then go tell others about God’s loving kindness and tender mercy. Go demonstrate God’s mercy as God’s living epistles known and read of all men.

Living in God’s mercy means to present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is our reasonable act of worship. And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

What brings us together within the church the body of Christ? We’re here because we share in God’s loving kindness and tender mercy.

God gave his righteous laws so that his people would understand how to “walk circumspectly” inside the canopy of God’s protection. Laws are to define the bounds of God’s righteous standards. His laws define our freedom within the framework of his blessings. However, when we trespass and exceed the bounds of his protection, because of God’s mercy and grace, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Why is God merciful? It’s because mercy and grace is the loving nature of God himself. How can you describe the bounds of the love of God? In these immortal words of Rabbi Meir Ben Isaac Nehori…

Could we with ink the oceans fill,
And were the sky of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Because of God’s indescribable love, what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God…

…that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Ron Tovar 0:01
About three years ago, my father at 94 years old passed away, went to be with the Lord. And when I was talking to him or asking him Well, when I speak at your memorial service, what would you like me to say? I mean, our family for generations are going to be together and what do you want me to tell them? And, and as the worship team was singing, and it was seeing a nice surrender, I just began weeping because that was my father’s message. He said, Tell our family, to surrender to God. Tell our family not to backup not to flinch, but give everything they have to the Lord Jesus Christ. It was because I have. And as Joe was talking, I was thinking that it wasn’t time for Joe to surrender his last breath. And just as, as he, all of us are here, all of us are here. And by the mercy of God, and that’s what I’m going to talk to you about today. God’s mercy. You know, when when I was young, and I first heard the idea of mercy I, I learned it in a memorize prayer. That’s how I remember that word. Mercy, it was a prayer that I had to memorize, and repeat many times. So I could have been saying snow cone, it had about the same effect on on my heart on my soul, just didn’t mean a whole lot to me. And I really went through many, many years without thinking about God’s mercy. But I want to give you a word definition for mercy, which is, it comes from dictionary.com. It’s not like I’m so profound or smart, you know, I know how to steal things off the internet. So mercy, actually that word is it’s a noun, a noun. Now, I got to think back to to the third grade. Remember, oh, some of you I know are like really smart and have all these letters, pasture name and all this stuff. So this is just basic bear with me. And now on a person, place or thing, right? That’s, that’s what a noun is. Is that right? Third grade was about 67 years ago or something like that, or no. But anyway, a person place or thing so mercy, is it a person? It’s not Is it a place, it’s a thing. It’s an it’s a, it’s a substance that’s, it’s a thing that is not tangible. It’s a thing that you can’t open up your heart or your mind or someone else’s, and grab a hold of it and go, this is a big hunk of mercy. You can’t You can’t do that. And, and grace is the same way. And love is the same way. It’s something that you can see, but you can feel it. And when you and when you experience it, you know it. Faith is a substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. So Mercy is is something that it’s it’s something and that didn’t go on to go on with that definition. It’s compassion, compassion. God is compassionate to us. Empathy, there’s the word empathy, walking in another man’s moccasins. That’s how I learned it. Compassion that God has towards us mercy, compassion, same thing. To extend that it means a kindly forbearance. Now there’s a there’s a thing that I need sometimes, there’s a thing that I longed for, sometimes, that word forbearance means to abstain from, to forego to keep from to refrain from to withhold from that now put all that together and and your relationship with God. God abstains from squashing me like a bug. God, oh God, four goals from from punishing me as I should be punished. My wife says I’m perfect. And I agree to keep to keep fighting

Hey, good God, God for goals, he keeps us from what the constant How many times have you sinned and done something wrong and, and God just kind of covered your play. You know, and you go God, thank you thanks for that one. And he refrains from God is a God that is wholly impure. He is wholly impure. And just think of this stench of, of man’s heart. I did I have done, I’m not now but we’ve pre COVID, I was spending an hour a week with 18 men on probation. And now we’re a week and I did that for six, eight years, maybe longer than that. And when you talk to men that long, some of them for five years, some seven years, just spending that time with them and, and hearing the deep recesses of their heart, you find out that the heart of man is evil, it is very dark into and as it’s been said, by other speakers, if we were to project our thoughts on that thing up there, and everyone could see them our sins, our deepest, darkest evil that runs through our mind and the one that we harbor and concupiscence. And hold on to and let it play out until it becomes sin. If we were to do that, probably no one would like us anymore. You know, that’s how I feel about myself. However, because of forbearance, because of mercy, God accepts us in the beloved, how many are accepted in the beloved. That means he accepts you in and wraps his arms around you. You know what my prayer for you tonight is, is that when you go to bed tonight, and you lay your head on the pillow tonight, this is my prayer for you. That God gives you a hug of God gives you a hug, and, and you feel the warmth of His love. And you feel peace. When you lay your head to rest, that’s my prayer. You can accept it. Or you can say, Oh, this guy’s poco loco from the other end of town. But you can you can you can walk in it, you can dwell in it, surrender, surrender, to continue with that compassion or kindly forbearance shown towards an offender or an enemy or other person in one’s power, compassion, pity, or benevolence. You know, there’s, there’s a YouTube that went viral. And there was a there was a protest, it’s, we see those right? A little bit. There was a protest, and it was, it was a protest, people were protesting against racism. And, you know, nowadays, those kind of protests, they used to be all ethnic. They were all blacks or Browns or whatever. Used to be protests like that. Now, they’re, they’re diverse. There’s all kinds of people in those protests. Well, this was one of those. And I think half of them were white, that were protesting. And Along came a guy with a group of kkk people, members or whatever. And he had SS tattooed on his on his arm, he had a leather vest, and he had a confederate flag, a T shirt with a confederate flag in the front. He didn’t have believe in across his own thinking a little different. I told the guy the other day, if you’ve catch me without a T shirt that says something like this, I’ll give you $10 catch me anywhere. You know, I’m always advertising. But anyway, he came walk in and he and he met with these people. He sort of strayed from the others and somebody hit him. And another person hit him and they had these big long doll poles, you know, like you hang your clothes on. And people were hitting this guy and they were kicking them. And this 18 year old black girl and you and she was aggressive looking. I mean, I wouldn’t want to mess with that lady. She was 18 she dove on top of him and covered his body with hers. And all the protesters stopped and it stopped hitting and kicking. And she screamed at him and said Lee Malone stop.

And they backed off. Someone was filming and it went viral. It was a couple of months later, this young lady that was 18, she was in high school. She was in a coffee shop. And a young man walked up to her, a white young man walked up to her. And he said, Thank you. And she said, Thank you for what? He said, that was my dad, that you threw your body across and cut and protected him. I just want to thank you. And don’t you know that that’s how Christians and believers and you and I are to win souls, man by man. Man by man. Family by family. And, and that’s what she was doing. She changed the thinking of one young man. And, and that’s what we do. That’s what we do. And for him, we bond together. we strengthen each other. We edify each other. We pray for each other, we cry together, we call out to God together. We enjoin them prayer, because two are stronger than one and a three fold cord cannot be easily broken. So, mercy. When did it begin? in your life? So a question and a thought I had when, when did mercy begin? Some people would say, Well, you know, I’m from the streets. I’m from violence. I’m from all of the bad things. You guys, when you guys were praying and collecting money, and praying for the last I was there. I would you guys paid a lot of money for me to be here. So listen, good. So, when did mercy begin? Some would think well, when I accepted Jesus, oh, I experienced the mercy of God my life, because my life was dark, and it became light. Oh, that’s when God demonstrated His mercy or when Jonathan sorella was gasping for breath and trying to get one more day of life and he was unconscious didn’t know we’re all praying. I was praying for you, Joe. I don’t know you but I was praying for you. And in God had mercy. But as I went to began, the Bible says that he knew you before the foundation of the earth. very mysterious concept. He knew you before the foundation in the earth. So when? When was that? Where were you? You know, Bill Cabo wasn’t always so cute. Like he is before the foundation of the earth, he had a different form. I would imagine maybe Tonio Antonio Banderas, I don’t know, whatever. But he was different. And so were you and so as I but God newest, it’s hard to understand that but you remember some of you that had kids that wanted them, you know, you knew that they were they were going to be born and and you went and you bought you went to the baby shower, and I didn’t like that part. It had baby showers and, and then you get this crib and, and then you go in, assemble it with a screwdriver, we’d have screw guns back then. And you and you go and put all this stuff together. And, and because the baby’s coming, paint the room put this up, put that up, because the baby’s coming. And you have all these hopes and dreams. And then this the baby’s born. And within two days, the baby becomes like Adolf Hitler or Napoleon. Because they start controlling the house. They cry and everybody scurries around and runs their diaper gets wet and whatever and that’s all mercy that you’re expressing mercy, thinking about pre thinking the baby’s coming now. Now let’s help the baby do what he needs and, and they’re pooping in their diapers in some regard. I don’t know about that. And, and and you change them and all that. There. There’s some guys over 60 still walking around acting like they got dirty diapers, crying and complaining and all that. But all of that is encapsulated in God’s mercy. You were you were he knew you before the foundation of the earth you were born. You went through all that baby process and somewhere along Live someone

lined you up and you figured out there’s rules and guidelines and whatever. Some of us had dad, some of us did it. Some of us were abused, some of us weren’t, some of us grew up in, in good nice families and others didn’t. And, and whatever was lacking in our life, we have this resentment thing and, and and we don’t get it. And there’s this in gratitude that hovers over all of us even today. Mercy for you began today, when you took that first breath. And every single breath you take, and since that first breath today, is by the mercy of God, just the simple thing of being able to process and think, and the processes of thinking are God’s mercy, the beauty and wonder of a person who doesn’t agree with you. And, and you can sit down and you can talk and have a conversation. How beautiful is that? God’s mercy that we can think and process and, and forgive and listen and all that. There’s two things, you know, the I’m gonna read you some thoughts that I had when thinking about mercy. There are two things for sure. In life, two things for sure. the stupidity of man and the mercy of God. I’ve done some stupid stuff. Some really stupid things. I’ve said some stupid things. And and I said some really stupid things to my wife. I’m not the only one. Why are y’all looking at me?

Unknown Speaker 16:51
Amen.

Ron Tovar 16:53
I got an Amen. Honey, I got one. She’s looking. So um, but you know, there is the holy spirit that has a way of smoothing things over. Did you ever see or do something really dumb and stupid? And then and then you prayed and you ask God to forgive you and, and then you got to the place where you’re gonna apologize or whatever, and got it already. Holy Spirit already prepared that, you know, that’s the Holy Spirit. That’s God’s mercy. God’s mercy was, was with us all along, up until today, even right now. I’m here, sharing with you, because of God’s mercy. There’s no other way that that could be. You just couldn’t be like that. It was the mercy of God here was the thought that I had. It was the mercy of God that drove Jesus to the cross. That was his mercy to the cross. He had you in mind. And to the crossing God’s mercy was the beginning. It was in the beginning, His mercy does not grow as you behave better. Think about that for a minute. You can become what you think is a better Christian. And once you start thinking that you’re a better Christian, now you you’ve sinned in thinking that you’re better. Who invented all that? Now I am, I am a good strong Christian I I am walking with when we start thinking like that. Now we’re in Galatians chapter six man when you think you’re strong, watch out. What about that scripture that in Romans 12, verse 22, that says, The weak are necessary in the church. What about that? Ever been the weak one in the church? Ever been the one that didn’t measure up to one that the one that you felt like you were the, the worm of the whole church, like, I’m the worst guy in this old place? God’s mercy, that compassion, that forbearance that relieving you from that? You know, I’m sharing this with you. And when you or I, if you’ve been there, I have in a dark place where you have lost everything. Where there, there’s no way out. There’s nothing you can do you. You just messed up. If you’ve ever been in that place, but Having a life controlling problem by a divorce by rejection of parents, rejection of our children. You know, I’m still trying to work on that one. I don’t understand how I’m worse than my kids are to their kids. I can’t figure that out. But, but these things can play on us. And, and if you’re in that place where you have no way out. You don’t need to read a book about mercy, calling out to mercy. You don’t need a definition about mercy. You have no way. No answer. But Jesus, when you’re at that place, mercy is all you have. Mercy is all you have in working with these guys, that that I’m telling you about. lost everything. Have a felon attached to their name. Family rejected them. They’re all alone. No one, many people don’t want to talk to them. They’ve disappointed and disappointed and disappointed people. What do you have left? What What is left in life, all that’s left in life is Jesus. And all that’s left in life is miracles. You gotta have miracles. But we get in this whole hum lithological thing that that that we just take for granted God’s mercy. And it converts into in gratitude, really be conversant in gratitude, don’t throw tomatoes at me. In gratitude, when when in gratitude sets in, we just you know, that’s the way it is. It’s the normal, it’s here, things work, right?

I pay my bills every month, and it’s, I just keep paying them it’s on auto pay my life’s on auto and and everything just goes fine. And it’s it’s, it’s all cool. Well, isn’t that Mercy is not God’s mercy. One disruptive thing can throw that whole thing out the window. So sometimes when things go wrong, you’ve got to drag your wounded soul to the gates of mercy. To get your wounds healed, and, and, and but and through those wounds. He can deliver you from anxiety and depression and things like that. Yet last night, my wife and I were watching this, this movie about a soldier, I think it’s called welcome home Joe or something like that. Maybe you’ve seen it. It’s about a soldier who was in Iraq and, and the torment when he came back all the things he saw, and all of that some of you veterans understand, I I just have an from a distance, a view and opinion. But at the end of the movie, he kills himself. And then there’s this little blurb that says that veteran 22 veterans kill themselves every day, every day. And as we’re working with police officers, which I had to ask God to help me to forgive, because sometimes they took me places I didn’t want to go. As as we’re working with police officers, we find out that they suffer from the same thing. And, and if you’ve been delivered from depression, guess what? No one can help a guy in depression better than one that’s been delivered. Did you suffered depression and you’re on the high end of it, and I’m feeling good today. Hey, go call some depressed people. You know, it takes alcoholic to know an alcoholic, a drug addict can spot a drug addict. 50 feet away. A person who’s having marital problems can note a guy who’s going through it to one who has a child that’s a black sheep hears and detects things. And so we unite. We get together we encourage It’s my dream. And maybe, maybe I’m being foolish. But it’s my dream and my hope that from this little talk right here. We share God’s mercy with somebody whether it be on the freeway on the way home, or whether it be at the store at stater brothers or, or at Denny’s or wherever we go whatever we do, God’s mercy. God’s mercy you can’t share mercy unless you’re violated in some way, you can’t be merciful again, unless someone imposes their tries to impose their will on you. You can’t be merciful unless someone insults you or does something that all these things that Pete talks about all the time, carrying the cloak another mile, if they slap you on the right cheek, give him the other cheek and all that he says like that, for us to express mercy, some of those things have to happen. So there’s this process with including mercy and grace and forgiveness and repentance that God has for us to to cause us to mature called perfection maturity. And, and you know, you can’t buy your way out of it. There’s no money to buy your way out of that process. There’s no shortcut out of that process. I’ve done and Todd 12 step classes, Celebrate Recovery. I’ve never been a drug user, but I did abuse alcohol, some but 12 step classes in different groups, and I don’t know how long, maybe 10 years, 15 years, something like that. But I’ve taught something that I don’t really believe. You know, I believe it’s one step. Just one step. It’s Jesus. Some people need 12 steps, because they don’t want to accept the first step, which is Jesus Christ is Lord. I got delivered from alcohol. When I accepted Jesus,

I got delivered from anger and hatred and violence. When I accepted Jesus that day. Two weeks later, I looked at my life and I go,

Hey,

what happened?

I pulled those cigarettes out of my pocket that I’ve been trying to quit for 15 years and throw them in the trash. Two weeks later. I looked at my, the way I was talking and I go, man, I felt this light. Just wonderful contrast to how my life was. I the anger was gone. The hatred was gone. Mercy, God’s mercy. It’s God’s mercy. You know, I’m going to read you the scriptures real quick. Jesus talked about it too. He said, In Matthew 913. He said, But go and learn what this means. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. He says, go and learn what it means. Did you ever go and learn what it means? Jesus told us go learn. It’s almost like Paul in in Romans chapter 12. When he says, I beseech you by the mercies of God. I’m begging you. Hey, Hey, you. Hey, you, doctor, hey, you construction worker, hey, you fruit picker? Hey, you, you know, by the mercies of God. Present your body is a living sacrifice. He says, Jesus says go learn what it means. This thing mercy, compassion, empathy, forbearance go learn what it means. And when you learn what it means. Go spread it around. He also said, If you only knew that in Matthew 12, seven, If you only knew the meaning of desire, a meaning of quote, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. You wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. You only knew the meaning of it. I think we better go learn the meaning of it. And I am incapable I’m not. I’m not qualified. I don’t really know how I’m doing my best right now. To try to to direct you because that’s all a person can do. I don’t think really anybody teaches anybody anything. I think that we can just point you in a direction. Go learn. Go find out. And when you find out when you know and understand mercy. Go up to your wife and demonstrate mercy. Go to your children and demonstrate mercy and the one that you don’t know and that black sheep in your family and that person who who via laded your space? When salted you? Do we have to be right? Do we have to win the argument? Do you have to be Captain carnitas of the show? You got to do the whole deal got to be john wayne and in the story, do I have to come out to hero? Or can I humble myself before many people and, and open doors to win souls. It’s about winning souls. It’s not about an egocentric life about what I feel what I care how I do. That’s not Jesus. Jesus is said three things to go into all the world and preach the gospel, and make disciples and obey. He didn’t say Go into all the world and be a Republican.

He didn’t say good all the world, going all the world and because become this or that or anything. He said, going to all the world and preach. That’s what he said, preach the gospel and say going to all the world and hate and be delivered from eight. How do we deliver from hating myself? From hating specific groups? I even hated Mexicans. And I’m one. So how do you do that? How do you deliver yourself from yourself? So, here, here we go. Find mercy, find out what Mercy is there. There are some political people that say things that I don’t like, really, because they are against what I believe. Now stepping on toes. I don’t believe the same. And maybe there’s some in here in this room that don’t believe like I do politically? Is that why we got together? Is that why we’re here? We’re here because we believe that the word of God is the word of God. We believe that. And there are some people that believe some things about the Word of God, not the same way that I do. And they have the right to be wrong. Doesn’t everyone have the right to be wrong? And are we not here to instruct and to teach and to nudge? The best thing we can do is nudge. nudge, nudge people into truth. Even those that are deceived. I’m very hurt today. I’m very hurt today, because I read something yesterday about Manhattan, how they, they change the laws about prostitution. And it’s not illegal anymore. And I’m very distressed because they change the marijuana laws. Because I think marijuana is a gateway drug. And you may not think that but or you may but this is my thinking on that. Laws are not made. And I spent a lot of time with criminals. Okay. Laws are not made to keep criminals from committing crimes. I don’t know if you knew that. Laws are made to keep people who are not criminals from committing crimes. You cannot keep a thief out of your house if he wants to get in it. He wants to break into your house and steal from you. He’s going to break into your house and steal from you. But as to keep honest people honest, so that the honest guy who’s going for a walk and sees your door wide open and then sees your most precious things right there doesn’t go Hey, that doors open, there’s no one around abl go in and take a look. So when when they relaxed the laws for prostitution, we all know that prostitution has been around forever. We all know that we all know that people break the law and they go do it. But now the regular people, the masses, it’s not illegal anymore. See all the signs for marijuana this and marijuana, that and all that. I come from a drug culture. I come from being slammed against a car at 10 years old and searched in because my whole family was related to things. And I come from that. And it all began with pot. So that’s why I have that thing. That’s my personal experience. So So when when I see billboards, and I see people going, Oh, this and that, and it’s all cool. Oh yeah. All right. It’s all cool. So what’s the next level? prescription drugs, I get really mad, that grant that senior citizens are getting hooked on drugs by by doctors, prescribing drugs. And now my 8595 year old grandpa is is is, is a drug addict when he spent his whole life not doing drugs. And and then I say, well, the people of God gotta rise up. We got to hold our own self to that standard, that I will not cross those lines, I will not do this. And where else are we going to? Where else am I going to find guys that are more qualified, that are going to hold the line? They’re going to say no, when when temptation comes and knocks on the door, right now the devil and people are devising more schemes to try to

fool us, pull us into evil, pull us into things that, that are, are not the cause habits and vices, where the devil gets a grip on us. So as you know, God’s mercy, we have to demonstrate we got to be different. and demonstrate that we that like these lines are not to be crossed, that when you pick up your phone, it upsets me because I can put on messages that I’m sharing the word and then it’s over. And now there’s some girl with about two ounces of clothes on in the next video. On on the phone. And, and then there’s another one and another one. And pretty soon a person gets roped in a lot of a lot of things going on. So if you’re plagued by any of those, I would say hold on to the Lord. seek His mercy. seek His grace, get in his presence, get delivered, get healed. Remember I said earlier, evangelize those that have already been evangelized. We need to stand up and, and hold fast to God’s word and promote God’s word. I’m going to finish with this. A Saint Augustine said trust the past, to the mercy of God, the present to his love. And the future to His providence, Providence is is that influence of God, that the divine influence of God in your life? Charles Spurgeon said God’s mercy is so great, that you may sooner drain the sea of its water or deprive the sun of its light, or make space to narrow, then diminish the great mercy of God. I’m going to finish with this scripture and then we’ll pray. Micah six eight says he has shown me he has shown you, oh man, what is good? And what does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God. I asked the Lord to to help us in a desperate way that I can learn God’s mercy. And I can practice it to you I’m I’m embarrassed to practice a tea. I reluctant to practice mercy. I have difficulty doing it. It’s not easy for me. I’d rather sit back and be quiet. I would rather not say anything. And just say all. I’ll be merciful to them. But I just you know, right here. But God wants us to express it. To spread it like Pete always says spread heaven. Let’s pray. Let’s pray. And my prayer is going to be I’ll tell you ahead of time what the period is going to be. Like, like the trucker said, Let’s get her done. You know, let’s get her done. Let’s get with it. Let’s pray. Lord, we come to you and although we are not, and all that we are and we ask you, Lord, to be merciful to us.

You’ve been merciful to us. But we asked you to help us to see it. To recognize your mercy, to not be ungrateful, to rejoice in your goodness, to be thankful moment to moment that we’re still breathing and we’re alive and, and stop focusing on the negatives and, and rejoice in the positive things in the blessings that you’ve given us all. We can breathe, we can lift our arms, we can hug our family, our loved ones, as we have the strength right now give us the strength to hug our family and our wives and our children. And those that were mad at and forgive those that that have hurt us and, and stabbed us in the back and done things that make us feel bad and angry and cause roots of bitterness. Help us to demonstrate mercy, Lord, help us to press the reset button. And I pray for this band of brothers right here, Lord, that begin right here in the interaction before we leave, and that your mercy spread throughout the county, throughout the state throughout the world. let it begin right here Lord, a spirit of mercy and grace, forgiveness, repentance in Jesus name. We thank You Lord, Amen. Amen.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Resentment Bank

To understand the meaning of repentance and redemption, it’s necessary to have an understanding of sin. Sin is to miss the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

God said to Jeremiah to tell the people that God will give Israel a heart to repent, to return to him. This is amazing grace. Israel had fallen by forsaking God and the truth of His word. As a consequence, God allowed them to be taken captive into Babylon.

How do we reconcile our hearts back to the Lord? How do we pray as David did, “Create in me a new heart O Lord”? Pride and a self serving attitude keeps our hearts from approaching God for his mercy and forgiveness.

As it says in Corinthians, thinking themselves to be wise in their own conceits, they became fools, turning their backs on the Lord. However, where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. According to Gary Leachman, there is a difference between a pardon and justification. To be pardoned means that a person is released from prison, but his guilt persists. He is still guilty as charged and his criminal record remains. However, justification means “just as if I never sinned.” Justification means that my debt has been paid in full by the payment of Jesus’ innocent blood on my behalf. Because his sacrifice justified God’s righteous judgement against me, I’ve been redeemed and released from my obligation to make right my debt of sin.

Our sin nature is born from our mother’s womb. This is the nature that we inherited from Adam as a result of Adam’s original disobedience to God and His word. All children are born in sin. As children, we’re wounded and feel the pain of the injustice of this world. Many children grow up with a resentment bank against their earthly fathers. Their own fathers never learned what it means to be a godly father. This curse from our earthly fathers is often passed down from generation to generation. These hurtful relationships make deposits into a child’s resentment bank. This is especially true of little girls. They are more easily hurt and suffer deeply from father wounds.

Hurt and woundedness is a reciprocal relationship. Our fallen nature seeks retribution. How do we seek forgiveness for our wounded hearts that lash out to hurt those who have hurt us? How do we empty our resentment bank? How do we rid ourselves of vindictiveness, and a heart that seeks retribution? Our first priority is to restore our vertical relationship with our Heavenly Father. According to 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To take this verse to heart means that we need to forsake our pride. Humility and meekness is the requirement to approach the throne of God according to the Word of God.

According to Galatians 6:1, “BRETHREN, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Those who have been wronged can recite the evils that others have perpetrated against them. Victims in their victim mentality convince themselves that they are righteous and others are guilty who have wronged them. Their right “not to be offended” has been violated. They say to themselves, “my anger against them is justified because they, having hurt me, are evil and I’m not.

Jesus explained in The Sermon on the Mount, I’ve come to establish a new kingdom. I’m changing the paradigm for justice. If someone sins against you and slaps you on the cheek, then turn the other cheek. If someone demands by law that you carry their pack for a mile, then volunteer to go the second mile. The first mile is of obligation. The second is of love. Love your enemies. Bless them that persecute you and despitefully use you. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and say all manner of evil against you for my sake for great is your reward in heaven.

The devil works to divide and conquer. He sets up strife, contention and division for where there is strife, there is confusion and every evil work. The devil convinces his subjects to maintain a victim mentality. A victimized heart of resentment distances a person’s heart from others and from God.

However, according to 2 Timothy 2, the Lord’s bondservant must not strive…. must not be quarrelsome. He must teach others by his life’s witness of truth in action. He must be patient when wronged, gently correcting those who oppose themselves. The benefit is if perhaps God would grant them repentance. The principle is “be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Whom the Lord loves, he reproves. Susan said to Pete, “we need to talk.” She pulled up a chair and said, “In my bible study I realized that you seem to value everyone’s opinion except mine.” Pete came to his senses that he needed to own his sin. He said, “Honey, I’m so sorry I’ve done that. Thank you for gently correcting me.”

Our prescription as individuals and as nations is to return to God with a heart of repentance. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

The devil holds people captive in his snare of sin and guilt to do the devil’s will by subjecting their wills according to his own evil heart. However, God will use sin to show those he has chosen that “in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.” In Psalm 51, David repented. He acknowledged his own sins of adulatory, plotting to murder, and murdering Bathsheba’s husband Uriah. David said, “against you Lord and you only have I sinned so that you are justified when you judge me according to your righteous standard. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and create a new spirt in me.”

When we repent, where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. When we repent, God doesn’t leave us on the trash heap of sin and iniquity. He’ll pick up the threads of our broken hearts and weave them together again. God is a God of forgiveness… not because we’re deserving of forgiveness, not because we’re deserving of love…. But because forgiveness and love is the nature of God himself.

For God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. As Cory Ten Boom said, “there is no pit so deep, but that God is deeper still.” For in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.

In the power and comfort of God’s Holy Spirit, we don’t need to change our political systems. We need to change our hearts. Then when we approach his throne of grace having been forgiven, we can enter into our Father’s presence clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

… that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

A New Attitude

What does Jesus require? What doth the Lord require of thee? He has redeemed us from the power of sin not because we were deserving of forgiveness. He loved us when we were unloveable. Not because of who we are but because of who He is. Love, mercy and grace are the nature of God himself.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus presented a new approach to our attitudes of heart. The beatitudes are the “beautiful attitudes” that will set our hearts free.

Pete recalls that while he was playing baseball in North Carolina, Suzan came to visit him. Suzan knew that she had to make a decision about what direction her life would take. She had decided to finally break off their relationship. They had broken up so many times before that she was concerned about Pete’s reaction. Suzan told him that she had met a new beau in Mexico named Armando. He wooed her lovingly with dignity, respect, and kindness. Armando was genuinely interested in her and demonstrated his affection by wining and dining her. He even played the guitar and serenaded her with beautiful Spanish songs.

Suzan expected Pete to respond in a fit of jealous rage. This would have been the “old Pete’s” response. But while Suzan had been in Mexico, Pete had dedicated his life to Christ. He had read the book, “The Bobby Richardson Story” about the life of an All Star Yankee second baseman who was also a devout Christian. When Pete read this book, he had prayed, “Lord, I know I’m not the man you created me to be. Lord please make me that man.” At that moment Pete had a complete change of heart.

Suzan was taken aback by Pete’s gracious response. She said, “I still want to date you but I want to spend a week with Armando when he comes to visit me from Mexico City.” Pete said, “Let me get this straight. You want to move to this town to be near me. You want to date me, but then you want to leave me to spend a week with Armando while he’s in town? I may be a new Christian, but even I know there’s something wrong with this picture.” Suzan was confused. She thought it would be easy to break up with Pete and move on with her new life. Instead she found herself in a quandary… falling in love with the new man that Pete had become. In her confusion, she finally said, “Well then, why don’t we just get married?” Pete said, “I’ll need to pray about that.” He prayed for about two seconds for God to confirm his decision. Then he answered, “Okay, let’s get married.”

By grace, God had changed Suzan’s heart. According to Romans 5:20, where sin abounded grace did much more abound. Ephesians 2:8 says, for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. In order to understand the meaning of redemption and reconciliation by God’s grace, we must first understand that from which we were forgiven.

The root of sin is an attitude of pride. In our pride we have accumulated a resentment bank that says, “people have wronged me and never made it right.” One man said in a counseling session, “My wife doesn’t respect me.” Pete asked him, “Are you respectable?” It’s much easier to see the sin in others without recognizing the sin of resentment in our own hearts. The sin problem is that we see the sin in others while being blinded to the bigger sin… judging others for having wronged us. Jesus said, “how can you see to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye, when you have a two by four in your own eye.” The two by four is resentment, unforgiveness, and judgementalism… The things that blind us to the love of God. How do you “yank the plank?” How do you cast the two by four out of your own eye?

When God justifies us by the payment His son Jesus Christ paid on our behalf, he casts our sin as far is the east is from the west and remembers them no more. When we’re saved by His grace through his son’s sacrifice for sin, we are made the righteousness of Christ.

The word sin means to miss the mark. However, the emphasis of the word sin is not on the missing but on the mark itself. The mark is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The devil’s ploy is to remind us how far short of the mark we fall. But if we confess our sins, our broken fellowship, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

According to the beatitudes, forgiveness starts with humility. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jeremiah 24:7 says I will put it in your hearts to humble yourselves to know me. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, returning to God begins with a heart humbled before the Lord: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

The Old Testament law of sin and death showed God’s people that in themselves, they could not keep his righteous commandments. When people try to prove righteousness in their own power, then God allows them to reap the consequences of their self serving sin nature.

Jesus said, if you’re bringing an offering before God and have an issue against your brother, first go reconcile with your brother. Then you can come back and offer your sacrifice to God with a pure and clean heart of forgiveness.

As needy men of God, our need is to ask forgiveness and give forgiveness. This is why Jesus said in his model prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Without a heart that forgives others, we cannot approach God’s throne of grace with a pure heart of meekness and humility. Without forgiving others, our heart says, Jesus’ death on my behalf was not sufficient. The unforgiving heart is an unforgiven heart.

I forgave and set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner was me. The greatest freedom is in allowing the Lord to captivate our hearts: Make me a captive Lord, and then I shall be free…. Force me to render up my sword and I shall conqueror be. I sink in life’s alarms if by myself I stand. Imprison me within thine arms and free shall be my stand.

That with a heart of humility and forgiveness…
…We may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Here is the link to the video and audio of this message.  I hope you’re as blessed to listen to this message as I was to deliver it.

Fusion vs. Confusion – Influencers OC (subsplash.com)

Below are the notes that I prepared prior to speaking.

My prayer as always is that we together would live to the praise of the glory of God’s grace.

Your brother in Christ,

Michael Message for Influencers Fullerton and Irvine April 14 and 16, 2021

Confusion versus Fusion

Good Morning Y’all. Most of y’all know me. I’m the one who takes notes of Pete’s messages and then the media team publishes them in the Influencers OC app. Since I have the honor of speaking this morning, y’all will have to take your own notes.

In our prayer meetings we always read a passage from Psalms. One psalm came to mind. In Psalm 45, the psalmist says, “my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” The Bible is full of figurative language. Usually my I pad is the tongue of a ready speaker. Today, my tongue is the i pad of a ready note taker. So it’s a blessing to share with y’all this morning.

In our meetings sometimes Bill Kauble asks the simple question, “Why are you here?” I said to Bill there are two reasons, First I had a divine appointment. I heard the voice of God calling me but it sounded like Bill Kauble. Pete often says, you can fake caring, but you can’t fake showing up. If you want to be dis-appointed then diss God’s appointment. Every moment of every day is a divine appointment to abide with and within Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The second reason I’m here is a quote from an old Jack Nicholson movie, “As Good As It Gets”…. “I’m here because you’re here, you make me want to be a better man.” I’m honored to choke in your dust as together we choke in the dust of the rabbi, Jesus Christ.

Justin McDonald said in our last men’s retreat, “when I’m around you all I feel like a lion in the midst of Daniels.” That’s the way I feel around you all. I’m humbled and honored to be in your presence. I Thank God for reproof whenever I’m in your presence.

Today’s message is about Confusion versus Fusion

First let’s open with a word of Prayer…….

There is so much confusion in this world.
There’s a profusion of confusion…. The devil’s ploy is to divide and conquer. He pits competing factions against each other so people will split apart and fight each other. There is rich against poor, educated against uneducated, husbands against wives, parents against children, boomers against Millennials, men against women, democrats against republicans, liberals against conservatives, workers against management, Sunnis against Shiites, Catholics against Protestants, citizens against aliens, Trojans against Bruins, haves against the have-nots….. and the list goes on and on ad infinitum.

According to James 3:16,
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
The word Confusion is the Greek Word Akatastasia. Which means instability, a state of disorder, chaos, and confusion. Confusion is the result of strife, contentions and competing factions.

The context of this verse is wisdom: the wisdom of this world versus the wisdom of God. The devil is the god of disorder, chaos, and confusion. On the other hand God is the god of order, peace, and unity.

According to John 10:10, the the devil’s purpose is to steal, to kill, and to destroy. He tears things apart: In stealing, he separates us from our rightful possessions, in killing he separates us from our physical life, in destroying, he explodes that which God unifies, he blows it to smitherines. When we fall into his temptation to sin, sin separates from our fellowship with God.

What’s the opposite of confusion? Confusion is kind of like the question Will Rogers asked: What’s the opposite of progress? The answer is congress. Con-fusion means without fusion so the opposite of confusion is fusion. Confusion tears things apart. Fission disintegrates whereas fusion integrates. Integrity is the result of fusion.

Nuclear Physics teaches that here’s a lot of destructive power in an explosive nuclear fission reaction. An atomic bomb releases its explosive energy by breaking the bonds between the protons and neutrons in nuclear fission. Fission is different than fusion. In nuclear fission elements such as uranium or plutonium atomize, they explode into smaller elements. A nuclear fission reaction produces a million times more energy than a chemical explosion in a conventional bomb.

However a nuclear fusion reaction produces four times more energy than a fission reaction. Fission is the power of con-fusion, of exploding of flying apart of disintegration. A fusion reaction is the power of implosion, of unity, of integration, of bringing together individual components into a unified whole. In a nuclear fusion reaction, two nuclei of hydrogen fuse together to form one atom of Helium. Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers the sun and the stars. Nuclear fusion converts mass into energy according to Einstein’s famous equation E=MC2.

The lesson is that God’s power of unity, of bringing together is much greater than the devil’s power of confusion to separate and divide. Ephesians 4:3 says that we should endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

What is it that unifies and fuses us together within the church, the body of Christ, God’s dwelling place? Let’s read. Colossians 3:12-17.

12. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

It is charity, the agape love of God that unifies us in the body of Christ. The peace of God is related to unity. Most people think that peace is the absence of war. However Jesus said peace is not the worldly kind of peace. You can’t have peace without the prince of peace. In John 14:27 Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

How do we get the peace of God so that our hearts can be joined together, integrated with God’s heart in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace?

Let’s turn to Ephesians 2.
13. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16. And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17. And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

We get the peace of God through Jesus Christ’s reconciling us through the sacrifice of his innocent blood on our behalf. Peace means the end of strife and contention between God and man. In order to reconcile our hearts with God and with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to meet each other at the foot of the cross. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

How did we get to the place where we needed to be fused, reconciled, made at peace with God?

The devil’s original “con-fusion” was when he tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam and Eve only one commandment: “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For on the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.”

In His temptation of Eve, The devil sowed seeds of doubt and confusion. First he questioned the love of God. Then he questioned the word of God. First he questioned God’s love. He implied, “God doesn’t really love you. He doesn’t want what’s best for you. He wants to keep you ignorant of the knowledge of good and evil.” Then he questioned the word of God…. “did God really say?….”. She knew exactly what God had said. However, when she considered the devil’s lies and questioned the word of God, then she was caught in devil’s devil’s strife, confusion, and contention against God. When you doubt the word of God and the love of God, you’ve taken the devil’s bait hook line and sinker. All he has to do is reel you in.

On the day that Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they died that very day. What died? Their spiritual connection with God.

Jesus Christ came to redeem us from The sin nature we inherited from Adam. Through his atoning sacrifice on our behalf, we were saved when we confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead.

Now that we have peace with God having been born again of God’s spirit, how do we manifest the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace?

We do this by keeping the two great commandments: to love God above all and your neighbor as yourself.

Not many people know, but the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai were not so that he could punish the children of Israel when they stepped out of line. This is what the world thinks. The Ten Commandments were actually God’s “terms of endearment” with Israel. They were God’s wedding vows with Israel. The first commandment covers all of the other commandments. The first commandment in the KJV says, “thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” However, the ancient Aramaic text says, “thou shalt have no other God’s between your face and my face.” Why? Because we’re attached face to face in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and charity, the love of God is the bond that binds us together.

As Pastor Pete says, when you have your vertical relationship in tact, loving God above all, then all of your horizontal relationships will fall in line. If you keep the first commandment to love God above all then you don’t have to worry about the other nine “sins of commission.” You just have to worry about the one “sin of omission,” not loving God “with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength.” This is the reason Peter said, “love covers a multitude of sins.”

There are two types of salvation and two types of repentance. One is the new birth when we’re made whole when we received the gift of God’s Holy Spirit according to Romans 10:9-10. The other is “working out your own salvation” , your own wholeness with fear and trembling…. with reverence awe, and respect. Phil 2:12.

Prayer is fusing our heart with God’s heart… so is studying and meditating on the word. To fuse our hearts with God’s heart means that we have a common standard for truth. That common standard is the Word of God and Jesus Christ, the word of God made flesh. If God is love and God is his word, then the word of God is the love of God.

How do you overcome con-fusion. You fuse your heart together with God’s heart with the love of God which is the bond of perfectness in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

Then we can love our neighbors as ourselves. We can serve God by serving others for Jesus said, in that you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.

We are called to counter confusion with fusion in the unity of the spirit by bearing one anothers’ burdens…. by serving in the body of Christ.

We’re all individual components within the body of Christ.. he has fitted us each into the body with a particular function and purpose as he has seen fit. Ephesians 4:15-16 Says,
15. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

How do you counter confusion? To overcome confusion, fuse together by endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace by loving God above all and your neighbor as yourself.

How long shall we continue to battle against confusion? I’d encourage you to read all of Ephesians chapter 4. It’s in verse 13: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: at the return of Jesus Christ.

An old hymn of the faith says,

Blest be the tide that binds our hearts in Christian love,
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

Before our Maker’s throne we pour our ardent prayers;our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.We share each other’s woes,each other’s burdens bear,and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.When we asunder part, it gives us keenest pain,but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.
The glorious hope revives our courage on the way:in perfect friendship we shall live in God’s eternal day.

Amen and Amen

Thank you and God bless you all!

Michael Low

Wow, it’s great to be here. I’m humbled by your presence. You know, Pete often says that we we’re here to choking each other’s dust. So I’m glad to be choking in yalls dust. I remember at our last men’s retreat, Justin McDonald said, when I’m around y’all,

I feel like a lion in the midst of Daniels. That’s why I feel when I’m around you, you guys. The Bible says that the word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, which is instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, through and throughly perfected and all good works. When I’m in your Miss. I thank you guys for reproving me over and over and over because your epistles known and read of all man, most people think that this word reproof is a bad word, reproof, correction. Don’t beat me, Lord. But nothing could be further from the truth. This word reproof means to prove over and over and over God’s power in our lives. That’s what reproof is, and the word correction means to restore to an upright position. So I’m glad to be around all y’all. It’s great to be together in person for a change is good that the courts have recognized that church is actually an essential requirement. We’re no longer any non essential, we’re essential. The Bible says For sake not the fellowship of yourself together as a matter of some is, but assembled together in so much the more as you see the day approaching. So it’s great to be with y’all in person. Normally, when Bill Cabo introduces me, he’ll say, this is Michael Lowe. He’s a son of Edward Lowe. And I’m always honored to be introduced as a son of Edward Lowe. You know, Pete often says that, that men keep a resentment bank because they were wounded by their dads, they have father wounds that go on and on and on, and those father wounds hurt from generation to generation to generation. It’s hard for me to relate to that, because my dad was actually a quote, man of God, unquote, a man of God. I never knew what this word man of God meant, until Pete anointed me with oil, and put this bracelet on my hand, anointed me man of God. Normally, when you call a person, a man of God, they’ll look down in shame and say, Oh, no, I’m not worthy. Don’t call me a man of God. I’m not worthy of that title. But when you think of that term, man of God, well, what does that mean? You know, we speak English. Sometimes, different languages are more precise than English, the term man of God of God. In Latin, that’s what they called. The genitive case is the genitive of possession. What does man of God mean? genitive of possession, means God’s man, Apostrophe S. That’s how we say, Man of God, in English, God’s man, the essence of Christianity is not who we are. It’s who’s we are. That’s Romans 10, nine and 10. Romans 10, nine and 10. If thou

shalt confess,

Jesus is Lord, Lord means owner. Christianity is not who we are. Christianity is who’s we are. Man of God, the genitive of possession. I might get off on a little tangent here. If you guys, any of y’all were present on Wednesday, maybe you heard this message and or variation of this message, and depending on whether God calls an audio audible here, but so if you’ve heard this message before, it’s deja vu all over again. But that’s okay. Because repetition is a good thing. Pete asked me once. What’s the difference between joy and rejoice? I had to think about that one. I said, Pete, I can’t think of anything right now. Let me take that one under advisement. So I thought about that. Then I thought to myself, haha. The difference between joy and rejoice is the same difference between Pete and repeat. Some, sometimes repetition is a good thing. So if you’ve heard it before, I hear it again. And that’s a good thing. Let me get to my notes here. Because I actually did take a few notes. Most of y’all know me as the guy that takes notes. They publish them on the website. Somebody asked me once, why do you take such prolific notes? You know, you write everything down. Why do you do that? And the guy that asked me was actually he was a photographer. So I said, you know, some people have a photographic memory. But mine still under development. So that’s why I take notes. Hopefully, y’all are blessed. And the other thing that comes to mind is, Pete was reading my notes went and he said to himself, I didn’t realize I was that good. Then, of course, Bill Cabo. You know, Bill cobbles. His job is to keep Pete humble. So Bill, cobble said to Pete, no, you’re really not that good. But that’s why I’m here. You know, when I’m around you guys, like I said, y’all reprove me all the time. And I’m blessed to be in your company. I’m blessed to be reproved and corrected by your presence, because we’re all living epistles known read of all, man. And that’s what we do we build each other up in the body of Christ. This morning’s talk is the title if I were going to title it would be the difference between confusion and fusion. What’s the difference between confusion and fusion, there’s so much confusion in this world around us. But before we get into the message this morning, let’s open with a word of prayer because we’d like to put God first. Father, we thank you for this opportunity, this divine appointment to be with you. As pastor Pete says, Father, you can fake hearing that you can’t fake showing up. So thank you, Father, for this divine appointment, where we can worship you truly spiritually, where we can align our hearts with your hearts, where we can build each other up in the most holy faith. Thank you, Father, for these men. Thank you, Father, that the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart may be acceptable, and to the O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Thank you, Father for this assembly. And this fellowship that we can share one with another, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

So

what’s the difference between confusion and fusion? You know, there’s so much confusion in this world. There’s a pro fusion of confusion in the world around us. We were praying this morning about the divisions in politics, and how our country is turning his back on the foundations upon which our country was founded, you know, our country was actually founded as a Christian nation. There’s a book called the light and the glory if you’ve never read that book, tremendous book about the founding of the United States, and why people came to the United States. Pete often says that there were only two countries in world history that were founded on the principles of the Word of God. One was Israel, and the other words the United States of America, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You know, the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, in firm reliance on divine providence. They understood this word Providence, we don’t understand that don’t understand this word, Providence, you need to read the Valley of vision, because it’s a book of Puritan prayers. They understood this thing about God, you are our inheritance, you are our Providence, you’re our best portion by night. And by day, they understood the providence of God. They wrote the Declaration of Independence. It’s called the Declaration of Independence, because we were declaring our independence from Great Britain. But if you read the Declaration of Independence is actually the Declaration of Independence. In from reliance on divine providence, we pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. That was the reason that the United States of America was founded. The Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of Independence upon Almighty God, they knew the word God. Now, there’s so much confusion in this world. The adversaries job is to divide and conquer. That’s what he does, he splits things apart. He blows things up. He atomized this thing’s His job is to destroy, steal, to kill and to destroy. We’ll get into that a little bit later as far as what that means what take that apart. Because the devil came, the thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy I, Jesus Christ and come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. How does the devil divide and conquer? With this profusion of confusion?

Well,

it’s easy to look around this. It’s easy to become a quote news, junkie, unquote, and find out well, what is it that we’re against, but that’s what the adversary does he he gets us into this mentality of us against them. Somebody said that the problem with the United States is that there’s too much E Pluribus and not enough Unum. For you Latin scholars, too much E Pluribus and not enough Unum? Well, the adversary is the God of E Pluribus. He’s the one who divides he’s the one who separates our hearts one from another. That was ploy. He pits competing factions against each other. So people split apart and fight each other. There’s rich against poor, educated against sun indicated husbands against wives, parents against children, boomers against millennials, men against women, Democrats against Republicans, liberals against conservatives, workers against management. Sunni’s against Catholics against Protestants, citizens against aliens, Trojans against ruins. Are we stepping on any toes here? Catholics, Protestants have that against they have not. And the list goes on and on and on, ad infinitum. Because that’s the devil. His job is to divide and conquer. And that’s exactly from Scripture, James 316 says, For where there is envying, and strife, there’s confusion and every evil work. The word confusion is a Greek word. Aqa to stasia if I’m pronouncing it right, in Florida, we have a guy named George, you’re gay. He speaks Greek. He’s from Greece. So he’s always correcting me on the Greek. He says, you know, if you want to understand Greek, come talk to me, because Greeks very precise language, unlike English, English, oftentimes is subject to interpretation. But Greek is very precise. It’s made up of root words and, and prefixes and suffixes, and extremely precise language. That’s one of the reasons the Greek was the New Testament was written in Greek, because it’s not subject to quote, interpretation, one’s own interpretation. It says what it means and it means what it says extremely precise language. But this word, strikes strife and confusion. Confusion is this word, it’s a Greek word, and it means instability, a state of disorder, chaos and confusion. And confusion is a result of strife, contentions, and competing factions. Now, when you read this verse in James, James is a great button. James is about faith, and the things that we do to reinforce our faith. And it starts with this thing that we were talking about in prayer this morning tribulation trials, we think the trials are a bad thing. But trials have to do with this reproof word. Try means to essay, it means to prove. Ultimately, it means to prove God’s character within those verses says, silver is for the crucible, and the furnaces for gold, but the heart is for the Lord. The heart is for the Lord. trials are to refine us, tribulation worketh patience and patience, experience, and experience, hope and hope make it not a shame because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit which is given to us. The word experience is the word character. These assez these trials, these temptations, the the tribulation proves God’s character in us. Because what’s going to burn up? All that is done nothing in this world that that is done matters. Only that which is done in Christ will last. Everything in this world will pass. Only that which is done in Christ shall last. So we’re gonna look at the difference between confusion and fusion. And what’s the difference? So confusion is we’re talking about chaos and disorder, but God is a God of order. There’s a word vs says order my steps in my word, because God is a God of order.

He, we can make all the plans we want. That’s what he says. He says, You know, I make a strat plan every year at the beginning of the year, about the third week of a new year, I throw my strat plan out the window because God obliterates it. It has nothing to do with reality. So we’re to order our steps in the Word of God, it’s one thing to plan. It’s another thing to order our steps in the word, because God is a God of order, not disorder. So, if you’re looking at this word, confusion, confusion is a great word. It’s made up of two words as well, two English words con and fusion. And it reminds me of something that Will Rogers had said he was talking to a crowd of people, you know, Will Rogers was a humorous to satirise for many generations ago. But he said some incredible things. Because truth is truth. Whoever says it, and Will Rogers was talking to a crowd, and he says, you know, what? Do you know what the opposite of progress is? So nobody raise their hand. But somebody here in the crowd remembers a quote, The opposite of progress is Congress. So what’s the opposite of confusion? Con means against an fusion. So the opposite of confusion is fusion. If you’ve ever studied nuclear physics, not many people do, I mean, I mean, if you’re gonna go off on a tangent, said, study a little bit of nuclear physics that’ll blow your mind literally and figuratively. But in nuclear physics, there’s one type of nuclear reaction is called a fission reaction. Efficient reaction is like an explosion. Efficient reaction, you take an element, this radioactive uranium or plutonium, and you split that atom, you split the nucleus of the atom, the protons and the neutrons. And when you do that, when you split the atom, it releases tremendous energy. They say that efficient reaction, the energy released is about a million times more than is released in a chemical reaction, an atomic bomb produces a million times more energy than a conventional chemical bond. So there’s tremendous power in efficient, efficient is this explosive reaction, nuclear fission. But then, there’s another type of nuclear reaction is called nuclear fusion. In fusion, what you do is you take two atoms of hydrogen and fuse those atoms together. And then the fusing of those atoms, even more energy is released to the nuclear fission. So the power of fusion nuclear fusion releases four times as much energy as nuclear fission. And when you look at that analogy, this is the same analogy about confusion versus fusion. The difference is, were to be fused together in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, the power of fusion of coming together is much greater than the power efficient division, confusion against fusion. Greater is He that is in you, and he that is in the world. And you know, the devil tries to divide people, especially in the church. He’s already got the guys that are outside of the church, they’re subject to His will. But when he gets churches and believers

to split apart denominations, and we talked about Catholics versus Protestants, you know, Pete says that one of the things that influencers is is a quote, para church organization. Para means to come, come alongside the churches to help the churches. But then, there’s another thing about influencers as well. We’re not a parachurch organization, we are the church, because the church is the body of Christ. And Jesus said, We’re two or more gathered together in my name, there Am I in their myth, this word church is the Greek word ecosia. Meaning out from among an extra sia means to call out from among the darkness of this world so that we can be fused together in the unity of the Spirit of the bond of peace. In our we have a small group that meets on Thursday, you That’s a remnant of an old journey Group, a bunch of guys and we’re studying First Corinthians, the theme, one of the things of First Corinthians because for reading First Corinthians is like reading first California. Corinthians is a book of reproof. reproof means where you’re, there’s doctrine, which is how to believe rightly, then there’s reproof, which tells us where we’re not believing rightly. One of the things of First Corinthians is this unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, because it talks about being like minded. So, this morning, we’re going to talk about how do you get this fusion instead of confusion? How do you counter the confusion of this world? And bear with me while I log on to my thing a year, so I don’t get too far off on a tangent. So what what does God teach us about fusion versus confusion? And how do we counter the confusion of this world?

What is it that unifies and teases us together in the body of Christ? So we’re gonna read a passage out of Colossians? And we’re gonna go to Colossians 312 through 17. But the question is, what is it that unites and fuses us together within the church, the body of Christ? Well, the answer, I’m going to read the answer, and then we’re going to get the context of the answer. So how you counter confusion is in Colossians, chapter three, verse 14, and this verse says, reading from the King James now, and above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness charity, if the love of God, the unconditional love of God, the Greek court, I got paid. That’s what George told me how to pronounce it, because he’s a native Greek speaker. And of course, I do it with this, y’all Southern pronunciation thing, so forgive me. So Above all, these things put on charity, the unconditional love of God, in the renewed mine, in manifestation, this charity, the love of God, which is a bond of perfectness. That’s how we get this unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. So I’ll read the context here. This is, again, Colossians, chapter three, verses 12, through 17. In the King James, put on there for as the elective God, holy and beloved vows of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mine, meekness, longsuffering, 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 then this verse, and above all these things, put on charity, which is a bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you’re called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. So, what is it the fuses together? What does it mean, to be joined together in the unity of the Spirit of the bond of peace, the thing that joins us together is charity, the love of God and the renewed mind and manifestation. And it says, In the peace of God, the past solid understanding, that’s the result of this unity. That’s the result of fusing our hearts together in the love of God, because the love of God is a tie that binds us together. In Christian charity, the love of God, because we are the body of Christ and in the body of Christ. What binds us together is this love of God, and the love of God is associated with this word, peace, the peace of God. You know, you can look up the word peace in Merriam Webster’s dictionary or funk and wagnalls, or dictionary online, and that will give you the world’s definition of peace. But the problem with the world’s definition is the devil the adversary calls good evil and evil, good. The world the definition of peace means the absence of war. But that’s not the biblical definition of peace. That’s why I like to read the King James Version because it uses all these obscure terms. It’s not written in the common vernacular. So it makes me look up the words. When you read the Bible, one of the first things you recognize is that the Bible is its own dictionary. It’s its own quote, data dictionary, unquote. If you’re going to do an IT project a systems project. Develop a relational database. It starts with a data dictionary. You have to define the term first. And the Bible is its own dictionary. It defines its own terms, this word peace. It’s not the worldly definition of peace. Why did Jesus say, he said, in john, Chapter 14, verse 27, my mom’s favorite verse, by the way, it says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as a world Give it, give it to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid. worldly peace is different from the peace that we have. Because of Jesus Christ, you can’t have peace, until you have the Prince of Peace. That’s the key, this thing about confusion, to counter confusion. It has to do with reconciling our hearts back to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. We get the peace of God through Jesus Christ, reconciling us through the sacrifice of his innocent blood on our behalf. Peace means the end of all strife and contention between God and man, in order to reconcile our hearts with God, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to meet each other at the foot of the cross. Why? Because there’s one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So how did we get to the place that we needed to be fused and reconciled and made peace with God? Well, it goes back to the original sin in the Garden of Eden. Because, remember, the adversaries purpose is to steal, to kill and to destroy. The adversaries purpose is to divide and conquer. The main thing that the adversaries job is, is to separate our hearts from God’s heart. You know, in the Garden of Eden, God only gave one command, there was only one command only one thing that Adam and Eve needed to do you remember that one thing was the one command that God gave Adam and Eve was of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Thou shalt not eat of it. For on the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die, one command, only one command, don’t eat it the tree of knowledge of good and evil, on the day thou eatest thereof, thou shall surely die. That was God’s command to Adam and Eve, they could do anything else. Don’t do that one thing. Well, what did the adversary do? How did he get them to disobey God’s command? There were two things that God did to divide Eve’s heart from God’s heart. First, he questioned the love of God. Did God really say what she knew exactly what God said? Did God really say? The devil says, God doesn’t love you. He doesn’t want what’s best for you.

He wants to leave you ignorant of this

knowledge of good and evil. He doesn’t love you. He questioned the love of God. God’s purpose. He questioned who God is, because God is loved. In Him, there is no darkness at all. Satan said to Eve, God doesn’t really love you. He wants you to remain ignorant of the knowledge of good and evil, gigabyte. God doesn’t love you. Love yourself. Don’t love God. He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t. He’s not deserving. One thing the devil did separated Eve’s heart from the love of God. One second thing, the devil did. Question the Word of God. When you question the love of God, and the Word of God, you’re pretty much fine. At that point. When you doubt the Word of God and the love of God. You’re no longer under God’s domain, you’re in the devil’s ballpark, you’re under the domain of the devil. The original sin was this thing with doubt. You doubt the Word of God and you doubt the love of God. The devil is got his hook in you. All he has to do is reel you in. inevitable at that point, the fall of man was doubting the love of God. And the word of God. Did God really say? God’s not faithful to His Word? She knew exactly what God said when she considered the devil’s lie. That was the fall of man. confusion. If you no longer have God’s word, You only have the devil’s word, because the devil is this the God of the world, whose eyes the god of this world has blinded lets the glorious light of the gospel of truth should shine unto them. When Adam and Eve’s sin, what they lost that day, because it says on the day that thou, etc, thereof that day, Hebrew toh yom the very day, on the day, thou eatest thereof, thou shall surely die. Well, what died that day? If you read Genesis, it doesn’t seem like they died that day, you know, they went on and on, they got kicked out of the garden, they had children, they live generations and generations longer, as far as children and children’s children. And that, so the question is, Did God really say, on the day thou eatest thereof, thou shall surely die seen as a i, there’s a contradiction there. But when you read the Scripture, what died that day was your spiritual connection with God spirit? Because God is spirit, there were three acts of creation. The first act was, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, everything that the earth is matter, space, time, and energy, all interrelated. We were talking about this fusion thing before. You know, fusion is the power that power is the sun and the stars. Fusion is the energy of a black hole where everything implodes continuously. Vision is according to this equation, equals mc squared. Fusion is what converts matter into energy. That’s this fusion thing, like the adversary’s a God of confusion, what died the day that they hated the Tree of the Knowledge, because God made man, body, soul and spirit. Body is this earthen vessel soul is our biological life. But it says, there’s a verse in Genesis where God said, Let us create men in our own image, in the image of God created them, male and female created he them, Well, what does the image of God, God is spirit. Spirit has no form, or colinas. Spirit is who God is God’s Spirit. That’s what died, the day they ate the tree, the knowledge of good and evil, the Spirit of God, and without the Spirit of God, you can’t understand the things of the Spirit. That’s what First Corinthians is about. The natural man, the man of body and soul, without the spirit of god understand it, not the things of the Spirit of God, because they’re spiritually discerned. That’s how we got to the place that we needed to be reconciled. That’s the that’s where we got to the place that we needed Jesus Christ.

Because what’s

the essence of salvation? You know, you look up this word, salvation. There’s one verse, a script in the talks about salvation. That’s Romans 10, nine and 10, that thou shall confess with my mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. The Greek word for saved is this word shozo. If you study systematic Matic theology, you can look at the whole subject of quote, soteriology, unquote, that’s about this Greek word shozo. This Greek word so so again, it’s a biblical definition. It’s not the vernacular, Merriam Webster, and funk and wagnalls definition, this word shozo, the essence of the word needs to be made whole. The implication is, if you’re not saved, you’re not whole. If you’re saved, you’re born again. Not of corruptible seed, not a body and soul that you inherited from Adam and Eve, ultimately, from your mom and dad, through Adam and Eve seed, not a corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. So, the reason Jesus came was your redemption in mind, we had to be redeemed, we had to be reconciled to God, through the Spirit of God in Christ in you. That’s what Romans 10 nine is about. That’s what salvation is about Jesus Christ. The word Jesus means Savior. Savior, needs to be made complete, to be made whole report. So So that’s how we got to the point that we needed to be

fused

together with God through His Son Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. That’s the difference between confusion and fusion. The devil divides and conquers. He separates our hearts from God’s heart primarily. Jesus Christ came so that we might have life We might have it more abundantly in the life that he’s talking about is the life of God in Christ in you, the Spirit of God, the hope of glory, Christ in you the hope of glory. So, there’s one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. If you look in the book of Ephesians, it talks about this word reconciliation, another great word. What does reconciliation What does redemption, we talked about salvation. Boy, these are great terms. These are foundational concepts of who we are in Christ, and who’s we are in Christ, who’s we are, Jesus is Lord doesn’t mean Lord means owner. We don’t have a concept of slaves and masters. But a master is an owner, a lord is an owner. And this master slave relationship, we think, because we were brought up in the United States where we had slavery and that sort of thing. But slave slavery, and in the Old Testament, didn’t mean that you own somebody physically, or you owned them as a factor of production, you own the fruit of their labor. That’s what this master slave relationship was. And that’s what Jesus says, He owns who we are, he owns the fruit of our labor. Because we’re in this together, it’s God who worked within you to willing to do of His good pleasure, this reconciliation thing. We needed to be reconciled to God, because Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said to the disciples, who say ye that I am, and they said, you know, some say that you’re one of the prophets come back from the dead, some say your john the baptist reincarnate. And then he says, well, who say ye that I am? Peter jumped up of course, and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said, Blessed art thou, Simon bar, Jonah, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father which is in heaven, that word, the Christ, the Son of the living God, Christ means Messiah ever looked up that word, Messiah. Here’s another great word. The word Messiah is the quote, Anointed One, unquote. Well, now you have to look up this word anointed. There’s no way this is one of Murphy’s laws. corollaries. Murphy’s Law says, if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. Murphy’s Law corollary says, There’s no answers only cross references. How true. How true. Because the cross of Christ is the crux of history, the cross of Christ, because Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the anointed one, this word anointed, it literally means the smear with oil. There are two reasons for anointing one was for ordination, or to identify a person who’s been ordained, inaugurated to a particular position for a particular function by his superior, the anointing, it identifies you as having a particular position to fulfill an inauguration. And having conferred upon that individual, the power and authority that comes with that position for which you’re being anointed. That’s one reason for anointing is an ordination or an appointment. The other thing with anointing has to do with reconciliation. If you’ve ever looked at, you know, they used to have these, these cartoons that we used to teach our kids when they were in elementary school, one of those cartoons is Schoolhouse Rock. And one of those cartoons is this thing called Conjunction Junction. What’s your function? Conjunction Junction? What’s your function? Well, this anointing thing, Jesus Christ Himself is our Conjunction Junction.

This oil

is what lubricates our relationship between God and man, one God, and one mediator, the Conjunction Junction between God and man is Jesus Christ Himself. That’s the definition of this word, Messiah. So if you’re going to look at this unity of the Spirit of the mind of peace, the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace has to do with our having been reconciled. If you want to know what this word reconciliation means. It’s also that’s King James English again. It’s usually translated reconciling Asian reconciliation means to bring together that which has been separated. We were separated from God, because on the day that Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they died that day. They were separated from God because their spirit died. That’s what died. That’s what Jesus Christ came to make available, was the Spirit of God in Christ in you, not from Adam seed that we inherited from Adam, the Word of God or the word of man, the word of man is DNA, passed on from generation to generation. The DNA is actually a message, it’s a word of life, a biological life. But we’re not talking about biological life, we’re talking about the Word of God, being born again, not of corruptible seed, DNA, but an incorruptible, not by the word of biological life, but by the word of God, that limit and divided forever. When we confess Jesus as Lord, he’s our Conjunction Junction. He’s what reconciles us to God, he’s what gives us peace to God. If you look at this word reconciliation, it’s also translated into King James does the word atonement. atonement means at one mint. At one mint, is this word reconciliation, making of Twain one new man. And you can read that in in Ephesians. Chapter Two. In the book of Ephesians, is a tremendous book. There’s two great books of doctrine, doctrine is, is right teaching how to believe rightly. When is the book of Romans, it talks about salvation. We already quoted Romans 10, nine and 10. That’s for the individual believer, to reconcile us to God individually as in individual believers, when you read the book of Ephesians. Ephesians is about collectively the body of Christ, who we are in Christ, who we are the church, of the living God, God’s variegated message in the church, the collection, the body of Christ. That’s what fuses us together in the body of Christ is the love of God, and the Word of God. Two things fuses together. In the garden, the adversary tempted Eve, he said, God doesn’t love you. And God’s word is not true. But Jesus together back with God, is Jesus Christ, the love of God, made manifest, not because we were deserving of love, not because we were deserving of nurse mercy. Because love and mercy are the nature of God Himself. We can’t love God until he first loved us. Because until we had the Spirit of God, we didn’t have the capacity to love because that’s a spiritual thing. The love of God is a spiritual thing. The theme of Ephesians is the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace collectively, because collectively, we’re the body of Christ. We’re the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We’re God’s dwelling place here on Earth. The journey to the inner chamber is a journey to the heart of God. You know, people read the Old Testament and they think, well, you know that I’m gonna condemn myself now because that’s the law of sin and death. It shows me how far short of of God’s righteousness I fallen. And when you read the 10 commandments. The first commandment is tied to the first and great commandment thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength. The first of the 10 commandments says, Thou shall have no other gods before me. That’s the English translation from the Hebrew. You know, king, king james is a literal translation, word for word from the Hebrew into the English. The King James says, Thou shall have no other gods before me. But if you read the Aramaic text, Aramaic is an ancient dialect,

it actually proceeds the Hebrew, the Aramaic text, literally translated means, thou shall have no other gods between your face and my face. That’s the Aramaic text. You know, people think that God gave the 10 commandments, so that Israel can understand that they’re in sin that they can’t make, they can’t do these things on their own. But really, what the 10 Commandments were, were God’s Terms of Endearment with Israel. They were actually God’s wedding vows to Israel. wedding vows are Terms of Endearment, what are the terms of God’s endearment God I’d said, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Why? Because I love you. We’re bound together by this bond of love. Charity, you didn’t need the Spirit in the bond of perfectness. That’s why God gave Israel the 10 commandments. It was his wedding vow, his Terms of Endearment. I’m a jealous God, because I want to be your sole provider, and your sole provider. So le n s o ul, has to do with this divine providence thing, because I’m here. Don’t go outside of the canopy of my protection. I’m not giving you these laws to restrict you, and to keep you on a short leash, so that I can cast my wrath on you when you step out of line. That was not the purpose of the 10 commandments, the purpose of the 10 Commandments were bound together in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, because I’m your God, and I love you, and we’re bound by this law of love. That’s the 10 commandments, thou shalt have no other gods before me. first and great commandment, the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. So how do you counter confusion? fusion, the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, read Ephesians chapter two about this reconciliation thing, and then read Ephesians chapter four, about the Unity’s within the church. Ephesians four talks about well, how do we keep the unity of the Spirit in the mind of peace. And it says, God has given to us certain gifts within the body of Christ so that we can be fused together. And he gave some apostles, some prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying the body of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, by every wind of doctrine and by the sleight of men and cutting craftiness. We’re in the lion wait to deceive. So he’s given us these ministries, men of God within the church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, that we confuse our hearts together in the love of God in the renewed mind and manifestation. How do we fuse together one with another in the body of Christ? Jesus said, in the second commandment, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. That’s how we manifest the love of God. That’s how we fuse ourselves together in the body of Christ. Why? Because Jesus said, in that thou has done it unto the least of these, my brother, and you’ve done it, and to me, there’s two ways to counter confusion. One is with the love of God, because God is love. The other is with the Word of God, because God is His Word. And Jesus Christ is the word of God made flesh, the love of God, and the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. That’s how we fuse our hearts together with God’s heart. You know, the purpose of prayer. In the United States, when we pray, we say, Please, God, please meet my needs. It’s all about me. You’re here to meet my needs God, didn’t you say that? whatsoever yet shall ask him for believing you shall receive. Well, God, I’m coming to you and believing, and it’s all about me. So you’re here to meet my needs. So please, please, please, please, please me. That’s the line from a Beatles song. They didn’t they didn’t speak the Queen’s English. They spoke Cockney. But that’s the way we think because we, we think in English, and English says please, please, please, please please me. It’s all about me. What’s in it for me? The prosperity gospel. But, you know, if you speak French, they say the French is a language of diplomacy.

It’s hard to say anything mean if you’re speaking proper French proper Finch. Proper French is sanctified by law Academy fall says proper diplomatic French. In French they don’t say Please, Please Please Me. They say she route play. Shoe the play means If it pleases you, because not about me. Prayer is not aligning God’s heart with my heart. Prayer is aligning my heart with God’s heart. Seeking First, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these other things shall be added unto you. The first and great commandment, the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods between your face in my face. You do that one thing because of the love of God, the other nine are automatic. Because you’re doing it with the love of God. You love God above all, don’t worry about those sins of commission. worry about that sin of omission, not loving God above all. When you love God above all, all the other things fall in line, the counter confusion, the love of God and the Word of God, because God is love and God is His Word. Therefore, God’s word is love. Jesus’s prayer in the garden of get get seminude with Stephen play, not my will, but Thine be done. If it pleases you. The essence of the abundant life is not in stuff. It’s not in possessions. Ryan Van dusen did a tremendous series about treasuring treasures in heaven and not upon Earth. Because where your treasure is, there will your heart be also to counter confusion. We have to fuse our hearts together with God’s heart with the love of God, and the Word of God. Because it’s not about who we are is who’s we are. The greatest blessing is not in seeking the blessing. The greatest blessing is in seeking the Bible.

So thank you

guys for letting me share this morning. It’s an honor and a privilege, a humbling experience. Because

prayer

is the outpouring of a thankful heart.

Prayer

is tuning our hearts to sing thy praise. That’s the one thing that Sam taught us. That’s who we are what we do. tune my heart to sing I pray. Thank you guys.

Thank you for this man of God,

the son of Edward Low. And Father we just ask that you would continue that his word would go forth which is your word, Lord, and he would continue to be a blessing to us. Lord, continue to bless you Lord, thank you so much for today in this beautiful message in Jesus name,

amen. Amen.

Thank you guys.

Thank you guys.

What’s Good About Good Friday?

What’s good about Good Friday? In England they named this day Good Friday because the greatest good was done on this day. For Jesus Christ who was without sin became the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. What’s good about Good Friday? On that day Jesus sealed our redemption through his sacrifice of innocent blood.

In John 12, Jesus began focusing on pouring his Word into the twelve disciples. He knew that even though they didn’t understand what he was teaching them, after the day of Pentecost when they received God’s Holy Spirit, then they would be able to perceive his words from a spiritual perspective.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the word of this miracle was spread throughout all Jerusalem. When he rode into town on a donkey, signifying his kingly position, the crowds honored him by placing palm branches in the way and shouting, “Hosanna, Blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Lazarus’ sister Mary annointed Jesus’ feet with precious ointment. This signified that he would die and she was symbolically preparing his body for burial.. The disciples would understand the significance of Marys’ anointing after Pentecost.

At the Lord’s Supper in the upper room, Jesus taught his disciples by example. He washed the disciples’ feet…. This was the job of the lowliest household slave. By this act, he taught his disciples that you must humble yourselves and serve one another with a heart filled with the love of God. Jesus said, “in this the world shall know that ye are my disciples…. that ye love one another.”

Jesus said to them, “I’m going to die and then I need to leave you. But when I leave, the Holy Spirit will come to comfort you.” He said in John 14, “let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God. Believe also in me. My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled neither let it be afraid.”

In John 15, Jesus taught his disciples that he is the vine and they are the branches. If the branch abides in the vine, then the branch will bear much fruit.

In John 16 Jesus said, “when I leave, the Holy Spirit will come to you and teach you all things.” He said, “in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.”

On the cross on Good Friday, Jesus paid the price for the sin that we inherited from Adam. The Apostle Paul said, “in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Our fallen sin nature that we inherited from Adam separates us from the righteousness of God. We are not sinners because we sin…. we sin because we were born sinners. To sin is the nature of man. Fallen man cannot approach the throne of a righteous God.

Our sin nature lusts after the things of this world… the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Lust is “over desire.” It is anything that we desire over the love of God. Sin makes me hide from God and his righteous truth. For he that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. However, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There are several listings of sin in the Bible. According to 1 Corinthians 6…. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10. Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Another list of sins is in 2 Timothy 3: 2-5, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”

Why are so many sins listed but so little written about the solution to sin? According to 1 Peter 4:8, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity (the love of God) shall cover the multitude of sins.”

Even though we were dead in trespasses and sin, Jesus associated with sinners: prostitutes, tax collectors, con men, those whom the world judged unworthy. According to Romans 3, God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. After the list of sins in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 11 says, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Jesus trained his disciples to prepare them for what was coming. He understood that you cannot have a testimony without a test. Their faith would be tested through the dark days of his death and burial. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, God if there be any other way, let this cup (of the wrath of God, of suffering, and death) be taken away from me…. Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. These verses in John do not give the answer to Jesus’ prayer. However, the Bible is its own best commentary. According to Hebrews 12, “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.”

What’s good about Good Friday? On this day, Jesus paid the price for sin that separates us from a righteous God. On this day, Jesus said, “it is finished!” What was finished? Your redemption and mine…. For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through the completed payment of Jesus Christ’s innocent blood on our behalf.

Therefore, walk in the light as he is in the light and the blood Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness….

…That we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael