Call Verses Ministry!

Call Verses Ministry!

 

Ministry is a term we use to describe what we do as Christians, “My ministry is …”, “Our ministry is…”, “Our Church’s ministry is…”, “________ has a ministry of…” These are all possessive terms and incorrect!

 

 

Call is something placed upon us by GOD, we do not possess it and many times we do not want it!  Matthew 22:14; Romans 8:28-30, 11:29; 1 Corinthians 1:25-31, 7:17-20; 2 Peter 1:10.

 

 

Our call is a ministry but it is not ours, we do not choose it, GOD gives it to us when we are in our mother’s womb! Genesis 18: 9-15, 21:1-7; Job 10:8-12, 31:13-15; Psalm 71:5-6, 139:13-19; Isaiah 7:17, 9:6-7, 49:1-6; Jeremiah 1:4-8; Zechariah 12:1; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:5-38; John 1:1-18, 3:1-21, 17:24; Galatians 1:11-17; Revelation 12:1-5, 13:8.

 

 

We are not called to own but to serve, servants do not own or possess – they do! JESUS served the will of GOD and so must we! Matthew 7:21-29, 16:24-27, 20:25-28; Luke 14:26-27, 17:5-10, 22:39-46; John 4:34-38, 5:30, 6:38-40, 8:28-31, 12:26; Romans 1:1-6, 7:13-25, 12:1-12; Galatians 5:13-14;  Philippians 2:12-16; Hebrews 13:21.

 

 

Study those scriptures and remember that GOD’s will is our call in life, “Our Father in Heaven, Holy is Your Name. Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done in the earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today what we need. Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Do not let us be overcome by temptation but deliver us from Your advisory. For You are The Power, The Glory and The Kingdom, forever!”

 

 

This brings us to The Gifts of The SPIRIT. The Church has the same problem with believing that The Gifts of The SPIRIT are for the individual to use. Not True, The Gifts are for the Church and for a witness to the world and they are operated through the believer by The HOLY SPIRIT when, where and how He determines. “There are diversities of gifts, but the same SPIRIT. There are differences of ministries, but the same LORD. And there are differences of activities, but it is the same SPIRIT of GOD who works all in all. But the manifestation of the SPIRIT is given to each one for the profit of all.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

 

The Gifts are: The Word of Wisdom, The Word of Knowledge, Faith, gifts of Healings, The Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of spirits, Different kinds of tongues, The Interpretation of tongues. “But one and the same SPIRIT works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He Wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

 

 

We are The Body of CHRIST in the world, but we are all members individually of His Body. We are to seek the best Gifts, to be used by GOD’s SPIRIT to do His Will in the earth as it is in Heaven. How? By seeking the Better Way – Love! “Now abide Faith, Hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love! Pursue Love, and desire Spiritual Gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” 1 Corinthians 13:13-14:1

 

 

The summary of 1 Corinthians 14: “…Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe…Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.”

Salvation and Judgment!

Salvation and Judgment!

 

Matthew 7:13-14 – narrow gate                    Matthew 7:15-20 – fruit

Matthew 7:21-23 – lawless                            Matthew 7:24-27 – foundation

Matthew 25:1-13 – 10 virgins                                    Matthew 25:14-30 – ruler and his subjects

Matthew 25:31-46 – doers and non-doers     Luke 12:1-12 – fear GOD

Luke 12:13-21 – rich man                               Luke 12:35-48 – masters and servants

Luke 12:49-59 – fire not peace                       John 3:14-21 – salvation or damnation

 

Above are some familiar scriptures and out of them have come many positive teachings and a few teachings on GOD’s judgment. All of them are about the Gospel – the Good News that JESUS CHRIST was crucified and is risen – Salvation! But, in everyone of JESUS’ teachings eternal judgment is juxtaposed with salvation. Salvation and judgment go hand in hand because every person will receive one or the other!

 

JESUS is the Good News – salvation! But, He always taught the result of disobedience – lawlessness and pride! If there is no judgment for evil there is no salvation from evil!

 

The late 20^th and the 21^st Century Church have mostly lost the message of GOD’s judgment on those who reject His salvation. We proclaim the love and mercy of GOD and denounce the hellfire and brimstone preachers who proclaim the judgment of GOD on those who reject His Son.

 

The message of GOD’s Eternal Kingdom has been watered down to, GOD loves you and wants to bless you if you will believe. Actually the message of GOD’s Eternal Kingdom is, “Repent for The Kingdom of GOD is here!” Why are we called to repent?

 

Are we called to repent so that we do not spend eternity in hell being tormented? No! We are called to repent so that our relationship with GOD that Adam and Eve had before their fall can be restored.

 

I did some street evangelism as a young Christian and I did not like it. So over a period of time I became critical of those street corner evangelists who shouted at people that they were going to hell if they did not repent. Yet it is a fact that many more people have been saved by the message of GOD’s judgment than by His goodness and kindness.

 

We cannot proclaim The Good News if people do not understand that there is bad news! Eternity is either Heaven or hell!

Psalm 27:4

Psalm 27:4 A Personal Prayer

 

“One thing I have desired of The LORD. That I will seek: that I may dwell in The House of The LORD all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His Temple.” NKJV

 

“One thing I seek LORD; my desire; that I may dwell in Your presence all the days of my life: to behold Your beauty and to receive of Your presence in my life.” My personal prayer.

 

When David wrote this psalm he did not have the HOLY SPIRIT living in him and he only had the books of Moses (The Torah) and maybe Joshua and some of the Judges; he should have know the story of Ruth, his ancestor. They had the Tabernacle, the temple was not built until after his death. So his desire was for something he did not have. The only presence of The LORD was with the Ark in the Tabernacle.

 

Since CHRIST rose from the dead and ascended to the Right Hand of GOD we have His SPIRIT who not only seals us to the day of salvation but lives in us making us living temples of The Living GOD. The SPIRIT that raised CHRIST from the dead dwells in us so that we are always in GOD’s presence.

 

We have His Word; representative of JESUS The Living WORD; which is living and sharper than any two edged sword. Given to us by His inspiration through men who obeyed Him to write as He led them.

 

We have everything that David desired and prayed for!

 

And yet! So?

 

And yet most people who call themselves Christian do not know GOD personally, they do not know His Word, The Bible, and His SPIRIT does not dwell in them. Most people who call themselves Christian want the good life not the Good News. The Good News comes at a price, our will! The good life only costs money and maybe some time. They go to meetings where they give money and a little of their time and they receive special anointing to live the good life. They mix in a little religion by trying to stop sinning; they drink less, try to curb their sexual appetite, maybe vote conservative, support a local church with attendance and money. But, they do not seek GOD’s presence and Will for their life, they want to live their life by their own dictates. They want to be good, if possible, and be blessed by GOD and the world. They want to avoid GOD’s judgment and eternal damnation.

 

So what did JESUS say was the cost of GOD’s free salvation from eternal damnation? Total surrender of our will, just as He did, He came as a man to show us how to receive GOD’s forgiveness and eternal life! He showed us that by being obedient to the Father’s Will we can overcome temptation, sin, death and hell!

 

Our problem is our current understanding of free and free will. When we talk of GOD’s free gift of salvation we think of it as a birthday or Christmas present. Salvation is free because we cannot earn it, no matter what we do or how we live our life we cannot gain salvation from eternal damnation. We have to receive it from GOD, it is free but not like a present, it comes at a cost, the exchange of our free will for GOD’s Will!

 

GOD created us with a free will, just like all living creatures. That’s why lucifer was able to become the devil, he exercised free will to rebel. So do we, every moment of everyday! We chose to obey GOD or not to obey GOD, we chose to obey GOD in some things but not in other things. The choice is ours and that is the cost of salvation, JESUS chose to obey GOD and go to the cross knowing the personal cost to Himself. He made that choice before the foundations of the earth were laid!

 

Free will is like a driver’s license, a driver’s license gives the holder the privilege to drive a motor vehicle, but there are costs, responsibilities, requirements and ramifications that go with the privilege. Free will comes with costs, requirements, responsibilities and ramifications! But free will only has two choices – fully obey GOD or not fully obey GOD!

 

If JESUS had yielded to any temptation before He went to the cross, than the purpose of His going to the cross would have been a failure. Only as a man who fully obeyed GOD could He take on the punishment for the sin nature and behavior of all of humanity! Only as GOD could He bear it! That is why the free gift of salvation is so precious! JESUS had to live in the flesh as a human and as GOD. The fullness of The GODHEAD in the flesh of humanity became sin for us and took our place under GOD’s just judgment of us.

 

That is why our free will has to be totally surrendered to GOD! It is not an easy task but it has to be done. We have to yield our will to GOD’s will if we are going to be a Christian and receive the free gift of salvation in CHRIST JESUS. Otherwise we are just being religious and might be those who miss out on eternity in GOD’s Kingdom!

 

Carefully study Matthew 7:12-29 and John 17! Understand what it is that JESUS is teaching us!

Is Our DNA Corrupt?

Corruption – Is It In Our DNA?

 

Is our DNA corrupt because of free will? GOD made man from the fresh, three day old, dust of the earth and breathed into him The Breath of Life and he became a living being. Every natural living thing on the earth, under the earth and in the seas was created by GOD and returns to dust after its’ death – plant, animal and human. But, only in man did GOD breathe His Breath of Life. One of the definitions of corruption is the returning of the flesh of plants, animals and humans to dust after death. The Bible is clear that our human flesh is corrupt and only seeks its’ own will (pleasure); that is why salvation promises us a new body for our immortal soul and eternal spirit.

 

Humanity was so corrupt from the beginning that after about 1556 years GOD destroyed every living thing that was not on the Ark. In the approximant 3761 years since, has humanity become any less corrupt than in Noah’s day?

 

The answer to my DNA question is, Yes! Our DNA was corrupted when Adam disobeyed GOD’s only command to not do something! GOD’s first command to humanity was to, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” GOD’s second command was, “Here! Throughout the whole earth I Am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. And to every living animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I Am giving as food every kind of green plant.”

 

Yes, humans and every animal were vegan before the fall. There was no death until the fall, Adams disobedience caused GOD to have to kill animals to make clothing for them to cover their nakedness. Only blood covers sin before CHRIST and only His Blood takes away sin since His obedient sacrifice.

 

Then seeing that it was not good for Adam to be alone, GOD formed Eve from one of his ribs. Not dwelling in why what happened, happened; we all know that Eve was deceived by the serpent but that Adam disobeyed GOD, for Adam was the one that GOD told to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil yet he did when Eve said it was good.

 

So humanity was corrupted by deception and disobedience!

 

BUT GOD!

 

Before GOD made anything in creation He had a plan to redeem us from our free will back to Himself as He had created us to be! Salvation is a free gift from GOD to us! GOD rewrites our DNA when we are born again! Born of The SPIRIT! There is an instantaneous change that takes place that must be followed by training and discipline for the rest of our lives in the flesh.

 

Below is a list of scriptures that we all need to study and meditate on because our sinful DNA is not changed just because we pray and confess JESUS as savior and LORD. It is rewritten as we “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” This is what JESUS meant when He said we have to take up our cross and follow Him daily. We are sealed with GOD’s SPIRIT for the day of salvation, but the corruption of our DNA does not allow us to just sit and wait. We have to practice being saved, we have to train and discipline our bodies to serve and obey GOD (Elohim) and Their Word to us, The Bible!

 

As you study you will see the threads throughout the Old and New Testaments of GOD’s will and instructions to us. His plan of salvation is free to us, we can do nothing to earn it or acquire it except believe it, receive it, confess it and share it with others. This will cost us our flesh driven life! But as we surrender our flesh driven life in obedience we will begin to walk in and enjoy our eternal SPIRIT driven life in CHRIST JESUS.

 

It is important to understand that being a Christian is not a religion, though many religions have been made based on JESUS’ life and teachings. We receive salvation as a free gift, religion tells us that we can earn it, but the Bible is clear, salvation is a gift not reward or payment for works well done. Faith verses works is only a problem if you have a religion rather than a relationship with GOD. GOD is our Heavenly Father and He calls and trains us to do His works in the earth as they are in Heaven; just as He did with JESUS. Doing GOD’s Will is doing the works of His Kingdom in the earth – just as JESUS Did!

 

Our works are to Love and obey JESUS, to love every other person on the earth and to share GOD’s Love with as many people who do not know Him as we can. It is not necessarily easy or even pleasant, but it is what GOD has given us to do.

 

Creation, original sin… Genesis 1-3

Heart was only evil… Genesis 6:5

Noah blessed, first covenant… Genesis 9:1-17

Life is in the blood… Leviticus 17:10-14

Obey is better than… 1 Samuel 15:22-23

LORD looks at the heart… 1 Samuel 16:7

GOD tests the hearts… Psalm 7:9

Cleanse me from secret sin… Psalm 19:12-14

Wicked shall be no more… Psalm 37:10

The LORD knows the thoughts… Psalm 94:11

Heart shall depart from Me… Psalm 101:4-5

If there be any wicked way in me…Psalm 139:24

To do evil is like sport…Proverbs 10:23

The LORD tests the hearts… Proverbs 17:3

As he thinks in his heart… Proverbs 23:7

Heart reveals the man… Proverbs 27:19

To those who call evil good… Isaiah 5:20

Wicked forsake his way… Isaiah 55:7

For My thoughts are not your… Isaiah 55:8

Heart is deceitful above… Jeremiah 17:9

I will give them a heart… Jeremiah 24:7

And take the stony heart… Ezekiel 11:19

Yourselves a new heart… Ezekiel 18:31

Mercy and knowledge rather than… Hosea 6:6

Is where your heart is… Matthew 6:21

JESUS knowing their thoughts… Matthew 9:4

Evil treasure brings… Matthew 12:35

Heart proceeds evil thoughts… Matthew 15:19

As it was in the days of Noah… Matthew 24:36-39

Take heed what you hear… Mark 4:22-25

Take up your cross… Mark 8:34-38

GOD so Loved… John 3:1-21

Love of the Father from before… John 17:24

Satan filled your heart… Acts 5:3

Propitiation by His Blood… Romans 3:25

Justified by His Blood… Romans 5:9

Wages of sin…gift of GOD… Romans 6:23

Done any good or evil… Romans 9:11

The LORD knows the thoughts… 1 Corinthians 3:20

In Adam all die… 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Serpent deceived Eve… 2 Corinthians 11:3

SPIRIT led life… Galatians 2:19-21

Stand in liberty… Galatians 5:1

Work out our salvation… Philippians 2:12-16

Of GOD fill your heart… Colossians 3:15

Woman was deceived… 1 Timothy 2:13-15

Thoughts and intents of the heart… Hebrews 4:12

CHRIST’s sacrifice… Hebrews 10

Lust Sin Death… James 1:14-15

With the precious Blood… 1 Peter 1:19

Who committed no sin… 1 Peter 2:22-25

Blood of JESUS CHRIST… 1 John 1:7

And shuts up in his heart… 1 John 3:17

The way of the wicked… 1 John 5:19

Sins in His Own Blood… Revelation 1:5

Us to GOD by Your Blood… Revelation 5:9

By the Blood of the Lamb… Revelation 12:11

Slain before the foundation… Revelation 13:8-9

1000 year reign with a Rod of Iron… Revelation 19-20

SPIRIT Led Living!

SPIRIT Led Living!

 

Most of us Christians do not understand, or even ask, how the HOLY SPIRIT leads us. We only seem to know that we are filled with the HOLY SPIRIT at some point. Whether when we are born again, water baptized or SPIRIT baptized. And exactly what is it The HOLY SPIRIT does in our life?

 

JESUS said He was going to comfort us, instruct us and remind us. We understand that He is The One who pricks our heart because of our thoughts, words and behavior. He gives us Peace that makes no sense and understanding that we did not learn.

 

Paul taught that The HOLY SPIRIT brings forth the fruit of obedient surrender of our life to JESUS; Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance.  He also works through our life by His gifts; Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of Spirits, Diverse Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Miracles, Healing, Prophecy and Faith to do the will of our Heavenly Father in the earth as it is in Heaven.

 

There are many teaching on this subject some are right on, some are good, some are bad and some are intentionally wrong.

 

This is not an in depth study but an outline to cause you to want to study and find the truth of GOD’s Word for yourself. That is what GOD is going to hold us accountable for, not what others taught us but what we learned by study and application in and through our life. This is where GOD’s HOLY SPIRIT’s presence in our life is key.

 

To do a good study of the Bible you will need a concordance and a Bible dictionary, any brand, size or cost will be good. It is helpful if you have a couple of different translations of The Bible also, but first you have to be born again or born of the SPIRIT or SPIRIT filled or baptized in The HOLY SPIRIT, whatever term makes you most comfortable.

 

A.      GOD is One: The Father, The Son and The Spirit are one GOD; there is only One GOD and He reveals Himself as The Father, The Son and The Spirit. He is not three separate beings in one. Stop trying to understand GOD in human terms, except Him for who He reveals Himself to be, He is beyond our understanding! When JESUS was in the earth as The Son of Man – Son of GOD He was the incarnate or fullness of the GOD Head in the flesh. GOD is never divided into different parts working in different places. He is always One; He fills the whole earth with His presence and all things that exist, exist IN Him.

 

B.      When we believe that JESUS is our savior we are marked or sealed by GOD with His SPIRIT. This is not what is generally called being baptized in The HOLY SPIRIT this is what GOD does to show the advisory we belong to GOD. This happens to every person who believes that JESUS is the Son of GOD who was born as a human and died to take away our sins.

 

C.      The fruit and gifts of HOLY SPIRIT are not ours nor for our benefit, they are His and for the purpose of GOD’s will being done in the earth as it is in Heaven.

 

D.     JESUS did not bring peace but a sword and He did not give us the victory over anything. JESUS won the victory and The Father gives it to us through JESUS CHRIST. JESUS told us that to be His disciple we have to take up our cross and follow Him daily, we have to love other believers and obey His commands.

 

E.      Salvation is a free gift from GOD by faith not by our works but by JESUS who did the works of The Father in the world for us. When we come to the place in our life that we have faith to believe that JESUS is savior and LORD it is by GOD’s grace, not by anything that we did or learned.

 

F.       Faith has become some mystical force in the modern Church based on a wrong understanding of Hebrews 11:1. Another English word from the original Greek is trust. We all understand that trust is something earned, GOD has earned our trust by fulfilling His Word as demonstrated through the Bible and history. Believe is another word for faith, when we first believe that GOD is and that He redeems us from our eternal damnation into His eternal Kingdom we have not much more than an expectance and feeling that this is right, that is the grace of GOD to start us on our journey of life in JESUS. Faith, trust and belief are all the result of understanding somehow that GOD is. This experience is different for everybody. The gift of faith gives us trust to obey this is the first gift we receive for GOD. The fruit of faith is the result of trust and obedience.

 

G.     The Bible teaches that GOD uses even His enemies to show His Glory and to accomplish His purposes.

 

So, how are we to live a SPIRIT led life? By surrender of our life; JESUS said that we have to lose our life in Him to have life. GOD’s SPIRIT lives in us making us GOD’s Living Temple in the earth. If we do not surrender our life spirit, soul and body to JESUS then The HOLY SPIRIT will prick our conscious until we do or until we become so hard of heart by continually living life our way that we can no longer feel His pricking and prodding.

 

When we do yield our life spirit, soul and body to JESUS The HOLY SPIRIT will speak to us, instruct us and guide us through GOD’s Word the Bible, through circumstances and situations both good and bad, easy and hard. The HOLY SPIRIT seeks to bring forth His fruit through our life for our benefit and for other’s benefit. The HOLY SPIRIT will operate His gifts through our life for our benefit and for other’s benefit. Everything The HOLY SPIRIT does in our life is for our benefit and the benefit of other’s.

Gain

Gain

 

“But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of The Messiah YESHUA, come to consider a disadvantage. Not only that, but I consider everything a disadvantage in comparison to the Supreme value of knowing The Messiah Yeshua as my LORD. It was because of Him that I gave up everything and regard it all as garbage, in order to gain The Messiah and be found in union with Him, not having any righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having that righteousness which comes through The Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness that comes from GOD based on trust.” Philippians 3:7-9 CJB

 

When we become a Christian what do we gain? We gain forgiveness of sin through JESUS CHRIST; we gain eternal Life in GOD; we gain the SPIRIT of GOD living in us.

 

We do the works of The Kingdom like JESUS did; what we see The Father doing and what we hear The Father saying; not to become saved but because we are saved! “So, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey now when I am away from you: keep working on your deliverance with fear and trembling, for GOD is the One working among you both the willing and the working for what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:12-13 CJB

 

“Then JESUS said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For The Son of Man will come in the Glory of His Father with His angels and then He will reward each according to his works.’” Matthew 16:24-27 NKJV

Predetermined for Good or Evil?

Predetermined for Good or Evil?

 

Jacob and Esau; Moses and Pharaoh, JESUS and Barabbas, Paul and Bar-Jesus. If you are not familiar with all of these relationships then study and meditate on them!

 

So the question is, are some born to serve GOD and be saved and are some born to serve GOD and be condemned? The answer is yes and no, depending on how you understand the scriptures.

 

There has been controversy and fighting over selective predestination and inclusive predestination from the time of Israel’s release from Egypt and their entering into the Promised Land.

 

Selective predestination is that some are selected in the womb to serve GOD and some are selected in the womb to oppose GOD. There are two thoughts on this; that everyone is preselected by GOD for salvation or condemnation while they are in the womb and that is it. The other is that some specific people are preselected in the womb by GOD for salvation and some for condemnation but the bulk of people are up for grabs.

 

Inclusive predestination is that everyone is predetermined in the womb for condemnation and must be saved; some will be and some will not be; the choice is theirs if they hear about JESUS.

 

I believe that because of Adam’s disobedience all are born into condemnation. That all who believe that JESUS is the only means of salvation and repent of being a sinner will be saved. That all who reject GOD’s gift of salvation through JESUS will be condemned. That all who never hear about JESUS will be judged according to how they lived their life in their society and time in history.