Fellowship with CindyisHis (5)

HEisGoodalways · #31 29th August 2008, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by CindyisHis

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace (shalom - perfect wholeness)
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
4 Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. NLT

Isaiah 12:1 You will say in that day:"I will give thanks to you, O LORD.......
2 "Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation." ESV

Walking with God involves our heart - trust with all your heart. Believe Him!

Walking with God involves our thoughts - keep them fixed on the Lord, taking every thought captive.

Walking with God involves the mouth, taking thoughts, His thoughts, by saying what He says. Saying makes a big difference. Read the above scripture to yourself. Now say it with your mouth out loud. See the difference?

HEisGoodalways · #32 29th August 2008, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by irenemcg

With my husband and I starting a Ministry the Lord has had me look at holiness afresh

1Th 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;
1Th 4:2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
1Th 4:4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
1Th 4:5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
1Th 4:6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.
1Th 4:7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
1Th 4:8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
1Th 4:9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
1Th 4:10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;
1Th 4:11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,
1Th 4:12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

This passage calls us to holiness and calls us to walk in the Spirit, to love one another, to be watchful and sober, we are to flee from the temptations of this world. The Thessalonian church were already walking with the Lord but Paul’s prayer was that they might abound more and more, that their revelation knowledge might increase. In the previous verse (1 Th. 3:13) Paul had spoken about the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in verse 13 of this chapter, he continues speaking about the return of Christ. The verses which are in between (v. 1-12) are not disconnected from that subject.
Rev 19:6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Rev 19:9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."
Rev 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Jesus is coming back for a pure spotless bride, who has prepared herself for Him, who have walked in righteousness, who have walked in holiness serving a holy God. Notice the kind of authority that Paul has in verse 2 In verse 3 we see there is a warning against sexual immorality. The lust of the flesh is one of the main ways that the enemy attacks believers and stops them from walking in righteousness, disturbs their walk with God. The Lord wants us to keep ourselves pure and we cannot hear from God properly if we allow those things or other things to come in the way. Adultery can take many shapes and forms, spiritual adultery is anything we obsess over that takes our focus away from Jesus. It could be even our own self importance, our ministry that gets in the way, our business for Christ that gets in the way and very few of us are able to say it doesn’t happen to us, I know I certainly can’t.
Holiness is not just for some in the body of Chris it is for every all in the body of Christ. We are to "possess" our "vessel." We are to walk in our Spirit Man not in the flesh. It is the spiritual part of a person, which is the Christian's true self, that has been made new through the new birth. Our body is just allows us to function in this physical world. Our body is just a "vessel" for our regenerate spirits which. Our bodies are just a temporary home for our spirits.
Our lifestyle should be as different from the world's lifestyle as the difference between God and the devil. We are new creations in Christ, and our flesh life needs to disappear.
Paul states that we should be honest in our dealings with others. We should not defraud a brother or sister. Those who are truly born again have a covenant with God which ensures them that He will never hold their sins against them. Our sins-past, present, and future were placed on Jesus.
Rom 4:7 “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.

This does not give us an excuse for unrighteousness for we are called to be holy as God is Holy. He will put the spotlight on a believer’s sin and convict us of our unrighteousness and bring us back to the foot of the cross where we confess that sin, to cleanse us and when we have hurt someone else be assured He is always on the side of righteousness. It’s not that He turns against us, but like any good Father He disciplines us His children.

God has not called us as believers to live in uncleanness but He wants us to live lives separated unto Him. Anyone who advocates differently is not representing God.

When a minister is truly directed by the Lord, then it is God and not the man who is speaking. We should not be so gullible that we accept every word that men speak. But we should not be so skeptical that we reject God when He speaks through men

1Th 2:13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

There are two different Greek words for love used in verse 9. PHILADELPHIA was translated "brotherly love" in the first part of this verse, and AGAPAO was used at the end of the verse.

φιλαδελφία
philadelphia
fraternal affection: - brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.

ἀγαπάω
agapaō
to love (in a social or moral sense): - (be-) love (-ed). ( my own note here i.e. to love like the one who is truly moral , to love with love that comes from being transformed into the nature of God)

The Thessalonians had expressed their love throughout all parts of the province of Macedonia. Paul's admonition was to increase more and more in this Christian virtue. It's impossible to love too much.

In verse 11 we see that the Lord does not want the body of Christ to be lazy, we are to be busy about the secular work or ministry in which our Lord has placed us. Work should never be despised by Christians. God ordained it as a part of life before the fall. "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Gen. 2:15). It is a responsibility given to man. "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest..."

2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

Our prayer is that we will never be weary of serving our Lord, that all that we do will be done as unto the Lord. May the people out there and reading this see Jesus living in and through us.

1Th 4:12 We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends. (MSG)

It is a great advertisement for Christianity when those who profess Christ are of meek and quiet spirits, diligent to do their own business, and not busy-bodies in other men's matters and not lazy sponging off of others. We are to live in a way that commands respect from those outside the body of Christ. Our lives should be exemplary, in fact people should see Christ living in and through us and be drawn to Him.

2Co 2:14 But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ's victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,
2Co 2:15 For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:
2Co 2:16 To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?]
2Co 2:17 For we are not, like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling God's Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message]; but like [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the [very] sight and presence of God. AMP

1. A believer's triumphs are all in Christ. In ourselves we are weak, and have neither joy nor victory; but in Christ we may rejoice and triumph.
2. True believers have constant reason to triumph in Christ, for they are more than conquerors through him who hath loved them, Rom_8:37.
3. God causes them to triumph in Christ. It is God who has given us the victory, and hearts to triumph. To him be given all the praise and all the glory. 4. When we see the results of our labour and people being saved, healed, delivered and going on with the Lord we have good reason for joy and rejoicing.

We should give off the sweet fragrance of Christ, be such carriers of His presence that we breathe life and hope into the world around us and draw others towards the one who died for them, towards our Lord and Saviour, but for this to happen we need to be holy.

Always loved this, we are the aroma of Christ to the world around us, marching in triumphant procession, excuding His love

CindyisHis · #33 29th August 2008, 07:47 PM

Can you give an example of this, of being an aroma of Christ, exuding His love?

HEisGoodalways · #34 30th August 2008, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by CindyisHis

Can you give an example of this, of being an aroma of Christ, exuding His love?

WE GET USED TO THE SMELL

Smells are among the most powerful forces in human experience. Smells are so powerful they can instantly change one of life's best moments into one of life's worst moments. Or, they can change one of life's worst moments into one of life's cherished moments.

Consider two illustrations. Illustration one: your whole life your dream vacation has been a leisurely visit to a tropical paradise. After planning and saving for years, you arrive in the place of your dreams filled with anticipation. Flowers are blooming. The sky is deep blue. The sun is brilliant. The sights and sounds are mystical. The breeze is gentle, warm, relaxing. The ocean has a hypnotic color and clarity you have never seen. The whole experience is so wonderful you feel like you are in another world. Every sensory experience exceeds every expectation.
But the first night there, the whole town experiences the worst sewage catastrophe possible. Sewage in a tropical climate is stifling! That night the overwhelming smell of sewage penetrates your room. The next day when you go to eat, the smell of sewage is everywhere. You step outside, the smell of sewage "knocks you down." No matter where you are or what you do, the smell of sewage is everywhere.
How long will you stay? Will you ever forget that odor? Can you ever disassociate that odor from that place? Does the odor destroy your dream?
Illustration two: inescapable necessity forces you to make a trip you literally hate to take. Everything goes wrong. You are stuck in a strange, dreary airport for six hours while a flight is delayed. When that flight finally leaves, it flies through horrible weather. Your rental car breaks down on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere ten miles from a house. You decide to walk for help. A mile from the car a sudden, intense rain storm soaks you with cold rain. You decide to go back to the car. When you turn around, you see a truck speeding away from the car. Someone broke a window and took everything.
The rain finally stops, and you walk for help. You are angrier and more disgusted than you ever remember being. Miles from the car, you approach a house and smell the most wonderful food aromas you ever smelled. The people invite you in and feed you. The food tastes as wonderful as it smelled.
Will you ever forget that aroma? Will you always remember how wonderful the food was? Will that aroma always be of one of life's wonderful moments?

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

Smells played a very critical role in Old Testament acts of worship before the nation of Israel existed and after the nation of Israel existed.
1. Before Israel existed, God "smelled" the smoke of animal sacrifices as an "odor of sweet smell."
  1. For example, one the first things Noah did when he left the ark was to offer many animal sacrifices to God (Genesis 8:20,21).
  2. The smoke and aroma of those burning sacrifices was "smelled" by God as a "soothing aroma."
  3. After Israel existed, incense played a key, important role in Jewish worship.
  1. There was an altar of incense used to burn incense in the tabernacle and later the temple (Exodus 30).
  2. On the second most important day of worship each year (the day of atonement), if the most holy place was not filled with the smoke and aroma of incense before the high priest entered, he died (Leviticus 16:13).
  3. Some "smell" had to mask the stench of sin when God's people approached Him.
2. Throughout the entire Old Testament, smells and aromas were an extremely important part of worship.
  1. To honor God, you had to approach Him with sweet, soothing aromas.
  2. Only the right aroma could remove the stench of evil in sinful people.
  3. It has always been true that the natural stench of evil is the smell of death.

After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, those who trust Christ are the soothing, sweet smelling aroma that God "smells."
1. In the 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 reading, Paul used a known experience to teach a powerful point.
  1. In the time of crisis a Roman general took several Roman legions and attacked the enemy.
  2. When the war ended, the victorious Roman general and his troops would return to the city of Rome.
  3. To honor the general and to celebrate the victory, Rome would have what they called the triumphal march.
    1. The whole city would line the parade route.
    2. The streets were lined with burners that produced clouds of incense.
    3. All the defeated, condemned captives were paraded through the streets with the general and his troops.
    4. To those captives, the clouds of incense were the horrible smell of death.
    5. To the victorious Romans, the clouds of incense was the wonderful smell of victory.
2. In Paul's illustration:
  1. God organizes the triumphal march.
  2. Christ is the conquering general.
  3. To all people who accept Christ's liberation and salvation, the incense is the aroma of freedom from sin and death.
    1. They have been freed.
    2. The smell is the sweet smell of holiness and purity produced by liberation from the power of evil.
    3. To them, Jesus Christ is the aroma of life.
  4. But to all people who love ungodliness, evil, and the unholy, the incense is the aroma of certain death.
    1. They are the soldiers of evil marching to their eternal deaths.
    2. They hate holiness, and purity, and Christ, and God.
    3. To them, Jesus Christ is the aroma of death.

We sinful people get used to the smell of evil, but the holy God never does.
1. We humans get so accustomed to the smell of common evils that we do not "smell" them.
  1. The ungodliness that we classify as horrible has an awful odor.
  2. The ungodliness that is common place all around us has less odor all the time.
  3. The ungodliness that is acceptable does not even have an odor.
  4. The ungodliness that we find pleasurable actually smells good to us.
2. Consider some illustrations.
  1. To many Christians, homosexual acts, prostitution, rape, forced human bondage, incest, abortion, murder, and violent crime have a horrible odor that really turns most Christians off.
    1. Many can't stand to be around "those kinds of people."
    2. Many believe the gospel cannot help "those kinds of people."
  2. To many Christians, adultery, "living together" arrangements, "one night" stands, white collar crime, recreational drugs, and gambling have some odor--but the odor is not that bad.
    1. It would be bad to do those things openly.
    2. But if we can do those things secretly and quietly with "the right people," its okay--"no big deal."
  3. To many Christians, deceit, greed, jealousy, selfish ambition, and hate do not have an odor, but those who wrote the New Testament, who understood Jesus and his teachings said:
    1. Deceiving a person insults God (Matthew 5:33-37).
    2. Greed is idolatry, an actual act of worship to a false god (Colossians 3:5).
    3. Jealousy and selfish ambition are ungodly arrogance (James 4:14).
    4. Hate nourishes murder and destroys eternal life (1 John 3:15).
  4. To many Christians, "getting high" on alcohol, "getting high" on recreational drugs, entertainment that is sexually stimulating, unholy experiences that give pleasure, vulgar language, and immoral jokes actually smell good.
    1. "Those things are just a part of life."
    2. "If they don't smell bad to me, they cannot possibly smell bad to God."

In the Judaism of the New Testament and the early centuries beyond, a man could divorce his wife but a woman could not divorce her husband.
1. A few exceptions were allowed.
  1. In the exceptions, the woman could not actually divorce her husband, but she could demand that her husband divorce her.
  2. If my memory is correct, there were five circumstances in which a wife could force her husband to divorce her.
2. I remember one clearly.
  1. If her husband's occupation was tanning animal hides, she could demand a divorce.
    1. Tanning animal hides was a process that involved horrible odors.
    2. The stench was so penetrating that the odor actually permeated his skin.
    3. Literally, the odor could not be washed off--no matter how much he cleaned himself, even when he could not smell the odor, he still stunk.
  2. If his wife could not tolerate the odor, she could demand a divorce.
3. We lived in West Africa for four years.
  1. After three years, some of our African friends felt close enough to us to be quite honest instead of kindly polite.
  2. Once we asked them what was the most difficult thing they did with the missionaries.
  3. They said the hardest thing they had to do was visit us in our homes.
    1. Shocked, we asked why.
    2. Respectfully, they replied, "You people smell so bad. The odor is almost more than we can take."
    3. How ironic! We bathed every day, used deodorant every day, we used lotions, and we put on clean clothes every day.
    4. We had showers; they did not. We could afford deodorant and lotions; they could not; we could afford to buy enough clothes to change frequently; they could not.
    5. Yet, we were the ones who smelled so bad they had trouble coming into our homes.
  4. We did not stink to us--we smelled good to us. Yet, we smelled awful to them.
    1. Why? Because of our diet.
    2. Missionaries ate a lot of meat; we could afford to.
    3. They could not afford meat very often.
    4. When you eat a lot of meat, your body secretes offensive odors in societies where most people do not eat meat.

The spiritual truth: every human stinks to God. Sin makes us stink. There is enough evil ingrained in all of us to make each of us give off a horrible odor to God. Our diet included evil every day of our lives, and the evil makes us stink to God.
Only one thing can remove the odor: God's forgiveness administered through Jesus' cleansing blood. When a person trusts God's acts in Jesus' death, the blood of Jesus removes the odor. God will remove the odor from any person who enters Jesus and lives in Jesus.
"Preacher, do you know what is wrong among Christians? I'll tell you what is wrong. We have a huge behavior problem in the church."
I certainly agree that Christians have a huge behavior problem, but that is not the foundation of our problems. The foundation is this: too many Christians do not trust God. They were not baptized because they trusted God. Trust had little to do with their baptism. They did not want a holy or a pure life. They still do not want a holy or a pure life. They love some forms of evil. They want the smell of evil, not the smell of purity and holiness. To them, the greatest option in all life is to smell like evil and stay out of hell.
When you look at your personal holiness and purity, are they more important to you today than a year ago? Is your purpose to "get used" to the smell of evil in your life? Or, is the purpose to let God cleanse you every day of your life so that you have the smell of holiness and purity?

HEisGoodalways · #35 30th August 2008, 01:10 AM

I'll never forget, one time at the church where I started preaching and teaching, the sweet old pastor Jack was dying of throat cancer, his wife Faye asked if I would drive him to his doctor appts because I had a Lexus and it was real comfortable, we of course were beleiving God for His healing, but God took Him home after about six months, but a few hours before he passed on, I was praying over him in the hospital room and he was breathing pretty hard in and out, and I smelled a wonderful smell like fresh flowers that seemed to be coming out of him

He was one of the sweetest men of God I have ever met

I wonder if anyone else has had any other simalur experience

Jesus is a sweet smelling fragrance within us

GlendaJoanne · #36 30th August 2008, 01:14 AM

Please Pray..
We went to dinner tonight & I had Mahi..

About an hour later, I started throwing up.. & then got the runs..

It is easing up right now.. but I'm afraid to go to bed.. cause I don't know when I'll "feel" the call again..

So I figured go post..
Hubby & friends had steaks & a burger.. & they're fine..

Floatingaxe · #37 30th August 2008, 04:38 AM

I'm back after a 30-day punishment! Missed y'all! Praying that you will quickly overcome this reaction, GlendaJoanne!

CindyisHis · #38 30th August 2008, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by GlendaJoanne

Please Pray..
We went to dinner tonight & I had Mahi..

About an hour later, I started throwing up.. & then got the runs..

It is easing up right now.. but I'm afraid to go to bed.. cause I don't know when I'll "feel" the call again.. So I figured go post..
Hubby & friends had steaks & a burger.. & they're fine..

Lord, I pray right now for GJ. She is redeemed from sickness, and food poisoning. I pray she awakens refreshed, sound in body, and free to attend the things You have for her today. No weapon formed against GJ shall prosper.

Let us know, sweetie, how you're doing.

CindyisHis · #39 30th August 2008, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by Floatingaxe

I'm back after a 20-day punishment! Missed y'all! Praying that you will quickly overcome this reaction, GlendaJoanne!

20 days! No way! What did you do? Step on someone's toes? Nevermind, you don't have to answer that publicly, but you can pm me if you like.

At any rate, I am glad you're back now.

GlendaJoanne · #40 30th August 2008, 09:16 AM

Thank you for the prayers & I'm glad you're back Floatingaxe!

I'm doing ok this morning.. considering.. I went to bed at 2 this morning.. & have had no more unexpected trips to the "porcelin throne"..

Sipping on tea.. and bottled water.. keeping it light & hydrating this morning..

I was suprised that my diaphram was not sore.. God did a great job of getting that tainted meal out of my system.. and I give Him Praise & Honor..

Thank you again for your prayers.. I love you..