Daciple Ministries

While I was on another forum there had been debate and discussion about the need to attend Church and it has been weighing on me as of late. I believe many people who want to but don't go to Church seem to have two main reasons, first is they are put off by the massive influx of False Teachers and Liberalism that dominates the Modern Western Church offering a watered down Gospel in a Church that looks essentially like the World. The other common objection I see is that if there is a good Gospel preaching Church they happen to be too far to get to them. This has literally been breaking my heart, I know God wants us to congregate together and after my experiences in being in the Rock Star Liberal Churches and the Church I am now, I have such a desire to see others have access to True Gospel Preaching, True Church where they can be touched by the Lord and hear the Gospel preached!!! It has changed my life, my walk and my relationship with the Lord, and I truly want others to be able to share and have the same kind of experiences.

The Lord has been convicting me about what I have been doing on the forum sites I am on, that I have been busy debating and discussing but have I been doing the work He has called me to do? This Church discussion and Christ have been opening my eyes to what it is I really ought to be concentrating on. Discussion and debate is good, its needed, but is that all I should be doing? Is there something else, something more that these platforms could be used for besides arguments?

In the past 2 days I have gone to Church and 2 totally different preachers in 2 totally different towns preached the same type of message from the same Book, the Book of Nehemiah. If one isnt familiar with that Book essentially the Book is based around the fact that Nehemiah was called by God to help rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, and in Chapter 6 Nehemiah response to one of his adversaries:

Neh 6:3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

He called it a great work and asked why should he leave what he was called to do on the Wall for the distraction from those who were opposing him and I can say I feel there is a great work for me and a great work for all who are in Christ. We each have something we are called to do, I dont know exactly what you have been called to do, but I do know if you go into your prayer closet and ask God to reveal what work He wants to do thru you, He indeed will give you a task to do to bring Him Glory.

With that being said I feel the great work the Lord has been calling me to on these sites is to preach the Gospel, and while debates and discussions can be good, they can also be a distraction if that's all one or should I say myself be focusing on, as tho I am being called off the Wall while there is still work to be done. So I have decided to open this thread and in it I hope to give to others what the Lord has laid on my heart concerning His Word. I was thinking of just posting whats laid on my heart in individual threads, but felt to start just having one place to post them, so as to not deluge the Board. I hope others can find help and maybe someone can come to Christ, regardless even tho this is going outside of my comfort zone for the Forums I feel I need to follow what the Lord has put on my heart and maybe just maybe help those who either are tired of the washed down Churches in their area or are not able to make it to Churches due to distance or they dont exist in your area.

People are welcome to debate and discuss what I post if they like, however I really am not intending to join in on discussion or more like debates concerning the messages that are too follow, if you dont believe or they dont help you so be it, all I can do is give what has been given in hope others can be blessed. If others have messages laid on their hearts and want to share please feel free to, I always want to hear what the Lord is speaking and doing in everyones lives.

I hope someone is touched and blessed from this Thread, and I Lord willing will keep it updated extensively until the Lord calls me elsewhere, I could be here posting only a day or week or a year, whatever He allows and wants. If anyone ever needs anything please feel free to PM and I will the best I can to help in anyway the Lord allows.

I love all of you and hope all of you have a blessed and wonderful day!!!

I was in Church the other day and one of our preachers preached a great sermon concerning Avoiding Spiritual Hindrances and he was preaching out of Nehemiah 4, and while he was preaching and reading from there God moved on my heart concerning the 2nd verse which reads:

2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Now if we read the preceding and rest of the chapters we see that what is happening here is that Nehemiah was one of the Hebrews who remained in Persia after the Exile into Babylon and the eventual restoration to Jerusalem by Cyrus. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the King in Persia and he had heard of the problems facing the Israelities who had returned back into Israel that the wall around Jerusalem had been broken down and burned. He approaches the King and asks if he can go and help the Israelities rebuild the wall. The King grants him permission and so he goes and begins to help organize and rebuild the wall.

What we see here in Chapter 4 is that as soon as he and the rest begin to rebuild the wall there comes a man named Sanballat who hears of the Israelities rebuilding the wall and it upsets him and he begins to mock them, and eventually tries to bring others against them to prevent them from rebuilding the wall. There is much that could be preached and spoken about concerning what the Israelities faced as they went to rebuild, and how they overcame those set against them. How they got on the wall and built despite the opposition, and how we can apply that to all the great work we do for the Lord. How everytime we try and undertake a great work for the Lord we can be assured that there will be opposition, ether by others, Satan or more often than not, our own flesh. And that is part of what my preacher preached on, but that's not what stuck out to me while he was preaching. It was that 2nd verse that stood out.

I don't know how you all feel reading the Word of God but when I read this part of this verse I could feel a stirring in my soul, I could feel excitement and anxiousness at the same time, and all I know is that it had to be the Lord. Immediately as I read it things began to fill my heart and mind concerning this one verse and then other verses came to mind. I was able to share what was laid on my heart with my church and Lord willing I will be able to relate that to you as well today. The part that lept out, that as soon as I read it I could feel a stirring in my soul was ...will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

I can tell you in my life I can look back and see times where I felt as tho all the stones in my life were in heaps of rubbished and burned, where everything was in ruins. Where it seemed like nothing was in place, that everything around me had fallen apart. Yet every time I looked around seeing what I perceived as ruination and destruction, I could see the Lord begin to move, to place the stone back where He wanted them, to rebuild everything in a manner which I never thought they could go together and I can see that what He built has become much better than anything that was in the past.

Another thing that occurred to me was what my life was before I was born again, if you have read or heard my testimony then you know just what kind of mess I was in prior to coming to Christ. I was in a strange place, a drug rehab surrounded by people who didn't like me, I had no family or friends, I had lost my job and lost my car. I was in trouble in multiple places in the country with the Law, was facing at the minimum a year in prison, probably more if my home state found out what was going on in the other states. On top of all of this I had a guy in the Rehab that for whatever reason chose me to harass and attack on a daily basis. To a point he began to threaten my life, looking around my life was a complete and total train wreck. Indeed the stones were in a ruinous heap of rubbish and burned up. There was nothing of value I had, nothing I could offer, but one night at the side of a bed in the Talbert House I cried out to the Lord asking Him for Salvation. I cried out knowing I was a sinner who deserved Hell, and I was scared to face His Judgement, having someone threaten your life bring Hell into quick focus when you are Lost. I cried out for Salvation from Death, Salvation from Hell, and Salvation from that man and the place I was in. Essentially I cried out to God and asked can you revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Jesus saw me in my broken condition, having absolutely nothing to offer, looked down and gave me the answer to the question as to if He could revive the stones of my life. Glory to God when He looked down and answered, He said YES I CAN!!! Amen I still can't get over the fact that Jesus would and has forgiven me of my Sins, that instead of offering me the punishment I deserved both in my physical life which at that point was Jail at the minimum and Death more than likely, and Hell Spiritually, He offered me Grace and set me free of the Bondage of my Sins, He moved that man out of my life, He provided me to safely get through Rehab, and now instead of Hell I have gained Heaven and a Personal Relationship with God Himself!!!

Jesus saw the ruinous heaps of stones burnt up in the garbage and He revived them indeed, in 1 Peter 2:5 it shows exactly what Jesus did to my burnt up stones I gave Him saying:

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

He took that which was dead and of no use and has turned it into a lively or living stone to use to build up His Spiritual House, so that I can offer up Spiritual Sacrifices that are acceptable to Him!! Amen what an amazing God and an amazing Savior is Jesus, who takes that which is broken and rotten and of no value and sees it and says yep that's exactly what I am looking for and He Himself comes and turns that which was useless into something alive and fashions it and gives it a specific purpose placing it exactly where He needs it and it best serves Him!!! It's good to know that God cares for me when everything is broken down around me, and that He has a place, a purpose and work for me to do. That He has taken what was dead and useless in this world and transformed it to be something that is used to bring Him Glory, that He would make me a priest in His Kingdom!!! Amen, I love Jesus, I love the power He has to transform us, to save us, to rectify us, to give us a purpose, to give us a relationship, to give us Heaven and all that is Good and all we have to do is offer HIm our broken, ruined stones burnt up in the garbage!!!

One last thing that has come to me concerning Christ in these verses is that sometimes in our life we feel like the wall we built was just right, in our eyes it perfect and great, but it really isn't the case. Sometimes while we are building the wall we want we ignore what Christ has given us direction in and this wall ends up being what we want and not what He has told us it needs to be. I have seen this in my life as well, and if we were to continue building this wall doing the work of ourselves and our flesh instead of the work of God it may bring us to the wrong place. Maybe we are building this wall but instead of it being something that helps and protects us it becomes a wall that encloses in around us, cutting us off from God and what God wants for us to do. Maybe this wall becomes a burden with an improper foundation that while we see it as strong is really built on sand, that is leaning and if just one thing comes, the wall will come down and maybe even trap us under it.

Sometimes the wall we are building needs to be brought down because it is of no use to us or to God, and I believe sometimes God will step in and knock down these walls to bring us to a point where we Repent, and Refocus and Rely on Him. I have noticed in my life that the times God has moved the greatest are the times where I am completely broken before Him, where all my walls that I have erected to shield me from the world, shield me from hurt shield me from pain, are broken down and I am bare before Him crying out to Him to help, guide, and show me what He wants of me.

In the scripture quoted from 1 Peter it says we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, and David writes to us in Psalms the sacrifices that God is looking for saying:

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

How do we get the walls to be built up in the way God wants? How do we offer Him Spiritual Sacrifices that are acceptable? It all starts with coming before Him with a broken and contrite heart. That's when He steps in and He revives the stones, that He causes us to be lively stones, that He begins to build the walls of our Jerusalem.

Where are you today? Are you Lost and don't know Jesus as your Savior? If so I can tell you that every wall you think you are building is of no use and if they all haven't I promise all of them soon will be collapsing into ruination and will leave you trapped forever under them. Do you realize you are Lost today and can see the stones burnt in the fire? Do you want to have the destruction that is in your life changed into Glory? Then I beg you to Repent and come to Christ today!!! He wants to bring you to Salvation, to restore your Relationship with Him, to give you Life and Life more abundantly, won't you come today and be restored, revived and have your walls built on the foundation of Christ, the stone that was rejected but is now made the Cornerstone!!! I promise you won't regret it, Jesus loves you and is calling you today!!!

Are you saved but are in a place in life where it feels like your life is broken down around you? Problems with friends and family? Problems with your Job? Loneliness and Sadness all around you? Maybe you are dealing with sickness or health issues? Whatever it may be that has you looking around feeling like the walls in your life have been brought down in flames, I am here to tell you today that there is one who can take the stones that seem of no use and He wants to Revive them for you!!! Come now present to Him your burnt up stones that are in heaps and ruins let Jesus take these things we see as no good and garbage and turn them into buildings of Spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to Him for His Good Will!!! Cry out to Him from your broken and contrite spirit and let Him bring life to those things that are dead and dragging you down today!! He loves you, and wants to be there for you, but you have to take that first step in Faith towards Him. The Word promises us that if you draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Won't you come, draw nigh to Him now, let Him rebuild your Walls and fashion them in His purpose?

Have you been building apart from God today? Do you see the work that you've been doing is of your own flesh and your own will? Will you let God come and knock down the walls that you've built up that have cut you off from Him? That have cut you off from friends, from family? That have kept you from Loving others for fear of hurt? That have caused you to isolate yourself walls all built up around you to keep the pain you have endured because of your experiences in life?

I plead with you to come before God today and ask Him to break down these Walls, to turn them into piles of stones before Him, to bring you to that point where you can be broken before Him and to call out with that broken and contrite Heart to have Him restore, and revive the stones into the Walls and Building He wants. To break down the Walls that have separated you from Him, from family, from friends. To cause you to no longer live in fear of pain or rejection, to be given peace and a desire to Love without the need for reciprocation just as He has. Jesus came poured out Himself in Love even unto Death, knowing most people would completely and utterly reject Him but He still Loves them and died for them!!! Let Christ rebuild the Walls in your Life to let you Love and pour yourself out to others, even if that means dying for them to see the Love of Christ in you towards them!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

* I wrote this quite a long time ago but the lesson God showed me are still relevant, I hope it bless you!!!



Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Hello everyone, I hope this post reaches all you well, and that you all are having a blessed day today. I hope that if you come across this post you take the time to read it and that you come away as blessed from it as I have been when the Lord revealed it unto me.

A few weeks ago I made an update telling everyone what was happening at my job, that I was pulled into an investigation where it felt like they were going to fire me, last week they made the determination. As of Monday Nov 21st I was fired from my job at AT&T right before Thanksgiving and right before Christmas! What a perfect time to lose my job. After 4 years of dedicated services continually being one of the top performers month in and month out they decided to terminate me. Unfortunately whomever was in charge of making this decision accepted the lies of my manager and I believe another co worker over the truth which I was telling them, and I will be honest I completely and totally did not see that coming.

I was totally rocked to find out I had lost my job, I felt betrayed not only by the people at my work but by the Lord Himself. My world was shattered, my ego was torn apart, my sense of self worth was at an all time low. I was angry, frustrated, depressed, my soul groaned within me, this was a devastating event. I was daily praying to the Lord concerning this matter, I was daily trying to love those who I knew were trying to fire me, I was daily reading the Word gaining encouragement from the many verses I was being lead to concerning how the Lord will win the battle and turn the evil of those who hated me wrongly upon themselves. In my view the victory would have been that they found me innocent as I am, and they would have looked at my manager and those who colluded wrongfully and turn their evil lies upon themselves.

This didnt happen, the one actual thing I didnt expect to happen, happened, I lost my job. I was in a daze, and felt abandoned by my co workers and specifically by God. I didnt know what to do where to turn. I had 2 choices I could turn back to the world, I could do the things of the world to satisfy my hurt, I could go get drunk, or worse drugs to drown my sorrows, I could indulge in entertainment getting lost in video games and movies, I could get mad and break things releasing my anger on the world around me. Or I could turn to God, fall to my knees, cry out to my Lord and Savior, beg Him for mercy and understanding, for compassion and peace.

Last year when I lost my mother, I went down that first road, Im here to tell you friend that road is a dead end road, a dark lonely road of misery and despair, a black pit of loneliness, anger, hate, and depression. A road that only by the grace of God did He pull me off of when I cried out in repentance in April. I know that road well, the soles of my feet walked miles on that road, and I have absolutely no desire to return down that beaten path in my life ever again.

So I chose the second option, I cried out to God, I yelled at God, I opened myself to the Lord laying all my burdens, thoughts, anger, sadness, everything I had, all my emotions at His feet. And that brings us to today. Its been a bit over a week since I was fired and Ive had time to process what has happened and more importantly I have been given the grace to bring this to the Lord and He has spoken to me in ways Ive never heard before. Moved upon me in ways I havent felt before and given me understanding of Scripture and its relation to my life in ways Ive never understood before. So today Id like to share one of the things Hes shown to me with you folks, in hope that you can take something away from my experience, that you can hear from the Lord in your life, your struggles and more importantly, that the Lord can be glorified in my life!

I came across the Scripture above Hebrews 5:8 a few days before I was fired, yet it was during a time of this trial as I was wrestling everyday with how to cope with people who were clearly trying to fire me but also some who straight up said they hated me and everything about me, even the way I greeted them saying I was having a blessed day. The scripture stuck with me, and after I was fired it continually came to my mind. It says that Jesus even tho a Son, learned obedience from the things He suffered, and that He has become the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey HIm. As I prayed and meditated on this verse I began to see 3 points that stuck out that the Lord began to expand upon, I would like to share with you these points today.

The first thing that stood out was Obedience, in fact in that quote we see Obedience 2 times, Jesus learned it and that eternal salvation is offered to those whom obey. Clearly Obedience is a central part of this verse, and it is a central part of the Christian's relationship with the Lord. How important is it? According to the Word of God its more important than sacrifice is!! If you dont know much about Israeli culture during the time of Jesus then let me explain just how great that statement is. During that time their entire culture was built around sacrificing unto the Lord at His temple in Jerusalem, sacrificing day in and day out for Sin for Freewill offerings, it was the absolute most essential aspect of their culture. Yet I am telling you that Obedience was more important than the central aspect of sacrifice to the Lord!

1 Samuel 15: 22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

The surrounding context of this verse is that Saul was told by Samuel to go to war with the Amalekities and was given specific instructions to utterly destroy them, everything from all the people to all the cattle and stock, all of it was to be destroyed. However Saul decides of himself to do something else, he decided to take the king alive, take the best of the cattle for himself. When he is confronted by Samuel as to why he didnt follow through with the Lords command Saul says, well I took the best of the best so I could sacrifice it unto the Lord!!!

Thats not what God told Him tho, God gave Him the specific command to destroy it all, so Samuel answers him, that it is better to OBEY the Word of the Lord than to sacrifice!! It was so important to God that He took Sauls kingship from him for his disobedience. Does that strike home to you at all? It did to me! How many times have I decided I knew whats best and disregarded the Word of the Lord? How many times did I refuse to accept my sin as sin and do it anyhow thinking I knew better than God? O I tell you today friend we live in a day and time that continually tells us that our society knows better than God and disregards His commands, and I tell you today that just as Saul had to pay a price for his disobedience, just as I had to pay a price for my disobedience, just as this society has been and continually will pay a price for its disobedience, so to will you have to pay a price for you continued disobedience to the Word of God! If you are not being obedient to what God has called you to do, if you are not being obedient to what the Word of God tells you is Truth and what it calls Sin, believing you know better than the Lord, I implore you to repent now, forsake your ways and turn to the Lord for forgiveness, even before reading further! Today is the day of Salvation for someone I know it!!!

If that isnt enough to convince you that Obedience is utterly important to the Lord, then let me tell you what the Lord showed me concerning His own Son. This is a bold statement I am about to make, even more bold than the previous one but it holds just as true, Obedience is so central to the Lord that had Jesus not been completely and totally obedient to the Father, to His calling then His sacrifice would have been of no value!!!

Let me say that again, if Jesus hadnt been under complete submission in full Obedience to the will of the Father then Christs death on the cross would have done nothing for Him and nothing for us. There would be no salvation given, there would be no eternal life offered and each and everyone of us would still be condemned to Hell, to bear the wrath of God we all deserve ourselves. How can I say this you may ask?

Hebrews 9:14 says..How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

It says Christ offered Himself WITHOUT SPOT to God, this means He was completely and totally Sinless not one Sin ever was found in Christ, He is the perfect sacrifice, doing all the things we can never do, He laid His life down for us so that by Him we can be imputed with His righteousness and stand before God by grace thru faith as tho we lived the perfect life of Christ and stand without condemnation. However had Jesus not obeyed God, even once, then this wouldnt be possible for James 4:17 says Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin. Jesus knew what His task was, He knew what was good for Him to do, had He in any way NOT been obedient unto the will of the Father then to Him that would be Sin and then He could NOT have been offered up without spot and His sacrifice would not have been accepted!!! I am here to tell you that His obedience was equal in measure to His actual death on the Cross!!!

Phil 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Rom 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Christ was obedient unto death, and by His obedience shall we be made Righteous, praise the Lord, thank you Jesus for your perfect submission for your perfect obedience so that I who am guilty can be seen as righteous by your death and sacrifice, man that just stirs me up gets me excited makes me want to shout for joy family!!! I hope it does the same for you too, if not come to Christ, receive this joy unspeakable, I promise you wont ever regret it!!

Now just as Jesus was called to live obedient to the will of the Father even unto death, we too have been called to obedience unto the will of God!!

Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

James 5:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We can see how important obedience is, how central it is to God, how central it is to Christ's sacrifice, how central it is to our walk with the Lord, how central it was in the verse we started with in Hebrews. That was the first thing that stood out to me, Obedience. The second thing that stood out to me was Suffering, how Christ's suffering taught Him Obedience, and I believe we are to take lessons ourselves from our sufferings to become more Obedient to the Will of the Father.

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In Acts 5:29 it says Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. This is the truth we ought to always obey God rather than men, but when the Lord lead me to this verse He also lead me to what was going on at this time with Peter. If you go back to Acts 4 and read for yourself which I encourage you to do, you will find that Peter and John had come unto the Temple in Jerusalem and began to preach the Gospel of Christ to the Jews, and as soon as they preached they were taken by the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducesss. They were brought to the High Priest and questioned and they again preached the gospel, and after hearing of them in Acts 4:21 it says they further threatened them, they had let them go.

What did Peter do when he was taken and threatened, did he fall away or did he learn obedience from his sufferings?

Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold thier threatenings, and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word

He didnt back away in the face of persecution or threats he asked to speak more boldly!! Then we see that in Acts 5:16-21 that Peter was in Jerusalem healing and preaching and that it caused the Pharisees to become filled with indignation so much so that they laid hands upon him yet again and set him into prison. Yet the angel of the Lord came and delivered him from the prison and gave him a command saying “Go and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life”. Peter was threatened at first, then asked for boldness, he was imprisoned and given a specific task, did he shy away, run, turn tail? No of course not, it says they were found teaching in the temple yet again, and when confronted by the High Priest who said didnt we tell you not to teach in the name of Christ, Peter responds, We ought to obey God rather than men, and again preaches the gospel to them!!! After they heard him preach again the were cut to their heart so much they wanted to murder Peter, however they decided to beat him instead. How did Peter handle being beaten after being threatened after being imprisoned?

Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

They REJOICED counting themselves worthy to suffer along with Christ, they became even more obedient unto their calling to preach and teach Christ!! Just as Christ learned Obedience through His suffering and just as Peter became more bold in his preaching and rejoiced in his suffering becoming more Obedient so to should we strive to take these times of suffering and allow them to embolden us to cause us to fall to the Father's feet in submission, to use them as opportunities to learn Obedience unto the will of the Father!!

So 2 of the 3 things that stood out to me in Hebrews 5:8 were the importance of Obedience, and the Suffering that produces Obedience. The third thing that was laid on my heart that is inclusive of the other 2 points is that Jesus is called a Son. We of course know that Jesus is the Son of God, but as I was studying this the Lord lead me to Hebrews 12 which says:

Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Christ was a Son, the Son, but we too are also Sons of God, those who believe in Christ, and there are times where God treats us as Son in chastisement. The hours of chastisement, the hours of suffering never feel good in the midst of them but they are for our good. Just as we who have fathers corrected us for our own good, how much more then shall the Lord who is a much more excellent father than our earthly fathers not produce in us that which is good from His chastisement!!!

The Word declares we will suffer persecution those who follow Christ. 2 Tim 3:12 says.. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So what shall we do when we are persecuted, what shall we do in the midst of the trials and tribulations? What should we do when under the chastisement of the Lord?

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

I have been in the midst of a trial ever since I stood up a little over a month and a half ago and proclaimed to my congregation just how wonderful the Lord has been blessing me at my work, the next day began a downward spiral, from my managers starting fights with me, stripping away things from me daily, to co workers declaring they hate me for preaching the Word at work, even to the way I say hello, to the investigation prompted by the new manager that clearly disliked me culminating in my termination facilitated by liars in order to finalize my firing. This has been a difficult journey I have taken but I will and do take on faith that God is working all things out for my Good, and I can tell you that I am rejoicing in the fact that I can be called a Son by God, to endure His Chastisement and to be counted worthy enough to suffer persecution for His names sake.

May the Lord be praised in the Highest, He is my King, my Lord, my Savior and my Deliverer! I will continue to praise Him in the midst of these trials and I am utterly grateful for what I have endured thus far as it is drawn me to a whole new level of understanding a whole new level of intimacy, a whole new level of dependency and love that would not be possible without facing what I have and continue to face!!! Praise your name Jesus, I love you so incredibly much, may your name be glorified in my life, sufferings, joy and peace, I want to give my all for you Lord because you gave your all for me!!!

If you dont know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior I beg of you to call out to Him right now, He is passing by and He will come to you if you only cry out with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He wants to heal you, He wants to lift you up, He wants to give you the strength to endure this life and all of its trials and tribulations. He loves you, so much so that He gave up all of heaven to come find you right now, to offer you salvation, to pour His love and grace upon you!!! Please take this opportunity. He wants to save you!!!

I have faith in Christ, and I have faith in the Word of God, I know whats promised to me, do you know what Gods promises are for you?

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord!

If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
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2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I came before the Lord tonight in prayer, in honest prayer asking God to reveal to me where it is I stand before Him. I have had so many things go on in my life over the past few months, I have become incredibly worried as to where it is I stand before Him. The things going on in my life have been causing me grief and worry, heartache and burdens. I have been in the midst of Sin, a constant raging battle in my heart and mind. I have been deluged with terrible thoughts and all of it has brought me to my knees to cry out before the Righteous and Holy Lord and beg Him to reveal exactly where it is I stand with Him.

I prayed that He please in His Grace manifest Himself where I was, to show me where I stand because I can tell you with zero doubts that I do not want to be standing on the wrong side of God. I asked Him if He could please as He manifested Himself in my presence to do one of two things, either bring the full weight of Conviction upon, to make Hell seem real, to bring a burden on me I have never felt before, if it is that I am not in Right Standing with Him. Either that or as He began to manifest Himself to me, to bring Peace, Love, to lift the burden I am carrying to wrap me up in His arms, to show me that I am indeed Right before Him.

And I say Right before Him, not because of anything I have ever done, but because of His Grace and Mercy that was seen as He shed His Blood upon the Cross. If I am Right before Him it is because of belief in Him, what He has done on the Cross and because He Resurrected from the Grave. So as I prayed and waited I didn't feel any type of Conviction at all, I didn't feel any greater burden, I didn't feel any fear, what I did feel was that Jesus was coming and sitting beside me and He began to speak to me in my heart of hearts.

If I sat down beside you, what do you think I would do? How do you think I would act? And I know what would happen if Jesus literally manifested in my room and sat down beside me. He wouldn't begin to berate me, He wouldn't chastise me, He wouldn't bring terror into my heart, no instead He would put His arm around me as I sat there crying. He would pull me in close, put His head on my shoulder, He would pour Love into me and He would begin to comfort me in my distress. Then He would start talking to me, lifting my head and giving me some understanding as to what was going on in my life, to give me strength and wisdom to endure what I am facing.

And that is exactly what He did, He sat down beside me and I could feel in my Spirit, in my Soul the manifestation of His Love and Grace and Mercy. I began to feel a sense of Peace, and even some Joy which has been eluding me as of late. And then when He allowed me to feel that Peace, to assure me that I am in Right Standing with Him, not because of me but because of Faith in Him, He began to speak to me, and what He spoke to me I would like to share with you.

I want to share this because I believe there are other people out here that are in a similar situation. Not only that I believe that there are people who are about to face a similar situation, and if not that then you have already came thru on the other side and what I write you will quickly be able to identify that yes that happened to me as well. I believe every person that lays eyes on this, you are going to be in one of these categories. I don't believe that God allows us to go thru things for no purpose or reason, there is a reason and purpose behind everything we face and it is up to us to reach out to God to find meaning in these times.

As soon as God began to speak to my heart, I immediately heard Isaiah 19, turn there and I will show you what is going on in your life and we will read it together, so I picked up my Bible and turned to that chapter. If you are following along, I strongly recommend that you turn to that chapter in your Bible and read it before going further because I am going to go over the entire chapter almost verse by verse, but at first I picked it up and read it, and it didn't seem to make much sense, but God went back and lead me thru it and that is what I would like to do with you today.

The first verse starts with, the burden of Egypt and when I first read it all I just couldn't understand why God would be leading me to read about Egypt. Egypt isn't a Good Place in Scripture so how is this chapter ever going to relate to me, or what I am going thru in a Positive Way. I was even wondering is God trying to show me that I am not in a Right Standing with Him? Am I Lost in Egypt? Here I feel this sense of Peace and Love, but then I'm being told in Scripture I am Egypt? So I stopped, prayed again and God spoke and lead me thru the chapter again and gave me an understanding completely different than what I originally thought on the first and surface reading.

There are some who want to take this as literal, and I am sure in some peoples mind they believe this chapter is about the End Times, and that is fine and dandy IDC what you believe in that aspect but I am telling you that this chapter has a significant Spiritual meaning and there is no need for us to wait till the End of Time for it to be fulfilled in your life and my life, it is and can be fulfilled now.

I began to think and dwell on Egypt and ask what is the overall meaning of Egypt in relation to what it is you are wanting to reveal to me in this Chapter God, and He turned my mind to what it is that Egypt represents in the Word of God. Egypt is almost always related as a Symbol of the World. Israel being in bondage for 490 years then coming out of Egypt and going into Canaan, the Promised Land is representative of us as people being enslaved in the Word and in Sin and being set free by Christ in Salvation and going into Heaven or the Kingdom of God. And God revealed that it is in that context of Egypt being the World, Sin and my Flesh is how He wanted me to read and understand this Chapter. So keep this in mind as we begin to read thru it, Egypt represents the World, Sin and your Flesh.

Is 19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

As I went back and read this for the second time, with that mindset, God began to reveal what He was doing in my life, and I believe as I stated originally, He either is going to, He is or He has been doing this in others who read this lives as well. I hope that God can give you some perspective about your situation as He has me thru these Scriptures. What God showed me is that there is a point and purpose to what I am going thru, and the first thing we see is that God came into Egypt. God came into Egypt for a point and a purpose and when He came into Egypt things began to take place, when God begins to come into your life, He is doing it for a point and a purpose and things are going to begin to take place.

God showed me that the things I am going thru is because God is showing up to deal with my Flesh, with my Sin and with the World around me and the influence I’ve let it have on me. When God showed up in verse 1 it caused the idols in Egypt to be moved and the heart of Egypt to be melted. What do you think the trial and tribulation your facing, with God showing up, is supposed to be doing in your life right now?

I can tell you it is to move the idols out of your life and to cause your Flesh to start melting or dying before the Presence of the Lord. I looked up the Hebrew Word for melt, and it means to dissolve. It is also translated as waste away, completely lose heart, and worthless. God is telling us that what we are going thru right now or will be or just have gone thru, the purpose of it is to cause our Flesh to become worthless, to make it lose heart, to force it to waste away.

I don't know about any of you, but I can say that my Flesh has been a roaring monster, it is always fighting against me, it is always trying to be strong and lead me the wrong way, it always has a massive grip on my thoughts, feelings, actions and my Faith. Even tho what I am facing right now is not fun, what a different perspective it is to know that it's because God is showing up to cause my Flesh to dissolve it's grip on me, to cause my Flesh to begin to lose heart in it's fight against me and the Spirit, to cause it to become worthless in it's mission to stop me from following God and His Will. I don't know about anyone else but that excites me, it turns the hardship of what I am going thru into a reason to rejoice!!!

Is 19:2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof:

In these verses I can see very clearly how my Flesh and Mind and the Sin I have found myself in are acting. My Flesh and Mind are in a constant war within themselves, my Flesh desiring to Sin, my Mind trying to tell me all sorts of negative things, my fight to get them to stop and failing at it, it is a warfare, I wonder who can relate?

But God showed me that He is the one that set that aspect in motion, He has shown up, He has done this for a point and a purpose and that is to cause My Flesh and my Mind to lose their Spirit, to finally give up and fail. And I can see that working out now, that I have been in this cycle of temptation and sometimes falling into Sin by my Flesh, and then my mind tearing me apart for it, and watched it go round and round until it has driven the Spirit of my Flesh to begin to fail causing me to turn from my Flesh and this merry go round and call out to the Lord to overcome and defeat it all.

And God has answered and said, I will cause the counsel, the thoughts, the path of what your Flesh wants to do, to fail, I am going to destroy its mission. Amen that is Good News!!

Is 19:5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

As I read this I had my mind turned to what I have learned about the real world Egypt, the Nile River, that it is the life of Egypt. And when God placed that on my heart He revealed to me what these verses mean to my life now. Just as if God were to dry up the literal waters in Egypt how it would cause Egypt to begin to die, the fruits, and all that need to survive from the waters, so to is it the same with God drying up the waters to my Fleshly Egypt to cause it to die.

What I am going thru is for a point and a purpose and God is cutting off the water that brings life to my Flesh. The defenses that my Flesh throws up to protect itself, to keep it alive and constantly attacking me and the will of God, He is drying that up as well. God is using these situations to kill off and destroy all the Fruits of my Flesh.

It hasnt been a pleasant experience, it hurts to have the things my Flesh needs to survive begin to be cut off, but when I start to see what the point and the purpose of these things are, I see that the pain is going to be worth it because it is leading to my Flesh drying up and it's defenses being moved away!!!

Is 19:8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

As I read back over these verses, I could see these fishermen casting out their nets and not being able to draw back anything of substance and what I began to see here is that these fishermen are those negative thoughts that have hounded me so much in my life and situation. These thoughts they cast out onto my Flesh, they derive their substance from the misdeeds and failures of my Flesh and they bring my mind into disarray, but God is choking out my Flesh, drying it up so that when my thoughts try and go fishing on that Flesh, they are not going to be able to pull back anything.

The purpose of those negative thoughts are to keep me in bondage to my Flesh, but the Word says here that God by drying up my Flesh is going to break the purpose of those negative thoughts. I am so looking forward to the end result of Gods Work in this area of my life!!!

Is 19:15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

Amen, how glorious is that to hear!!! God is going to get us to a point where there will be no work for our Flesh to do any longer in our lives!!! This may only be fully completed once we move into Heaven but I am trusting that God is moving in my life in such a way to exceedingly decrease the ability for my Flesh to work any longer!!

Is 19:16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

Here is where God really began to stir my heart, where I could really feel the Spirit moving as He lead me thru these Scriptures. In that day, well what day is that? Is it some End Times day? Do we have to wait God knows how long for this to take place? No not at all, in that day is NOW. It was when God revealed this to me, THAT was the day, for you when you read it, if you hadn't already understood what was going on, guess what TODAY is THAT DAY!!!

What is God telling us in these verses? In that day, when God had cut off the supply of water or the things in our lives that are feeding our Flesh, when He dries it up so that it has no power, so that it has become worthless, so that it dissolves out of your way, in THAT DAY, your Flesh will be going from the mighty powerful thing in your life to being weak and afraid just like the Women in Egypt. God is going to move so mightily in our lives over our Flesh that instead of it boasting and shouting in our ears, it is going to be scared to speak up because it knows the Power of the Lord is on it.

Is 19:19 In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.
20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

In that day, which is today, right in the middle of our Flesh, God is building an Altar and that Altar where He is at, it is going to be a sign and a witness not only to our Flesh as to who is really in Power but to the rest of the World. This Altar will be set up to declare exactly who that Great Savior is that has Delivered us, and that is Jesus Christ!!!

Is 19:21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it.
22 And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

In that day, which is TODAY, it says our Flesh is going to vow a vow unto the Lord and not only vow it, it is going to perform it!!! Praise the Lord, it is amazing to know that God is going to bring our Flesh into Subjection so that it can stop warring so powerfully against us and that He is going to bring it into Submission so that it can begin to perform the things which He would will it to do, all for His Glory!!!

God smites our Flesh, and in the middle of the smiting it is sure to hurt, it is sure to be painful but thank God it's not just to leave us there, but He smites AND He heals, all for the purpose of causing us, and our Flesh to return back to Him where we shall be intreated and He shall be intreated by us!!

I am thankful today for Salvation, to know that God is working in my favor for a point and a purpose, to destroy the thing that is my biggest enemy and that is my own self, my own Flesh and my own mind. I am praising Him right now for what is surely to come, when I know my Flesh is under His subjection for His Glory and my Good!!!

I am thankful for God showing this to me today thru His Holy and Precious Word, it has made the trials much easier to endure, when I can have some clarity and see a finish line and the prize that awaits me!!! I am excited to reach that goal and I hope you are too, because that is an exciting and wonderful place that we will be in and at!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord! If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

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Continually
Influencing
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Living
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Gal 5: 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

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Over the past few weeks, maybe a month, God has been putting a thought on my heart over and over, so much so I can not shake it whatsoever, and it started from a place in time where I truly wondered what is it that the World needs more of? I can't tell you why that popped in my head, but it was there, replaying over and over, what is it that the World really needs to have more of?

I began to think on that, dwell on that and there were a few things that came to mind. One of them is maybe the people in the World need more money. Isn't that what we are conditioned to think or believe, if I just had more money then the problems I am facing could be alleviated. I mean even I have thought that same thing, man I am so broke right now, if I just had more money then my life would be so much better, so much easier.

Then I look to Hollywood, a sect of people who have all the money in the World and I look at their lives, and when I examine them truly, it's very obvious that their lives are just as if not more screwed up than mine. Sure they may have a bigger house, better car, trips, but their lives all reflect a shallow existence, an existence that cries out for help. An existence that proves that they struggle as much if not more with the things those of us who are not millionaires deal with on a daily basis.

So money really isn't what the World needs more of, it doesn't actually help to address the problems we all face, problems like loneliness, unworthiness, sadness and depression. Problems like anger and bitterness, lust, addictions and violent reactions. Money may cover up these problems temporarily but inevitably they will rear their head once again, and we have to figure out how to confront them.

As I continued to think about this, suddenly it was as if God grabbed a bullhorn and just shouted to my heart, what the World needs more of is the Gospel. And for days that thought has been stirring on my heart, what does the World need more of, the Gospel!!! The Gospel is mentioned 98 times in the Word of God. Taking out the times it is repeated in the same verse, there are 93 verses that speak of the Gospel. That is a lot of verses that have the Gospel specifically named in them. If something is mentioned that many times in the New Testament, then I think we ought to pay attention to it!!!

Some may wonder, well what is the Gospel, and the quickest answer to that is that the Gospel is the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the absolute embodiment of what the Gospel is. The Gospel solely revolves around Jesus Christ, who He was, what He did, how He lived, why He died, and when He Resurrected!!!

A bit more in detail of the Gospel is that Sin entered the World, and this Sin which we all take part in at some point, has caused us to be Separated from God. If we were to die in this state of Separation of God, then we will forever remain in this state which is called Hell. However God loved us so much that He became Man in the Form of the Son of God, Jesus Christ and lived perfectly so that He could lay down His Life as a Sacrifice, taking up our Sins upon Himself and the Wrath we all are due for our Sins on the Cross.

After He died on the Cross, because of His Blood He made Atonement for us, reconciling us back to God and 3 days later He Resurrected, showing that the Sacrifice was Perfect and Accepted by God, and proving that He had conquered Sin, Death and Hell. He then Ascended to the Right Hand of the Father in Power and Glory and is now making intercession for us day and night.

That is the basics of the Gospel, however does that really answer the question what does the World need more of? What does it mean that the World needs more of the Gospel? As I asked God what does that look like, what does that mean, He laid this upon my heart, What the World needs is to find themselves in the Gospel!!!

That changed everything, it went from this abstract thought, this far away idea, to becoming a very personal answer. What does it look like when YOU find YOURSELF in the Gospel, and that is what I want to expand upon today. I want you to ask yourself that question, where do I find myself in the Gospel. I want the Gospel to be PERSONAL to you individually, I want you to identify yourself in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As I go forward, these are just some of the things revealed to me about finding ourselves in the Gospel. Some of them may describe you perfectly, some of them may kind of hit home, or you may not see yourself in them at all. Regardless I know for a fact that if you come to God with an honest heart and you pray a sincere prayer asking Him, Lord how can I find myself in the Gospel, He will without a doubt show you exactly where you are in the Gospel.

Every person, regardless of Race, Culture or Creed, regardless of upbringing, regardless of Class, Wealth, Prestige or lack thereof, no matter what you have gone through or endured, absolutely every person in the World can be and is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!

I believe there are certain aspects of Life that we all share in, certain things in which we all can relate to, and one of these things is physical sickness. I have been blessed so far in that I haven't had to go through or endure any major medical problems, but that doesn't mean sickness hasn't touched my life in redefining ways. Back in 2014 my Mother was diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer, and I watched as that horrible disease took her bit by bit until she was a shell of her former self. I watched her fight the best fight, I watched her struggle and endure, I watched her put everything into overcoming that monster that was raging within her body.

Today as I write this I am watching my Father start a battle with Cancer as well, it's not as pervasive as my Mother's Cancer but I just went with him to surgery and watched as he had to have radiation treatment in his eye. I have never seen my Father like this before, he is a tough man, one who has been in control of everything, the one who has been there at all times for me and my Mother, to bail us out, to stand by us, to help us no matter what. And now he is in a position where he is in need, where he is having to look to others to help him out, he is facing something of which he has no real control over.

Can I ask, is that you today? Are you struggling right now in the midst of a battle with a Physical Disease? Are you watching someone you know, love and care about try and fight and endure a Major Sickness? Is this something that hits right on the head of the nail? Something that hits close to home? If it is I want to show you something, something you may have never noticed. Something you may have never heard. I want to show you yourself in the Gospel.

Mark 5:24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

What is it that we see in this woman's life? In the events that take place here? So here we see a woman who has an issue of blood, it doesn't describe the exact issue she has but we can see it was a serious issue, a serious Physical Ailment. We also see that it was something that utterly consumed her life for an extremely long time, 12 years in fact. I can't imagine enduring and fighting something that overtook my life for 12 entire years, and it was all to no avail whatsoever

Look at the toll this aliment took on this poor woman's life. She had given up 12 years of her life to this issue, and she clearly was frantic and had been looking everywhere for the help she needed. She went to doctor after doctor, day after day, week after week, month after month searching for something, anything that could help her get over this terrible disease. The Scriptures say she literally went broke, she spent her whole living on finding a cure for what she was dealing with.

She had come to the end of her rope, she had come to the end of the road, she had looked everywhere, high and low, in the valleys and mountains, behind every closed door. She has spent all her time, and every last penny looking and here we find her at the very end of all she had.

Let me ask is that you today? Have you been dealing with something, but can't find any help no matter where you turn? Is it consuming you and even when you pour all your time, and investments into it, nothing avails, it only gets worse and worse? I can relate, I have been there, I have watched love ones be there, but what did this woman do?

She heard of Jesus, that's the start of everything!!! Someone, somewhere declared to her something about this man named Jesus!!! I don't know how she came to hear of Him, I don't even know when she came to hear of Him, but it is clear that not only had she heard about Him, but she heard of what He could do for her!!!

That is what I am here today for, to declare to you this man named Jesus, to tell you all about what He has done for me, what He has done for others and what He can and will do for you today, if only you come to Him just as this woman did!!!

We see this woman come to the end of herself and have finally been in a position to give up on the World. If we really want to get to Jesus we too need to get to that place, a place where we give up on ourselves, give up on the World, where all we have left is only this man named Jesus. Not only had she finally came to the end of herself and her hope in the things of this world, she also had a purposeful determination.

She had already determined two things, one is that she WAS going to get to Jesus, the second was that she WAS going to be healed. How can we know she had this purposeful determination? Look at verse 24, it says much people followed him, and thronged him. There was a great crowd around Jesus and in my mind's eye I see a sickly older woman, can you see her, starting on the outside of this enormous crowd all surrounding Jesus. And when she heard of Jesus, she set it in her heart that no matter how big the crowd, no matter how strong the others may be, no matter how many times I may trip and fall, I AM going to get to Jesus.

I am telling you if we want help today, we too need to have that purposeful determination to get to Jesus. I don't know what specific things that crowd represents to you, but what I can tell you is that you have to purpose in your heart that you will be fighting through these obstacles no matter what and you will make it to Jesus. The second thing and the most important thing in her purposeful determination is that she had already proposed in her heart that if she can just TOUCH Him she WOULD be healed.

It wasn't if I get His attention I might be healed, if I could just touch Him then maybe He might help a little bit. If I can get Him to notice me, I can ask Him to please help and then maybe there could be a possibility that He might slow it down. I mean look at that purpose and that determination, she didn't even look to ASK Him to heal her, she straight up purposed that if she gets to just TOUCH Him she WILL be healed.

We need to come to Jesus in that same manner today, with that same purposeful determination, that when we get to Him, if we can just touch Him then He WILL heal us positively. Just imagine yourself on the outside of that Crowd, and I want you to think of whatever it is that you know has been keeping you from Jesus, from getting the help you need and I want you to see yourself moving through that crowd. See yourself going under arms, sliding around people, stepping over feet, getting closer and closer until you are right there by Jesus, can you see Him?

Now I want you to purpose it in your heart that when you reach out and touch Him, that you will get the healing you need, to cast away all the doubts you have and believe that if you touch Jesus He will heal you. Now see your hand reach out to Him, and touch Him, imagine the feel of His robe and the virtue coursing from Him into you.

If you can imagine this in your mind's eye, I want to tell you that there you are finding yourself in the Gospel today!!!


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There are some of us who may not be dealing with Physical Ailments today, instead our Ailments are Spiritual and Emotional, things not as easily seen. I have personally been affected by these Ailments, in many ways throughout my life. And I don't know how these things may have affected you if you have dealt with them, but I know that many times they make me feel as if I am completely Spiritually, Mentally and Emotionally Crippled. It's like there is no way I can get over this Depression, I can't even get out of bed, how can I think to get to any help. This Anxiety and Worry is so bad about everything, I can't even sort my thoughts out as they run a million miles a minute throughout my head, how can I possibly stop for a moment to figure out how to get the help I really need?

I've lived this, and I have seen it lived out in those I love, and it is like we can see that there is help, we can even see others get help, but it's like we can't even get to the help we so desperately need. Does this sound like you today? Is this something that is hitting the nail on the head, starting to hit home? If it is I want to show you something, something you may have never noticed. Something you may have never heard. I want to show you yourself in the Gospel.

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

What is it we see in this man’s life? We see a man that had been suffering for 38 years in his condition, and what's worse is that this man could SEE the help he needed, it was just in front of him. He sat there day after day, month after month, year after year with help right next to him but never could get into the place of help. We see that he was alone, there was never another person there for him, he was isolated and cut off from others. On top of that not only could he see where the help was, and knew where to go, he saw OTHERS getting help all the time.

Can you see that poor man, sitting outside this pool, watching the Angels stir up the pool, getting excited that help was right there and then watch as someone else who didn't seem to be as bad off as himself walk right up and get help? Think if that was you, what kind of emotions would that bring up in you? Sadness and Depression maybe? Anger and Frustration? Fear of never being helped? Jealousy and Envy? As I am listing these things off, as you imagine being that man and the emotions he felt, I want you to think, are you actually the one trapped in these emotions, these Spiritual and Mental Ailments?

If that's you, if God is showing you through His Word and these writings, this preaching, that you are in the same position Mentally, Spiritually and Emotionally as this man was, then I want to draw your attention to how this man got the help He needed!! The first thing is that this man was honest, he was honest about his position before Jesus. Can I say that some of us today need to live out what that man did?

There are people who absolutely refuse to be honest with themselves and with God about their needs, about their position before Him. They are full of Pride and Self glory, they believe they are fine and dandy where they are. They put on this front like nothing is ever the matter with them. There are Christians that are just too “Christian” to even admit their need for help, they are just perfect and fine, they say as they lie to themselves and everyone around them.

However you KNOW that's not True, you know the feelings you have swirling around your mind and heart right now, so BE HONEST before God, tell Him exactly where you are, exactly how you feel, and cast all your cares on Him!!!

So first that man was honest, second is that man listened to Jesus. Jesus first asked Him a question, will you be made whole? I can tell you that that man didn't understand who he was speaking to, because if he did he could have just said yes and it would have been done for him. But at least he listened to Jesus, when Jesus spoke, he acknowledged Him. I want to ask you, are you listening for Jesus today? Do you even acknowledge Him when He speaks? Sometimes we get so distracted, we get so off focus of what really matters and so focused on our own Ailments that we can't even be in a place to hear Jesus speak to us.

Not only did this man hear what Jesus said, he then listened and had Faith in what Jesus commanded him to do. Jesus tells him Rise up, take your bed and walk, I want to tell you that Jesus is speaking to you today, are you ready to hear Him? Are you ready to listen and then do what He is telling you to do?

I mean the first thing Jesus told this man was RISE UP.

Don't you think that's a good place to start for us who are suffering from these Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Ailments that have us bogged down and trapped, feeling helpless and crippled? Rise up!!! Sounds simple, but it can seem hard, but the real key here is BELIEVING that it is Jesus telling you to do this. If this man didn't believe that Jesus could actually get him to Rise up, he would have died crippled. However this man believed and then took a step on Faith, he ROSE UP because he believed that Jesus was telling him to do so and that whatever Jesus would tell him to do Jesus would equip him with the ability to do it.

The same applies for us, I know Jesus is calling us to Rise Up today, and I know that if we believe this and step out on Faith that He is calling us, that He will also equip us with the ability to actually Rise Up!!! And that is something that applies to every call Jesus puts on our lives, Jesus isn't going to call us into something He wouldn't equip us to follow thru in.

So I want you to imagine in your minds eye Jesus standing before you as you sit there in your crippled state of whatever Spiritual Mental and Emotional Aliment you have been battling with for years upon years. And I want you to see yourself being Honest with Jesus about exactly where you are, how you feel, and casting all of your cares on Him.

Then I want you to imagine Jesus looking down on you, smiling and then saying to you in a caring and stern voice of confidence, Rise Up and Walk. See yourself standing up, rising above these problems and walking right over and away from them with Jesus leading you by the hand.

If you can imagine this in your mind's eye, I want to tell you that there you are finding yourself in the Gospel today!!!

There are two other things I want to show you in Scripture, one of them applies to every single person that has ever existed and the other doesn't but they both have their starting point in the same exact place.

Matt 27:38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

What is it we see in these Scriptures? We see Jesus being led away to be Crucified, and I just want you to imagine that scene in your minds eye, really see the events unfolding. Can you see Jesus being Judged and then handed over for execution? The heat of the day beating down on Him as the sweat rolls down His face? Can you see the dust and the dirt on Him as they begin to lead Him away? Can you see them begin to beat and scourge Him, the blood drenching His garments with each terrible blow?

Can you see the Soldiers as they strip Him down and put a Scarlet Robe on Him, mocking Him, laughing at Him as they pretend to worship Him? Can you see them press the crown of thorns onto His head, the blood streaming down His face as He looks into the eyes of the men that curse and belittle Him?

Can you see Jesus start the Journey to the place of His Death, being made to carry that huge heavy portion of His Cross? Can you see Him stumbling, tripping, falling as He begins to die, trying to carry that weight on His Shoulders?

Can you see them arrive at the place of Skull, at Calvary as the men strap Jesus to the Cross, as the Nail Him to Cross? Can you see the Nails being driven into His hands one by one? Can you see them raise Him up as He hangs there struggling to breath?

Can you see that crowd forming around Jesus as He is there dying on the Cross? Can you hear the shouts, the taunts, the laughter, the mocking, the deriding? Can you feel the hate being poured out against Him, the anger of the people in the Crowd as they yell and scream at Him?

Can you see the 2 thieves that hang on each side of Him? Can you see their Blood, can you see their tears?

I want you to look at that crowd, I want you to see them, what are they wearing? What sandals do they have on? What color eyes, and hair? I want you to really concentrate on the crowd that surrounds Jesus, that mocks Him and taunts Him and screams at Him, what do you see there?

As you are looking at this crowd I want you to zero in on one face, I want you to see that face full of hate, spittle on their lips as they yell and mock Jesus. As you concentrate on this face I want you to see the details slowly start coming into focus, like a fog being lifted, and just as you wipe it away after a hot shower, I want you to see your face reflecting back at you.

Why do I want you to see yourself in that Crowd? Because the fact of the matter is, each and every one of us not only would have been, but were in that crowd on that day. We were there pouring our hate onto Christ, pouring our derision onto Him, mocking Him, throwing things at Him, laughing as the Nails were driven into each hand. Spitting on Him as He hung there absorbing all the things we were projecting onto Him.

“Unless you see yourself standing there with the shrieking crowd, full of hostility and hatred for the holy and innocent Lamb of God, you don’t really understand the nature and depth of your sin or the necessity of the cross.” ― C.J. Mahaney

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” ― John R.W. Stott

The Truth lies within these quotes, we must needs to see ourselves in that Crowd who mocked Jesus Christ, we must confess our position, our complicitness in the act of putting Christ on the Cross. The culmination of Jesus Christs life is found upon that Cross, the culmination of the finding oneself in the Gospel resides right there in the crowd that stood by and watched the Sinless and Perfect Son of God take upon Himself all the Sins of the World, all the Wrath of the Father upon that Cross. If you see yourself there then you are finding yourself in the Gospel!!!

Now the fact is, some people will remain right there as onlookers, as participants in the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They stand there just as guilty as the literal men who drove the nails into His hands, that drove the spear into His side, that beat Him and scourged Him. But I want to show you one last thing, and my hope out of all of this is that if you haven't already that you will come to see yourself here in the Gospel.

Luke 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

There were 2 men that hung on the sides of Jesus, one at the right and one at the left. Can you see them more clearly now? Can you see them beaten, sweating, bloody? Can you see their tear stained faces mixed with dirt and blood? Can you see the two of them there, as they watch Christ die with them? I am telling you today that one of them represents you in the Crowd and one represents you Saved by the Blood being shed by that man that hangs next to you on the Cross.

Which one are you going to identify with today? My prayer, my hope is that you identify with the one who is Saved, and if you want to do that I am going to show you how by the illustration of one of the thieves. Now it is of no coincidence that the men beside Jesus were of the same background, and it is of no coincidence that both of them were thieves.

Throughout the Bible and in most every Society thieves have been one of the most hated types of people. I mean thievery is listed as one of the 10 Commandments. What is it to be a thief, think about it, it is to survive by taking from others the fruit of their hard work. When someone steals $20 from someone, in reality what he has stolen is a person's time and value. Someone somewhere had to put in their time and effort to be given that $20. When someone steals that $20 they just took from that man their time and effort, and the fact is while they may find another way to get themselves a $20 bill back, they are never going to recover that time and effort.

When we look at the grander scale of things we can see an Analogy here on that hillside, where 2 men who are thieves hang alongside Jesus. These men represent every person in existence and the fact is every one of us have stolen the very precious life of Jesus Christ. We have taken from Him His Life by our Sins. Jesus Christ never deserved to die, never, but we stole His Life by our Sins that He had to give His Life to Atone for. So it is of no wonder that thieves stood by Christ as He paid the penalty for our Sins!!!

It's of no coincidence that they both had the same background because as I said they both represent Humanity, however there is a distinction between them, one of them remained Lost, and one of them was Saved, so my question is, as you look upon these thieves that hang beside Jesus, which one of them is you?

If you want to be the one Saved then you MUST follow that man's example and the first thing he did was realized who he was. He realized that the Wrath being poured out on Him was justly due, if you ever want to be Saved then you MUST come to a point where you truly believe and know that you are a Sinner on whom the Judgement of God is justly due!!!

Once this man admitted his position before God, he then recognized who Jesus was. If you want to be Saved then you too MUST recognize who Jesus is.

The man recognized that Jesus was Sinless and there is only one who is Sinless and that is God Himself. This man recognized that Jesus was Perfect and unblamable, if you wish to be Saved you must come to a place where you recognize and believe that Jesus is God who took on Flesh and was Perfect and Sinless.

After the man admitted his position before God and recognized that Jesus was God and Sinless he stepped out in Faith and believed that Jesus was taking his punishment, and called on Jesus to bring him into the Kingdom. If you wish to be saved today then you MUST also believe in Faith that Jesus came to take up your Sins on the Cross, to take up your Punishment on the Cross and you must call out to Him believing in Faith that He will Save and Deliver you from Death and Hell and bring you into His Kingdom!!!

I pray today that you started out seeing yourself in that Crowd that was yelling out Crucify Christ, but I hope that you end the day as the thief on the Cross, believing on Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and asking Him will you please remember me when you come into your Kingdom!!!

We all have issues we are dealing with, we all have battles and struggles, but I know that when we take the time to find ourselves in the Gospel, then we will begin to overcome these issues, battles and struggles and we will come out Victorious, giving God the Praise He is due!!!

I hope today each of you find yourselves in the Gospel!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord! If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

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Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

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