Faith is Trust - April 29, 2014

Scripture: Romans 9-10

30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. 31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. 32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law[o] instead of by trusting in him. - Romans 9
10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”[e] 12 Jew and Gentile[f] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[g]
14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” -Romans 10

Message:

Made right by Faith and not by Keeping the Law.

Observation/Promise:

It is by believing in your heart that you are made right with GOD and by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Messiah that you are saved. We cannot be saved by trying to earn it, we cannot earn salvation. It's not by our own efforts, by religiously following the traditions of the law. For we know that deep inside we cannot keep the law, we covet when we cannot be happy for others, we kill when we are angry about our brothers. But even with our human evil nature, we trust GOD to save us, it is His Spirit that enables us to overcome the law. It is not by our own human effort but it is the divine Spirit of GOD working in us changing and transforming us to glorify GOD.

Application/Command:

Believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved. Do not harden your heart but trust in the goodness and promises of GOD. We are not saved for nothing but we are saved always for GOD's purpose, for His glory and for the good news to be spread around you. Let your works and words glorify GOD for what comes out of you is really what is inside of you. Real Faith can be measured by how much you trust GOD with every area of your life, with your finances, with your time, with your family, with everything you hold dear and important. If you have faith in GOD then you will trust Him to bring everything according to His will and perfect time.

True Obedience - March 17, 2014

Scripture: Deuteronomy 29-31
17 (18) So let there not be among you a man, woman, family or tribe whose heart turns away today from Adonai our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Let there not be among you a root bearing such bitter poison and wormwood. 18 (19) If there is such a person, when he hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself secretly, saying to himself, ‘I will be all right, even though I will stubbornly keep doing whatever I feel like doing; so that I, although “dry,” [sinful,] will be added to the “watered” [righteous].’ 19 (20) But Adonai will not forgive him. Rather, the anger and jealousy of Adonai will blaze up against that person. Every curse written in this book will be upon him. Adonai will blot out his name from under heaven. 20 (21) Adonai will single him out from all the tribes of Isra’el to experience what is bad in all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the Torah. - Deuteronomy 29

Message:
True obedience starts from the heart not just by doing it or pretending to do it.

Observation/Promise:
Nobody can fool GOD and continue to do whatever they feel like doing and get away from it. You will know in your heart if you are truly obeying or just pretending. Whatever it is that you are struggling with, bring it all to GOD and let HIM heal you, let HiM help you deal with the pain of your life. HE is all that you ever need. When we refuse to deal with our struggles, we try to burry them but that is just a way to pretend that everything is alright when it is not. Do not go into this trap, be real with GOD. See to it that no anger or pain becomes a bitter root that grows deep in your heart. 

Command/Application:
Free yourself from the struggles and pain of the past. Let GOD help you. Let GOD be your GOD, let Him make you be all that HE wants you to be. You just need to surrender. Do not let your anger, your pain or your past be the cause for all that you do in life. Do let them control you, free yourself in GOD's power. 

The Greatness of GOD and His love for mankind

23 Thus will I demonstrate My greatness and My holiness, and I will be recognized, understood, and known in the eyes of many nations; yes, they shall know that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].

^{- Ezekiel 38}

25 “So now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will end the captivity of my people[b]; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation! 26 They will accept responsibility for[c] their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. 27 When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. 28 Then my people will know that I am theLord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave none of my people behind.29 And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the SovereignLord, have spoken!”

- Ezekiel 39

Message/Observation/Promise:

The LORD wants to demonstrate, show and reveal His power to mankind because He is GOD and He wants to be worshipped and be known for who He really is. He is the one and only true GOD of all creation, HE is the uncreated being because HE is the creator. He wants to known by men, to be understood by the finite minds of men that He is the GOD who is looking for people who can be loyal and obedient to Him. The LORD wants to show His power by ending our captivity by anything that has enslaved us, be it work, money or anything that has taken most of our time and effort. We are captives of these things and these things have become our god. He wants to save us from our captors by setting us free from anything that entangles us. He wants to bring us home where we truly belong, and home is the state of contentment and joy in love with Him. But in order for us to find our way home, we need to seek the way first, we have to find the truth, and that is in Yeshua - the way the truth and the life.

Command/Application:

GOD is looking for those who are loyal or faithful to Him. So GOD's would want us to be in devotion to Him. To be devoted to someone we need to spend time and exert effort to be with that someone, to know that someone, and become in love with the someone for us to be devoted to that someone. GOD is looking for those who will do what HE says, those who obey Him and His word. We can be devoted to something but without doing anything that will truly show our devotion when there are no actions nor results. We cannot love GOD with our words but only with our hearts.

SOAP on 2 Kings 18

SOAP 

Scripture

5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. 6 He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute. 8 He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its territory, from their smallest outpost to their largest walled city.
- 2 Kings 18

Observation:

Those who trust in GOD are those who will worship GOD alone, not relying on the power of mankind, organization or group to help them but depending only on the unseen most powerful GOD. Those who trust in GOD are faithful to HIM, obeying all His commands, and never worrying about what others might do. Those who trust in GOD are blessed because GOD is with them, granting favor and blessing in all that they do. They will be set free from the oppression of their enemies because GOD will fight for them. They will not only have freedom but they become conquerors.

Application:

I will do my best to trust GOD, to worship Him with all of my heart. To not let anything come between my time with GOD, to prioritize my relationship and devotion to Him. To trust GOD is to have no fear of what harm may come my way knowing that GOD holds everything in HIS hands and that He loves me, whatever He allows to happen in my life is best for me. When I trust GOD, HE will deliver me from my enemies, anyone who ever tries to oppress me will not be successful. When I trust GOD, I become more than a free man, I am a conqueror.

Prayer:

Dear Abba my GOD, Please help me to trust you, because it is hard for me to do so especially when I cannot see you. Help me to cling on to Your word and to devote my life only to Your purpose because when You are my priority, nothing on earth will ever shake me or hold me captive for by Your Holy Spirit I am more than a conqueror! In Jesus, Amen!