Worship call 0718

Luke 12:39-40 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man comes at an hour when you think not. When studying the Jewish roots of many of Yeshua's (Jesus') parables, and I came across an interesting saying from a Jewish Rabbi that I believe has something to teach us. Rabbi Eliezer said, "Repent one day before your death." His disciples asked him, "Does then one know what day he will die?" "Then all the more reason to repent today", he replied, "lest he die tomorrow, and thus his whole life is spent in repentance." When I first became a believer, I thought by simply dealing with my outward sins that I could live a state of sinlessness. But it wasn't long before the Lord began revealing and dealing with my inward sins and attitudes. Now, and the longer I walk with Him, I understand more and more the meaning of daily repentance! If we truly want to be free and walk in His liberty, we cannot avoid this crucial requirement for freedom. Because we cannot receive His forgiveness without it, repentance must be a way of life for us [1 John 1:9]. Friends, staying close to the Lord is His heart's desire for us...but one of the main conditions for it is walking in regular repentance. When we walk in humility and truthfulness about our sin -- we are walking in the light, and the blood of Jesus keeps cleansing us from sin. In that condition we are so much more able to love the Lord and those around us -- with Him, touching one life at a time. So, let's lay down our pride and turn to Him every day....with genuine repentance ... and then we'll be walking in daily revival! Your family in the Lord with much agape love, George, Baht Rivka, & Obadiah Baltimore, Maryland

And this is another fine day in the Lord

John 14:6 (NASB95) — 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus presents in his sermon on the Mount teaches the way. Showing the path of righteousness and the way that we are imagers of Him are to walk. And if we carry his image we are walking righteously and in truth and it is our life that we live. The integrity of such a Christian is unquestionable.

Matthew 5:33–37 (NASB95) — 33 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

We are imagers of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s important that others know that, and it is even more important that we remember it.

When it comes to the commandment, “Thou shall not take the Lord’s name in vain,” it has more to do with up holding God’s image than it does using God’s name to cuss which isn’t good either.

You call yourself a Christian and you act like the devil, you have broken the commandment. This principle is highlighted with an up coming verse

Matthew 5:48 (NASB95) — 48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The one thing that people see in us on display in word and deed is our integrity or lack thereof. There should be no question of the Christian’s integrity.

Therefore, when seeking to validate integrity which is the imaging of God and to look for something to qualify it as truthful…. Yes, it is from the evil one. You are suggesting the image that you are lifting up is so feeble that it requires a little or much extra to be qualified with an oath or vow to be trusted.

Wear Christ. uphold his image, and if the world who does not know the light questions your Godly integrity, let them take it up with the Lord.

Matthew 5:40–44 (NASB95) — 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighborand hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Big Challenge here. Loving your enemy covers the full spectrum of relationships. We have covered Love as being connected not with our feelings, but with virtue. Agape then can be defined as Virtue Love. We love on the basis of who and what God is and not upon one’s own merit. Another way of saying it, is that our devotion to God who is attractive allows us to love others who are less attractive unconditionally.

Being teens, I remember you wanted to be a unique you. Someone set out from the crowd. You might want to wear your hair differently, wear clothes that set you apart. Piercings and tattoos are the things of this day. But I’ve noticed that the more one looks to be set apart in this world by their own effort, that more the person actually looks like everybody else.

I told my children once that if they wanted a unique image, to stand outside of the Crowd then image Christ who himself stood apart. And it is he here that tells each of us how to do so. In your life even the way you handle injustices. It is a tall order to do and at the same time loving your oppressors.

Oh, injustice is a great, test is it not? To be wrongfully taken to court. And it grits us to have to carry a burden for your enemy.

And there is Christ. can we call what happen to him just? And the cross he carried was it not yours? And did he not go the extra mile when he prayed to the Father to forgive us for we do not know what we do.

As the disciples asks Jesus how to pray and Jesus said, “Pray this way,” I ask Lord, “Teach me Lord to walk in your way,” and He does through His word and by the Spirit of God.

Matthew 5:44–45 (NASB95) — 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven;

You are sons of the Kingdom. Born again. The second birth not only takes us out of the pits of hell but it makes us residence of the Kingdom. It was Jesus who told Nicodemus that he could not even see the kingdom lest he was born again.

That new birth makes us Children of God.

Chips off old block as it were.

In the beatitudes it was the Peacemakers who is called the Sons of God.

The peacemaker takes the Hit on the one cheek and turns the cheek that it may be also struck. It is the peacemaker who quietly takes the insults, the humiliation, the injustice. The peace maker does not return evil for evil but love.

In dealing with the opposition, that is the imagers of the Serpents seed we read in John

John 8:44 (NASB95) — 44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Not so with those who are residence of the Kingdom to come. There is a different mode of operation. One that causes others to take note. Causes some even one’s enemies to say;

“I want what you got!”

Paul’s ministry was not only for those outside of prison walls, but I am sure that he himself took opportunity to speak to his own guards in things concerning Christ.

We are to love our enemy. Those whom we love we show and tell of Christ to the vilest, the way Jesus did.

Matthew 5:45 (NASB95) —for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Common Grace.

The unbeliever is covered by grace that gives the unbeliever every opportunity to hear the message of Christ that he might respond in be saved within the parenthesis of one’s life. every breath, every heartbeat is curtesy of the Grace of God. ears to hear, eyes to see is curtesy of the grace of God.

IN partnership with God, we are being grace out as well, with the same grace have the opportunity to Love our neighbor as our selves and to throw the lifeline of the Gospel to those in need.

Matthew 5:46–47 (NASB95) — 46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

The offspring of the living God loves the way God loves.

1 Corinthians 13:1–13 (NASB95) — 1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

We do a lot of stumbling as a Child. and there by God’s grace we have our training wheels we learn as believers to love uncondionally. Not the way the world loves, but the way God loves. As mature in the faith we learn that the highest love is not emotional or is dependent upon the attractiveness of others. But it is a virtue that reflects the character of God.

Take the time to look at how Paul describes Love and ask the question

Where is the sentimentality that comes from the heart. where does love condition itself to as certain one’s and excludes others? Where are the emotions.

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