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GOD IS! … AM I? The
Bible says, “…God is with thee in all that thou doest:” (Genesis 21:22) Questions to ask yourself: Am I with
God in all that I do? Am I following
His leading or my own? Am I in His
perfect will for me or do I have my own plans?
Who is really in charge of my life?
Who do I want to be in charge of my life? Me or the Lord. Am I with God
in all that I do? Notice that I didn’t say, is God with me, in all that I
do? I said, am I with God. If I am in God’s will and doing what He wants
me to do then God will be with me.
I don’t have to worry about where He is going to be. It’s me that I have to worry about. Why?
Because my old nature is opposed to doing what is right. If
anyone understood this it was Paul.
Look what he has to say in what I call the great “do, do” chapter of the
Bible. Turn to the book of Romans chapter seven. Let’s start with verse fifteen. (Romans 7:15-23) For that which I do I allow
not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not,
I consent unto the law that it is good.
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. For I know that in me (that is,
in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how
to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would
not, that I do. Now if I do
that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me. I find then a law,
that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the
inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. When you think about Paul after his conversion you think
of a fire and brimstone kind of preacher, a man who was almost martyred for his
faith not once but many, many times and someone who was a righteous and godly
man. He was all of these things
but he also wrestled with his flesh and his old nature. You can tell from these verses that it was a
problem that was very real to him and that he had to deal with constantly. I know from experience in the ministry myself that after
every great victory for God in a person’s life there is usually a great defeat
from the devil. It is somewhat comforting to know that the apostle Paul
went through the same kinds of things that we do in our Christian lives
today. If he hadn’t then we wouldn’t
know how to handle them ourselves. For
it is in the writings of Paul that we find many verses that not only comfort us
but also, edify us and exhort us to stay in the battle. Am I in His
perfect will for me or do I have my own plans? As Christians we are
not here to do what we want to do.
Even Jesus did not come to this earth to “do His own thing.” The Bible says in John 6:38 “For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Now if Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was
willing to submit to His father, and do what God wanted Him to, what excuse
could we possibly have for not being as obedient to God? As
Christians we are children of God.
Children are commanded in the Bible to do one thing and that is to be
obedient. (Colossians
3:20) Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is
well pleasing unto the Lord. God is our parent. He is our Father. Jesus said in John 14:15,
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Do we love God? One of His commandments was to go and preach the gospel to all
creatures. In John 4:34 “Jesus
saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to
finish his work.” Jesus “meat”
or what sustained Him spiritually was to do God’s will. The work that He talks about here is the
salvation of souls. The greatest work
that we can accomplish as Christians is to see people get saved. This is God’s will for every Christian. Who is really
in charge of my life? Who do I want to
be in charge of my life? Me or the
Lord. The Bible says
man cannot serve two masters. We cannot
walk in the flesh and in the Spirit at the same time. We cannot desire the things of the world and the things of the
Lord at the same time. If we are to
grow spiritually in our Christian walk then there will come a time when we have
to make a choice as to who we are going to follow and what we are going to do. The
Bible says, “…God is a jealous God…“ (Deuteronomy 6:15) Questions to ask yourself: Am I jealous for the
things of God or the things of the world?
God wants all of me, does He truly have it? Is there any part of me that I am still holding on to? Can God use me fully if I am not fully
surrendered to Him? If you
really want to serve the Lord there will be a price to pay and there will be
those who will oppose you. So settle it
in your heart before you make your decision (Luke
21:14) then do what the Lord wants you to do. The
Bible says, “…God is in all things that we call upon him
for…” (Deuteronomy 4:7) Questions
to ask yourself: Am I in everything that God wants me to be in? Am I faithful in my church attendance, in my
prayer life, my Bible reading, tithing to the Lords’ work, in soul-winning and
witnessing? Will He bless me if I am
not? Should He? To be faithful means to be loyal and constant in the performance of duties or services. There are certain things in the Christian’s life that he doesn’t have to ask God if he should do. Here are just a few: CHURCH ATTENDANCE
(Matthew 18:20) For where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. There
are things you cannot get from the Bible or from God by staying home and
“trying” to have church by yourself.
First of all you will only be faithful in doing this for about two
weeks. Then the cares of the world will
creep in and keep you from worshipping God on your own. You must be in church. Make it a habit. The
pastor knows what every member of his congregation needs spiritually. God gives the pastor special insight. God may have the pastor preach a particular
message that is just for you in order to help you with some spiritual problem
that you are facing, one that you may not even recognize yourself. If you are not in church you will not
receive God’s direction on it. There
have been many times when my husband has preached a message and afterwards told
me that he was under the power of the Holy Spirit and that it was for a certain
person but that person was not there.
And borrowing the notes of someone who was there or asking them to tell
you what was preached does not have the same impact as being there yourself and
witnessing the leading of the Holy Spirit.
(Hebrews 10:25) Not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. The
fellowship of other believers is also of vital importance in your life for
encouragement. One of the happiest
times during your week should be when you are at church worshipping the Lord
and fellowshipping with other believers.
There are too many people in your life who drag you down and discourage
you along the way. Why forsake the one
time during the week when you can associate with those who believe the way you
do. Don’t deny yourself this
pleasure. Be faithful to church. PRAYER LIFE(1
Thessalonians 5:17) Pray without ceasing. One of the most
effective weapons we have as Christians is the power of prayer. I’ll let you in on a little secret. You won’t get answers to your prayers if you
don’t pray. Stop and think about that
for a moment. Yes, others can pray for
you but don’t let that stop you from praying yourself. God wants to hear from you. If you don’t know
how to pray; learn. How? The same way a child learns to walk, by
taking baby steps and plenty of practice.
If you do it this way, one day you will be running and then soaring with
the eagles, which is a type of prayer warrior in the Bible. If you are not praying now because you are
afraid or don’t know how to begin to pray or what to say please see me after
the meeting and I will sit down and help you take those first steps. One of the biggest
mistakes that is made with regard to prayer is making up your mind about
something first and then praying and asking God to abide by your decision. I hate to be the one to tell you this but it
doesn’t work that way. Be careful what you pray
for. God just might answer your
prayer. Psalm 106:15 says, “And he gave them their request; but
sent leanness into their soul.”
In other words God might let you have what you want because of your
stubbornness but once you get it you will not be happy with it. Ask the Lord what you should do and
abide by His decision. Learn to ask God
about everything, little things as well as big things. Then wait for His answer and accept it. That will be the hardest part. But if you realize that God doesn’t make
mistakes and that He wants the best for you and knows exactly what you need
then you should have peace about whatever His answer is. BIBLE READING(Psalm 119:11) Thy word have
I hid in mine heart, that I might not
sin against thee. I
teach on this every chance I get. Look
back over your notes from my lectures and you will find it in every message
that I have given. Why? Because it is so important! Read your Bible and memorize Scripture. Use your “Sword of the Lord” against the
devil when he attacks you. Make a
special time each day for reading. Try
and make sure it is at a time when you will not be interrupted. If you have small children or babies you may
have to get up early before they do.
Pick a time of the day when it is the quietest and the cares of the
world are the least pressing. Don’t
skip a day and think you will make up for it the next day. You won’t.
If you keep up this pattern before you know it you will have so much to
make up for that it will discourage you and you will stop reading
altogether. Be consistent so you will
develop a good habit of reading it. The Importance of The Bible
The Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God. The Bible contains the mind of God, the
state of man, the way of Salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of
believers. Its doctrines are holy, its
precepts are binding, its histories are true, its prophecies are accurate, and
its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe
it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.
It contains Light to direct you, Food to support you, and Comfort to
cheer you. It is the traveler’s Map,
the pilgrim’s Staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s Sword, and the
Christian’s Charter. Here Paradise is restored,
Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory
of God its end. It should fill the memory,
rule the heart, and guide the feet.
Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a Mine of Wealth, a
Paradise of Glory, and a River of Pleasure. It is given to you in life,
will be opened at the Judgment, and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest
responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle
with its sacred contents. TITHING(Malachi 3:8) Will a man rob
God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In
tithes and offerings. Don’t
give your hard-earned money to a preacher or a church or an organization. Give to the Lord’s work. Does that sound like a contradiction? Well it isn’t. It is Scriptural for a pastor to receive his salary from the
church which comes from the tithes and offerings. His designated salary should be enough to take care of him and
his family. Don’t expect the man to
work for nothing. But it is not
Scriptural for him to dip into church funds for his own needs. So don’t give to an individual. Don’t
give to a church if that church is not using the money it collects to help its
widows and orphans and the poor people of its congregation. A church should not be in a building program
unless there is standing room only at every service. A church does not need to spend your money on fancy decorations
and cosmetic modifications when it does not have an altar for the people to
pray at. So don’t give to a
church. Don’t give
to an organization if the pastor is wearing $500 shoes and living in a mansion
and being chauffeured around in a limousine while those who are supporting him
are starving. Don’t give your money
unless you know what it is being used for.
So don’t give to an organization.
Give
to God’s work. Give to a ministry that
preaches the gospel. Give your money to
a work that gives out gospel tracts, for free, to try and get people saved. Give your money to a ministry that teaches
the Bible without compromising doctrine.
How
much should you give? Only what God
requires. A tithe is 10% of your
income. (Numbers
18:26) Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye
take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for
your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD,
even a tenth part of the tithe. Let me clarify that
even further. The tithe is the first
10%, not the last. If you don’t put
aside your tithe first and give the Lord what is due Him at the beginning of
the month, you will not have any of it left at the end of the month. I have never seen this to fail. Don’t
“borrow” from your tithe money because you need it for something else with the
intention of paying it back. You
won’t. You will forget about it. I have never seen this fail either. If you
have no income at all then you can tithe your time. Help someone out who is less fortunate than you are. Look around you. There is somebody like that.
The important thing
to remember is to give God the first and the best. SOUL-WINNING(James
5:20) Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from
the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude
of sins. Learn
how to lead someone to Christ. Memorize
soul-winning verses from the Bible. But
whatever you do know what you are doing.
We are talking about the eternal salvation or damnation of a person’s
soul. Attend soul-winning classes at
church or have someone who knows what they are doing teach you. There is no greater joy in the Christian life than
leading someone to Jesus Christ and knowing that you have saved that soul from
everlasting torture in the fiery furnace of hell. The souls that we lead to the Lord are the precious jewels that
will adorn our crowns in heaven. (Daniel 12:3)
And they that be wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the
stars for ever and ever. These
are the crowns that we will cast at the feet of the Saviour. Gather some jewels for your crown. (Revelation
4:10-11) The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat
on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their
crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they
are and were created. WITNESSING(1 Peter 3:15)
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of
the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Tell others about
Jesus Christ. You may not know how to
lead a person to the Lord but at least you can witness to them of what Christ
has done for you in your life. Tell
them how you got saved. Tell them
why. If you can’t lead a person to the
Lord then bring them to church or to someone who can. There’s an old saying that is appropriate here: “Don’t just stand
there, do something!” The
Bible says, “…God is a consuming fire…” (Deuteronomy 4:24) Questions to ask yourself: Am I a consuming
fire? Have I gotten rid of all the
things in my life that are displeasing to God?
Have I burned up all the dross?
Have I turned my back on all the sin and worldly pleasures that God
hates so much? Do you
have bad habits in your life that are stumbling blocks to other Christians, to
those that you are trying to witness to or in your own walk with the Lord? Have you gotten victory over the way that
you talk and the things that you say?
Would people know that you are a child of God by the way that you
dress? Can you control your temper,
your moods and your attitude or do they control you? Are you still refusing to be submissive to your husband? Are you disciplining your children with the
intention of helping to make them responsible young men and women for God’s
service? Have you given up your love of
trashy romance novels, Hollywood movies and checking your horoscope every
morning to see if you should get out of bed?
Do you still long to hear gossip and rumours? The
Bible says in 1 John 2:15,”Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Do you love the things of the world more
than God? I hope not. The
Bible says, “…God
is not the author of confusion…”
(1
Corinthians 14:33) Am I living a
life full of double standards? Do I
look, dress, talk and act one way in front of lost people and another way in
front of my pastor and the church folks?
Who do I think I am fooling?
GOD?? Spend
some time this next week in prayer asking God to reveal to you those areas in
your life that you need help in. If you
are honest about getting victory in your life over sin and you ask the Lord for
help He will show you what you need to do.
Don’t try and deal with the issues all at once but take them one by
one. Prayerfully work through them. Let the Holy Spirit lead and direct
you. If you seriously and humbly want
to change some things in your life then allow the Lord to show you. Listen to His still small voice. There may be things that He brings to your
mind that you don’t want to deal with.
Those are the first ones that you should get taken care of. Don’t resist God. He wants to help you.
Don’t quench the leading of the Holy Spirit. He wants to comfort you.
Get alone with God and get victory in your life. The
Bible says, “…God is a merciful God…” (Deuteronomy 4:31) Questions to ask yourself: Am I merciful with others? Can I forgive and
forget or just forgive? I believe that there are four kinds of forgiveness. The greatest and perhaps the most important
forgiveness of all is when we confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and God
forgives us of our sins. (1 John 1:9)
This is a cleansing kind of forgiveness. The second type of forgiveness is when we forgive others. (Luke 17:3-4) Take heed to
yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent,
forgive him. And if he trespass against
thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying,
I repent; thou shalt forgive him. This is where we often run into
trouble. We forgive because we are
commanded to but we cannot always forget.
This kind of forgiveness must not be conditional but complete. We must forgive and forget. Don’t hold grudges. It will hinder your walk with the Lord. The third type of forgiveness is when we have to forgive
ourselves. This is perhaps the hardest
forgiveness of all. I believe that Peter experienced this.
He repented and got things right with the Lord but he also had to
forgive himself for what he did. The
Bible says he wept bitterly. This is a condemning kind of forgiveness. We do it with reservations. We know that God forgives us because He
promised that He would. We have no
problem with that but for some reason we just can’t forgive ourselves. Why?
Other than God nobody really knows how wicked we are except us. And for that reason alone we condemn
ourselves to a life of mental punishment.
This is a hard forgiveness to get victory over. But we must. For if we don’t it will kill us spiritually. The last kind of forgiveness involves us forgiving the Lord. What?
Impossible you say. What could
God ever do to us to make us need to forgive him? It is not what God did.
It is what we think He did.
People get mad at God, hate God, get bitter or angry with God or turn
their back on Him because they blame God for something that happened in their
lives. I’m sure you have seen it or
even experienced it yourself. You are diagnosed with terminal cancer and have four young
children. Your husband is an alcoholic
and beats you. Your baby dies. Your child is born retarded or
handicapped. “Why God?” “I prayed.”
“I begged you.” “Why do you allow
such things to happen?” There are all
kinds of reasons why God allows things to happen. But they are God’s reasons.
(Isaiah 55:8-9) For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts. When bad things happen it is not the time to resent the Lord but to
draw closer to Him. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10).
Don’t become bitter and don’t hate God.
Forgive God and go on. The
Bible says, “…God is in the generation of the righteous.” (Psalm 14:5) Questions to ask yourself: Am I teaching my
children to know, love and serve God with all their heart, soul and mind? What kind of example am I being for my
children? Do I practice what I preach? Am I raising my children
according to the principles of the Bible or are they raising me according to
the philosophies of the world? Am I in
charge of their upbringing as I am admonished to be in the Scriptures or are
they in charge of their own upbringing as taught by the government? Do my children listen when I
talk to them or am I interrupting their television viewing? Do they obey me when I tell them to do
something or am I cramping their lifestyle by making them take out the
garbage? Will they need years of
psychological evaluation if I require them to keep their rooms clean? If you have to tell your children to do
something more than once, if you have to beg, bride or threaten then you are
not in charge and you are not raising your children according to God’s
Word. If your child does not obey the
first time you tell him to do something then he is a disobedient child no
matter how “good” he is. Several years ago when I was
living in the states I had a missionary family stay in my home for one night
while they were home on furlough. At
the time they had eight children ranging in age from 13 years to 6 months. After church that evening we were all
sitting in the living room, the adults were talking and the children were
quietly occupying themselves with reading and various other activities. At 9:30 the father said, in a normal tone of
voice, “Time for bed.” All at once each
one stopped what they were doing, got up and went upstairs to get ready for
bed, the older ones helping the younger ones and the oldest taking the
baby. Not one of them said, “But, Dad,
I’m not tired. But, Dad, I don’t want
to go to bed. But, Dad, do I have
to? But, Dad, I’m not finished with
what I’m doing.” Not one ‘BUT’ out of
any of them, just immediate obedience. Now if you are sitting there
with your mouth open wondering how this miracle occurred it was no miracle at
all. This was not something they did
for my benefit. This was normal
behaviour for this family. You may be
wondering how something like this happens.
It is called discipline. It
didn’t happen overnight and it didn’t happen without a lot of spankings and
tears for the children and time and effort on the part of the parents. But it can be done and this is the
fruit. The
Bible says, “…God is no respecter of persons:”
(Acts 10:34) Questions to ask yourself: Am I able to love the
unlovable? Do I care that they are lost
and on their way to hell? Am I able to
accept others into my “inner” circle of friends or do I resent the intrusion? Jesus had tremendous compassion on people. There are numerous examples of His healing people who were the outcasts of society. People that others looked down on for one reason or another. People who nobody loved. Except the Lord. Jesus
had compassion on those that were sick physically. (Matthew 14:14) And Jesus went
forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them,
and he healed their sick. Jesus
had compassion on those that had leprosy.
(Mark 1:40-41) And there came a
leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If
thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him,
and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. Jesus had compassion on
those that were demon possessed. (Mark 5:18-19)
And when he was come into the ship, he that
had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith
unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath
done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. Jesus
had compassion on people who had no spiritual leader to guide them. (Mark 6:34) And Jesus, when
he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them,
because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them
many things. Jesus
had compassion on people who were sinners.
(Matthew 9:12) But when Jesus
heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but
they that are sick. Because
we are human there are certain people that we just cannot love. Does that shock you? If you are honest with yourself you will
have to admit that you do not love everybody that you should, like you
should. q
What about that obnoxious person at work who is
always getting the recognition that you deserve? q
What about that nosy neighbour who tells everyone
on your street what goes on in your house?
q
What about that little child who always has a
dirty face and hands, a torn dress and no parents? Do you really want your child playing with her? q
What about the punk down the street who deals
drugs. q
What about the man upstairs who drinks and beats
his wife? q
What about the prostitute on the street corner? Of
course you don’t love them. But you
should. You should hate the sin but
love the sinner. Jesus hated the sin
but loved the sinner. God hated your
sins but loved you enough to send His Son to die for you. (1 John
4:9-11) In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because
that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him. Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we
ought also to love one another. Let
Jesus be our example. Learn to have
compassion on people. Love them for the
Lord and to see them get saved. The
Bible says, “…God is God of gods…” (Deuteronomy 10:17) Questions to ask yourself: Am I sure? Or is my “god” money, fame, status,
position, a better job, the “boob-tube”, a bigger home, a new car, clothes,
etc. (Matthew
22:37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. q Do you put your husband above God? Well he is the provider and protector of my family. q Do you put your children above God? Well physically I can’t have any more children so these are very special to me. q Do you put your job above God? Well I really do need to work. q Do you put money above God? Well I never really was able to afford such things before. q Do you put relationships above God? Well you see someday I hope we are going to get married but until then I have to make sure I keep him. q Do you put your possessions above God? Well I’ve wanted this apartment or car or dress for a long time and I deserve it. I went for many years without such things. q Do you put your status or position above God? Well nobody else was really qualified and so they had to choose me. q Do you have a collection of dolls or stuffed animals or china teacups or figurines displayed somewhere in your house? Well they were gifts and I just started collecting them. Putting
anything above God for any reason is idolatry. (Exodus 20:4-5) Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto
the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; You
may think that this is just talking about statues and images and icons and
religious symbols. It’s not. The television set is an idol if we worship
it by giving it a prominent place in our home and put watching it above reading
our Bibles, praying, studying, our housework, our family. Do your children have pictures in their
rooms of sports heroes, movie stars, rock singers? They are worshipping idols.
Anything that you put above God, no matter what your motives are, is idolatry. It is sin. God hates it. What is it that you put above God? God IS! Am I? Are you? |