Tag: Allah or Jesus

I AM LIFE

By Rick Mathes

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

We only have one. I remember parts of a poem I read as a kid that goes something like this: “I expect to live this life once, if therefore my fellow human beings there be a kindness I can extend or a goodness I can do, let me do it now and not defer nor neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.” My three score and ten have gone by very quickly!

I have often asked others, “What are you going to do with the rest of your life?” I usually get a blank look and a shrug of shoulders. Most spend more time planning their weekend than the next year of their life. The life that we search for is a hazy and distant afterthought to the actions of the moment of the day.

Life on planet earth is only a basic training ground for the Kingdom to come. We are earning our stripes and rank in the hereafter. The life we will be rewarded with is yet to come: the one with streets of gold.

In the meantime, we can excel and enjoy life in Him until His return and we are made complete. The life we must strive for in faith is not of this world. It’s a world of faith. Faith is at the end of your rope, just beyond your grasp, only one small step out of the boat. You will have it when you cry out, “Lord, I can’t!” At that moment of decision you will hear Him softly say, “I can.” Faith begins where you leave off and He begins.

Faith is found in life and life is found on our knees in worship of our Lord and King. Adoration of our Savior is almost extinct in most churches. Holy Ghost bumps don’t come from worship of Him but of many counterfeits that Satan can market as Christianity. How can we really come before Him to lift up His name: in words, actions, or in service?

Every cause has an effect. When we exchange our life for His, He goes about the Father’s business through us. Faithful and sacrificial service is the hallmark of a fruitful tree. It is all the result of obedience which is the result of the first cause of new birth. If you believe you will obey. It is the only way to overcome this evil worldly life. Don’t rise to your level of incompetence rather rise to His level of excellence. You can have the good life in Him if only you will release the fullness of the Holy Spirit within you.

HUMAN NATURE

By Rick Mathes

Romans 7:21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good.

Man without God would be born without a purpose: a biological accident of evolution. When someone says they believe in evolution I respond, “If you believe that your great, great, great, etc. grandfather was a monkey, I’m inclined to believe you. He was!” A craps-shoot is a random chance and a belief that you were born at random is the same thing. Your parents threw the dice and you were the result of chance. When there is no ordained purpose, no objective truth, all become relative, even your life. Muslims call this randomness “kismet” which means essentially “fate.” Your life has no purpose. It is only a chance happening, how sad.

An unbelieving humanist believes he is his own god. He feels that if there is more good in his life than bad, if there is a hereafter, he will do just fine. You need to read the “Humanism Manifesto” to learn what a religion this is. Then read “Christian Manifesto” by Francis Schaeffer to see the contrast. Humanism is a religion of selfish heresy and is in as much error any any word beginning with self can be. We are not basically good, we reek with evil to our bones with selfism. We did not evolve to man’s image and likeness, we were created to God’s image and likeness.

Our true human nature is that we were born in the flesh for God’s use and for His purposes for our life. I know the moment you will die! Your heart will stop the second you have accomplished His purpose for your life and you will rise to your reward in glory.

Get a grip on the fact that we are full of sin: it is our vey second nature to sin. Sanctification is the process of returning to our first nature when we could walk in the cool of the evening in fellowship with the Creator. It would have also been overwhelming to walk this earth with Him when He was in the flesh. Now we collectively are made the Body of Christ, the Church.

We were created in His image which translated means, when people get to know you, do they get to know Jesus? What a challenge it is to exemplify Him with skin on as the Word did when the Creator stood in the dust He created us from.

HOW TO REPENT

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 3:2
“ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

We need to start out with: Jesus wants you! Now you can wiggle and squiggle like worms on a hook but you need to face it; you are hooked. What Jesus wants, Jesus gets so it is futile to fight the inevitable. Jesus will have you and sooner is a whole lot better than later. He wants to bless you as a loving Father to his son if only you will let him.

So what are you to do when faced with a seemingly irresistible sin? Or in other words, how do you avoid committing this shameful act before the cross of Christ?

The very first thing is you must do is stop dead in your tracks. Just plain stop. Don’t go an inch further. Just shut down all your body parts and senses. Go on disconnect.

Then you need to turn around. Don’t get all hyper and upset and do something stupid or mare shameful. Don’t move. Let your mind catch up with your better judgment. Let the Holy Spirit get behind the wheel once more.

Now you need to turn around. Put you back to the devil and press on! It’s time to hurry back to Jesus. Do not hesitate and don’t look back. You may not have another chance so take this one dead serious and don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

There are three levels of confession and conversion.

The first is intellectual. You need to confess Jesus Lord in your head and really mean it. Don’t try to understand everything about God because you never will. He has informed us through the Word and works of Jesus to take the narrow road to glory and leave all the filth Satan has thrown at is behind.

I don’t trust feelings because feelings because Satan can counterfeit them but when the Word of God and only the Word of God touches my heart, I know it and so will you. We can’t explain it to a non-believer but the Holy Words come alive and now we begin to walk the talk and confess Jesus AS Lord. We have moved from easy-believism to Lordship Salvation when we believe and obey.                                                   

HOW TO PRAY

By Rick Mathes

And it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

There really isn’t a guideline on how to pray except what is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer” which is really, “The Disciple’s Prayer.” But that’s another issue. What I want to do here si skim the tree-tops so to speak of the essential components of your mindset when you pray. He is our loving God that hears, forgives and heals. All we need to do is be humble, pray, seek His face and turn from out evil ways: simple but not easy. Praying in faith effectively is a life-long exercise in spiritual weight-lifting that will continue to our very last amen.

The only place to put your heart in prayer is in His will. You will learn this when you read the Word and get to know Him. The more personal He becomes to you the more your mind is in sync with His, much like my wife and I for over 30 years. We think each other’s thoughts, do you understand what I mean?

A pure heart produces a pure confession. There is nothing greater than a clean conscience and a comfort zone of living which repels sin and sinners much like a shield on the front line of battle. Transparency is the only way to live. Let it all hang-out and beg the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin so that you can pursue holiness without brakes or back allies to hide out in.

It all boils down to repentance the sins that murdered our dear Lord. I still get hammered for being “judgmental” when I am speaking “Biblically.” What I should do is just quote Jesus and makes my critics blood run cold. Learn from this my child.

With repentance must follow forgiveness. How can we not forgive others for offending us when we recall how severely we have offended our loving God? The answer of any question of prayer is entirely in the hands of the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent the Third Person so that we may pray in truth. The Comforter only comforts those with clean hearts who need comforting. Isn’t this the experience we require when we pray and the Holy Spirit comes upon us? Try it you will like it!

HOW FOOLISH

By Rick Mathes

1 Corinthians 1:27 (NASB77) ²⁷  but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

Man’s great desires or drives are power and immortality. We men seek power is a variety of ways, politics being what I consider the heroin of ego. Anyone running for office has got to have an enormous desire to be noticed, admired and lifted up. Another is being wealthy and yet another is being physically intimidating or criminal.

Immortality is mostly expressed in procreation. Having children to carry on your nae or gene-pool is very gratifying as any grandfather well knows. Other methods would be writing a book or having a statue erecting in your honor.

Reality in the Kingdom is a whole different focus. For example, if you want to get up you need to step down. I learned early in this ministry that to have it prosper I needed to replace myself. The closer my knees are to the ground the nearer my heart, love and submission is to Him. As we exchange all we are for all He is we become lesser and He becomes larger. It gets better.

If you want to be seen, get out of sight. Remember that your born again experience has changed you to Christ with skin on. So the question is that when people get to know you do they get to know Jesus? The greatest blessing is to go about the Father’s business and not know it. This humility of storing up your secret treasure in heaven is the opposite of what we are taught as humans: He who dis with the most toys wins.

And lastly, here’s the best for the last. If you want to be great, forget yourself. I once asked John MacArthur Jr. what his earthly legacy for Jesus would be; his church, his sermons, his books, etc. He replied, “What happens when you put your hand on the surface of water?” I said, “You create a hand-print.” Then he said, “What happens when you remove your hand?” I responded, “The hand print disappears.” “Exactly!” he shot back. Wow!

How foolish for me to think I can add anything to His glory.

HOW DEEP

By Rick Mathes

John 13:34  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

The mega churches and others are caving into the “Love will earn you heaven.” So they preach from this verse that Jesus agreed. This is a doctrine whose validity is certified from effect to cause when the true Word of God teaches from cause to effect. Allow me to illustrate with my own personal experience.

When I finally realized I loved the Lord more than my dear wife I felt that I had committed a “mortal sin” until it dawned on me agape love flows from Jesus only. In other words if I was the source of love to her, no matter how I would try, it would not satisfy her because somewhere in there it was self-gratifying to me.

However, His love to her would be unselfish and pure. She deserved the best and His love through me was complete to here, she became my crown at that point. There is much difference between my love and His.

His love is unchangeable and He loves everyone equally with all the love He has. God is love and you get all there is when you are His. He is supreme and alone in His magnificence. Lucifer, the angel of light, tried to depose God and fell with his followers to roam the world as wild rabid wolves.

When you submit to His Lordship, the question remains, “How deep is your love?”

Are you His servant? Are you going about His business as a pilgrim on foreign soil? We become missionaries to earth or more specifically ambassadors of God. My prayer is that when you hear me you hear Him.

He loves you more than you are capable of loving. So it is an easy matter to put your life and actions into His hand completely. At first it is like stepping off the edge of a cliff but after you take the first step, He takes the rest of them with you. You can be certain that when you see and walk in His footsteps before you that everything is going to be ok. You will experience a contentment that will satisfy you far in excess of any counterfeit happiness you have ever drank, smoked or slept with.

He’ll be back with open arms and it my payer that yours will be also.

HOPE IS

By Rick Mathes

2 Timothy 2:13 (NASB77) ¹³  If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.

We were once in the depths of hopeless despair until the Lord lifted us up and gave us a glimpse of the eternity we will one day step into. We know what hope is:

It is:

• Comforting
• Sure
• Sustaining
• Purifying
• Satisfying and
• Blessed

But what does our eternal hoope do fo us here with our feet planted in God’s good earth; you know, that beautiful blue pearl in outer space? This magnifying hope within our soul certainly cheers the dying heart. What horrorifying thoughts must go through the mind of an unbeliever approaching the grim reaper? What fear terrorizes their thoughts who expect the flames of Purgatory or worse? How sad that they don’t cling to the promises of God’s Word and clutch Christ’s hand as that moment of truth approaches.

Eternal hope answers immortality. What do the Jehovah’s Witnesses have to say about their soul-sleep when Jesus welcomed the good thief into His Paradise? How would we all live if this was all there is and there would be no accounting of our actions after death? Lawlessness would surely run rampant.

In this hope we enjoy heavenly treasure that our minds have yet even to imagine. His second coming verifies His “first leaving” and guarantees that we will one day join Him where He is. Our treasure is Him and nothing more and nothing less. There isn’t any moneyor anyting of worth or bartering: Christ is all. There is no no gold, jewels, money, wealth that is worth anyghing more than dust compared to knowing and worshipping Jesus.

This eternity to come anchors this moment in faith and His blessings. Nothing, not even Satan can budge you away from Jesus and even Jesus couldn’t save you without the shedding of His blood. His resurrection says it all. Think about it. He was stone cold dead in that tomb for three days. And then He opened His eyes and got up because it was finished but not done. The angels moved the stone and our faith walked us into the empty grave and soon will lead us into a heaven exploding in angels praising His holly name forever.

 

HONORED BODY

By Rick Mathes

1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB77) ²⁰  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

The building that many Christians goon Suday morning is the house of worship. Church is your body you take to the assembly. You are always standing on holy ground because your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. Wherever you are is church! The Word commands us to come together as the Body of Christ and His will is complete when we do and in His time Hewill return for His Bride and we need to be pure and holy for Him in that Day.

A real test of our spiritual fiber is when we are suffering individually or corporately. When the going gets tough the tough get going: ask Job. Jesus will withhold the Holy Spirit from us for a season and permit Satan to impose the mental duress or physical sickness. It’s in this very time our deep roots in Christ blossom a bouquet of joy, happiness, tolerance, good will and a prayful hope for healing.

Adam was made to work the crops and struggle with the harvest to provide for his family as we are. It is a double blessing to be responsible for the work of the Lord as laid out for us and to excel and take joy in the privilege of doing so. We are to love and pray for our taskmasters. We really are the “called out ones.”

A major distinctive feature of the Christian community is our benevolence and compassion to all those in need regardless of who they ae o how they differ from us. Race, creed, national origin, political preference all evaporate when a fellow human is suffering or in need of our service. We are slaves of Christ.

So whether we are worshipping in church or lobbying in government assignment, church or state we represent Jesus. When others, believers or not, get to know us, do they get to know Jesus. The differences of church and state fade away when we stand in place of the King. We are responsible to both to represent the gospel, the good news that Jesus loves you. This love of our fellow man requires that our body is constantly in desperate pursuit of holiness. We bring peace to the world gone mad!

This is what the honored Body of Christ is compelled to do.

HOME CHURCH

By Rick Mathes

Philemon 1:1-3 (NASB77) ¹   Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, ²  and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: ³   Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The post-modern attitude of many struggling pastors and wealthy donors fill the church with anyone they can lay their hands on under the pretense that if you get them into church, at least they will hear the Gospel. Sounds like a good intention with an underlying motive of increasing revenue. The downside is that these well-intentioned ministers are a watered-down Gospel. We don’t want to chase off the fragile newcomers, do we?

Too many mega-churches have come and gone in my lifetime where I can’t help but be upset when are constantly hammering on the fellowship for money when the focus should be centered on the pulpit message. My solution is that instead of having a thirty million dollar church have thirty, million dollar budgets with separate home churches. This way the debt is more manageable for many reasons. Plus a good pastor even with two good staff ministers can’t shepherd more than 200 members which a large home church would comfortably accommodate: does this make sense to you?

When is a home a church? Your home is a building and where you stand is church. This leaves you with the option of getting other believers together and freely worship. I have a sundown Friday night service, the Hebrew Sabbath, so as not to interfere with the attendance of my friends to their Sunday morning worship.

Do you have a church in your home? You certainly do! Making your church a legal entity is only for the compliance of government requirements and tax exemption matters. But your house, your home has two or more worshippers, it is a church, no doubt about it.

Who are the members? All those who believe are of the Body of Christ. There is the visible and invisible church.

Who are the lost? Just confessing Jesus IS Lord is not going to do it. You must also confess Him AS your Lord. If you will walk your talk you are a true believer. What are you doing for Him? You can start today and invite friends and relatives to join you for a prayer night. Church begins and ends demands that if Jesus is your Savior He must be your Lord. If you believe, you obey! It all start and ends in the home unit.