Tag: Christian

LETTER FROM DAD

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LETTER FROM DAD

By Rick Mathes

My father was killed by a V3 Rocket in Antwerp Belgium during WWII when I was only 2 years old. So I never knew him and never had a father who loved me as his son. My mother remarried and I was just unwanted baggage by her new husband. I don’t have a happy memory of anything connected with my childhood. In fact I was smoking and stealing cars at age 13 and I robbed my first gas station at age 16 and ran away from home during a race riot. So you can see how happy I was when I found a big stack of letter my dad had written my mom while he was in the Army and in combat.

This was a great chance to learn about him ad get a better idea of what a dad he would have been had he lived. It was amazing to me that we were so alike, even our handwriting was very similar. I always regretted not having a dad for the next 25 years until I met my new Abba and got born again! At lasgt I had a Father that was alive and loved me unconditionally.

I began to read His letters to me in the Bible. I was impressed that all the letter about His saints came first-class because they were so important for me to read from my friends; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The letter came immediately and never got jammed up in a busy post-office, they were post-paid, registered and personally handed to me by a courier, the Holy Spirit.

All the rage and resentments of an unhappy child evaporated and were replaced by a love rush in my heart I had ever known. I was set free! Sin no longer had a hold of me I felt like a guided missile and all I wanted to do was brag about my new Daddy to anyone who would listen.

His letters taught me that I was free of the penalty, power and presence of sin. Take caution here and remember that a man who truly repents is never satisfied with his own repentance and neither am I. I truly forgive my mom and step-father for all the damage they did to me but I will never be satisfied until I love them with the Lord’s love. It’s tough but every time I read a letter from my new Daddy I get more excited about meeting my birth-father in heaven. It just feels right!

LET’S PRAY

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LET’S PRAY

By Rick Mathes

Luke 11:1 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.”

Prayer is that special communion only a believer can know before our Lord. Strangers to grace and salvation believe it because when the going gets tough. There aren’t any atheists in a fox-hole under fire! But yet many still question why we should pray to an all-knowing God.

When my youngest daughter was a toddler, I would pray and dream of the day when she would talk and we could communicate our love for each other. Nothing is sweeter to the ears but, “I understand her baby-talk but I loved to hear her voice and enthusiasm. This is exactly what blesses our “Abba” when we pray.

It’s important to talk to Him because that’s how you develop a relationship. How long can you keep a friend, spouse, child or employer if you don’t talk to them and that’s just what prayer is, talking to Him. He enjoys hearing form you.

It really is our duty to go to Him not just with our problem but also with our praise. He is our all in all and there doesn’t exist anything or anyone that is more important than Him. As soldiers for our King we must put on our armor, lift up our sword as Satan criss-crosses our lives to rape and pillage any remnant of our Lord’s Kingdom. There isn’t any “plan B” but eternal annihilation.

As a good steward of our three-score and ten years of life it is proficient as a holy exercise of strength to have a prayer life that reaches beyond our grasp.

He is our Master and we are His slaves. This has a negative connotation of a wicked taskmaster but our God is love. He doesn’t just give us love or guide us to love, He is love I gladly and willingly encourage you to pray the promises and experience a fellowship that word cannot describe.

LET’S LEAVE

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LET’S LEAVE

By Rick Mathes

John 14:31 (NASB77) 31  but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

Everyone is always coming or going somewhere. When you walk in one direction you are leaving the other. Duhh! This certainly applies to sin. The conviction repels the sin and attracts us to repentance: from the old to the new, death to life.

As an elect believer, we are not comfortable with this unsaved, secular or carnal world. In fact, the Word says that if you love the world the love of the Father is not in you. This is serious business to distance ourselves from anything or person that has Satan’s fingerprints. So then as a consequence we need to be “out of this world” so to speak.

That means we need to distance ourselves from the sin group we were so involved with; those social attachments with the wrong people, those that we are hell-bound and a bad influence on us. A person becomes a convict because he makes wrong decisions and hangs out with the wrong people. The same axiom applies to every sinner: it is their common denominator.

When you turn from those sinful attachments to the Savior you can’t help but get into faithful service for the King. What once were sinful episodes become wholesome in time, and need to be filled with your best effort to conform to others: they all do it don’t they?

One such activity that immediately and naturally kicks in is to defend your faith and extraordinary change of life. People will attack and ridicule the Word but they can’t attack your personal testimony.

Another measure of those who have crossed over from death to life is persecution. For whatever reason you want to attach to it, Christians and Jews are always open game for the devil and his kingdoms. The hounds of hell are always nipping at our heals because we are all so committed to Biblical perfection yet so endlessly full of faults we openly display and repent of.

How you live, in the final analysis, is displayed by how you die. If eternal life in heaven isn’t worth dying for, it wasn’t worth living for. Let’s leave the old behind.

LET US LEAVE

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LET US LEAVE

By Rick Mathes

John 14:31 but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

There’s a time to stay and there’s a time to leave. This can apply to all the situations we may find ourselves in. You need to know when to hold them and when to fold them. There will be a last heartbeat here on planet earth and the next in heaven. We are that close to meeting Jesus face to face; a very special onetime encounter.

Are you ready to leave? What will you be leaving? How about leaving your sin groups?

Sin comes to you through sinners that gather together with sinners of like mind. Sometimes this is called Church! Imagine Simon the Cyrene actually walked in the bloody footprints of Jesus as he carried the cross-beam to Calvary. He didn’t walk in the path of sinners as Psalm 1 warns about. I am delighted that my so-called friends, unbelieving sinners, have left me alone with my Bible. When my drinking fraternity brothers invited me to an annual keg party, they weren’t disappointed when me, a Baptist minister didn’t attend. I didn’t go! The darkness doesn’t invite the light into fellowship when the light is made known. I have never heard from them again.

There is always a residue of filth no matter how hard you try to repent of it all. The most common relapse is when Satan tempts you to recall and relive the sin in your head. Filthy, slimy, stinking remnants of the feces of your past actions remain somewhere in your psyche, somehow in your memories. We are never completely holy. How exasperating!

On the plus side when we go in one direction we are always going to leave something else in another direction: from sin to Savior would do just fine. This requires a service to a new boss; under new management. For me, leaving alcohol and drugs was like walking out on a foreign planet. The differences can be quite start in contrast as they were for me and many others.

We leave the enemies camp to defend our new victories in Christ. You can be sure that persecution will follow the Bible promises it will. We must stand firm even to the death if need be to defeat the bondage Satan once had us in. There’s no turning back once your choice of allegiance is made. We leave worldly nonsense to the dust and step out on avenues of gold in glory. The life within us is eternal; it’s just a matter of where you choose to live it. Make your choice to leave this world behind as you soar into the promised heavenly blessings in His presence.

LEPROSY

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LEPROSY

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 8:2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Leprosy, alcoholism, drug addiction, promiscuous sex, love of money has this in common: the more you have of them the less you have of you. They own you and will devour you one small piece at a time until there’s no life within you. You are a dean man looking for a place to be buried. It’s like sin is spiritual leprosy. It runs deep and it is all invasive: every part of your body. It gnaws at all that is left until death closes your eyes and the worms begin their banquet.

Leprosy, as sin, is a living death that plants its roots deeply and with your permission consumes all that was good within you. The alcohol and drugs separate you from all that was good within. They slowly destroy your spiritual cells so slowly you don’t even notice it until you are fatally sick and your vitality is gone for Jesus. It is in this loathsome condition you cry out, “Lord save me!”

You are putrid to look at as you crawl under the rock with those of like kind: those creepy, slimy vermin of sinfulness trying not to be noticed. When you and your associates are mutually infected there is a curious fellowship formed of miasma and spiritual defecation rotting on your weakening legs. The incurables convince you that there is no hope as you continue to wander further from Him in the colony of the unholy: the living dead succumbing to that fatal attraction, sin.

Larn from the leper to have a boldly face the disease humbly before the Great Physician. Don’t join those of like sicknesses draw you into their horror stories. Crawl to Him in the dust of our forefathers and those martyrs whose blood brought the cure.

You can be confident He will forgive you. The question is: will you receive forgiveness from Him and be guilt free? The proof of this glorious transaction is, “Have you become forgiven?” Well?

Are you believing and submissive? Then you have been make clean!

LEFT BEHIND

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LEFT BEHIND

By Rick Mathes

Acts 26:28 And Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”

While you are asleep at night, Satan is doing push-ups and planning the lies about Christianity he will begin broadcasting when the sun comes up. We are at war and it’s about time you signed up.

Let’s set the record straight: Christian faith is not an irrational leap of faith. The faith we enjoy is perfectly rational and is not an emotional crutch as so many non-believers claim. Our emotions harmonize when we are in tune with the angels.

Superstitions do not have verifiable facts and hundreds of witnesses. No, it is not some old wives tale or legend. Don’t fall for the secular claims that the so called lost gospels of Christ prove that much of what we understand Christianity to be is bogus. I will admit that by my reckoning, only two-percent of those that claim the are born again really are.

Some are run off because they believe that our faith is nothing but a long list of rules: do’s and don’ts. It’s true that the Pharisees were very rigid on their traditions and alleged violations of Scripture but Jesus set them straight and the Bible breathed the breath of freedom once again. We are not under the law anymore. It was instituted to define what repulsed God. But when we submit to His Lordship we only gravitate to holiness.

Christianity is not just a lot of rituals. Christianity is a person: Jesus. All the rest is not relevant. The early church met in a home, near water for baptisms. They sang hymns, reaffirmed the Decalogue, heard a Scripture reading, and had communion and a fellowship dinner afterwards. All the Roman Catholic Popery is nonsense and has no Biblical basis. It is completely made up by the religious elite that think they can invent their religion as they go along. Paul said that if you change anything in what was originally taught, you should be kicked out of the church and relegated to Hell.

Christians have been called fanatics. Do you know what a fanatic is? It’s someone who loves the Lord more than you do!

The most absurd claim by unbelievers, the World Council of Churches and other liberals is that there are many ways to get to heaven. Jesus does not leave that option open to anyone. He said, “No one comes to the Father but by Me.” This is very clear but most don’t get it.

LAST WORD

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LAST WORD

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB77) 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ” All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  19 ” Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew ended his gospel with the final thoughts he wanted the readers to note and do something about. Our Lord’s last words here have more the weight of pure gold. It’s my understanding and the teaching of the word is to be a Christian is to be Christ-like.

Christians are being persecuted in every quarter of the world More have been killed for their faith in my lifetime than from my birthdate back to the Cross! Satan has accelerated his attack at an unprecedented pace and the only thing that will save us is the fearless preaching of ministers that are totally consecrated to Him and pursuing holiness with all that is within him.

What must oe do I these perilous times to keep the faith, fight the good fight and finish the race? How can we as mortals take a tan against Lucifer and his fallen angels?

It takes spiritual testosterone and fearless preaching! I am so ashamed of the so called ordained that are feminine wimps. How can we fight against the Caesars of thie secular war when the pulpits are silent on abortion, homosexuality, immorality, alcohol & drug abuse, child molestaing, etc. I am aghast  at the horror show I see on our local news each night of murders, sodomy, terrorists, war, starvation, plagues, and wht do you hear from our Lord’s professing ambassadors on the altars across our lands; nothing but baby food, cute jokes & illustrations but mostly just entertainment. A cross we must carry to save our civilization is a persecution of our faith. The revolution with the Sword of the Word must rage now or the America our forefathers founded will be D.O.A.

The solution for you and I is to put Jesus first, follow Him and deny self. Reformed faith and revival of primitive Christians hinges on what eachof us does about Jesus. Your family and mine ae the building blocks of the Christian society Satan is hell-bound on destroying. We know the end result; we win but we must get into the battle as the Lord last word commands us!

 

LAST SERMON

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LAST SERMON

Luke 23:35 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Bless His bleeding heart. He began this sermon with forgiveness of those who have sinned against Him. This is an intercession of charity that has forever been unmatched in human history. It was the major opening theme of all who met Him and spoke the good news to those who would listen and it is the heart of the pulpit message to this day.

“Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Now that’s what I call an assurance of salvation. Note that the thief never even looked at a Bible, he didn’t attend a church service, he never experienced an immersion baptism nor did he have any outstanding gifts nor display any signs and wonders.

“Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.”

The only thing we can take with us to heaven is our family. What greater love can a son have but to love and care for the mother that gave him life. There is something special in a son’s love for his mother.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”

I can answer that: so that He would never leave nor forsake us. How horrible that the Godhead was ripped apart in the black night of mid-day. God turned His back on His Son and let the full weight of all hell’s sin crush the life out of Him.

“It is finished!”

Yes but it is not done. We still have time to go about the Father’s business. The full understanding of this dropped me to my knees to accept His forgiveness and it is as new, profound and fresh today as it was then.

“I thirst.” “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

He wet His parched lips to announce His homecoming! Having said and done all that the Word prophesied. It was time to go home. He was the second Adam but the first-born to everlasting glory and when our duty here on earth is complete, we will join Him and all the saints that have passed before us. Won’t that be quite a party!

LAMB OF GOD

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LAMB OF GOD

By Rick Mathes

John 1:36 and he looked upon Jesus as He walked,

and •said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

The eyes are the window of the soul. They are the entry level to who you are and who you are becoming. Satan uses your eyes to linger on sin until you taste of it and become to proud to admit it and repent. The Holy Spirit has an entirely different plan for your eyes and of course the destination of your soul. You are sovereign over y0our body and your eyes will only look where your will directs them. So I want to encourage you to learn the following lesson and do some spiritual weight lifting with me.

  1. Look Backward: Don’t allow Satan to run your nose through your dirty past to steal your joy. But look backward to a dying Savior nailed to the tree gasping “Forgive them.” He stretched out His arms and said, “I love you this much,” and it was finished. Your past is now past. In fact my favorite verse in the KJV is, “It came to pass!”
  2. Look Upward: Put your face in the mud, the blood and the tears at the foot of the cross and then look up into His suffering face and eyes. Can you see the love and pity He has for you? Like giving birth, He suffered the pain so that you might be born again. He loves you so much He would go through it all again just for you.
  3. Look Inward: Christ lives in you. The old has gone and the new has come. You are now Christ with skin on. He became the hand you are the glove. When people get o know you do they get to know Him? You might be the only gospel another person may ever see. What a good life it is!
  4. Look Forward: Stepping through “Heavensgate” will be the most thrilling experience of your life! He’s coming back and we are pressing on! In the Old Testament the prophets looked forward through the telescope to the Cross. Now we have spiritual vision and see the glory we have been promised forward to His second coming.

He said that the gates of Hell will not prevail against us. He will never give us more than we can handle. He will always give us a way out. He will never leave nor forsake us. No one can take us out of His hand and where He is we will be. He said it, I believe it, that settles it!

LACKING

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LACKING

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 19:20 The young man •said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”

People of wealth are usually owned by what they own. Things of affluence and comfort can choke the Word of God out of their golden lives: all sizzle and no steak. We are the culmination of all that past before us and we are the product of that which will be: garbage in – garbage out. A look in our mirror only reflects what we want to view and too often, we don’t see with His eyes. The Light of Jesus is an illumination that discloses real life without the shadows of demons that lurk behind money, power and prestige.

Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would bow down and worship him. It stands to reason that he couldn’t have offered them if he didn’t have them. A glaring example of this is Las Vegas NV: the capital of self-indulgence, decadence and materialism. Sins of pride and covetousness are the magnets that irresistibly draw you to your slow death of spirit and ultimately even your life.

Jesus said that He was the way, the truth and the life!

There is no love in sin. The feeling you get is a pathetic feeling of hate and self-loathing. God made y ou in His Image and Likeness. What can you add to that? Then why try? Your spirit is restless for what you see on the outside instead of who you are, in Him, on the inside. So Satan captures your eyes, flesh and then pride hostage and you become addicted to more, more and more until you finally red-line yourself to death: dead. Christ is your only salvation, got it?

This peace that protesters seek will not and cannot be produced much less even discovered apart from Him. Our hope is then reawakened. The unbelievers shift their center of gravity from divine to human where each becomes god and determines morality, integrity and character upon the basis of “self.” This omission of God is a fatal attraction that Satan relishes in.

The joy we lack is replaced with any counterfeit we will fall for. The devil knows the right buttons to push and even though he can’t make us sin and lose our joy, he can lead us to despair and unhappiness with what appears to be worldly prosperity.

Face the fact that your only security is in the capable hands of your Maker. God alone has all the true wealth and it is all yours in glory if you will let go of it here on earth.