Tag: Holy Spirit

MAN GOD

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MAN GOD

Romans 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

Jesus was born a descendent of David through His son Nathan to Mary, His mother. He Holy Spirit caused this hypostasis; a miracle to occur so that He wouldn’t be born of Joseph naturally whose linage from Solomon was cursed. A baby was born that was God incarnate. The angels exploded the heavens with joy and Satan’s swarms of death stinging demons went into a frenzy of venomous oaths to kill the King of Glory. They did kill him eventually only to have Him rise from the dead on the third say as He said He would. Death stung Jesus and died!

Jesus was a man’s man in any measure you may use. The perfect Man is not only worth emulating but also our God in the flesh is deserving of all our worship. Yes, He was born of a woman and was God clothed in the flesh blood. He grew in stature but also in wisdom from His text book mentor, Isaiah.

As many of us have, He would go hungry, homeless and suffer much discomfort and also walk and rest in such luxury as His close friend Lazarus would provide Him with. The women fussed over Him and His gang hung on His every word and eventually died with His name on their lips.

Even from the cross, He pulled back His heavenly glory and pitifully cried out with His parched throat, “I thirst.” His physical attributes were very real and human. Consider that He didn’t have the strength to carry a 50 pound crossbeam to the hill of Calvary. Even before that, He rested at the well with the Samaritan woman and how about when He fell asleep in the boat as it was tossed and turned in that violent storm? He was real Man that bled real red blood like we all do as was evidenced by the Centurion who confessed Jesus as Lord.

The real torture that demonstrated His manhood wasn’t on the cross that was anti-climatic. The horror of the hell He was about to suffer came upon Him in the garden. It was so terrifying that He prayed that it might pass and He sweat blood!

No doubt about it, He suffered, bled and died and was buried like you and I will someday find ourselves, planted in the soil that God created us from. The Bib le and other records verify, without any doubt, He was a real historical figure that walked this earth as we do. He was descended as a man from Heaven and returned a King that had conquered death for us.

PRESS ON!

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A SPECIAL BAPTISM

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A SPECIAL BAPTISM

By Rick Mathes

Luke 3:21 (NASB77) 21 Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,

Let’s join for a moment and take in the wonder of why our Savior would willingly experience the outward manifestation of baptism by immersion. Jesus was sinless, so what was the significance of this unique event?

First of all it was to equip, anoint and strengthen the manhood He has clothed Himself with and secondly to demonstrate obedience, humility and prayer to all generations that would follow.

What an astounding set of circumstances that clearly brought together the visible and audible Trinity of the gospels. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all sharing truth in a single verse. How blessed is the Word of God to us as it shares this precious and golden moment, never to repeat itself in the infinity of time.

What a wonderful seal of approval for our God-man to launch His ministry of salvation and begin His death walk to the Cross, one firm step following another. From this point forward, He never looked back. Oh, how I wish we could do the same and not ever be ashamed Him with our doubts and fears. Just to put on the armor of God, lift up the sword of the Word and firmly place my feet on holy ground is my fervent prayer!

The dove quietly settled in peacefulness, not known to mankind until that moment. The gentleness of the flight, the landing and the harmlessness of the message of affirmation: the Holy Spirit had arrived to anoint Christ the man for the timeless message of the ancients who spoke of Him in times past.

The voice rang out to a startled universe of angels and every devil shook in mortal terror. God became man on a mission that only the Triune god could ever accomplish. In an eye-blink, salvation arrived with healing and deliverance in the wings of a dove. The provision of love for His elect and eternal doom to those who would reject and murder His Son as your sin does to this very moment.

Submit to the reality that you are owned by the Father, saved by the Son and anointed by the Holy Spirit and you too will have that once in a lifetime special baptism a was demonstrated by our Lord Himself. A moment that will change a lifetime of eternities if only you will accept and savor the fullness of the Trinity of which you were made in Their likeness: body, spirit and soul.

 

A god

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A god

By Rick Mathes

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NASB77) 4  in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Father Lucifer fell with his angels because of his pride. This sin is the root of all evil and the devil is all deceitful false pride. He has nothing to be proud of because of his blindness to sin and all that brings in its tow. Things of this world become gods and the more of them you own, the more they own you. Eventually there is nothing more of you and you are too prideful to walk away from those that are irresistible. Like metal to the wrong magnet, the devil lures you into the bear-trap of worldly toys and then snaps it’s jaws shut.

The attractions the demons drag out for their god Satan and like decorations on a Christmas tree, they blink and glitter in a sensual manner that can pierce the self-protection unbelievers expect will protect them and it doesn’t. No matter what your occupation means to you, it can’t remain your god for too long otherwise you need to be worn down to where your resistance to more and more and more evaporates in the smoke of hell’s chimney.

The devil’s appeal is stronger than your resistance. You are a spiritual prostitute of the highest order his gang of evil hall-hounds will form an attack-pack and tear your unbelief to shreds. Apart from having the Holy Spirit within you, you are not able not to sin. You not only are hopeless with your god, you are being fed false hopes from demons in the pulpits of many churches. It’s the false god Satan and his doctrines of lies that will distort the true Christianity so bad that it becomes a confusing battle of contradictions and denominations that are hell bent on earing the Body of Christ apart.

Man makes god in his image and likeness to deflect notice of his sin by hiding it in a barrage of false teachings. It doesn’t take long to have a man become your god and bow to the wishes of this pope or senior bishop or priest. Once layered by sinful men the fear of man replaces the fear of God. This is the death knell of religion. You get a false assurance that the true faith is whatever you personally believe it to be.

PRESS ON!

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WE ARE MORE

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WE ARE MORE

By Rick Mathes

Romans 8:37 (NASB77) 37  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Peter’s transformation from a coward, intimidated by a servant girl to a warrior for Christ, preaching the gospel of His Resurrection in the face of certain death. Countless souls have turned from cringing to steadfast champions because the Holy Spirit has transformed believers from death to life.

This new energy or essence is totally designed to help us forget sin. A dearly s we have learned to love he Lord, conversely our hate for Satan has soared to new depths. The resurrection of the dead as exploded the netherworld with destruction and rampaging plagues of sin not heard of since Jesus cried from the Cross, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” The sky turned black as the Trinity was ripped apart and the Father turned His back on the unimaginable agony of His Son. It was the beginning of exchanging the power of sin to the power of a praying child’s victory.

Jesus leads us though the Cross as through a star-gate into the wonderful spender of the heavenlies, beyond description. Our Lord chooses us form all others to be and adopted son to the Father and brother to the church and Bridegroom of glory. As heirs of heaven we share our Lord’s throne with Him and stand as equals with all those chosen the Father loves.

This is why Father God permitted us to go through this life and earth experience so that we would fully understand that death stung Jesus and died. Isaiah 53 may be the hinge of the Holy Scriptures but the resurrection is the capstone that illuminates every word of the original Logos and manuscripts with God’s signature.

The glue that holds this all together is the prayers the rush of warriors to the front lines with no regard of self. The victory is of ours is oblivious to our deeds forf Him and our destruction of the devil and his fallen angels. All we ae are ofis His pleasure and approval. We live to make His joy compete!

PRESS ON!

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TWO ARE ONE

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TWO ARE ONE?

By Rick Mathes

What is the best explanation you can come up with to explain the Trinity? The egg shell, the white and yellow yoke? I’m sure you can do better than that. Here’s a few I have read or heard about over the years. I’m sure there are more that you can add.

The Father is the lover, the Son is the loved and the Holy Spirit is the love between them.

The Father is the sun, the Son is the illumination and the Holy Spirit is the warmth between them.

How about ice, water and steam? (Really poor!)

Try light, heat and air that need each other to exist and cannot exist apart from each other?

My favorite is one times, one equals one.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the Triune Godhead is a concept we will never understand completely. All we can rely on is that the Trinity is clearly taught in the Word of God and the ancient Fathers, Puritans and Calvinists agree to this moment which leads me to think about man made in God’s image and likeness. Try this one on.

Man is also a trinity of mind, soul and spirit which I believe survives the physical death of the body and in the last days will be rejoined in the new eternal body we will enjoy in eternity. So I have been studying the Word now every day because I really believe we take our mind’s knowledge with us. I have focused all these years on the Word and Works of Christ. It is called Christology, the study of Christ.

This has led me to think about my marriage to Trish. The Word teaches that we are complete when the two of us become one in marriage and divorce is never an option except for a partners infidelity. Ummm! The two shall become one in the covenant of marriage.

He Word teaches that there won’t be marriage in heaven. I can’t help but hope and expect that my wife and I will be one soul in glory. It makes sense to me that the Trinity of God can be three, and the trinity of man can be three and the trinity of marriage can be two in one, surely the completeness of husband and wife in His image and likeness.

What God close in eternity for two to be enjoined as one in the covenant of marriage will certainly continue in heaven? Just wondering: won’t you join me in this happy thought?

MORE THAN A MAN

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MORE THAN A MAN

By Rick Mathes

Maximum security penitentiary leaps off the screen of a James Cagney movie with long metal catwalks and tier after tier of cages holding the incorrigibles locked down 23 hours a day. The level 5 security risks are separated into four geographical quadrants so that even a chow or shower-time, the gangs cannot assemble together. Divide and conquer is particularly applicable to this bizarre nation of murderers and mutilators doing life without parole sentences.

Once a month, at my evangelistic service, the chapel is the place where all the campus general population is restricted to a central and presumed contained location; the chapel! As over four hundred inmates began filing in by group sections, I was painfully apprehensive that two high-powered rifles were being directed at them by sharp-shooters from the safe position overhead and behind my back. They assembled into their respective gangs; Chicago, East St. Louis, gang-bangers, black Muslims, white Aryans and of course the Christians.

The Warden came up to me and he said that he anticipated an insurrection to take place because he was compelled to allow sixty trouble makers and effeminate homosexuals from Protective Custody to join us from the balcony overlooking the auditorium. These infidels could not even live their own kind! The bottom of the barrel.

The balcony began to fill as they flexed their muscles, sneered and could he heard cursing the name of Jesus. The crowd was growing anxious and I sensed the presence of Satan. I signaled the praise team to begin singing and I dropped to my knees in foreboding desperation of the danger I had led my devoted volunteers into. I cried out to the Lord and began rebuking Satan with all the faith that was in me. A hollowed hush fell over the chapel and through tear blurred eyes, I looked out over the assembly and witnessed a modern day miracle.

About two hundred Christian prisoners had turned their backs to me and were standing upright, in the midst of this living hell. They lifted their holy hands to the balcony and began praying out loud in the Spirit of the Lord. Those few minutes seemed like an eternity as I observed the Spirit of God rush through that demon possessed gallery of incorrigibles. Behold, fourteen notorious gang leaders rose to their feet and cried out to Jesus for salvation! With tears streaming down their faces, the overwhelmed gang members on the ground floor began to stand with their leaders to do the same and I had yet to deliver a word of my sermon to any of them. I cried out, “There is a God!”

The service then began and at the completion I gave an alter call. The alter was flooded with a sea of repentant sinners. I was sobbing too hard to even recite a sinner’s prayer, so I handed the microphone to the black Pastor assisting me. He too was helpless to say a word. So a prisoner doing a double life sentence plus 50 years led them to the throne of grace; the old rugged Cross.

When the service had concluded and the men were led out cell block by cell block, I gathered uou team for praise and prayers of thanksgiving. I later learned that 23 shanks (weapons) were left on the stage! Faith coupled with fervent prayer had prevailed.

 

PRESS ON!

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