Tag: mission gate

HEAD DONKEY

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HEAD DONKEY

By Rick Mathes

John 12:15 ” FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.”

When I read a narrative in the Word, I imagine I am there sinking my toes into Israeli sand. Won’t you join me in this exciting event and look around at all that is happening in this scene. Do you see the paradise into Jerusalem’s East Gate? The crowd is going wild, the soldiers are nervous and the priests are incensed! This is a train-wreck looking to happen.

Notice with me Peter at the head of the parade clearing the way and leading the other Apostles that expect to be seated on the 12 thrones of the New Jerusalem.

The disciples are throwing palm leaves and cloaks on the road before the donkey and shouting their praises into the third heaven. There was no turning back now! The Pharisees and Sadducees were furious beyond reason as they plotted His death after the Passover.

What caught my eye this spectacle was the donkey. Just for the fun of it I wondered what the donkey was thinking. Now hold on, keep reading ok?

Exalted: My first thought was that he must think he’s a really big deal because out of all the donkeys in Jerusalem, God picked him! Isn’t he something, reeking of pride! It just dawned on me that there are members of churches that feel that very same way. You can tell which ones they are because they are holier-than-thou and they talk down their nose at you.

Forced: Could it be that the donkey was put out and angry that he had to work for the Lord on this hot and sweaty day? I’ll just bet he was grumbling about how unappreciated he was. Why was he picked when there were so many that were lazy and never did anything for Jesus at all?

Serving: More likely, the donkey was just being dutiful and serving the Lord the best he could. In fact, he was enjoying the crowd that was blessing Jesus because he loved Jesus too and was happy to help out.

Humble: How about being shocked that of all the donkeys, God picked him out even though he knew how unworthy he was to carry God’s burden on his back. Imagine that! He had the weight of the Lord on his shoulder!

Jesus needed him to fulfill prophecy and advance the Kingdom. On top of all this, his efforts were breathed into the Word of God for all to read and admire forever as we have just done.

How exalted and humble can it be for this donkey? And what kind of donkey are you?

HE STILL HEALS

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HE STILL HEALS

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 15:30 And great multitudes came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, dumb, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them,

Jesus is the first and only faith healer. I get sick to my stomach watching these charlatan  Baker healing service where they were providing wheel-chairs to elderly people waiting in line to get into the arena. They were told that they would be on national TV and all they had to do was get out of the chair and walk when Jim asked them to. Can you see any humor, however sick, for the most popular faith-healer of our century putting all his ministry money into a hospital? Oral Roberts admitted that only 4% of the patients were healed by faith. Any board of trustees of any hospital will tell you that 4% of the patients have a psychosomatic illness (in their head).

So much of this text applies to those around you if not you yourself. Let me illustrate this way: when you walk with the Lord is unsteady, you are certainly lame as lame can be. You are limping through not just your talk but also your walk and you need to get inot the healing balm of Gideon: the Word of God to walk straight again.

Are you groping between right and wrong? Are you seeking righteousness one day and sin the next? Are you vacillating between Jesus and Lucifer? Then you are blind and walking in the dark. You also may thing Jesus IS Lord. This is seeing Him in black and white. Or you can see Jesus AS Lord in living color. It’s all up to you.

When you are out of fellowship with Christ, you are a spiritual cripple. You are a weak-kneed limping excuse for a man of God. You snivel and complain and whine until no one wants to be near you except those of like kind. Allow the Holy Spirit to come upon you and stiffen your spine and spirit to be useful to the Church.

Lastly, you are the dumb. This does not imply lack of intelligence. It just means your lips are sealed. You lips are sealed? The world is dying of spiritual cancer, you’ve got the cure (Jesus) and your lips are sealed? Shame on you! He died, healed you and gave you the healing to pass on to others. How can you not shout the Good News from the housetops? Whatever the illness, Jesus will heal you if you are willing. He still heals!

HE SPOKE

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HE SPOKE

By Rick Mathes

Hebrews 4:12 (ASV)

For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.

You have a universe of truth, knowledge and understanding in your hands when you hold the recording of God’s very Word to man in the Bible. Think of the magnitude of that love letter addressed personally to you. It is irresistible. It must be savored drop by drop: word for word so don’t hesitate to read it through. If you cut nay page in the Old or New Testaments, they will bleed the blood of Christ. It is truly His-Story from cover to cover. His love is found in every drop of ink on the pages and blood on the cross. This one is for you so read it carefully.

Prayer begins where words leave off. You can only hold so much of His Logos and love in your heart until your words explode in the joy of your salvation. Jeremiah sad that if he stopped speaking the gospel to others the Word would swell up in his veins like fire. Indeed he could not stifle God’s Holy Word no matter how lost and despondent he felt.

Words up are prayer; a bouquet of fragrances pleasant to our Triune godhead: Jesus loves to hear from you. He loves you so. He already knows every minute detail of your life but He loves to just hear your voice. Remember you were created in His image and likeness. You are His creation and the essence His Spirit is in His Word so read it through, pray it through and live it out.

I would rather see the sermon instead of just hearing it. You have confessed “Jesus is your Lord” but have you confessed “Jesus as your Lord?” Are you walking your talk? You are an ambassador of the King. When people get to know you do they bet to know Him? I don’t believe a word I hear and only half of what I see. Everyone has an underlying motive and an ulterior motive. God know both of yours and He expect you to live out your life for Him and pass it on; faith to faith.

You can’t have the Gospel of Jesus with a clenched fist. You must open your hand and let go to have Him. It’s only when you let go and Let God that you receive the full import of God’s truth: the very God your hold in your hands!

HE KNOWS

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HE KNOWS

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB77) 21 ” Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  22 ” Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

They are called “practical atheists.” Some may flatter these unbelievers and label them “carnal Christians” or even “humanists.” I call them “Satanists.” Gasp! Consider that the proof of unbelief is when one pay no attention to the Word of god and live as though they were god. The major sin that is at the top of Satan’s wish-list is unbelief and it is the only sin God cannot forgive. So if you blatantly sin in Corem Deo (in God’s face) without conviction and repentance, you are an unbeliever and thus a Satanist.

He knows us:

  • In our repentance
  • In our gratitude
  • In our adversity
  • In our reproach
  • In our difficulty
  • And in our Love.

“Depart from me” are the scariest words I’m blessed I will never hear. How about you?

I remember thinking, “I’ll get religion when I get old but for now I’m going to party, party, party.” I didn’t realize tht the departure beings here on earth and extends eternally in hell.

He will depart from your friendship and then you will be horrified to realize what a friend He was or could of be but you invite Him out of your life. It’s a lonely world when you are out of fellowship with Him. Nothing can compare to His love and protection. But you lose it all when you turn your back to the cross he died to save your soul.

If you think this life is hell, you will be shocked when those flames start crawling up your legs from an abyss of liquid, bottomless flames and brimstone. You will have lost the paradise He created on this beautiful blue pearl hanging out here as the welcome mat of the universe.

You will have lost the blessing of His presence here and in the heaven you refused. You have only gained a satisfied Satan who you choe over Christ. You are not a Christian, you are a Satanist and He knows!

GOING TO HIM

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GOING TO HIM

By Rick Mathes

John 16:5 But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘ Where are You going?’

When Jesus turned His back on the “JC & Bros. Construction Co.” he gave Him mom a big good-bye hug and set Him mind like flint on His journey to the Cross. He never wavered because He knew the old world of chaos and underestimation would self-destruct unless He accomplished the atonement of sin on the death state as the final sacrifice for sin. The wake of human depravity and suffering followed Him as His arch enemy Satan declared war and marshaled all his fallen angels against one man, Jesus of Nazareth.

He left the:

  • Joy of His creation to return to the fullness of His former glory.
  • Power of healing, raising the dead and miracles to His Apostles.
  • Fruitfulness of His teaching for the written record of His Word, the Holy Bible.
  • Friendship of His followers to be continued in the fellowship of His believers.
  • Love of the believers to be further exploded in the proof of His resurrection.
  • Suffering in hopefulness to a hope of healing and future glory.
  • Tribulation of all religion that claim that Jesus is not the only way.
  • Persecution that fades to very little compared to His sacrifice.
  • Violence of the devil’s war on the Body of Christ without restraint.
  • Death of souls that became transformed into eternal life.
  • Eternal death of all to and eternal life in glory or in hell to all.

Oh yes, He left the ground and lifted up into a cloud that transported Him the highest heaven. Five hundred honest souls witnessed this astounding act of God to bring His victorious accomplishment Home. So He left us only to send His Holy Spirit ten days later.

The exchanges of all we are for all He is becomes the evidence of the born again experience. The old leaves and the new come. It is all a matter of returning to our first nature and that is to walk in the holiness of God. This means we must not love the world or that love of the Father will not be in us. The Holy Spirit is right by your side to remind you of this until Jesus returns.

GODLY TRUTH

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GODLY TRUTH

By Rick Mathes

1 Timothy 4:7 (NASB77) 7  But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;

“What is truth?” Pilate tossed out at Jesus and those with no objective values stumble over the same question. When everything is relative, nothing is truth in the absolute: chaos, insanity. There needs to be a firm basis; such as a 12 inch ruler to measure one foot. Well out Bible is the cannon, yardstick of truth. The Word of God teaches, “Thy Word is truth.” And Jesus stated without equivocation, “I AM the way, the truth and the life.”

We as Godly followers of Jesus have an upward Gospel that soars to the third heaven of truth and beyond. When you have a constant of faith, there isn’t room for speculation. The truth becomes absolute under all circumstances and settles all questions. But this awakening must come from a pure heart, one willing to stand naked in the presence of a Holy God. It’s this clear conscience that gives you a peace you have never known.

Genuine faith can pass every test including martyrdom, dying for truth. All those of faith were effectually called to keep the faith down to their dying last breath. They knew in the early church that they were saed and thi was a truth they built their faith upon. They tok a good pattern or themplet o life and fought the good fight on their knees in fervent prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving.

While you bask in truth, you will experience a peaceful life full of grace and peace that surpasses our limited understanding. There is nothing more exhilarating than honesty. It is an interior cleansing that makes your character sparkle in a brilliance your deceitful only self never even had a clue it existed. When Jesus owns you, He teaches you the truth through the Holy Spirit that loves to give us gifts or righteousness. There certainly is justice for all when we come to the judgment seat of God.

The lusts have left and the fruit of the Holy Spirit begins to ripen around you as you walk blamelessly in god’s truth. So ask yourself, “What is truth?” and recall that Jesus answered, “I AM the truth! No ne comes to the Father but through me.” We that are chosen are exclusive and that’s what separates us from the rest of the world. They are all going to Hell without Jesus!

GOD WITH US

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GOD WITH US

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 1:23 (NASB77) 23 ” Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, ” God with us.”

When Adam walked in the cool of the evening with God he was demonstrating our first nature which is to be holy and sinless in the presence of the godhead itself. Adam fell and as our natural father, we have also fallen and it is now second nature to violate God’s simple laws. The wealth of His blessings wasted away and mankind slipped into a poverty of soul that was not devoid of Jesus. As our pre-incarnate hero, He found us when we were lost and joined us in our employment, in its most humble condition. He resides in both our joys and sorrows as we see fellowship with the saints in prison. No place is too lonely and full of weeping that a song of praise will not cure because He inhabits His praises and dwells in all our song and merriment.

How blessed it is to know that even in the midst of our “bottom of bottoms”, he is there!

We all agree that He is all knowing, all powerful and all present. This means that even in the course of our most evil act, He knew we would do it before we knew we would do it. He empowered us to do the evil deed. And He was there and could have stopped us anything He wanted and didn’t. Hold on now, we were in His will!

Now understand there is His perfect will and His permissive will. When we have repented of our sins and are engaged in the business of the Lord, we are in His perfect will. But when we are obstinate and stubborn, he withdraws the protection of His Holy Spirit and lets Satan have a go at us as He did Job. This is His permissive will similar to the backside of a Persian rug: all knots and tangles.

Both conditions are in His will.

We both will be astonished at His genius in forming us to His chosen perfection when we step into the other side. All that we have been through has exactly orchestrated to display us in glory as a symphony of His creation. A caterpillar turned into a butterfly. How all creation of angels in heaven and demons in hell will be in awe of us as we have been passed through the test of time and nature to return to our rightful place, walking once again this time with dam and all the saints of the past who were tried and tested as we had been.

 

GO SO LOVES

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GOD SO LOVES

By Rick Mathes

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life

Let us marvel together over God’s genius when He thought up and then spoke the world into existence. Not to mention inventing blue for our sky. How marvelous can it be when for His glory He made man in His image and likeness? My mind has just gone on disconnect just writing this. All of it is for us to honor Him wqith: our mind, heart and soul with all of our best effort. Whew!

Selah

For a season, Satan has been allowed to rule kingdoms of this world and prowl around like a devouring lion. What must we do?

Jesus has given us permission to come to Him with an empty hand. It’s an invitation to the rest of your life. As fellow Christians, we are on our way to an experience we won’t soon forget. The world as we know it does an amazing 180o like nothing we hae ever seen much less imagined. He beckons us to step forward, out of all the billions that populate this planet and stand before Him all alone.

When I was facing the booking sergeant and I gave him my ring, watch, belt and shoe-laces, I stood there all alone: no friends. When we step through that turns-style we will be face to face alone with Him. Our friends won’t do us any good at the white throne judgment.

Now we need to rationally consider our options. Without Jesus, what is your “plan B.?” If you don’t have a viable alternative to a resurrected Savior, don’t feel alone; neither do I nor does the world He loves so much. So what choice will you make? I strongly suggest that you should believe in Him. For 2,000 years plus, He has never let anyone down: proof enough?

Now I don’t know about you but I don’t know when I will have had my last chance nor do I know the day and time of my last heartbeat. So it seems very wise to me for you to accept Him as your Lord of your life. When you renounce the world, all of hell’s fury will be unleashed on you. So brace yourself to stand on the promises of the Lord because in the last analysis, He’s all we have in fact, He is all we ever needed.

 

GOD MAN

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GOD MAN

By Rick Mathes

Romans 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Through the Spirit of Holiness, He was declared with power to be the Son of God. I can’t even get my mind around this incredible fact. The Creator took on the humanness of the flesh as you and I have. This leaves me breathless and numb with awe.

Make no doubt about it, Jesus is God. He couldn’t say, “I am God” because it would have been considered the absolute sin of blasphemy. He said He was God in every other way He could and neither Jew nor Gentile had any doubt about who He claimed to be, and neither should you.

What would it be like to have walked with Him those 3 plus years? His precious feet rested on the dust He created us with. The Eternal One became man and dwelt with His creation. He is doing the same today through the Holy Spirit that resides in you. This unifies and binds the Body of Christ in one accord. If He returned to walk in the flesh once again, could you look Him in the eye and confess Him as your Lord? If not, even Father God cannot help you from the wrath to come.

Because He was and is God, He is unchanging. That is why the written Word is so important to us. What you see of Him there is here now. We just don’t have the heightened senses to see or hear Him and His angels hovering around us and interacting in our day to day affairs. What a comfort to know that the they are here and He cares about us now in our present circumstances.

As God He knew from then until now what we would think before we thought it. He is all knowing; even our darkest thoughts are on the Imax screen for Him to see. We may have a false front we put on for others for our benefit but that means nothing to Him because He swee our hearts as they really are. God forgive us!

I don’t understand it  but God bled and died on the cross like the man I would have been had He not taken the cross in my place,. The Holy Grail of His love was His person. He came in the flesh and left in the new flesh. He’s coming back and we will return to our first nature and walk in the Shekinah glory of God Incarnate declared to be ours by Father God.

GOD IS

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GOD IS

By Rick Mathes

Titus 2:11 (NASB77) 11  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

God appeared to all men in the form of a man. This is call hypostasis. How can Jesus be fully God and flly man at the same time? I didn’t know but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t understand it. What we do know iis a lot about god and a lot about the man from Galilee. Let me take a moment to list few attributes of god and similar words that may give us both a fuller picture of Him.

God is:

  • Personal          human, internal, secret, novel, characteristic
  • Eternal             divine, nonmaterial, lasting, timeless, permanent, unfailing
  • Spirit                life force, ghost, emphasis, seat of feeling, courage
  • All-knowing     divine, well-informed, omniscient, ruling, governing
  • Sovereign        masterful, national, dominant, ruling, governing
  • Unchanging     eternal, permanent, stable, regular, infallible
  • Good               skillful, desirable, benevolent, obedient, moral, innocent
  • Righteous        right, moral, judicious, accurate, wise, principles
  • Just                 legal, impartial, judicious, accurate, wise, principles
  • Truthful            correct, honest, realistic, literal, naïve
  • Holy                 virtuous, perfect, etical, irreproachable, impeccable

God has:

Saving Grace: It is entirely of His choosing that we are saved. I know don’t like to accept it but the truth is that you had absolutely nothing to do with your getting saved. It was all entirely of His doing.

Schooling Grace; The Logos comes alive when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and the lessons learned from the Word of God get deeper and deeper the more you study the Word. We will be studying God forever.

Sanctifying Grace; The pursuit of holiness is futile. We can’t chase it, find it or cquire it apart from the imputation of His holiness on us.

Serving Grace; The natural result of unmerited favor is to bless those who don’t deserve it. This is a clear sign of a real life change and that is to love the unlovely without their asking to be loved.