The Empire Strikes Back!

Ephesians 6:13-17
"13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in THE EVIL DAY, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"

 

As Christians, you and I have been  supplied with all the equipment we need to fight the good fight to remain in faith!  Unlike Star Wars, we are THE EMPIRE OF THE SON!   

This Is war.

We are at war but not a physical one.  Ours is in the spiritual realm.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 

³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
⁴ (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
⁵ Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

You see?  The batlefield is in your mind.

 

  

Our Weaponry

#1)  Truth.  

What is "The truth?"  Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free."  

Is it the word of God?  Yes, in that Jesus is THE WORD MADE FLESH.  But let's get even more descriptive.  

Jesus defined it for us another way.  He said, "I AM the way, THE (definite article) TRUTH and the life."


It’s Jesus!  JESUS IS THE TRUTH. “THE,” is a definite article.  It indicates THERE IS ONLY ONE…..and it’s Him!

Tell me:  What, or more to the point, "WHO" sets you free?  JESUS!  If He sets you free, then YOU ARE FREE INDEED!  

Buckle that around your waist!  Without that freedom, everything else falls down. This “belt” holds it all together .

#2)  The Breastplate Of Righteousness. 

  

Once you know that you KNOW you are saved and that you ARE, without a doubt, “THE  Righteousness of God in Christ,” that knowledge guards your heart as surely as impenetrable body armor.  Why, it’s better than kevlar!  There’s that DEFINTIE ARTICLE again!

The breastplate guards your heart.  What is our Father always so fond of saying?  "Guard your HEART."  Jesus said, "Let not your HEART be troubled."  

But you have to “Let not,” for yourself.  Jesus cannot “Let not” for you.
So, when are you most likely to let your guard down?  In the midst of a trial or trouble. The more you remind yourself in the midst of that trial or trouble that you are beloved of God, that He is your Shepherd, the more at rest and at peace your HEART will be.  You need not fear in the midst of trouble.

And if you find that you are having a hard time doing it for yourself, where do you find others who will comfort you?  IN CHURCH!  That’s where those of like precious faith will come in very handy!

#3)  Feet Shod With The Gospel Of Truth.

Why did Paul go out of his way to say, "THE gospel of truth if it is the only one?"  It begs the question, "If there is 'THE gospel of truth,' then there must be another "gospel" that is NOT THE truth."  Is that true?

Yes.  He wrote to the Church of Galatia about this very subject. It's the topic of discussion for the entire book.  He speaks of how dangerous it is and what happens to anyone who preaches what we know as "mixture."  They are under a double curse.

What causes you and I to walk through this life in rest and peace?  Knowing the gospel, or "good news," that we have PEACE WITH GOD; that our sins are not counted against us.

The reason we can preach this good news to that those with whom we interact that ARE NOT saved is that we can assure them that God is not mad at them.  He is not holding their sins against them, either!  Jesus loves them!
Bet they never heard that in Church, huh?  THAT'S WHY IT'S GOOD NEWS!

Come to think of it, bet you never heard that in Church either!

-

Universal Salvation It ISN'T.

Now understand, that DOES NOT mean that they are automatically saved.  No way!  They still need to accept that paid-in-full receipt from Jesus' outstretched, nail-pierced hand.

Of course, they can slap it away if they choose.  God is a great Respector of our free will.  He won't  force salvation on anyone.  But, if I were you, I would take it 'cause there is NO OTHER WAY INTO HEAVEN.  I don't think anyone knowingly wants the other option ! 

#4)  The Shield Of Faith.

"Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one."

Doesn’t it sound like the “shield of faith” is made of water?  When you say, “Quench the fire,” that means you’re putting it out with WATER, right?  Well, water throughout the Bible is a typology of the WORD OF GOD!

–

When the devil comes at you with his lying words, just do exactly what Jesus did when He was tempted by him in the “wilderness,” a typology of our walk through this life.  He answered him every time with the word of God!

–

How do we get more faith?  the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing BY THE WORD OF CHRIST.”  Romans 10:17

Some of you may be thinking, “Doesn’t that verse end by saying, “by the word of God?”  Actually, no.  Go look it up in the Greek text and you’ll find it says, “Faith (pistis) comes by the (spoken) word (rēmatos) of Christ  (Chtistou.)

Notice, the Bible says that at the Name of JESUS every knee will bow, not at the Name of God.  It is the words of Christ that have the power to defeat the devil!

Don't be like some and take out the shield of doubt and quench all the blessings of God.

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NO!  Learn to exercise your faith.  How do you do that?  By listening to good, anointed and accurate preaching and teaching of the Word of God and confessing what He says about you or your situation.

-

You see, when the truth is preached,  FAITH RISES UP!  The more of the true Word of God you hear, the more you are surrounded by God's invisible, impregnable shield...like Star Wars!

#5)  The Helmet Of Salvation.

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"

Being girded with the truth, assured of your righteousness in Christ, walking in the truth of the real gospel and guarded by the shield of faith, they all work together to form an impenetrable HELMET OF SALVATION.  With all this armor securely in place, you and I are surrounded and protected on all sides from every attack of the devil.  

Do we have to face the him and his tactics?  No.  We are transformed by beholding Jesus, turn our backs to the desert (the world), face Him and He fights the devil!  We are no match for him.

When he whispers in your ear and tries to get your focus off Jesus so that you will turn around, stand still.  Stay where you are.  Face the One in Whom you have placed your trust.  You will not be unseated!  THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S!

The Light Of The Word.

Don't forget, we have a light saber: The Light of the spoken Word of the Living God which is sharper than ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD.  

(For more on the art of spiritual warfare, follow the link below:
https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/mind-games/)

I say it's high time for the EMPIRE OF GOD TO STRIKE BACK!  You see, we're all kinda like Luke Sky"walker," only we are actually more like 'sky 'sitters,'" because we are "seated" with Christ in heavenly places.  

Only those who are seated...because they are resting in the finished work of Jesus...are truly elders.  It has nothing at all to do with your chronological age, your gender, the church office you hold, how long you've been a Christian or how many degrees you have. 

Anyone: ANYONE, who does not understand the true gospel, or if you are in a church that mixes law and grace, which puts you under condemnation, is among those who are NOT "seated." 

That doesn't mean you're not a Christian, of course, but you're in that very windy, shaky, half way place; the middle ground of the Holy Place where "winds of doctrines" fly around."  Here the waters of the sea are troubled, the people tossed to and fro, as James described.

BUT.....When you comes to understand the true gospel, you now enter THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH where there is peace and safety.  

This is the Holy of Holies.  Here you are surrounded by the pure gold of divine righteousness.  The elders are SEATED before the throne of God beside the CRYSTAL (not liquid) sea.  There is no tossing to and fro here, as in the Holy Place in between the outer court of bronze (a picture of judgment and judgmentalism) and the inner court of God which is The throne room.  That's the secret place of the Most High.

Here you can be at rest, not worried or stressed, as Jesus fights your battles for you!  You don't fight FOR victory;  you fight from a position OF VICTORY.  The battle has already been won by our Savior, JESUS!!!  It's the only way to truly win!

.....and that, Church, is how The Empire Strikes Back!































 

 

 

 

 

Three-In-One Blessing

Numbers 6:24-26 
"The LORD bless you and keep you; 
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; 
the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace {Shalom}

Our Father loves to do things in threes. He seems to have a particular fondness for the number.  For instance:  There are three persons yet One God.  Man is triparteid:  body, soul and spirit.  Time is comprised of past, present and future.  Matter is length, width and depth.  And of course, His favorite of all threes, His Beloved Son, Jesus, was raised to life on the third day!  

Oh yes, I'd say three holds VERY special significance to Him.  For that matter, to all of us!

For more on the significance of numbers, please follow this link:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2015/11/bible-numerics.html

This passage of scripture is an excellent example of the number 3.  Daddy's fingerprints all over it. 

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the three in One, are all represented here in this one blessing.

The Father is mentioned first.  He is the One Who loved us SO MUCH and so wanted to BLESS US and keep us safe.  He wanted us to be able to call Him "Abba" but, because of sin, He could not have fellowship with us.  Because of the Law, He had to curse His people more often than He blessed them because they disobeyed His laws.  But He loved His people.  He didn't want to curse them.  He wanted desperately to bless them, so He sent....

.....The Son.  Jesus is the physical expression of the Father's great love for us!  Jesus said "if you have SEEN ME, you have SEEN THE Father." And we beheld His glory; the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth."  

By sending His beloved Son, our Father is making His HAPPY FACE SHINE ON US and is blessing us, His people, with Grace: with JESUS!!!  Jesus is lIke looking at our Father's face.  

But after Jesus finished the work of redemption, He physically went back to heaven.  We can no longer look in His sweet face, see our love and acceptance there and physically be in His presence.  But He has not left us comfortless:  He sent....

 

The Holy Spirit, Who gives us His SHALOM,  HIS PEACE. It's the Spirit Who witnesses with our spirits that we are the children of God and leads us in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake. 

This three-in-One plan for our blessing and edification can be seen in the Hebrew spelling of Abram and Abraham.  To learn more about this topic, follow this link:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/06/our-god-is-full-of-grace.html

Isn't God COOL!?  The blessing of the Triune God in ONE BLESSING!

The Realm Of "Maybe"

John 10:27-29
29 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall NEVER perish; neither shall ANYONE snatch them out of MY HAND. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of MY FATHER'S HAND."

If you're a Christian but live in the realm of "Maybe I'm forgiven, maybe I'm not," it is not where God wants you to be.

Do you go around thinking God is mad at you or, at the very least, mildly disappointed? Are you always condemning yourself for how you've failed?  It may seem like the religious or spiritual thing to do but IT IS NOT PLEASING TO GOD.  His Son was brutally beaten and tortured to pay the full penalty for the sins of your entire life: past, present AND future.  He made you righteous and gave you heaven.

Think about it: the Holy Spirit, being God, cannot have fellowship with sin:  NOT EVER.  He comes in and takes up residence when you first invited Jesus into your heart and the Bible says He "NEVER leaves you or forsakes you."  If that is true but you believe you must confess your sins every time you commit them because now you are out of fellowship with God, you have a BIG problem.

Here's the picture that belief paints:  

You have just committed a sin--big or little doesn't matter. Now you are in darkness, so you believe, and out of fellowship.  You must confess your sin(s), ask forgiveness for every little thing...the ones you are conscious of that is...and get cleansed...again...so that you get back into the light and into fellowship with God.

 It's like a dance:  IN fellowship...OUT of fellowship...IN fellowship...OUT of fellowship, but you're still worried that there are sins of which you may be unaware so your conscience isn't really ever completely clear.  There's a nagging doubt in your mind that you may have unconfessed sin.  You still feel under condemnation.

THIS IS SPIRITUAL ADULTERY

Remember:  The Holy Sprit--GOD--CANNOT have fellowship with sin....EVER.  If your sinful deeds truly do defile you, He has no choice but to leave you until you confess that, or those, sin(s); then, when you are "right with God" once again, He come back in....again.

What do you have in there?  A revolving door?  If the above scenario were actually true, He probably spends more time on the outside than in your heart!   Also...if that is true...why in the world did Jesus say He NEVER leaves you or forsakes you?  In that scenario,  never isn't NEVER and Jesus lied to us.

AS IF!!!  The truth is He doesn't come into your heart and leave through a revolving door every time you commit a sin.  That's ridiculous!  It's just as Jesus said:  HE NEVER LEAVES YOU OR FORSAKES YOU!  

What does that tell you?  YOU ARE ALWAYS AT ALL TIMES, IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE CLEANSED OF SIN BECAUSE GOD CANNOT EVER HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH SIN.........Period.

This whole concept is a misinterpretation of 1 John 1:9 which...by the way...was written to the Gnostic Jews of Paul's day.  The words for "forgive" and "cleanse" in Greek in this verse are "aphiémi:  send away," and "katharizó:  cleanse, make clean."  THEY ARE BOTH IN THE AORIST TENSE.
If you remember nothing else, remember this:  AORIST tense means that this is a ONE-TIME, NEVER-TO-BE-REPEATED ACTION.  They are in the passive voice which means they were done"TO" you and thus cannot UNdone "BY" you.
It is a salvation verse.

Paul actually begins addressing the church-believers-in chapter 2.  In verse 12 he says, "I write to you, LITTLE CHILDREN, because your sins ARE FORGIVEN YOU for His name's sake."
The phrase, "Little children," is "teknion," in Greek.  It does not refer to "baby Christians but is an affectionate term, like saying, "dear children," referring to believers.  He is writing to them "BECAUSE" their sins "ARE (perfect tense) FORGIVEN them.  

I repeat:  Aorist tense means, "an action that is executed; an action that is complete once and for all and NEEDS NO REPETITION."  Check it out with any Greek scholar you like.  They'll tell you the same thing.

You see?  Your sins are forgiven you once and for all--PAST, PRESENT AND FUTIRE.  Forgiveness for your sins from God NEVER needs to be repeated.  As far as sin goes, between you and God, it's a done deal.

We do, however, confess our sins to one another when we have wronged someone.  But It is HORIZONTAL:  never vertical.

And lest you think that makes people licenscious, Jesus said that he who is forgiven much will love Him much.

So, stand and boldly.  Confess what you ALREADY ARE: cleansed, righteous, pure; YES, PURE, even though you just blew it. Think of it like being under a waterfall of continual cleansing.

And please, DO NOT beat yourself up when you sin.  When you do, what you're actually doing, in a way, is trying to "pay" for your own sins.  Begging for forgiveness that you already have is the same thing.  It dishonors what Jesus did, trampling His blood underfoot.  No sincere Christian would ever knowingly wants do that, I'm sure.

Realize that HE DID IT ALL.   IT IS FINISHED...and come on over here into the Sonshine, Church!
You don't belong in the uncertain shadows of the REALM OF MAYBE.

The Mercy Seat: Tabernacle Series Part 6

Leviticus 16:14 

“He (Aaron) shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.”

Once a year the high priest of ancient Israel on the Day of Atonement entered into the Holy of Holies and offered a sacrifice to God so that the people’s sins could be covered for the next 12 months.  The blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled seven times in front of the mercy seat but only once on top, covering up what was inside.  

Hidden inside the Ark were three items:  The Tablets of Saphire upon which were written the Ten Commandments, a golden bowl containing manna and Aaron’s rod that budded.  For more on the Sapphire tablets, follow this link:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/08/ananias-and-sapphira.html

Why was the blood sprinkled seven times?  Remember back in Job, the oldest book of the Bible, where satan presented himself to God along with the Angels?  Why able to be there in the first place?  Because Adam forfeited his place when he bowed his knee to that outlaw spirit.

Seven in Bible numerics means, "completeness."  Sprinkling seven times covered that stained place where the devil could stand so that we could stand before come before a Holy God with our sins covered under the Old Covenent.

However, when Jesus came and offered His perfect SINLESS blood, He sprinkled it in front of the throne of God and sat down on the Mercy Seat.  HE CLEANSED OUR SINS FOR ALL TIME! 

(Contents of the Ark:  Stone tablets, Manna and Aaron's rod.)

Why these three particular items?  They represent the entire scope of man’s rejection of God's Law, represented by The stone tablets;  rejection of God's provision, represented by the golden pot of manna and rejection of God-appointed leadership, represented by Aaron’s rod.

Remember back in Exodus 16 and 17, the people were complaining about Aaron being appointed as their leader?  God instructed Moses to collect every tribal leader's rod, a symbol of leadership.  Their names were inscribed on their respective rods for identification purposes and all were placed before the Lord. 

(Aaron's rod that budded.)

Exodus 17:8 “Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, THE ROD OF AARON, OF THE HOUSE OF LEVI, HAD SPROUTED AND PUT FORTH BUDS, HAD PRODUCED BLOSSOMS AND YIELDED RIPE ALMONDS. 9 Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.”

EVERYTHING that represented man’s rebellion against God He wanted put UNDER the Mercy Seat COVERED BY THE BLOOD that was to be sprinkled on top every year. 

When Balak hired the wizard, God caused Balaam to say to King Balak in Numbers 23:21  “He (the LORD) has not OBSERVED iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He SEEN wickedness in Israel..."

(Balak hired Baalam to curse Israel.)

God doesn't say there IS NO INIQUITY in Israel but that "He does not SEE iniquity in Israel."  He did not SEE it because it was covered by the blood.  The blood of the sacrifice reminds Him of His Beloved Son and the sacrifice He would offer in the distant future.  That’s how He wanted it.  He did not want to deal with them according to their sins but according to His mercy.

How blessed we are today in that we don’t have to go through all that!  HALLELUIA! 

Our Great High Priest lives FOREVER after the order of Melchizedeck.  JESUS atoned for our sins in His own body, once for all time.  HE IS OUR MERCY SEAT!

Let's recap:  Where are the tablets of stone?  UNDER the Mercy Seat in heaven.  However, unlike under the Law Covenant, our sins are no longer merely covered:  THEY ARE COMPLETELY CLEANSED FOR ALL TIME AND ETERNITY!

Jesus is our Mercy Seat, right?  So what do you have to do in order to teach the Ten Commandments?   YOU HAVE TO PUSH ASIDE THE MERCY SEAT.  In other words, YOU HAVE TO PUSH JESUS ASIDE, take the tablets out from underneath the Mercy Seat WHERE GOD WANTS THEM HIDDEN.....at your own risk, mind you.....and teach the Ten Commandments.

Uh oh!  Remind me again: Why were the tablets were under the Mercy Seat?  Oh yeah.....SO THAT WHEN GOD LOOKED DOWN ON THE ARK, HE WOULD SEE ONLY THE BLOOD AND NOT OUR REBELLION.

BUT.....if you insist on taking them out from under the Mercy Seat, let me remind you what happened at Beth Shemesh.

(The Ark returns to Israel.)

The people there were curious to look inside the ark.  Know what happened?  GOD KILLED A WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM:  50,070!  You can read all about it in 1 Samuel 6.  Is He serious about leaving those items UNDER the Mercy seat?  DUH!  I'd say so.

(God broke out against Israel and killed men of Beth Shemesh.)

The truth is, the law killed then and THE LAW KILLS NOW.....just as dead.  Trying to keep it brings condemnation, which is ultimately deadly to our physical bodies.  This is why so many in the church are sick and dying before their time today.  They are trying to please God by their performance.  It's the same as trying to keep the law.  

IT DOESN’T WORK.  Never has, never will.  We cannot think, be or do good enough.  That’s why we need a Savior!  With Jesus as our Eternal Mercy Seat, there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus……HALLELUIA!!!

So remember, pastors:  IF YOU WANT TO TEACH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS YOU HAVE TO PUSH JESUS ASIDE. Really bad idea!  Why not preach The New Covenent?  Read all about it in Hebrews 10.

What do you say, Church?  Let's leave the tablets of stone where God put them……

UNDER JESUS, OUR MERCY SEAT.

Kherpah: Reproach [חֶרְפָּ֖ה]

1 Samuel 17:26
"26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine {Goliath} and takes away the REPROACH-Kherpah [חֶרְפָּ֖ה] from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

For days the armies of the Living God had been listening to this giant from Gath. He had hurled taunts, threats and insults at them and at God for 39 days straight.  Beyond terrified, they were paralyzed with fear and thoroughly demoralized.  

On this, the 40th day, when 17-year-old David arrived on the scene and heard Goliath's words he recognized the real threat.  It wasn't the fact that he was very big...which he was; or the fact that very strong...which he was.  Goliath was a rather imposing giant of a man, one of the after-flood demon/human hybrids.  (If you are unfamiliar with this topic, please follow this link:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2015/01/as-it-was-in-days-of-noah.html)

None of those things concerned David at all. It was the reproach, the" Kherpah [חֶרְפָּ֖ה]" that Goliath, a typology of the devil, heaped on them.  It was the words that came out of his mouth that posed the greatest danger.  This is what David meant in the verse above.  He was most disconcerted because of the "Kherpah" the people were under.

Reproach is an old English word for "shame."  It is the most effective way of keeping anyone from receiving anything, or more to the point, everything from God.  Reproach is what was keeping the Israelites focused on the danger instead of their their Almighty Deliverer:  THE LORD OF HOSTS IS HIS NAME!

Reproach is one of the most critical things that Jesus, THE GREATER DAVID, came to take away from us so that we could freely receive everything we need from God.  Only when we are fully assured of His love for us and KNOW positively that there is no shame between us and God, THEN...and only then...can we FREELY receive.

The word in Hebrew for "reproach" tells a very interesting story of its own.  As always, the Hebrew letters, a form of picture writing, show us God's point of view.  It reads from right to left.
This is the Hebrew spelling of Kherpah:
[חרפא]
[ח] Chet/Het which means "fence."
[ר] Resh which means "head, think or meditate."
[פ] Pei which means "mouth."
[א] Aleph which means "ox, sacrifice, or leader."

Resh-Pei-Aleph spell the word "Rapha-heal." The root of the word for "heal" is the word, "Raphah-relax."

"If satan can fence you off from meditating on the sacrifice of Christ, speaking out God's word and keep you from relaxing (resting in God) you can become sick."  

The devil bends over backward keep you from meditating on Jesus' sacrifice which reminds you that " by His stripes you are physically healed-saved-delivered-provided for."  It's the only way he can effectively stop you from receiving God's blessings.  The sooner you believe his pack of lies, get sick, die and go to heaven, the happier he is.  He can't do anything about the fact that you're going there but he can try and kill you off faster and get you there sooner.  Heaven is a wonderful place, to be sure; but once you are there, you can no longer be of any earthly good.  Most importantly, you can no longer help spread the gospel!

If you believe or have been taught the false doctrine which teaches that you must confess your sins every time you fail, you will never feel at rest.  You will always feel "Kherpah" because you can never be certain you have confessed all of them.  What if you forgot one?
It is in KNOWING that ALL of your sins for your entire life are forgiven, that you have NO KHERPAH, which will cause you to relax because you understand that you are not condemned.

You need to have "perfect tense" understanding of forgiveness not "present tense" understanding.  What does that mean?  This topic is discussed more fully by following the link below which tells the story of Jesus when He was at the home of Simon the Pharisee.  He had only a "present tense" understanding.

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/06/no-one-is-forgiven-little.html

We are forgiven based on God's knowledge of our sins, not our own.  Good thing!  When Jesus died for our sins 2,000 years ago, He OVERPAID FOR ALL OF THEM.  Not one of them escaped!  The Father would know because He would not have had legal grounds to raise His beloved Son from the dead.  He is a God of love but also of Justice.  He must have a righteous foundation to declare us righteous.  Jesus did that for us!

It says in Hebrews 1:3 "...who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself PURGED OUR SINS, SAT DOWN at the right hand of the Majesty on high..."

Jesus was able to sit down not because He is God's Beloved Son.....which He is, or because He is also God.....which He most certainly is!  He sat down because He PURGED ALL OUR SINS.  ALL OF THEM.  

When Jesus died, all your sins and my sins sins were future, yet not one of them escaped.  But satan, the accuser of the Brethren and a par-excellancé dispenser of reproach, tries to bring condemnation, sin consciousness, guilt, reproach...you name it!.....And when you do right, it's never enough.  His accusations can even come from the lips of well-meaning fellow Christians and yes, even from the pulpit itself.     

DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM.  HE IS LYING.

We as Christians need to stop condemning each other ( ESPECIALLY!), and other people; yes the unsaved, even when they fail because, one of these days, you or I may find ourselves on the other side of the fence.  Wouldn't you want others to be compassionate to you?  Remember, our ministry on earth is that of reconciliation NOT judgment.

Please, Church; let's not help the devil do his work.  The world will know us by our love, not our doctrine.  

Let's be very careful not heap to on anyone "Kherpah."

What Does God Say About Being "Worldly Minded?"

The Love "OF" The Father

1 John 2:15
Do Not Love the World
"15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

Why do some Christians seem more worldly than others?  Is it because they don't love Jesus as much as they should, don't read or pray enough?  Don't attend church regularly?

While all those things are very important, that is not the heart of the matter
According to this verse.  "If anyone LOVES THE WORLD, the love "OF" The Father NOT the love "FOR" the Father is not in him.  
This person does not know how much HE IS LOVED BY THE FATHER. 

The love "OF" the Father is the consciousness on our part the WE ARE LOVED by Him.  The focus IS NOT on how much we love HIM.  This person does not have a consciousness of just how MUCH God loves them.  They may even believe He is, if not outright angry at them, at least mildly disappointed.

This is the meaning of "first love" that we read about in this verse:
"4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."  Revelation 2:4

Who is The One that SO LOVED us first that elicits our response to love Him in return?  Is it OUR LOVE for Jesus?  Or JESUS LOVE FOR US?
It's Jesus' love for us.
"Herein is love, NOT that we loved God, BUT THAT HE LOVED US..."  1 John 4:10

The more we hear preaching that reminds us of our righteousness in Christ, that ALL our sins--past, present, future--are put away, NOT imputed to us, the LESS WORLDLY WE BECOME.
It is when we are sin conscious that we are more worldly; that we struggle to overcome bad habits or destructive behavior patterns to no avail.
We struggle so much more when we think our right standing is dependent on our performance.

That's what the Ephesian Church was missing.  They had drifted away from this truth that Jesus loved them first. 

Scripture tells us flat out "The strength of sin is THE LAW."  So why is it that we keep dishing out a lot of do's and don'ts in an effort to control outward behavior?  Simple: we don't trust God, we don't trust grace.  It's the only antidote for sin.

"Oh, you grace people!" they say.  "When you tell someone that all their sins for their entire life are forgiven, you give people a license to sin."
Uuuuh.....NEWS FLASH:  PEOPLE DON'T NEED A LICENSE TO SIN.  They it just fine without one.

According to the Bible,  THE LAW PRODUCES LICENTIOUSNESS, not Grace.  Grace produces right living.  Grace is the cure.

Think about it; when you tell a small child to stay out of the cookie jar, what is the first thing they do as soon as your back is turned?  They go get into THE COOKIE JAR.  When told what to do or what not to do, humans invariably end up doing what they ought not.  That was Paul's dilemma.

We need to hear MORE PREACHING about how much God loves us, not that we have to love God more.  That is Old Covenant teaching. 

It is of utmost importance that we wrap our heads around the fact that our Heavenly Father LOVES us way more than we can ever comprehend.  He paid an immeasurable price to redeem us that we will never fully understand, even in eternity.
When we have a blindingly bright picture of the Father's love IN us, the world dims and looses it's attraction without OUR effort.

So the next time you see a brother or sister in Christ who seems worldly or is struggling with bad habits or any habitual sin, understand what's really going on; he or she needs to be told or reminded of The Love OF the Father.

God's Favorite Name

Genesis 2:4-7

“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

God is known by many Names throughout the Bible.  Do you suppose He has a favorite?  Actually, He does!

The first time the most awesome NAME “Yahweh,” is mentioned is here in Genesis 2:4.  Though “God” is mentioned in the very beginning it is not “Yahweh,” in Hebrew.  It is Elohim, which means “creator.”  Yahweh is The Covenent One.  It is always written in English as “LORD,” all capital letters. You see, until man was created, there was no one with whom to make a Covenent.

(For a more in-depth study on "THE NAME," the Tetragrammaton, follow this link: 

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-name-of-god-yahweh.html)

YHWH, "Yahweh," the "unpronounceable Name," is our covenant-keeping God.

(The "unpronounceable" Tetragrammaton.)

The Jewish people have a reverential fear of saying this Name of God for fear of blaspheming God.  They will often spell it in English like this:  "G-D."  As sons and daughters of God because of Jesus, we Christians have no such slavish fear.  

God is called by many Names throughout the Old Testament.  Google the Names of God sometime.  There are more than 100!  No doubt, you'll see some of your personal favorites; Rapha-healer; Nissi-provider; Shaddai-Almighty; Shepherd; Comforter.  It's a very long list.

Among all those Names in the Old Testament, however, NOWHERE do you find God's favorite name, the #1 Name by which He desperately wanted to be known.  One of the many reasons Jesus came to earth was to reveal that very Name.  The reason you won't find it ANYWHERE in the Old Testament is because He could not be known by that Name.....YET!

You see, He had to conceal His plan in the Old Testament in order to shield it from the many, varied and unrelenting efforts of the devil both to discover and stop it.  (For more on this topic, follow this link:  

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2015/01/as-it-was-in-days-of-noah.html).  But.....

HALLELUIA! HE FAILED.....MISERABLY!!!!!

God, above all, is pure Love. He loved us SO MUCH, in fact, that He willingly sent His beloved Son to earth to be born as one of us, to live among us and die as one of us so that every sin, which separated us from Him, could be done away with PERMANENTLY!
Pure love, however, cannot rest and be satisfied without the company of the ones He loves: US!  He couldn't wait rip the veil that separated us from Him.  You see, He was just as much a prisoner as we were.

He was desperate to have you and I be able to come and sit on His lap, to hug us to Himself with His strong, protecting, loving arms and hear us call Him by His favorite Name.........

ABBA-DADDY  [אב]

Yep!  That is God's FAVORITE NAME!