Make The Right Choice!

Joshua 24:14-15

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I've learned so much over these last few years, and I haven't been posting as many messages as I once did, mainly because I needed to put into practice all the spiritual principles I have learned and the foundational teachings of Jesus Christ. Like love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemies, etc... principles that are much easier said than done, because how can you truly love your brother, your enemy, your neighbor, even God Himself if you don't have genuine love in your heart?

You may be able to do it in your flesh for some time, but eventually there will be issues that arise that will test your soul and you will find out exactly who you really are. It's all about choices, will you choose to obey God and do what is right? Be built up in your faith as you live a daily life for Christ, taking up your cross and following Him everyday, or will you choose your flesh and the pleasures of this world?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had a choice to make when King Nebuchadnezzar erected a sixty cubit (90 foot!) idol statue of gold and commanded all the people of the provinces to fall down and worship the gold image.

Daniel 3:4-6,13-18

"Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

"Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

The three men of God made the right choice! They knew that God was ABLE to deliver them and said to the King, but if He does not, we don't serve your gods nor will we worship the gold statue that you have set up. Their faith, trust, and relationship to God gave them the ability to stand up to the King, even though he was enraged and full of fury, which I can imagine was a very fearful sight, but not to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego! The Lord blessed their faith and trust in Him and delivered them in a mighty way!

Peter had a choice to make when faced with questions of whether or not he was a disciple of Jesus.

Matthew 26:69-75

"Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly."

Peter made the wrong choices and he had three chances to get it right! Obviously he was not ready in his soul to stand with Jesus and proclaim the truth of his relationship to Jesus. Who knows what was going through Peter's mind at the time, fear of death, shame, self preservation?

If he didn't deny Jesus three times would he have been taken and crucified with Jesus? Or perhaps the Lord would have protected him and blessed him because of his faith and allegiance? Thank God for His love and mercy because He forgives us and remembers that we were formed from the dust of the earth. Jesus forgave Peter for denying Him and ended up using Peter greatly to preach his gospel to the Jews and to do mighty works by His power in Jesus name.

The time is near for the last days saints to take their stand as well, against the man of sin and the false prophet. The scriptures tell us that many Christians will become martyrs for Jesus because they will not worship the beast and his image.

Revelation 20:4-6

"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

What choice will you make? Your immortal soul depends on it!

In Jesus,
Tyrone

Dream - Are You Hiding On The Battlefield?

The Lord gave me a dream this morning after fasting and praying all day yesterday, and in this dream I saw a man who looked like Tom Cruise dressed in all white and he was carrying a white canopy bed on his back while walking through the middle of a battlefield. As he walked through the field he suddenly layed down on the ground and used the bed for a covering, the bedsheets covered him all around so no one could see him hiding underneath. Then the enemy came straight to the bed and started sticking a sword right through the top of the bed frantically trying to kill the man who was hiding underneath it, I could see him cringing in hopes that he would not be stabbed. It was sort of like a horror movie, then one plunge of the sword by the enemy stabbed the man in the leg, and he screamed out in pain, and then blood started to flow out from underneath the bed.

Then the enemy came to the head of the bed, and there laying on the ground was a very ornate gold worked small blade in a crimson scabbard. The enemy said, 'this looks like a very sharp blade', and I got the feeling in the dream that this blade belonged to the man hiding under the bed but he was not using it to fight the enemy. Then the dream switched to something else. -End-

As me and my wife talked about it this morning, she said to me, 'it sounds like a Christian hiding from the enemy and afraid to use the weapon God gave him to fight the enemy'. Instead of using the blade to stand and fight the enemy on the battlefield, the man was hiding underneath the bed in hopes he would not be found and afraid to use the sword of the Spirit against the enemy.

We then thought about David and the scriptures in 1st Samuel 17:40-47

"Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

David wasn't afraid of the giant who came against him with a sword, spear, and a javelin because David had the anointing of God upon him and came against the enemy in the name of the LORD of hosts!!! Haleluah!!! It was the word of God, faith, and one smooth stone in a sling that took down a mighty giant!! How mighty and great is our God!! The battle is His, and we must stand and fight the enemy like David did, he didn't just stand there and wait on the enemy, he ran towards Goliath full of faith and confidence in the Lord!!

I will be praying more about this dream and asking the Lord to show me any time that I may be trying to hide from the enemy and not speaking His word when I should. I pray that the Lord will use me, tell me what to do and correct me when I don't fight the enemy when the battle comes to me.

There is no place to hide from the enemy on this battlefield of faith, the enemy already knows we are there so it's time for all those who are truly in Christ to stand up for truth and His word in confidence knowing that the battle is the Lord's and the victory has already been won!!!!

2nd Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

To God Be The Glory!
Tyrone