Are You Listening?

Luke 9:43-45

"And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying."

God chose the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe, amazing isn't it? The simple spoken word by an anointed man or woman of God has the power to break strongholds and set the captives free. 

But the key to eternity with the Lord lies with your ability to listen first and then apply what you've heard to your life. 

Jesus said that whoever hears His sayings and puts His words into practice are wise.

Matthew 7:24-27

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

For those who hear, but don't put the words of Jesus into practice are foolish (lacks judgement or prudence).

When Stephen inspired by the Holy Spirit, spoke to those who opposed him, they could not resist the wisdom or the Spirit by which he spoke! But unfortunately they did not listen to the word from Heaven through Stephen, they became angry and gnashed their teeth at him, and eventually stoned him to death, even though his face was as the face of an angel!

Acts 6:8-10, 15, 54-58

"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel."

"When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.  But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

When the anointed spoken word cuts the heart of the hearer there can be two responses; Receive the word, believe and repent, or become angry and hardened to the grace of God.

But if you will listen, God has many promises!

Proverbs 1:33, 4:10, 20-22

"But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

"Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many."


"My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 
For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh."

John 6:63

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."

James 1:21-25

"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

Are you listening?

In Jesus,
Tyrone

Renewing Your Mind Series: Are You Carnal Minded?

Romans 8:5-8

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

What do you set your mind on everyday? Is it pursuing your dreams? Your spouse? Children? Work? Girlfriend/Boyfriend? Movies? T.V. Shows? Video Games? Sports? Social Media? Etc.......

If you think about any one or more of the above things all day long, your mind is carnal! 

Paul had to deal with carnal Christians in the first century church.

1st Corinthians 3:1-4

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

So what does carnal mean?

"not spiritual; merely human; temporal; worldly: a man of secular, rather carnal, leanings." (dictionary.com)

Paul's goal as a minister of God was to present the saints perfect or mature in Christ and he wanted all the saints to have the same mind.

Colossians 1:27-29

"To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily."

1st Corinthians 1:10

"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

So what do you talk about after your Sunday morning service? The next professional sports game? What restaurant to go to for lunch? Politics? Who wore this or that?

If you don't pray consistently, study the scriptures, and meditate on the word of God daily, then your mind is carnal!

In Jesus,
Tyrone

No Jesus Name Invoked, No Valid Baptism?

Ok so we all know that the NAME of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit is JESUS.

So if a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ is baptized by someone who does not know this truth says, "I now baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit" does that make the believers baptism invalid in the sight of God?

This is my case by the way, I was baptized in water by full immersion, I confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord and the person baptizing me said, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit", I didn't receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit until eight years later. Now, one might say I need to be re-baptized in Jesus name only, but technically I was, just because the one baptizing me did not explicitly say "I now baptize you in the name of Jesus", I was still baptized in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit which is JESUS!

I also participated in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ according to Romans 6:3-4

"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

And what about the Ethiopian Eunuch?

He was baptized by Philip the Evangelist and the text does not say the Eunuch was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 8:36-38

"Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him."

Was the Eunuch's baptism valid?

I certainly believe it was, the Eunuch may not have received the Holy Spirit at that point though, because earlier in the chapter we see those who were baptized 'in the name of the Lord Jesus' as the text says, but did not receive the Holy Spirit UNTIL the apostles were called down and they laid hands on the people and prayed for them to be baptized with the Spirit.

Perhaps God allowed these events to be recorded exactly as they happened so that we don't become too dogmatic about baptism or receiving the Holy Spirit? Or maybe Philip did say, 'in Jesus name', but it's not recorded?

Like Cornelius, his family, and the rest of the people in his house received the Holy Spirit BEFORE they were baptized in water, and not one hand was laid on them to receive the Holy Spirit.

So those who say, Trinitarians for example, should be re-baptized in Jesus name should re-think their beliefs in light of the scriptures, that show us God doesn't do things exactly the same way every time and that we don't need to get stuck in some formulaic tradition that may cause us to believe that if a person is baptized in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, has an invalid baptism.

In Jesus,

Tyrone

Jesus Will Pierce Your Soul!

Luke 2:34-35

"Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Many have a skewed viewpoint of who Jesus is, yes He is humble, meek, loving and kind, but He is also unwavering in His righteousness, uncompromising with the truth and accepting nothing less. 

He may have seemed harsh and unloving in many situations, like when his parents went looking for Him and couldn't find Him.

Luke 2:46-50

"Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them."

Wow! Here it is, two loving, concerned, and anxious parents, looking for their son three days and finally finding Him in the temple. Mary was likely speaking with a frown on her face, asking Him why had He done them wrong, they were upset and worried about their son.

Jesus said "Why were you looking for me?" What! How unkind, unthoughtful, uncaring even, He didn't even apologize for causing all the worry and anxiety of His parents. That's what it sounds like doesn't it? But perhaps Jesus was dealing with His newfound understanding of who He really was, the only begotten Son of God.

Or maybe He was just speaking out of His immaturity and not being thoughtful of His parents concern, and saying something He could have kept to Himself. You know that children and young kids can say some mean things, and be really truthful, even though it may hurt the hearer, they don't think about choosing their words carefully, and sometimes they just blurt out words.

The scripture tells us that His parents didn't understand the statement He made, I wonder how they would have felt if they did understand!

The scriptures also tell us that after this incident Jesus went home with His parents and was subject (obedient) to them, and likely never did anything else like that again. He went on to grow in maturity, stature, and favor with God and men.

How about the first miracle Jesus performed at the wedding, turning water to wine, do you think when He called His mother 'woman' He was being disrespectful?

John 2:1-5

"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

We know that God is no respecter of persons and Jesus being God in the flesh did not have the same mother, son, connection that those in the world have, and many times the connection we have to our parents can be too close, where we view the parent as one of our friends, or a sister or brother. That kind of relationship can turn into something very dysfunctional and ungodly.

Jesus asked her "what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come", so He was saying to her I'm not concerned with them being out of wine, It's not my time to perform signs and wonders, BUT since the law said to honor your mother and father, Jesus respected and honored His mother by resolving her concern and turning the water to wine!

Mary obviously knew how Jesus was and told the servants "whatever He says to you, DO IT!" She knew He would take care of her concern, and I don't see many more times in the gospels where it mentions Mary speaking to her Son about her concerns.

The Pharisees and the disciples of Jesus had their own souls pierced when Jesus told them that if they didn't eat His flesh and drink His blood, they had no life in them.

John 6:53-58, 60-66

"Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more."

Even the disciples of Jesus who had seen miracles, heard and received words of life could not deal with this word, they couldn't understand it. The scriptures tell us that many of His disciples turned back and walked with Him no more. We all have a choice, to obey God's will or not, to follow the teachings of Christ and be broken by Him, or have the Rock fall on you and crush you.

When Jesus comes to pierce your soul with the truth, will you turn back and walk with Him no more, or will you stand and drink the cup the Father gives you? The choice is yours!

In Jesus,
Tyrone

God IS Sovereign!

Psalm 90:1-2

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."

Isaiah 44:6-8

⁶ “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’”

Isaiah 45:5-7

"I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’

Isaiah 40:21-31

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

“To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

The word of God speaks for itself, doesn't it?

In Jesus,

Tyrone

The True Location Of The Jewish Temple Found?

If this is the truth then the stage is being set for the third Jewish temple to be rebuilt without having to touch the Dome of the Rock or the temple mount at all! Then Israel and Palestine can live side by side in peace and security! Or so they think!

We are truly living in the last days, and more and more truth is being revealed!

Keep Watch!

In Jesus,

Tyrone

What Is Grace?

Is grace really unmerited favor?

Let's look at what the scriptures tell us.

James 4:6 tells us:

"But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

So we learn that humility is a prerequisite to receiving the grace of God, and grace is something that God gives, so what is grace?

The Greek word for grace used in the New Testament scriptures is 'Charis' which means:

1. Grace

    A. That which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech

2. Good will, loving-kindness, favour

    A. Of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.

3. What is due to grace

   A. The spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace

   B. The token or proof of grace, benefit

         I. A gift of grace

        II. Benefit, bounty

4. Thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward

Strong’s Definitions

χάρις cháris, khar'-ece; from G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude):—acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace(- ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank(-s, -worthy).

Grace is more of God's essence, His presence in the soul and upon the spirit of those who obey Him, follow Jesus and walk closely with Him. It's like the more you're with God, the more you grow in Him, the more you meditate on His word, the more you grow in grace and knowledge. The more you become like Him and God rubs off on you!

1st Corinthians 15:33

"Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

The word tells us evil company corrupts good habits or good manners/character, so walking with God does the exact opposite. Being with Him and receiving His grace in our souls, changes our corrupt nature and bad characteristics into His divine nature and goodness, we become holy and righteous!

Jesus was full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

So grace is something you can be full of, and your heart can be established or built up with grace.

Hebrews 13:9

Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

Grace is much more than unmerited favor, grace is the power, presence, essence, substance, and divine influence of God that fills the heart, permeates our being, fills the atmosphere and emanates from our soul and spirit, spreading outward through the flesh, it affects those around us, and it saves those in Christ every day.

Even the words that come forth out of your mouth as you speak can be full of grace and wisdom.

Colossians 4:5-6

"Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

The true meaning of grace gives us a much deeper understanding of Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

In Jesus,

Tyrone