Repentance is not turning around and going the other way as some have taught. It is however "changing our mind", desiring for God to change us.
When we know that it must be Christ Who changes us, then we will more fully trust Him with our character and cleansing.
Those who are attempting to change themselves and cleanse themselves will fight a losing battle and end up in serious pride.
When Christ changes us, then we have no reason to boast, it is how He worked in us. I can honestly say I have always failed when I have tried to discipline myself to be good. But when I chose prayer as my discipline, trusting Christ, then I would be changed never to return to the old.
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Ephesians 2:10 "10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Our job is to confess our sinfulness, ask for God to change us and to submit when He works. If we do not confess and we do not ask, then we have no reason to expect God to work in us and we have every reason to believe we have never been born again.
1 John 1:9 "10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Do you want a good relationship with a brother or sister, then we must be transparent, confessing and desiring to repair what is broken, by God's power, with Christ and with man.
James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Psalm 25:4-5 "Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long."
James 1:22 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
Notice in these verses, God is the One working in us! When we become born again, He saves and keeps us. He also works in us, through difficulties to clean out the impurities that are left in our fleshly nature. The more we submit as He speaks the more He will speak and the greater our growth.
If we refuse to listen to Him, He will stop speaking and we will not only stop growing but will regress in our walk.
1 Thessalonians 5:13-21 "14 We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil"
Ephesians 4:30 "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
God will not hear the prayers of those with a wrong heart.
James 4:3 "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures."
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Do Not Go Down To Egypt For Your Help
Egypt has always been a symbol of rebellion and sin, in the Biblical accounts.
Isaiah 30:1-5
"“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who execute a plan, but not Mine,
And [a]make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
2 Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting [b]Me,
To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 “Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
4 “For their princes are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
5 “Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them,
Who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach."
We sought the advice of seculars in the raising of our children. We went down to Egypt for our counsel. They taught us to build up their pride through self esteem, exactly opposite of what our Lord taught. Sadly, nearly all the churches in the land, have adopted this philosophy that has devastated our families. We have never been as broken and impotent as we are right now, and getting worse all the time, while thinking we are doing fine.
Divorce and remarriage has been accepted as completely normal in spite of what God says about it. There are many who think as long as they are against abortion and other evils, they are alright with God, at the same time they are defying Him in many other ways, AND THEY DON'T SEE IT.
God wrote things to Israel in their rebellion, that apply to us today. The specific prophesy to them may not apply to us, but the principle of defying God brings about His chastisement for any nation that rebels against His principles, do apply to us..
Hosea 4:1-14
"Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel,
For the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness or kindness
Or knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,
And also the fish of the sea disappear.
4 Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
5 So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of My people
And direct their desire toward their iniquity.
9 And it will be, like people, like priest;
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the harlot, but not increase,
Because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord.
11 Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.
12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,
And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oak, poplar and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the harlot
And your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
For the men themselves go apart with harlots
And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined"
God promised that one day Israel would repent and return to God. We see this happening right now, individual Jews within Israel are finding Christ. Israel will lose two thirds of her people in the tribulation, the one third remaining will become born again. Israel is the only nation of the world that will trust Christ, the entire nation. All other nations will remain pagan, with individuals within them that become born again. From reading the rest of the book of Hosea we see this.
As for us, now in the nation of America, we remain as a rebellious nation, seeking God in our own way, making Him anything we want Him to be. The use of the word "prayer" has been perverted to merely be whatever anyone wants it to be, it has no power because those who use it, do not know the God of the Bible, no matter what they may say. Their understanding of God has been perverted by all the false teachings we have espoused over the past 200 years.
Hosea 5:4
"Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not know the Lord."
America will not turn back to God, she is a pagan nation pretending to be "Christian." Our leaders are not what they claim, and our Christianity is not that of the Bible, but a watered down and perverted form of powerless religion.
Matthew 17:16-20
""I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him." And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."
We are a pretentious nation, we think as long as we speak good things, that by itself will make it be true. Many people are claiming things about themselves that are not only not true, but deceptive to others.
They say, "I am a good person", all the while living in adultery, teaching their children to love themselves more than God and doing whatever they want without consulting Him. Isaiah 30:1 (above)
There is only one hope for individual in our nation, and that is to repent from our sin, ask God to reveal truth to us and begin to obey what He tells us. We cannot do this without reading His Word the Bible, nor can reading the Bible be of any help if we are not praying for the understanding. It must be the Holy Spirit Who guides our thinking as we read.
Isaiah 30:1-5
"“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who execute a plan, but not Mine,
And [a]make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
2 Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting [b]Me,
To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 “Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
4 “For their princes are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
5 “Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them,
Who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach."
We sought the advice of seculars in the raising of our children. We went down to Egypt for our counsel. They taught us to build up their pride through self esteem, exactly opposite of what our Lord taught. Sadly, nearly all the churches in the land, have adopted this philosophy that has devastated our families. We have never been as broken and impotent as we are right now, and getting worse all the time, while thinking we are doing fine.
Divorce and remarriage has been accepted as completely normal in spite of what God says about it. There are many who think as long as they are against abortion and other evils, they are alright with God, at the same time they are defying Him in many other ways, AND THEY DON'T SEE IT.
God wrote things to Israel in their rebellion, that apply to us today. The specific prophesy to them may not apply to us, but the principle of defying God brings about His chastisement for any nation that rebels against His principles, do apply to us..
Hosea 4:1-14
"Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel,
For the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness or kindness
Or knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,
And also the fish of the sea disappear.
4 Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
5 So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of My people
And direct their desire toward their iniquity.
9 And it will be, like people, like priest;
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the harlot, but not increase,
Because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord.
11 Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.
12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,
And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oak, poplar and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the harlot
And your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
For the men themselves go apart with harlots
And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined"
God promised that one day Israel would repent and return to God. We see this happening right now, individual Jews within Israel are finding Christ. Israel will lose two thirds of her people in the tribulation, the one third remaining will become born again. Israel is the only nation of the world that will trust Christ, the entire nation. All other nations will remain pagan, with individuals within them that become born again. From reading the rest of the book of Hosea we see this.
As for us, now in the nation of America, we remain as a rebellious nation, seeking God in our own way, making Him anything we want Him to be. The use of the word "prayer" has been perverted to merely be whatever anyone wants it to be, it has no power because those who use it, do not know the God of the Bible, no matter what they may say. Their understanding of God has been perverted by all the false teachings we have espoused over the past 200 years.
Hosea 5:4
"Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not know the Lord."
America will not turn back to God, she is a pagan nation pretending to be "Christian." Our leaders are not what they claim, and our Christianity is not that of the Bible, but a watered down and perverted form of powerless religion.
Matthew 17:16-20
""I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him." And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."
We are a pretentious nation, we think as long as we speak good things, that by itself will make it be true. Many people are claiming things about themselves that are not only not true, but deceptive to others.
They say, "I am a good person", all the while living in adultery, teaching their children to love themselves more than God and doing whatever they want without consulting Him. Isaiah 30:1 (above)
There is only one hope for individual in our nation, and that is to repent from our sin, ask God to reveal truth to us and begin to obey what He tells us. We cannot do this without reading His Word the Bible, nor can reading the Bible be of any help if we are not praying for the understanding. It must be the Holy Spirit Who guides our thinking as we read.
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