#riseabove – Page 2 – Grace of The King

Revealed by Fire

Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
1 Corinthians 3:13 ESV

This to me is one of the scariest versus in the bible. We are told by so many growing up “get saved give your life to Jesus” it will “be fun” they said. Oh hogwash, the hardest thing I have ever had to do is walk this world as a follower of Jesus Christ. Yes, the most rewarding blessed mercy field life, but none the less extremely difficult at times. This text we are touching on explains why. But I am here to give you hope as well.

Everyday you wake up, you will be tested. Yes, it will be hard yes temptation from the world is nothing compared to what other Christians faced all over the world. But, we all face sexual lust, greed, pride, bitterness and so much more. The foundation you build on will be tested by fire. What are you building on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ?

When the trials of the day hit how are you going to react? When you are struggling in a marriage are your eyes on Christ or on your computer? When your so close to financial ruin are you on your knees fighting or giving up? Or when you can’t get out of bed because depression and blackness has locked you down. What is going to burn in the fire or what will come through the fire?

We get so wrapped up in the fire of the day we take are eyes of the maker of the fire. No, God does not temp but he allows those temptations to happen. Are we going to crucify the flesh when the worldly temptation comes knocking? When the spirit of depression grips our minds and are souls are you going to pick up the psalms and read them outloud, or are you going to bury yourself under the covers cause you can’t move.

We cry for revival we cry for change we cry for Jesus. But we are so blinded we don’t grasp the truth. “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in Power” 1 Cor 4:20.

Why do we have such a hard time grasping this truth. Jesus said repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. He died on the cross then raised from the dead 3 days later. That power that Kingdom resides inside every believer in Jesus Christ. I heard a quote once from a pastor. He said “the devil knows that he can’t take the victory from you. But, the devil will never allow you to walk in the fullness of that victory”.

The fire is coming rather we want it to or not, that choice is not ours. What matters is what we believe when we get in the fire. So, when the things you latched onto that belong to the world begin to burn. Let them burn and do not rebuild them. God burned them up for a reason. He wants you to trust His power not yours.

Many blessings

Unstained

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 1:27 ESV

Almost every Christian knows this verse, or has heard it at some point in thier lives. This verse should be a reminder to us of the calling God has placed in every Christians heart. When your heart is tugged on when you see the homeless. When your heart breaks at the sight of a funeral precession. These are normal feelings. Because God has placed the undefiled presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Over time we train ourselves to become blind to what is around us. We train our heart strings not to tug on us as much depending where in the city we are.

The problem is not necessarily the widows and the homeless. The problem that we Christians have is being unstained from the world. This is one of those verses we will preach and preach the first half but we need to stay away from the second half. Not many pulpits today preach on being Holy. I Peter 1:6 ESV for I am Holy, Ye be Holy. Because when we do that we might hurt someone’s feelings. We can’t step on toes when it comes to mingling with the world. Oh but Jesus hung out with the sinners and drunkards right? Yes he did but we are not Jesus!

Jesus walked into a bar and he brought the kingdom of God in with Him. Jesus walked into a parlor and He changed people’s hearts. Can Jesus do that through you, yes He can if you are Holy. The problem doesn’t lye with Jesus the problem is us. We are stained. We can walk into a bar by the power of the Holy Spirit and with in 10 minutes what makes us different from anyone in there?

The problem is we are taken from the world and grafted into a new tree (Romans 4). We don’t realize that being in a new tree means we must be new. I believe we don’t grasp the concept of newness. We struggle so hard with being in a new place acting new and being around new people. Oh my gosh the stress!! Men we struggle with this more than women. I believe the Jews in thier own way in the time of Paul was struggling with this as well with new gentiles coming into the church. Why do we not get it why do we keep struggling why do we fail why do we crumble at the thought of our past? Failure after failure; because we allow our past to dictate our present.

Shoot God tells us He throws our sins as far as the east is from the west psalm 103:12. So if he removes our sins then why do we still fall into the traps of the world? If we struggle with the things we have done how can I not be stained from the world? I can never be “unstained” I can never be Holy. Your right specially if you are living like the world even in your closet.

Yes God throws are sins as far as the East is from the West. The issue is we don’t. If you had done the disgusting vile horrific things I have they would haunt you as they do me. So, it is easy to fall back into the shame the sadness of life because that is where we think we deserve to be, it is who we believe we are. We say God made me new, that He created this new life, but deep down do we believe it?

Unstained means to be Holy to be set apart from the world. We are to look different act different walk different talk different. What separates you from your unsaved friends? Is it that you go to church? Is it that you read your Bible more than them? What separates you from the secular world? Or are you the one secular friend that needs Jesus? How are you different?

True undefiled religion is to be unstained from the world. God pulled you from the pit. He grafted you into His family tree. 1 Cor says that those in Christ are a new creation, the old has passed away look see the new has come. We can be owned and chained to our past. But why would we when Christ has already freed us from those chains? I have a hard time with this myself so I am preaching to me as much as to you. But to be unstained we must truly believe in the word He gave us. That we are new in Christ. That he has washed our sins as white as snow. For nothing can wash away our sins nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Do we believe? Do we truly deep deep down within our souls believe that He made us new and washed us clean. If we do then it is up to us to stay unstained by the world.

How will the authorities know that you are a true follower of Christ?

Many blessings

Broken Foundation

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:14

Over that last couple of years my wife and I have had the privilege of pastoring the young adults in our church. Over that time we have seen it grow exponentially and I have had a class with 1 person in it. This generation of young adults is fluid but they are all hungry for knowledge. Over the last year we have seen singles become couples, and those couples get married. Shoot we have had babies in class for our young married couples. I will say with babies chasing squirrels is easier to do.

I say this because so many have left or “graduated” to another class and I question if I have set them up for success. Is the foundation that I helped them build a foundation of stability, strength, wisdom, and power? Or is it a broken foundation that will be tossed to and fro. My biggest fear is that the foundation isn’t deep enough to withstand a storm and the house falls around them and they just walk away. If we want to get real for a minute that is what happens 80% of the time and all of us have seen it. It’s because thier foundation is broken.

A couple of weeks ago I asked a question that in my opinion every believer should know. What is the Gospel? This struck my core because not one in my class could answer it. So, what is the Gospel you ask? It is God’s salvation for man. But it goes so much deeper than that. Why did God need to save us? Who is God? Why do we deserve redeeming? Is the Bible true? God never changed?

You see these are foundational questions that digs our foundation deeper and wider. The Apostle Paul lays is out the best in 1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

The Apostle lays out the Gospel in a nut shell. It is our job to dig into and decipher it. The word Theology is a scary word that so many believers run away from. All it means is the study of God. We are called to know God on an intimate level. Not just go to church read a verse once a day. Listen to worship music. Are we growing a knowledge of God like that? No we are not.

Is the foundation you are standing on able to stand with the bareans? Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17:11 ESV

As the tides begin to change here in the West what is your faith built on? I know that I can see how I have failed so many young adults and it crushes me. I did not make sure they knew the basic tenant’s of our faith. I have seen some tail off at college and end up at rehabs and some are becoming prominent leaders in churches. So it is not all horrible but still concerning.

Does your family know the Gospel?

Does your friends know the real God?

Does your loved ones know that thier redeemer lives?

Does the clerk at your local store know where she will end of for eternity?

These are piers for the foundation of pur faith. Do we believe or not believe? Our life our walk but most of all our closet shows the proof of that.

Many blessings

God of Calamity

Isaiah 45:7 I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.

I recently heard a sermon and in this sermon the preacher claimed this verse yet contradicted it by saying that God is not a God of calamity. I must beg to differ on this subject. So if you would amuse me because the loving merciful God that grabbed each one of us out of the pit, is also the God that cleansed the earth with flood. In that flood He killed everything except for one family. Yes, we serve a God of calamity a God that forms light and creates darkness. When you create darkness calamity is soon to follow.

We can see in our lives that very moment when God touched the deepest parts of our soul and the calamity it caused in our lives. You see when you have a true holiness that touches true wickedness and rebellion what do you think happens? The chaos in our souls that ensued as the holiness of God overtook our hearts. It was a daily fight and still is at times.

Let us look at Job and his life and we see the very thing that we are speaking of. Was God the very one to attack Job and destroy everything he had? No that was the devil but God allowed it to happen. We see this also in the prophecy of Ezekiel with the Gog and Magod war. The Father says And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords.
Ezekiel 38:4 ESV

So yes we see and know that God causes the calamity around us but why? I go back to Job to answer part if this question. One thing we must point out is that calamity deals with physical objects around us. With Job he lost all of his kids all of his wealth. God allow the devil to get to Job with the physical, but he never gave the devil permission to get into his head. Jobs friends did that for him, the devil never had to nor did he ask. 2. God restores and is the ultimate redeemer. Job got back twofold what he lost. God restored the world after the flood. God will use the Gog and Magog war to help grow Israel and fuel the country.

We see so much chaos and calamity in our world. I ask you this after something horrible happens what does the community or people around it do? Yes, there are a few bad, but people still are there to help and show the love of Christ. Through calamity the love and mercy of God is always on display. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 ESV

So let us do what we are called to do and rejoice in all moments of life. The chaotic, the cataclysmic, and the calamity. It is through those hard moments that God is training us for the hard times ahead. We cannot ask God to take us out of the fight because we don’t agree with him. We must start praying for God to give us the faith to overcome the battle He has us in. And know that no matter how chaotic things seem God has everything right where he wants it.

Blessing to you all

Grace of the King

Light from Darkness

⁴And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:4 ESV

In the beginning a new creation was formed. The very earth we step on was formed so we had a surface to walk. The oceans were formed and the air was clean and fresh. God himself walked with Adam and Eve. Why was is so perfect? Yes, God is perfect but we see in verse 4 that God separated the light out of the darkness. Can you image the chaos of the darkness as this world was forming. How ugly and violent the forming of something so beautiful was?

We must realize that before the chaos overtook our world God already removed the light out of the darkness. But we view this scripture completely backwards. We believe that God removes the darkness from the light. We see that Christ comes in our lives and and removes the stains of our sins. We believe that Christ comes into are lives and slowly washes us.

WE HAVE THIS BACKWARDS

Christ comes into our lives and pulls us from the darkness of the world. 2nd Corinthian 5:7 says that those who are in Christ are a new creation, the old is passed away: Look see the new has come. We say these scriptures but do we really grab ahold of what God is saying to us? Through Christ God removed us from darkness and separated us from the world.

We see this with Adam and Eve how they walked with God and talked with Him. Yet they allowed sin into our world which separated us from God. That sin is the darkness of the world which we gravitate to. Even as someone who is saved I still gravitate towards sin. I allow the darkness of this world to pull me into the cave where the loudness of the devil overwhelms the calm quiet voice of God. Why? Because I have this thought stuck in my head saying that Christ only cleans what he wants to help me grow. That becoming a Christian is a slow process. Yes, Justification is by faith and sanctification is over time. But thanks be to God who gives us victory through Christ Jesus (2nd Cor. 15:57)

My bible tells me that before the beginning of time God wrote my name and placed me in His mercy. That I was separated from the darkness before I was formed in my mothers womb. My bible tells me that I have victory of sin and darkness through Christ Jesus. My bible also tells me that God Himself has given me dominion over every thing both spiritual and physical through Christ Jesus. We know the promises of God we know what he says about us.

We allow the darkness to dwell in us when God already separated us from that darkness. The problem is when will we start believing it? When will we stop fighting for victory and start fighting from Victory.

Where is your faith?

Matthew 13:54-58

He went to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?” And they were offended by him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

As our Lord taught in the synagogues as He always did the people were unmoved. They knew Jesus as a child as a carpenters son. They saw the fights his brothers and sisters had. Without truly hearing what Jesus was saying they listened with their eyes. What they saw in their biases is what they heard.

Why is it so hard to see the miracles that are right in front of our face? Let’s look past the fact that Jesus chose not to do the miracles, but how they lacked the faith to see them. How many dead churches are there because they are stuck in their ways. They refuse to see the Christ in any other way besides the box they placed Him in. This is zero faith and the Holy Spirit will not move if He doesn’t want to. We see in verse 58 that He does not reward unbelief.

Now Mark 5 21-43 we see two levels of faith here. Now I will not dig into both deep simply for times sake. I am sure you can distinguish between the two. Jairus needed Jesus to lay hands on Lilith his daughter to be healed. Now, on the way to heal her a woman with the issue of blood just wanted to touch the edge of his garment. Mark 5:28 For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made whole.” wow how powerful is that.. I’ll be made whole.

How often do our prayers sound similar to “Jesus you are Jehova Rapha the Healer place your hand upon so and so and heal them.” Nothing wrong with that but how often are we praying Lord Jesus pass by so I can grasp you and be made whole. Boy I could spend all day on this. Let me point out one more difference. Jairus was a leader in the church the woman was broken. They both were desperate, one was content in that desperation the other would not settle in it. One knew it could happen the other was dependent upon it happening. Different levels of faith 🙏

Let me add one more caveat to this conversation. In Luke 7:1-10 we see a gentile centurion not worthy enough for Jesus to even step foot on his property. He just believed on Him and it was done. Luke 7:9 Jesus says “I say unto you, I have not found so great of faith, no, not in Israel.

You see so many times we get caught in blaming the dying church. We blame the ones around us for not worshipping right, or lacking the faith and living worldly lives. But are we the ones hitting our knees and asking your will be done. Or at the alter crying on High just for a brief pass by of the Holy Spirit. Or are we sitting in the pew placing our faith in a God that we put in a box and don’t believe it will move? We desperately need a move of God in our churches in our towns in this country. Are we going to sit in the pew and wait for a rapture or are we going to get on our knees waiting for God to move in our hearts. Where is your faith?

Do we need a Doctor?

Luke 5:31 and Jesus answering said to them. They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

We have such a problem when we are sick. We are the biggest babies, but yet we do whatever we can to stay away from the doctor. We could be laid up for days with a horrible migraine over and over again. Time and time again and what do we do? We take pill after pill lay isolated from our family is a dark room prisoned by the migraine. We play a sport and hurt our ankle. For weeks we will limp around on a hurt ankle crying about it. And yet what do we do? We do nothing this pain traps us from doing what we want or what we could be doing. Because we haven’t gone to the doctor in the first place we are trapped in this spot till we do. So we finally get convinced by our own pain and torture that something is really wrong and well maybe just maybe we need some help. We are so blind.

Is this not our walk with Jesus Christ the great Physician? He is the Jehova Rapha the Healer. But we are so quick to decide that we don’t need a doctor yet. Now if something bad goes wrong and I mean real bad we are quick to hit our knees. We fall off the train and relapse we hit our knees and bow to the Great Doctor to heal us once again. We cheat on our spouse, steel money from our family just to buy what we feel we need, or drop divorce papers cause we are to broken ourselves to fix it. Yes we hit out knees in repentance quick. Why because we know we are broken and need a healer.

What about that allergy problem you have? How long will fight that battle with over the counter medicine? To me that is the same as you chasing the legs of yoga pants on every women that wears them. Or the little white lies that we tell over and over. Or that story that we keep saying over and over just to one up our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We still need the healer, we still need to hit our knees. We still need the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. But if there is a constant sickness that is being buried with home remedies like pride, shame, and guilt the Holy Spirit can’t dwell there. When the Holy Spirit is sickness can’t be is the same spot for He is Holy and righteous. And we need him within us every moment of every day. And in that moment He is not that is when we need the great physician to heal us and clean us and make us whole again. You see it’s not just the big illnesses that hit us, but the everyday sweep it under the rug sin that needs to be healed as well.

GOD BLESS 🙌

Restrained to this world

Isaiah 42:6-7 I the Lord have called thee into righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and keep thee, and give thee a covenant of the people, for a light to the gentiles; 7 to open the blind eyes to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Yes this is powerful scripture where God is telling Isaiah that Jesus will be a light unto the gentiles. But why does he repeat prison? I have always wondered this. 1. 1st prison means Masger a locksmith or dungeon. 2. 2nd prison means Kele a confinement or restraints.

With English we do not get the full story. He came to break chains to pull the restraints that tie us to this world. Kele means confinement we confine ourselves in our own boxes. By the words we say or labels the world puts on us. Oh your an addict? Once an addict always an addict. Oh you abused your wife 10 years ago.. ABUSER!! Once a cheat always a cheat.

Jesus came to free us from these restrainments that tie us to the world. Our past our cravings, some family and friends. There are things that pull us back to sin of this world. People places things is what we have to change or he will for us.

What is it? Do you stay offended? Do you live in shame? What is that hidden sin? Do you have bitterness toward a brother or sister in Christ? Jesus said But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses (Matthew 6:15). The hidden sin is not on your phone it is in your heart. The woman at the well said to the people “come and see which he told me all the things I ever did.” It’s not hidden sin though we try Jesus knows all. We must repent turn away and flee from it.

Do we struggle with the labels of this world has placed on you? You have been washed with the blood of the lamb. Washed white as snow and the sins of the past thrown as far as the east from the west. No matter what people call you or claim you to be. 2 Cor. 5:17 say anyway be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. LOOK SEE all things have become new. New heart new life new steps new outlook it is all new.

Running from the battle

Psalm 78:9-11 The children of Ephraim being armed, and carrying bows, turned back on the day of the battle. They kept not the covenant of God. And refused to walk in his law. And forgot his works and his wonders that he had shown them.

On the day of the battle they quit. These men were armed they were trained. These were foot soldiers prepped and prepared for battle. Yet before it even began they quit.

Most of our Christian lives we get attacked and we quit before we even try and fight back. The very moment life starts to get hard we want to throw in the towel. We spark an argument with our spouse and what do we do we run to the bottle. We get nudged or pushed from our family because we are changed and not who we used to be. But yet we are the ones ridiculed. We throw in the towel and fall right back into the rut we once were in.

DANG!!! THIS CHRISTIAN WALK IS HARD!! I WAS TOLD MY LIFE WOULD BE BETTER!!

How easy is it to fall back into the world. Specially when we didn’t even fight to stay obedient to the one that pulled us from it. But, that is what the evil one wants you to do. He doesn’t want you to realize how much of a soldier you really are.

The evil one creates doubt in us. From that point it is a slippery slope and he has us on the run. We forget the chains that Jesus broke us free from. We start to forget the turmoil and hard times Jesus has already brought us out of. We even get to the point we forget the pit of hell he saved us from.

Let us remember these things. Let us know the fight has already been won. Remember the battle you are stepping into is a battle God has prepared you for. Remember Luke 2:30 for my eyes have seen thy salvation. We know this we have seen it. Don’t forget the battles remember the freedom because you have seen it in your life. Yes there are more battles to come because your not who you will be.. BUT HALLELUJAH your not who you use to be.

Love without Hypocrisy #1 Servant

For space and reading I will not type out all of the scripture from John 13:1-16. This is based on Jesus Christ our Lord washing the feet of the disciples. You see he loved them so much that he washed their feet. Now I am not by far not a foot person, actually if you want to get technical I hate feet. So if I have to show you that I love you by washing your feet, then I am in a whole lot of trouble.

Now lets thank about it 2000 years ago, and the conditions they were in at the time. You see they wore sandals only oh and they did not have any socks either. So they wore only sandals walking the dirty sandy streets of Jerusalem. Their feet were dirty and nasty and yet he stilled cleaned them. So he shows us no matter how dirty and gross our loved ones our, we are to clean them.

To me what stands our more than anything during the time that Christ washed their feet was that he knew Judas was going to turn him in. Now, Christ knowing that Judas was the one he still washed his feet with love. Do you think that Judas felt a difference in thee way Jesus washed his feet from everyone else’s? Do you think that Christ himself scrubbed harder, or maybe he didn’t clean them as well as he did Peter’s?

Also, what this shows is that God himself serves us so we should serve. No matter who you think you are. No matter how big you think you are. You are NEVER to big to serve your friends or your family. Just as Christ, God in the flesh came here to serve in love. We are to serve in love.

The problem is compared to the world because the world says we that we have to love ourselves before we do anything. The world tells us that we come first before anyone else. That our well-being and our happiness comes first, then we are able to love everyone else. But you see this conflicts with what Christ shows us. We our to deny ourselves and chase after Christ. We seek first His kingdom then all the things will be given to us. We seek Christ first not ourselves.

This 14th serve the ones you love anyway you can. Why?

You see Christ showed us that he loved us by laying down his life for the ones he loves. What better way to show that love then to serve the ones that He died for?

Now so are harder that others that is why we …………