71. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Receiving Faith Part 4

Today is the conclusion of the discussion on Jesus' instruction in Matthew 7:7-11:  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

I received another rhema verse just before we moved to England. In order to stay in England, I had to re-qualify as a pharmacist, which would cost a lot of money that we did not have. I felt that the Lord had initiated this desire to move to England. Although I had other rhema words from God, indicating He wanted us to go, I did not yet have the faith. What would we do when we get there? Where would we get the money to live on and to pay for my re-qualification? I e-mailed Ina, my wife’s best friend and sister in Christ. Ina had been living in England for the past three years.

“Just come,” she said.

How do I “just come?” I thought.

During my Bible reading the next day, the Lord had the answer. It popped out of the Bible right at me, creating in me tremendous faith. “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord. But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard,” (Isaiah 52:11,12).

Although God originally meant this as a message to Israel, that day He spoke it to me. It was time to go in faith. It was my ministry to encourage the vessels or servants of the Lord, therefore He was talking to me.

The best way to know that a portion of scripture is a revelation from God is that it creates faith in you. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ,” (Romans 10:17). When you know it was the Lord who spoke to you in person (comes from hearing) from His written Word (and the message is heard through the word of Christ), faith is the result.

After receiving this confirmation from God, we just went. God promised He would go ahead of us and be our rear guard, and boy, did He do it! Miracle after miracle opened doors for us. He kept doing them although I am the least to deserve it. I am talking about tens of miracles in the initial span of one year and still continuing during all the years we've been there. We have since returned to South Africa

Every time I got despondent in that foreign country and encountered persecution, I was tempted to panic or doubt, but the memory of this revelation gave me faith to continue. I recall it fondly as my First Love’s personal words to me. It makes me feel worthwhile, like somebody who is cared for. When this harsh world tries to crush me, I have these love letters in my heart, words spoken lovingly by the Almighty directly to me. Then I feel safe.

Even when I messed up and didn't please the Lord by being disobedient and unfaithful, He was still faithful and kept His side of the covenant.

One more thing about asking: God does not always give the first time we ask. He often wants us to prove our faith by asking repeatedly, by pleading (Philippians 4:6). Jesus told the parable about the widow and the unrighteous judge (Luke 18:1-8), showing us not to give up easily when asking God. God wants to see determination and faith. He wants to see that we know what we want.

Furthermore, He needs to get the timing right. He knows us by heart, knows our future, and knows when the right time is to answer a prayer. If He answers too early, that which we ask for might be wasted or we might not be ready for it. Sometimes He first needs to accomplish something through our current circumstances before He can answer the prayer and bring relief. Sometimes His answer is plain “no.” We do not always hear this, then we think our prayer has not been answered.

The passage about asking also applies to asking people, but unlike God, people, in general, are not so gracious. Credibility plays a major role among people. What you sow is what you’ll reap. We ought to give in order to receive. That is why Jesus ended this passage with, “‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets,’” (Matthew 7:12). One cannot be rude and selfish all one’s life and expect to receive from people all the time. In the beginning, people might give out of politeness. In the end, it might bounce back on you.

Give God your love and receive your desires. Give yourself to people and receive what you have given.

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70. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Receiving Faith Part 3

We are busy discussing Jesus' instruction in Matthew 7:7-11:  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Elijah also walked in the great power of answered prayer because he did and prayed only what the Lord told him to. The key with both Jesus and Elijah was that they were sold out to the Lord’s cause. They did not have a thousand and one distractions and could focus solely on listening for the Lord’s voice. Neither of them could hear it audibly, nor could Moses, Samuel, or Paul. For that matter, neither can we. They simply tuned in to Father to hear what He had to say. What separated them from the general population was their undivided devotion to the Lord.

To them, He was everything. They allowed Him to do anything with them in order to accomplish His purposes. They did not mind ridicule and persecution as long as it enhanced what God had in mind concerning His kingdom.

We need to get rid of the things that distract us, tune in to God, and especially read the Bible expecting to find a revelation (rhema) word. This empowers our faith and, when prayed, moves the arm of God. Praying a rhema word, a word that God quickens to us from His written Word, has much power.

I have received much rhema in my life. Many years ago, I needed protection against persecution and mistakes. While I read Psalm 91, verses 14-16 came alive: “‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation,’”

I memorised it and it created faith within me.

I tend to rub the enemy the wrong way by exposing the truth, so I am well acquainted with persecution. As a result, I have had a lot of trouble in my life. Not long after I received this rhema, I realized why the Lord gave it to me. I would need it in times of trouble. Every time I get into trouble, I pray these exact words from this revealed passage. I made it more personal by praying, “Because I love You, Lord, You will rescue me. You will protect me because I acknowledge Your name. . . .”

Without fail, this prayer exerted amazing power. I have been saved from major dilemmas, even from problems that were my own fault, simply because I repented before God when I realized my error. Sometimes the trouble evaporated, but at other times the Lord sent me to deliver a message of wisdom to my adversaries, and that brought my deliverance. To be continued.

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69. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What is it God wants? Part 2

We are busy discussing Jesus' instruction in Matthew 7:7-11:  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

In our asking, it is our duty to consider God’s purposes. It is wise, profitable, and righteous not to ask for those things outside of God’s will. We read in Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

I once asked the Lord the meaning of this passage, since I knew He wouldn’t give me whatever I desire. I learned that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, enjoying an intimate relationship with Him, considering Him to be all we need and His will to be our ultimate desire, we will not want anything outside of His will. As a result, while we enjoy His presence, He will place desires into our hearts, then He will give us what we desire. Disciples whose sole desire is to do the will of the Lord will not have a hidden agenda. They’ll ask for only what is needed to fulfill the demands of their calling.

Recently, I confessed to my home group that I had lost my courage and boldness in witnessing. This was a problem I have bathed in prayer for a long time. I didn’t expect anything when I asked the home group. I just felt like talking about it.

Delores, one of the ladies attending that night, urged the pastor to lead the group in prayer for my renewed courage and boldness. He almost let the opportunity pass by, but by the end of the meeting, Delores demanded that we pray for me. Strangely, it seemed like a matter of life and death for her. So they prayed for me and I accepted it as usual.

The next day, I felt courageous, as if nothing could stop me. I was on fire for the Lord again and testified without fear at every opportunity in the radical way I used to. I spoke to some Muslims, and the Lord gave me the most creative approaches. I was a new man.

            Intrigued, I thought and prayed about the reason for the difference. I had prayed for a long time with no results, but when Delores urged, it happened. I was then led to 1 John 5:14, 15 as we discussed earlier. Delores heard the Lord’s prompting. She might not have heard specific words, but the message from the Lord was probably: “It is time for prayer now! It is My will that you should pray for Henry, because I want to do what he asked for.”

The angel has stirred the water, and we need to jump in now to receive our answer to prayer. We need to pray when the Lord tells us to pray, how He tells us to, and about the topic He tells us to. If we pray when, what, and how God wills, we will receive what we ask for.

The key is to be in close touch with the Lord (intimacy) and in right standing with Him (obedience), so we can hear what He expects of us. If in everything we do exactly as He wishes, we will see more results, experience more of His power, and save a lot of time and prayer energy.

Jesus said that if we love Him we will obey Him. He spent many nights hearing from His Father about how to perform His ministry tasks the following day. I believe Father told Him to put mud on the blind man’s eyes, and to pensively write on the ground when the woman was accused of adultery, and to tell Peter to catch a fish and find a coin in its mouth. He did not necessarily hear beforehand, but certainly did when He acted. To be continued.

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68. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What is it you want? Part 1

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11)

            God is so excited to do this for us, he sealed his promise with an exclamation point.

It shall be given to you, you will find, a door will be opened to you. But sometimes we ask often and yet do not receive. At those times, it does not seem the Lord cares enough to give what we ask. We question whether we have sin in our lives or whether we are not good enough.

I think many of us have battled with this issue. While we have many testimonies of the times the Lord has come through for us, we’ve all had times in which we didn’t get the answers we thought we needed. This shakes our faith.

A missionary named Bob lived by faith. Whenever the Lord sent him on a mission, Bob travelled by train. He waited at the station until the Lord provided a ticket in some way or another. For example, another passenger once discovered he could not take his trip after all, and he gave his ticket to Bob. 

Then one day, Bob waited until all the trains left. This saddened him, and he went home asking the Lord why this happened, since he was so sure he had heard correctly.

The Lord told him to go back to the station the following day, which he did. The same thing happened. When Bob questioned the Lord about this, He asked him whether he would trust Him again. The next day he trusted the Lord again and the Lord provided.

Of the many reasons prayer seems not to be answered, one is definitely the testing of our faith. 

You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2, 3)

James is not known for beating around the bush. He clearly states one of the reasons we do not receive. So how must we ask in order to receive? How do we know we have the right motives?

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him,” (1 John 5:14,15).

              We must know God’s will before we can ask according to it. This is where many Christians make a huge mistake. The only Person who knows what God wants is God himself. Yet many Christians try to obtain His will from other people. We ask the pastor what he thinks God’s will is for our lives. We run to prophets and line up in the prayer line, hoping that someone will prophesy over our lives. Prophecy is good, but we must remember that it is either a confirmation of what the Lord has already told us or preparation for what God is going to tell us in detail later. Once the Lord informed me through a revelation of 1 Timothy 4:13-16 that my job is to teach: “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

In this rhema word, “I” represented Jesus. Confirming this rhema was a prophecy I received years before, as well as the overwhelming desire to teach and the gift of teaching.

Knowing this will of God for my life, if I ask for a sports car, I probably won’t receive it, because what advantage will a sports car have for my calling? But if I ask for a good computer, I will receive it, and if I ask for opportunities to preach, they will come. A man who works with street children will do better with a van than a luxury car. God’s will is specific. An older van might be better than a sparkling new one, since the latter will stand out too much in poor areas. To be continued.


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67. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What about Dogs and Pigs? Part 2

We are discussing what Jesus meant in this passage: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6)
My friend Richard had a dream, a clear direction from God, that told him what the Lord has in mind for him. He asked me what I thought it was. I told him to wait on the Lord and prepare himself to be ready for the time God will bring it to pass.

“The most important thing,” I said, “is to keep it to yourself until the Lord tells you to share it. One of the greatest dangers is that the dream could be cursed if someone speaks negatively about it.”

Years ago, God spoke an important prophecy over the lives of my wife and me. It was very special, and I have kept it to myself, because I learned the secret of dogs and pigs long ago. The prophecy has manifested in a great way so far and is still manifesting. The key is to hear from the Lord and determine whether we are to tell others what we have received from Him. As long as we have no peace about sharing, we should shut our mouths.

We must be careful what we share with others and be gentle and wise enough not to be the “dogs” or “pigs” when others share their deepest secrets with us. Encourage them to wait on the Lord for further revelation or manifestation. It is always best to treasure in our hearts that which is precious to us and talk of it only with the Lord, because He will not fail us.

Sometimes the Lord gives us a word of wisdom or knowledge concerning a particular person or situation. We just know why a certain person did something or why a situation was created. If we blurt it out to anybody in an attempt to bring light to a situation, people may laugh or criticize, which could cause our faith to waver. Sometimes a revelation like this is intended merely to comfort us, to let us know we were on the right track. Sometimes it is to be revealed later, and we are to wait for the correct time. We need to be careful with these revelations until we are sure what God intends to do with them.

Other pearls are commands the Lord gives. We know we have to go and do a particular thing, but before we do it, we waver. Then we tell a friend, hoping for confirmation. If the command is out of the ordinary, the friend might discourage us, which means our pearl has been trampled and God’s will is not done.

The Bible says we must be as wise as snakes and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). The word “wise” used here means “crafty.” We have many enemies and therefore need to operate like clever spies. Therefore, I often speak to the Lord in my thoughts, especially in response to a revelation. I do this because evil spirits can’t read my thoughts. They can only hear my words and cannot counter the plans the Lord and I are making.

If we are constantly aware of the spiritual “spies” around us working toward our injury or discouragement, we would be much more careful about how we speak or pray out loud. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life,” (Proverbs 4:23).


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What is the Fear of the Lord? Part 6 - Who or What do you Worship?

We are busy discussing 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

These deeds sound too terrible. How can any Christian be like this? I would just like to remind you that any unintentional sin or struggle with sin is dealt with on the cross and falls under grace. The list above refers to intentional, continuous behaviour.

Paul had many wonderful revelations from the Lord. It was, therefore, easy for him to think he was somebody special, so to keep him humble we read in 2 Corinthians 6:7: Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. There are many ideas about what this thorn in the flesh could have been, but I want to ask you this question: What is the job of the demons in relation to Christians? They are sent to discourage us, to persecute us, to make us feel inferior and unworthy, to tempt us to sin, etc, all of these in order to stop us from being effective in God’s Kingdom. If you are about to think you are someone special because the Lord uses you in a special way, and you are for instance tempted to sin and maybe even sinned, or you struggle with a pet sin, would that maybe make you realise that you are not so special in the end and are very dependent on the Lord’s grace? Temptation, hardship, persecution, and the like help us to stay humble and realise how much we need the Lord.

Paul then asked the Lord to remove this torment from him and the Lord answered him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

There are, however, behaviours that are self-centred and ungodly and which we choose to do. These are the ones 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 refers to.

We have discussed sexual immorality in a previous post. The next behaviour Paul mentioned is idolatry. What is idolatry? It is the worship of other gods. Immediately we think of Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, etc. How about idolising sport, sports stars, giants in the business world, film stars, entertainment such as soap operas and movies, the cell phone and social media, and even your pastor? If these things take up more time, attention, finances, and worship from you than the Lord and His Kingdom, you are an idolater.

How can I worship these things, you may ask, I don’t bow before them and sing songs to them? True worship is much more than singing songs. It is devoting time, resources, and energy to that which you worship. True worship says “you are everything to me and I’ll show you my devotion by sacrificing whatever I have to you”. Therefore, the true determination of whom or what you actually worship is to see what fill your thoughts and actions most of the time. What or who receive your devotion?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We can also turn this around – where your heart is, there your treasure will be. In my mother tongue, Afrikaans, we have the same word for treasure than we have for darling. Shall we quickly rephrase Matthew 6:21 in the light of this: Where your darling is, there will your heart be also, or where your heart is there your darling will also be. What or who is your darling? What or who is mostly on your heart? What or who fill your thoughts? With what or who do you spend the most time?

Why don’t you take stock of your life? Jesus said in Matthew 10:37-39: Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. It is the more important stuff in our lives He mentioned here, let alone the supposedly lesser important idols, such as listed above. Read this passage a few times and ask yourself what it is that take up more time in your thoughts and actions than the Lord and His Kingdom. Does your life revolve around self-fulfilment or around fulfilling the Lord’s call on your life? If you lose the self-fulfilment (your life) for His sake, Jesus said, you’ll find fulfilment (life) in Him.

Are you an idolater? The Lord said through Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:10 that idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of God. Why don’t you make a decision to switch your time and devotion to Jesus? To be continued.

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66. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What about Dogs and Pigs? Part 1

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6)

Everything the Lord ever commanded was for the protection of our body, soul, and spirit. For example, the food laws that Moses gave to the Israelites was for the protection of their health. The above command is for the protection of our soul and spirit, even our bodies in certain situations.

What are these sacred things, these pearls? For the most part, they are revelations from the Lord: visions, dreams, prophecies, and rhema revelations from the Word. It also includes anything that is precious to us, such as precious feelings, memories, information, and experiences of relationships and love.

Who are the “dogs” and “pigs?” They can be anybody who won’t have insight into what you want to share. It can even be a pastor or a close friend.

Have you ever shared the deepest secrets of your heart with a friend, and he responded indifferently? Worse, did he criticize or laugh at you? If this happens often, the pain may cause us to withdraw and stop sharing important issues with anybody. The Lord warned us about this because He wants to protect us against hurt.

Some of these “dogs” and “pigs” are malicious gossips. They will run throughout the community, tearing your heart apart with their gossip. Others will mean a world of good, warning you and advising you how to respond to the revelation. With their carnal assessment, they destroy God’s encouragement to you.

Others will laugh, express their skepticism, and criticize you. They may say you are crazy or can’t do the task that the Lord has revealed to you. This person curses your life, your call, and your purpose.

Some might be friends or family you thought cared about you, but when they act indifferently, seemingly not caring about your story, you get hurt.

As with Abraham, the Lord starts preparing His servants a long time in advance of the purpose He calls them for. He will regularly give revelation and encouragement as we seek His face. These usually come in the form of rhema revelations from the scriptures, prophecy into our lives, dreams, and visions. They are meant for us personally, and we should treasure them in our hearts, enjoying the interest the Lord is showing in us. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a fine example of this. “And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart,” (Luke 2:18, 19).

We are often too church-oriented and want to run with everything to the pastors and counselors. Sometimes this is good, but often the Lord wants to build a relationship with us personally and does not want us to share. Otherwise, it is like giving our colleagues every detail of our intimate home lives. To be continued.


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Part 2 Golden Nugget (5th part) - Do you destroy lives?

You would have noticed that I'm doing two different articles a week. The Sermon on the Mount articles on Sundays is from a book I've written a while ago and the Golden Nugget articles on Wednesdays are fresh. By Godincidence  (Godly coincidence) the topics of both these series coincided this week in that the Sermon on the Mount article is about gossip, which in actual fact is slander as per 1 Corinthians 6:10: ...nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. I am therefore placing only the Sermon on the Mount article and adjust it to cover our topic of slander.  Interestingly enough, even the children's video of the last article touched on this topic. I  didn't plan it like that, so maybe the Holy Spirit wants to make a point.

You might think you never curse anybody. But have you ever said negative things about people? If you have, you have cursed them. The evil forces of darkness wait for an excuse to nail a brother. If we say condemning things about him, slander him, we give those evil forces a mandate to try to apply those condemnations. It is almost like prophesying condemnation.

I have often wondered how fortune-tellers function, because only God is omniscient (all knowing) and He will not involve Himself with such things. The devil certainly does not know the future. Then I realised it is based on cursing. The fortune-teller can tell her client whatever she wishes. If he believes her and fears the prophecy will come true, it gives evil forces the right to bring it about.

Fear is the devil’s faith. The fortune-teller speaks a curse, such as death in the family or an accident, into the victim’s life, and the devil makes sure it happens. He can also cause a positive prophecy, like riches, to happen. He then snares his victim into looking toward good fortune for his provision and not to God. Evil spirits prompt these fortune-tellers and tell them what to say, just as they do with us when we have a critical spirit. The evil one uses gossip and slander in the same way.

Many children and adults struggle to rise above their circumstances because parents and other family members pronounce curses upon them: “John will never amount to anything because he is so lazy.” If they repeat these words every time John makes a mistake, or if they tell it over and over in the form of gossip, the devil steals opportunities and abilities from John. He whispers hopelessness into John’s ear and confirms it by his mistakes. Eventually, John believes he is a failure, because his family and friends cursed him.

Gossip and slander destroy relationships and the victim's social life. It spreads like wildfire and it's not long before the community rejects the victim for something they have not even done, or only have done once and then repented and let go. This is why the Lord made this statement that appears to be so harsh - people that make themselves guilty of such, will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

In terms of worldwide racism, we also limit nations’ development by pronouncing curses over them. We decide what they are capable of and what they are not. Evil forces hear the curses spoken from thousands of living rooms every day, and that gives them the mandate to steal, kill, and destroy. Proverbs says that the tongue has the power of life and death. Speaking death comes naturally because the devil constantly tempts us to do so, and our sinful nature conforms to it.

Speaking life, however, is contrary to our sinful nature and takes discipline and sacrifice. Every moment we must watch our tongues and discipline our mouths to keep silent. Paul said to Timothy, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value in all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come,” (1 Timothy 4:7, 8).

Speaking blessings takes practice and training. We have to train and discipline our minds and tongues. When we realize the power of our words—the devastating effect of curses and the power of blessings—we will train hard to bless. We must bless those who persecute us and not curse them (Romans 12:14).

Why do we judge so easily? Paul said, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me,” (2 Corinthians 12:7). I know that I also have a messenger of Satan tormenting me, and so have all Christians. The closer we live to God and the more fruit we bear, the more active these demons become. Their job is to tempt you to sin and then accuse you of that sin (Revelation 12:10). When we become a bigger threat to Satan, revealing his lies, he hits back harder. This thorn is a temptation to sin. Through it, our enemy attempts to make us feel guilty and worthless. He drives a wedge into our relationship with the Lord, causing Him to apply Isaiah 59:1, 2 and to discipline us as per Hebrews 12.

God uses the thorn to keep us humble. However, if the temptation leads to sin without repentance, we will be judged according to the commands of Jesus. The devil wants us to be judged according to the measure of the judgment that we pass (Matthew 7:2). This is why the thorn in the flesh of so many Christians is judging others. It is as Paul said in Romans 7:15-21, we do not want to do what we are doing, yet we can’t help it. Nevertheless, the Lord’s grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9) and He wants to provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). We constantly need to repent and train in righteousness.

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65. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Do You Curse?

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1, 2)

How many of us are guilty of judging? This is a hard word. Our method of judging, forming opinions, and determining right from wrong will be applied to us. When I consider this passage, I don’t want to face the Judgment. To judge others, form opinions, and criticize comes so easy, even in the church.

Jesus continues: “‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye,’” (Matthew 7:3-5).  

Jesus said we have so many of our own mistakes that by judging, we already have something to be judged for. None of us can throw a stone (John 8:7). Instead, we should sort out our own problems before concerning ourselves with others’ problems.

We all have so many weaknesses and battles with sin, it will take a lifetime to conquer our own problems, leaving no time to worry about others. Why is Jesus so hard on judgment?

      

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:6)

            What we say can change people’s destinies. First, there is the fire of gossip, which determines the opinions that people have of others. We may not know a person, but we already have a negative opinion of him because of the gossip we’ve heard. This could close doors of relationship and prevent the Lord’s will from being done.

I have experienced this. So many people have lied about me that I hardly recognise myself. The lies were merciless impressions of behaviour that I never would do. Recently a relief pharmacist came to work in my store. According to staff and fellow colleagues, this man has spread horrible stories about me among the other pharmacists in my city. He had never met me before, yet he spread gossip about me. After a few hours of working together, he accused me of things I knew nothing about.

Isn’t the tongue evil? My situation with the pharmacist was instigated in hell, since the devil hates me. I consider it persecution, since the man brought false testimony against me because of Jesus (Matthew 5:11). It created a false impression of me and made my job intolerable.

Judgment and gossip are not fair. How many times have you listened to gossip and formed an opinion of a person, even before the two of you met? The gossip created your first impression of the person. How will you react when you meet? If you hadn’t listened to the gossip, you would have formed your own opinion when you met. This opinion might be much different from the one you formed as a result of gossip.

Pastor Mike’s (fictitious name) ministry was ruined as a result of gossip that Angela started. When Angela (fictitious name) realised what she has done, she went to Mike asking him what he thought she could do to put things right. He told her to take the feathers from a pillow and as she walked about town, to put a feather down on a variety of specific places she thought appropriate. She did it and when she returned he told her to go and collect all the feathers.

“It would be impossible,” she said, “by now they would have blown all over town.”

“You’re right,” he said. “Just as it would be impossible for you to recover your feathers, the damage caused by gossip can hardly be reversed.”

Our words have powerful effects in the spiritual realm as well. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse,” (Romans 12:14). Most of us even curse our brothers, let alone our persecutors. To be continued.

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What is the Fear of the Lord? Part 4. Are you right?

Last time we said the fear of the Lord means that we need to fear what the Lord will do when we are out of line.

I know what it is to fear the Lord’s discipline and what it is to fear being left behind when Jesus comes to rapture His bride. In the past I have justified sinful behaviour even from the Bible, simply because I enjoyed the sin, but the painful discipline of the Lord has made me realise I needed to resist sin to the point of shedding my blood (Hebrews 12:4). Because of my stubbornness, the Lord’s discipline has cost me dearly. Maybe you don’t realise that all the hardship you experience in certain areas in your life are discipline from the Lord, because you wilfully continue in certain sins, such as lust, gossip, criticism, serving Mammon, etc.

There are no excuses. The Lord provides the way out of temptation every time (1 Corinthians 10:13) and His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Motivated by the fear of what the consequences may be, we have to deal with our carnal desires and resist sin to the point of shedding our blood.

        In Philippians 2:5-11 Paul encourages us to have the mindset of Christ who humbled Himself from being God in heaven to being nothing on earth. Then in verses 12-14 we see the following: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Did you see the “blameless and pure”?

I don’t think that once we’ve accepted Jesus we are automatically saved. Ephesians 2:8-10 states that we are not saved by our own works, but by grace. This means that we cannot earn access to the Kingdom by doing good works to get points in heaven to be accepted into the Kingdom of God. This would lead to competition and boasting.  

Verse 8 states: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. This grace we receive through faith, the latter which is also from God, is the opportunity allowed and the help and power from God to work towards holiness and purity in thought and deed (Romans 12:1-2 and Philippians 2:12-14 above). What is the point of the sanctification teachings throughout the Bible if we just have to say a sinners’ prayer, receive salvation as a gift, and keep on living as we like? We can just as well discard it then. Why does the Bible contain so much focus on works and being blameless and pure? These are not good works to earn salvation; they are steps of obedience to prove yourself blameless and holy before God. No impure person will enter the Kingdom of heaven, which is why Philippians 2:12 mentions fear and trembling. We have the grace to change until we die, but the choice of change is in our hands. 
We are not able to do the work in our own strength – it is God who does the work along with us (Philippians 2:13) and Ephesians 2:10), but we have to take the initiative. If you don’t believe me, read this carefully: What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18) Now read chapter 7:1: Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. Who must do the work, the purifying?

Would you say the Lord is serious about blamelessness and purity?

Believe me; the Holy Spirit is prompting you all the time to work at this to ensure you stay blameless and pure and in victory. He will never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Next time we are going to look at the other things on the list in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

To be continued.

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