CALLING ALL SINNERS!

MATTHEW 9:13

"For I have not come to call those who think they are righteous,  but those who know they are sinners."

Are you free from sin?  No one is good, no not one!  Do you believe you are a good person?  No one is good but God.  Have you repented of your sins?  Have you accepted God's forgiveness and stopped committing the same sins?  Do you believe that you are in right standing with God at this time?  Do you know and acknowledge that you are a sinner and that you need a Saviour to forgive you and have mercy on your soul?  If you know that you are a sinner the Lord has come to call you!

Jesus Christ the Lord God is reaching out to everyone .  The Lord invites us to come and follow Him and to learn His Word.  Jesus Saves.  The premise to His saving Grace is that you know that you need a Saviour.  The Lord wants us to turn around from our unrighteousness and to come to a knowledge of the truth, that we have all sinned.  We all come short of the Glory of God.  No one becomes righteous without the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ.  The Lord's plan is to save all of us from our sin, and He calls to all those who know that they are sinners!

It is the desire of the Lord to have mercy on all of us.  Jesus Christ wants to help all of us who are under the burden of sin.  He calls to all of us who have gone astray.  He invites you to turn around and away from the sins you have been committing.  He wants us all to become new, clean, righteous people who have been saved from their sin.  If you think you are a righteous or "good person", who is without sin, you may not be able to hear His voice.  When you come to a knowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour you will hear His voice.  CALLING ALL SINNERS!  

PUBLIC CONFESSION

MATTHEW 10:32-33

"Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth,  I will also acknowledge before my Father in Heaven.  Everyone who denies me here on earth,  I will also deny before my Father in Heaven."

What a powerful message that must be heard by everyone.  Are you listening to the Words of the Lord?  This is why preachers ask people to come forward and confess that Jesus will be the Lord of their life publicly.  By coming forward and confessing with your mouth and bending your heart and knee to Jesus Christ the Lord God,  you are acknowledging Him here on earth.  Do you remember how you denied Jesus Christ and His existence before you were Saved?  Perhaps you have still not acknowledged Jesus Christ and publicly confessed that He is the Lord of your life.  Your denial will have serious consequences including Jesus denying you before His Father in Heaven.  Your eternal Salvation is at stake.  Eternal life is at stake!

There are people called pocket Christians that say they have accepted Jesus Christ into their lives, but, they have never confessed it to anyone publicly.  They do not meet with other Christians or attend a church.  There is no outward appearance or way that would indicate that they are followers of Jesus Christ.  They may even disown or deny Jesus Christ before others. They may be at risk before the Father in Heaven.  If you love the Lord it will be difficult if not impossible to avoid continually praising His name here on earth and confessing that He is your Lord.   Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord God here on earth?

You make the choice to deny or disown Jesus publicly here on earth.  You will be responsible for your choice.  At the time of judgement when we will all stand before God,  you will be denied by Jesus.  He will say to His Father that He never knew you.  That is the perfect justice of the Lord.  You make the choice of your own free will and you must accept the consequences.  If you acknowledge Jesus here on earth, and confess Him with your tongue publicly He will abide with you forever.  You will belong to Jesus here on earth and in the eternal heaven to come.   It is the Lord's will that everyone be saved and given the gift of eternal life.  The choice of your own free will determines your destination.  His justice is perfect.  Today is the day to make a PUBLIC CONFESSION that Jesus Christ is your Lord and God!

WHEREVER YOU ARE

MATTHEW 8:8

"Lord,  just say the word from WHERE YOU ARE,  and my servant will be healed."

Where do you have to be to pray for someone you care about?  Do you have to be in a church?  Do you have to be right there by there side?  Is it possible to pray for someone from a location far away from them?  Will the Lord hear our prayers and answer them no matter where we are?  The truth for today comes from this scripture.  Jesus told the Roman officer that the prayer He made for his servant, as requested, even though from a long way off was answered. Jesus said, "I have not seen faith like this in all Israel".   The answer to the question, where do I have to be to pray for someone is, WHEREVER YOU ARE!

Many people believe you can only pray in a church or temple and expect the Lord to hear you.  Many people believe that an intercessor is required to make the prayer for you.  Many believe that they have to be with people of like mind and that it takes more than one person for a prayer to be answered.  Try as you may, to place conditions on the Lord for prayers to be answered, He hears every prayer, everywhere and He will answer all of them.  The answer can be no, yes or maybe and may not be understood at the time.  Being surrounded by religious icons or with candles glowing around sacred statutes is not required to have your prayers answered.  You can not place limitations on an omnipotent God.  That is the message of the Lord about the officers prayer.  You can pray WHEREVER YOU ARE!

Jesus wants his followers to know that He hears all of our prayers, wherever we make them. The Lord wants us to know that He acts on each prayer at the moment it is given.  Jesus can come and heal us or the one we pray for right now, at this very moment.  Your prayer can come at the last minute, even in a foxhole.  The Lord is everywhere at every moment.  He needs only to say the Word and His will is done.  Your faith is what matters, not where you are.  Be prepared to accept the answer He gives you.  It will be for your best interest,  even though you may not understand it at the time.  Believe in Jesus and pray to Him today, WHEREVER YOU ARE!

ARE YOU LISTENING?

MATTHEW 7:24

"Anyone who LISTENS to my teaching, and follows me is a wise person who builds his house on a solid rock."

Is your house built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, the Lord God?  When the storms of life come, and they surely will, is your house going to stand?  Without your house being built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ it will collapse!  The only way you can be sure your house will withstand the storms of life is if it has the right foundation, built on solid rock.  A wise person builds his house in such a way that is is secure against torrents of rain and storms of all kinds. It is the foundation that gives them security.  The foundation of knowing and believing in the Lord is that type of foundation.  Others build their houses on sand and they will collapse with a mighty crash when the storm comes.  You have no rock, no foundation, no stronghold to run into with out the Lord!

The solid teaching of God's Word is the rock that is being described in this truth for today.  The first step to this kind of security is to hear and then do the teaching of the Lord.  This is the most important step.  If you do not know, love and hear God's message the journey of your life is in jeopardy.  You can not just hear this message, you must also LISTEN.  Not everyone who hears the message of God will enter into His kingdom.  Those who LISTEN and do the will of the Lord will enter the kingdom of Heaven.  Those who have heard but never listened or obeyed the Word of God will have no foundation, no rock, and will never enter Heaven.  The Lord will say, "depart from me, I never knew you!"

Just as a child must learn to listen and then respond to the teaching of their parents,  we to must learn to listen and then respond to God.  It is never enough to hear someone teaching. We must assimilate and then put into action what they are teaching us.  Theory is one thing but action brings about the proper results.  The way to build a solid rock like foundation for your life is to LISTEN  and then follow the teaching and Words of Jesus Christ, the Lord God!

PRAISE TO THE LORD!

PSALM 148:5

"Let every created thing give PRAISE TO THE LORD,  for He issued His command and they came into being."

Who is it that should praise the Lord?  Are believer's the only ones that should praise the Lord? Can everything that God created give praise to Him?  If every created thing came into being at the Lord's command what should be their obligation to Him?  How is praise demonstrated by living creatures and inanimate objects?  Does the beauty of the creature give praise to the Lord.  Does the splendor of the heavens give praise to the Lord?  Do the prayers of the believer's give praise to the Lord?

We may not always be aware, but we are not the only things that give PRAISE TO THE LORD! The Psalmists tell us that the skies, stars and heavens praise the Lord.  The angels and heavenly hosts, as the army of the Lord, give Him praise.  The sun, moon and the twinkling stars give praise to the Lord.  The rain and lightning, clouds and thunder give praise to the Lord.  He issued a command and set them in place and they will praise Him forever.  Praise emanates from the ocean and its creatures.  Fire, hail, snow and the clouds praise the Lord.  Men and women of all ages and stations have praised the Lord.  Rulers and Kings of the earth have praised the Lord.  In short, with the exception of some men, everything everywhere has a common response; PRAISE TO THE LORD!

The Lord has lifted us up and given us power and dignity.  He is the source of our prosperity and He has placed the song in our hearts.  Those who know Him and are near to Him exalt His name.  We know that His majesty and glory and Honor are supreme and they tower over the heavens and the earth.    It is a natural and normal response for us to love, worship and praise the Lord.  What is it that the Lord desires?  Let every created thing give PRAISE TO THE LORD!

DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS!

MATTHEW 7:1-2

"DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use for judging is the standard by which you will be judged."

Do you judge others harshly?  Do you treat others the way you would like to be treated by them? What is the standard you use to judge others and yourself?  The method of judgement that we apply should be clear and reasonable.  It should be applied equally to ourselves and others.  The question that arises is why we expect so much more from everyone else than we do of ourselves. Does it make a difference to you when you know that the standard that  you use against others will be applied to you equally?  What does "Judge not least you be judged" mean to you?

Many times people criticize or condemn others for their looks, or nationality or race.  They are judging without any specific knowledge of that person.  They are using bias and prejudice and may be totally wrong about that person.  Many tend to prejudge entire categories of people and expose their ignorance, unreasonableness and lack of reason.  Lets reverse the process.  How should others judge you.  Should they use the same type of reasoning and bias?  It is not reasonable to lump together an entire category or group of people when they are not identical.  All black people or all white people are not the same.  All democrats and all republicans are not the same.  All French and all Americans are not the same.  All Muslims and all Christians are not the same.  Be careful how you judge them, for you will be judged by your own standard.  

When you judge, criticize and condemn others you need to understand that you are opening yourself up to the same treatment.  In accordance with the measure you deal it out to others, it will be dealt to you.   If you do not want to be judged wrongfully or harmfully be careful not to commit the same offense against others.  Treat your neighbor or fellow man the same way you want to be treated.  If you do not want to be judged, DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS!

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO!

MATTHEW 7:12

"Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.  This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and by the prophets."

Surely no one could disagree with this truth for today.  Why are there wars?  Why do so many commit murder or adultery or steal from one another?  Why is there so much disrespect for God and for other human beings?  How would you like to be treated by others?  What would you like others to do for you?  Do you want love, affection and a caring, nurturing disposition to you and your family and friends?  Do you want fairness, justice and a forgiving spirit from others?  Do you long for mercy when you sin and miss the mark?  Do you do unto others what you want done unto you?

We are fortunate that we do not get what we deserve, especially from God.  No one is good, no not one of us.  Even though we are sinful by nature and do evil deeds we still do good for our children.  In fact most of the time we will do for our children what we want done for ourselves. Do you treat the rest of the world the way you want to be treated?  Do you treat everyone just like they are your child or part of your family?  If not, then why not?

Because we believe the Lord and His Word we should try and emulate Him.  God is Love and that is what He wants from us.  His Word and His Prophets teach us about His unconditional love and that is what is expected of His believer's.  Just as our Father in Heaven has an unfailing love for us we are to have an unconditional and unfailing love for others.  His mercy is the final expression of that love and in turn we must be merciful to others, not just our family. The message is quite clear, if God can love and forgive us then we must love and forgive others. Love your neighbor as yourself includes all people, not just those next door.  Treat others as God is treating you.  This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and by the Prophets.  That is WHAT YOU SHOULD DO!