What Great City? Revelation 17:18

A great city that reigns over the kings of the earth! Back in verse 9 it says the seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits! Rome is a city that is built upon seven mountains! Sometimes Jerusalem is called the great city! When the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation the Roman Empire was at its zenith of power! Rome had conquered almost all the then known world! In 70 A.D. it conquered Jerusalem and burned the city down and the Temple with over one million Jewish casualties! It took one hundred thousand Jewish slaves back to Rome to construct the Roman Colosseum where hundreds of thousands of Christian’s were martyred! Their power seemed absolute! They built roads into conquered territories for their armies to march and conquer more territory! Jesus and all his disciples were martyred except John by the Romans! The persecution against Christian’s stopped when Emperor Constantine came along! Then the Christian faith was adopted by the Roman Empire! Jesus said conquer in my name! The same Roman roads that were used to conquer were now used by missionaries to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth! We really have two women represented here! We have Mary the mother of Jesus who produces the Savior of the world and the Babylonian harlot who produces seed to oppose Christ! The same has always held true! We have a seed in the earth that opposes Christ and a righteous seed that spreads his kingdom throughout the earth! Two Kingdoms! Heaven and Hell! Light and darkness! The last and final battle on earth will be between Christ and his followers and the Anti-Christ of the seed of the mother of harlots Babylon described in the Book of Revelation! The name Babylon means confusion! Did you ever notice the confusion in America today? Gender confusion! Race confusion! Political confusion! Border confusion! Immigration confusion! Lawless confusion! Authority confusion! Constitution confusion! Origin confusion! Environment confusion! Religious confusion! Education confusion! Purpose confusion! The whore that sits upon the beast will always confuse the nations that embrace her and will destroy those nations! To have the mind of Christ will bring clarity of thought and only the mind of God will save this nation or any other nation! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Christian Responsibility!

Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as privilege and in the interest of a Christian nation to select or prefer Christian’s for their rulers! William Penn, Founder, Province of Pennsylvania. Under his direction and leadership the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed in 1681.

Promote Israel or Else? Isaiah 60:12

Hebrew Translation: “For the non-Jewish Gentile nations and kingdom that will not serve, worship and honor thee shall perish with destruction, those Gentile nations shall be utterly wasted as a dried up desert.” Comment: Do not play with fire! Hitler did not take this scripture seriously! Many world leaders today follow Hitler’s treatment and attitude towards Israel. So how many nations support Israel today? Just one! The United States of America! Our Blessings as a nation are linked to Israel. America the number one economic and military power and only supporter of Israel! Do we get this? Most of the political left in America does not support Israel. If we read our Bible and believe it then Blessings will flow to our nation as a defender of Israel. We worship Israel as believer’s through our Jewish Lord Jesus Christ! President Trump gets the connection and is moving our Embassy to Jerusalem! Other nations are following! We support the physical Israel for many reasons! Remember at Christ’s second coming he will return to Jerusalem for the 1000 year reign over this earth! As believer’s sooner of later you will move to Jerusalem! Would it not be nice when you enter the Glorious City of Jerusalem that you could say in your heart that I did my part to defend Israel my first time here on earth! People who claim they are Christian’s and hate the Jews have evidence against them that they have either never read their Bible or do not believe what it says! If they the Jews are the apple of his eye then we need to treat them so! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Got Worries? Isaiah 28:16

Thus declares the Lord to the doubters! Behold, I lay in the city of Jerusalem and Israel a tested stone of my Kingdom that you can build your life on! It is a precious corner stone established and founded upon my sure foundation. Stand firm and trust me and be not anxious! Comment: Is it any wonder why the world has and is in an eternal war with the Jews and Israel? Over generations Satan is always trying to prove God wrong! Satan will not win but he is stupid enough to keep trying! Why? If he can find enough doubters to follow him into this losing battle he will sacrifice as many as he can on both sides! This is a battle between Heaven and Hell. Good and evil. Satan although immortal needs company in Hell. He is a created being just like you and me and has a eternal destiny in the Lake of Fire! Do not be a fool enough to follow him! God and His Son Jesus Christ were not created beings but were the source of all creation! They were the first cause of all that has been or every will be! If you want to play the fool place your bets on created beings! Not me my friend! My Bible says it is vanity to trust in man! I am going to trust the God that created Zion as His eternal home and has gone to prepare a place for those who do not doubt Him! I trust Christ with my life and my eternity! Where are you placing your bets? Finding Christ is winning the lottery on earth and in Heaven! Do not invest your money buying tickets for losers! You will lose with them! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Legalizing Sin! Romans 1:27

The unnatural love for young boy’s is so common, that in many places it is established by the public laws! Xenophon, Greek historian, writer and military leader, 430-354 B.C. Comment: So America is not the first country to legalize homosexual behavior but thousands of years earlier there was a city named Sodom that tried the same thing! How stupid for nations to change God’s laws and expect no consequences? History has shown us that Sodom was burned to the ground and the Greek and Roman empires collapsed! No human that ever lived can oppose God’s laws and live! America needs to repent and the Pastor’s across America need not look the other way! If the Pastor’s do not call homosexual behavior as sin out who are God’s representatives on earth then who will? James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Church In The City 1 Corinthians 12:—-

The Lord is asking you this morning what do I need from you? God is asking you what is His biggest need? As we enter into the Easter season the answer is that you would be a faithful witness to His Resurrection!  Acts 1:– Go to Jerusalem and wait for me! Do not attempt to do it on your own. I will send my Holy Spirit to you! Be a faithful witness as I work in you! Spiritual Gifts! What is a spiritual gift? A Spiritual Gift is a gift to Glorify Jesus and encourage people. It is also to minimize man. The word Gift is the same Greek root word that is used for Grace which is the word Charisma. A Gift is a miraculous faculty or the Gift of Grace! How would you like a resume with a miracle on your faculty! The first Gift mentioned in Acts is Wisdom. Wisdom is the special ability to hear and speak wise council. This gift may be just for me. Wisdom is the practical application of knowledge. It is enlightened understanding.  Luke 2: 46-48— Joseph and Mary lost God? Three days later they found Jesus in the Temple. At 12 years old Jesus was sitting with the Jewish Scribes and asking questions. Jesus was hanging out with wise people! We must seek the Gift of Wisdom! We need to get addicted to Spiritual Gifts! Find favor with God and man. Favor is bringing idea’s to the table. With the mind of Christ favor will find you! You will have the right answers! The Jewish Scribes of the Law were amazed with Jesus answers! There is no junior Holy Spirit! He is the same to all. One body. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. Do you also need to grow? The next gift mentioned is the Gift of Knowledge. This is the special ability to have critical insight into people and situations. A good example would be Jesus at the well. Jesus has much more than conventional knowledge.  John 4:16— Jesus said unto her go and call your husband. Remember again Spiritual Gifts are to Glorify Christ and encourage people. Jesus responded to her that you had 5 husbands and the man you are living with is not your husband! Jesus can read your mail using the Gift of Knowledge. This woman was so impressed that she went back to her village and told the whole town what had happened! The whole town came out to see Jesus. The Gift of Knowledge is used here to bring people to Christ! This is how to gather a harvest. The Gift of Knowledge can also be used to understand our spouse. Works better than a marriage councilor! Use wisdom and knowledge to understand each other and to speak to one another with encouragement and understanding. The Gift of Faith. This is the special ability to be full of faith in every situation. Faith is the reliance on Christ for Salvation. It is a ground of confidence and a moral conviction of religious truth. Faith towards God!  Hebrews 11:1— Faith is being sure and certain of the God you serve! Believe in a good outcome but do not place your Faith in the outcome! I have prayed for the sick and some have recovered and some have not. My Faith is only in a God who is Good and Faithful! My Faith is in a Loving God and not in an outcome. God is not an ATM machine in Heaven! Remember when we pray for someone or something God may have a better idea or a better plan! Jesus disciples did not believe or expect what would happen 3 days after the Cross! Many in our culture have no Faith. Some have a little Faith. Some have a great faith like the Centurion who said to Jesus, “Just say the Word and my servant will be healed!”  Acts 1:— The Deacons were full of Faith and the Holy Spirit! Stephen had a great Faith but got stoned! Let me explain this to people in Colorado that I do not mean drunk! Not a Rocky Mountain High! With this 6000 feet elevation in Colorado Springs you can get high on a Diet Coke! Stephen died from injuries by rocks pelting his body. It surely does not look like a good outcome for Stephen! Stephen did not know that standing near him was a man named Saul of Tarsus who was consenting to his death. He later became Paul and had a vision of Jesus Christ along the road to Damascus. Much like Stephen’s vision of Christ at his execution. Paul would later write two thirds of our New Testament including the Book of Corinthians we are studying this morning. Did Stephen know the impact he would have on Paul and others? He did know God was good, loving, faithful, wise, knowledgeable, powerful and trusted for his outcome. A young teenager from North Carolina was Faithful in small things and helped his father milk cows every morning at 4:00 A.M. His name was Billy Graham. A young teenage girl in the slums of Seoul Korea found a young man dying of tuberculosis and prayed for him in Jesus name. This young dying man was David Cho! Pastor Cho and his one million plus congregation have never been able to find this girl over the past 60 years! A young Faithful Sunday School teacher drug a young girl out from under her bed who was trying to avoid his class. D.L. Moody changed the world! All but one of Jesus disciples were martyred! Does that look like a good outcome? Do the chapters they wrote in your Bible have a good outcome on you? At the Cross all the disciples fled and ran! Are you running from Jesus? Run towards him! Without the Cross we have no hope, future, peace, joy and no purpose. No Heaven for us without the Cross!  You may be in jail right now for doing righteous acts like Martin Luther King suffered. You may be in jail right here in America for distributing Gospel tracts! God is never done with you and that tract you gave to that bum on skid row may be the shot heard around the world! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever! Does not matter what generation you live in! At the end of the day God is Good and Faithful! Thirty times in the New Testament Faith is followed by Faith in Christ and Faith in God! Let us close in prayer and prepare for communion as we remember the words in Ephesians 1:17. Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given Sunday morning April 6, 2014.

Church In The City 1 Corinthians 7:——–

The Corinthian culture was much like the American culture today. It would be nice if marriage were Valentine’s day everyday! The Bible answers questions about sex, marriage, parenting, singleness and every other social and moral question you could ask. If you want the right answer go to God! Everyone seems to like Jesus however following Him seems to be a tripping point for most! People have to give up their sin and just too much for many. We have a sexual ethics problem in America because our culture is following voices that oppose the voice of God! If you follow Jesus you follow peace, joy, kindness and sexual boundaries! A restoration ministry focuses on brokenness. We deal with brokenness of the past! The Church is committed to discipleship. Paul was not anti-marriage when he said it is not good to marry. Paul was also encouraging women who were married to be respected and dignified. Paul went on to say in marriage your bodies belong to each other. Do not deprive one another. Marriage is a gift from God! Sex is powerful and marriage allows the healthy expression of this gift. The institution of marriage allows mutual respect and a healthy environment for sexual expression. One of the common abuses in marriage is couples using scriptures to beat up on each other. The wrong attitude is you owe me sex! The right attitude is we serve each other with sex. Not the power to control each other but to serve each other. We serve each other in marriage with sex. Do not keep score! Do not use sex to manipulate and control each other! Jesus produces a new attitude within us! The wrong attitude is my wife owes me sex. Sex is designed by God for pro-creation and not recreation. Jesus has given us a new way of living to serve each other in marriage. Wrong attitudes is this is your job and this is my job. Be kind and serve each other. Verse 12. Unbeliever’s are sanctified by the believing spouse. Women are often taking the children to church alone. Paul encourages them to stay steady. Do not put him out. Divorce is not an easy option. Divorce is not a fire escape. My mother was a believer but my father was not until I was 20 years old. I still had a great dad! While dad went deer hunting my mother took us to church. There were sometimes arguments about church. Paul also said not to stay in a abusive relationship. Do not give up easy. My mother instructed me in the scriptures and I am saved today because of her care for me. Verse 32. Single people also have purpose! Paul says you are valuable even if single. Couples have to focus on marriage issues while single people can focus on God’s affairs. Singleness is an opportunity! You can use your time and resources on building God’s Kingdom. About 20 years ago I had a couple come into my church office in real trouble. They showed physical aggression towards on another. They sat in chairs at opposite ends of my office and cursed at each other. I came to realize I could not fix their problems in one hour! Curse words flowed like water! You are a mother of this, that and everything! I shared with them that they need to learn to like each other. Need to treat each other like they were living in Mr. Roger’s neighborhood. They needed to forgive each other! They were messed up bad! They scheduled another appointment and this time they did not curse so much! Bad words were there but not so many. No death threats this time so things were looking up. They wanted me to help them have a good divorce! I asked them if they wanted a good marriage? They came back to my office again and again. Finally they sat next to each other on the same couch in my office! They smiled and began to love each other. Then ran a metal works business. They brought me a metal Cross they built in their shop as a gift in gratitude for the help I gave them. It has hung in my office over past 20 years as a reminder of God’s faithfulness! Forgive people! Forgive yourself and others! Let judgment go! We are called to forgive! Do not give up! Do not try to manipulate and control people! God has forgiven us through the Cross! Let Him restore and redeem you! Let us pray——— Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given on Sunday, February 16, 2014

Church In The City (Lesson 3) 1 Corinthians 3: 6-11

Paul wrote this letter to Corinth from Ephesus. By comparison today’s culture in America looks like Disney World compared to Corinth and Ephesus! God raises up a group of people to follow Jesus in a wicked culture. Let His light shine through you in the midst of a dark world. World history boils down to God looking for a group of people to follow Jesus! Do not get missed! The only one to change the world for good is Jesus Christ. The power of God and His Holy Spirit works through people. We need to improve in our relationships with our marriage, parenting, jobs and all other social relationships. Paul reminds us we need to improve! There are two principles involved in the process of improvement. Paul sends a troubleshooter named Apollos to Corinth. Apollos was from Alexandria Egypt. He was a scholar just like Paul. Apollos had bright shiny new ideas! Whether Paul or Apollos God causes things to grow. Man plants and waters but God gives the increase! We are God’s building. Be careful how you build. We are all building. We are either growing or diminishing. Our foundation has to be Jesus Christ. Planting is difficult! God comes to us and puts his spotlight on us. He zeroes in on our issues! Sometimes we feel like we are being picked on! Seems like God is disrupting our plans. Our ground is unfallowed and hard so God plows up our soil of our heart and removes the hardness so something can grow. Planting is done one or two times a year. As we as a church work through our 21 day fast and prayer period God shines His light on us and shows us where the changes are needed. God wants to uproot our unfruitful work. He wants to make the soil of our heart fertile and productive. There is a season to plant then God waters and a harvest comes. Watering is a determined work. God showers us with His Grace. He encourages us and strengthens us with His Mercy! His Mercies are new everyday! God will finish the work He has started in you. His work redeems us. Man’s work is never done but God’s work as Jesus said on the Cross, ” It is Finished!” His light pushes back the darkness. We have seasons of difficulty but God is determined to water us. God gives us a good crop with increase! We need to know which season of life we are in. Ecclesiates Chapter 3 says there is a time for everything! Look for times to speak encouragement to your spouse and you children. Window’s of opportunity come and go. If you think you are going to fix your spouse you are a train wreck waiting to happen! Parenting seasons change as children grow up. There are many voices out there in the world. Love is lacking when you are always laying down the law! Cheer on your family and encourage them. The Bible over 5000 years ago in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 tells us the best time to speak to our children. The two times they are most apt to listen to you are when they wake up and when they prepare for bed. They used to say the Brady’s are good when they sleep. Let your children make all their mistakes at home! Water the work God is doing in their lives. Plant-water, Plant-water, instruct-encourage, instruct-encourage. Know your strengths! Speak the truth in love. Learn to balance. Life is lived between the extremes. Learn from one another. Know the soil of your heart. Be quick to forgive. You cannot give away what you do not have! You will reap what you sow. Forgive and receive forgiveness. Recognize the soil of your heart. People treat other people the way they think God treats them. How does God treat you? Is God mean? Unforgiving? Do you believe God has forgiven you? Forgive others as God has forgiven you. We are not naturally kind. We are self-protective and defensive. But God has changed this for us. Now He has given us forgiveness and love. Know the season, your soil, your strengths and how you are wired. You can impact the world if you allow God to change you. Paul left about 35-50 people in Corinth out of a city of over a million people. It is a long story how I got to New Life Church! Back in 2007 I was ministering in Dallas Texas. God spoke to me that He was moving me! I thought about some churches i would like to go too. Where Lord? When Lord? I had some desires but God had a different idea. God told me I am going to send you to a church that is already planted and you are going to water it. We got to New Life Church in 2007 and 100 days later we had a shooting at our church. Darkness will never overshadow those in Christ! The scripture that most strengthened me is 1 Corinthians Chapter 3. God brought our marriage together and our children and He will bring our Church family together. Since 2007 God has done a miraculous work here at New Life Church reaching to the ends of the earth! God gets the Glory! What God has started He will finish! Get your soil right and God will water you and make you grow! Source; Message given by Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given Sunday January 19, 2014.