These statements in verses 5 – 7 in Micah Chapter 7 made by Micah are reflected in the teaching of Christ to His disciples. (Matthew 10:35-37) Jesus was also showing how complete dedication to Him would bring about rejection from those close to you and even in your immediate family! The person who places family ahead of his or her service to Christ is called “unworthy.” (Matthew 10:38) The assurance is given by Micah that it is worthwhile to trust completely in God for salvation! Resting in Him is the only way to find peace, especially when a believer’s on family forsakes him or her. (Hebrews 13:5) A qualifier here is that you do not neglect, abuse or abandon your family in the Name of the Lord! I can remember when we left for India in 1984 for a 3 year commission I shared with my father that I heard from God and was sure of my calling and confirmed by other people. My father said you must have heard from the devil? I love my dad and he passed away about 4 years ago. I still love him. Point here is this comes with the calling of Christ in your life. People and family do not understand your calling and judge it prematurely! If you do not get resistance from family and others in ministry you are probably spiritually dead! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: matthew
Hear It and Practice It ! Matthew 7:24-27
Here Jesus gives the final benediction. Jesus demands and compels us to take the narrow gate, produce the right fruit and make the right choice! He required of us that we build on the right foundation. We are to examine ourselves and practice Holiness. Jesus repeats these requirements a second time because they are so important. Jesus was talking to believers not non-believers. The rain, wind and storms will come to us all. Good and bad days are ahead. The wise build on the rock and the foolish on the sand. If we build on the right foundation we will thrive through the storm. We have great days ahead! We can feel His Blessings! The disciples were passionate. They did great things! There were glorious days and there was also trouble. Eleven of His disciples were martyred! One was imprisoned on a remote island in a cave. John 16:33 — Peace and Tribulation? Jesus has come to give us peace. The world gives us trouble. Jesus has overcome the world! Stay strong and keep the Faith. Nothing shall shake you! The place of stability in Christ leaves no terror. The unstable world leaves us with fear. Love and fear are opposites. How do we practice words? We practice them by doing them. Action! Breath in His Holy Spirit. Get saturated with the Gospel! Breath out and go do His Word. Are you receiving but not giving? Gandhi said,” I like your Christ but not His followers! ” Christ’s followers cannot save Gandhi but Christ could! James 1:27– Pure religion is to take care of widows and orphans. Also keep your heart pure. Find some widows and orphans! Get busy. Do! Act! Along life’s path do His Word. Do you have a vision? That vision will deceive you if you are not doing His Word! A medical doctor is useless unless he is practicing his knowledge! Luke 8:15– There are four types of soil. The seed is the word. Good soil is a pure heart. Hear His word and do something about it. Hear it, retain it, talk about it and do it. Cares of the world will choke the word. Know the will of God and cooperate and do it. Good work does not earn our salvation. But the good works help to mature us. Put your hands and feet to His Word. The Bible is a living, breathing document. The Holy Spirit puts boots on the ground through you! Live out your revelation. Matthew 7:28– Jesus taught as one having authority. It is not about Plan A or Plan B. Make disciples teaching them to obey me! Christ will be with you always even to the end of the ages. Have a secure place and build on the right foundation. What are you building your life on? What and who is shaping and forming your life right now today? Source: Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given Sunday, September 15, 2013. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
True or False? Matthew 7:15-23
False Prophets! Not all that shines is gold! Jesus warning His disciples. Wolves attack just to kill while other beasts kill only for food. Assassins! Dressed in sheep clothing. They look like you, dress like you, have a good church language but are suicide bombers wearing a Christian costume. Intentional people who purposely mislead us to hurt. Evil at the core. Verse 16- By their fruit you will recognize them. Good or Bad! True or False! Pay attention to the right thing. Walk and be not deceived. Good fruit is moral fruit. Bad fruit is immoral or evil fruit. Verses 21-23. Final Judgment! I prophesied in your name? I cast out demons in your name? I did miracles in your name? Jesus said but I never knew you! Worst thing you could ever hear! Warning! Big crowds always follow those who perform prophecy, cast out demons and perform miracles. They may be genuine or total deceivers? Work for the right fruit. Do they sell products and then sprinkle Jesus on top of their sales pitch? How does fruit come? Fruit takes time to produce. Galatians 5:22- Fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace———-. Is our motivation on self or Christ? Look for sound doctrine! Is your household built on sand or rock? 2Timothy 4:3-4. People want a doctrine that fits their desires. Our desire and God’s desire is different. Make me happy God! The 21st century church theology is called; Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. It says that God is here to make me happy! Use Jesus to get what you want. No sound doctrine. A lot of money made under this false doctrine. Money made in the God business. Why? It sells! Itching ears. We want to hear this! Pleases the flesh. Marketing 101- Find out what the people want and tell them how to get it. Politicians today- They follow the culture rather than lead it! Flow with the stream down the drain. Sound doctrine- Iron sharpens iron. Follow Jesus. Believe Him. False Prophets will appear to go along with the Gospel but yet will say Jesus did not die and raise from the dead. The Death and Resurrection of Christ is foundational to our Faith! The Nicene Creed has been foundational to our Faith for over 1600 years. The early church father’s wrestled these heresies to the ground for us. You have to be able to discern truth to avoid the destruction of the false! Source: Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sunday Sermon Notes Message given on September 8, 2013. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
What Did Jesus Say About Following Him? Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus had a radical message! You can only enter in at the narrow way, narrow passage or narrow gate to follow me. A narrow gate would only be about the width of your shoulders. You cannot carry any baggage with you when you go through it. Following Jesus through the narrow gate requires focus with no distractions in the way. The broad road or gate leads to destruction. Jesus does and did not go this path. It is a dead end road. Few people choose the narrow gate. American culture is more Christ resistant than anytime in our history. To follow Christ today is more costly than in previous generations. We are considered radicals by our culture and ridiculed. We are considered on the outer fringes like space cadets. Did you ever notice the on-line surveys always give you a way out. You are never committed to a yes or no answer. Kind of like politics today. Christ gave His disciples no third choice. It was either Heaven or Hell. The same holds true for us today! Yes or no? Easy or difficult. Matthew 5:1-2. Jesus real audience was more than the crowds it was His disciples. They had already made up their minds to follow Him but their trust level was low. It takes time to figure out if you can trust someone. Jesus told them the Kingdom of God is right now! It was not yesterday or tomarrow. Living right now is Monday through Saturday working, school and difficult schedules. Jesus said let Heaven break into your boring day to day world. Jerusalem has 12 gates. The wide gate is the most used gate. Examples today are convenience stores, shopping malls, fast food, ect. We like the best paved roads with the fewest traffic lights. They even have drive through churches today. Just hear a message on the internet or television. Why go to church? Studies have found that women like to shop on the internet after 9:00PM. Why? Convenient! We like to choose the easy way over the difficult. Going through the wide gate we can take along as much baggage as we want. No constraints, no sacrifices, easy choices, no boundaries, no commitment applies to all who travel the wide gate. Taking this path leads to ruin. Jesus took a narrow path from The Judgment Hall to Calvary. It was also a steep climb carrying your Cross! He took your unforgiveness, hurt, pain and all your sin. Jesus was a teacher of virtue. Creativity exits between boundaries. Whether it be inventions, music, poetry, sciences, discoveries or even the work of a humble farmer. All great work is done within constraints and boundaries. Jesus had to be sinless to fix your sin. Because of the discipline of constraints and boundaries we have very few great people. People do not like boundaries. Live together why get married? Why study? Why work? Get on welfare. Pregnant? Get an abortion. Vote for the political party that offers you no constraints or boundaries. Revelation 7:9. Heaven is not sparsely populated but has a great multitude. Salvation belongs to our God! It is a free gift like a Christmas gift under a tree and is easy to find. Jesus is easy to find but very difficult to follow. Weddings are exciting but then the couples have to learn to live together. Marriage goes from easy to difficult. The wide gate is to get a divorce or just live together unmarried. To remain in covenant is a miracle from God and requires His Grace. To stay married is hard work and a challenge. Getting pregnant is easy but raising children is hard work. The family under the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman is God’s only plan and design for relationships and for the security of future generations. Worship even requires constraints and boundaries. All people will make one of the following four choices in their life. 1. Secularism- autonomy, it’s my life, live for yourself, no boundaries, no restraints. Not Jesus way. No! 2. Moralism- Follow the rules and get the life I deserve. Entitlement. Steeped in religion that says it is all about me. I deserve to be rich and famous because I am a moral person. 3. Religion- I owe my life to God. Obligation. Things better go right with me because I am serving God! Bad exchange. Problems come! Death and disease comes to all! 4. Grace- Jesus says your life for my life! Wonderful exchange! Great Exchange! My nothingless for His everything. Give God your life and He gives His life back to you! Stop living for yourself. It is a dead end. Let Christ come in. Welcome the Holy Spirit! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. What needs constraint in your life? Do you eat food for comfort? Do you have a drug or sex addiction? Do you feed your senses to no avail. Let Christ increase and you decrease. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and He will add to your life that will help you to victory. Source: Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given Sunday September 1, 2013.
Most Misinterpreted Scripture In the Bible! Matthew 7:1
A poll was taken among unbelievers and they were asked what word comes to their minds when they hear the word, “Evangelical Christian.” A overwhelming majority said the word that comes to their mind is; “Judgmental.” Most of them quote Matthew 7:1 to support their views. What is lacking here is for them to read the rest of chapter 7. It is always easier to be critical of others sin than our own sin. We treat others sin different from our own. There is a big difference between judging and evaluating someone. We get discernment from God’s Word! The Greek word used for judgment in verse one is the word,”Krima.” It means to judge, condemn and execute. Like Jesus was given at Calvary. We can say something is wrong without judging. We can take a moral stand without being a jerk. We need not be evaluator and chief. We do need to draw the line on impure thoughts and actions. Cool parents are bad parents! You are not your children’s best friends but you are in authority over them and responsible to God for them! We set boundaries in our family for their safety. Judgmental people are constant fault finders. They think your problems are because God is out to get you for your faults. They are always looking for the wrong and not what is right. They always remind others of their past mistakes. We all have flaws and need Christ. Following are a list of opposites judgment verses evaluate; Judge-emotional anger. Evaluate-restore them (kindness). Judge-Pride (better than you). Evaluate-I want to help (Grace). Judge-stay away (fear). Evaluate-restore them (Kingdom). Verse 2- Same way be judged. Give-away get back. Forgive-forgiven. Heal-healing. Pour out Grace abundantly! John 8:3-6. Woman caught in adultery. What did Jesus write on the ground? No one knows? Maybe the names of the ladies the Pharisee’s were seeing? They knew all about the law yet guilty. Older left first. Why? Maybe more to remember? Sometimes when we get older we forget how broken we were before we came to Christ. Don’t get over your salvation! Where are your accusers? Jesus asked her to leave her sin and stop it. Jesus gives us an invitation to take up our Cross and follow Him. We want to pray for two groups this morning. The worst kind of abuse is spiritual abuse. Spiritual leaders who abuse the flock. These people are hurt the deepest. We need grace not judgment. Forgive! We need ocean’s of Grace! New way of living. Judgmental people assume the worst in people. A product does not know it’s purpose. Only the designer or creator knows a products true purpose. Find your Creator and learn your true purpose in Christ! Source; Sermon notes taken from message by Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, given in Colorado Springs, Colorado on August 11, 2013. Thankyou.James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Great Distractions Of Worry! Matthew 6:25-28
Radical Jesus! Live out the beatitudes through counter-culture behavior! Jesus gave us a new way of being human! The Kingdom way of being human. Pray with listening ears, seeing eyes and hearts to receive the scriptures by impartation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a servant. Are you? Distractions such as money, possessions, and inside out language will take your focus off God and make us dysfunctional for the Kingdom. What we focus on is what we worship. Worry cannot add a single hour to our life. Stress which comes from worry can shorten our life. Jesus warned us not to worry about our clothes. Pagan’s run after these things. Jesus must have had the inside track on women’s dress habits. Ladies really dress to impress other ladies. Men do not have a clue about this? Worry distracts us, divides us, wastes time and keeps us from witnessing to others. Seek first the Kingdom and He will add what is needed for you. God can do the math! Luke 10- Martha and Mary. Martha worried about many things? She did not have CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and other media to help her find worries. She did it all by herself! Mary chose what was better with no distractions. Look at the birds of the air! Be a bird watcher. Doves mate forever. No divorce here. I watched two silver doves that were in my driveway yesterday. So contented! A bird brain may be a good deal? Are they too stupid to worry? No, God has programed them to understand He will take care of their every need. They do not worry about global warming. They rest in the cool of the day. Take a deep breath and relax. The Theology of Heaven is God always has enough! Have God’s world view. People stress out and die trying to get more. Humans are limited but God is unlimited! Father knows your needs. Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness. Definition of God’s Kingdom; God’s Kingdom is Jesus Christ ruling over His people. Ruling ever part of our life. Is Jesus Lord of All? V.34- Each day has enough trouble of it’s own. Worry about yesterday today and tomarrow? Regret Saturday and dread Monday? If so you cannot enjoy Sunday! To worry about yesterday and tomarrow is to worry twice! Worry about nothing? Trust God today and no regrets tomarrow. Cares of today are sufficient. Concern verses worry; Concern is to take issues to prayer and let the peace of God under the Lordship of Christ establish you. Worry comes when Jesus is not the Lord of your life. Worry and fear is not the fruit of the spirit. Love and fear are opposite each other. They come from two different sources. The Lord of Fear is leaving God out of your life and trying to run things on your own. The name Israel means ; “To Rule as God.” Can you do better than to rule as God? If you reject God then Satan will rule over you. The choice is yours? Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Sermon Notes, Sunday Worship Message, August 4, 2013. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Is It Really About Money? Matthew 6:19-21
Jesus tone and language changed between chapter 5 and chapter 6 of Matthew. Jesus moves from your public life to your private life. There should be no difference. No conflict between them. Jesus had an audience of the working poor which included most of his disciples. There were Jews, Greeks, Romans in the crowd and a few rich folks. The working poor would be those who earn just enough to buy their daily food. The whole family had to work to survive. Jesus message was about spending, saving and giving. How do American’s spend their money? Let us look at some big money people. NFL football players by a majority (68%) are broke after 2 years of retirement. Almost all Lotto winners are broke within one year of their winnings! Where is our heart? Money follows the heart. We are to save to give when there is a need. We are to be good stewards. If we spend all we have then nothing is left to help those in need. Proverbs6:6- Watch the ant! We are to spend less than we make just as the ant eats less than he gathers. We are to save to be generous at every opportunity. Matthew 6:22. Watch your eyes! What you focus on will be what you worship! Your eyes will focus your heart on treasures and your soul will bond to those things. Luke 16:10 How we handle money tells a lot about ourselves. He that is faithful with little will be faithful with much. This passage discounts Christians who say I will give when I make more money. Most people worry about money. Americans only give about 2% to charities. God does not have enough generosity among His people. Matthew 6:24 You cannot serve God and money and have two masters. The Lord says to tithe, save and give. God wants to be respected as, “Lord of All!” Begin to act like God owns it all! The love of money is the root of all evil. Who do you love? Money is not evil unless you love it! Think about it all the time. Love God and money will follow you enough to supply your needs and the needs of others. Love God and money will leave no sorrows. Love money and it will be a cruel task master. Money is not evil unless we use it to replace worship of the living God. Source; Sermon notes from message given by Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Swear! What Does It Mean? Genesis 21:23, Matthew 23:16-23
This word is interesting but not understood by most. As a child I was taught not to swear. What my parents meant was using bad words that would defame God. The old saying is do not let people swear by you or at you! So many advertisements in America use this word to try to sell their products. In the Bible the word has two different meanings depending on whether Old or New Testament. In the Old Testament the word first appears in Genesis 21:23. The Hebrew word is “Shaba.” It means to make an oath or declaration 7 times. Seven is the number of completeness. Seven days in a week, 7 years, 70, ect. I remember as a child my parents would say I am only going to tell you one time! If not all hell broke loose for me! The word is a short cut to say something 7 times. God swore to multiply and Bless Abraham’s descendants. God swore by His Holiness to lead Israel into captivity. (Amos 4:2) The Lord swears by Himself since there is none greater. Abimelech and Phicol asked Abraham to swear his kindness and integrity to them and their descendants. David’s men adjured him not to go into battle again. The Land of Canaan became the Promised Land gave to His people based on an oath. Thousands of years later the nation of Israel today stands as a testimony! Now let us look at the word “swear” as used in the New Testament. The Greek word is “Omnuo.” It means to stand up or establish. Jesus repeats this word to the Pharisees and scribes as follows in Matthew 23:16-23; Woe unto you who swear by the temple, by gold, altar, by the gift,ect. Jesus was telling them you cannot lift up or establish yourselves by these things! Actually, the one who they could be lifted up and established by Christ they rejected! I love my Pastor, family and friends but none of them can establish me before God! Jesus is interceding for us right now! We are to pray for one another bur remember no one can save you or others including your Pastor except Christ and Christ alone! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tempted Or Tested? Genesis 22:1, Matthew 6:13, James 1:13
These are two different words in the Hebrew and Greek. God will test us! Satan will tempt us! The sources are different and the outcome is different. Abraham was tested with his son Isaac. Judas was tempted. Jesus was tempted but resisted by quoting scripture to Satan. Jesus was tested by His Father on the Cross. God giving you a test will lead to righteousness. Satan tempting you will lead to enticing you to do evil and sin against God. Learn to recognize the difference so you can recognize the source! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Being Awesome In Obscurity! Matthew Chapter 6.
Why do we do what we do? Motives! Great people of God always have seasons of obscurity! Jesus in the desert, John the Baptist, Apostle John and many more examples in the Old Testament. American culture counters the idea of obscurity with social networks, web sites, instant media flashes, ect. God has to prepare out hearts and will not let us go public until we are right with Him and our fellow man. Motive is the spiritual mirror of the heart. The truth of scripture divides the motives of the heart. No one can hide wrong motives from God. The religious leaders of Jesus day gave money to be honored by men. Jesus said to give in secret. Then God will reward you openly! You will notice Jesus mentions reward three times. You will notice in Matthew Chapter 5, verse 16 that Jesus says to let your light so shine. Is Jesus contradicting Himself or is He talking about two different things? Shine or do in secret? It is all about motive. Neither do we boast or hide. We are a peculiar people. When people ask about your Godly behavior share your story about how God has changed you! Jesus mentioned a reward five times when you do the following three things in secret! They are; Give, pray and fast. Jesus says when we do these things which means we do them regularly! All three of these things are costly! Giving costs us money. To pray costs us time. To some time is money. To fast costs us energy. Most people say they trust in God and few Christians will do these three things regularly. To do these things means we embrace weakness. Most Christian’s will want to tell others they are doing these three things. Why? Motive! The Pharisee’s were the religious super stars of Jesus day. They fasted, prayed and gave money openly for men to see with no effect or approval from God! There will be seasons of obscurity sent from God to you so that you get right with who you are and do not give up your identity to please men! In Luke Chapter 4, verse 14 we read He returned with Power of the Spirit! God will not give you a public platform until you are ready! When Jesus came up out of the water during Baptism His Father in Heaven said; ” This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” What is the reward Jesus is talking about if we do these three things? Some Christians especially in America think it is money, big houses, fancy cars, gold, land, stocks, bonds, ect. Some will even borrow great amounts of money to show the world they are Blessed of God? The reward Jesus is talking about is this; ” His Presence. ” His love for you! An eternity spent with Him both now and forever! Source; Sermon notes from Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. July 14, 2013. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com