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.
Tag: religion
Voting is a Christian Doctrine !
Choose this day who you will serve! Joshua 24:15. The enemies of “The Cross” try to take our choices away through religion(Islam), and through politics(ObamaCare) ! Vote Biblical Values so that our way of life and freedoms we have are not taken away! Thankyou. James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Damascus
Isaiah Chapter 17 has alot to say about the city of Damascus! Isaiah opens with the burden of Damascus and that the city will be no more in a future event. Damascus is one of the oldest if not the oldest city in the world. It has a history of going back at least 5000 years or more! You could spend a life time studying the history of this city. It has been overtaken by Muslims, Alexander the Great and the Romans are just a small list of total conquests. So how could this city be completely destroyed as Isaiah predicts? Some think atomic weapons with Israel? Hal Lindsey had a good report on this several months ago before any conflict in Damascus itself. Today Damascus is 85% Sunni, 10% Christian and a small minority of Alawi’s. Assad is an Alawi which leans towards the Shittes in Faith but is not really. It is a mixture of things including some pagan religions. Interestingly they are friendly towards Christians! They celebrate Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, ect. The Apostle Paul spent time in Damascus after his conversion some 2000 years ago. So if Damascus goes this year then how? Intelligence predicts Assad will flee to the mountains along with his army where the Alawi’s live and carve out a new Syria. When he leaves Damascus he must stop those in pursuit of him. I believe this is where his chemical weapons come into play. He will deluge Damascus with chemical attacks and his enemies will be gone along with the city! This is one possible way Bible Prophecy could be fulfilled for the city of Damascus. Be alert to any internal warnings to Chistians to flee the city! Your Bible is front page news! Read it! James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Hindu Temple
The year was 1987. We were nearing the completion of our 3 year commission to India by the Korean Church. We needed to sell our vehicle in preparation for returning to the United States. The way you sell things in India is just put the word out amoung the local villagers! News travels fast in these remote areas. A young man named Benny told me this Hindu Priest was wanting to purchase my vehicle and if I would come up to the Temple he would pay me. Local Pastor’s in India warned me never to accept invitations to Hindu Temples! So I refused many invites by these Hindu Priests. So I told Benny no! Benny told me this is different. He only wants to buy your vehicle. It is simply buisness. So I decided to go. So Benny got in my vehicle with me and we made the steep pull up the mountain into the remote tribal area. As we approached the front entrance of this big Hindu Temple I could smell the sweet fragrance of incense sticks burning in the Temple. We were greeted at the front entrance by two beautiful young girls! They could have even been teen agers. One girl went to my left side and the other to my right side. They put one hand into my hand and the other on my forearm and escorted me into the Temple. I felt like the chosen King on prom night back in high school! With their collective beauty,perfumes and incense burning in the Temple I began to feel sedated! I began to feel sorry for the folks back home in America! Then the thought hit me. Where is Benny? As I was escoted deeper into this Temple some things began to trouble me? The doors into the rooms and halls had iron gates on them much like a jail cell? There seemed to be alot of girls in this Temple? Some not modestly dressed? Then I walked by this European looking guy sitting on the floor with his head shaved! This young man was like staring into space. His eyes were glassy and his soul looked empty? I glanced into one room as I walked by and there were these 3 iron stakes anchored into the cement with leather straps tied on them? I asked one of my escorts where we were going? I cannot completely descibe the foreboding feelings I had at this time? The girls told me they were taking me to the guest room where the Hindu Priest will give me the money for the vehicle. Even though I wanted to pull away and get out of there I was like mesmerized by the spiritual atmosphere there! It was like something was taking control of me? Much like the cobra spitting his venom into the air in a room to disable his victims! The girls finally took me into this room and asked me to sit down in the chair. The girls pulled the curtain over the door and left the room. This room only had one chair in the middle of the room and I was sitting on it? No pictures on the walls and only one door to exit the room. No windows either? I began to have more concerns! I got up out of my chair moved the curtain back but the iron gate was locked behind the curtain! No time to panic but I did begin to sweat! I went back to my chair. Where was Benny? Suddenly two different girls came from behind the curtain! They were as pretty and young as the first two but were not modestly dressed? They wore short grass skirts with their tops adequately displayed chanting and dancing around me in my chair? They had ankle chains on their legs with bells attached so when they danced the bells would jingle! They had tambourines they were beating. My natural defences began to further abate. My thoughts were now who cares where Benny is! As the girls would dance, chant and sway their bodies around me with the beat to the music they began to make eye contact with me. They would fix their eyes on my eyes and then shift their eyes rapidly left to right and then right to left. I began to feel dizzy! This went on for about 10 or 15 minutes. I really lost track of time? I was now moving into a deeper hypnotic state! Then the girls abruptly left the room! I wanted to get out but now unable to even get out of my chair? I was like unable to respond to my natural senses? I would later learn the European looking guy was made a eunuch in the Temple along with some other fellows there. Now there was an ominous quiet period while I was waiting for the next act! Suddenly these huge drums began to beat? Then I began to hear this male voice chanting in the distance. This voice began to get louder as this man got closer to me! I could also hear a tambourine beating. Suddenly this huge man broke through the door curtain! He must have weighed 300 pounds and looked like a sumo wrestler! He was bare chested with bright colors were painted all over him! He like the girls were dancing,chanting, banging his tambourine and trying to focus his eyes on mine. He had a full beard and long hair. He looked like a bat out of hell! The girls softened me up and this guy was going to take me down! Then about a dozen girls entered the room and joined the high priest in their chants and dances! Yes the choir was now in place! His cheer leaders! Then behind the girls stood Benny! Betrayal at its best! I cried out to Jesus and called on His Blood to break this demonic spell! Suddenly this spirit of control over me was broken! Yes in the twinkling of an eye satan’s spell over me was broken! The priest with his harem stopped and left the room! I got up out of my chair left the room and temple and drove my vehicle back to Yercaud. I sold my vehicle in Madras and we left India for the United States! These Hindu Priests make prostitutes out of the women and eunuches out of the men! Stay out of the Hindu Temples! James Sasse. GodWgoisGod.com