Bro Gary Wednesday 8/31/11

Bro Gary Wednesday 8/31/11

Psa 34:8  O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

It is important that we keep it real as to how good God is.  There are many things that can take our mind and our thoughts, not always bad things; even good things can rob our soul.

Psa 34:1  A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

I will bless the Lord at all times, David knew good times and bad times.  He knew blessings from God and He knew times of persecutions, one of his bad times he brought upon himself because of his sin. 

Holy men of old wrote as they were inspired of God and this is why we have the Old Testament.  It is wonderful that we have the story of creation.  It is wonderful to know who made the sun, the moon and the stars. 

When we think of how God has kept everything in its place when just a little variation could bring an end to all of us.  I will bless the lord at all times.

Taste the good things of God.  People taste in sin and experience what Moses taught, that he chose rather to suffer affliction with the righteous than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.  Those that have tasted sin find a temporary satisfaction from it and thirst for more. 

The three crosses down by Boyer Creek:  My mother told me of Ann, she was married to Kenny Kelly.  Kenny had a dad that introduced him to sin at a very young age.  He introduced him to things that he should have taught him against. 

Ann was Liz Lombard’s daughter.  My mom visited Ann and she told my mother that she was heartbroken.  She said that Kenny went to the bar every night and she had urged him to quit.  He said, “No, I love the night life, I love the bar, I love the bar crowd.” 

One night they left the bar in Paradise headed toward Plains and hit the left side of that bridge and three were dead at the scene.  One of them was Kenny Kelly.

It pays to whet your appetite toward the good things of God.  He did leave the bar life.  He’s already been in eternity for some time and has regrets that I hope none of us know anything about.  His and Ann’s lives could have been so different.

May God help us that are saved to realize how blessed we are.  There is nothing like hearing someone thank God for a changed life.  We were all headed down the broad road of sin.  You can look back and see how sin has paid someone that you knew.  Sin is the same no matter what location it is in.

Two of the most promising young men in the graduating class of 1965 yielded to sin: alcohol, and drugs; one filled an early grave.  It is sad.

Psa 34:2  My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.  We have a wonderful treasure in salvation to have our sin removed and to have a new nature.  We need to keep God real.  We can become so empty.

Psa 34:3  O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Lot had an uncle and when there was contention and the choice was given Lot which parcel of land he wanted, Lot was selfish.  He pitched his tent toward Sodom and ended up in Sodom.  There is a scripture there that says God magnified mercy.

My only protection is being rightly related to God.  People get so touched in the head in thinking that none of their family could end up deep in sin.  I had as good of parents as any and I was headed down into sin as deep as any have ever been headed.  It was not my parent’s fault; we all make our own choices.

God fulfills his responsibility to draw on hearts.  When he chooses to go back and draw again after being refused, He magnifies mercy.  It wasn’t just toward someone else that He magnified mercy; He magnified mercy toward me. 

God comes back and calls over and over again even though he fulfills His promise when He calls once.  Magnified mercy! 

Our grief would be unbearable if it wasn’t for the mercy of God.  Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.

We pray for mercy and for magnified mercy for those that we are burdened for.  Because God is great we can ask for these magnified mercies.  We need to be faithful to thank Him for the mercy that He shows.  God’s grace is marvelous!

Psa 34:4  I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

This is a marvelous scripture: I sought the Lord and He heard me.  Children have fears sometimes that are unnecessary such as a closet without lights.  It isn’t very long and other fears become to come in.  If it wasn’t for God we would have such fear in this life today. 

David wrote: I sought the Lord… and He delivered me from all my fears.

Psa 34:5  They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

Moses after being up with the Lord on the mountain, when he was coming down his face was so illumined that he had to cover it with a veil. 

God can lighten the dark places.  We can look at Him with our burdens.  There are times of heavy burdens.  Family may be very sick.  A loved one may pass away.  It is wonderful that you can have a place to go.

Psa 34:6  This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

Psa 34:7  The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

It is wonderful to be delivered.

Psa 34:8  O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Don’t let anything mess up your appetite.  Be hungry for the worship of God.

Psa 34:9  O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

This fear means to honor Him.  God is the God of power and might and is worthy of all honor and praise.  He is the God of the Universe.

Psa 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

As strong as a lion is there are still times when they don’t have enough to eat.  This is because the lion is trusting in himself.  If we seek God we will not want any good thing.

Psa 34:11  Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Psa 34:12  What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

Psa 34:13  Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Psa 34:14  Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psa 34:15  The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

Psa 34:16  The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

We want to keep in God’s favor.

Psa 34:17  The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Over and over God has delivered us out of our troubles.  When we are troubled we can go to Him and he will deliver us.

Psa 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psa 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Psa 34:20  He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

Psa 34:21  Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

Psa 34:22  The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

It is wonderful that the Lord redeems us; He buys us back through the blood of His son and renews us over and over again.

None that trust in Him shall be desolate:  “There is nothing sadder in all creation than a soul in isolation away from God and home.”

Those that trust in God will not be desolate.  God has promised and will grant and give us what we need in our soul.

Bro Gary Sunday Morning Service 8/28/11

Bro Gary Sunday Morning Service 8/28/11

Isa 2:1  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Isa 2:5  O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

From the days of Jesus Christ to the end of the world are the last days. 

The mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains:  God has always had a plan though we may not always understand what God is doing.  In this last day there are many old religions that are alive and other people are choosing to serve new Gods.  There are also countries that are leaving God out to their government such as Canada and Australia. 

God knew that there would be people that once loved and served God that would choose to apostasize and leave the old paths.  He knew that there would be those that would say that they are Christ.  He knew that some would say that the Bible was outdated and they had a new word.

God knew that man would fall into sin and need a savior.  Isaiah prophesied of Christ; see Isaiah 53.  God is still on the throne, Hi son is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is still convicting and convincing men and women of sin.

God has established Jerusalem in the top of the hills.  People claim to have another way but Christ says I am the way.

The Lord adds to the church such as should be saved.  When someone gets saved they are added to God’s house. 

Verse 3: There is a marvelous invitation sent by God to come.  This ‘come ye’ is “Let us go to the mountain of the Lord and He will teach us His ways.”

Sis Brenda sings, “Deep within my heart there is a longing.”  Sis Davis wrote a song, “I have a longing in my heart for Jesus.”  Someone wrote, “ My soul searched for more than I found in organized religion.”

They wanted to get to where God was; they were not interested in influential speakers or great preachers that are highly educated.  They hungered for God and His word.

We are born with a hunger for God.  “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst.”

There is something within us that hungers for God, for his presence, and for what His Word has to say. 

We like to hear from an authority on a subject.  God designed that we buy the truth and sell it not.

My parents hungered for God.  My dad got saved in a barn.  They got married 80 years ago; as great as this day was to my father and mother, the day that he went to the barn to pray and recognized that He needed a savior was greater.  His testimony was that he was a drunken lumberjack.  He could hardly read or write, but he had a hunger for God.

One of his favorite scriptures was, “Stand in the way and ask for the old paths…”

DS Warner knew that he was saved and had confessed and repented of his sin, but he had a hunger for more God.  He wanted to hear more than the doctrinal issues and catechism of the people he was with.  God did not fail him.  If you are hungry, God will feed you.

There is a place where God teaches his ways.  I can preach my heart out to try to teach you something, but when the Spirit of God shows you something in His word, then no one can take it away from you.

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the finger of God wrote on the tables of Stone.  When God teaches His word, then the finger of God writes it on our heart.  We remember when we got saved; we remember when God forgave us of our sin.  When God writes on our heart we remember.  We remember what God says.

The Word comes from Jerusalem.  In the gospel day, the New Jerusalem is the Church, the spiritual Jerusalem where God dwells.

God ordained that all judgment be through Jesus Christ.  When He brings judgment close to us, He tells us what is right and what is wrong.

God corrects us, there is chastening and there is scourging.  All have sinned and all must be saved as the Bible teaches.  When we get saved we enter into walking by His ways.  If we don’t then He corrects us.  We say, “Thank you for correcting me.”  And then we follow on His way. 

God taught me to talk differently when I got saved.  He taught me that all that slang that I was using was just short for curse words.  He corrected me. 

If you don’t get it all together when He corrects you, then He will scourge you.  Scourging is uncomfortable.  In the bible day it was 39 stripes.  If you find yourself in this position, learn the lesson and go on. 

God only corrects His children, so if you find yourself being corrected then be encouraged.

They will beat their swords into plowshares.  In sin there was a warlike nature, when you get saved then God changes that warlike nature into the desire to plow the soil of your heart and of others.

Pruning shears means cutting away the dross in your life. 

Come ye:  We are blessed to be invited to come.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

You may have gotten saved in a barn or in a denomination, and all that is fine, but God wants you to come to Mt Zion.  It is a city inspired by God and for God.  There is nothing like being where God is, being where people have sought God for songs, Sunday school lessons, the message, testimonies.

This is the reason why when men and women are inspired by God everything is decent and in order.  God never inspires people to be unseeming or indecent.

God has an army.  When we heard of a danger in Paradise, all the members began to pray.  When one has a heavy burden we carry the burden.  When one has a battle with accusations then we carry the burden.

Zion is God’s church established in the top of the mountains.  There are many churches with many names and this can be confusing until you have tasted of the real and realize that this is God’s church on earth.

Without God in our midst then we are sounding brass and tinkling symbol just going through the form.  Every God called worker is not to get our orders from some type of earthly headquarters; we are to go to the head.  The man that wrote the beautiful song, “Near to the heart of God” also wrote the song entitled, “The royal telephone.”  Before Telegraph or the telephone, God was sending messages. 

Central’s never busy, always on the line
 You can hear from heaven almost any time.

God’s people can have a message from God when the lights are out and the electricity is off.  God is still on the throne when whatever you are hooked into is turned off.

God sends messages that are line upon line and precept upon precept.  He sends messages that are in the Bible and are truth.

The heavenly Jerusalem:  We can have heaven on earth.

We are come to an innumerable company of angels.  I’ve never seen an angel, but how many times they have protected us.  God’s protected our children many times.  When Sister Alice was out hunting and someone had her in their scope.  Bro Hayen wrecked on black ice and He’s bright and good looking. 

How many in this audience was passing through the shadow of death and cried out to God, “God, I have a few things I need to do.”  What a mighty God we serve.  I believe in angels. 

Altmiller’s son had a massive bleed on the brain.  The bleed scabbed over and if it had broken he would be a vegetable.  Today he is a parent of children.  I believe in an innumerable company of angels.  Expect an angel to show. 

We are come to the general assembly and the church of the first born.  Each one that gets saved has their name written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  This is the record of God’s church in heaven and on earth.   Your name being written in some church record means nothing if your name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  When people get saved, their sin is ripped from the record book and removed from them as far as the east is from the west never to be remembered against them again. 

Many people cannot be just in anything and are always faultfinding you and everyone else.  There is a balance and it is in the Word of God.  God is the judge.  When there is something that is wrong, He says, “Son or daughter take care of this.”  We say ok.  He doesn’t magnify what is wrong.

We’ve come to spirits of just men made perfect.  We’ve come to Mt Zion and we find there others that have come to Mt Zion the same way we have and have measured to God’s word just like we need to.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

When Noah built the ark, God said, “Come.”  I love invitations don’t you? 

Matt 11:29 Come all that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

When they’d been out fishing and they’d caught fish (Jn 21:12), Jesus said, “come and dine.”

In Revelations: the spirit and the bride say come

Jesus said in the 20^th verse of the same chapter “behold I come quickly.”  Every day be expecting: for He will come. 

The last verse of the same chapter in Revelations, “even so come.”

One of these days all our time will be used up.  Take heed to what the Spirit says to us and take care of all that He wants us to do spiritually and do as He instructs so that we can say, “Even so come Lord Jesus.

Bro Gary Wednesday Evening 8/24/11

Bro Gary Wednesday Evening 8/24/11

Heb 9:1  Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.

Heb 9:2  For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.

Heb 9:3  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;

Heb 9:4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

The Old Testament is a shadow of what God has for us in the New Testament.  Once you have the possession of what is the new covenant, it is wonderful to look at what God had planned in the old covenant.

God told Moses to get up early in the morning and go up to the mountain with the tables of stone.  He told him to position yourself so that you don’t see people, work, or prosperity.  He told Moses that He would meet with him there. 

The tables of the covenant represent the tables of the new heart that we get.  God told Jeremiah that He would put His law in their inward parts and write it in their heart and that He’d be their God.  It is wonderful to know the true God.  It would not matter if the people of India had millions of Gods if they don’t have the true God. 

It is wonderful to have a new heart.  God writes his law on that heart.  Ezekiel 36:25 says that the days will come that He would sprinkle them with clean water.  The clean water is the word of God.  He said that He’d save them from their idols.  People can make an idol of anything.  One of the worst is when they are worshipers of themselves.

Eze 36:25  Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

When we were in sin, we partook of things that were filthy, filthy mind and tongue.  God said that he’d cleanse us.  God gives us a new heart.  We’re not hard hearted any more, the new heart is tender.  We want to please God more than anything else.

Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Eze 36:28  And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Eze 36:29  I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

God has a wonderful plan to use His word to quicken us in our heart and spirit and of writing that word on our heart.

The Psalmist David said, “Thy word have I hid in my heart…”  There is something about having the Word of God written on the tables of our heart.

Heb 10:16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

Heb 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

God loved man so much that He had a plan and design that we could get right with God and so that we could have direction in our life.  When people don’t have God then they wander.  Having God in our heart gives us directions in our thoughts, our hearts, our attitudes, and in our relationships.

The word of God in our heart causes us to love one another, to love our children and to love our enemies.

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Take care of your faith.  Faith has been under attack for however long.  Jesus said, “I couldn’t do many mighty works because of their unbelief.”

Without faith it is impossible to please God… They that come to God must believe that He is.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

If you know that you have repented of your sin, then you know that God has forgiven you and your name is written in the Lambs Book of Life.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

God help us to encourage each other to do our best for God.

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

There is something about coming together that is very prosperous for the soul.  Our hand cannot do anything by itself.  We need the whole body and the whole body needs each one.

Heb 10:35  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Lay hold on the promises of God.  If you make a promise to a child, they come back with what you said.  “Mom or Dad, you said…”  Keep your word.

What God has promised you, you can go back and say, “My heavenly father, I’m not thinking that you’re forgetting, but it does me good to think that you remember…”  God is not going to fail.

Heb 10:36  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Heb 10:37  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

When we are in the battle, it sometimes seems to be an eternity of waiting on God.  God will keep His promise.

Heb 10:38  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

There will be times that you will have no feeling; God will be the same if you have feeling or if you don’t have feeling. 

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

We are not of them that draw back.  We want to bring pleasure to God. 

It is wonderful to have faith in God and lay hold of help on one that is mighty. 

Bro Gary Sunday Morning 8/21/11

Bro Gary Sunday Morning 8/21/11

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

Act 2:8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

Act 2:9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

Act 2:10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

Act 2:11  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

Act 2:12  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

Act 2:13  Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

Act 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

Act 2:15  For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

Jesus had paid the price that man’s sin could be forgiven and told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they should be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Act 2:34  For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

Act 2:35  Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

Act 2:36  Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Lord and Christ, governor and messiah:  Jesus Christ is still in control and is the governor of all things.  He is not ignorant of where we are or of all the things in the world that there are to be concerned about this morning. 

There were people of every nation that were there.  They were hearing the good things of God spoken in their language.  This is what the gift of tongues is: for each to hear the bible truths in their own language.

Act 2:37  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

There is a wonderful thing about God and His son and the Holy Spirit of God.  It is unique to them.  Often they make a diligent search of the heart with the candle of the Word of God.  There were thousands there that were not right with God.  The Holy Spirit of God pricked, or pierced thoroughly, them in their heart.

If I get a sliver, I look for a needle and begin digging around and it hurts.  I thought this scripture might be talking about how that feels.  Study showed me that it is a much greater piercing of the heart and conscience recognizing that “I have a need of God.” 

We are so blessed when God convicts us of a need, when we feel thoroughly pierced, stung to the quick. 

God was revealing to people of every nation that they needed to be saved.  Sometimes we don’t know what our need is.  I pray, “God help me to grasp what you are trying to tell me because more than anything else I want to please you.”

It is important to know what it means to repent.  People talk of turning over a new leaf, of accepting Christ.  There are many things taught of the religious world or of secret societies on how to receive Christ.  We need to know what the Bible says and “buy the truth and sell it not.”

Each of us is convicted in our heart by the faithfulness of God that we need to repent.

To repent means to confess our sin to God.  The God that we sinned against we now come back to and confess our sin to Him.  When I got saved I had too many sins to remember.  When we come to God we come confessing of our sin and asking God to forgive us of our sin. 

We must have the attitude of being sorry for our sin and that we don’t want to sin any more.  Then we are born again not of a physical birth but of a spiritual.  We become a member of the family of God and there is no one that is more special than anything else.  Our name is written in the lamb’s book of life. 

We are given a new name.  My name is Gary Bertrum Kelly.  When I got born again I had a new heavenly father and He added the name God to my name.  I’m not boasting; I’m no different than you.  When you get saved you are a part of the family of God and you have that name too.

Mat 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Act 17:30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

There were times in history that people didn’t know about repentance, but now God commands every man to repent.  Good people need to repent of not accepting Jesus Christ as their lord and savior.  All men everywhere should repent.

Jesus message to the Laodicean church was to repent.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

If an individual has become lukewarm and has lost the fire of God out of their soul and is going along religiously then the Bible tells them to repent.

There are many teachings on baptism.  There is one baptism.

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Some believe in sprinkling, some in pouring, …  Baptism is when we are totally buried in the water.  It represents burying the life of sin. 

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

We die out to sin.  Anything and any sin that you can think of is ugly.  All sin is ugly.  Beyond the shadow of any doubt, all sin carries the reality of ‘whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.’

Get saved and be baptized.  You could have a record of sin that would be equal to someone in prison.  When you get saved you can sow good seed and start measuring to the Word of God.  Start practicing praising God.  David said that he was going to praise God seven times a day.

We have much to praise God for.  Praising God does much for us.  It brings to our mind how good God has been.  We are blessed to be under the gospel, to have opportunity to sow seed, to be saved.  No one in this audience has used up their measure of faith. 

Take care of your faith, sow seed and expect a crop.  If you’ve sowed seed and it didn’t come up, sow some more seed.  Don’t just sow where there is someone that is pleasant.

We bury our old prejudices, our own ways, our excuses.  Excuses are a terrible thing.

I’m glad that you can die to the life of sin.  Read in Galatians of the works of the flesh.  You don’t know what you will do if you don’t die out to sin.  Read the songs of DO Teasley.  You can hear in the songs God warning him to stay close to God.  He made a choice to wander away from God. 

We are blessed to bury the life of sin and everything that goes with it and rise to newness of life.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

God, His son, and the Holy Spirit are renewing factors.  In nature, when the ground is torn up, the birds fly and drop seeds.  The wind carries seeds.  The flowers, the trees, the grass, the fruit bushes grow up.  This is how God is with life.  Maybe you have a desert life; God can cause you to grow like the trees of Lebanon.   He wants you to have character and morals.  He wants you to be blessed with a mind and ability.  You can sing, you can listen, and you can smile. 

Life may not have been perfect to you, but this God that ordained repentance and baptism ordained that your life become as a beautiful tree of Lebanon, growing with grace and with strength.  God wants you to grow as Sharron; there was a beautiful garden Sharron.  God wants you growing as a garden to refresh someone else. 

God wants you to be as Carmel, fertile ground.  You weren’t very fertile ground when you got saved.  There were thorns, rocks, and hard and packed soil.  You begin digging out the rocks and letting God deal with you.  You pray, “God make me good ground.”  God not only makes you good ground, He plants good certified seed of the Word of God.  He sends the sunshine and the rain.  Sometimes He chooses our good brothers and sisters to send the sun and the rain through their testimonies, the Sunday school lesson, or the message.

1Pe 3:21  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Peter told how Noah obeyed God and was saved from destruction.  We are blessed to know that when we have confessed and repented of our sin and obey God with a new, pure, and clean conscience then He saves us from the destruction of sin. 

My conscience was defiled by sin.  It is wonderful that our conscience can become a good conscience, clear before God.  When we obey, our conscience is clear, “I have done what the bible says.” 

Noah could have human reasoned but he didn’t; he obeyed God.  When we obey God our conscience is clear. 

“Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine.” 

The Bible is what I’ll be judged by today, every day that I live, and at the judgment. 

There are many books, theories, and ideas that people come up with but we need to take heed to the doctrine: the word of God not taken out of context.  Don’t look for anything past the Bible.  There are spirits in the world today that would like to make men think that they can lead them past the Bible.

The way that you can know truth is by two witnesses.  The truths of the Old Testament are prophesied of and taught and they can be found in the New Testament.  Jesus fulfilled and taught the same word.

It is ultimate disaster if we teach anything other than the Word of God.  Every good book needs to be weighed on the balance with the Word of God on the other side.  Anything that contradicts the Bible is false.  There are those that want to obey in a rigid way, others want to live very loosely.  God draws a line for every one of us and we must each respond, “God you created me and I want to obey and serve you.”

Happiness is obeying God; it is being rightly related to God and to each other.

There is only one way to deal with someone doing you wrong and that is to forgive them.  You don’t need to become a door mat for them to continue to use and abuse, but we must forgive so that you can be forgiven. 

Put yourself on God’s balance and open the Word of God and say, “God in your kindness sting me if I have a need; pierce and convict me.”  What God does He does for our good and for our benefit.