Brother Jack Klemstein Saturday Night 10/4/14

Brother Jack Klemstein Saturday Night 10/4/14

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

The blessing is there for us if we desire it.  God doesn’t indiscriminately pour out His blessing on some unsuspecting soul.  Those that desire God, and have a hungering and thirsting for righteousness, shall be filled.  If we feel that we have been passed by and left out it doesn’t have to be.  We must have a desire.

We receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  We are talking of Spiritual blessings.

God understands our human frame and our needs emotionally and physically and provides for that.  But God’s focus is on eternity.  You will not have a literal body in eternity.

As human beings, how are we the sons of God?  Christ told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.”  The reason why people don’t understand spiritual things is that they are not born again.  Going to church and having a profession will not give you spiritual vision.

2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

Before that it lists all the things that we can be adding to our spiritual experience.  If we are adding these things to our spiritual experience then we are growing.  We are alive and enjoying our spiritual experience.

We sang that song, “I have not forgotten.”  Some have forgotten.  The evidence is too plain that they have forgotten.  It is the grace of God that brings salvation to every heart.  Without His saving grace not one of us is worth a pile of beans.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

We are getting to the responsibility of the Saints of God.  We live in a world that is very lost; not slightly, with need of adjustment or tuning up.  The world is so lost that most people are engaged in self destruction. 

Animals out here do everything that they can to preserve life not only for themselves but for their young.  If a deer would take care of a fawn, God surely created mankind to take especial care of their offspring.  It is rare to see a good mother and a good father in the world today.  Isn’t that sad that we can say that?

Someone needs to prepare the way of the Lord.  They need to have the plan of God in their life so they can say, “We have deviated from the plan of God, but if we can get back on track, things can be restored, and we can think and act like God has created us to act.”

People need God.  They don’t need a shrink or mind bending drugs, they don’t need boyfriends or girl friends.  They don’t need more plastic surgery.  They need God.

When people meet us and interact with us, what do they see?  What do we desire that they see?  What are we trying to accomplish at this time with our life?  Are we building for eternity?  Are we concerned about fallen man that has left God’s way and need to find their way back?

We that have God are to prepare the way.  We must make sure that there is nothing obscuring Christ in our life.  People say that they are a Christian and others watch their life and for most they can say within five minutes “No they are not.”

They can say, “What is wrong with this or that but if you do it then they check it off, “You are not a Christian.””

We never lie to them or take advantage of them; we shock them sometimes that we show genuine concern. 

We appreciate a pastor that has genuine concern.  That is a blessing.  God wants fellowship with every human being.  If folks have lost their way, God wants them to find their way back to Him.  We want to facilitate that and not hinder it.

If we are too busy our mind is wrapped up in other things and we never think of God when we talk to people.  We are not facilitating the cure to the problem but are a part of the problem.  Having the grace of God in our heart and in a real way being able to introduce people to God is what we are talking about.

Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

Some folks don’t need to be lifted up but need to be brought down.  Others need to be lifted up.  Some suffer severely from low self esteem.  We as the saints need to be helpful to those that are low self esteem. 

You may be tempted to think that you are superior in your ways and they should listen to you.  God has a common denominator and that is the Blood of Jesus Christ.  Those that are high need to be brought down. 

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.  “If I don’t fight for my rights then I will not have any.”  Jesus already fought the battle and won it.

You find curious things in the gospel.  “Suffer yourself to be defrauded.”  There was a person that is gone and he said that he didn’t lend without asking again.  The scriptures need to be respected.  They are there for our edification and are not there to hinder us but to help us.  There are things more important than your stupid lawnmower. 

In a restaurant people go in and spend 15 dollars and think that they deserve the right to treat the waitress like a second class person.  Saints of God should not misbehave, be haughty, or get in a carnal struggle.  That is not sainthood.  It will hinder people from coming into the kingdom of God. 

Before you go to war for your rights remember you have a responsibility to the kingdom of God.

God has promised to take care of you.  The scripture says to be content.  It is not wise to not be happy.  The joy of the Lord is our strength. 

If Satan can get you unhappy about circumstances or what you should have in life, you will be discontent and discombobulated and will be another statistic. 

The crooked made straight, rough plain.  It doesn’t matter where you came from, good looking or ugly, smart or dumb, been to Harvard or some junior college.  It doesn’t matter a bit.  God will fit you into the Body of Christ if you want to fit in. 

You say, “God take the rough places off so I can fit in.  Your motive is to make me better.  Your motive is to fit me in to the only family that will enjoy heaven.”  People spend a lot of money to be exclusive, go to great pains to be exclusive.  God has made a way. 

We need more saints.  We don’t need more bad boys or girls; we don’t need more bikers, drug pushers, that is not what the world needs.  The world needs more saints of God.

We need to point people to the good life.  It is such a good life that it only gets better and better if you are growing in grace.  If you are then you know that you are on the right track.  You are pleased with where God has put you and you just don’t want to jeopardize what God has done.  

Marriage is something that can get better and better.  There is excitement at the beginning.  We are children of God that are enjoying themselves.  The saintly life doesn’t bring sorrow or regret.  People are in sin because they are deceived.  No sane individual would be a sinner.

You have to be insane to be a sinner.  Alcohol is destructive.  As soon as it is taken into your body it starts killing brain cells.

Isa 57:14  And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.

Isa 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people.  This is talking about genuine work.  We have a job to do but that doesn’t mean that we are doing it.  If people are reading the Word of God on a daily basis, focusing on what God has said to them, receiving instruction, and acting on what God has instructed them to do, that is what I’m talking about.

If every saint of God is doing that responsibly then more would be done for God.  You may have a good pastor, but he cannot do your job for you.  We are individually responsible before God.  If something needs taken out the way then it needs to be taken out of the way. 

Just because someone was not willing to deal with the spring in the road as you enter Plains doesn’t mean that there is not going to be a problem. 

I cannot help but notice over the years that people have complained about the church.  A good question to them is, “Are you are part of the church?”  Why don’t you go to work fixing the problem.  If you had a better vision, you would not be so critic al of God’s divine church. 

Criticizing the church will not help anyone.  God has given us instruction in the Word of God to get to work.  If you see a Problem then fix it. 

Don’t quit doing what needs to be done.  We shall reap if we faint not.  One of the themes of the Word of God is waiting on God.  The Word of God teaches patience:  working, laboring, and patience. 

If we do our part, then Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase.  We don’t have to worry about the future of the Church.  The Church is not going down, it is going up.  It is foolish to say that the Church is shining brighter than she has ever been. 

We can prepare for the blessing and be the Church that God has designed her to be.  God has a responsibility on the church.  The third earthquake that was to take place in the seventh seal:  It was to be the greatest. 

God has designed the church to shake the world in our age and time.  That is you and me.  Elijah was a man of like passion.  We can be an Elijah.  That is our choice.  If you want to be an anemic, barely making it saint, that is your choice.  We can be the church shaking the world if we make that choice.

If you recognize that there is something that is hindering the saints we can begin to pray.  We can encourage the weak ones, and discouraged ones.  We can do all that God has designed the church to do. 

We do not have to be sad sacks.  Our religion doesn’t have to be a burden.  We don’t have to be barely making it.  You cannot have victory without battles.  

If you have a battle, fight it.  Make sure you come out on top.  You can get angry with the devil.  You don’t have to be carnal.  Say, “The Lord rebuke you Satan.”

Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Apparently from time to time in the kingdom of God, the son of man shall send His angels and shall cast out of His kingdom all things that offend.  Taking the approach, we are the church so we cannot have a problem, is wrong. 

Why are we called upon to gather out of the kingdom things that offend if there is nothing offensive in the kingdom?  This tells us that God is not quick to cut people off. 

“I know they are not saved…” hold on what do you really know?  Not much.  None of us is capable of judging anything.  Jesus Christ is the judge.  If you have judgment at all it is because of Jesus Christ.

Judging is something that we need to handle very carefully.  Make sure we don’t get involved with that because we are not called to.  Don’t judge.  That doesn’t mean that there is no judgment in the kingdom of God.  God is the Judge. 

If I give you my opinion then yours is just as good.  If I get my judgment from God then it is His judgment.  We are told to gather out anything that offends.  We each one need to make sure that we have nothing in our life that is offensive.  If we are diligent to be in the house of God, measure to the light of the gospel, then we will not be offensive.

No matter how long you have been saved, you can improve.  The standard is that high.  You can never get so good that you have anything to brag about.  What we have to brag about is that we have Jesus Christ.  We are all on the same level then. 

We should all be in agreement.  We are all thankful for the same thing.  Problems come when something thinks that they have a little more righteousness than someone else.  It will never be that way.  Anyone, that is under the delusion that they have more holiness and righteousness than the church of God has, is sadly mistaken. 

A new born babe is just as spiritual as a 70 year old saint that has been saved for fifty years.  They are just as spiritual. 

When a baby is born, are you sitting around on pins and needles trying to figure out if they are going to be a human being?  The moment they are born they are in the human family.  70 years later they are not more human. 

If we are saved, we are in God’s family.  We are not better than someone else if we have been saved longer.  We might have more responsibility, but we are not better.

There are no lower class saints.  There have been many problems and offensive things that have divided God’s people up, men crept in unawares that claimed to have a superior gospel and if you followed their gospel then you would have an elite gospel. 

Quit listening to people that are not telling the truth.  You will know by getting into the book.  If they agree with the book then they are telling the truth.

Do we want the church to be a city set upon a hill that cannot be hid?  Do we want every individual in sin to understand that they can be saved?  Every depressed person to know that they can have joy?  Every married couple that is about to get divorced to know that God can heal anything?  God has the cure for divorce.

If they would begin loving one another, if people love one another and sincerely care about one another, how in the world can you divide them?  If I know that someone is out for my best interests, I want to be around them and I don’t want to avoid them. 

We don’t want to do anything to hurt the kingdom.  God being our helper we will not make mistakes that we made in the past.  The only one that will get into heaven is Gods divine church and not an exclusive someone that set themselves up. 

We want to be that city set upon a hill and as the one that shines forth in the Kingdom of our Father.

That is what God has designed us to be.  If in any way we don’t meet God’s standard of the church, whose move is it?  Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.

The shortcoming is never on God’s part.  In this period of time when we have been fragmented and injured so badly, we hear suggestions that it will be this way until God comes.  That is not true.  God doesn’t make anyone do anything.  God invites us in.  We stay saved because we want to stay saved.

If you join the Baptist church then you are told that you cannot do anything but go to heaven.  There is nothing you can do to backslide.  That is not true.  If you want the church to be a holy institution then you have to labor and work with God for you to be what He wants you to be.

We are not going to turn the world upside down if you put no effort into it.  You cannot read the book of Acts and think that they put no effort into it.

If we die in our sins there is no way that we can see Him.  Without holiness no man can see the Lord.  We have to be a diligent people that will make it to heaven on purpose. 

If we would ask a person that got to heaven 100’s of years ago, “How did you make it here?”  You would not expect them to say, “I have no idea. I’m not sure that I like it.” 

God is not willing that any perish but that doesn’t mean that no one is perishing.  They are not putting any effort into it.

I know a brother in Carmichael that has a job, is busy, and has church Tuesday night, Thursday night, and Sunday.  He works full time and then comes home and has bible study with individuals different nights of the week.  There are several in the congregation that are saved because of his witness.

What do we do when we notice that someone is discouraged?  The enemy has sucker punched them.  Do we begin to invite them to dinner; do we begin to pray the prayer of faith?  We can greatly improve.

Isa 62:10  Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.

Isa 62:11  Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Isa 62:12  And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

God has a holy city.  You may say, “I would love to be a part of the Holy city, a part of the kingdom of peace, a part of a people that love me and I can love.  A people that is concerned about my best interest and I am concerned about their best interest.” 

If we want to be a part of the kingdom of God we must enter in.  Go through the door.  Do we have a door?  Praise God we have a door.  If you want to enter into the kingdom of God then go through the door.  If you try to climb up another way the same is a thief and a robber.  Don’t waste your time trying to get in another way.  Don’t be offensive, be a blessing. 

If we don’t go through the door, we won’t get in.  God did not make it impossible or difficult.  He wants us to go through the door.  Christ says, “Come unto me.”  He doesn’t say, go away.  It isn’t a good day.  I’m so frustrated with you. He says come.

If we want to be a part of the church of God then we must come unto Him.  Come out of that prison house of sin and that wretched darkness.  It is a habitation of cruelty.  That is terrible.  Why be treated that way. 

If you feel that you are imprisoned, abused, not treated properly, do something about it.  Do not accept that kind of treatment.  Do not allow yourself to be abused.  Too many people are accepting abuse from satan. 

That is not his fault it is yours.  He will never do you good ever.  If he is abusing you again and again then that is your fault.  You can get to God.  If you can’t pray, then get to someone that can.  That is why the church is here.

There is no deliverance if we don’t bring it to Christ.  But there is deliverance in Christ.

Isa 65:8  Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

As we know, when Christ came He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Even when a very desirous soul came to him, it was not that he didn’t have compassion for her but he had a specific job to do.  He was focused on the lost sheep of Israel.

We don’t know how many he gathered.  We do know that He wanted to gather them.  It was not His fault that there were many that would not enter in themselves and felt that it was their duty to prevent others from entering in.  Many are not working for God but feel that it is their duty to keep you away from God.  Most of them have a religious spirit.

Christ came to bring them out of apostasy and restore them; they were not willing to come out.  How many would be willing to be delivered out of the apostate mess that they are in?  They would be offended that I call it an apostate mess. 

They say, “If you want to be saved, then come and do it my way.”  No.  If you want to be saved, you must do it God’s way.  Christ gave His blood for the church; He has ownership. 

Jesus knows how to build a church.  If I see a church that is not built properly then I know that He didn’t build it. 

It is not Jesus’ fault if a church is not built properly.  If there is carnality there, purge it out.  It has never benefited.  We don’t throw people out.  We don’t make lists of whose in or whose is out. 

If we are sloppy, and haven’t kept ourselves pure than we will be corrupted.  If you are haphazard about your food and how you can your vegetables, and it is a wrong color two months later, what is the point?  

When God’s design is to be powerful, at peace, and have every good thing for us and we allow the devil to come in and contaminate us because we are lazy and haphazard and slothful what is the point? 

Some people are down more than they are up, struggle and struggle, they have so much sadness in their life; slothfulness can be detected.  If you ask a slothful person why things are that way, most will not say, “I’m too lazy.”  It is always someone else’s fault. 

Do you know what we do when we allow someone else to control us like that? We make them our prison keeper.  If you say, “There is nothing I can do and it is always their fault.”  Then there is no way out for you. 

Some folks will wear you out if you just keep giving.  You will never help them if you don’t tell them what the problem is.  The problem is that they are too lazy to do what God has told them to do.

There are people in our country today that notice that people on welfare make more money than they do.  “If you can’t beat them then join them.”  If everyone joins them then where will they get the money? 

God’s economy is no different.  Everyone has a job and a responsibility.  If we will do our job and take our responsibility then the church will be what God designed it to be.  We will turn the world upside down.