Brother Gary Sunday Evening 3/8/15

Brother Gary Sunday Evening 3/8/15

Rom 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

Rom 14:2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Rom 14:3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

Paul wrote this chapter to the Jews and the Gentiles.  To the Jews that had gotten saved, the feast days had always meant a lot.  The Gentiles that had gotten saved had never known about them. 

Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

It is clear in the scripture that the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, and the church are synonyms.  The kingdom is righteousness:  it is pardon from sin.  It is a wonderful thought to know forgiveness, a pardon that we didn’t really deserve.  Because of God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit of God there is a pardon for sin. 

When we are pardoned from sin and enter into obedience to God, it brings holiness of life and of heart.  People that teach that you sin and are still holy don’t make sense.  True forgiveness of God produces a pardon for sin and holiness of heart.

Peace in the soul that comes from God’s mercy:  It is a peace that is regulating.  We are almost through Sunday.  Monday we will face a new day and we don’t know what we will face.  We know that if we will stay in the kingdom of God our life can be regulated by righteousness and peace.

It is a ruling factor in our life.  All the trespasses and injustices will happen.  You will be misunderstood and so on, but isn’t it wonderful that there is something about the peace of God that we will not allow it to cause us to get all upset and in an uproar when we have done our best.

Adam Clarke spoke of peace bringing harmony in the heart.  There are a lot of lives that are out of harmony and always on edge.  People have their arms up and are on the defense all the time.  Isn’t it something that God has done in our heart?  He gives us a peace that gives us a harmony.  “We aren’t sure how everything will work out but we are going to go right on serving God.”

The peace and the joy:  This is the kingdom of God.  We live in a world that is distressed.  It is hard to find anyone that is mature that isn’t distressed.  Living in the season we are in puts us in a position of being flooded with unanswered questions and with extreme pressures.  Right in the midst of all that you can have the kingdom of God righteousness, peace, and joy, and solid spiritual happiness.

A lot of things can be wrong around you but you can be solid in the thought, “I am in God’s kingdom and things are right in my heart.”

When we get saved we experience a great mercy.  It gives us an understanding of God the Father.  It helps us to know how to walk and how to please Him.

The love of God is shed abroad in our heart.  How distraught people are!  If we would go over the prayer requests of souls that are in dire straits and headed down the wrong road.  You cannot be off course long until shipwreck happens.  With the love of God shed abroad in our heart we have joy.

It is happiness shed abroad by the Holy Ghost in the spirit.  Our happiness is not because of a good night’s rest.  It is poured into our soul by the love of God.  Our joy is not because of anything tangible in the world it is because of His kingdom.

That joy and happiness is maintained by the same Spirit.  There will be encouraging reports as we travel the road of life.  But reality tells us that there will be challenges.  There will be times before even Wednesday night when we are praying that I will be visited by unbelief.  It never makes me happy and always presents a battle. 

I don’t like unbelief but it will come.  Other dark things will come.  Isn’t it wonderful that we have a key?  Our joy, peace, righteousness is not because of any outward thing but because it is the Kingdom of God on earth, a spiritual kingdom in our heart.

The Kingdom of God and of heaven:  It describes the Kingdom of God on earth.  There is a difference: when we get to heaven the kingdom of heaven will have no interference from any outward forces.  Those things will all have ended.

When we possess the kingdom of heaven on earth, we have righteousness without sin and are forgiven.  There will be storms all around us.  They will not always be the same storm. 

When the storm comes…, you may hear that there is a test on Monday.  In the event that you were thinking of the weekend and not what the teacher said, when you get to school and the teacher says, “Put your books away and get out a pencil,” and you didn’t study.  You can still have peace.

We can still have peace, church.  Our peace is under attack.  We don’t pray well when we are disturbed.  When we feel all the outward spirits warring against us.  When we have peace with the past, our brother and sister, and with God and we bring the burden… What a kingdom!

Joy is to be without mental agony.  That is part of the kingdom of heaven on earth.  We have a key when we have troubling thoughts.  There is a place that we can bring every care and problem: “Casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you.”

You and I cannot shine upon a soul but we can pray.  The responsibility is, “What will they do with the light and with the Word of God?”

Rom 14:7  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

Rom 14:9  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

Rom 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Paul was writing to a mixed group of people.  There were Jews that had customs.  There were Gentiles that had come from total heathenism.  They would eat just about anything that was set before them and they had no problem, but it was a problem with the Jews.

Rom 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Rom 14:12  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

I never encourage anyone to trespass their conscience.  You may have some conscience matters that are real to you.  I may not share your sentiment, but if it is not obnoxious and is in humility, then let us not judge our brother. 

There are some things that God left us a conscience and he left us the ability to give our brother and sister the liberty to live according to their conscience. 

Rom 14:13  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

Let us help each other.  Let’s deal more with the thought, “We are brothers in Christ.  Let us not put a stumbling block and make an issue of something a ‘big issue’.”

Rom 14:14  I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

To the one that had come from a life style that had caused them to trust in outward ordnances.  Let us work to encourage them.

Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Rom 14:18  For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

Rom 14:19  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Rom 14:20  For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

Rom 14:21  It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Rom 14:22  Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

Rom 14:23  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Jesus came preaching the gospel and the kingdom and said, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.”