Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession,
Christ Jesus;
The tenor of this book has spoken strongly to my soul: the
love, the compassion, the desire for the brethren to be built up, edified,
taught and encouraged.
It is addressed to holy brethren. This epistle is so to speak designated to you
and me. When you receive a card or a
letter it usually has something very specific in it. This book is written to precious souls that
have been saved from sin, that have given themselves to the Lord.
We are not interested in being partly saved or living on the
borderline of the world. We have seen
what the world does to individuals. It
would have been terribly unspeakable what sin would have done to me. It would have taken me, as it has taken
others, to the depths and totally ruined my life.
Don’t think that because you are whomever you are that sin
wouldn’t have taken you to destruction. It
does to every life.
The sweet will of God is so precious: “Forever I choose the
sweet will of my God.”
Holy Brethren, precious souls that have laid aside every
weight, it is vital that we keep ourselves unweighted from the world, unweighted
from the ideas of people, unweighted from the bondage that we or others will
put ourselves in.
Isaiah 58 teaches that we break every yoke. God has spoken personally to me about not
putting yokes upon myself or letting others put a yoke upon me: They say, “You
ought to do this or that,” and we find ourselves not doing what God would want
us to do.
We want to be free to be holy brethren that by love serve
one another. Moses served His generation
by the will of God.
Holy brethren that have laid aside every weight, have laid
aside the besetting sin: God has a perfect plan not only to save from sin but
deliver from that nature that would lead back to sin.
Holy brethren that run with patience the race, that look to
Jesus. Holy Brethren that encourage holy
unity among individuals: They work to
bring the best out of every brother and out of every sister.
We are partakers of a heavenly calling. Sister Chancellor’s testimony was
marvelous. She is a very gracious
sister. She had nothing other than
encouraging things to say. She did not
try to one up anyone else. She just did
her best to give her testimony and talked of the warmth of conviction.
I am trying to grasp the warmth of conviction. The prodigal came to himself. There is a definite description of the
awakening that comes to individuals when they come to themselves and realize,
my life is out of order with God, with my husband, with my wife, or with my
brother and sister in Christ.
I feel lots of conviction.
I thank God that I felt conviction this last week. I thank God when he convicts me.
We probably will minister this week to children that we
trust will remember the first invitation of being drawn to God. Those precious children! They have a desire for God.
Wherever you are, it is vital that you are the greater
influence. We have received a heavenly
calling. Think of where we would be if
we had not answered the call. Sin is
terrible.
The lowest individual in Paradise, sin would have taken me
there if I would have gone that way.
Don’t try to defend me. I had a
nature that was rebellious and was willful, then God began to tug upon my
heart.
When God speaks, we need to listen. A high school girl told my mom, “I am going
to give up on God but I am not going to go far out in sin.” It didn’t work that way.
The toughest thing in this world is to get people to listen
to you. They will be talking away and
then when it is your turn to talk, they are still just talking. You try to say, “Will you listen?”
You are so blessed to have a heavenly calling.
Our first invitation to be saved! It is marvelous that God speaks to us by
name. I have experienced this. He has called my name. I, at that place early in the morning,
meeting God: “God, this time is set aside to listen to you.”
Brother Bounds spent three hours in intercessory prayer, from
four am to seven. I am not putting that
as a cloud on you. But to have Him speak
to us! “I am listening to you for you to
call upon me. I am listening to you so
that I will not think about how bad my head is hurting.”
This is not the time to check the computer to see if I paid
that certain bill. God knows me by my
first name.
Pro 8:4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
Remember in the days of Noah when God said, “My spirit will
not always strive with man?” In the
little world that I live in people tell me that it is too late. Leo, went into eternity just recently. I would try to talk to him about the things
of God and he would say, “It is too late.”
God’s Spirit will not always strive with man.
Consider means to contemplate. My brother in law and wife like to take me to
a mountain lake. At that time I say, “I
will consider buying a fishing license.”
Sometimes I buy one. This is not
that type of considering. God wants you
to consider Jesus Christ. Contemplate,
examine.
The more I think about Jesus and what He made available to
me; the more I examine His teaching; the more I study the effects of the Sermon
on the Mount; the more I realize how much there is to them. The parables are deep. Over and over again God brings me back to the
Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus is so designed in the Word of God that you learn and
enjoy and then you go back and there is another layer of goodness.
Contemplate, examine, scrutinize… People take off in life
and make decisions without even thinking of how it will affect them. They say, “I have to do this.” No you don’t.
Investigate. Ponder.
When you tell someone that you are considering something you
are placing a great responsibility on yourself.
Suppose you go to my wife and say, “Is there anything that I can do with
Bible Story time I was not there when you asked for help.”
She says, “I am going to consider this; Sister Sue has too
heavy of a load. I am going take part of
that and put it on Sister Annette.” Then
she thinks, “Sister Sue would be offended if I took too much away, I need to
consider this.”
It is Jesus Christ that brought a total new covenant. He brought life, truth, and salvation. It is Jesus Christ that brought
adoption. I thrill to belong. The Father never treats me like a half son, the
step brother, or the step mother, isn’t it wonderful for the new covenant. He is the high priest forever seated at the
right hand of the Father making intercession for us.
God has always designed to dwell with His creation. In the beginning, in the first stages of man
enjoying fellowship with God, when Adam and Eve were in the Garden, they would
hear the voice of God walking in the cool of the day.
Think of the beauty of Adam and Eve and what they enjoyed in
the cool of the day. Think with me
today: Adam and Eve sinned and failed God.
You and I all know that the result was: the sin separated them from God
and from the Garden of Eden.
Then for however many years, God sent the prophecies all
through the Old Testament that a new covenant would come. That God would give them a new heart and a
new spirit and that God himself would be their God.
When I consider Jesus and contemplate that He came to save us. He paid the provision to forgive our sin and
to sanctify our nature. We don’t have to
have the testimony of that song, “Prone to sin, prone to wander.” I am glad that I have considered Jesus who
made a provision that He would dwell within us.
That He would desire us for His dwelling! He was willing to become the sacrifice for
all sin that our life could be cleaned up so that he could dwell among us.
Rev 21:3
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
As we consider God dwelling with us and God dwelling in us,
God is faithful.
Heb 3:5
And Moses verily was faithful in
all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be
spoken after;
Heb 3:6
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Every year the deck needs maintenance. We have reached the age where maintenance is
getting bigger and bigger. I am God’s
house. Isn’t it marvelous how He maintains
us? Isn’t it marvelous how He helps us
in our mind and in our head?
He maintains this house.
How many times does God come to us and say, “Maybe it would be better to
have more devotions earlier. When you
are tired it seems that you cannot find your place in the scriptures.”
He brings back scriptures that I have read all my life and
God brings them back and unfolds them. “Blessed
is the man that trusteth in the Lord and maketh Him his trust.”
How many times does God come and say, “I am going to give
you strength. You need to come apart and
rest a while. You need to watch how much
you take on.”
God maintains us. How
many times has He protected you, kept that onslaught of the enemy, and shielded
you. The enemy comes in like a
flood. You have just been washed. God says, “I am protecting you. I am putting a roof on.”
Steadfast. Hold
fast. As old as I am I have a bright
outlook. God is God. Serving God is wonderful. Having the family of God is wonderful. The outlook is bright. Hold your confidence in God. God has not used up their resources. Hs is not letting the enemy win. God will not fail.
Hold your confidence, rejoicing, firm to the end.
They shall be His people.
God himself shall be with them and be their God.
“Today, when you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart.” Seek Him until you do hear Him. If you have any sin in your life, the voice of
conviction of sin, the voice to be saved, the call to be sanctified.
We live in the Laodicean time. Ask yourself, “Am I allowing the Laodicean
spirit to affect me? Am I allowing
lukewarmness to affect me? Am I coming
to the house of God wanting to be an encouragement to the saints, ready to pray
the prayer of faith, wanting to rebuke all the powers of hell back to where
they came from?”
Lukewarmness moves into the soul and then takes the eyes off
of the people of God and off of God.
Take care of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Be ready to build them up not only in word
but in deed.
Sometimes that still small voice is one of the toughest
voices I know to hear when I have exhausted myself. After I get so tired I become in perpetual
motion. My body and mind just go. I have to get alone with God and say, “God
calm my mind.”
I know a God that is a mind calmer. He speaks as a Father to a son. “Come apart my son. Come apart and rest. I want to refresh you and take all your
burdens and let you know that I am still God.”
This is the most difficult voice to ever hear in my life.
My personality is to run and gun. I wanted to be one of those preachers that
could preach seven days a week and fly the airlines. God said, “That is not the way that it is
going to be.” Never question God. His way is always best.
If you and I want wisdom, we must have a strong desire and
be willing to separate ourselves.
Pro 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated
himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with
all wisdom.
I appreciate Bob Waters.
He would always say, “Go, take all the time that you need to take care
of that which needs to be taken care of.”
The call of a servant: “God, if I missed it I want to
listen. Do you have a job for me to do
today?”
Your mind will argue with God, “Sister Sharron doesn’t need
anything.” Or “Brother Bill doesn’t need
anything.” No you are wrong. If God puts it on your heart, if God puts it
upon your mind, there is only one resource and that is God the Father and Jesus
the Son.
If you think, “they wouldn’t want to hear from me.” Get rid of that thought. If God puts it on your heart then you need to
move.
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