Brother Gary Sunday Evening 6/26/16

Jos 1:11  Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.

As God moved upon Joshua, He has moved upon every one of us that have reached the place where we are in our walk with God.  “It is time to go forward.” 

They had left Egypt.  If you are saved, you are because you left spiritual Egypt and all the bondages and habits of sin.  We are thankful and happy to be saved. 

The journey we began is a wonderful journey and we found on that journey that we had an inward nature to go back to sin.  The light from the gospel led us to realize that there remains a rest to the people of God.  I am happy I have found it and bible salvation and sanctification.

I am thankful that we never reach that place where there is not room for growth.  I am blessed that Karen digs around and finds jewels in the scriptures and in the teachings.  I am challenged to pray more.  I don’t want to ever pray less.

The children of Israel had left Egypt.  God had given them a wonderful deliverance.  They were not far from Canaan but they wandered for forty years.  One day the scene changed.  God told Moses that he would not be able to go over into Canaan but that his minister Joshua would go over and God would use him.  Jordan was ahead and the Canaan Land. 

The lessons and victories gained in salvation: 

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

There are some treasures that the children of Israel had gained.  God wanted to instruct them to get those treasures ready to take.  If any man has gotten saved, has been born again, then he is a new creature.  Old things are past away.  All things become new. 

It is vital that every individual knows where they are in their experience, “I know that I came to Jesus confessing, repenting, and turning from my sin.”

The scripture does not teach to go right on sinning. 

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It is a wonderful thing.  I realize that most of us didn’t get sanctified the next day after we got saved, but there was a hunger developed in our soul with bible salvation that we wanted to follow God all the way.

My mother had been a church member for many years.  At the loss of a twelve or thirteen year old brother she became exposed to a people that believed in salvation.  She went to a revival meeting and heard the message that if she would confess and repent of sin all that burden would roll away.

She had struggled in her life.  She had children and a good husband that worked.  She had all the things that make a home.  There was still that emptiness within. 

She told that she used to go to the hardware store in plains.  There was a new cook stove there.  She thought that the burden of her heart would roll away when the new stove was put in.  It looked so nice but she realized, “I appreciate the stove but there is still an emptiness within. 

She carried the emptiness for years.  In the terribleness of losing a brother to appendicitis she met a man of God.  He came later and knocked at the door and invited her to revival meeting.  There she heard that message and confessed and repented of her sin. 

She went to her mother and told her that she had gotten saved and was going to leave the place where she had gone to church in the past.  Her mother said, “Do you realize how those people preach?  Do you realize that they have this outward standard?”  She said, “It matters not.  I want to serve and love God.”

During her season there was pastor that did not have an appreciation for bible sanctification.  She began to seek after God and God helped her to not only be saved but die to self and be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

Before you go to speak to anyone about their soul, go to God first and have audience with God.  As sound as the gospel is and as sound as the Word of God is, may God prepare our heart by prayer and the heart of those that we go to because we have prayed.

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.

People are in darkness and don’t understand about God and about light.  They are burdened down with sin and wonder how they got where they are.  They want to blame someone else for all their troubles.  People are very angry in the world today.  They lash out at this one and that. 

It is everyone else’s fault that there is trouble in their soul.  That is not the way that it is.  The reason that there is trouble in the soul is because the Bible teaches us that the message is to repent.  Repentance brings a humility.  It brings an examination.  I remember conviction very well. 

Sister Chancellor said that she felt the warmth of conviction drawing her to Christ.  Conviction works in different ways to different people because of their temperament and disposition.  Repentance brings a clearing away of our soul.  It draws a marvelous line of our habits.

It draws a marvelous line of what to think on.  If you want to change your life then change what you think on.  If you draw your thoughts from the internet then you will spiral way down. 

I don’t believe the news commentators.  My personality is that we need to keep sin exceedingly sinful.  We don’t want to let anything of this world change our attitude toward sin.

We don’t want to let the world take our mind where we are always thinking negative thoughts.  We won’t help anyone with that. 

Repentance draws a line.  It is important to get saved and then it is important to desire to grow for God.  It doesn’t matter what your age is, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love him.”

I believe that God has excellent things in store for everyone that is saved if we will walk in the light as He is in the light.

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand:  After Jesus said this He was walking and saw two brothers and said, “Follow me for I will make you fishers of men.”

It is a wonderful thing to get saved. One of the attributes that you have when you have gotten saved is that you want to share the good news.  You want to be a fisher of men.

Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Mat 13:5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

Mat 13:6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Mat 13:7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

It is a wonderful thing that it doesn’t matter what kind of soil you have, God is concerned about that soul.  The seed falls upon all types of soil. 

Wherever you are, it may be that the seed has been sown but it seems that the fowls, the enemy has come and taken it away, then the individual doesn’t get the help needed.

We each need to own that we need help from God.  We are thankful for each one that is saved and sanctified.  But we never reach the place where there can be no growth.  We never want to reach the place where we don’t think, “God I want to grow.”

Stoney soil:  God has a way of digging things out.  “There is this or that in your life, there is strife, pride, or whatever it might be.”  You cannot have these things and be saved but you can be battling these things.  God comes along and says, “I want to dig those things out.”

Every one of us know when the Word of God is being choked in our life.  We cannot afford to be choked.  Don’t assume that there will always be more time to draw near God.  Take the thought, “I want to be humble before God.” 

We are to be easily entreated.  God gave children to be loved but they need to be trained and taught.  Time brings children to grow and get so they are not so easily entreated as they were when they were an infant. 

When a child needs to be trained, we need to look at them and with all the love in our heart tell them that they need to change their attitude.  We need to have a good attitude to help someone change that has a bad attitude. 

If you don’t love a soul enough to say as Brother Washer said to Karen, “Young lady your apparel is an abomination to God.”  You have to have love in your heart.  You cannot do it with a mean spirit or a wrong attitude.  You cannot do it without having prayed.

How is your attitude children?  Salvation draws a good line on attitude.  Toys have nothing to do with it.  We need to be thankful to God for this moment of time that is ours. 

We come to the thorns:  There is a lot to be done in the summer, but we have to keep our focus, “God I want to grow spiritually.  Draw nigh to God.  Don’t have so much planned that you neglect your soul.  Have the Word of God and pray.  You say, “I don’t know how to pray.” The disciples had this problem, “Jesus teach us how to pray.” 

We need to know how to pray.  Know how to lay hold upon God and believe God.

Other fell upon good ground and brought forth good fruit.

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

This is progress when we get an honest and a good heart.  More than anything else I want God.  I want His way more than anything else.  I want God’s will in my heart.

Having heard the Word keep it:  God has wonderful things in store but there is a price to pay.  He has drawn the line: “I want you to measure here.  I want you to measure there.  It want you to have me first in your life.”  For you children, honor your parents and be kind to your brother and sister. 

Be tender hearted.  You say, “Brother Kelly they got themselves in that mess.”  Yes, and do you want to discuss the mess that you got yourself into?  I was on the broad way of sin and I shudder to think of where it would have led me.  Someone prayed.  Someone cared.

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Jude wrote:  hating even the garments spotted by the flesh. 

It is vital that we go back and say, “God look me over really good.  Have I let anything put a spot on my life?  Have I let any information come in that displeases God?  Have I let my discernment be exercised so that when something isn’t right it sounds like a cracked bell and doesn’t sound right?”

Ever keep your spirit humble before God and realize that it is through him that we move and live and have our being.

Perfecting holiness:  This is not unreasonable.  God is so faithful to come to us and say, “Trade that thought for a scripture don’t let your mind go there.”

People have had injustices and God came and said, “Forgive and you shall be forgiven.  If you harbor it in your mind, it will work trouble in your soul.” 

Prepare to go forward.  There is not one here that God has not challenged to go forward.  He said, “Let’s go a little further.  Let’s perfect holiness.”