Mini "SERMONETTES"- #6

1) If a Christian or even a preacher falls into an habitual SIN HABIT, what should a minister of the gospel SAY to him? a) You are a DISGRACE, Get OUT of here!... b) You were never saved to BEGIN with!.....c) You must do this regemin which I will tell you to do......d) You must get off by yourself somewhere and pray until you get the victory....e) Here, I will lay my hands upon you and PRAY for you.....f) You must repent of that sin and place your faith solely in THE. BLOOD OF JESUS (ie: "THE CROSS") daily, and that bondage will be BROKEN! And by-the-way.... I love you! g) It's okay: We ALL sin at times!
"f" is the correct answer. See Galatians 6:1; Rev. 12:10-11; Romans 6:14; 1 Cor. 1:17-18.
All of those other methods HAVE BEEN and ARE BEING employed, and do not work!!

2) "And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak..... But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek...." -(1 Ki. 22:14,24). Are YOU willing to be bold to speak the Truth, like Micaiah, even if it causes "drama"?
Most professing Christians are not willing to offend PEOPLE, but then do not think twice about offending GOD, by being silent for His Truth. Friend.... daddy, mommy, spouse, relatives, friends, bosses, and co-workers are not gonna be WITH you, on the day of judgment! It'll just be YOU AND JESUS. Think this is "harsh"? Well then take a look at what meek, mild-mannered JESUS said here in His earthly ministry in Matt. chpt. 23. He loved people enough to tell them the TRUTH, even if He was HATED (which He WAS!). ‎.... and it'll mainly come from the "religious" crowd. Do you realize?..... that God HATES "religion"? Look once again at Matt. chpt. 23. Also Rev. 3:15-20. Do you know (and this is incredible) that God respects a RADICAL MUSLIM more than a LUKEWARM CHRISTIAN? Again... turn to Rev. 3:15-20.

3) What stimulates "the sin nature"? "The law/ legalism/ RELIGION".
This is what ultimately had Jesus nailed to that Cross. The motives of the religious leaders of that day were malignant and evil toward the One sent to be their SAVIOR! And in so carrying out their murderous plot (Jesus ALLOWING them to do so) FULFULLED PROPHESY, securing the salvation of the humble, repentant, believing ones, and the eternal damnation of THEMSELVES. Folks, GOD (Jesus) always gets the last laugh (Psalm 2:4), for He has ALL-POWER!!!! All He has to do... is to remove His Hand of protection just a LITTLE BIT, and Satan the destroyer comes in to do HIS job: deceive, kill, steal, and destroy.

4) The HOLY SPIRIT and HIS Agenda (JESUS, THE WORD, AND THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS) need to take precedence in the gathering of saints, not A MAN and HIS agenda (anything else!). If it is "anything else", then the Holy Spirit will not by IN it, and there will be "deadness" (no spiritual Life)! ... and a bunch of ACTIVITY without the Holy Spirit is pointless and nauseating. "Deadness" produces "corruption"/ moral decay. RELIGIOUS deadness produces that PLUS "spiritual BLINDNESS"!

5) Animosity against Christ and the Cross is greater than love for loved ones! (See Matt. 10:21, 35-37; 12:46-50; Lk. 21:16; 14:25-26).
That's what prevents many from truly following Jesus. They do not want to be disliked or shunned by family members and relatives. To them, that would be a fate worse than DEATH! (But what about their ETERNAL SOULS? I guess they sorta.... overlook that?)

6) Either one LOVES Christ and the Cross or else DESPISES them. (see Matt. 6:24; Lk. 16:13-14; Jas. 4:4; 1 Cor. 1:18,23). The "lukewarm" actually despise them (although they would not admit to this), replacing them with "religion": Agendas, programs, good-works activities,etc., ALL THE WHILE, thinking that this constitutes righteousness, the favor of the Lord, and "spirituality". In reality, Jesus HATES this! (see Rev. 3:15-19).

7) If a man preaches Christ without "the Cross", he is preaching "another Jesus", and is "accursed". (see 1 Cor. 1:17-18,23-24; 2:1-2; 2 Cor. 11:3-4; Gal.. 1:8-9).
The "religious world" is opposed to Christ and the Cross (Matt. 10:16-17). ‎"Religion" gives no spiritual Life to ANY ONE; Only JESUS can, and He WON'T, unless a person embraces HIM and HIS Sacrifice!

8) "The Cross of Christ" is the Pivot Point of all of human history. Those who accept this "Blood Sacrifice" are pardoned of their sins. Those who reject it... are damned eternally.
‎... and AFTER ONE ACCEPTS IT, he must CONTINUE to place his faith for Righteousness in that Sacrifice EXCLUSIVELY, to live for God daily; Otherwise, he "frustrates the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21), and can potentially "fall from grace" (Gal. 5:4), losing his soul! Very serious! The BURIAL and RESURRECTION of Christ were both certainly necessary and very important, but they occurred AS A RESULT of that redemptive Sacrifice. Our faith is to be IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB ....daily.... for Victory over "the world, the flesh, and the devil...WROUGHT by THE HOLY SPIRIT (Romans 8:2: Rev. 12:10-11).

9) When one "comes to JESUS", he must leave "THE WORLD"..... B-E-H-I-N-D !!!! (1 John 2:15-17; 2 Cor. 6:6:14-18; James 4:4; Isa. 52:11; Heb. 11:24-28). If you call yourself a Christian, and love Hollywood, love messed-up rock stars and their messed-up music, love the delicate dainties of this evil world system, with it's "lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life", THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG. Your life does not line up with the Bible. you need.... to R-E-P-E-N-T and give your whole heart and life to J-E-S-U-S (No, not to some church , not to some program, not to some religious regimen, but to JESUS, and place your faith in HIM AND HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE!). ... and then His HOLY SPIRIT will give you "abundant Life" (John 10:10b), this amazing PEACE (John 15:27), and a LOVE THAT YOU HAVE NEVER KNOWN BEFORE (John 14:21)!!!!! If THE HOLY SPIRIT is not convicting you that all of the worldly stuff. (WHATEVER it is) is wrong, there is a serious problem. ‎...because a "Christian" has the "HOLY Spirit", with "HOLY" right in that Name there..... correct? ...and He will be GRIEVED if there is evil in the things you are delighting in (and why ARE you delighting in them? !). ‎(This is a SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLE; Not some legalistic naming of this or that individual thing you watch, listen to, or do. Like I said, the HOLY SPIRIT should be showing you those individual things and activities!)

10) A life governed by the Holy Spirit will produce the FRUIT of the (Holy) Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control (see Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 1:11; Matt. 7:16-21). IS a person's life characterized by these? If it is... it will be EVIDENT. If it is not, then THAT will also be evident (obvious)!
A person cannot be an actor all the time!! His words and his behavior will eventually BETRAY him! ...Not to say that a ONE of us is perfect morally. However, the general flavor of one's life, like I say, .... WILL BE EVIDENT TO ALL. Do you know a person who is a "nice guy"? LIVE with him for a while, and you will see the "REAL" him! If you cannot live with him, study his life a little bit: What does he like to DO? What are his INTERESTS? Also though, some people ARE "good actors", and it requires discernment of the Holy Spirit if you only have a short time with the person. DOES THE PERSON LOVE JESUS CHRIST? TO READ THE BIBLE? TO PRAY? TO STUDY AND TALK ABOUT SPIRITUAL THINGS FROM ABOVE? OR WOULD HE SOONER DO SOMETHING ELSE? SOMETHING... WORLDLY? All of these things should be evident. If there is no interest in the things of God there, this should tell you something! Most people are "actors". Why do You think MOVIES are so popular these days?! It's time to GET REAL, folks; Not only with OTHERS, but mainly with OURSELVES. What is "reality"? The HOLY BIBLE is reality; It is "Truth". And what does it say? "...If any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become NEW." -(2 Corinthians 5:17). ARE you a new creature? ARE "all things new"? Or is it "the same old same OLD? You know.... don't you? Why not give your HEART, your WHOLE LIFE to JESUS this very moment?!

11) "For He (JESUS) satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." (Psa. 107:9). ‎"And ye are COMPLETE IN HIM, who is the Head of all principality and power." -(Col. 2:10). HALLELUJAH !!!! Friend.... rich or poor, small or great, living in a mansion or living in a shack, male or female, man or child, if you got J-E-S-U-S, you got it........ A-L-L !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12) "JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED". This was the apostle Paul's central Message, not only to be SAVED, but also to LIVE FOR GOD. The proof?, right from the Bible? : 1 Cor. 2:2; 1:17-18,23-24; Gal. 5:11; 6:12,14; 2:21. You know, I see this, and I'm like... "You know something? This is UNDENIABLE! there is a LOT OF PRESSURE there, when one is trying to sanctify oneself with the hoardes of hell against you. It takes faith in the BLOOD, and then THE HOLY GHOST'S Power comes into play which EASILY defeats Satan and sanctifies the saint! Oh hallelujah, this is so LIBERATING. These guys don't know what their MISSING! Many ministers think it's "automatic" at the moment of salvation, but they are dead wrong. It is not. The believer must KEEP his faith in that correct Object (Christ and the Cross), or he will gravitate back towards SELF-WORKS for sanctification. It happened to ME, and it happens to ALL of us at one time or another. But to STAY there?..... Not good. In many cases, the individual sincerely DOES just want to please God, but he is frustrated as to why he is not living "abundant Life", even though doing all he knows to do. That was me. And then when the Message CAME through a servant of God (it happened to be Jimmy Swaggart, but it could have been ANYONE), I found the Answer I was looking for! Self-works ("law") stimulates "the sin nature" (see 1 Cor. 15: 56b) (which many ministers do not believe a Christian can still possess!), resulting in FAILURE (IE: A SIN BONDAGE. May not be "immorality", but could be something else equally... bad... like gossip or a temper problem, etc.). WAKE UP, Church! Look around you at all of the scandals and failures among America's ministers!!! As as the PULPIT goes, so goes the PEOPLE (in most cases), and so goes AMERICA !!!!!!! We are now a weak, corrupt nation which is a laughingstock of the world.
CHURCH RETURN TO THE CROSS ! THE CROSS! THE CROSS!!!!! ‎...No not the "wooden beams", but the BLOOD SACRIFICE He accomplished there. THAT is to be the Object of our faith for Righteousness, for spirituality, for closeness with God, for victory in daily living!!!!!!