 In the last chapter of Revelation,
Jesus declares to John - “I Jesus have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.” Revelation 22:16 “The Morning Star” Now why would Jesus call himself the same name that Isaiah gave to Satan? Why does Jesus refer to himself as the Morning Star? Let’s dig in and compare some other scripture. Revelation 2:26-28 says, “And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery -- just as I have received authority from My Father. And I will give him the morning star.” In Revelation, Chapter 22, the Morning Star is capitalized. The noun and the name represent the Risen King whose name is Jesus. In Revelation, Chapter 2, the Angel of the Lord is speaking to John and asking him to speak to the churches. The angel says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 2:29 Father God - give me ears to hear and understand your Word. The morning star, in this instance, probably represents a small beautiful light that breaks the night - a dawning of sorts - a reflection of the Son before He comes. Peter wrote, “We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:19-21 According to Peter, The morning star rises when the Word of God enters our hearts. This makes sense, because as Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Jeremiah 17:9 The Word of God is the Light of Christ, and washes away the deceitful flesh when we open our hearts to Christ. But this does not answer the question - why would Jesus call himself the same name that once belonged to Satan? Why does Jesus refer to himself as the Morning Star? Well, the answer is simple. Jesus is the Light of the World, and before Satan fell out of God’s Will, he was also referred like any follower of Christ as a morning star. Isaiah said, “How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.” Isaiah 14:12 Day star is often used to describe the dawning of the morning - and in Satan’s case, he had been cut down. Why? Well that is easy - It’s because of pride. The sons of God are often called stars - because they give light to the dark. Lucifer was once one of them. In fact, I have heard that he was once a glorious angel. “You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble, who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?” Isaiah 14:13-17 Satan desired in his heart to take the place of the Most High God - and so he was cast down from Heaven, and given temporary authority over this fallen world. He was placed in a position to rule over the dark, at least until the breaking dawn. We currently live in an age when Jesus came to take our sin away. He was the fulfillment of what the Law of Moses could not do. He was the spotless Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. And now we just wait for Him to return, as our King - and when he does He will be bringing God’s judgment down. Our faith in Christ is what brings us back into relationship with Him. I believe “the morning star” is anyone who believes and reflects the Light of Christ.
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 Jesus said, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.” Revelation 22:17 What does Jesus mean? I believe Jesus is saying that He is the Root of David which comes from the stump of Jesse: “Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him - the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.” Isaiah 11:1-5 The stump of Jesse and the Root of David come from the same family tree - the same genealogy. The “root” of a family comes from the same originator, often known as a forbearer or an ancestor, and Jesse was King David’s father. The genealogy found in Matthew Chapter 1 and Luke Chapter 3 show that Jesus descended from the line of Jesse and his son, King David. The Hebrew word used for “root” is sheresh - and it implies that a root will remain alive by the branch that shoots up from it. Now the God of Israel chose their fathers; and He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt - and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land. He endured their conduct for about forty years while they were wandering through the wilderness. And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, God gave their land to His people as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. After that, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. After removing Saul, God raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’ From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised. Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the One - But He is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ Children of God - It is to us that this message of salvation has been sent! The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath. And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to executed Him. When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But Death could not hold Him down, and Jesus rose again! Hallelujah! For many days Jesus was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These were the first witnesses to the resurrection of the Messiah - and then, after walking the earth as a resurrected man, Jesus rose on a cloud and ascended into Heaven. His disciples were with Him - and they testified to His ascension. And now we proclaim the good news: What God promised to the fathers of Israel, He has fulfilled! By raising up Jesus - Jesus has become the Messiah for the Gentiles and the Jews. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’ The Lamb of God, stood without sin, and offered himself as a living sacrifice for us. Through Jesus everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything that humans could not do by the Law of Moses. Now we live by the Law of Christ. We must remember Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. He came to fulfill them. He is the Son of God who stands without sin. We must be cautious, because the adversary of God is crouching at the door, waiting to find someone to devour. All Christians are currently in the Lions Den. We are all sheep among ravenous wolves. We must keep our eyes focused like Stephen - on Jesus. Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you: ‘Do not spend too much time denying God because you will perish! The Lord Jesus is our Savior and our King, and He will soon be coming back again. Will your oil be ready? Will your lamp be burning? Most of the words of this poem come from Acts 13:16-41. Tomorrow I will focus in on the Morning Star. I believe I wrote about it before. I will have to go back in my poems and explore.  In Revelation 22:16 Jesus said,
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you (John) this testimony for the churches.” I have to stop and separate this detailed Word of God. Within this verse is so much Holy Spirit inspired knowledge. First, we must understand that the Book of Revelation IS the Word of God! The information contained in this book IS the message that was given by God to His Son to share with us. Jesus, by the Angel of the Lord, gave John knowledge and wisdom that is totally mind-blowing! In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus said, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches.” The first chapter of Revelation opens with the same information. John writes as a true witness. John wrote, “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 1:1-2 Don’t you get it? The Book of Revelation MUST be read! It is the revelatory knowledge that brings true wisdom! There is no book in the Bible that is more important to those who love Christ than the Revelation that was given by God to Jesus to John, by the Angel of the Lord. The information contained in this book is designed specifically for the Body of Christ! It was written to the Church! As obedient children, it is our duty and responsibility to dig in John was told, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 1:3 The Lord desires for us to read the Revelation. The Lord desires for us to speak and believe the words contained in the Revelation. The Lord desires for us to hear the Spirit of Revelation so that we can have Holy Spirit, divinely appointed wisdom. The Lord desires for us to obey the message given to the seven churches, and to have confident hope that He is coming back for us. The Lord is not trying to keep secrets. He wants us to know exactly how much He loves us. He loves us so much that He allowed the Lamb of God to be sacrificed for us. The Lord wants us to know that end of this age is coming soon. And while the Antichrist is currently being restrained, “the coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 The Day of the Lord is near. The Antichrist will soon be revealed. But do not fear - because the Lion of Judah is coming back as our King! The Lord Jesus will slay the Antichrist with the breath of His mouth and annihilate the Antichrist by the majesty of His arrival.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8 Know this - God will be bringing His judgement down; and only those who are covered by the blood of Christ will be invited into the Kingdom of God. The end of the age and the Day of he Lord IS recorded in the Book of Revelation. Followers of Christ are called to be watchman. Jesus said, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.” Luke 12:51 He said, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?” Luke 12:56 Jesus also said, “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them. Even if he comes in the 2nd or 3rd watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed.” Luke 12:37-38 It does not matter if you are 10 or 100, God is a good, good Father. He is always ready to welcome the prodigal son! He leaves the 99 to chase after the one. His desire is for you to come home. Those who love Christ, I implore you to read the Revelation of Jesus NOW! The time has come for you to wrestle with God. The time has come for you to abide in His Word, and ready yourselves for His arrival. Here is some godly wisdom - Prepare with the end in mind.  To the Church, those who represent
the Great Witness of Christ, “Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God.” Truth is a noun - that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Truth IS God's Holy Word - and through His Word all things were made new again. In His Word is the light of men - the light that gives life again; and the Light that shines from God’s Holy Word. The Word brings light to the darkest night; the light pulls out that which is good, right and true. Therefore I say, test and prove what is pleasing to the Lord - live out your faith according to God’s Holy Word. Do not be imitators of the world. Do not exchange the TRUTH of God for a lie. Out of respect for Christ, we are to provide a powerful witness to humankind; that is right, "the world" - the place that David describes in Pslam 23, as the Valley of the Shadow of Death. We are to testify to the Truth and lead people to the Holy Word. For these words are faithful and true. “Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.” Revelation 22:6-7 The TRUTH is God alone is Lord; and the Bible is God’s scroll - the Word of God that was communicated by His Holy Spirit into the hearts and minds of men. The TRUTH is God is sovereign, and no matter how much or hard we try - unrighteous acts cannot be justified. The TRUTH is it’s only the blood of Christ that can wash away our sin; it’s only God’s Holy Word that can make us whole again. You see, before we were saved, we stood before God as filthy rags - slaves to uncleanliness. Sin sure knows how to leave ugly stains; we are all in desperate need of God’s cleansing! But the moment we believe that Jesus is our Savior and King, God immediately forgives all of our sin - “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness.” The blood of Jesus even cleanses our conscience, the leading part of our human spirit. Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself to God without blemish, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The TRUTH is Jesus, and God’s Holy Spirit; and the true witness is the one whose heart is covered by the blood of the Lamb. I tell the truth, when we accept Jesus as Lord, we become His Children - adopted into His royal family and citizens of Heaven. And the moment we proclaim Jesus as Lord, God sends His Holy Spirit to make us born again. The TRUTH will set you FREE!  This may come as a surprise
to people who do not read scripture, and do not have a biblical worldview. God is sovereign. He is One who gives blessings and curses. He is the One who determines our woes and rewards. God is the One who created the heavens and earth. He created all that we see and all that we breathe - the clay, the wind, the trees - everything - including you and me. God is the One who gave us breath, and He is the One who can take it away - at any time. He is the Creator of both life and death; and He is the judge. He determines what is bad or good; evil or not. God is the One who spoke a curse against mankind, and the devil. If you don’t believe me, then go and read Genesis 3. I am not making it up. Throughout the Bible, God administers blessings and curses; warnings and judgements. And they are directly related to our relationship with God and our obedience to Him. The common view of blessing, according to the American gospel (which is anti-biblical) is to be fat, happy and wealthy like the drunkards of Ephraim. But the actual meaning of God’s blessing is to be saved by grace - to live in eternity with our Everlasting King. The blessed man is the one who delights in the law of the Lord; the one who mediates day and night on the Kingdom of God. This is the intimate man who is faithful and obedient to Father God. Now the opposite of blessing is to be cursed with a woe; to be judged harshly by God, and then left alone. God’s woes are meant for humans who shut up the Kingdom of God; those who twist the gospel, and find many ways to trip people up with entangled sin. Jesus calls such people hypocrites - those who pretend to know God and be like Him but are really not! “You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” Matthew 23:15 The gospel message is simple - God is good. We are not. In fact, without His Holy Spirit, we are nothing but filthy rags. And while we were designed to be imagers of God and reflect His light to a dark world, most humans choose to express their pride, selfish ambition and continue to live in sin. They exchange the truth for a lie, instead of picking up their cross and dying inside. So God sent the Light! Jesus is meant to be a lamp at our feet to shed light on the path of all who follow Him. Humans need a Savior to bring us back - to bring us back into relationship with Father God. Jesus is the promised Seed found in Genesis 3 - the faithful and beloved Son of God. The Sacrificial Lamb whose blood sets us apart. Scripture says that road is narrow - The Highway to Holiness is cut off for those who choose to be unfaithful to God. But for the chosen few who put their trust in God - they will be adopted into His family and live with Him in the New Jerusalem with glorified bodies. “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:3-5 To learn more about biblical blessings and curses, read Deuteronomy 28, and don’t forget to read Genesis 3 and Revelation 22. The Way Home is laid out for each of us.  Tales of sacred, restorative waters
have existed for many years. We all remember Ponce de León and how he supposably found the Fountain of Youth. And Alexander the Great was said to have found a healing river in paradise in the fourth century B.C. During the Middle Ages, some Europeans even believed in the mythical man, Prester John the King, whose kingdom allegedly contained a fountain of youth and a river of gold. Of course - all of these stories are mythical renditions of what people want to see and believe. To have a water that restores life and brings health and prosperity would be absolutely amazing - but in this evil physical world, it is all just a dream. But in the spirit realm, there is such a thing. I invite you to read what Jesus said to a sinning woman who had been married to many different men... over and over again. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst again. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to live eternally.” John 4:10 “On the last and greatest day of the feast, John also recorded Jesus saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7:37-39 In the New Jerusalem, the place where God restores both Heaven and earth; the place where God and the Lamb, and all who love them dwell, there is a river that contains water that gives life eternally. “Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. And on either side of the river stands a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:1-2 It is the ministry of the Spirit, flowing out of a heart redeemed by God, that blesses believers and, through them, brings life and light to the world. Hallelujah!  How would you feel if you created a plan to do something grand for the Lord and then found out by a prophet of God that He did not need you to build it because it was already done?
Would you feel small and insignificant? Would the chastisement of your great plans to build a house for God cause your countenance to crumble and fall down? Would you fall to your knees and give glory to God because He alone is faithful, powerful, sovereign and provides ALL sufficiency? This is the scenario of King David when he wanted to build a temple to show his adoration for God. The scripture says, “After King David settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to the prophet Nathan: “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” David wanted to use creation to build God a palace to live in. He wanted to create a magnificent house of adoration for God to rest in. This was an overflow - from his heart for God. But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell My servant David that this is what the Lord says: “Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.” “In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar? “Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land. And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more.” “The Lord declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you. And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.” “He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.” These words of God can be found in the 7th Chapter of 2 Samuel. You see, the Lord never asked David for a temple, but he allowed David to make it because it was an overflow of David’s heart. David loved God, so his desire was to honor the Lord by building Him a temple to live in. But the Lord did not need it. He allowed it as a way to show His love for David, and His love for Israel. But God never asked for it - He was already with them and He moved all around them. God was the One who showed them where to go! God is the Creator of the whole universe! Nothing can contain Him! We do not harness God, nor should we try to control. He decides where He wants to go. Now, God has given us free will - the freedom to choose to love God or not - the freedom to have a healthy fear of the Lord. Those who receive God’s Holy Spirit have been predestined to live in the City of God. They become rocks that are built on the foundation of the 12 Apostles. The Holy Spirit is all around! We must get out of the mindset that we alone carry the glory of God! The truth is - all of creation was made for God’s glory. Everything in creation declares His praise. If a human being is not willing to cry out, then Jesus said that the rocks will give Him praise! You see, in the New Jerusalem, the temple of God does not exist because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. God cannot be contained. The Holy City has no need of sun or moon because the glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb of God is its lamp. These words can be found in Revelation 21. I encourage you to go and read them and let the knowledge and love of Jesus come into your heart. Do not be afraid of today’s false teachers and prophets who, in their foolish minds, “take control of God and demand that God does it.” They do not control God. That is an illusion. It’s vain imagination. God is sovereign. His Spirit can be found anywhere. Call out to Him. He is looking for His children. He leaves the 99 to find the one lost sheep who is eager to know Him. God searches the human heart. The physical temple was thought up by David and built by Solomon as an overflow of their love for God.  For Spring Break 2022,
we went to Asheville, North Carolina. While we were there we visited a store that was full of the most beautiful radiant gem stones. They were so breathtaking to see. And then down the road, we went into a pawn shop and my eyes were drawn to the expensive jewelry. Obviously, it was all too pricey for me. I saw necklaces of gold, silver and pearls. I saw tiny specks of emerald greens, sapphire blues and red rubies sparkling at me. They were so lovely, but the price, even in a pawn shop, was way too expensive for me - so I bought fakes instead of going into debt and buying the real thing. All of this just made me think of how amazing God is to you and to me! He has the opposite economy! What do I mean? Scripture says, our riches are stored up in Heaven. We are not to treasure the things of this world (except human souls of course); and we are not to turn anything created by God into idolatry. As soon as a person thinks that they “own” anything, the Bible says they have fallen into the sin of greed - which is a form of idolatry. We own absolutely nothing. We are called to steward the things that we have - the things that God has given us to be able to make a difference in the Kingdom of Heaven where Jesus is King. At anytime, the Lord can take away our home, our business, our children, our health and our wealth - and He will still be a Good. He is the One who is sovereign- we are not. The Most High God sits of the throne and completely oversees everything created - and that includes the birth of you and of me. Someday, when followers of Christ take their last breath on this earth - they will be revived by the Holy Spirit and inhale the beauty of Heaven. They will see and be in the City of the New Jerusalem. They will see a giant wall of jasper, and a city made of pure gold, that looks like clear glass. Oh, how amazing it will be! They will see the wall of the city built on the foundation stones of the 12 Apostles! The foundational stones that are adorned with the most precious 12 gemstones. The first will be jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate (also called chalcedony) and the fourth will be a vibrant emerald green. The fifth will be onyx, a stone as black as can be, the sixth carnelian - a sweet carnation pink. The seventh will be beautiful crystal, and the eighth beryl - which has many different colors but usually shows up as aquamarine. The ninth topaz, which can present as pale blue, golden brown or yellowish orange. Oh, how magnificent it will be! The tenth chrysoprase, which can present as an apple green, the eleventh jacinth, which presents as a brownish red. Oh - It’s all so amazing to me! And the twelfth precious stone inlaid in the foundation of God is amethyst - the royal purple that can be so intoxicating to the soul. And if inhaling the beauty of the gold wall and these 12 precious stones is not enough, there will be 12 gates made out of giant pearls - each gate from a single pearl! And the main street will be pure gold, as clear as glass - oh, how magnificent it will be! The City of God will be the place that we get to take our revival breath - the first breath of our everlasting life! Can you even imagine how intoxicating that revival breath will be? It will be as if we never died in the first place! Oh, I encourage you to read about it in the message that was given by Jesus to his best friend John! It is all recorded in Revelation 21. The things that we see, the things that we “own” - are NOTHING compared to our royal citizenship in the City of God. I implore you - We would all do well to let go of control of the things of this world! We must be careful not to hold on so tight to the creations that our heart turns to stone! This is what idolatry does - it’s causes the human heart to overflow with a feeling of control. Little children - Be careful not to take hold of the gemstones of this world.  Is LGBTQ evil according to the Bible? This is a question that seems to be circulating on the wind of the progressive culture that we currently live in. Who gets to define what sexuality immorality is, and is sexual immorality even such a thing? Does morality change based on the times that we live in?
I guess I should put these questions aside and look to the inspired Word of God. According to Revelation 21, when Christ returns and the earth is restored, “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter the City of God." Evil people, according to scripture, are those who practice shameful idolatry and dishonesty - those who do not have a healthy fear of the Lord. The scripture says that evil people will not be allowed to enter the city gates of the New Jerusalem - the place where God and His Lamb dwells. Only the people whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be allowed to live in the City of God. Now here is the thing - God sets the standard, I do not. In fact, no person on earth is more righteous than God. Evil people tend to dwell in the Land of the Culture of Self. They choose to not pick up their cross and follow the Word of God. We are given free will. Every person gets to choose to follow the desires of the heart, even if those desires go against the very Word of God. God allows us to choose between the fruit of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh. I believe this is how He knows who truly has a love for Him. Now, there is a possibility that those who choose to follow their own progressive thought, may actually be considered lukewarm in the eyes of God. They may be like the five churches that Jesus said, "and this is what I have against." That is why I am committed to speaking the truth in love. It's because Jesus said to me, “Go and Sin No More.” Me - the worst sinner of them all! Don’t you see - I don’t speak these things to condemn other humans. I speak the truth so others can see just how much God loves them! He came to save us from the sin that we live in! He came to save us from eternal death and dying by the fire. We all have the right to know the Word of God and then make a decision for ourselves. "Christians" who receive Jesus as their “Savior” but choose not to accept Him as their "King” may be viewed by God as idolizing the little “g” - and this is a form of idolatry! Remember - evil people are those who act with idolatry and dishonestly. What do you call the person who uses the sacrifice of Christ as a reason to continue sinning against God? I'm not sure I would call them "a Child of God." We must be careful because the human heart is the most deceitful of all! And from the words of St. Paul, people who know the truth - but choose to follow a lie are dishonest in the eyes of Christ. Dishonesty is one of the signs of being outside the Will of God. Paul said, “They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So people have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they know God, because His presence is all around them, but they would not worship him as God, or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned us to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they do vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. Evil people worship and serve the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! That is why God abandons them to their shameful desires. Even the women turn against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burn with lust for each other. Men do shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffer within themselves the penalty they deserve. Since evil people think it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandons them to their foolish thinking and lets them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them.” Now you will find all of these words in Romans 1:19-32 - they are not my own! This is New Testament truth, according to the inspired Word of God through His Apostle Paul. Here is the thing - “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?" "Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” These are also not my words. They are found in Romans 2:1-4. So while the lifestyle of the LGBTQ community is not biblical and is considered as evil by God, it is not my place to condemn a person who chooses this way to live. I can only imagine how hard it would be to stop living according to the flesh and choose another way to be. If you have not heard the story of the poet, Jackie Hill Perry, then I encourage you to read her book, "Good God, Gay Girl" and see how she is living out the gospel. It is my job to love the sinner, just as Jesus did and to tell them, “Go and sin no more - For we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The truth I love people, but I love God more, and I will always choose to trust His Will over my own. Now my story is not one of LGBTQ plus, but my story is still one of sexual immorality because I once struggled with the spirit of lust, and I was a woman who was unfaithful in the eyes of God. It was a struggle to trust God's Will over my own. I came up with every kind of self-rationalization. I made excuses to cover my acts. But, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I have learned to change my thoughts to align to God's standards, not mine own. If I can do this, then others can also overcome. Instead of bowing down to the prince of this world and continuing to make excuses for the desires of my flesh, I learned to accept the truth in love and follow God's Voice. Jesus is such a good shepherd; he calls out to the lost. All we have to do is listen for the sound of His Voice. I know that God alone reaches those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I believe this because God called out to a lost woman who was filled with secular thought. A woman who had one foot in the world and one in Christ. It is not my job to convict or to condemn - that is the sole job of the Holy Spirit. It is only my job to speak the truth in love with my renewed mind of Christ. If you are reading this, I encourage you to read the letter that was written to the Roman church; and I encourage you to read all of the Bible to know more about the character of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is because I love people that I want them to know that God loves them so much that He gave his own life and offered up His Son. We are justified and made righteous by the blood of the Lamb. So - I ask you this question, what is the sacrifice that you are willing to offer up to God? Are you willing to die to self, pick up your cross and follow Christ, or will you spit in the face your King and go and sin some more?  Today I am going to talk about
the shape of the New Jerusalem. It is square, not rectangular or round. Revelation 21 verse 16 says, “The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide.” We know this is accurate because the angel who talked with John had a gold measuring rod, and he measured the city, its gates and its walls, and it he found it to be 1,400 miles in length, and as wide and high as it is long" - that’s about the half the distance of the United States. The angel also measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 216 feet which is more than two football fields deep! Can you imagine a city this size? A holy city that comprises the wonderful bride of Christ. Now the scripture also says that the New Jerusalem has no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. That’s right! There is no building that will contain the Spirit of God - for the Lord and the Lamb will be right in plain sight. And the city has no need of sun or of moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. Revelation 21:22-23 |
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