The Pharisee and the Publican- 08/20/09 10:40:09 PM
LUKE:17
9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of...
One on the powerful portions of scripture dealing with the believer's intimacy with our creator through Jesus Christ is found in John 17:13-26. This whole chapter is deep in revelation in our intimacy with Christ, but for the sake of time, I am focusing on only the second half of this chapter.
JOHN 17
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for...
Not everyone who calls themselves a prophet is a prophet. True prophets are authorized spokesmen of the Lord God, They speak the word of God, straight from the throne room of God, and their words do not fall to the ground, because it is what God said. The Bible state clearly that prophets are given to the Body of Christ today. This is clearly stated in Ephesian chapter 4
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the foulness of Christ: In verse 12&13 the purpose of the the full five fold offices are given. 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13...
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I see life here from the perspective of eternity. The momentary afflictions that we experience here, paving the way for us to receive a greater weight of glory for eternity, providing that we keep true to the Lord onto the end, and by the faith of the Son of God. Jesus said that "In this world you will have troubles, but be of good courage for I have over come the world." The Spirit of Christ is imparted onto every believer so that we may live strengthen by the almighty power of God in our inward man. By the greatness of his presence from within we have all we need not only to get through this life, but to rise above all situations and circumstances, just as the Lord rose above every situation in his life, including the horror that he went through on the Cross. When I compare what he went through during his life on Earth I realize that what I go through is little by comparison. He literally bore the sins and illness of every man upon himself, and lived to pour himself like drink offering in service to his Father in service to his fellow...
Christ teaching on the vine and the branches is one of the most mis-taught portions of scripture. While in prayer the Lord spoke to me concerning these scriptures from the Gospel of John
When man unifies apart from God he has always worked to destroy himself. The word Babel originally meant gateway to god. Which signifies that man was trying to achieve God hood on his own and trying to make himself equal with God. The archetech of Babel was Nimrod. Nimrod means rebel. From studying the Hebrew it seems clear to me that this is more of a description of Babel's founder rather than a name. After the great flood that destroyed the Earth, except for Noah and his family. Man's numbers started to grow again then God gave man the order to scatter across the Earth. Nimrod{rebel} rose up and said "we must not listen to this God who destroyed our ancestors in the great flood, because he will destroy us too. Let become unified they we may be able to stand against him, so that he can not scatter us over the Earth." The cultural foundation of Babel is Human pride and rebellion toward the Lord. Through out history the Devil has attempted to spur man to rebuild Babel. The most pronounced of his attempts would be ancient Babylon, which is in the Hebrew is the same word as Babel....
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The Israelites were between a rock and a hard place in Egypt. In their own strength that were powerless to deliver themselves. All they could was to cry out to God to deliver them. In much the same way the Christian community has entered into the same situation today in America. We are helpless to help ourselves. God appoints authorities as he sees fit, and he takes them down as he sees fit. The Church of God has done it's own thing and is now paying the penalty of choosing her own way. What we must do in this hour is to repent and and surrender our way to God.
The wisdom we need to apply in this hour is found in this verse from Second Chronicles "If my poeple who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, [u][b]and turn from our wicked ways[/b][/u] then I will hear from heaven forgive their sins and heal their lands.
The key now is to turn from our wicked ways, which is our own ways of doing things.
The grace and mercy of God was always available from the time of Adam until now. In the days preceding the coming of Messiah, Jesus, men were justified by believing God's promises of the coming anointed one that would deliver man from his sin. It is written "that Abraham believed God and it was accredited to him as righteousness." Jesus said that Abraham longed to see his day, the day of Messiah, and in fact he did. According to Christ the coming Messiah was revealed Abraham, and it was through faith in this promise from God that Abraham received righteousness, not the rightness of man, but the rightness of God in the Messiah Jesus. When God told Abrahan to sacrifice Issaac it was a test of Abraham's faith in Messiah. Abraham knew that the Messiah would be sacrificed for the sin of all men ,then rise from the dead. When God told Abraham to sacrifice Issaac he beleived that Issaac was the Messiah. In Heberews chapter 11 it is mentioned that Abraham belived that God was able to raise Issaac from the dead, or in other words a coming resurrection. Resurrection was and always be a sign of Messiah. The...[More]
Revelation of God in Jesus Christ by Mike Vargas 08-02-08
John 17:3 eternal life is to know the one and only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. He went to the Cross so that we may know our creator and walk in intimate fellowship with him. And that is impossible If God does not show himself to us in some manner. Simon Peter made a bold confession telling the Lord that he is the Christ the Son of the living God. Jesus' reply to Peter was this " Blessed are you Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven, and on this rock I will build my Church. " The rock that the Church is built on is God revealing himself to through Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit. The scriptures themselves testify of Jesus Christ, This is according to the Lord's own assessment of the scriptures as recorded in the Gospel of John chapter 7. So any foundation based on the truth of the scripture is founded on the rock of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. In the new testament we are encouraged to...
I can relate to your post. I come from an artsy family of artist musicians, poets, writers, and visual artist. For the most part the bulk of the Church looks down on the arts, with the minority supporting the arts, that is being strongly used by God. The arts is an avenue of communication. God desires much to communicate through this means via his gifted children. Before the Lord saved me, I was a visual artist backed by the National Foundation of the Arts. Before Christ I did some demonic art, which was the fruit of the Devil's work in my life. After I was saved a new spirit started to work in me, the Holy Spirit. From within through the power of Christ's Cross,a and resurrection, I was made into a new creation. My art took a totally different direction. The Lord began to speak through my work. Men were drawing near to God though what he was saying through the art. Unfortunately the art system that trained me were offended at what was going on and they with drew their support. That was over twenty years ago. From that time until now. God has periodically opened doors...
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