The Promise of Grace

“Without grace, even the New Testament becomes the Law.” -Pastor Tracy Harris

Everyone knows about the ten commandments – these make up the foundation of what is called “The Law.” If you're not sure what they are, let's take a quick look:

#1 – No other God's before Him

#2 – No graven images

#3 – Don't take God's name in vain

#4 – Remember the Sabbath Day

#5 – Honor your father and mother

#6 – Don't murder

#7 – Don't commit adultery

#8 – Don't steal

#9 – Don't bear false witness

#10 – Don't covet what belongs tosomeone else.

Following these commandments bring righteousness and blessing on someone's life – disobeying them will bring condemnation and judgment. But we have already established this fact; no one can keep these commands. Ten simple rules to follow, and we've all failed miserably.

At least we're living in the New Testament, right? On this side of Calvary, God's grace has freely forgiven us for breaking His original commandments. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace...” (Ephesians 1:7). Now that we've been freely forgiven of all sin, there's no more commands for us to follow, right?

Actually, would you care to guess how many commands are in the New Testament? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? Would you believe that there are one thousand and fifty new commands for the Christian to follow? If we were lost with only ten to keep track of, we must be completely hopeless with more than a thousand! There's no way we could even remember all of those – let alone keep them! Doesn't this put a believer in a worse place than they were before?

That would certainly be true if we had to keep these commands by ourselves. But we don't have to do this alone; we've been given something that makes it all possible – grace! Let's look again at Hebrews 12:28, “...let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably...” We can only serve God by grace, not by trying.

When we try to obey God, we're depending on our flesh to do what's right. This is what Paul calls “the weakness of the Law” in Romans 8:3. The reason the trying to keep the law never works is because your depending on your weak flesh to follow God's commands. But if you read the end of Romans 7, you'll discover that the flesh will never be able to follow God's commands.

This is why we need grace, to empower us to serve God and obey his commands. Look at what Paul says about grace in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Where the flesh is weak, God's grace brings power. The result of this empowering grace can be seen in Psalm 119:32 “I will run the course of Your commands, for You shall enlarge my heart.”

When you try to obey God, you'll fail. But when you step into the spirit and have faith in God, you'll find sin losing it's grip on you! Let's take another look at Romans 8, this time at verses 2-9:

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit...”

The only way to keep the righteous requirements of the law is to stay in the Spirit – by fully trusting in God's grace.

And what is it we trust in? Put your hope completely in this one truth: God has never given a command without also giving the power to keep it! Let's take a quick tour through scripture and illustrate this point:

When God commanded Moses to move forward – He gave the power to split the sea.

When God commanded Joshua to capture the Promise Land – He gave the power for victory.

When Jesus commanded the man with the withered hand to stretch it out – He gave the power to be healed.

When Jesus called Peter out on the sea – He gave the power to walk on the water.

Now look at Lazarus. If there was any man that was weak in the flesh, it was this one! He had been dead for four days – and Jesus commanded him to come out of the grave! Lazarus didn't have the strength to get up...he was dead! But what happened? The command carried the power to obey it! This is what grace does for us, it empowers us to obey the commands of God – any command.

This is the power of grace – Grace turns any command in scripture into the power to obey! As you read the words of scripture, remember this; any command you read is actually a promise to empower you to obey. Put your faith in God, and He will enlarge your heart to obey every word He says...This is the Promise of Grace!

The Judgement Of America - Part 2

Fear.
Disease.
Labor without benefits.
Enemy activity on our own soil.
Hatred from our own rulers.
Cowardly behavior

After seeing God's first six warnings, it's clear that this country has begun to see the consequences of our disobedience. From here, it only gets worse!
Christians, we need to repent of our sin and turn back to our first love! This nation will rise or fall based on the spiritual lives of believers. Many Christians claim to love this country, but they fail to realize that their half-hearted commitment to God is largely to blame for the spiritual climate throughout America. God holds us responsible for the fate of our nation – it's time to wake up!

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will “forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Leviticus 26

18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

If we don't learn, if we continue to disregard the warnings that God has given us, it only gets worse. When we look at the next six consequences for disobedience, the correlation to modern events only gets more clear.

19 I will break the pride of your power;

While we were once the most competitive economy in the world, our present financial crisis has pulled us down to fifth in the list – and still falling. It is interesting that another Christian nation that is in a backslidden state, Great Britain, is also free-falling in this economic crumble. Topping the list of competitive economies are nations like Singapore, Finland, and Sweden!
While it's true that we haven't always been liked by other nations, we were respected. Our military was powerful, our resolve was firm and we were the envy of the world. Now we're being overtaken by nations that were never in our league!
Remember when we had an illegal immigration problem? Latin Americans were pouring into this country for a better life. Now the trend is slowing down rapidly. Fewer and fewer people are seeing a better life in this country than they have in theirs. If this trend continues in that direction, we'll soon have an emigration problem!
Once, an educated public was our pride and joy. We were the home of inventions, the source of scientific breakthroughs, and the leader in technology. Now, out of 34 nations studied, American schools rank 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math!
Our pride and influence in the world is waning – teetering dangerously close to the edge.

I will make your heavens like iron...

A serious lack of rain.
Thirteen of America's states have been in an official drought since 2010. Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina were already in a severely dry condition when 2012 rolled in. In 2012 this drought has spread to 80% of the continental United States.

...and your earth like bronze.

A severely hardened and unforgiving soil that refuses to provide what is planted in it.
In 1936, the United States senate declared: “The alarming fact is that food – fruits and vegetables and grains – now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain needed nutrients, are starving us no matter how much we eat of them.”
That was then. Now things are even worse. Since 1962, the amounts of nutrients and minerals in our fruits and vegetables has dropped 50%! We are literally being provided with only half the vitamins and minerals that we had in our food fifty years ago. Call it over-farming and under-rotation if you want – the simple fact is that the earth isn't yielding the nutrition that we need anymore.
To combat this, we've voraciously consumed vitamin pills and nutritional supplements. Food industries have begun to fortify their products to make up for the general lack of nutritional value in our raw resources. Examples of this include:
Iodizing salt to avoid iodine deficiency
Adding folic acid to flour
Adding niacin to our bread
Adding vitamin D to milk, butter and margarine – even to vegetable oil!
And many, many others...
I believe that this is an effect of a “earth of bronze.”

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

Our current lack of rain is on track to be the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. More disastrous than hurricane Katrina, more costly than any earthquake, and more serious than any tornado that has ever hit our country.
Crops across the nation have failed or been drastically stunted. Farmers everywhere have thrown up their hands, having worked all year for a nonexistent return. By the middle of August, 1,700 counties across 36 states were declared federal disaster zones because of the lack of rain and failed crops.
Sadly, unless things change and the rain comes, our winter seeds for next year's crops won't even germinate.

21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.

Can you see how God pleads with us? Can you see how many chances He gives to repent and turn from sin? At what point will a nation wise up and realize that these things that are happening aren't normal or coincidence?

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number;

In other words, internal violence spreading through the nation. Animals would be robbing children, destroying property, and taking lives like never before. 

I believe this is happening more now than ever before! Two major beasts robbing our children are pedophilia and human trafficking.

Listen to these startling statistics from America's children:
1 out of every 7 sexual assault has a victim less than 6 years old
58% of violent sex offenders in prison had victims less than 12 years old
There are 400,000 registered sex offenders in the united states – and between 80-100 thousand of them are missing
The typical sex offender begins his deviant lifestyle at 15 and molests an average of 117 children – most of which never report the incident
These next two statistics are mind-boggling:
Only 10% of sex offenders receive a lifetime sentence – the average sentence for a child molester is 11 years.
Once they get out of prison, 50% of sex offenders are arrested again for similar crimes.

Pedophiles are devouring our children!

In the U.S. between 100,000 and 300,000 children are recruited for some sort of sex trafficking. The average age of entry for a prostitute is 12 years old! Besides asking what kind of person would sell a 12-year-old child for sex – we need to ask what kind of people are buying them! Why is child prostitution such a massive money maker?

We're being robbed...

But this animal behavior is also destroying the things that belong to us. Violent robberies and thefts seem to be everywhere. Just like literal animals were consuming their livestock, animalistic people are devouring what doesn't belong to them.


Violence is everywhere. There are over 10,000 murders every year. In 2012 alone there have been 11 mass shootings, with 137 victims - 43 of them fatal. People are terrified to leave their homes for fear of another mass shooting.

and your highways shall be desolate.

Did you know that 33% of major roads in America are in disrepair? Did you know that one-quarter of our 600,000 bridges need major repairs? Did you know that states across the country are turning their ashphalt roads into gravel so they can maintain them cheaper? In Michigan alone, 38 counties have replaced many of their paved roads with gravel. South Dakota is another example – having replaced over 100 miles of paved highway with gravel.
Bankrupt cities and states simply don't have the money for road repairs and maintenance.

23 ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

If America refuses to listen to these domestic issues – the next step for us is collapse. From verse 25-39, we see military overthrow, social chaos, and the complete loss of national identity. I pray that the consequences we're facing now wakes us up before that!

What's the answer? It's the same as it's always been – repentance!
Staying in Leviticus 26, let's move back to verses 3-12
“If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing;
you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;
I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.
You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;
your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”

The answer for drought isn't a cap on “greenhouse gases”
The answer for pedophilia isn't more 11-year prison sentences
The answer for our failing schools isn’t more money
The answer to our enormous tax burden isn’t a different political party
The only permanent solution for our nation's society is to turn back to the God of our fathers!

The Judgement Of America - Part 1

Leviticus 26:14-39

¹⁴But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, ¹⁵ and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant…

Doesn’t this describe America?

We haven’t obeyed Him. Our society barely observes any of God’s commandments, let alone all of them. Our culture reeks of drunkenness, pornography, perverted speech, dishonor toward parents and violence toward everyone. We’ve supported laziness and punished honest work. We’ve abandoned marriage – only insisting on it in the case of homosexuality. In its place, our young people are trying to live the married life while still outside of the covenant of marriage.

Our culture despises God’s statutes and ridicules the precious Book that contains them. Open your ears and listen to the way the Bible is being talked about in this nation. It’s the butt of every joke, the laughing stock of our “higher education”, and even the embarrassment of many churches!

That’s right, even in churches we’ve broken our covenant and haven’t performed all of God’s commands. Our preachers have used God’s love and grace to excuse perverse and immoral lifestyles. American Christians have grown shallow in their commitment and cold in their love.

This is not a good place for any nation to be!

¹⁶ I also will do this to you:

God isn’t playing games anymore. We should’ve done our research before we told Him that we didn’t want Him in our country!

What follows is more than just a prophetic message to the nation of Israel – it's a wake up call for this country. As you read this warning, notice how current it is! Christians, repent and pray for your country!

I will even appoint terror over you…

The very first part of God's judgment on a backslidden nation is fear.

And right now, it seems like fear is everywhere.
“Don’t fly in a plane because it might be blown up.”
“Don’t go see a movie because you might be shot”
“Don’t walk alone at night time.”
“Don’t walk alone during the day.”
“Don’t leave your house door unlocked – whether you’re away or at home.”

We’re facing fear like never before!
“What if a meteorite smashes into earth?”
“What if a super-volcano erupts in Yellowstone Park?”
“What if California sinks into the ocean?”
“What if tornadoes and hurricanes demolish our cities?”
“What if I lose my job tomorrow?”
“What if we lose our house this month?”
“What if the wrong person gets elected this year?”

Why are gun sales are at a record high? Why is freeze-dried food flying off the shelves? Why does our government have websites to prepare people for disasters and enemy attacks? It’s because of fear!

Fear is the first stage of punishment for a disobedient nation – and we’ve been steeped in it for a long time now. Worry and stress (really, fear in disguise) are two of the leading causes for medical conditions and mental disorders.

Luke 21:26 describes this gripping fear that strangles the disobedient: “men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming…”

…wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart.

God warns His backslidden nation of diseases being poured out if they refuse to repent.

AIDs, swine flu, bird flu, bat flu are just a few of the many disease scares we've had in this country.

Other diseases that we thought were under control, such as measles, malaria, and tuberculosis have recently been making a comeback. What's going on?

Why do kids have to immunized to twenty-one diseases before they turn six years old? Why is America spending 75 billion dollars a year to care for cancer patients? Why are flu shots being given out like candy every year?

I propose that we're seeing the beginning of what God has been warning us about all along. As Romans 1:27 says it this way, they are “receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”

I'm not saying that people catch a disease because of their sin...I'm saying that we as a nation have opened the door for disease to run wild in this nation. God is Yahweh Rapha – the LORD our Healer – so what would you expect to see in a nation that turns their back on Him?

And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Let me ask you, how much of your salary or wages are actually paid to you? Now, how much of what you worked for is being taken from you and given to others? This is the modern-day equivalent of what God is saying here. In other words, you're going to work but not see the benefit from it.

The average working American pays about 12% of their pay in income taxes. This means that for 30 work days out of every year, you're donating your paycheck to the federal government.

But the income tax isn't the only tax we pay! You also pay your property taxes, state income tax, state sales tax, social security tax and even a service tax in restaurants! This isn't including the “hidden taxes” that we pay when businesses and corporations wrap their own tax burdens in their prices.

Adding all of these taxes up, Americans will have to work an astounding 107 days to pay! If you started on January 1^st – you would have to work until April 17^th and hand over every single paycheck! (although we have it good right now – once Obamacare's taxes are enforced, that date moves back even further, to May 14^th!)

Where are all these tax dollars going?
1 – Washington. This was the only city in the country that wasn't hit by the current recession. Why? Because this is where the wealth of the nation is going! It is an incredible fact that nearly one in ten D.C. residents are lawyers (in the rest of the country it's closer to 1 out of 300)! Per capita, Washington D.C. is the wealthiest city in the United States. Do you really think that the high tax rates and wealth of Washington are coincedence?

2 – Handouts and freebies. In 2011, almost 46 million Americans received food stamps – AKA SNAP benefits. This is a staggering number – one out of five adults! Modern statistics show that between 30 and 50 million Americans are receiving welfare benefits.

Can you see this judgement in effect? You work, you spend your time and energy, but someone else is eating the benefits. This is the result of a nation that turns away from God.

¹⁷ I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies.

Thankfully, we haven't been defeated by our enemies yet...but we've lost a lot of ground! We've become the scorn and ridicule of many third-world dictators and oppressive governments. Nations that should be shaking in fear have been shaking their fists at us instead.

Terrorists are free to come and go through our borders as they please. Drug cartels have actually seized control of many towns and counties on the southern border – terrorizing US citizens on U.S. soil!

Islamic fundamentalists have been steadily progressing in influence and authority. Entire towns are subjecting their own laws to Islamic Sharia law.

I pray we wake up before the total realization of this judgement – I do not want to see this great nation defeated by its enemies. I pray that repentance and revival will sweep through this land before things get even worse!

Those who hate you shall reign over you...

In the past, we would have to go overseas to listen to leaders who hate our nation and oppose what we stand for. Today, we only have to tune into some of our Godless politicians to hear this type of rhetoric.

Here are just a few examples from the highest office in the nation – the office held by President Obama:

"Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation."

"As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam."

"The United States is still working through some of our own darker periods in our history."

"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect."

"While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms."

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

"Too often, the United States has not pursued and sustained engagement with our neighbors. We have been too easily distracted by other priorities, and have failed to see that our own progress is tied directly to progress throughout the Americas."

In the delicate language of politics, these are very strong words. We now have a man ruling over us who doesn't particularly care for us! But President Obama isn't alone!

Rev. Jeremiah Wright proclaimed from his pulpit “God d—n America!” Professor Ward Churchill proclaimed from his podium “Get the United States out of the Americas...and out of mind!” Both men could barely finish their sentences due to the overwhelming noise of standing ovations. Something has gone drastically wrong.

Our leaders, from the government to the pulpit, hate this country, and its people. We do indeed have our haters ruling over us.

 

and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

Cowardice.

Frivolous lawsuits and pushy activists have brought us to the place where we bend over backwards to avoid offending people. We're so afraid that someone will get offended by us that we opposes ourselves and restrict our own freedoms of religion and speech.

We're afraid that a prayer in a graduation will offend someone, so we cut it from the program.
We're afraid that a Christian t-shirt will upset someone, so we make kids turn them inside-out.
We're afraid that the name of Jesus will make someone uncomfortable, so we cut it out of the speech.
And we do all of this based on assumptions! We're so afraid of offending anyone, that we're fleeing when no one is chasing us!

After seeing God's first six warning, it's clear that this country has begun to see the consequences of our disobedience. From here, it only gets worse!

Christians, we need to repent of our sin and turn back to our first love! This nation will rise or fall based on the spiritual lives of believers. Many Christians claim to love this country, but they fail to realize that their half-hearted commitment to God is largely to blame for the spiritual climate throughout America. God holds us responsible for the fate of our nation – it's time to wake up!

2 Chronicles 7:14 “...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Barnyard Basics 1 - Sheep And Goats

John 10:11-16 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

We all know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We recite Psalm 23 over and over again - “the LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want...” Everyone claims that He is their Shepherd - but the Bible is very clear that not everyone is a sheep. In fact, Jesus teaches about some people who are sheep, some who are goats, some who are pigs, some who are dogs, and some who are wolves. These are five spiritual types of people - and they each have defining characteristics.

First of all, if you want to be one of His sheep, you have to line up with Leviticus 11:3. That is you have to have a split hoof and you have to chew the cud.

Remember, everything in the Old Testament is a picture of the New. And the Bible will interpret itself! So what does split hooves have to do with us? Every time the Bible talks about a person’s foot, it’s referencing their walk, their way of life and their destination. If you want to be one of Jesus’ sheep, you have to have a split hoof - that is, a separated walk. We call this salvation.

When you were saved, you were taken out of the world. Your life is now separated from this world’s system - divided, if you will. Now you have a different walk, a different way of life, and a different destination! If you were born again, congratulations! You are halfway to becoming one of Jesus’ sheep!

The other half is chewing the cud - this has to do with your diet. Every believer should have a diet of God’s Word. That is our only source of spiritual food! If you’re not feeding on God’s Word, you’re starving yourself!

You see, sheep have a very unique way of eating. I’ll spare you the details, but give you enough to illustrate the point! Sheep are constantly chewing their food. Whenever they have a moment of rest, they bring it back up to chew it over again! Disgusting? Sure! But there’s a valuable lesson here. Chewing the cud isn’t just reading God’s Word, it’s meditating on it! It’s thinking about it continually. Whenever you get a chance, your mind goes right to the Word of God! That’s what makes a person one of Jesus’ sheep!

But wait a minute! There’s another animal that Jesus talks about that has both of these characteristics! Goats have split hooves and chew the cud too! In fact, goats and sheep are nearly identical. They’re so similar to each other that casual observers often have problems sorting them out. But according to Matthew 25:31-33, you don’t want to be a goat. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.” (a place of dishonor and rejection)

What’s the difference? What separated the sheep and the goats? Using the same symbolism, we can see that the goats are believers, as well as the sheep. They both have separated lives (split hooves), they both meditate in God’s Word (chew the cud) - what makes them different? In a word - behavior.

The dividing factor in Matthew 25 is their obedience. The sheep’s love for Jesus caused them to care for each other. The goats thought they were serving Jesus, but neglected their brothers and sisters. It was all about obedience. Every believer knows that we’re commanded to love each other. Rebellion is the sole reason that the goats in this story ignored their brothers and sisters.

I believe that Jesus was referring to goats again in Matthew 7. He said in verse 21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Can you see it? These are believers that call Jesus “Lord” but don’t do what He says!

That is the defining attribute of sheep and goats. John 10:27 repeats this concept; “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” When a shepherd took his sheep out for pasture, he would walk in front of them and talk and sing. The sheep would recognize the shepherd’s voice and follow along. That is the sheep’s nature, to follow!

Goats, on the other hand, have to be driven. You won’t see a goat herder walking in front of the goats. They have to go behind and drive them. Goats are rebellious and independent. They’re often running away and getting into trouble. The nature of goats is to do their own thing! Sound like anyone you know?

A lot of people claim to be one of Jesus’ sheep, but not everyone qualifies. First of all, they must be born again - that rules out those in the world. Then they have to meditate on God’s Word - that rules out worldly Christians! Most importantly, they have to submit and follow the Good Shepherd - that rules out rebellious believers!

Thankfully, if you’re not already, you can still become one of His sheep. Just follow Him! Just stay in His Word and do what He says. Then, and only then, does this passage apply to you:

The Lord is my shepherd;
   I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
   he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
   bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk
   through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
   for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
   protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
   My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
   all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
   forever.

Psalm 23 only applies to His sheep!

I don't usually post videos, but it's a weekend and I really like this song! Besides, it carries a message of it's own!

Why Is Our Nation Suffering?

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Ultimately, political leaders and secular authorities are not responsible for the rise or fall of their nation. Our presidents and representatives don’t have the kind of power it takes to ruin and restore our country. That kind of responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of God’s people! God declared that all it would take to heal a nation is for His people to truly seek Him and turn from their wicked ways!

Is our nation being healed? Can we see the restoration of American morality and culture? If we are still in a downward spiral, doesn’t that indicate that the American church needs to do something different? If this nation rises and falls because of the spiritual health of the American believer - isn’t it about time we pay attention to what God told us to do?

If we want this nation to be healed, the first thing we’re told to do is humble ourselves. We need to come to the realization that our ways haven’t worked! Church-growth programs, seeker sensitive churches, secular lifestyles, and wishy-washy faith is not going to save this nation. Church invites aren’t going to cut it! If we want a real revival, we have to understand that our own ways of running the church, of running our families, and of running our lives haven’t worked! Are you willing to admit this?

Once we humble ourselves, the next step is to seek His face. We simply don’t do this anymore! Do you want proof? How many believers do you think spend time every day in prayer? How many believers do you think read their bible daily - let alone “study to show themselves approved”? Yet, this is the only answer for our country! Why are we so quick to blame President Obama and our congress for the state of our nation, and yet so slow to do the one thing that brings healing?

If I were you, I wouldn’t let anything stop me from seeking God! I would make it my first priority in my life! And then, whenever someone starts to complain about the way this country is heading, I would ask them if they’ve humbled themselves and are seeking God. After all, this is the only answer!

Finally (you knew this was coming!), we have to turn from our wicked ways! This is why we need to humble ourselves. If we stay in our pride, we’d be quick to say, “I’m a Christian! I don’t have any wicked ways!” But this is God speaking to His people! We need to turn from our wickedness, Christians! It’s time to clean house in our own lives, in our families, and in our churches.

It’s the wickedness of God’s people that’s hurting this nation! And it’s only the repentance of God’s people that will heal it!
We need to learn what wickedness is!

In Numbers 16:25-26, Dathan and Abiram were called wicked for conspiring against the men that God put in authority. It is wicked to rebel against the authority that God delegated to certain men. I go a little more in depth on that here.

Psalm 37:21 says that the wicked man borrows and doesn’t pay back. Did you know that it is wicked to owe money to someone and then go spend it on something else?

Psalm 52:7 says that it is wickedness to trust in your money. Whether you have a little or a lot, we are required to look to God, not our possessions, for life!

Proverbs 6:12-14 speaks of a wicked man that “sows discord among brothers.” Gossip - even when it’s true - is wickedness! Love will cover a multitude of sins!

Jesus said in Matthew 16:4 that it is a wicked thing to look for signs instead of simply believing what God has already said!

According to Matthew 18:32-33, it is wicked to harbor unforgiveness toward anyone. Jesus forgave us of more than we will ever realize! We are required to sincerely forgive our brothers and sisters!

When we do these things - humble ourselves, seek God’s face, and turn from the wickedness we’ve been doing - God’s promise is forgiveness and healing for this nation. Do you realize that millions of people in this country are counting on us to get it right?

The Whole You

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

There's more to you than meets the eye! You were made in the very image of God! Just like God is three in one (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), you are also made up of three parts. Your spirit, your soul and your body.

Your spirit is the real you. Instead of saying that you have a spirit, it would be better to say you are a spirit. When 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” - it is referring to the spirit of a believer. You see, when you were born again, your spirit was re-created. Your old, dead, sinful spirit is gone – now you have been remade!

You serve God with your spirit – Romans 1:9 “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son.” Your spirit is your connection to everything in the spiritual world. This is the part of us that connects with God in worship. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” In fact, everything in the kingdom of God – everything in our new life – must me done from the spirit.

Your body is the most obvious part of you. It is the place that your spirit lives. Although your body is part of you, it isn't the real you. The best way to say this is, you are a spirit and you live in a body. When you gave your life to Jesus, your body remained the same. Except for supernatural incidents of God's power, your body is subject to the laws of nature. One day, God will recreate your body in the same way He recreated your spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:35-45 states that this will take place at the rapture.

You use your body to connect to the physical world. You see, you feel, you taste, you hear and you touch with your body. You use your body for transportation in this world and manipulation of things in this world. When your body is governed by your new spirit, good things happen! But problems come when the third part of you takes control.

The third part of you is your soul. You are a spirit, you live in a body, and you have a soul. Your soul is made up of your reasoning, your emotions, and your desires. Any time you think something through, your using your soul. Any time you feel sad, mad or glad – that is the emotional part of your soul. When you see something you really want, or when you're facing something you really don't want to do – that's your soul too.

Before you were a believer, your soul was in charge. You were governed by you limited thinking, you were paralyzed or energized by your emotions, and you did whatever you wanted to do. Now you have a brand new spirit that wants to obey God's word. The problem is, your soul is still the same! You see, God recreated your spirit when you got saved, He's going to recreate your body at the rapture, but He's given you the responsibility of renewing your mind!

Often, when we talk about salvation, we use the wrong terms. We speak about Jesus “saving our souls.” The reality is, He saved our spirit when we got saved – but our soul was still as degenerate as ever! The salvation of our souls is a process! James 1:21 says, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” The only thing that is going to save your soul is a constant, steady diet of God's Word!

As long as your soul (your mind) is unsaved, it is God's enemy! Romans 8:7 says, “Because the carnal (degenerate, unsaved, un-renewed) mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” So how do we get our soul to do what's right? It has to be renewed by God's Word!

Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

As we continue to take in God's Word, our soul is renewed. You start to notice that it's easier to obey God. That's because, as your soul is recreated by God's Word, it begins to line up with your spirit.

Your new spirit always wants to obey God. In Matthew 26:41 Jesus said, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Your flesh will obey whatever is stronger, either your spirit or your soul.

So let your Spirit man be stronger than your soul! Don't let your emotions control you any more – instead learn how to be controlled by God's Word and God's Spirit. Don't let the natural things that you desire drive you, instead learn how to desire what you read in the Bible. Don't let you reasoning and your intellect to talk you out of obeying God.

Let God's Word have the final say in your spirit, your soul and your body!