Original Post from 01-08-06
The Good Lord Says "Ask And Ye Shall Receive"...
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- Lesson Four: Temperance -
Lord we give praise worship glory and honor. We lift up your Holy and matchless name, the name that is above all names, the name at which every man and woman shall one day bow. Father that you would lift us from our dead works and fills us to over flowing with your Spirit, giving us the ability to stand boldly in the very face of the world to proclaim that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD AND THAT HE IS RISEN.
AMEN!!!
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Well, I really think that today's lesson is a very
pivotal point in persons walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The reason that I say that is because there comes a day of reckoning when we
need to decide if we are just going to be saved by grace or if people will be
able to know that we are a real Christian by what they see happening in our
lives. Are you one of those
Sunday Morning Christians
or maybe if you are really feeling Spiritual, maybe even a
Sunday
morning and evening , and then one of those radicals that even
makes it to Wednesday night Bible study. Well, my friend that would be what it
takes to get you thru the week.
BUT , today I
challenge you, what do you do with that scripture that says, as much as you have
done it to one of these, you have done it to me.
MATTHEW 25:31-46
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¶ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, Mt. 16.27 then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: Mt. 19.28 |
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and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: |
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and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. |
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Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: |
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for I was ahungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: |
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naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. |
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Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? |
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When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? |
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Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? |
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And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. |
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Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: |
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for I was ahungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: |
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I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. |
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Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? |
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Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. |
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And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Dan. 12.2 |
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Well, let us get on with the lesson as
we learn what God means of the word
TEMPERANCE
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Temperance - Moderation; particularly, habitual moderation in regard to the
indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate
indulgence. Self-control from worldly lust, from the things in life that do not
promote Godly growth and, or living.
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In other words who is willing to
forget, give up, put aside, the things that we always think are important in
this world and look to the Lord and say, "Jesus
I surrender my life, my home,
my family, my job, and
all the things that I have wanted to see, say,
and do. Jesus,
I lay all these things at your feet,
I trust you Lord Jesus to give me the ability to have a
Godly perspective of the order of importance of all these things in respect to
my life in you."
You see we need not only to have moderation and
correction in the outwardly sinful things like we attribute to bad people. But
what about the first commandment.
Thou shall have no other Gods
before me . That could be the god of sex, drunkenness, murder, or
robbing money at gun point.
Now lets look a little deeper.
Lets say that a church going man has a business and in that he charges a little more than he should to people just because he knows they don't know any better. Maybe a couple know of a real need by some people in their church, who because of life's hard blows is in need of money to pay rent and utilities for a month, now the couple finds this out the same day they are supposed to put down a 2000 dollar deposit on their dream vacation and they say well I guess God will make the way for those poor people somehow, but we can't put off this deposit or we will lose our good deal on this vacation of a life time.
WHO IS YOUR GOD IN THIS
INSTANCE?!
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James |
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2 |
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¶ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? |
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If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, |
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and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? |
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Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. |
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¶ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. |
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Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. |
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But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? |
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I know that perhaps I am sounding a little radical today and I don't know how you think, but I want more of Jesus in my life.
How about you, what say you this day oh man and woman of God.
How do you walk this day before the eyes of the all seeing and knowing God of heaven?
Many times I believe that we don't go far enough with walking the walk that God wants us to walk.
How do I come to this conclusion you ask?
Well, look around you, It has become politically incorrect to say Merry Christmas because people get offended by the meaning of Christmas being the celebration of Christ's birth. I can be arrested for a hate crime if I openly preach that homosexuality is a sin, because we have neglected to have TEMPERANCE toward bad preaching.
We have indulged the natural habits of man instead of preaching the real Word Of God and called sin, sin.
We need to have a true temperance of a
Godly life in order to bring others into the family
of God by them seeing how you and I live. If your
life doesn't demonstrate a chased life before Christ,
then what is there that would make you any different then the other worldly
people?
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Father,
I ask that you give all of us in the USA the ability to,
with a real and honest heart, take a look at how we
walk before you. And we
also ask with a humble heart,
that you would change us according to your will,
into what you would have us to be for you besides being your saved
children. Lord cause us to
repent of dead works, of wrong ideas of how we
should be living as your children.
Now Lord, we bless your Holy
and Wonderful name.
AMEN!!!
Until Next Time,
Love And God Bless You All! --- Willy
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as he has down with mine this Christmas Season! - (G. Kersey - Webmaster)
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