What is God's will?

1Th 4:3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 

1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

 

1Th 4:7  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

What is the will of God? It is your sanctification, your holiness given to you by God through Jesus. It is our responsibility to live as a holy person dedicated to God. The flesh has it's will and it is usually to spend time after the lusts and desires that it seeks. I suppose the opposite of faithfulness to God is the adultery of the flesh, seeking desires fueled by lust; seeking other gods of entertainment or even the occult. Sanctification is consecration, giving oneself completely to God. It is being pure in thoughts and actions. To be sanctified is to be holy. The scriptures command that we are to be holy as God is holy. (1Peter 1:16) For God has called us to holiness and that is to be conformed to the image of Christ. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

 

Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Let your conscience be guided by the Holy Spirit, leading you into your Holy calling as a child of God. Not as a child tossed here and there by every wind of doctrine, but a child who reads God's word, who studies the word to follow the will of God. You know what is right, so let us do what is good and holy from a heart loving God and others. Walk in truth, walk in the Spirit and be holy, for this is the will of God. Jesus has changed you to be like him.

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Exhort

Tit 2:15  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Speak the truth of God, and exhort, to encourage, strengthen. To take someone aside to straighten out their thinking and to put them back in the right path. The opposite of this I suppose would be to gossip about a person, to tear them down. We are to build up the body of Christ through sound teaching and instruction, no divisions unless a person opposes the truth and causes strife. Some must be rebuked, convicted of wrongdoing with meekness and love, but also with the authority of the word of God. We are not to be ashamed of God's word, nor of our service to him. How often have we seen someone corrected and restored? This is a lovely thing, but more often we see people talked about in gossip and often they feel the shame, but it comes from the devil. The devil seeks to kill and destroy. God sent his Son to restore that which was lost. We are to be in the place of Jesus, restoring people, bringing them into godly conviction so that they can walk in the light of God.

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Regeneration

Tit 3:4  But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

It was the love of God that gave us our saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not by our efforts, but by his righteousness in our place, by the washing of regeneration...I think of a generator that produces electrical power. Regeneration is new power given by our rebirth into God's family. We are born again of His Spirit and dedicated to his service. We were bought with the price of the blood of our saviour, redeemed from the devil, bought, paid for, by the blood of the Lamb. We receive new life, behold all things become new. We are renewed, made new by the Holy Ghost. We are justified, judged by God the Father as not guilty of our sins because the blood of Christ has covered them. By believing in him we were made new by our Father in heaven. We receive grace, favor not earned, and the great treasure of being joint heirs with Jesus who is heir of all things and above all things. Shout Hallelujah!

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Be Zealous

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Many claim to be Christians, but few live a changed life. Where is the fruit of repentance?

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

The Great God is Jesus at his coming in glory. He is not only a man, but God who came in a man. He will rule with all dominion and authority; King of kings and Lord of lords.

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

He gave himself to us so that we may partake of the Holy Spirit and conform to the image of Jesus Christ. We gave him our sins to be legally removed and he made us the sons of God. His love is great for us, and our love should be returned. All in the name of Jesus. Love, truth and light to shine in a world in desperate need of a Saviour. Be charged with his presence and show the countenance of a child of God. Be zealous of good works.

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Nets

  

Luk 5:3  And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
Luk 5:4  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Luk 5:5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
Luk 5:6  And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
Luk 5:7  And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
Luk 5:8  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Luk 5:9  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
Luk 5:10  And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

 

Jesus was in the boat with Peter when he told him to throw out the net in the deep. Jesus had just finished preaching from the boat the word of God. First comes the word of God to the sent ones, then comes the harvest. Peter had toiled all night on his own, but now Jesus was with him and he was showing him where to go to get the fish. He brought in a great harvest. When Peter realized just who Jesus was, he was humbled before him, but Jesus commands that he be a fisher of men, Jesus would go with his sent ones. Preach the word, go out in the deep, into the heart of the people, in distant places. Go where I send you and you will have a harvest. Another time Jesus spoke to Peter after Jesus had risen from the grave, showing that he had power over life and death. He came to bring life.

 

Joh 21:3  Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
Joh 21:4  But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
Joh 21:5  Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
Joh 21:6  And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
Joh 21:7  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
Joh 21:8  And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
Joh 21:9  As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
Joh 21:10  Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
Joh 21:11  Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
Joh 21:12  Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

 

This time the Lord tells them to throw the net on the right side. The right side was where the saved will be, the sheep on the right, the goats on the left. Every fish was saved, and they were counted, a specific number. Jesus knows who will be his saved people, pulled out of the sea of humanity, but we do not. We fish for the lost and he knows who will be his. There is another net I want to speak of; the dragnet.

 

Mat 13:47  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Mat 13:48  Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
Mat 13:49  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
Mat 13:50  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

We are talking now of the angels casting the spiritual net, gathering the saved from the unsaved, the good from the evil ones. I also see that not every catch in our nets from preaching the word and evangelizing will be saved. We catch them, the Lord cleans them up and sorts them. The Lord knows where are his own. We do our part and he does the saving and the sorting depending upon the response of the people to his invitation. We do our part and the Lord does his part. He draws them to himself.

 

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

 

Go fishing with Jesus for lost souls.

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Jeshurun

  

Deu 33:26  There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.

 

Jeshurun = "upright one" A symbolic name for Israel describing her ideal character.

 

Upright one, should define you and I who are Christian, our ideal character. Christ is our righteousness and we should be upright, honest, loving and strong in him.

Deu 33:27  The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.
Deu 33:28  Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.
Deu 33:29  Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

 

An upright people should not fear the lies of their enemies. Walk wisely and carefully, lest your blessings turn into indulgences, and your plenty be turned into want.

 

Deu 32:15  But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Deu 32:16  They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
Deu 32:17  They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
Deu 32:18  Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

If fallen, repent and take up your cross and follow Jesus. We are to deny ourselves and seek to please the one who has redeemed us on the cross at Calvary. He is alive and we are righteous, in Him. He helps us to stand tall, for in him we overcome all obstacles.  Jesus is Lord of all. All Jeshurun should come to Jesus, the Rock of their salvation.

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Respecting the Holy.

When I was a wedding photographer I always tried to respect the customs of the church and this included the policies of the priest or pastor. A great many of these had grown to dislike the photographer because some were disrupting the ceremony crawling around the bride and groom and heaven forbid if a flash was used! The Catholics were also particularly watchful for any activity upon the altar, for they considered this a sacred place. Usually pictures could be made, with flash at the altar after the wedding.  I remember one wedding when the priest spoke from 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. It was beautiful and eloquent.

 

American Standard Bible

 

1Co 13:1  If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
1Co 13:2  And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3  And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
1Co 13:4  Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5  doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
1Co 13:6  rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;
1Co 13:7  beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1Co 13:8  Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.
1Co 13:9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
1Co 13:10  but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.
1Co 13:12  For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.
1Co 13:13  But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

 

A most eloquent presentation about love. After the wedding I was trying to organize the wedding party and the groomsmen were clowning around...on the altar! Like lightning from above the priest attacked me with much scorn. You have desecrated the altar! I was trying to make the required formal wedding portraits, now I am accused of being a son of perdition. I humbly said, I will try to get them to be respectful, as I do respect the altar. (In truth a believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit, so to attack a believer, you are attacking the temple of God.)  Later on at the reception, the priest came to me and apologized to me. I received the apology with all humility. This illustrates that even right after we read a scripture, that we can behave quite unruly; we will be tested. We must walk the talk, for without love as our motivation we as an unpleasant noise.

 

1Co 13:1  If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
1Co 13:2  And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

We know to do right, but we often fail.

 

Rom 14:4  Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? to his own lord he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him stand.

 

Stand in faith , truth and much love. Treat others with all respect.

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