Impediments Do Not Stop the People of God: A look at Moses, Paul, & Each of Us

Impediments Do Not Stop the People of God: A look at Moses, Paul, & Each of Us.                                                              By Kelly Durant

Exodus 4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

2. Some people think they are perfect, they are not! Our tendency as fallen creatures is to want to trick ourselves into thinking we can make our world appear perfect and then with pride, be better than others. In one of the books of C.S. Lewis (I recommend you read his books) who was a converted atheist, he mentions a lady which brings out a good point about so called perfect people.

This woman was wealthy, and her clothes were always perfect, her hair as fancy, and she even had a poodle that was groomed to appear as perfect as she was. She was known in the high circles, and she would always take her poodle with her. She always thought she was better than everyone because she had accomplished so much more than others. She was high society; you know them!

But there was a defect! Not noticed by her was the fact that few people wanted to be near her because her poodle would fart often. So, the people, not knowing it was the poodle would have an unpleasant experience while in her company. This proves the point that nothing is ever as we think it is and something unpleasant exists with everyone! What do others see as unpleasant about you?

3. Why do I bring this up? Because all of us, being creatures with pride, want to believe we are better than others. We want to think God favors us more, that we are more blessed, and we tend to want to show it off. We being God’s children must be better than those other sinners on the other side of town, right?   

When it comes to pride, God has his ways of bringing people down to size. For example, Paul, who was a man who in the two most important circles in his day, was the cream of the crop. He was a Roman, and this gave him power as the police have today, and he was a Jew, which gave him spiritual authority over those in the land of Israel in his day.

Not only did he have power, but he also prided in the fact that he was perfect in all regards concerning the law. He spoke Greek, apart from Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic, and he probably was well built and strong, and for sure he had more money and privilege…so much more than the commoners. He was so perfect he decided that he needed to rid the empire of imperfection, so he targeted the Christians, who neither worshipped as a Roman or a Jew, but rather they worshipped a simple crucified carpenter that they claimed was the Son of God because He had resurrected unto glory. He reasoned that these stupid ones needed to die being disloyal and blasphemous (in his prideful thoughts)!

4. How did his plans go? Always remember, there are your plans, and then there is God’s plans! He was blinded on his way to persecute the Christians and later we discover that ever since then he had a defect in his body that he asked God to heal three times and God did not heal it, so he just had to live with it. Most people suspect it was poor eyesight, as after all scales fell off his eyes after seeing the brightness of Jesus.

So, after Paul saw Jesus, after he had his Road-to-Damascus experience and took a radical change of heart towards God and his people, notice how he got healed after being blind from that light. Acts 9:18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. 

2 Cor. 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

5. Here is the problem, Christians often think that the people of the world are more prosperous, more happy, and have to live with fewer defects than what one does, so why be a Christian? In the hoods of big cities, the perception is everyone around me are poor even when going to church, but the bad guy who sells drugs, or pimps his girls always has big money and lives the life, so why should I be good if I’ll never get rich and have the good life? Here is a Psalm to answer that.

Psalm 37 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land,  and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

We must recall that prosperity for those who practice evil is short lived and soon they end up shamed, in jail, diseased, or dead! And then they pay in hell! It is better to be humble(ed) like Paul. Be thankful for your weaknesses! 

6. One more thing about the rich and famous, and perfect (never is really) in our era of information we are aware of all of what evil goes on inside of these families. When I was young the Kennedys were idolized, everyone wanted to be perfect and rich like them, but look at their fruits, many of them died young, on drugs consumed by their lavish extravagant lifestyle.  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

So, you and I may conclude, I get it now, certain evils and punishments befall certain families due to their own sins. They reap what they have sewn. And consider, as in the case of Paul, God intervened and slowed him down for His purposes because he was on the road to do evil. God allows accidents, falls, and humiliations. But what about people who are born with problems? 

What about people that have defects that God seemed to have allowed even though they are chosen by Him for a mission? Does this seem unfair? Our verse of today, Ex 4:10, exposes that Moses was slow of speech, and some interpretations imply he stuttered, and could not speak well. There are several lessons here.

7. For one, God allows many things in our lives because it causes us to depend on Him. In the case of Moses, he had been a spoiled prince, and he had anger issues, so if he was perfect, he probably would not have sought for God’s guidance near as much. He argued with God about it and let’s read on for the answer.   

Exo 4:11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” 13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.

So despite his impediment, God made a way for him to continue his mission! I have known many people who when they have a problem they just give up. But with God that is not an option! I have known people in wheelchairs that have passed out gospel tracts, and even my own son that is deaf communicates the gospel of Jesus to others through messages on media outlets. 

8. So when you are God’s child, you will have problems of some kind, and problems in the family (Have you studied about Joseph and what his brothers did to him one day?), and you may even have a physical impediment, or something that seems quite unfair that you have since you are doing God’s good work. But in the end God knows what He is doing in your life! 

Here is the challenge, you and I must spend time on our knees to get over it! Sometimes we can obsess about our own selves, over our own comfort, and we forget the bigger picture of God’s work and what He is doing. We need to remember that apart from the challenges God allows in our lives, Satan as well will always be behind us, harassing us, trying to get us to fall and curse God. 

Again, for example Paul, who after 3 prayers did not get healing, experienced these traumatizing experiences three times but he did not quit nor even think of giving up in His service for God! 2 Cor. 11: 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

9. So how is it going to be with you? Forget having the idea of trying to live in a perfect world, that will only happen in heaven! God’s word makes it clear there are no excuses for not remaining faithful to Him and serving him, no excuses because you are poor, no excuses because you are high class, (as Paul and Moses were), and no excuses even if you have a physical impendent.

I know some people have even questioned our lives. How is it you were serving God and God allowed you to have a deaf son? God showed me in prayer that I had the capacity to learn his language so I could teach Him and he could lead other deaf people to Jesus, and Paul has done that many times over! And I lost count how many times people shared this verse with me, John 9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I got chosen by God maybe because God knew my wife and I were strong enough to manage it. Most families with kids with some problem divorce and then the child suffers greatly! That kind of suffering provoked on an innocent one is a heavy sin, and it is man provoked, not God allowed, and I always am upset at irresponsible, unloving, and worthless parents.

10. In conclusion, the people of God have always had to endure big challenges! But notice that the people of the world suffer worse without any consolation from God or Christian friends as they take drugs and live lavishly in order to cope with their fear over a loss of fortune or fame. I would rather suffer having God close, than to keep God at a distance as they do thinking that if they do He will leave them in peace! It does not work like that! There is no peace for the wicked! But Jesus said that He leaves us peace! I have tried it and it is real!

Our calling is to endure trials and come out glorious even within the broken circumstances that God allows in our lives! And when it comes to problems regarding Satan’s persecutions, you and I just put on the armor of God and fight back, knowing that he is a loser and destroyer! We may get shaken, but we come out victorious against him! John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

You and I do not choose our problems, nor do we choose our parents, our race, or our body which usually has some defective problem (most everyone’s!), but you and I can choose whether we will allow God to help us to overcome our weaknesses or not. Jesus lives in heaven where there is perfection, holiness, and pure love, and He has promised us a home there too for our faithfulness, but in the meantime keep on enduring in the fight against all of these physical and spiritual battles. Earth is a school and is not our home, the Kingdom of God will be our eternal home, thank God and Jesus for that! There we will be perfect, with God’s redemption! Amen!

We Are Family! And we are under attack!

We Are Family! And we are under attack!           Kelly Durant   1-16-17 Re 4-16-23

 

Ps 68:4-6

4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.

5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land

 

   2. Back in the 70s there was a picture of a young child carrying another child on his back. It looked like the one carrying the child was having a hard time since the other one was so big. Someone asked, “Isn’t he too heavy for you to carry?” And the child responded, “He aint heavy, he is my brother.”

 

   Those that are family are never a burden, we do not get rid of them, they eat with us, they laugh with us, they share the deepest things of their heart with us, and they are in a special class that others do not have. We are a part of the family of God and His name is above all family names and we must live with the utmost respect, nobility, and honor.

 

  All true Christians and those who know God promote families and the protection of women and children, today we will reflect on this. Part of the reason for my choice of this subject is because the Salvations Army supports anti-trafficking, which is a major assault on families. As much as we can we try to keep families together. We are against domestic violence, and abuse of any kind, and families need us all to support them!

 

   3. It was recognized in the past decades that Latinos and many immigrants had strong family ties and values.  I recall in the past people would comment that the Latino immigrants always brought with them a strong family values and this was good for the country. Today however, the disease of sin, the filth from Hollywood & governmental values, has divided many families and Latinos have almost the same statistics as everyone else in the area of divorce, single motherhood, and criminality, when compared to the rest of the population. All families are suffering right now!

 

  Notice in the Psalm verses of today, that as always, we are prompted to praise God, and to be happy in his presence. And why is that? Because He is… A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, God in his holy habitation cares and is aware of all situations. This means that God is there for you and I who do not have a family nearby! God is especially near to those with circumstances that make it hard for them to survive. My emotions went ecstatic when I read this verse for the first time, and I suddenly felt and knew that God had replaced my earthly father in a way far beyond my expectations! The Word of my Father God, the wisdom, the comfort, the salvation, has impacted me beyond what any human can offer. God, Jesus, and His Spirit are what we need because the relationship is real, like the love of a family!

 

 And one of my favorite verses is this: “God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land”.  Lets’ examine how God does this. This is another verse I absolutely love!

 

   4. Throughout the world, in almost all churches, if you are a brother in Christ, then there is the idea that you have received a new spirit, and new way of life. Therefore, you become a person of trust, and brothers in the faith open their doors to you and you can stay with them as if they were family. If you are a lonely person and solitary, then you could be close to a larger family, and this is how we all become one big family in God!

 

  Throughout the years Regina and I have stayed in the homes of dozens and dozens of Christians while traveling, or arriving in a new country or city, and most all of them treated us as family, some even lent us their own bed to sleep in! What a great thing to have the same Father God and Jesus Christ, to have a unity of purpose and faith. We too have had dozens upon dozens of people stay in our homes over the years too because this is just how Christian families work. God intended for his created humanity to live in love and harmony, that we would be One under His awesome presence. 

 

Matt 10:11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

Matt 19:29

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 

With this verse you and I are impressed that the followers of Jesus had to give up their families in the flesh to do a greater work for God traveling and evangelizing, but by doing so they gained a hundred more families as friends in the process!

 

 5. Do you as a Christian right now have a half dozen friends that will take you into their home if you need it? Will you take into your home brothers of the faith? Families are not produced by indifference towards others; they are established by love, patience, and a good heart keeping them together! This is freedom, freedom from the chains of the materialistic world that puts money above relationships and compassion. 

 

Let’s look at the second half of verse 6 in the verses of today in Psalm 68:6 

“but the rebellious dwell in a dry land”. Some people do not have anywhere to stay because of their rebellion against God! No one wants complicated sinful people nearby!

 

What does this imply? Let’s look at family situations. What happens when sin gets in the middle of the fellowship, when one of the brothers or sisters starts living unholy, or speaking ugly things, or hurts another? When one is rebellious, lying, defrauding, or with addictions, and does not support the home, what happens? Conflicts, fights, anger, bitterness, and worse things happen right? Even violence!

 

  Someone usually leaves because they do not wish to tolerate all the problems and abuse. And what happens in the end to those that are rebellious, who do wrong against God and their own kind? They suffer the judgments of God and end up alone and are cursed to live a life as one who lives lost in the desert with no friendship, joy, or happiness. I know many people that no one wants to talk to because they have an angry ungodly character. You have ones like that in your own families, right? 

 

   6. I have seen people leave families and even the church family due to the abuses they have suffered, because of the sins of another which hurt them. This is sad. Look up Prov 18:19 ‘A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle’.  But like it or not Jesus commands us to forgive all! But not everyone knows how to ask God to help them get through what they consider offensive.

 

  Not just in our church family, but I am sure in your flesh family you have seen abuses and divisions, excommunications, and even divorces. Sin is rebelliousness and it has its effects, it destroys family households and Christian fellowships!

 

  In today’s world we see the disintegration of families so severe that only one in three people actually live in a family in the U.S.. Jesus and His love and forgiveness are the only answer to restore and heal and put people back together! But then also Jesus warned, those of our own house might be our enemies just because we love Jesus! Matt 10:36.37 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 

 

  7. Today Satan is at war against families! Satan wants to destroy people cursing them to live in a dry desert land spiritually which is a hell, and then when they die the hell continues in the solitude and despair! Notice how Satan has unprecedentedly destroyed families in the past millennia? We notice how wars between nations and tribes provokes death and dozens of millions are forced to move and immigrate due to the harsh conditions of suffering. Divisions, in-fighting, and hate separates us on massive scales. Now people are promoting the fake & false, false medicine, false crypto money, false narrative news, and false sexuality. 

 

   And what about those that would have experienced the joys of having a family had it not been for abortion? What about those who would have fallen in love and made a family had it not been for someone convincing them that they were not cool and that to be accepted by the Hollywood crowd that they needed to have a relationship that goes against nature? Feminism and many other recent movements exist for the sole purpose of contaminating others with bitterness and hate so that people learn to reject the natural love of God and separate themselves from those that would normally love and support them. Political correctness, perverse sex, wokeness is all self-sabotaging!

 

   And now, what about families that were united and happy until politics obsessed the minds of a few to the point they preferred to part ways with their brothers and sisters? Satan’s pride and bitterness is alive today through politics and religion and very few want to just ‘let things go’ when they have a different idea or a misinformed view of other people and events. I am tired of the demonization of others with fake news, no one is perfect except Jesus, and only God will judge guilty souls. But you and I should refuse to take part in throwing more gasoline on the fire. Even Paul rebuked others for identifying with men, not men who were political leaders, but spiritual leaders.  1 Corinthians 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

 

  8. The message of Jesus, and of this church is…we are family! The message of Jesus to all who receive Him is…I am family with you and I lay down my life for you! Despite our sins, despite the sins of others, God’s word promises us that we can still have a spiritual family, even if your own reject you!   John 1:11

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

So, if you have kin who love to fight, divide, attack, and impose what they believe on you and others, just let them be. The rebellious live in a dry land and you should not follow them out to their dry places of misery! We are heaven bound!

 

  You as a Christian have the job to forgive, heal and restore all who you can into God’s family! But not all will! A horse can be brought to the water but that does not mean he will drink! And it’s so strange when you think about how we as Christians can be close to those who are very different from ourselves in race and customs, and it is all because we have the same faith in Jesus. What more does the word say about families? How should you behave?  1 Tim 5:8

8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 

 

Keeping a family alive requires maintaining support, love, and care. In families there exists a required sense of responsibility, but if we are unfaithful to others in our own family of the faith, how can God bless us? 

 

  9. In heaven we will all be one big happy family, and there… there will no longer be any more economic, race, and sin issues! No more need to be reminded to respect those different from us more than what we currently do. We will be dancing in the streets as one big family! Let’s live now on earth full of love for all as it is in heaven!

 

Do feel like you are in dry land spiritually? Do you know someone who is in a dry land in your family or church? Maybe it is because you have not opened the door of your heart and home to make them feel at home! But if you have and they have not wanted it, you did your part. Just pray for them, that’s what we do! Just live holy, loving, inclusive, and heavenly minded!

 

God never blesses selfishness; no one can expect others to take them in as family if they are not willing to take in others themselves! To make families and to be a church which is one family, we must seek to love with God’s love and receive all! Pray to have a spirit of family today! The family of God is our real family, amen? 

Easter: The Uncomfortable Reality!

Easter: The Uncomfortable Reality!      Kelly Durant    3-27-16 Re: 4-9-23

Mark 16: 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

2. How many of you have ever seen the movie “Risen”? I thought it was extremely well portrayed with much detail as it was in Jesus day. It was about the story of the resurrection from the point of view of a Roman Soldier that was sent to investigate what happened at the tomb. Try to rent it or see it, it is well worth it! 

My favorite part was when the Roman Soldier found the ropes that sealed the rock frayed from being burst open. This Roman knew what a cut rope would look like, but ropes burst apart? I am sure many people in Jerusalem experienced revelations that caused them to believe in the resurrection as in the story of this soldier! 

The truth is, in the world, very few will respect or follow a leader once they are dead, especially if they were an oppressor, liar, or a con. However, Jesus teachings still rules over thousands of millions even today because He was love and truth! When an evil person dies, as in the case of King Herod, the whole town celebrated! When Jesus died, many mourned but few, we observe by scripture, really expected Him to rise up out of the tomb. The first Easter, His resurrection, transformed humanity into a celebrated victory over death! But the first Easter did not exactly start out as a celebrated moment though.

3. Let’s go more into depth of the verses today. It says in Mark, “He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen”. I don’t know how you feel after getting rebuked for doing something wrong, but personally I feel embarrassed and humiliated! I would not feel too festive and happy. We celebrate Jesus resurrection today but the first encounter with Him made everyone feel afraid and ashamed of their selves.

Imagine witnessing a person die in such a horrific manner as Jesus did, and fearing the Sanhedrin might come to kill you now, but then you see the crucified Son of Man walking around with holes in their hands and feet, I think it would make any one of us so scared we would faint. It is like when you see a ghost, you feel mortified because you know it is a creature with supernatural power. Jesus showing himself to be supernaturally alive contradicted what is understood concerning reality, logic, and the physically possible!

So to prove it is Himself, Jesus appears out of nowhere to sit down at the table with them to talk. In another instance, He also ate fish with them on the beach. He took time with them but despite being undeniably in this world, they doubted in the beginning. Jesus does not like to see people afraid and doubtful and many times he repeated to all who saw Him the word, ‘peace’! For the doubters and unrepentant Jesus’ presence brings fear, but for those who love Him His presence brings peace! John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. 

4. To illustrate it was not such a celebrative moment at first, recall that the disciples when they first saw Jesus they were full of fear. Jesus had told them all several times that He would be killed and then come back, but it almost seems as if none of them really believed Him. Mark 8:31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again”.

Imagine seeing all the miracles the disciples had seen and then still not believing that He had resurrected! Remember these are dedicated followers that had given up everything to follow Jesus, they had no hopes to go back to their old life, and they saw dozens and dozens of miracles and yet they still doubted?!

It just goes to show how we cannot depend on all those who say they have experienced Jesus power to remain totally faithful and doubtless through every moment of their lives. Even the most dedicated have their weak moments but the comfort is that Jesus will still love you and receive you even though He may have to rebuke you and correct your lack of faith.

5. So take it to heart, if Jesus rebuked the disciples who were in it all the way until their own martyrdom, how much more you and I should expect to get rebuked by Jesus for our lack of faith, unbelief, and obedience! John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

Our world today is the same as it was in Jesus’ time, there is a vast majority that will not even believe though there is proof that one was raised from the dead. And then there is also a large group that will not believe because they have not personally seen it. Both are hopeless doubters choosing death over life because they love darkness rather than light.

So what are we left to work with? Christians or believers that believe… but have doubts! But the hope is they will come around to have real faith and trust and obedience to what Jesus taught because the Holy Spirit will convict them.

6.  Easter then, in many ways, is an uncomfortable rebuke to the world! It is a mortal blow to Satan and his followers who can no longer reap dead men’s souls when the souls have been cleansed in the redeeming blood of Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection stripped away Satan’s power of maintaining a death over humans; that is if the human is repentant, believes, and obeys. 

Easter, being a supernatural event, puts to the test every human mind and heart. A test usually provokes fear but after passing it, relief and peace come. It is amazing to me how many people in this life chose foolishly what they will believe in, thinking they will never answer for their actions. Read the Proverbs, they teach much about fools who refuse to fear and honor God, and their own destruction comes by their own choices. 

Easter is a reminder that Jesus rebuked the doubting followers! Year after year during these special moments of celebration we must face the fact that some of our Christian brothers are not living pure repented lives displaying that they truly fear God, believe His word, and obey. Once you realize Jesus is alive and present in the here and now through the Holy Spirit speaking in your mind, it will make you be afraid as the 11 disciples at first were!

7. The most foolish thing one can do in life is to doubt something that gives you a win win situation such as is the case in believing in the resurrection of Jesus. If you and I simply accept and believe then we can be sure that we are saved by faith: saved meaning saved from the judgement for the wrongs we have done and also saved from a second death (spiritual one) and be resurrected. Romans 10: 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

What have you got to lose by proclaiming Jesus as risen except losing a dozen worthless prideful friends who are materialistic atheistic self-lovers? Start talking about Jesus to everyone you know for a week and see how many still keep you as a friend! They will be a good friend indeed if they are brave enough to allow your light of Jesus to shine in their darkened heart. I lost a few dozen so called friends at age 21 when I got on fire for God, yet I have gained thousands of trustworthy loving Christian friends in dozens of cities in return! You here are my friends that I never would have met if I had not taken the path of proclaiming Jesus risen!

The resurrection is real as 2 billion Christians proclaim today! However, if one were to entertain an idea that it was not real we would be as Paul states in I Cor 15: 16 “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” But I KNOW we will not be disappointed!

8. You and I have full trust that these ancient records in the Bible are truth and come from God’s anointed; that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and all the 11, plus the hundreds of other men and women, had a supernatural experience witnessing Jesus’ presence in His resurrected body. This is an experience you and I have not personally had but choosing to believe their story will unexplainably fill your spirit full of hope, peace, and a sense of eternity. When you believe, you inherently know it is truth and you will even die for it!

I also trust the testimonies of the millions of Christians that have lived before me sincerely having convictions of the truth of Jesus resurrection. If His resurrection was not something real, then what miserable lives Christians have lived being martyred and humiliated by most every evil government that has ever existed!

Here is a personal belief, I think that people who ask God if Jesus is really who He says He is or not, that God reveals His truth to them. Jesus in a dream revealed to me I had a mission to stop being who I was and to go into the world and save souls. And I obeyed the call! I have been reading testimonies from Christian news sources that many Muslims are getting revelations that Jesus is the Son of God. 

9. Now back to our verses of today. Did you catch how Jesus rebuked the 11 for not believing (Mark 16:14) “those who had seen Him after He had risen”. Who is He referring to? That was Mary(s)! Jesus showed his resurrected body first to her. What does that mean? It means He trusted her to be the witness to all the others and it seems they thought that she was just a woman being emotional and delusional.  

So Mary was in essence being praised while they were being rebuked. The pride of man is an evil thing. Then the next uncomfortable part is vs 15. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. This verse, in my opinion, has been one of the least obeyed verses in the Bible. Very few Christians, dedicate their lives to travel in all the world just to preach Jesus. Thank God every first disciple obeyed! Soon afterwards every believer obeyed and went out preaching Jesus after gaining power from the Holy Ghost as we read in Acts 1. 

So doubting resurrection and not recognizing the first Easter as a reality will get you a rebuke from Jesus! Not listening to those who make you uncomfortable with the good news will get you a rebuke from Jesus. But being spiritually uncomfortable is the way God gets you and me to move out into action! 

10. And the final inconvenient uncomfortable reality is vs16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” How clear is that? If you believe that Jesus lives, you will live as well! If not you will be condemned to let nature’s death take its course; it’s as simple as that. 

And the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a must! John states in Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Do you feel uncomfortable? Let Jesus peace in!

The fire is what purifies our hearts and minds of all sin. It brings on the full repentance bringing us into holiness, obedience, and most importantly, living our lives motivated by God’s love! The Salvation Army’s mission statement makes it clear; we are “motivated by the love of God!” 

Today, if believing that Jesus is as alive as He was over 2,000 years ago has not penetrated your doubtful heart, come and pray to accept Him in your heart and then Romans 10:9-10 will be a reality for you. You will be saved and resurrected when He returns. John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Pray!

 

   

   

Palm Sunday: Get Excited and Praise Jesus!

Get Excited and Praise Jesus!                                     Kelly Durant  3-25-18  (4-1-12)

Luke 19 ³⁵And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. ³⁶And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. ³⁷And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; ³⁸Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. ³⁹And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. ⁴⁰And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

2. Have you ever noticed how popular “America’s Got Talent” is? The reality is God made you and me with an insatiable appetite to be entertained and to want to cheer someone on! People love saying, “Wow, did you see that?” We all like to get “oo-ed and awe-ed”! Or people in the sports arena, they love to be able to yell and cheer on the winner! Goooooooal! It is our human nature to want to get excited over the amazing skills of others! Or those that overcame a hardship or disability.

Today is Palm Sunday and Jesus just got on a colt and he is riding down from the Mount of Olives into the city. And what is happening? The people are recognizing the honor due Jesus. They are taking off their coats and laying them down in honor of Him! And they are yelling and praising Him! He is the star turning heads!

What really got people questioning things was what people were yelling, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest”. That was what the angels praised when Jesus was born! Remember that? It’s as if people had gone crazy shouting for Jesus! Jesus even said the rocks would scream if the people were quieted!

3. Let’s think about this for a minute. Do you think the people of the city had ever done this to honor a Roman Patriarch coming into the city? Or to honor one of the High Priests or Pharisees with their usual sour and condescending attitude! I doubt it! This was a first time event! Something like this had never happened before! It was honor of the first degree! And whom were the people honoring? Who were they shouting, “Hosanna in the highest!” to?

A humble looking man sitting on a colt! People were excited saying, “Wow, that is Jesus the King!” Jesus was not in a polished chariot, not on a large white horse, not surrounded by the usual pomp and procession of the wealthy. I think some people must have been very confused!  What’s all the loud noise about, all the praising and cheering? So much yelling for a man on a little donkey!?  What is up with that?!

4. But Jesus at that moment, passing by all those people, was with His face shining the bright light of God’s glory! I bet it was like a mass hysteria, like Holy Spirit goose bumps, or God-bumps, as they are called. Are you familiar with God-bumps? 

It is when something strange or unexplainable happens and you know God is close by! Maybe like when you were delayed out the door by some wrong number leaving work and it turns out that the car in front of you crashes and you realize you would have been in that car had it not been for the 30 second delay of the phone call?! God-bumps you get when you perceive a divine presence is near! Something supernatural is happening! Those in Jerusalem felt God-bumps on that day! It was scary but felt good! No one can deny the presence of God!

Can you imagine Jesus smiling and waving at the crowd and at the same time, as if by some mysterious, mystical power, all people just wanted to praise the Lord out loud when they saw Him! Have you ever been around a few thousand people yelling at the same time? It was a shocking sight and sound, it’s impacting, and it was eye-opening! And all of these thousands of people of Jerusalem were praising God! It was as the noise of an entire stadium cheering Jesus on! And Jesus’ presence today can still make us be awestruck! 

5. What a strange feeling and occurrence! Imagine, all the townspeople lined up to see this one man parade (well, he did have the disciples behind Him)!  The people imagined they were going to see some super type of man, but no one is very handsome on a short humble ugly donkey, yet a supernatural divine charisma did not leave them disappointed! When they looked at Him and they suddenly felt overwhelmed with these powerful emotions that made them feel like jumping up and down and praising God!

Have you ever felt overcome with good emotions? Try to recall, maybe like the time you first prayed to accept Jesus in your life. Or maybe the first time you felt the Holy Spirit touched you in some way. Or recall that feeling of an unexplained divine presence that protected you from death, all of these feelings that make you want to just praise God for his goodness! This was what people the people were intensely feeling. It was unexplainable! It is supernatural! It was like a force overtook them and they just wanted to shout and praise!

If you want to experience Jesus glory, you must praise Him, not just on a Palm Sunday, but every day! Praise Jesus and see what happens! Praising Him connects you to His Spirit!

6. For you to feel just a little bit of what all the people of Jerusalem felt, you are going to have to do what the disciples did and that is praise and bless Jesus as king, wish his peace on others and give the glory to God for Him!

Praising Jesus is a must for everything living and even non-living, like the stones! If we do not praise, as Jesus said, the stones will even cry out! And who did not praise on that Palm day? The self-righteous, self-satisfied, dead-spiritually, controlling, demonic Pharisees! They were not praising Him but rebuking Him and were considered by Jesus, according to this context, to be more dead and harder than the stones!  Consider these verses on praising God which is synonymous to praising Jesus as Jesus says, “I am my Father are One”,  

Psalm 118:26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. (A prophetic passage of Jesus entering into Jerusalem)

Psalm 69:34

Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein.

Psalm 22:23

Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. (We are the seed of Israel by adoption and by the acceptance of Jesus)

Psalm 109:30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.  (This applies to all multitudes, the ones in Jerusalem and in every gathering)

Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Amen, give thanks to Him always!)

How many times have you been sick, or not had the rent money, or felt like dying due to some big problem and you praised God all day and God solved the problem? I can tell you at least a few dozen times in my life I praised God on the 1^st day of the month with no rent money and he supplied by a miracle! A stranger that showed up! There is power in praise! Praise Him always through the good and bad.

7. The benefits of praising Jesus are the following (repeat):

You practice humility as you exalt Jesus

You forget about your worries and troubles   

You get clean & ecstatic inside attracting God’s Holy Spirit   

You experience the glory of God, similar to what it is like in heaven   

You get engulfed in the love & unity of those praising around you

You cause your body to heal of illness by releasing good chemicals 

    

Los beneficios de alabar a Jesús son los siguientes: 

-Practicas la humildad mientras que exaltas a Jesús

-Se olvida de sus preocupaciones y problemas 

-Se siente limpio &  extático por dentro atrayendo el Espíritu Santo de Dios

-Se experimenta la gloria de Dios, similar a lo que están en el cielo 

-Se olvida de si envuelto el amor & la unidad de los que están alabando a tu alrededor 

-Se induce a su cuerpo a curarse de las enfermedades por sustancias o químicas buenas

 

8. What about those who do not praise Jesus:

-They disrespect the pull of the Holy Spirit, which is unforgivable blasphemy

-They become like the Pharisees, dry, angry, and murderous

-They become self-focused, obsessed with material, or earthly things

-Their spirit becomes arrogant and God and everyone becomes their enemy

-They become depressed and their body becomes sick

 

 ¿Qué pasa con aquellos que no alaban a Jesús: 

-Ellos le faltan el respeto al Espíritu Santo, lo cual es blasfemia imperdonable

-Ellos se vuelvan como los fariseos, secos, enojados y sanguinario 

-Ellos se vuelvan ego-céntrico, obsesionados con lo material, o las cosas terrenales 

-Su espíritu se vuelve arrogante y Dios y todo el mundo les tienen por su enemigo 

-Ellos se vuelvan  depresivos, y su cuerpo se vuelve enfermizo

 

9. So let’s praise Jesus more, amen? Only he is worthy to be praised, right? Only He can do the miracles and heal and provide! Only He gave his life as a sacrifice to ransom the souls of all people in the entire world. Only He can make us feel love and the glorious power of God in heaven!  If we don’t praise Him the rocks and all of the creation of nature will praise Him! His creation cannot deny his glory, it bursts forth in shouting! Let’s finish by reading the final Psalm together…

 

Psalm 150: 1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

 

Praise Jesus today! Don’t be indifferent to a love that came to sacrifice all to save your soul! Get filled with heavenly bliss that comes from praises!