Go To The Exchangers

 Go To The Exchangers

 A Word on Being Ready For The Lord’s Return

 

“Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”— (Matthew 25:24-30 KJV)

Here we have a frightening verse that basically says that when He returns the Lord is going to expect an accounting.

The Lord has given each of us our lives, talents, gifts  and the possessions in our lives, which He expects us to use to build the Kingdom. He wants people saved. He wants us to love others and help them. He wants us to love Him and have a relationship with Him. As best we can with the guiding of the Holy Spirit.

In the verses, the Lord gives talents to His servants, and then leaves. These are gifts. The scriptures says, “He gave gifts unto men” He has given gifts unto all men, whether saved or not. Salvation is just one gift. Our life is a gift. Our possessions are gifts, Our talents are gifts. We are to use what He has given us to turn to Him and build the Kingdom.(Eph. 4:8)

He comes back and finds that his servants have gained profit from the gifts. This profit would be souls or people helped. There is no other real medium of exchange between worlds.

The first 2 servants succeed and are rewarded. They used what they had to help others in Jesus name and to get souls saved and lives changed.

But, let’s focus on the last one. This servant says,”I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.” (see verse above)

There’s so much here. First, the fact that the servant says that the Lord is a hard man, proves that there is no relationship. This servant doesn’t know the Lord. Jesus said “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:27-30)

I could stop right there. Because people try to use this prophecy as a way to prove that people can lose their salvation. 

But, this guy never had it. He never knew the Lord. He never trusted the Lord. He never had faith in the Lord. He did not have the Holy Spirit.

There are many people in Church who have never been born again. They have never confessed Jesus as their Lord. They just call themselves Christian. They might do good things, but the fact that they have never been saved means that those good things are still defiled with evil.

But, let’s go on because this guy never even tried. He buried the talent. He was afraid. Jesus warns us “Fear Not”.  Fear is one of our greatest enemies and will keep us from knowing Christ.

If this guy had even tried, he might have woke up and found Jesus. He might have seen something that made him turn. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8)

The Lord rebukes him, and says, “You could have given the talent to the exchangers (or bank) and I could have gained profit in interest.”

What does that mean?

Well let me break it down. I’m not trying to speak for the Lord. But, it might sound like this.

“I know you were afraid, and didn’t know what to do. But, you could have at least given and supported people and ministries, who were doing the work. But, you didn’t even do that.”

The exchangers are workers or ministries doing the work. If you cannot go yourself, then support those who are.

Then, the servant is cast into outer darkness and there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Understand that The Lord is the light of the world. Apart from Him is darkness.

Hell/the Lake of Fire is a garbage dump outside the city of God where all unclean and evil things must go.

Satan, the fallen angels, demons, unclean spirits, and those who have not been washed in the Blood of Jesus must go there.

They cannot enter the city lest they corrupt it with the plague of Sin for all eternity.

This servant was never washed. He did not have a clean garment. He had no oil in his lamp. He was a goat.  ( Matt.22:1-14, Matt. 25:1-13 ,Matt. 25:31-46

He never knew the Lord. When we know the Lord, the Holy Spirit guides us to care about the things the Lord cares about. We become burdened with it. We will respond. We will serve somehow. Even if it’s only giving to others who are serving.

The worst thing to ever hear is…

“Depart from Me, I never knew you.” (Matt. 7:23, Matthew 25:31)

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Forgive And You Shall Be Forgiven

 Forgive And You Shall Be Forgiven

 Walking in the Spirit is tough.

 

 

Jesus said,

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

¹⁵ But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.— Matt. 6:14-15

Jesus tells us this in explanation of the Lord’s Prayer.

 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

This is the basic prayer outline that our prayers should follow. Praising God, Praying for our needs, forgiveness and protection. While also forgiving others, and praying for them.

God wants us to forgive others the same way He forgives us.

I know its hard. There are people who do not deserve our forgiveness. We want them punished. We want them to suffer as we have suffered.

But, we do not deserve forgiveness either, and we all deserve to suffer as Jesus suffered for us.

That’s Grace.

When we get God’s grace, we also give grace.

But, this sounds like works. It sounds like we are forgiven because we forgive and that is a work, not grace. Not faith.

No.

When we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and He grows us into a place where we become more forgiving. Where we do forgive those who have hurt us. Yes, even the worst ones.

It’s not easy. But, it does become easier.

Trust me, God is working to help you.

You might think you are doing good. You’re at Wal-mart after church and you’re happy. Then you run smack dab into the people who betrayed and hurt you, and God shows you every stitch of hatred in your heart for these people. He lets you see the unforgiveness you hold.

This is not about salvation. But, if we are saved there will be a battle.

There will be anger and the hate and the remembrance and the shock. But, there will also be the desire to do what God says.

It might not happen immediately, but there will be a call for prayer to forgive. A battle to get your mind under control to Christ. A battle against the demons that are trying to keep us in unforgivenenss. (Gal. 5:17, 2 Cor. 10:5, Eph. 6:10-18)

But the fact that we are having this battle, is proof that we are with the Lord. We never would have had that battle before. We certainly wouldn’t pray for them or desire to forgive.

That breaks our heart as we realize how much God has forgiven us.

That’s the point.

We can pray.

“Lord I hate them. But you want me to love and forgive. I want to. I want to do what you would have me to do. Please help me. I forgive, as best as I can and know how. Please help me. For it’s in Jesus name I pray, Amen.”

You can be real with God. He knows the truth. he knows your heart.

Our efforts in this are part of our relationship with Him. It’s part of Walking in the Spirit. (Gal.5:16)

It’s not about perfect obedience, it’s about giving ourselves to the Lord.

Trust me. If these people deserve revenge, God will give it. If they deserve divine punishment. They will reap what they sow. (Rom. 12:19, Gal. 6:7)

But, it will be from God. It will be righteous, and it will be designed to save them or grow them. Because God loves them too.

Unsaved people do not care about forgiving others. Our desire to do so, shows our salvation. It shows our walk with Him.

²¹ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

²² Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.—Matt 18:21-22

Our forgiveness is to continue. It’s not a one and done, because people are fallen and will hurt you again. They will fail and sin again. (Rom 3: 10-20)

It’s a fact.

Remember, God forgives us the same. God is not a God of second chances. He is a God of infinite chances. He is a God of relationship and growth.

He calls us into His program of forgiveness.

Do not grow weary in well doing. God will bless us for it. (Gal. 6:9)

What does forgiveness look like?

How much forgiveness do you want God to give you?

Imagine it?

That is what it looks like.

Does this mean we are to be door mats and let people walk over us?

No. The scripture gives us remedies for dealing with people. (Matt. 18: 15-17)

But, in the midst of that we still forgive and let it go.

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.“—Rom 12:18

This verse shows that we can try everything we can to live in peace, but sometimes its not possible.

We pray about it, and give it to the Lord. He will move.

We do what is right in dealing with it.

We love and forgive and let it go.

But sometimes we must withdraw from people.

“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.“—1 Cor. 5:11

If a person calls themselves a Christian and are saved they will also be seeking peace. They will be seeking to do right. If not, we can back off from those people. But we still pray for them, love them and forgive them. We still desire some level of reconciliation.

Like God has reconciled with us.

It’s not easy.

Let the Lord guide you. (Prov. 3:5-6)

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He Rose For Our Justification

  He Rose For Our Justification

 We are justified in Christ

 

There was only one law in the beginning.

Just one.

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”–Gen. 2:17

People want to act like God is some eternal killjoy, who is just hovering about ready to strike you down with furious wrath and bolts of lightning.

But, in the beginning there was only ONE law.

And Satan in his rebellion used a serpent, which by the way, was not a snake. It was a dragon, or as we like to call them, a dinosaur. (Rev. 12:9)

He used it to tempt the first couple, in order to get them to fall.

He tricked Eve into breaking the one law. But, Adam was not tricked. He knew exactly what he was doing. (1 Tim. 2:14)

He knew it was wrong and chose to listen to his wife instead of listening to God. (Gen. 3:17)

Adam was Satan’s target. Adam had the dominion of the Earth. He was the one who needed to fall. (Gen. 1: 26-28)

Why Adam chose to ignore God’s Law is not given to us. Adam probably explained it away, some how. I tend to think He loved Eve and did not want her to die alone. Or perhaps he did not want to be alone again, if she died after eating the fruit.

It’s hard to say, but when the first couple ate of the fruit they quickly discovered why God had warned them. God’s laws are typically designed to protect us.

Something changed in them. Their eyes were opened. God had created everything good. There was no death. But, now there was evil present. Death and evil, flooded into the world. (Gen 3:6-10)

Adam and Eve had fear, where none had existed before.

Evil was contained somewhere else, and now came upon the humans. It corrupted them and now corrupts all of humanity ever since.

This brought death. Death is separation. Remember, we are eternal beings. Death is not an end. We have no end. We are made in God’s image. We are eternal spirits. Death means separation. We die physically and are separated from our loved ones on Earth. We then die spiritually and are separated from God and our loved ones who are saved, forever.

Why?

In order to contain the evil. Hell/The Lake of Fire is a quarantine. It exists in order to keep evil from destroying all of eternity. It was created for Satan and his angels. It is a garbage dump outside the city of God, where all filthy things are thrown, in order to not corrupt Paradise. (Matt. 25:41, Rev.22:14-15)

Since Adam chose to follow Satan instead of God, He gave up the dominion. That is why Satan is the god of this world. You go into bondage under whoever overcomes you. If you give your authority to another, they own you. (2 Cor 4:4, 2 Pet. 2:19)

And that is the state we live in.

We are born into this world, totally corrupted. Filled with fear and evil, facing eternal separation from God and all things good.

We cannot do right. No matter how hard we try. We are under the control of Satan and his demonic hordes who whisper into our minds and get us to do whatever evil deeds they want. Seeking to rob us, kill us and destroy us, because God loves us, and the demons hate God. They seek to hurt God by hurting us.

And Satan sits and accuses us, day and night (Rev. 12:10)

He accuses us to God.

“Look at these creatures you created. They are filthy. They don’t love you. If they loved you they would have stayed with you. They are scum. Destroy them. Kill them. Punish them. They do all manner of evil, and mock you. Destroy them.”

But God loves us, and He had a plan.

It was a plan started at the foundation of the world.

A plan that grew and spread and remained hidden from the enemy.

It started with Faith, in Abraham.

A way to be righteous. (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:3, Gal . 3:6, Jas 2:23)

Then, it moved to the Law, in Moses

In order to show us that we are sinners and cannot obey God. (Rom. 3, Rom. 7)

A law that so happened to also allow for cleansing our disobedience through sacrifice.

Then, finally God himself came to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ to save His creation from Satan and the sins that keep us in bondage.

Satan thought that Jesus was here to teach us to obey. He thought Jesus was teaching us to follow the Law, which the enemy had already corrupted with human philosophy, traditions of men and doctrines of devils.

It would be a failed mission. Humans cannot obey. No matter how hard they try. Satan had made sure of that by corrupting us in the Garden. We are totally depraved.

Then, Satan and his demon princes killed Jesus. They used their human slaves in government and religion to do it. (1 Cor 2:6-8)

He thought he won. He thought he had finally won.

He might have even accused us before God again. Just like he accused Job. (Job chapter 1 and 2))

“Look at those creatures. They murdered your Son. They obeyed me, not you and killed you. Why do you love them? They spit in your face.”

And God smiled.

Because through His death, He had saved us.

So, that anyone who desires it can be free from the bondage of Sin, Satan and Death.

All they have to do is turn to God and ask Him to save them in Jesus name. (Acts 2:21)

But, that wasn’t the end.

God was not finished.

Because Jesus, was the lamb without blemish. He was not tarnished by evil or sin. He was not worthy of death or separation. He was the perfect sacrifice.

And death could not hold Him.

God Himself died for us and rose from the dead to prove that we are saved and justified. ( Rom. 4)

We do not have to answer to the accuser. We do not have to fear death or evil. We do not have to face wrath. We do not have to face Hell or The Lake of Fire or separation from God. We are clean, righteous and justified in Christ.

We are saved by God’s grace, through faith.

Because He, Himself came and set us free in His death and rose to prove it.

All we have to do is turn to Him by faith and ask.

And we are made righteous and justified forever.

We will be with Him in Paradise.

Where “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Cor 2:9)

He has restored that which was lost. And He will continue to restore all of it, back to what He originally created. (Matt. 18:11, Rev. 21, Rev. 22)

Praise Jesus

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