Confronting Immorality in the Church

June 17, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Confronting Immorality Within the Church Family

Book of 1 Corinthians Chapter 5

Some things in the Bible are not easy to comment on, and the things Paul writes in this chapter are one of those places.

I do not see myself with enough knowledge to present this lesson other than to follow where research will lead me, along with the Word of God.

We must accept this chapter as something the local church should do when it is known that there is sin in the midst of the congregation.

In reality, most churches have bylaws that take effect in such situations, and the pastor of the church would be aware of them.

First, there is no local church that can prevent someone from sinning!

God gave us free will, and we are still in these bodies of flesh.

So, the big question is, how does the church, the Body of Christ, respond when someone’s sin has become known?

If we, as church members, take sin lightly and do not put away known sin that is among us, then can we still say we are the church that Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, established?

These are also things that can divide the church, and we see this happening all over America today.

Many in the church say, “I just do not see anything wrong with that,” rather than seeing what God says about it.

We must know that there is a difference between “falling into sin” and “living in sin”.

Falling into sin means we have done something that is sinful.

Living in sin is not something that is done once; it is a sinful practice in everyday life.

If someone commits adultery once is terrible because it affects two families, but living in adultery is far more terrible.

What should we do if we know someone is in sin? The Lord Jesus gives us the answer.

Mat 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear there, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Mat 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

We should first approach that person and attempt to resolve this issue with them.

If we do not succeed, then we should try one more time, bringing another person.

If we do not succeed, then we need to get the Pastor involved and then the church.

If that person confesses that sin to God, and another person, if such a one was involved, and no one else needs to know about it.

What had happened in this church at Corinth was a terrible sin, and almost all the church knew it and had done nothing Biblical to stop it.

Some in this church even thought this was laughable.

*1Co 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.

We should not try to connect this chapter with chapter four, as Paul jumps in to handle this sinful situation in the Church at Corinth.

To the Church, this is a terrible sin, and is rarely seen, but to the Jew, this sin was specifically addressed in the Scriptures and the Books of the Law.

This passage gives us an idea of just how wicked the city of Corinth was; it was full of all sorts of lust, lewdness, and excessive unlawful indulgence.

This sin is unacceptable in almost every nation upon this earth.

We would think that this sin was not possible for a believer to take part in, but we would be wrong.

The Apostle Paul explains this very well: Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

We should understand what Paul is saying here and prepare ourselves for the day the Devil will place us in these situations.

When morals have become so corrupted as they have in our nation and most other nations of this world, we see more and more of these types of sin.

Our own nation might recognize same sex marriages, but God does not.

Fornication is any sexual relationship outside the relationship of a marriage between one man and one woman.

The Word of God states that gay men and lesbian women are living in sin.

In Hebrew families, fornication was seen as a crime against society and was severely condemned, and it should be.

Deu 22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

So, how did this church respond to knowing this sin had taken place and this church member was living in sin?

We sometimes do not realize how important it is for us to confess our sins and repent for them.

We cannot live in sin and say we are Christians!

*1Co 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

How did this group of believers react to this sin in the midst of them?

They acted as if nothing was wrong. They became arrogant, pretending to be greater than they were, even proud of themselves.

The Church at Corinth was in deeper sin than the man who had done this wickedness, when they should have been sad that such a thing took place.

If they had been sad, maybe the man who had done such a thing might have been removed from the congregation.

We come into the Church to praise and honor God, and we are saved through the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not sin at all.

We cannot connect Jehovah to sin!

We cannot connect the Lord Jesus Christ to sin!

We know that the Lord Jesus Christ died for all our sins.

We must not be partakers with those who are living in sin!

Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Eph 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Eph 5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

If we allow such things to go on unchallenged, then we are partakers with these so-called Christians.

Paul said the church should have handled this situation immediately after finding out about it.

If a sin of this proportion has become public knowledge and is allowed by the church, how could we ever criticize the sins of the world?

*1Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

What is Church discipline? Discipline in the Church comes from rules for order and the purity of the lives of the members, including rules for the government and worship in the church.

Each church may have different rules for the discipline of church members.

We have already read what the Lord Jesus has said in Matthew chapter 18.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: 2Th 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

Then Paul added: 2Th 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
2Th 3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

We can love them and pray for them, but we cannot hang out with them.

First: This man was to face church discipline, “in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ”.
The Lord Jesus is the head of the Church. It is His Church!
It is the Lord Jesus Christ whose name is being damaged.
It is for the Lord Jesus that discipline should take place!
It is only by the conviction of the Lord Jesus that will awaken this brother to his sin.

Second, the entire church was to come together to handle this difficult matter.
Paul said he would be with them in Spirit.
This church was to clean itself up before this discipline could take place.

A church full of sin cannot discipline a sinful member!

Third: This brother is to be given to Satan.

What does this mean? In short, it means that this brother was to be excommunicated.

If the Church is in the realm of God, then outside the Church is the realm of Satan.

2Co_4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Those outside the Church do not have the hand of God to protect them, and God would remove His hand of protection from this brother.

We have not seen much church discipline throughout the many denominations today, as many of them have fled from the truth of God and have given in to the world, and the Church has lost its power.

It is only by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ that discipline can be carried out on any child of God.

We know for sure that there is Spiritual power that inflicts punishment for sin.

2Th_2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

For those who have control of their flesh, we already have God’s answer to that problem.

1Jn 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
1Jn 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

The Apostle Paul tells us that Christians can become castaways

1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

We are told to always examine ourselves: 2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

The only person who can commit a sin unto death is a church member!

I do not know what this means, but it is said by some to mean eternal death.

Review: 1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

If the life that God gives is Spiritual and Eternal, then the sin unto death must correspond, and it must mean the opposite, which is spiritual and eternal death.

This being true, then for the Bible to be held in High Regard, this person must not have been saved to begin with, because we cannot lose our salvation!

Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

It is never good for any church or any church member to glorify sin, especially as we see it today!

*1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

We know that using leaven is the same as we use yeast today.

Leaven in the Bible stands for sin.

Sin in the Church leavens the whole Church.

This sin had reached the Apostle Paul in Ephesus, and the testimony of this church in Corinth was ruined because this church was glorifying sin.

As long as sin remained in this church, the testimony of our Lord Jesus, who had no sin, and drastic measures must be taken, or the early church would fail.

Too often, a church will overlook the sin and a sinful lifestyle of a man who is a leader in the community, government, or big business. In fact, some churches will brag about having such a man as a member

This church in Corinth needed to wake up to the truth of the Word of God.

The first thing this church needed to do was to remove the sin by removing the sinner.

This meant that every member needed to look at their own lives to make sure to remove any sin that they had.

This means looking at their old life before salvation and making sure there were no remnants of that sin remaining within them.

If we accept the truth of God, then there must not be any of that old leaven in our lives.

This is a big problem in the Church today.

Many of the queer community just say God made them the way they are which means God must have made some mistakes when He created them which is impossible. God does not make mistakes!

Like every sinner, they can be forgiven, but they must repent of their sin just as all sinners must do.

To become Christian, we must be “Born Again” and become new creations of God without sin.

The Church is not to bring sin (leaven) back into the Church!

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

During the Passover, the Jews would remove any leaven they had in their homes, even taking a candle and searching all the corners and the dark spaces to be sure to remove any leaven that remained in their homes.

It is no different for us; we are to search ourselves to remove any sin that remains in our lives after salvation.

If we continue to practice sin and or accept sin, it proves we do not believe that we are cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Christ.

“For even Jesus Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us”.

This Church at Corinth must have its own Passover and search out all sin and remove it from the congregation before they could remove this sinner.

1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
1Jn 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

*1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1Co 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

The duty of the Church is to separate itself from the World!

The duty of the Church is to welcome every sinner into the Church and teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If they accept the truth of the Lord Jesus, they can stay; if they reject the truth of Jesus Christ, then they must leave and go back into the world.

There is no middle ground!

The Church must separate itself from the world!

We are not to become a part of the world outside the doors of the Church.

We must be friendly and love those who are lost, but we do not party with them or hang out with them.

If we know of some in the Church under false pretenses, we are not to associate with them.

We are not to keep close company with the lost world!

We have to work in this world, and we have to live in this world, but we are not to be a part of this world.

What we find is that much of the Church of today has ignored the teachings the Holy Spirit gave to the Apostle Paul.

It can be said that fornication is what drives the world’s sin today.

Fornication includes all immoral sexual acts! Adultery, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, and any form of sexual deviation.

Those who practice fornication are not to be part of the fellowship of the Church!!!!!!!

The Church is not to become mixed up with the covetousness of this world.

The word covetous means all those who seek more and more, while millions within this world are dying from sin, hunger, disease, and poverty.

Covetousness is a sin that is especially despised by Jehovah!

Luk 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

The Church is not to become mixed with extortioners.

These are thieves, grafters, and those who take advantage of the poor to get more gain for themselves.

There is a certain party in politics that has been doing this for years, and in fact, this is what all the immigration we have seen in the last few years was all about: to gain voters and people dependent upon handouts they could control.

This Church is not to become mixed with those who worship false gods. There can be no Chrislam!

Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible, and He must be accepted as such!

Believers are in the world, but they are not to be part of the world!

Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

*1Co 5:11 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 idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

We must separate ourselves from those who say they are Christians, but the fruit of their lives tells a different story.

We know our salvation is between us and God, but the Lord said we would know them by their fruit.

To be safe, we must avoid them while praying for them, not even eating with them.

These are the same ones who should not participate in the Lord’s Supper.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Psa 78:35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
Psa 78:36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.

*1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

We have nothing to do with the people whom the Lord will judge when He returns.

Our one job is to tell them of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we need to show them the love of Christ while we are doing this.

The lost world will be judged by God, and we can tell them how to avoid this judgment.

Any and all evil must be removed from the Church!

There must be discipline in the Church!

Those who refuse to repent must be removed from the Church!

We must not forget we were once part of the lost world.

Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Knowing what we were before coming to Christ should allow us to see those who in the Church who are still of the world, but we should also remember there are times we should not remove them, as the Lord has stated.

1Th 4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
1Th 4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

The Lord Jesus has already said: Mat_13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

There must be discipline in the Church, but it must be done according to the Word of God!

Remember, every Word of the Bible was written for the Church!

Amen

Our Desires Are Not Always What We Need

June 23, 2023June 26, 2023 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The People’s Desire

Book of 1 Samuel Chapters 7 and 8

The one message we see in these Books of Samuel and throughout all the Bible is that only when we are obedient to the Lord can we expect God’s blessings. Not before!

God has the power to control human events in this world. Sometimes He intervenes but most of the time He allows our mistakes to take place so we can learn from them.

Which we rarely do learn from our mistakes.

There is even a push today to remove the evidence of our mistakes from history, so that we can forget them, which will never work. Even if it did work, a new way cannot be made using corruption and wickedness.

The only new way that works is the same old way and it is by a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

When the sons of Eli removed the Ark from the Tabernacle located in Shiloh, it would never return to that Tabernacle, which showed the glory of the Lord no longer shined upon Israel at that time.

The Ark remained in the possession of the Philistines for seven months and we could say that God showed out until the Philistines had enough and they sent the Ark back to Israel but not back to the Tabernacle, which they had destroyed.

Some few of the Israelites celebrated the return of the Ark, but a few violated the Holiness of God by opening the Ark and looked into the Ark and immediately they were struck with death.

Some seventy men died that day because they showed irreverence to the things of God.

These same things can happen today, and they probably do.

This certainly put the fear of God into the hearts of these Israelites.

The Ark was sent to Kirjathjearim into the house of Abinadab and Eleazar his son to care for the Ark and it remained there until the time of David, some eighty years.

It seems that the Lord was silent for twenty years before He spoke again to Samuel.

When the Lord is silent, those things He was already given to us are still in effect and He expects obedience to those things!

We should clearly understand that there are certain ways to approach God and He gives us those ways.

Any other way that is attempted will result in death and eternal damnation.

*1Sa 7:1 And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
1Sa 7:2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.

The men of Kirjathjearim came and by God’s Law undertook the caring to the Ark and no further calamity occurred at this time.

They placed the Ark in the house of Abinadab which is later said to be Gibeah.

2Sa 6:3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.

It is likely that Abinadab was a Levite, and his son Eleazar was ordained and sanctified to care for the Ark.

Because this house was located on a hill and easy to defend, it was actually used as a place of worship.

We should consider that the Tabernacle at Shiloh had been destroyed.

Jer_7:12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

We do not have to ask why God would allow such a thing to happen, because God the Holy Spirit said to Jeremiah that it was because of wickedness.

For twenty years, God was silent for His glory was removed from Israel and the Philistines ransacked most of Israel.

All these years Samuel was working behind the scenes going from place to place teaching the Word of God and insisting that Israel repent.

Without repentance, Israel would remain in the hands of the Philistines as slaves.

This same thing could happen to America unless America repents and returns to the Lord.

We can say that to lament, as used here, would mean to mourn for the Lord who remained silent for these twenty years.

This was the first time that Israel was missing the presence of the Lord and gradually a change of heart came over these people.

It is a good thing that God looks into the heart for our outside actions reflect what our heart dictates.

The Philistines were like tyrants at this time, and they also took away Israel’s means to make weapons to defend themselves.

Sounds increasingly like America all the time, as our own nation tries to take away our weapons to defend ourselves from the tyranny of government.

I do not know if we have twenty more years to come to repentance before the Lord.

Samuel began reaching out to the leaders of Israel.

*1Sa 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
1Sa 7:4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.

Repentance is a complete change of mind from a sinful, wicked state and a complete submission to the Lord.

Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

What is the sign of the end just before the return of Jesus Christ?

Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

The main purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ to leave Heaven and come to this earth was to call for repentance!

Mat 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

If Israel would repent God would save them from the tyranny of the Philistines.

In fact, there was no other way to defeat the Philistines without the Divine Power of our Holy God!

Repentance can only come from a believer!

The unbeliever must first answer the call of God and then the Holy Spirit will move in to begin His work that leads to repentance.

There must be a whole-hearted return to the Lord!

We must put away the idols of the soul!

The help which brings deliverance comes through a covenant sealed with blood!

It was that same covenant with Abraham that brought deliverance to Israel if they would repent.

It is also true that for anyone to be delivered from the bondage of Satan, then it is through the covenant of Grace that is sealed with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the joyful acceptance by a sin-oppressed soul.

This help for deliverance comes by prayer and prayers must be heard in Heaven.

It is that repenting soul whose prayers are heard in Heaven.

This was the message of Samuel to Israel.

This is the message of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Most of Israel then put away their false idols and their hearts returned to Jehovah.

This is what America needs to do today!

The Philistines were defeated by Israel because of answered prayer that had come through repentance.

And time moves on.

*1Sa 8:1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
1Sa 8:2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
1Sa 8:3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

After a revival in Israel and the fact that Jehovah had allowed Israel to defeat the Philistines, Israel was quiet for the time of Samuel which was about eighty years

Samuel would be the last human Judge of Israel.

As Samuel got to be an old man, he had his sons to help him, and his own sons proved to be unjust and corrupt, and the people demanded that Samuel change the way Israel was governed.

Israel wanted to be like the other nations around them that had kings to rule them. How foolish.

They had their reasons:

1) They never had enough qualified judges to lead them. Even Moses found this to be true.
Their biggest problem was that they refused to follow the Word of God and crime ran rampant just as we see today.

2) Israel had suffered greatly from the Philistines and marauders from other nations, especially during harvest time.
Again this was because Israel refused to obey the Word of God.

3) They suffered Spiritually because they failed to lead righteous lives. They had separated themselves from God many times. They lived sinful and wicked lives departing from the truth of God!

Israel decided they needed a king. They felt a king would solve all their problems. They were wrong again!

This was just another rebellion from the truth of God!

****1Sa 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
1Sa 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

Israel admitted that they wanted a king to be like the other nations around them and this is not a particularly good reason.

In fa ‘ct, it is not a good reason at all.

God had allowed Israel to be given the land and homes of these nations because of the wickedness of those nations.

They should have never had the desire to be like them.

We are to be like the Lord Jesus Christ and this should be our goal.

We are wronging ourselves and our families when we want to be like the world!

All Israel had to do was to be obedient to the Law of God and they would become a great nation.

Samuel, like we all do, had gotten old and he no longer had the strength to do all the things he knew he needed to do.

His sons had been of no help to him because they just took advantage of their position and became corrupt.

We see that corrupt governments have always been a major problem in this world, and I never thought our own nation would get caught up in corruption, but it has.

Israel had corrupt leaders and corrupt judges just as we see in America today and we can be sure it is probably the same in all nations that reject the truth of God!

The sons of Samuel accepted bribes and perverted justice.

They ruled in favor of those who were lawless. Those that did what was right in their own eyes.

We see these same things today.

Solomon wrote that there is nothing new under the Sun.

Ecc_1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

These words of wisdom have held true in every Age so far.

Humans do not want to live righteously because we all have that sin nature!

It is in our nature to sin against God, but this is no excuse.

Today in America we want new leadership and a righteous leadership just as Israel wanted in the time of Samuel.

Is this even possible? Not in any nation that rejects the truth of God!

Not under capitalism, not under socialism, not under communism, and certainly not under some monarchy!

Israel wanted a king like those nations around them, they did not want a king “after God’s own heart”!

Just speaking for myself, I do not see a leader of any nation that I think is truly suitable, and I certainly do not like the leadership of America today.

Jehovah is noticeably clear on these things!

Deu 27:19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Why did Israel spend so many years in captivity?

Mic 3:10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Mic 3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
Mic 3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

Is America so bold to think that God will not allow similar things to happen here?

Of course Samuel was displeased.

We should also be displeased and vote for a better government and insist that there be no corruption in it!

As the people we have this power today but this power is slowly being taken from us.

We do not need to be like Europe or any other nation.

People seem to forget it took a war to separate us from the ways of Europe.

We must avoid the ways of the world.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We must not become a part of this world!

*1Sa 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

Samuel had done his best to lead Israel according to the Word of God all the days since he was a young man.

He had always judged according to the Word of God.

Samuel would have been broken-hearted because he had spent his entire life doing what was right in the eyes of God.

At first Samuel was surprised at God’s answer when He said give them a king.

God also told Samuel to tell them all the things that a king would require from them.

When we forsake our Holy and Righteous God we are just asking for severe trouble.

People will do what they think is right in their own eyes, just as we see in our own nation today.

When we reject the providence of God, then we also reject the Divine favor of God!

If the Lord Jesus Christ is not everything in our lives, then He is nothing in our lives!

One day soon the Lord Jesus will be the true King of all this world!

If our desire to be like someone else and that person is not Jesus, then we have failed our own self and have chosen wickedness.

God cannot look upon evil.

God will have nothing to do with the sinful, wicked ways of this world.

When we claim the Lord Jesus, then we claim to be obedient to all the Word of God.

If we reject any part of the Word of God, then we have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords!

Deu 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

Psa 81:11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
Psa 81:12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
Psa 81:13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
Psa 81:14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

*1Sa 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
1Sa 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

Keep in mind that Israel did not want to develop their own government and perfect the judicial system, they looked at other nations and wanted to do as they did.

Today, I hear many politicians say we need to be like Europe when in fact, we need to stop the corruption of our own government and make our judicial system as perfect as we can and that will never happen until we remove the politics from the court.

We must remove politics from the DOJ, the FBI, and the CIA and write righteous laws and enforce without politics.

Our government must be for the people and the people must never be seen as the enemy of government by the goverment as we see today.

We cannot claim that we accept God’s Law and then, begin removing the parts with which we do not agree.

Many churches are doing this today.

A nation governed by God is a Theocracy.

Israel was rejecting a theocratic government and demanding a monarchy.

This was a sad step downward in the History of Israel, when they rejected Jehovah God.

Why was this true? Because the Priests and the Leaders of Israel did not teach the truth of God.

Israel claimed God, but they did not really know Him! This is the same for them today!

The same things happen in the Church today!

Those men behind the pulpits do not teach the truth of God, knowing that God does not change His ways.

What is the truth about kings?

*1Sa 8:10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

What is the job of all Priests, Preachers, Pastors, Evangelists, and Elders? To tell the truth of the Word of God to the people in the pews.

My question is, why are so many not obedient to God and just give their own thoughts to the people when God has said not to do that.

2Pe_1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

Moses was instructed to make the Tabernacle after the pattern shown to him in the Holy Mount.

Jeremiah was told to go to all to which He was sent.

God said: If any man speaks, let him speak the oracles of God.

God said to Peter: It is required of stewards that a man be found faithful.

God expects His chosen men to be faithful to the Word of God which never changes!

Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people.

God’s chosen men must not allow the fear of the people, nor the fear of government, to alter the Doctrine of the Lord.

God’s love for us does not make allowances for sin!

God still has that same call to repentance.

If we remain what we were after salvation, then we have not repented.

Every preacher is to declare all the council of God!

The Lord said to Samuel to tell the people what a king would do, not what a king should do because the Lord would take care of this in His Word and a king should never deviate from the Word of God. This includes all leaders of all nations!

Samuel explained to Israel that there would be consequences if Israel was to be ruled by a king!

1) They would lose many if not all of their liberties.

A king would require a professionally trained standing army to defend his nation.

A king might lead a nation to war, but those dead bodies as a result of war would be their own children.

Other men would be needed to care for all the things that an army would need.

Israel was male dominated society, with the man providing the income for his family and working the animals and the food supply for the family.

There would be many widows because of this king.

The sons of these families would have to serve in the military when it was the son that these widows would need to remain in their homes and survive.

2) Under a king there would be many who would be demanded to serve at the whim of a king.

Laborers would work in the fields of the king rather than their own fields.

Weapons of war would have to be massed produced.

3) A king would also require the women and the daughters of the nation to be cooks and bakers instead of cooking for their own families.

4) A king would confiscate property. He would take the best fields, the best vineyards, the best groves, to supply his own needs and the needs of those who would work for him and for the military.

5) A king would have a system of taxation to take from the meager people to supply the needs of the government and those that supported his government.

6) A king would take the best animals, the best crops as taxes.

7) A king would raise taxes as needed or as he decided.

8) In reality under a king, the nation of Israel would become a nation of slaves.

This is what socialism is all about, and so many Americans think socialism is so great, it is not great and has failed in almost every place it has been used to govern.

Under a king, a day would come when the people would rebel, seeking deliverance from all these things.

Oppression, lawlessness, and the violent ways of the world, would become embedded in the king and his subjects.

This is the same under socialism.
This is the same under communism.

This is the goal of the Democrats to make people totally submit to the whims of government.

What would be God’s response? God would not answer because the people chose this rather than the truth of God.

Notice we see these things in America today.

God said you cannot escape the consequences of your actions!

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

The message to the Christian is to hold on and not be weary.

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

What happened after the people were told all these things?

We might ask, what happened to common sense?

*1Sa 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
1Sa 8:20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

Notice these people did not believe anything Samuel said and America does not believe in common sense today.

The desire to be like other nations, nations that were wicked and evil nations with false gods, overcame common sense.

Israel demanded a king!

How can progressive ideology believe any nation could afford all the things they ask for? Who could pay for all those things?

**Israel wanted a king that would be their savior and deliverer.

There is no such human being who can do all these things.

The power of kings is in their nation.

The power of any nation is in its people, if those people can believe the truth and have common sense.

No government will continue to take care of its people as the people wish because it is unsustainable!

**Israel wanted a protector and a provider.

No king, or ruler possesses the ability to do these things!

Again, the power of any king or ruler is in its people even when they are tyrants.

No people will live in fear of its government forever!

Today hardly any true American wants to be in the military because of the politics of this government.

This military may fail when it is needed!

Samuel did all he could to tell Israel how foolish they were, but they would not be denied.

Again, this sounds a whole lot like the America we are seeing today.

God said:

*1Sa 8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
1Sa 8:22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

God gave us a thing called choice and God will not ever force His will on any of us!

God presents His truth, and it is up to us to believe or to not believe what God says.

I am a believer of the truth of God!

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

If we choose the truth of the Lord Jesus, we will never die and spend eternity with Him in Heaven, no matter what happens upon this earth.

If we choose to not believe the truth of God, we will die and spend eternity in Hell and the desires of this world are meaningless to a righteous God.

Amen

The Principle of Faith

August 5, 2022 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

A Better Principle

Book of Hebrews Chapter 11

What does the word “principle” mean?

According to the Websters dictionary the word “principle” means: In a general sense, the cause, source, or origin of any thing; that from which a thing proceeds; as the principle of motion; the principles of action.

We should be able to understand the “principle of faith”!

Let us talk about “the principle of faith”.

It is the “principle of faith” that is the foundation of the Church.

1Co_3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Our salvation can come only by “the principle of faith” in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He has done for our redemption!

Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

The “principle of faith” is the same for all people!

Act 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith is the only way we can approach God!

When we are in conversation with God, we must have faith and we must show God our “faith”!

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

It is because of the principle of faith” that we can be forgiven of our sins!

It is true that our only responsibility in our salvation is believing the “Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ” but we need to believe all the Word of God!

Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

We must understand that the many different translations of the Scriptures can contain errors, but the “Received Text” has no errors at all, and we need a translation that comes from the “Received Text”.

“Saving Faith” involves three things:

1) Knowledge:

There are certain basic truths that must be believed!

We must believe the things that Jesus claimed to be!

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Unless we believe these things, we will die in our sin!

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: “for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins”.

The Apostle John wrote these things by the Holy Spirit.

Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Joh 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

2) Conviction:

There must be an inner conviction that the things that Jesus has said are the complete truth!

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

3) Trust:

As a result of our knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and Holy Ghost conviction that these things are true, then we must place our “trust” in the truth of God, and these things will be settled in our heart.

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, “and shalt believe in thine heart” that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

It is our own responsibility to take our knowledge of the Lord Jesus and our inner conviction and then trust in the Word of God!

God will not do this for us!

We must get up close and personal with the Lord!

It all begins with “faith”!

So, how can we describe faith? The Bible has one definition.

*Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

In this Chapter there are men and women who believed what God has said and the Holy Spirit gave us some of their names.

Without a doubt the key to God having good memories of us depends upon our “faith” in Him!

Here in this chapter of the Book of Hebrews is the only place where the Holy Spirit gives us a definition of “faith”.

In the rest of the Word of God, we get to see examples of those who had great “faith” and those who had little or no “faith”.

“Faith” is the single most important thing we need in our relationship with God!

We will see that without “faith” we cannot please God, and if God is not pleased with us, He will have no part in our lives!

Along with “faith” we must have “hope”!

Our “hope” lies in the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Our “faith” must be in that “hope” and this “faith” must lead to our “faithfulness” to the Lord our Savior.

“Faith” is our act of believing in the truth of the Word of God!

We have “historical faith” in the fact the character of God does not ever change!

What He has done in the past He will do a similar work in the future according to what He has said.

James says:

Jas_2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Jas_2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas_2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

This is not works as in working for salvation!

This is the work of faith being Christian in our thoughts, our ways, and our actions.

Our “faith” is meaningless if we are not growing to be more like Jesus Christ and is therefore dead.

We must understand that with our heart we believe unto righteousness.

We must put action to our “faith”!

Now our heart does not have to see, yet our “faith” knows these things are true as having seen this truth in the actions of those who have done these things.

We cannot be justified without our work of faith!

Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

A work of “faith” is not like obeying some old law!

Rom 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

This is the “faith” that must continue to grow with us, as we grow as Christians, so it is our faith that leads to our growth in sanctification.

Sanctification is the act of being made holy in the eyes of God!

As we grow in Christ, then we need to add to our faith daily, again because our faith lies in the unseen promises of God as if we can see our redemption, which we can!

2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The elders of our faith in time past understood these things.

The elders of our faith also knew of our Creator and our Savior being the same person!

*Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

We know our Lord and Savior is so powerful that He just speaks, and things happen!

We know that our Lord is so powerful that He created all we see and things that we cannot see, out of nothingness.

The very reason there are no creators today, is the fact they cannot create without using something that God has already created.

God is a God of order, and we can only look into the night-time sky and see order in our universe.

We do not see chaos as would have been the case of some Big Bang Theory!

We have a Universe, or some say Cosmos, because “God said” for these things to take place and they took place.

You see, we do not need “a hope so faith” which is in reality meaningless, we need “a know so faith” in order to please our Creator.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Notice it was “faith” that Abel offered, meaning much more than the sacrifice that He offered to God.

This has been the same since the beginning of the human race!

Any sacrifice to the Lord is meaningless unless it is accompanied with believing “faith”.

Our “faith” is our sacrifice that has meaning to our Savior!

The reward of “faith” is God’s approval of the things we do according to the Word of God!

When God approves us, then God accepts us!

God will never approve us when we go against the Word of God, because this immediately shows our lack of “faith”.

It seems our politicians do not understand this.

You cannot claim Christ Jesus and go against the Word of God! This is sin that is condemned!

I was not here when God created our world, but I know in my heart that He is my Creator and today I know even more, because I know He is my Savior!

You see, it was not the sacrifice of Abel that God remembers, God remembers His “faith”.

God cannot remember anything of Cain because Cain had no faith!

He will hear those dreaded words:

Mat_7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It is with “faith” that we can see the power of “righteousness”!

The power of faith is what is written in the “Gospel of Jesus Christ”!

Righteousness is the approaching of God, “exactly as He says to approach Him”.

It cannot be done in any other way or fashion!

It cannot be done without the shedding of “Blood” as proven by Abel!

Heb_9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

It is by the shedding of blood by the Lord Jesus Christ that we can obtain righteousness!

This was true in the time of Adam and Eve, and it was just as true when the Lord Jesus shed His blood on Mount Calvary, just so we can be saved, but it is our “faith” that makes this true.

I was not there to see what the Lord has done for me, but by “faith” I know He did this for me:

1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Cain may have been religious, but His religion could not save Him!

Most religion is about religion, form, and ceremony and none of these things can make you righteous because they lack “faith”!

They are just mindless rituals!

It is “faith” that gives us the power to have our own daily walk with God and it is faith that will deliver us from the death of the curse because of Adam’s disobedience.

Enoch just believed God, everything God said was ok with Enoch, because He believed every Word God said, and this is exactly what God demands of us all today!

Any disagreement with the Word of God is sin!

Just what does it take to please God? It takes “faith” that the Word of God is true!

It takes “faith” enough to believe that God is exactly who He says He is!

*Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We will never be able to please God if we cannot believe every Word that He has given to us!

God exist just as He says.

God has done everything that has been written of Him!

We must believe we have a Creator!

We will never be acceptable to God if we cannot believe Him!

It is time for those so-called Christians on the border line of faith to understand this!

The Bible is specific!

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.

This is not so hard to understand!

Many people do not understand the word “condemned”

Oh, they love this verse close to it where it says, “for God so loved the world”.

We cannot pick and choose what we believe in the Word of God!

It is an all or nothing Book!

We cannot grow in our “faith” if we have none to begin with!

We must practice that hope mentioned in 11:1.

This is hoping for the things God has promised and them making a personal claim to those things just because God promised them!

We must diligently seek God!

To be diligent is to be seek God until you have found Him, and He is not hard to find for those who believe Him!

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

We must hunger and thirst after righteousness:

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We must ask, we must seek, we must knock:

Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

We must seek the Kingdom of Heaven because it does exist.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

We must pray and fast, we must persevere in our prayer life!

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Many people pray and pray and pray, never finding the answer to their request, when they do not even have enough “faith” that God can do as He says.

They will never get a prayer answered!

We should understand the greater our need, the greater the time we must spend with our Creator, asking God, conversing with God, listening to God, sharing God, believing God and most important, living for God!

There is always an answer to those who seek God in true “faith”!

The more we stay in touch with God the more our “faith” will grow.

It should be truly clear, God will never reward sinful, carnal trust, nor will He ever reward doubtful trust!

If God did ever answer a prayer for those who doubt Him, then that person would think they could live their lives as they wish, and God will never so this.

God will certainly answer the prayers of the righteous with a believing heart.

Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

God will never answer any prayer that goes against His Word, nor should we expect Him to!

No one can read the Scriptures with attention, without feeling the intensity of God to produce confidence in His “Mercy” and His “Grace”!

To be a Christian, is to show the character of God to the world.

The world should be able to see our “faith” and our “faith” will set us apart from the world we live in!

We must put action to our “faith”!

When we doubt God’s goodness, then we are biting the hand that feeds us!

The work of God is our victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we reject this victory, we remain cursed, because we have no “faith” in the truth of God.

We can honestly say that there is really not much faith in this world and in fact when we see all those so-called Churches allowing the immoralities of the world inside the Church, we can truthfully say that there is not much “faith” left in the Church.

Wake Up Church, God’s Word does not ever change!

Now God gives us some examples of “faith”.

*Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

We should pay close attention to the things addressed by Noah.

There was a time in the history of this world when this earth had become so wicked that it was filled with corruption and violence.

Humanity had reached such a sinful level that God simply would not tolerate it and God was left with no choice, but to destroy this wickedness.

There was only one man, on earth who was a godly man, and his name was Noah.

God will never destroy the godly with the wicked, so God warned Noah about the coming “judgment” to this world.

Though many doubt the story of the world-wide flood, it is still the complete truth because God said it was and there is much proof of it today.

There is no place upon this earth that you cannot see signs of this worldwide flood!

This is a place where our faith is so important!

We already know that God had made a promise to His Son Jesus before Jesus created this world.

2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
2Th 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

The world-wide flood happened just as God has said and the evidence proves it!

This is important today because God has said it will happen again.

Not with a world-wide flood, though there certainly be flooding, but this time “with” fire for the exact same reasons and we can see that without a doubt our world is returning to days that were the same in the days of Noah!

Mat_24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Luk_17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

All those with “faith” are expecting this to happen and to happen right after the “Rapture of the Church”

Just as Noah received a warning, the Lord Jesus Christ has warned His Church, but He has also warned this world.

Those without “faith” have been made aware of these things for centuries!

If you do not believe in the world-wide flood, then you are calling the Lord Jesus Christ a liar, and you need the Lord Jesus to be saved.

You are calling the Word of God all lies and you cannot please God so, to those who read this it will be your warning.

After the “Rapture of the Church” you will see a world with all evil, wicked, and immoral people even worse than the days of Noah!

A world that is trying to live by science and corrupt governments, and focused upon pleasure and riches, cannot please God!

*Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Abraham also had a faith that is not even understood today!

Abraham was born Abram in what would now be modern day Iraq and Abram was not a Jew and no Jewish nation even existed in all his days.

God made Himself known to Abram and told Abram to leave his homeland and all his kinfolk and go to a land that Abram was not familiar with.

God made some sincere promises to Abram and today we are still seeing the fulfillment of some of those promises.

What did Abram have that few others had in his day.

Abram had the ability to see God as our Creator and Abram believed all the Word of God given to him.

It never appeared that Abram was a poor man, but only later does it say that because of God’s blessing he would be considered to be a rich man in his day.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

It may not be spoken of Abraham, but Abraham took his beliefs and shared them with his family and all those with him, and it appears that most all of them believed also.

Abraham might not have known that his wife Sarah would go childless when he married her, but God was well aware, and we see the desire of Abraham to have a child.

Abraham learned a valuable lesson from God, and it was when God makes a promise all we need do is believe it and not doubt what God says and also that God will do what He says and He does not need our help, He just wants us to have faith in His truths.

God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations and Abraham did not yet have a child and he was ninety years old.

Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Gen 17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
Gen 17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
Gen 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Gen 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
Gen 17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

1) God would cause a people to be born of the seed of Abraham.
2) God would bless all nations through this seed born of Abraham.
3) God would give Abraham a promised land which in fact was the land of Canaan.

What did God ask of Abraham?

He asks Abraham just to have faith in what was told to him.

Abraham had a decisive, obedient faith.

He obeyed God and did as God ask him to do.

What did Abraham not do?
He did not hesitate.
He did not argue.
He did not question.
He did not waver back and forth.

Note: Abraham did not know where he was going, and this was not important to Abraham.

Abraham did not know where following God would lead him.

Abraham just believed the promises of God, and this is all God asks of us today and God has given to us much more information than what Abraham had.

We should clearly understand, we cannot say we believe God and then live our lives in disobedience!

To be true, no person can know where his faith may lead him, but we must not fear following God!

How did the Lord Jesus Christ put it?

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

You see Abraham was not looking for the things of this earth!

*Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham lived in a tent and a tent does not require a foundation.

Abraham had seen the things that were built in his day and none of them were great masterpieces of construction because man had built them.

Abraham understood much more than we give him credit for!

Abraham could live his life without the things of this world that hold us in peril most all our days.

You see obedience is in our hands and providence is God’s business!

As far as being a witness, we take God’s seed and scatter it where the Holy Spirit is working and God Himself is in charge of all results.

Our job then is simply to obey!

Obedient “faith” is the only way to eternal life and good preachers cannot even preach this message today without making their congregation mad at them so, many do not preach salvation at all.

Obedient “faith” creates a life which many will want to copy. This is why the Lord ask us to live by faith.

This is why the Lord will give more “Grace” to those have “obedient faith”!

By “faith” Abraham gave up the known world and rested on the promises of God!

Abraham was not called because he was any better than others.

Abraham answered the call of God simply because God called him.

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Abraham believed God and God accounted it righteousness for Abraham.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

It is the wicked and evil riches of this world that has caused so many to end up in Hell, and Abraham knew if you could see it here, then it would not be in the City of God.

Why was the promise to Abraham so important to us today?

Because the promise God made to Abraham was the promise God made to us all through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

I am not looking forward to seeing Jerusalem here on earth though it would be great to visit the land where Jesus walked.

I am looking forward to seeing the New Jerusalem that is in the City of God!

The same city Abraham was looking for!

*Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

There are great rewards that come by “faith” in the promises of God!

We can be encouraged when we read about these Old Testament saints of God.

We know that God was encouraged because He has written these things down for us.

Their faith was an encouragement to the early Church.

Their faith pointed others to God and still does today.

Their faith was their greatest testimony!

These things are the greatest testimony we can leave behind once we have left this world and joined the Lord in Heaven.

What was this great faith based upon? The future promises of God.

We must get it through our thick skulls that the God’s promises are in the future!

No doubt a Christian life does have its many rewards, but it is our future life where we will reap those greatest rewards.

So, with “faith”, its best blessings are in the future.

Just as with the Old Testament saints the object of our faith is still in our future.

The faith of the Old Testament saints looked forward to the promise of salvation.

The Church looks back to the work that the Lord Jesus has done for our salvation.

We should remember when the Old Testament saints died, they entered into a place called Abraham’s Bosom having to wait for the fulfillment of the Messiah.

Abraham’s Bosom

Before the finished work of the cross, everyone who died and believed in the Messiah went to a separate place in hell known as “Abraham’s bosom”.

This was also referred to as “paradise” in another scripture.

It was separated from Hell by a fixed gulf that could not be crossed by either side!

Just before the Lord Jesus died on the cross with the two thieves, He promised one of them he would meet him in Abrahams Bosom the very same day.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43 KJV

The bible tells us Jesus descended to the lower depths before He walked with the rest of the saints in town for 40 days.

This means Jesus went into Hell but into Abraham’s Bosom, to free those who believed in him and took them out before he ascended to heaven along with those more than five hundred saints that came out of those graves.

The saint of God that dies today goes directly to be with the Lord having being made perfect at death.

Our death now turns to eternal life in the glory world!

Amen

Our Hope Must Be in the Lord

July 2, 2022 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Book of Hebrews Chapter 6

What is hope? Hope is a desire for something that is good along with some expectation of obtaining it.

We should understand that our hope as Christians, Christian is being like Jesus Christ as the example He has given to us, our hope is in the promises of God.

The Bible is our proof that God never breaks His promises.

We can have hope in the promises of God with our confidence, that what God has done in the past God will do in the future, because God says He does not ever change His character.

In the Old Testament:

Mal 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not”; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

In the New Testament:

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”.

Heb 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the God of Hope!

Rom 15:13 Now “the God of hope” fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

As Christians, our hope lies in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ whom we know is the “express image of God”, like God in every way.

Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49 And, behold, “I send the promise of my Father upon you”:

We have assurance of hope:

1) Because of what was done through the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

2) Because the Lord Jesus Christ sent the Comforter to live within us.

Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

We should ask ourselves, “how can we not have hope in the promises of God”?

*Heb 6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
Heb 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The full assurance of “hope” lies in our future glory as we will be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

The full assurance of “faith” lies in the fact that we have been pardoned!

Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, “for he will abundantly pardon”.

We see that “repentance” is necessary to receive a pardon!

Repentance is:

A complete change of mind.
A complete change of direction.
A complete knowledge of our true purpose.
Along with true sense of our own guilt and sinfulness!

It is in our best interest that we be diligent to love the Lord till the very end!

You see there is going to be “an end”!

There will be “an end” to our hope once our salvation has been fulfilled.

If we are “diligent” in living for Christ, He will be just as diligent to make sure we get to our new home in Heaven!

When we have one foot in the Church and the other foot in the World will never have that assurance that comes by the “Grace of God”!

To be slothful, is to be a lazy Christian!

To be slothful, is a danger to every Christian, the answer to being slothful is being “diligent”!

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We need to be “diligent” to study the Word of God.
We need to be “diligent” to pray.
We need to be “diligent” to be a witness for Jesus Christ!
We need to be “diligent” in our love for our Savior!

2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation

To be with Christ Jesus is to be more alive than we could think was possible!

*Heb 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Heb 6:14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
Heb 6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

It seems like it has been every week lately that we learn of another of our brothers and sisters who have gone on Home ahead of us to be with the Lord.

We sometimes mourn when we should be rejoicing because we have that same yearning to be with them.

You see when our bodies reach death’s door, it is at this time that we see the true meaning of life, because we will have inherited the promises of God!

Those who have gone before us are not dead, they are alive, and more alive than they could have been here upon this earth!

They are now living the perfect life.

Probably the greatest example of this truth on this earth, is Abraham.

God made a sure promise of a son to Abraham, a child through which a great nation of people would be born.

All Abraham had to do was believe what God had said to him, go to where God said to go, and live as God said to live!

Abraham did as God instructed and him even though his faith was not perfect, God fulfilled His promise with Isaac even though Sarah and Abraham were far beyond childbearing years.

This was not the true promise that God intended:

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

The promise God was making was that from the lineage of Abraham would come the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ!

The land promised to Abraham was the area called Palestine, but the spiritual application is the true Promised Land which is the New Heaven!

The important thing is the Abraham believed the promises of God and therefore inherited the promises of God.

There has certainly been a nation of people who believe and follow God just as did Abraham.

Today they are called Christians, because they are trying to be more like Jesus Christ than of being like Abraham.

Abraham endured many things in his lifetime because being a true follower of God may be easy, but the world will do its best to make it hard!

Many characters in the Bible are our examples of true Christians, but there are also many examples who we see in the Church today.

Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Why did God go to so much trouble to teach us these things?

He wanted a people who are not full of doubt!

*Heb 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:

God knows that our world would grow so evil and wicked that it would be hard for some to trust Him!

We see these things happening before our very eyes today!

As we have seen over the history of the world and even in simple agreements people will swear by an “oath”.

Many times that oath will be upon the name of some person not involved.

Some swear on their mother’s name, some even on a child’s name, and some on the name of some great person in history.

We should understand that an oath in a religious manner, is lawful under the Gospel or this writer would never have mentioned it and the Holy Spirit would not have allowed it in this fashion.

An oath in reality, is in the fact that God is listening, and that oath is to Him as a witness.

In the Bible, an oath is also called a vow.

God is profoundly serious about vows and oaths:

Deu_23:21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
Deu_23:22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

Ecc_5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Ecc_5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Sadly, vows are not of great concern to most today and our government has never been able to keep them!

Just ask the Native Americans but not just to them.

If you want to hear many vows, just wait until our next election and you will hear so many it will make you sick and most of them have no intention of keeping them.

Divorces happen over broken vows!

Peace is obtained and broken over vows!

Many a sinner have made vows to our Savior and so many of us fail to keep them.

In all of them, we can be sure God is listening!

Here we see that God has made certain vows and He always keeps His promises, His vows, His oaths, and all the Word of God!

2Ti 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

It is impossible for God to break His vows and His promises!

1Th 5:24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

God cannot change and still be God!

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not;

It is impossible for God not to be God!

*Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

With so many suicides happening today, we can conclude the we humans cannot live without hope!

Without hope, most people find no reason to live!

When we indoctrinate our young people at an early age and they find that out, they see the world for what it is and it removes their hope.

When false churches teach their lies and people find them to be liars, some will give up believing there is no hope.

It is only the true God and His Word that can give us the hope we need to stay faithful till the very end!

Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

When we have hope in our salvation, we have no fear of death and leave that in the hands of God, who is the giver and the taker of life!

God will fulfill all His promises and He does not need anyone to help Him!

My hope in God is my refuge, my shelter, and my protection from danger, from distress, and from my enemies!

God gives us the picture of a mighty ship caught in a terrible storm desperately seeking a safe harbor to drop its anchor.

Believers flee from the storms of this world to God.
Believers flee for the distress of sin and shame in this world, to God.
Believers flee from the most dangerous enemy of this world (Satan) to God.

Because God is our safe harbor, God is our only hope in the Promised Land of Heaven!

My anchor is both sure and steadfast.
My anchor cannot slip.
My anchor cannot break.
My anchor, the Lord Jesus Christ will hold me no matter what!

Because my anchor is buried within the veil of the Holy of Holies upon the immovable throne of God!

My anchor is caught upon the Throne of my King, King Jesus, the right hand of God!

It is my Lord Jesus who opened that veil to receive me, and I will forever be with my Lord!

Col 1:3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Col 1:4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
Col 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
Col 1:6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

My hope is in the promises of my Savior and My God and, they are sure!

Amen

A Better Hope