RENDER ACCEPTABLE PRAISE (3): BY LIVING IN THE FEAR OF YAHWEH

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Tuesday June 27, 2023

RENDER ACCEPTABLE PRAISE (3): BY LIVING IN THE FEAR OF YAHWEH

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: …
Habakkuk 1:13a (KJV)

For your praise to be acceptable and satisfactory, you must deal with every enmity between you and Yahweh. The same Yahweh that responds to prayer is the same One that responds to praise. If when you hide iniquity in your heart, He does not hear your prayers (see Psalms 66:18), will He now celebrate you in praise? Yahweh’s eyes cannot behold evil. This attribute of Yahweh is what provoked the Psalmist to ask: ‘Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.’ (Psalm 15:1-3) Righteousness is your gateway to enjoying any benefit from Yahweh. Since He won’t behold iniquity, your praises to Him in iniquity won’t be acceptable before Him. He couldn’t even behold His only begotten Son on the cross when He bore the sins of the whole world upon Himself, how then would He listen to you when you praise Him in sin?

THE WORD BUILDS YOU UP (6): BY TEACHING THE FEAR OF YAHWEH

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Monday MAY 22, 2023

THE WORD BUILDS YOU UP (6): BY TEACHING THE FEAR OF YAHWEH

Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Psalms 34:11 (KJV)

The Word teaches us the fear of the Lord. Is it not a wonderful thing that the fear of the Lord can be learnt. That means no one is disadvantaged in life. Just anyone can learn the fear of the Lord and function in the realms of power and glory in their relationship with Yahweh. The Fear of the Lord is reverence for the Lord. It is having a sense of awe for the person, presence and emotions of the Lord. It is living your life in such a way and with the sole priority to please the Lord and bring glory to His holy name. Our relationship with the Father starts with surrendering to the Lordship of Yahushua HaMashiach. John 14:6 says, ‘Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ If you have not accepted the Lord Yahushua as Lord and Personal Saviour, then you do not have a relationship with the Father because the scriptures cannot be broken. At the fall of Adam, humanity came short of the glory of the Father. It is only in Yahushua that we are reconciled, restored and empowered to fellowship with the Father. Another need to be saved is that at the fall of Adam, humanity acquired the nature of Satan. But at salvation, you become a new creation with the nature of righteousness of the Lord Yahushua. It is this nature of righteousness that makes it possible to be and live holy lives as a new creation. Holiness is the basis of a valid relationship with the Father (see II Timothty 2.19). Having become a new creation in HaMashiach, you must conform your soul and body to this new man in HaMashiach by doing the Word. It is the fear of the Lord that brings about doing the Word.

IT IS ABOUT BEING FAITHFUL

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Saturday April 29, 2023

IT IS ABOUT BEING FAITHFUL

And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
John 4:36 (KJV)

Understand that there is no failure in the harvest field. Winning souls involves both “sowing” and “reaping.” Yahushua used these terms in talking to His disciples as recorded in John 4:35-38. Exactly what is the difference between “sowing” and “reaping?” Sowing is the work necessary to enable the seed to enter the ground so that one day harvest is reaped! In agriculture, sowing involves preparing the soil and planting the seed. In winning souls to HaMashiach (the Christ), sowing likewise involves preparation and planting: (a) In which the hearts are being prepared for the reception of the gospel. (b) In which the hearts are first introduced to the gospel and its principles. Reaping is the actual “harvesting” of what has been sown. In agriculture, reaping is the collection of the fruits which have produced by the sowing into the barn or storage facilities for preservation. In winning souls, reaping is that harvesting which occurs when souls who have had the Word planted in their hearts decide to obey it and are subsequently planted in the local church! What is important to appreciate is the statement quoted by Jesus in John 4:37, “One sows and another reaps.” Those who sow do not always witness the reaping that may one day occur. And many times those who reap are benefiting from the efforts of those who did the sowing before them. In evangelism, this means that often times you will be sowing the seed and it may appear that you are not getting any results. But some time later those souls you were trying to reach may decide to finally obey the gospel and another Christian may actually do the reaping in your place! Then again, there will be times when people just sort of “fall into your lap,” ready and anxious to obey the gospel with little effort on your part. In this case, you are reaping what others have sown! The point to keep in mind is that evangelism involves both “sowing” and “reaping,” and there will be times when what you sow will be reaped by someone else. Let this be an encouragement to you when it appears that you are not reaping as you would hope. You might actually be making it much easier for some brother or sister in the future!

WHAT THIS PARTNERSHIP HOLDS FOR YOU (4): VIBRANT SPIRITUAL LIFE & RAPTURE READINESS

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Friday April 28, 2023

WHAT THIS PARTNERSHIP HOLDS FOR YOU (4): VIBRANT SPIRITUAL LIFE & RAPTURE READINESS

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
John 17:19 (KJV)

In Romans 2:21-21, the word says, ‘21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?’ That goes to say that preaching the gospel forms as a check on your own life. You cannot preach a thing and afterwards goes right into that sin. Preaching is one way to maintain a vibrant spiritual life that is burning for the Lord. The preparations required to engaged in productive evangelism and soul-winning is such that makes for a robust spiritual life. That is why as a benefit of bearing the gospel, your spiritual life is enhanced. You are always on fire for the Lord. Another thing that makes that possible is the challenges encountered in the harvest field. As you go out to preach the gospel, you come in contact with people that have debilitating issues that will take sleep out of your eyes in the night as you cry out to the Yahweh for intervention in their lives. There are situations you encountered that fasting just began from there on the spot because you must see that situation changed. You cannot be doing all that without experiencing fire on continuous basis.

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS PARTNERSHIP (9): BE COURAGEOUS

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Monday April 24, 2023

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS PARTNERSHIP (9): BE COURAGEOUS

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 1:9 (KJV)

Courage is essential for a soldier in battle and for a soldier of the Lord Yahushua in the fight of faith (see Ephesians 6:10-18). Courage is the strength of the soul. Yahweh has no use for cowards (see Hebrews 10:38-39). Spiritual strength includes steadfastness, bravery, faith in the Yahweh and honesty. It does not come by accident. It is deliberately developed. Courage is boldness to dare anything in the harvest field. It is only the courageous that becomes the victorious. Whatever you cannot dare, you can never take. The seriousness of a man’s face or his high fence, does not scare you. Until courage is in place, conquest is not in view. To be successful in the harvest field, therefore, one must be very courageous. Courage to tell the truth. Courage to preach the undiluted word of God. Courage not to fear at the faces of the people. Jeremiah 1:8 says, ‘Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.’ It takes courage to preach somethings the Holy Spirit will give you.

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS PARTNERSHIP (4): LIVE IN HOLINESS

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Wednesday April 19, 2023

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS PARTNERSHIP (4): LIVE IN HOLINESS

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. II Timothy 3:19 (KJV)

This is one factor that impede the commitment of many to the gospel – a life of unrighteousness and iniquity. Soul-winning demands that the participant is delivered from a lifestyle of sin before he/she can qualify to be used to deliver others. Soul-winning is bearing the everlasting gospel to the next person and it is required that those that bear the vessels of the Lord must be holy and clean. Isaiah 52:11 admonishes, ‘Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.’ You cannot be meddling with sin and still be free to carry the everlasting gospel. The gospel is holy and uncleanness disqualifies one from bearing it. Living in sin and preaching the gospel is hypocrisy. If what you are preaching is effective, it should save you first. If the gospel you are preaching has not saved you, it would be impotent to effect any change in the life of the person you are witnessing to. Forever, guilt cannot allow you to be effective and successful in the gospel that is why you must clean up. No matter how good an apple is, if you handle that apple with a hand that you used to apply sniper (poison), that apple will be contaminated and can cause death. It is a good apple, the problem is the person bearing it. Same is true about the gospel.

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS PARTNERSHIP (2): MORTIFY FLESH

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Monday April 17, 2023

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS PARTNERSHIP (2): MORTIFY FLESH

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.
I Corinthians 9:27 (KJV)

The greatest enemy of the recreated human spirit is not the devil. When you were born again, you had dominion over the devil and his gates of hell. The greatest enemy of the born again person is his/her flesh. Self is the greatest enemy of the born again person. There are three forces at war in the life of the born again person: the Holy Spirit, the Flesh and the devil. The flesh is always cooperating with the devil that is why you must put it under. Flesh talks about the cravings of the sinful nature. To be useful and usable in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, you must mortify your flesh. You must come to the altar of burnt offering and lay your body at the altar as a living sacrifice. The reason is that you must be salted with fire to be useful in the hand the Lord (see Mark 9:49). If you are still alive in your flesh, you are not useful and usable for the work of the gospel. With your flesh still alive, you cannot represent the Lord and the gospel in your lifestyle which is the most primary form of evangelism. A self that is still alive is full of pride, easily angry, boastful and self-centered.

PARTNERING WITH THE LORD INVOLVES (6): LIVING OUT THE GOSPEL

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Saturday April 15, 2023

PARTNERING WITH THE LORD INVOLVES (6): LIVING OUT THE GOSPEL

Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct.
I Peter 3:1B-2 (KJV)

Everyone of us has the privilege to live out the gospel in our day to day operations. With most people that are close to you, lifestyle evangelism is normally the most effective. It is normally a contradiction when you see one that is vocal about the gospel but whose lifestyle is directly the opposite. There is nothing that turns off children than to see parents that proclaim the gospel in words but their lifestyle at home is opposite the gospel. This is the reason so many children from Christian homes turn away from the Lord as soon as they left home. You have parents that are Christians in the Church but devils at home. No matter what you tell children, what they see you doing is what they are going to imbibe. Lifestyle evangelism is so critical at home, office and with close associates. People that relate with you on a daily bases will be drawn to the Lord more with your lifestyle than with words. When you have shown Christ-like character, it is easy to preach and be heard. So, as a Christian, your lifestyle is critical to the success of the gospel in your sphere of contacts. Your colleagues are watching you. You cannot take bribe, lie and cheat and then turn around to preach Yahushua to them. It is not possible to take such a person seriously. You will regard the person as a religious fanatics. But when someone has challenged you with a solid life of integrity, and the person talks to you about Yahushua, you are quick to listen.

SOUL-WINNING IS YOUR PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT ON EARTH

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Friday April 7, 2023

SOUL-WINNING IS YOUR PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT ON EARTH

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mark 16:15 (KJV)

When we say that something is of primary importance, we mean to say that it ranks first and that it is of first importance or value; that it is direct and immediate rather than secondary. If it is primary then it is the most important element of all considerations. As a believer, soul-winning is your primary assignment on earth. When you surrendered your heart to the Lord Yahushua HaMashiach, He would have called you home immediately; but He chose to leave you here on earth, why? It is because when you are born again, you become HaMashiach (the Christ) that your world sees; you become the extension of divinity to your sphere of contacts. You are now the light of your world; the salt of your world. They are lost and hopeless without you. Your presence produces preservation and illumination to your sphere of contacts. The instrument of that illumination is the gospel of the Lord Yahushua HaMashiach. 2 Corinthians 4:4 talks about the light of the glorious gospel of HaMashiach (the Christ). When you share the gospel, you are shining the light to your sphere of contacts. Your business/career is a vehicle to convey you to the people in your world. Your career/business is not your primary assignment. It is utter misplacement of priority to make your career/business as your primary assignment. Your business/career is only a point of contact for you to communicate the gospel to your world.

THE TIME IS SHORT

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Thursday April 6, 2023

THE TIME IS SHORT

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Revelation 12:12 (KJV)

The devil knows that he has but a short time but unfortunately so many Christians do not know that they have but a short time on this side of eternity. Today we are going to look at prophetic timeline and see why soul-winning is so urgent at such a time as this. Yahweh gave Daniel a vision of what He will do in the end times and it is commonly referred to as the seventy weeks of Daniel (Dan. 9:23-27). The seventy weeks of Daniel is the prophetic timeline of Israel as a nation and people. Whatever Yahweh is doing in the world today, Israel is the point of contact for it. Yahweh’s agenda is in relation to the covenant He made with the ancestors of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In prophetic language, one week is equal to seven years. So seventy weeks is equal to 490 years. Yahweh said that seventy weeks is given to Israel to finish transgression. This seventy weeks started from the 7th year of King Artaxerxes being April 3, 458 BC (Gregorian calendar). From 458 BC to the time the Messiah was cut off around April 3, 33 AD was 69 weeks. This vision of Daniel and the one given to Nebuchadnezzar are one and points to the same end time events. From the Vision of Nebuchadnezzar, the ankle of that image which prophetically is referred as the “Parenthesis” is the times of the gentles which is the age of the Church. One week was remaining from the vision of Daniel which represents the time (seven years of Anti-Christ) of Jacob’s trouble when the Anti-Christ will break the treaty with Israel and unleash persecution which will culminate in the second return of the Messiah.

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