A Little Leaven

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This program is called 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today we’re going to talk about A Little Leaven. Let’s turn to 1Co 5:1-13, It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father's wife. And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though I were present, him who has so done this deed; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves that evil person. Verse 6: Know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Let’s turn to Exodus chapter 12, and read about the first Passover; Exo 12:1-15, Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. Verse 19: Seven days there shall no leaven be found in your houses. Let’s turn to 1 Cor 5 again, verse 7, Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us; the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Therefore, because Christ is sacrificed for us, 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. Let’s turn to chapter 6, verse 9, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

It is upon us as elders in the body of Christ to stand up and purge out of our fellowships the leaven of malice and wickedness, and to build up the body of Christ in sincerity and truth; to deal with every person walking in sin, and if they will not repent, to put them out from among us. They must be put out until they repent with Godly sorrow for their sins, otherwise the leaven of sin will corrupt the entire body. If you are an elder, and you know there is sin in the house, and you won’t deal with it, you don’t love Christ, and you don’t love the people. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, in 2 Tim 4:2, …reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine. Jesus said, in Rev 3:19, As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent! Again, I want to remind us of what I just read in verse 9 of 1 Cor 6; know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. In 1 John we read: Little children, let no man deceive you, he that does righteousness is righteous; he that practices righteousness is righteous. He that sins, or he that practices sin is of the devil. Don’t be deceived children. The inclusion of the world, and worldly, sinful people in the church, who will not repent, for the sake of filthy lucre, is a grievous sin against Christ and His church. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth; the place of fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. The apostle John said in 1 John 1, Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. They are Holy, and we too should be holy. God said, Be you holy, for I am Holy; not holier than thou, but separated unto God, separated from that which is unclean; without spot, walking in the light, walking in the truth. If we say we have fellowship with the Lord and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth, John said. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship, one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. The leaven of self love, self indulgence, malice, and wickedness is darkness that must be exposed by the light of God’s Word through His true ministers in the church. Oh Lord, raise up true elders, raise up true ministers of your Gospel, Father, I pray, in this hour, that are not afraid of men, that are not after money, that are not seeking their own will, but they are pleasing you, seeking to do your will, Father, and they are strong in the Lord, and in the power of your might, speaking the truth, with signs following; I pray for it Father, right now! Raise up your church Lord! Restore your true church; the true body of Christ! Hallelujah! As I said, this darkness must be exposed by the light of God’s Word through His true ministers in the church as they are led by the Holy Spirit to do so. We must have love and courage to obey God and deal with wicked people in the church. Some will come to repentance. Others will refuse, and they must be put out of the church. Many churches are full of leaven because the leaders don’t want to deal with it. They are after filthy lucre, and they fear that if they do, they will offend some of their big donors.

Let’s go to 1 Pet 5:1-4 , The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain, or filthy lucre, but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, and He is coming, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. In the King James it says: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. 1 Pet 5:6, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Micah 6:8, For what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Many would say, Don’t judge! Which is true. We should not judge unjustly, based on our own understanding. But Jesus said, Judge righteous judgement. And I read earlier, the apostle Paul said, Do you not judge those that are within? We must judge sin and lies in the church by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 11:31&32, For if we would judge ourselves , we would not be judged, but when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. If we will meet God’s conditions, He will do what He has promised. He doesn’t change, and He is not a respecter of persons. The righteous, the humble shall be exalted. Those who practice lawlessness, if they will not repent, shall be destroyed. If you love people, tell them the truth!

2 Pet 3:17&18, You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Pet 3:9, The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So if you are an elder, and you won’t deal with the leaven of malice and wickedness in your church, and you let it continue, you are responsible before God for the destruction that follows in people’s lives. We need true elders! 1 Pet 1:22, We must purify our souls by obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned, true, genuine, love of the brethren, and we must love one another with a pure heart fervently. Lev 19:17, You shall not hate your brother in your heart: you shall in any wise rebuke your neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. If you know that your brother or your sister is in sin, it is not love to ignore it and not deal with it. It is love to confront them in all humility, longsuffering, patience, gentleness, meekness; to confront them. Jesus said, again, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent! Jesus said, in Mat 7:21-23, Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!

 The Love Of God

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. This is Rob Haymes. Today’s program is called The Love Of God. Let’s turn to John chapter 3, verse 13-21, No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only one begotten of the Father; His only begotten Son, and Jesus loved us so much, and He loved the Father, and He obeyed the Father, and He went to the cross for our sins. The Bible says God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf. On the cross Jesus became sin; He became sin. All the sin of the human race was laid upon Him; all the suffering, all the evil was laid on Him. He bore it on His own body. He bore our sins in His body on the cross. That is love; that God gave His Son. God gave His Son. He loved us so much that He gave His Son, who never did anything wrong. He was crucified for our sins. He was buried in a tomb, and on the third day the Father raised Him from the dead, justified from all sin, and justified us who will repent of our sins and come to Him with all our heart; repent and turn to Jesus with all our heart; confessing our sins; repenting of our sins; He will forgive us, and He will cleanse us, and He will sanctify us, and we will be baptized into His death, His burial, and His resurrection, through water baptism; raised with Him; justified, just as though we had never sinned. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The Son of God loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood ! Thank you Lord! We need a real revelation of the love of God. Self love is the opposite of the love of God. Self love will destroy us, and everyone around us. The love of God gives life. Jesus said, I am come that you might have life, eternal life, and that you might have it more abundantly. It comes from God to us and brings life into us and everyone around us. God loves us and choses us and draws us to Jesus. When we come to Jesus He saves us and washes us and causes us to be born again in Him and He in us. Then He begins to teach us and reprove us, and walk us in righteous paths as we continue in Him. It is His great love for us that He does this to correct us, purify us and prepare us, if we will stay with Him and keep His Words, to spend eternity with Him and with the Father. It is the love of God that causes us to continue with Him. The only way you can stay faithful to Him unto the end is in His love and mercy and grace; God’s graciousness. God loved us and gave His Son. We love Him because He first loved us. His correction and instruction is not to condemn us, but to deliver us out of darkness into His marvelous light; out of the dominion of Satan into the Kingdom of God; out of the lies into the truth; out of the bondage and misery of sin into the glorious liberty of the children of God; to make us sons and daughters of the Living God; to inherit eternal life and all things in Him! He loved us and ransomed us with His own Blood from the dominion of the Devil and our own destructions, to become His servants and to overcome with Him and reign with Him forever. It is the Father’s love to make us His children through the sacrifice of His only begotten beloved Son Jesus.

Let’s turn to 1 John 2:3-5, Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. Let’s go to 1 John 3:14- , We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Verse 16, By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Jesus said, Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. He said, You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Verse 23, And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. The Word of God will cleanse you of that old self love that blocks His love from flowing through you. It will not accommodate it. God has things for you to give to others; good deeds, and words of comfort and edification.

Let’s turn to 1Cor 13: 1-13, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Be honest with yourself and God. Come to Him and confess your hatred, your selfishness, your contempt for others, and your unforgiveness, and ask Him to cleanse you and put His love in your heart, by His Spirit, for Him and for other people. Then follow Him as He leads you in righteous paths to break you and cleanse you and teach you His ways. And keep following Him until you see His face! Don’t give up! Don’t let go of Him until He blesses you; until you see His Glory!

Let’s go to 1 John 4:7-21, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. Verse 10&11, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation, or the atonement, for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. As I said earlier, we need a revelation of God’s love; that God so loved us that He gave His blessed Son Jesus, who, though He was tempted like us in every way, He never sinned, and He willingly went to the cross to pay for all of our sins with His own life; His own Blood. He loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood. So we ought also to lay down our lives for one another; to really love one another, in deed and in truth.

Let’s turn to Romans 8, verses 31-39, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

God Gave The Increase

 

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today’s program is called God Gave The Increase. It’s taken from 1Cor 3:1-23, Let’s go there, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.  This chapter tells us what is wrong with the church.  Verse 9, For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Verse 6, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. Verse 7, So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. We are nothing! It is God who gives the increase.

 

Let’s go to Acts 2:1-4, When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. We see here, that on the Day of Pentecost, the Lord Jesus, as He promised, sent the Holy Spirit, and the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, and many people heard the sound and they were gathered together to see what was happening. Let’s go to verse 14-21, But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on my menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out of my Spirit in those days.  Peter preached the Gospel to the people. Let’s go to verse 32, Peter said, This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Amen! Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. God gave the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Peter planted; he preached the Gospel to the people, and then God gave the increase. Three thousand souls were added to the church that day. They were watered as they continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine. In verse 47 we read, And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. The Lord added. He gave the increase.

 

Let’s go to Acts 10. Acts 10 talks about the centurion, Cornelius, who was a righteous man; feared God with all his household, gave alms generously, in verse 2, to the people and prayed to God always. Wow! He was a righteous man. And God sent an angel. The angel told him to go and send for Peter. Peter came, he preached the Gospel, he planted, and the Holy Spirit fell on all those that were gathered together at Cornelius’ house. God gave the increase. They were baptized. Peter stayed there certain days and taught them and they were watered.

 

Let’s go to Acts 11:19-26, Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, (Greek speaking Jews), preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. I want to read that again, verse 21, And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. We see in Antioch that the hand of the Lord was with them; God gave the increase. The gentile church started in Antioch. They were first called Christians there. The Apostle Paul was sent out from there. There were elders there. If we go to Acts 13:1-5, we see, Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So we see here that God had established the church. He gave the increase. And He established elders, and they fasted, and they prayed, and they laid hands on them and sent them away, verse 4, So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. And you can read on and see how God moved. Paul planted and God gave the increase. This all started with those few men that went to Antioch; and the hand of the Lord was with them, and He gave the increase, and He established the church at Antioch, and much fruit came from it, including the Apostle Paul’s ministry, including all the churches that were established in Asia and in Greece.

 

Let’s go to Acts 16:13-15, And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us. God opened Lydia’s heart that she attended to the things spoken by Paul. Immediately she believed and was baptized; she and her whole house. God gave the increase. Let’s go to verse 23-33, And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately, immediately, he and all his family were baptized. God sent the earthquake and the jailer heard the Gospel; Paul planted; and he and all his house were saved and baptized straightway. God gave the increase.

 

John 15:5, Jesus said that without me you can do nothing. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. He starts the work. He gives the increase as we plant and water in obedience to Him, being sent by the Holy Spirit. As we abide in Him and obey Him, He will move through us. We cannot do anything without Him! 1Cor 3:9-15, Let’s go back there. We see here that every man’s work will be tried, of what sort it is. There is no other foundation that can be laid but Jesus Christ. Verse 12, Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire.  Every man’s work shall  be tried by fire. If any man’s work abides, verse 14, makes it through the fire, he shall receive a reward. Verse 15, If any man’s work shall be burned he shall suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Every work through the flesh is worthless; it is not valuable, like gold, silver, precious stones, and it shall be burned up. Every work initiated by Jesus, our head, our Lord and Master, which we finish in faithful obedience, bearing fruit that remains to God’s Glory, is valuable and precious, and we shall be rewarded. Every man’s work shall be rewarded. 1 Pet 1:17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;  knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. We should pass the time of our sojourning here in fear. Those that work iniquity shall be destroyed. Personal ambition is nothing but a hinderance. It causes us as ministers to work through our flesh which profits nothing, in pride and self glorification. The Bible talks about those who love the preeminence. So what can we do?  We must allow the Lord to break us: Jesus said, whosoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; so that He can work through us by His Spirit; so that we know that we are nothing; as Paul said, in 1 Cor 3, so that we know that all Glory belongs to Him; so that we wouldn’t even dare try to do anything on our own, but we seek Him with prayer and fasting to obey Him as He leads us; He initiates the work; sends us to plant; and He gives the increase; and we water; and the fruit will come forth to His Glory. We truly seek to bring Glory and honor to our God; to His Holy Name, and not to ourselves any more. Then we will have gold, silver, and precious stones that will make it through the fire. The fire is coming, and all of us will be judged according to our works.

 

 

Alas Sinful Nation!

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today’s program is entitled: Alas Sinful Nation! Just as this was Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Isaiah the Prophet, this is America today: Turn with me to Isa 1:1-28, The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, oh heavens, and give ear, oh earth! For the LORD has spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider. Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah: To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? says the LORD. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me; the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD; Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them. Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 

Verse 2, …I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; Verse 3, The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider. America does not know, nor do we consider. We do not know God, neither do we consider Him. We have rebelled against Him; we have rejected His Word to our own destruction. We do not consider that He is God and our breath is in His hand. Verse 4, we have forsaken the Lord and provoked Him to anger. Verse 13, Bring no more futile sacrifices; I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn meeting. Bring no more empty, vain prayers and religious services. Verse 15, even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Why? YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD !!! Even now we continue to slaughter innocent babies by the thousands, every day !! Let’s go to 2Ki 24:3&4. This talks about King Manasseh who was the son of Hezekiah, a righteous king; but Manasseh did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did much evil, but the worst thing that he did was that he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. Ladies and gentlemen we have filled our nation with innocent blood with the slaughter of these babies. We call it health care. We call it women’s choice. You can call it whatever you want, but it is murder. It’s murder of innocent babies. They haven’t even had time to do any evil or good, and they are snuffed out like some kind of inconvenience. See what the Lord said about Manasseh in 2Ki 24:3&4, Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. The Lord would not pardon the shedding of innocent blood. Our land is defiled with innocent blood!! 

This is our diagnosis America, by the Prophet Isaiah, and it speaks still today! There is a cure! There is a real healing: verse 16, wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, and the unborn, plead for the widow. Verse 18-20, Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. So, repent now! Turn from your evil ways! Come to your Savior Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for your sins, and let Him wash you and make you clean, and give you real life in Him. The only healing for America is to return to the God of our forefathers; to come weeping and mourning to our God whom we have forsaken and to His Son in true repentance, turning from the evil of our doings, being washed in the precious Blood of the Lamb of God. You cannot pick and choose scriptures and songs and try to justify your life of evil. The only way out is repentance; godly sorrow from the heart and returning to God with all our hearts. Then He will abundantly pardon and restore our judges as at the first, and our counselors as at the beginning. Then and only then shall we be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city; then and only then shall we be great again. No repentance; no forgiveness, and destruction will follow. America has been blessed and become great only because of the faith of our founders and the love and obedience which they lived toward our God; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we refuse to return to Him there will be no healing, but rather a great purging by Him of those who have rejected His counsel to their own destruction. Verse 28, The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 

Isa 2:11-18, The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. There is a day coming: The Day of the Lord! For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up—and it shall be brought low—upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan; upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. So let us humble ourselves now, all of us, before the Great and Mighty God and come to His Son Jesus, who gave Himself for us a living sacrifice for our sins, with fear and trembling and true repentance that we may find grace in His sight; grace to help us in this great hour of need. We must see our need as Jesus said to the church in Laodicea in Rev 3:17-22, Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. It is not enough to do a little righteousness and pat ourselves on the back while we continue to slaughter innocent babies and commit many other abominations, quoting scriptures and trying to appear to be honorable in the sight of men. That is not going to work! It’s a lie! It’s deceit! We must repent now, while we still have a nation, while we still have breath, and turn from our evil ways with all our hearts, with fasting and mourning and crying out to God, like the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of the Prophet Jonah. Let’s turn there, Jon 3:1-10, Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. Do not be deceived people! God’s judgement is upon us. If we will turn back to Him, perhaps He will pardon us and repent of the evil that He has planned to bring upon us for our evil ways. But if we refuse and continue in them we will be destroyed. Isa 3:10&11, Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be given him.

Isa 1:9, Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. There is a remnant in America, a very small remnant of people who really love the Lord. Thank God for them, otherwise we would be as Sodom and like unto Gomorrah.

 

 One Accord

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is 15 Minutes with Jesus. My name is Rob Haymes. Today’s program is called One Accord. On the day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter preached the Gospel. Let’s go to Acts 2:32-47, He said, This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this ,they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. Those words certainly apply today! We must be saved from this perverse generation! And there is salvation in no other than the Lord Jesus Christ; crucified for our sins! raised from the dead on the third day! Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Verse 42, And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Let’s go to Matt 15:8&9, These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. We must repent from following men and their doctrines and return to the Apostles’ doctrine; the New Testament, the Words of Jesus, and steadfastly continue in them, and then we will have genuine fellowship in the truth.

Truly our fellowship, as it says in 1 John, is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Let’s go to 1 John 1:1-7, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Verses 6&7, If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. We have true fellowship only in the truth. In John 17:17, Jesus said,…sanctify them by your truth; your Word is truth. We must continue steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine and the Words of Jesus to walk in the light and have real fellowship with the Father and Jesus and one another. Jesus said, wherever two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst! When we come together in the name of Jesus, in the light, He will be there, and we will have true fellowship in Him, one with another. Only then can we be in one accord. That’s what God wants with us; one accord, one heart, one soul, glorifying Him.

John 17:1-26, This is Jesus’ prayer: Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. Verse 20&23 again, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

1 John 2:26&27, These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. You have no need that any man teach you. You have no need for the doctrines of men; no need to follow a man or trust in a man, but the Holy Spirit, when you have received Him, will guide you into all truth. He is truth, and is no lie. It is these very doctrines of men that separate brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ and create division. And the world doesn’t know that the Father really sent Jesus, nor can they see His love among the brethren. Jesus said, If you continue in my Word you will be my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. True disciples have true fellowship in Him, and the world can see His love in action, not in word only, but in deed and in truth. Jesus said, This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you lay down your lives, one for another. Greater love has no man than this; that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatsoever things I command you. This is love: that you keep my commandments. Continuing in the Apostles’ doctrine and Jesus’ Words we can be one. As we as believers in Jesus come into one accord in the truth we will be as lights in this world and we will dispel the darkness; the growing darkness that is covering the people, as all flesh is corrupting it’s way on the Earth. We must be strong and walk in the light; the truth of God’s Word, and walk in love, and do the good works He has for us to do, as He leads us by His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He will lead us to glorify Jesus and bring real hope into this dark world. In the time of the end, as it is written in the Book of Daniel, they that know their God will be strong and do exploits. This is the time of the end, and we must walk in the Spirit and follow Jesus to do His good works, walking in the truth, walking in love, keeping His Words, loving one another, in one accord, continuing steadfast in the Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and breaking of bread, and prayers.

Php 2:1-8, Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. This is Apostles’ doctrine, which if we the people of God would obey, and esteem higher than any doctrine of men, we would come into one accord, and we would shine as lights in this crooked and perverse world.

 Neither Do I Condemn You

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is Fifteen Minutes With Jesus. Today’s program is called, Neither Do I Condemn You. Let’s turn to John 8:1-12, But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Verse 7, So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."

We are such a self righteous and hypocritical people! We see someone making a mistake, or sinning, or doing something we believe is wrong, how quick we are to judge them and condemn them, according to our law, which we ourselves do not keep. He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone. We so often forget that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, that all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. In verse 10&11 Jesus said to that woman, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." Let’s turn to John chapter 3, verses 1-3, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." I want to go to verses 16-21, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." Jesus said to Nicodemus, God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. This is the condemnation: that light is come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.

Mat 7:1-5, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank isin your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. With what judgement you judge you will be judged. Self righteous condemnation of others does not make you righteous. You will be judged according to your works some day. In verse 24 Jesus said, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgement. Understand people, God loves us so much that He gave His Beloved Son as a perfect sacrifice on the cross for our sins. How was Jesus a perfect sacrifice for our sins? He was born of the Virgin Mary. He was conceived in her womb by the Holy Ghost. The angel Gabriel said to her, Therefore that Holy Thing that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. He became a man; Jesus, the Son of God. He lived as a man, just like you and me, and He was tempted in every way, just like you and me, yet He never sinned; he never yielded to the temptations. He overcame the temptations, and He never sinned. That’s why He is called the spotless Lamb. That’s why He could give Himself on the cross a perfect sacrifice for all of our sins. It was a horrible, brutal death and suffering on the cross that He did for us, because He so loved us, and He bore our sins in His own body on the cross, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He did that that we might be saved from our sins. God raised Him from the dead that we might inherit eternal life with Him, through repentance and faith in Him. He is not looking to condemn us, but to save us. We condemn ourselves when we will not come to Him.

Let’s look at John 6:32-40, Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Let’s go to verse 51 , I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

Notice that Jesus told the woman, Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more. It is those who continue in their sins and will not repent, will not come to the light and repent and be cleansed of their sins through Jesus’ precious Blood, that condemn themselves. And because they are guilty before God, they take delight in condemning others. It makes them feel righteous, but it does not make them righteous. We are made righteous only through humbling ourselves before the Living God and confessing our sins to Him and receiving the gift of His Son, and His sacrifice of Himself for our sins. All of us have sinned. There is no man that has not sinned, but one. God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on the cross that we might be made the righteousness of God through Him. We are righteous only through faith in Him. When we believe in Jesus it is imputed to us for righteousness. When we believe what Jesus suffered for our sins, not for His sins, but for our sins, we will be convicted and come to Him, confessing our sins, and being washed in His precious Blood. We will love Him and seek to follow Him and obey His Words. Jesus is not condemning you. He loves you and He wants you to come to Him and let Him cleanse you and forgive you and deliver you and make you a man or a woman of God and bring you into His Glory. But you must come to Him. He said in Matt 11:28-30, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Come to Him. Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus! Stop judging others. Stop condemning others. That does not make you righteous. Jesus said, Come to Me! Learn of me! Follow me, and you will have eternal life, and you will be justified! Come to Jesus!

Right now I want to lead those of you who are willing, those of you who are reading this message, if you would like to join me in a prayer of repentance for judging others self righteously, please join me now:

Father, in Jesus name we come to you and we ask forgiveness for how we have judged others in our own self righteousness; condemning them, separating ourselves from them, looking down on them, whatever the case may be, we have judged un-righteously. We have condemned others to make ourselves feel more righteous, or better than them. We acknowledge this to you now Lord. We ask you to forgive us. We ask you to take the plank out of our eyes. Deliver us from this evil, from this pride, from all our self righteousness. For all of us have sinned. All of us have come short of your Glory. So we humble ourselves before you right now Father and we ask your forgiveness in Jesus name. Teach us to love others. You so loved us that you gave your Son for us. Help us to forgive others and to love them.

Is there someone that you cannot forgive; someone you feel that you cannot forgive them; you have judged them; you are still holding them in your judgement? They did something against you: they hurt you, they sinned against you, maybe really badly, and you feel like you are righteous in holding them in your judgement. You feel like they don’t deserve your forgiveness. My friend, you are in self righteousness. I’m not condemning you. I’m just telling you the truth. You have no right to judge them. Yes, they treated you wrongly. Yes, it was wrong, and you were hurt, or hindered in some way. I plead with you right now: because God forgave you through the sacrifice of His own Beloved Son, who never did anything wrong, I urge you now; ask God to help you to forgive that person. Forgive them! Forgive them! Forgive them! Forgive them for what they said to you, what they did to you , how they embarrassed you, whatever it is, forgive them! Don’t hold them in judgement any longer. Release them from your judgement so that God can release you from His judgement against you for your self righteousness and your own wickedness. He promised, if we will not forgive, we will not be forgiven. If we are not forgiven, we are not going to Heaven. Don’t kid yourself, don’t deceive yourself, you must forgive; in order for you to be forgiven you must forgive others. Not only that; you need to love them. You need to ask God to help you to love them and do good to them, as much as it is in your power. God bless you, everyone reading this. I pray that God will help us all to not be self righteous, to not judge others un-righteously, but to humble ourselves and follow Jesus. Remember, as Jesus was suffering so badly on the cross, He prayed for those who were condemning Him and killing Him: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

 Nebuchadnezzar's Testimony

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This program is called 15 Minutes with Jesus. Today’s program is called Nebuchadnezzar’s Testimony. This is the testimony that Nebuchadnezzar gave, as it is written in the Book of Daniel. Let’s turn to Daniel chapter 4, verses 1-37, Nebuchadnezzar the king, To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation. But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying: "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation. These were the visions of my head while on my bed: I was looking, and behold, A tree in the midst of the earth, And its height was great. The tree grew and became strong; Its height reached to the heavens, And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. Its leaves were lovely, Its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, And all flesh was fed from it. "I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus: 'Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, And the birds from its branches. Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth, Bound with a band of iron and bronze, In the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, And let him graze with the beasts On the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, And let seven times pass over him. 'This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.' "This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you." Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you." Belteshazzar answered and said, "My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies! "The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth. I just want to point out here that Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest kings that was ever on the face of the Earth. Verse 23, "And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him'; this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. "And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity."

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?" At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.

Right now we are in a great trial in America with the 2020 presidential election. No matter what you believe about this election, or which candidate you support, there is one thing that is indisputable: God is in complete control, His hand is stretched out still, and no one can restrain His hand or say to Him, what are you doing? He will place a man of His choice as President of the United States for the next four years; that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills and sets over it the lowest of men. No matter what the outcome will be, set your hope on the King who is coming soon. Do not be dismayed! Set your hope in Him! He is coming back very soon, and He will set everything straight. While you still have breath, set your hope on Jesus Christ! Come to Him, and give Him all your heart! Repent and believe the Good News of what Jesus has done for you and what is about to take place! No matter how dark it gets, keep looking up to Him: The Light of the World, and His light will shine on you and in you, to cleanse you and sanctify you, and through you, that others may be drawn to Him through your love and devotion to Him, and your love for your brothers and sisters. In 1 John 1 we read, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Let’s turn to Dan 2:20-23, Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king's demand." Verse 28-45, But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. "You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. "This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."

The God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Most people who have studied the Scriptures and the history of the World believe that we are presently in the time of the feet of iron and clay; the final mixed kingdom of Greek and Roman culture; the final worldly kingdom. The final chapter of this age is upon us; the reign of the anti-Christ, the man of sin, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the brightness of His coming. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is coming back to Earth very soon, and the anti-Christ, the false prophet, and the devil will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and ever, and so shall it be for every person whose name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life; every person who rejected His loving sacrifice for our sins on the cross of Calvary; the sacrifice of Himself; that He might wash us from our sins in His own Blood that we might inherit the Kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the Earth. All the wicked will be judged by fire in that last day, that great day of the wrath of the Lamb, and they shall be ashes under the feet of the righteous. The Lord’s Kingdom will be established forever, and all those who have repented of their sins and been justified in Him and remained faithful unto Him unto death will reign with Him as kings and priests forever in His Glory. Jesus Christ is our King and He will reign forever on the throne of His father David. Isaiah 9:6&7, For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Interpretation of tongues:

I am God Almighty, and as my servant has spoken, my hand is upon this election in the United States, and I will put whom I will as President of the United States for the next four years. Let your trust be in me, says the Lord. Look unto me; the author and the finisher of your faith, who for the joy set before Him; the Lord Jesus Christ, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Majesty on High.