The Passover Lamb

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. 2 Cor 13:14

Today’s program is called The Passover Lamb. Let’s turn to Gen 22:1-8, Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. Then He said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you. So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, My father! And he said, Here I am, my son. Then he said, Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering. So the two of them went together. 

Let’s turn to Exo 12:1-14, 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…. Verse 46, In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. 

Let’s turn to John 19:17-24, And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.  Therefore the soldiers did these things. 

Verses 28-37, After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst! Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, Not one of His bones shall be broken. And again another Scripture says, They shall look on Him whom they pierced. That scripture about His bones not being broken, is the same scripture from Exo 12:46:...neither shall you break a bone thereof.

John 6:51-58, Jesus said, 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. The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever. 

John 1:29, The next day John (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Verse 36, And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God!  Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world! 1 Cor 5:6-8, 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. Christ our Passover! 1 Pet 1:17-21, 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. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. A lamb without blemish and without spot: He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world. So we see, in these scriptures that we’ve been reading, the Lamb of God, where Abraham, when Isaac asked Him, where is the lamb? said, God will provide Himself a Lamb. And then in Exodus: the Passover Lamb. Amen! Then we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death; crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.

Rev 5:6-14,  And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your Blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing! And every creature which is in Heaven and on the Earth and under the Earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! Then the four living creatures said, Amen! And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. 

Jesus is the Passover Lamb. His Blood was shed on the Cross at Calvary to save us from death. We are saved through faith in His sacrifice of himself; through faith in His shed Blood shed for the remission of our sins. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. God so loved us that He gave His Son a living sacrifice for our sins to save us from the wrath of God to come. God provided for Himself a Lamb. God made Him who knew no sin, though He was tempted in every way as we are, to become sin on the Cross, that we, through repentance and faith toward Him, might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Our sins were laid on Him on the Cross. He died for our sins, and He washed us from our sins in His own Blood, that through faith in His death and resurrection, and obedience to His Word, we might be made righteous, and escape the judgment that is soon coming upon the whole world.  Glory to the Lamb! Jesus is the Lamb! Holy is the Lamb! For you are glorious and worthy to be praised, the Lamb upon your throne. And you will reign in righteousness forever; the Lamb upon your throne.

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen.

 The Sermon On The Mount  Part 3

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Thank you Heavenly Father for this day, and thank you for this program, The Sermon On The Mount  Part 3. I pray that you would open our hearts; open our eyes, and open our ears to hear and see what you are saying. This is the third in a three part series on The Sermon On The Mount that the Lord has given me; this will be the final program. I have a lot to speak on, so I’m not going to write out the whole of chapter seven; I’m just going to start in verse 1 and move through it. 

Mat 7:1&2, 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. Jesus said, in John 7:24, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Do not judge according to what you see, or what you think you see; according to your own understanding or according to what people say about someone. How do you judge righteously?  According to the Word of God as it is revealed in the situation by the Holy Spirit. In 1 Sam 16, the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons to be the next king of Israel after Saul. Samuel was impressed when he looked upon Jesse’s oldest son Eliab, but the Lord said to him, Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. The Lord said of David, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. So righteous judgment is from the Lord, in His Word; revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Mat 7:3-5, 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 is in 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. 1 Tim 6:3-5, If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. These are men with planks in their eyes, hypocrites, and they cannot see to get the spec out of your eye. Jesus said in John 8:31, that if we will continue in His wholesome Words, we will be His disciples indeed, and we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free. He that commits sin is the slave of sin, and the slave does not abide in the house forever. The Son abides forever. Therefore, He said, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Only someone who has continued with Jesus in His wholesome Words, long enough to be set free themselves, will be able, by the Holy Spirit, to help you get free from whatever specs are in your eyes. The Church is full of preachers who promise you liberty, but they themselves are the slaves of corruption. They cannot help you, but Jesus can, and He will, if you will continue with Him, seeking after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.  

Mat 7:6, Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. Watch out for dogs and pigs. They don’t care about you. They just want to devour you. Don’t share your precious blessings from the Lord with everyone. Don’t think every so called Christian you meet will appreciate their value. 

Mat 7:7-11,  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Jas 1:2-7, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord… We are asking for the good things of God; for the Holy Spirit; we are seeking righteousness and holiness, and we are putting to death the works of the flesh through serving in the newness of the Spirit, married to Jesus, and through our union with Him, in His love, we are bringing forth much good fruit to the glory of God. 

Mat 7:12-14, Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. We are knocking at the narrow gate. It is narrow and it is difficult. But if we continue asking, seeking, and knocking, the gate will be opened, and the work that the Lord has begun in us will continue unto the day of salvation, as we learn to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.  

Let’s turn to 1 Pet 1:3-9,  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 

that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. 

The key to the narrow gate; the way to the salvation of your souls, is the love of God. We love the Father and Jesus for what they have done for us to save us from our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us that He would give His beloved Son upon the Cross to suffer and die for our sins, we also ought to love one another. It is that same love that enables us to love our enemies; to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us, and to forgive everyone who has sinned against us, no matter what they have done to us. It is that same love that causes us to have compassion on those that are in need, as God leads us by His Holy Spirit. It is that same love of God that does no ill to his neighbor, and therefore is the fulfilling of the Law. Loving and doing good, as God leads us, when it is difficult and hard, works Jesus’ character in us, for He loved those that were hating Him and crucifying Him. The same love that enabled Jesus to take the cup from the Father’s hand and go to the Cross for us, enables us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus, every day, to do the will of the Father.

Mat 7:19,  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. If you will do these things that I have been speaking of, His Word will bring forth good fruit in your life, that remains. 

Verses 21-27, Jesus said, 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! Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the Rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

So, this is very simple. Jesus made it very clear and simple: you can do this if you will love Him. If you will love the Father and ask them to help you, you can do the Sermon on the Mount. If you are sincere; if you will humble yourself before them, they will respond and grant you grace. It will not be easy. It will be narrow and difficult; you will be broken and changed into a new person, like Jesus. It takes time; it takes righteous paths; it takes staying with Jesus and the Father, and trusting them in loving people. But, if you will, you will be able to stand when the storm comes, and you will make it through that narrow and difficult way into eternal life in the glorious Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you refuse, and will not do His Words, the storm will come to your house too, and you will not be able to stand. The rain will descend; the floods will come; the wind will blow and beat upon your house and it will fall, and great will be it’s fall.  

The religion and doctrines of men is the sand. Jesus said, This people draws near to Me with their mouth and honors Me with their lips, but their heart, ( it’s all about the heart), is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. It is foolish to build your house on sand, because the storm is coming. Jesus is the Rock! In doing His Words, you will be able to stand.

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth. (2 Cor 13:14)

 The Sermon On The Mount  Part 2

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Thank you Father, in Jesus’ name, we thank you for this program, Father, The Sermon on the Mount Part 2. I pray that you would open all of our ears and our hearts to receive the truth of Your Word this day. Thank you Father.

Let’s turn to Mat 6:1-34, Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in Heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

Verse 1, Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in Heaven. You don’t need the honor of men; it is vain. Seek to honor God in all that you do, and He will honor you. Jesus spoke here about doing different things: praying, giving; fasting, to be seen of men, and that is vain. You already have your reward. If men honor you, it means nothing; if God honors you, it means everything. So start by honoring Him in all that you do. Seek to honor God.

Jesus gave us a pattern for prayer, and He said to pray it in secret. We call it The Lord’s Prayer. He said, And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. He said, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Then, He spoke The Lord’s Prayer:  First: honor your Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name. Second: Ask for His Kingdom to come on Earth; ask for His will to be done here as it is in Heaven. That is how things will truly go well on the Earth and in our lives. Third: Ask for our daily bread. He promised in chapter 6, verse 33, that if we would seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, that all the things we need will be added to us. It doesn’t hurt to give Him thanks in advance. Fourth: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. If you want to be forgiven, you must forgive those who have sinned against you. If you feel like you can’t forgive someone, that’s the person you really need to seek God to help you to forgive them. Ask Him for His grace in your time of need, because you are definitely in need. If you don’t forgive that person, God will not forgive you. He promised right there in verse 15, that He is not a respecter of persons. If you are not forgiven, you will not be going to Heaven. Remember how Jesus suffered for you upon the Cross, that you might be forgiven: the just for the unjust. You can ask Him to give you love for that person. He loved you when you did not love Him, and He washed you from your sins in His own Blood. 

When you’re not able to forgive someone; you know you need to forgive them, don’t run from it. Ask God to help you to forgive that person; He will do it. He knows if you are willing and He will help you. Ask for grace, when you’re being tempted, ask for grace, when you’re being tempted not to forgive someone, ask for grace to forgive them; ask for grace to help in the time of need, and God will help you. I have experienced this; this is the truth of God’s Word. So the question is, do you love God? Do you love other people; are you willing to walk in love? Or will you harden your heart because you feel like you have a just reason to not forgive someone or to hate them. So, what do you do in your situation? Remember God’s Word; remember He told you to love your enemies; He told you to forgive if you have anything against anyone, that you yourself might be forgiven. So when you get in that situation, ask the Lord, and He will help you, and you will be able, by the grace of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to do the Sermon on the Mount; to forgive if you have anything against anyone.

Ok, let’s go to verse 19, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on Earth, …but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven…When the rich young ruler came to Jesus he told Him that he had kept all the law, and he asked Him, what more do I need to do? And Jesus told him, Go sell all that you have and give to the poor and you shall have treasure in Heaven. So that’s how you build up treasure in Heaven: by giving to the poor; giving to those in need. The scripture says it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have. Always, if you have any question about giving, always ask the Lord; He will help you; He will show you. Don’t let someone con you out of what you don’t even have. If you give or pray or fast or do anything else to be seen of men, you have your reward; you have no reward of your Father in Heaven. But if you do it in secret unto Him, not seeking man’s honor, but His only, He will reward you openly. The honor of men is a vain, empty, pursuit. The honor of God has promise, for this life, and for the life to come. So seek to honor Him in all that you do.

Verse 21, For where your treasure is, there will your heart will be also. You don’t want your heart to be on this world and the things of this world. The scripture says, Set your affection on things above, not on things on the Earth. The things above are revealed in the scriptures. Verse 22, The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. If your eyes are on that which is good: on the Word of God and His works, you will be full of His light; it will shine through your life. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If your eyes are continually on that which is evil, you will be full of darkness, and that darkness will blind your eyes, and you will not know where you are going. Verse 24, You cannot serve two masters: God and money. If you will serve God with all your heart and seek His Kingdom and His righteousness in your life, He promises here in these verses that He will take care of all your needs. You don’t even need to think about them. 

I’m here to tell you that you can do the Sermon on the Mount. It starts with a revelation of what the Father has done for you; what Jesus has done for you upon the Cross, and His resurrection from the dead: a revelation of their great love for you: that they would do that for you, even when you were dead in your sins. Once you receive the love that God has for you; once you realize what He has done for you, if you have a heart, you cannot help but love Him, and that love will enable you, by the grace of God revealed in the Gospel to do the Sermon on the Mount, as the Holy Spirit leads you, and in so doing, you will be doing the Father’s will, and your house will be established upon the Rock, and you will be able to stand in the evil day that is coming upon the Earth. I’m going to remind us again of what Jesus said at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, He said, Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, is going into the Kingdom of Heaven, but they that do the will of My Father in Heaven.

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)

 The Sermon On The Mount Part 1

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Father, in Jesus’ name, we thank you for this day; we thank you for this program. I pray that you would open our eyes; open our ears; open our understanding; open our hearts, Father, to see what is written in your Word: that you would reveal your Word to us. 

Today’s message is The Sermon On The Mount Part 1. Starting in chapter 5 of Matthew, verse 1,  And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

Mat 5:13  You are the salt of the Earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. Mat 5:17  Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till Heaven and Earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mat 5:21  You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca! shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, You fool! shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. 

Mat 5:27  You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery,  but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 

Mat 5:31  Furthermore it has been said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. 

Mat 5:33  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by Heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the Earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. 

Mat 5:38  You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. 

Mat 5:43  You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect. 

In verse 19, Jesus said, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is how a person may become great in the Kingdom of God: by doing Jesus’ commandments; by doing the Sermon on the Mount.

When I was a baby Christian, I was at a prayer meeting, and a woman spoke up and said, “Well everyone knows that you can’t keep the Sermon on the Mount.” Unfortunately, I don’t remember the leader of that meeting correcting her. And it has taken me years to overcome that lie. Jesus said, right after verse 19, in verse 20, For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The righteousness of the Sermon on the Mount exceeds the righteousness of the Law.

In verse 23 and 24, Jesus said, Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Before you come to worship God, if your brother or sister has something against you, go to them and make it right, then you can offer true worship to God, and undefiled prayers.

In verses 27-31, Jesus deals squarely with lust and adultery. In verse 28 He said, If you even look at a woman to lust after her, you have already committed adultery with her; you’ve already sinned.  Then He said, in verse 29, …for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Why did He say that? Is He saying that we should pluck out our eyes if we lust after a woman? No. He is showing us how important it is that we deal with the cause: what is causing us to lust after a woman?, or a woman to lust after a man?, and that, if we don’t deal with it, we could end up in Hell.  How do you deal with the lust of the eyes? How do you deal with adultery? The first thing you do is acknowledge it to yourself and to God. “I have sinned; Lord, I confess my sin to you. Please forgive me of this sin and cleanse me of it.” In 1 John 1:9, the Apostle John said, If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Lord will uphold His Word; He will perform His Word in your life, if you are sincere about it. 

Remember, He said in verse 6, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. He also said, in John chapter 8, 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. He also said, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 

This is serious ! Very serious!  If you don’t take these Words seriously, as seriously as losing a part of your body, you will not overcome sin in your life, and you may end up in Hell. Don’t pluck out your eye, turn it away. Confess your sin to God and turn away from it. When you are tempted, ask Him for grace, and He will help you.  If you want this; if you want righteousness, then seek for it with all your heart. Through the love of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit; through faith in the  sacrifice of Jesus, and His resurrection from the dead; through the grace of God, if you will love Him, you can do His Words. This is the love of God: that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. 

Back in Mat 5:43, Jesus said, You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. The Holy Spirit will lead you in situations with people to do His Word, like: love your enemies. He will bring an enemy: someone whom you consider to be your enemy, across your path, and then you have an opportunity to do His Word and overcome and be set free, or, harden your heart and stay in darkness. 

It is a lie of the devil, that you cannot do the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus would have been unjust then in what He required; when He said, If you do these Words, it’s like building your house upon a rock. If you will love God, and seek Him with all your heart, He will give you grace to do it. If you love the world, you will not be able to do it. People who love the world; who love their evil deeds, will not be able to do it. Mat 7:21,  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. 

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)

 Where Is Our Faith?

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Thank you Heavenly Father! Thank you Jesus! Praise your holy name, Father; we thank you for what you’ve done when you gave your Son: you loved us so much that you sent Jesus to be crucified for our sins, and to be raised again for our justification. He bore our sicknesses and our pains in His body on the Cross, Amen!, and with His stripes we are healed!  Where is our faith?  Where is our faith?

Let’s turn to Luke 8:22, Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, Let us cross over to the other side of the lake. And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, Where is your faith? And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!

Let’s turn to Mat 21:18,  Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 

And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you ever again. Immediately the fig tree withered away. 

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree wither away so soon? So Jesus answered and said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. 2 Chr 16:9, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. 

Let’s turn to 2 Kings 20:1, In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live. Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David. Then Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day? Then Isaiah said, This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees. So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz. Hezekiah was sick, and God sent His prophet Isaiah to him to tell him that he was going to die and to set his house in order. But Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed and wept before the Lord, and God heard his prayer and changed His mind and healed him and gave him 15 more years! God heard his prayer and He changed His mind and healed him.  Where is our faith? Not only that, but He did an amazing sign to prove His Word to Hezekiah, and moved the shadow on the sun dial of Ahaz backward 10 degrees. 

God is mighty! He can do anything, if we will ask Him, believing in Him; believing the report in Isa 53. Let’s go there, Isa 53:1,  Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (pains); yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Lord!, Who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Surely He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains. He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed! It is finished! It is done! Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered!

Acts 4:8, let’s go there. The Apostle Peter was before the High priests and the council of the elders and scribes after that the lame man was healed at the gate of the Temple: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the Chief Cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 

Let’s read Psalm 118. Hallelujah! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, His mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, His mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord now say, His mercy endures forever. I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 

The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded me like bees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns; for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 

You pushed me violently, that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. The Stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. We must repent of our unbelief, and get back to believing Him; go forward in faith!

Luke 18:1, Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, (in the KJV it says, faint) saying: There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, Get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the Earth? 

If God has not answered your prayer, keep on praying. If you have fainted; if you have quit believing, repent of your unbelief, and set your heart to believe Him and go forward in faith. Keep praying until He answers! Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Keep on reading the Word of God and believing what is written. Speak it out loud, to God and yourself and the devil. It is the truth! The report in Isa 53 is the truth! Believe it and be healed! When you stand praying, Jesus said, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, that your Father in Heaven may forgive you. Not only if you don’t believe, but also, if you will not forgive everyone who has wronged you, don’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. It doesn't matter who has prayed for you and God didn’t answer; you weren’t healed. You keep on praying and believing all you can, calling on the name of Jesus, and don’t faint. If you faint, repent and keep on until He answers. Remember, Jacob wrestled with that angel of God, and he would not let go of Him until He blessed him. He said to Him, I will not let you go until you bless me. And God blessed him and called his name Israel. God wants us to believe Him; He wants us to seek Him in faith, with all our hearts, and He will be pleased to answer our prayers and He will be glorified through His Son Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who has given us access to the Father and to all His blessings. 

What are we believing? Eph 1:15, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the Heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. 

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)

 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)

Thank you Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name, for this program about Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Let’s turn to Daniel 3:1, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud: To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 

Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 

He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.   Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, O king. Look! he answered, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.   Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon. 

These three men would not bow down to the mightiest king of that day, nor to the idol that he had set up. They trusted in God and confessed that He would deliver them out of the fiery furnace and out of the king’s hand. And even if He would not deliver them, they would not serve his gods nor worship his idol that he had set up. So it is today: if you are a person who trusts in the Living God, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and He has placed you in government, on a federal, state, or local level, if you will trust Him with all your heart and remain faithful to Him to rule justly in the fear of God, He will uphold you; He will deliver you, and even if it is His will for you to suffer, or even die for His sake, for the truth’s sake, you will be eternally rewarded, along with many others who have gone before you, including your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who did no wrong, neither was any deceit found in His mouth, yet He suffered so much for the truth’s sake; to save us from our sins and from the burning fiery furnace: the lake of fire, the future eternal home of all liars, and all who refuse to repent and come to Jesus and do His Words; everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  

As you read Matthew 25, it is very clear that there are two places prepared for the entire human race, before the foundation of the world, from the very beginning. In verse 34, Jesus said, Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And in verse 41, Jesus said, Depart from Me you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. This is the lake of fire. 2 Cor 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…

Wherever God has placed you in this life, if you trust in Him and do good, as He is leading you by His Holy Spirit, it will be well with you. Isa 3:10, 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. Concerning those who are in authority: Psalm 94:20, Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You? They gather together against the life of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood. But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge. He has brought on them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; the Lord our God shall cut them off. Stand strong in Him, you man and woman of God! , and do His will, wherever He has placed you, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and see what He will do on your behalf. 2 Chr 16:9, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. 1 Pet 2:15, For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 

If you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, and He has called you into serving Him in the government, He is in you: greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. He that despises whosoever I send, Jesus said, despises Me, and whoever despises Me, despises Him who sent Me. All the angels, authorities and powers are made subject unto Him. If you will obey Him and do His will; fear Him and follow Him, He will give you favor and grace in dealing with all authorities and powers, but you yourself must obey Him. If you are in rebellion against Him, continuing in any sin, your authority will not work, and the people He has placed you over will not obey you. The centurion said to Jesus, I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. He was a man under authority. You must obey Jesus, and you must also obey the ones He has put over you and honor them, even the evil ones, as unto Him. 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were not in rebellion. They were completely submitted to king Nebuchadnezzar, but when he demanded them to worship another god or die, they had to refuse him, no matter what the outcome, in order to remain faithful to their God, the God of the whole Earth, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their trust was in God, even if it meant death, and because of their faith and trust in Him, He came Himself, the Son of God, and delivered them from the power of the fire; not even the smell of smoke was found on them. Hallelujah! So will God uphold you and deliver you, if you, when you are tempted to sell out to anything corrupt or evil, if you will refuse and trust Him, and come boldly to His throne of grace to find grace to help in the time of need; His grace is sufficient for you. 

If God has put you in a position of any authority, you do not have to bow down to threats or pressure to make you disobey Him and serve the god of this world. Trust God, and obey Him and see what He will do in your life. As king Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God except their own God, because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)