The Foundation Part 5

 

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).

Today we are going to speak about the final part of the Foundation: Eternal Judgment. Let's turn to 2 Cor 5:10&11, 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; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. 

Let's go to Rev 14:6&7,  Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the Earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made Heaven and Earth, the sea and springs of water." Now let's turn to Mat 25:31-46, When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 

Let's turn to Jude; the Book of Jude, verses 14-21, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,   keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 

This is what we need to do. We need to keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, as it says in Rom 5:5, by the Holy Spirit; so it is very important to receive the Holy Spirit, and then you can pray in the Spirit, as it says here in Jude, and build yourself up on your most holy faith, and keep yourself in His love; it is very hard to actually walk in the love of God without the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Let's turn to 1 John chapter 4, verses 16-19, 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. 

Verse 17, in the King James Version: Herein is our love made perfect, 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, verse 18. We love Him because He first loved us. The answer is LOVE ! Walk in the love of God. Come to Him! Yield to Him! Love Him, and let Him lead you in your life by His Spirit. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my Words. So we just read in verse 17 of 1 John 4 that we can actually stand before the living God at the Judgment, and have boldness, and have confidence, and have joy. Why? How can we do that? The answer, as I said, is loving Him, walking with Him, humbling yourself to walk with the Lord. Come to Him! Humble yourself! Confess your sins! He will forgive you. He promised in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, He is not only faithful and just to forgive us our sins, but he will cleanse us of all unrighteousness. And 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. We need to consider these Words that I have been reading to you out of the scriptures.

There is a judgment coming. There is an end coming to all of this. It will be good for some, and it will be bad for others. As I said, the answer is LOVE. Luk 21:36, Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." So you see there again; if we will do certain things that Jesus told us to do, that the Apostles told us to do, if we will humble ourselves; that's the main thing folks: Humble yourself ! We need to humble ourselves before the Great and Mighty God ! Right now ! If there is any of you that is reading this, right now, and you know I'm talking to you, you know that God is talking to you, not me, and He wants you to humble yourself right now, that He may have mercy on you, don't hold it back. Don't hang on to your pride. Humble yourself before the Living God ! Humble yourself and He will exalt you to inherit what He has given to you, through the death, the burial, and the resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ who loved you !! Who loved you, and washed you from your sins in His own Blood !! 

Have you ever thought about that? : That the Living God gave His Son Jesus, and He became a man ! He was born of the Virgin Mary; Holy, but He was also wholly a man! He was a man! He was the Son of God, but He was a man, and He was tempted in every way as you have been, and yet He never sinned. He never yielded to those temptations. That's why He is called the Spotless Lamb, and He was able to give Himself on the cross, and suffer the death of the cross, for us!, for us! To pay for our sins. There is a way to escape the Lake of Fire! There is a way to escape the Judgment: that is to LOVE HIM!!, to repent of your sins, to come to Him! Turn to Him with all your heart! Repent from the heart! He will forgive you! Not only that; He will cleanse you! Not only that; He will lead you into walking with Him; to overcome!, to overcome the things that have held you down!, that have oppressed you!, that have sought to destroy you in your life! He will raise you up! He will help you to overcome all that, as you continue with Him, as you continue in His Word! You will be set free from the things that have bound you up!, and have sought to destroy you! Turn to Jesus! Turn to Him now! If you reject Him, you will perish! Make no mistake!: Jesus Christ; There is one name given among men, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, by which we must be saved! Saved from what?, you say: the wrath that I am talking about; Eternal Judgment; the day of God's wrath; it is coming!! Don't be deceived by lying preachers telling you everything is going to be ok, you can do whatever you want, you're under grace; that's a lie!! Confess your sins! Come to Him! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Lord!

What I believe God has given me to share with you this day is there is a way. There is a way, and the way is love. There is a way for you. You don't have to be afraid of the Judgment of God, if you will love Him, if you will fear Him, and if you will love your brother and your sister, if you will repent. Love does no ill to his neighbor, the Bible says, therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law. If you will learn to walk in love and do good, to walk in the Holy Spirit, doing the will of your Heavenly Father from your heart, you will fulfill the righteousness of the Law, and you will not be damned to the Lake of Fire. James 2:13, For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment. Isn't that wonderful! If you will continue to show mercy, you will receive mercy in the Judgment Day. 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. Again, love does no ill to his neighbor. What do we want? Of course we want people to love us, so we need to love them. We need to stop doing evil to them. Is there someone reading this, right now, and you know you have done something wrong to someone, and you know what you did was wrong. You tried to blow it off, but it won't go away. It's nagging you. Well that is your conscience telling you what you did was wrong. So humble yourself. Go to that person. You know what? You will overcome. If you will humble yourself and go to that person and say, please forgive me, what I did to you was wrong. Even if they are still angry with you, even if they won't forgive you at that moment, you have done the right thing, and your conscience will be cleared, and also you will be cleared before the Living God. 

Verse 13&14, 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. Don't go along with the crowd into the pit! It doesn't matter if people think you are strange, or if people despise you and hate you; the gate is narrow that leads to life, and few there be that find it. Cry out to God! Cry out to God! Pour out your heart to Him! He will hear you if you will come to Him with humility. There is nothing to fear of the Judgment of God, if we will fear Him, obey Him, follow Jesus, show mercy, pray always, seek after righteousness and His Kingdom with all our hearts, abiding in Him, and in His love. Perfect love casts out fear. This is love: that we walk after His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous, they are not too hard, and love one another, in deed and in truth, not in word only, doing the Father's will, keeping our conscience free of offence toward God and man, confessing our sins and forsaking them, rejoicing to do good and please God, yielding to the Holy Spirit, being led by Him to do righteousness.

Mat 21:42-44, Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: The Stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.? Therefore I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this Stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. The Judgment of God is coming. God has promised throughout the Bible that He is going to give unto every one of us according to our works. He knows our works. So fall on this Rock: Jesus Christ, and be broken, be changed, be cleansed by His precious Blood from all your sins, to love Him and serve him, and live forever in his glorious Kingdom. 

This concludes the Series of five programs on the Foundation: repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Remember the Words that Jesus spoke in Mat 7:24, 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. 

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 Foundation Part 4

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)

We have been talking about the Foundation, as it is stated in Hebrews chapter 6 by the apostle Paul: verses 1&2, Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Today we are going to finish talking about the Resurrection From The Dead. In our last message we talked about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ From The Dead. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Hallelujah! 

Now we are going to talk about the First Resurrection; the Resurrection of Life, and the Second Resurrection; the Resurrection of Damnation. Let’s go to John 11:25&26, Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"  Let’s go to Romans 8:11, But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Those that have died in Jesus Christ, believing in Jesus, when He returns in the clouds, will be resurrected; their bodies will be resurrected incorruptible. Let’s go to Philippian’s chapter 3; the Apostle Paul is writing; verses 7-14, But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let’s go down to verses 20&21, For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. 

When Jesus comes back, He will return for His Saints, and those of us that are counted worthy to attain to the first resurrection: our bodies will be raised incorruptible, fashioned like unto His glorious body. This is called the Blessed Hope. And, the Bible says, if we have this hope of Jesus’ return, we should be about purifying ourselves. The Apostle Peter said, Purify your souls by obeying the truth through the Spirit. Jesus said,  the Word of God is the truth. He also said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And, the Bible talks about abiding in Him. We need to abide in Him. He talked about continuing in His Word. The Bible talks about the washing of the Water of the Word. 

So, as we continue in Jesus, abiding in Him, the Bible says cling to Him, cling to Him. First you have to come to Him, but when you come to Him, cling to Him. Don’t ever let go of Him. Remember how Jacob wrestled with God. He wrestled with God. He wouldn’t let Him go. He said, I won’t let you go until you bless me. Jesus talked about the unjust judge who didn’t care about God or man, and this widow kept coming to him and saying, avenge me of my adversary. At first he didn’t want to do it, but he said, I’m going to do it, because if I don’t, she is going to wear me out! And Jesus told that parable in reference to prayer. So that’s what I’m talking about; clinging to Him! Pray! Cry out to God! Whatever is going on in your life, cry out to God! Humble yourself! God is not a respecter of persons. He will listen to you if you will humble yourself. He will move in your life. Be willing to do whatever He leads you to do. Humble yourself before the Living God and He will exalt you in due time. 

Let’s go to 1 Thess 4:14-17, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 

Again people, this is the truth. This is the Blessed Hope. This is a very real thing. Let’s go to 1 Cor 15:42-44, So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.  It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. Let’s go down to verses 50-58, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 

Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 

John chapter 5, this is Jesus speaking, verses 24-29, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 

 

There is coming a resurrection of all the dead. Understand this, all of you who are reading this message in your own language, it is appointed unto man once to die, as it says in Heb 9:27, but after this, the judgement. All of us will be dying, and will be buried in the ground, with the exception of the righteous followers of Jesus Christ who are alive when He returns, soon in the clouds, we shall all die and be buried. We shall all be resurrected; the righteous dead, at the coming of Jesus, to be united forever with Him in Glory. This is the First Resurrection; the Resurrection of Eternal Life. In Him is eternal life. If you have Him, you have eternal life. If you don’t have Jesus, you do not have eternal life, but the wrath of God is upon you, and you will be raised from the dead, in the Second Resurrection, to stand before Him and be judged, every one of you, according to your works, and you will take your place in the Lake of Fire with all of those who rejected Jesus and His loving sacrifice of Himself for their sins, to be tormented day and night with no rest forever and ever. Just consider that: no rest forever and ever, to be tormented day and night forever and ever. You say, ”That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”  “My God is a loving God…” People say many things, but the Bible says, in Rom 11:22, Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. Also in Rom 2:7-11, eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; (being led by the Holy Spirit to do the will of the Father, every day), but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. You say, “That’s just a story.” “How do we know that’s true?”  “It was written by men, in order to control the masses.”  No, it is the truth, and it was written by Holy men of God, as they were moved by a Holy God who loves you so much that He gave His only Son to die a brutal death on the cross! Have you ever looked in the scriptures at the description of what Jesus went through, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross, for you! For every one of us! He died on the cross for you, to take away your sins, and bring all of you who will repent, and believe on Him, and stay faithful to Him, into eternal life and Glory with Him forever, and with the Father, where God Himself will dwell with us, where there will be no more pain or suffering, no more sorrow; He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, all sorrow from our hearts; all the former things will be forgotten, and we will live forever in His Glory, and in His joy. All this is written in His Word, Read it! Consider what it says and ask God for understanding! Humble yourself before the Living God!  Consider that many, many things that were prophesied by the prophets, and Jesus, and His disciples, have already come to pass! And that the relatively few prophecies yet to be fulfilled are beginning to be fulfilled as we speak! Consider the signs of the times in which you are living!

 

Interpretation of Tongues:

I am the God of all flesh. Those of you who are listening; if you will humble yourselves before me, as my servant Rob has spoken, I will hear you. I will have regard unto your prayer, says the Lord, and I will deliver you from your afflictions; from your torments, says the Lord. For I love you! I proved it to you when I gave my Son on the cross of Calvary! And I will come; I will come again, and I will bring you unto myself says the Lord. And you will dwell with me forever. You will dwell with me in my Heavenly Kingdom forever and ever says the Lord.

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 Foundation 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) 

Today we are going to talk about the Resurrection from the Dead. Thank you Jesus! Let's go to Hosea 6:1&2, Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.   After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. We are going to talk now about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead. If you look at those scriptures in Hosea 6: Come and let us return unto the Lord... People, that is what we need to do right now, right now. We need to return to the Lord....He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up. He will heal us if we will return to Him. He will bind us up, He will comfort us, if we will return to Him....After two days will He revive us. In the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight. If you study these verses you see that God included us in Jesus' death, in His burial, and in His resurrection.

So we are going to talk about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead first. Let's turn to Romans 1:1-4, Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord…Is Jesus your Lord? Have you confessed Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? The Bible says, if you will confess Jesus as your Lord, and believe that He rose from the dead, you shall be saved. God is not a respecter of persons. You say, "Oh, I'm not worthy" No, you are not worthy! None of us are worthy. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God, all of us. Jesus said, I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And He also said, Come to me, come to me. That's all you need to do. Whoever you are, if you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, come to Him this day, wherever you are, come to Him, confess your sins; repent of your sins, turn from them, and come to Him. 

Jesus bore your sins in His own body on the cross. That's why He died. He died for our sins. He became a man. He lived as a man. He was tempted, just like you; a person, just like you, a man. The only difference was He was the Son of God, but he became a man, and He never sinned. He was tempted in every way as you are, and he gave Himself on the cross. He suffered a brutal death on the cross, which fully paid for all of our sins. If we will repent of our sins, and come to Him, we will be forgiven, we will be cleansed, washed in the Blood of the Lamb. Then we can be baptized in water for the remission of our sins. When we are water baptized, we are buried with Him, crucified with Him. We are baptized into His death, His burial, and His resurrection. So come to Him, confess your sins, confess Jesus as your Lord, and believe that He rose from the dead, and you shall be saved! He will come dwell in your heart by faith! Your spirit will be quickened, made alive! Your spirit will be joined with His Spirit. The Bible says, in 1 John 5:20, And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. In Him is eternal life! Hallelujah! 

Getting back to Romans 1, verse 3…concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David...You see, He became a man, He was made a man, of the seed of David, of the lineage of David. God promised David that He would raise up a king on his throne whose Kingdom would never end. Hallelujah! When you confess Jesus as your Lord, if Jesus is your Lord, He is also your King, and He is coming back for all of His children, He's coming back. He's going to establish His throne on the Earth, and he is going to reign here for a thousand years, and we will dwell with him forever. We will be with Him forever! The Bible says He's coming back in the clouds with great power and great Glory! People, He's coming soon! Get ready! Jesus Christ is coming soon! This is not a fairy tale! Most of the prophecies about Him, with the exception of only a few that have yet to be fulfilled, concerning His returning and the establishment of his Kingdom on the Earth, have already been fulfilled. Jesus fulfilled them perfectly: He was born of a virgin, in the city of Bethlehem, raised up a prophet from among His brethren, despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, upon a colt, the foal of an ass, betrayed by His friend for thirty pieces of silver, oppressed and afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth, brought as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth, He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, but God redeemed His soul from the power of the grave! He rose from the dead on the third day! Hallelujah! He ascended on high and led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men, yea to the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Jesus was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and He was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: Hallelujah!

Let's go to 1Cor 15:1-8, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,   by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that Word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures…Jesus died for our sins. He came to take away our sins. John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. If you study in the Old Testament; the Passover lamb had to be a spotless lamb. Jesus is the spotless Lamb. As I was saying earlier, He was tempted in every way as we are, yet He never yielded, He never sinned, and so He is the spotless Lamb. He willingly offered Himself in obedience to the Father, on the cross for our sins. His death paid for our sins. He paid the full price. The penalty for sin is death; eternal separation from God. When Jesus was on the cross, the Bible says He was made sin, and the Father separated Himself from Him, because the Father cannot fellowship with sin. God loves you! He wants you to be with Him, but you must turn from your sins, Amen! Jesus suffered for our sins on the cross, He shed His Blood, that if we will repent and come to Him, His Blood will cleanse us. The Bible says He loved us and He washed us from our sins in His own Blood! 

He set Him at His own 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 world, but also in that which is to come! and we are baptized into His death, burial and resurrection, and we, the Bible says, are seated in Him, at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality, power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come! and the Bible says He has put all things under His feet, and given him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, Let's go there, let's go there, Hallelujah! Eph 1, Glory! Glory to God! Amen! This Gospel is in power. It is not in word only, but it is in power. The Bible says in 1Th 1:5, For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance... Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 

Eph 1;15-23, 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. 

This is where we are people! Every one of you that is trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart; you are seated in Him, at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality, power, might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come! Jesus Christ rose from the dead! He triumphed over all the powers of darkness! So I want to encourage you this morning: Are you under it? Is the weight on you? Is there oppression on you? Is there darkness in your life? Call on Him! Call on Him! Remember who you are in Christ; where you are in Christ: you are seated in Him, far above these powers of darkness that are oppressing you. Stand up! Be a man! Be a woman! Pray! Believe God! Trust God! He is with you! If you are trusting Him, He's with you! Don't be discouraged! I encourage you this morning! Jesus Christ is with you! I want to tell you: this morning I was oppressed by the devil. My wife and I were praying, and the Lord God moved on me by the power of the Holy Spirit and set me free from that oppression that was in me. or on me, it doesn't matter where it was, He set me free. And, I just want you to know, God is real! I have a friend, a dear brother in the Lord, thank God for him, he always says, "God is real, God is real!" I want to tell you He is real! He's alive! Jesus is not a religious icon on the wall of some church. Jesus Christ is not a religious figure in a story in a book. He's alive! He's our Savior! He died for our sins! He rose from the dead! He's seated at the right hand of the Father! He's making intercession for you! He's coming back in power! And He's going to establish His Kingdom forever! Don't be discouraged by this darkness that is in the world right now. Don't be discouraged by all the things you see going on. Don't meditate on those things. The Bible says, and Jesus has been saying to us, Look Up! Look Up! Look unto me! I'm coming soon! My light will shine on you as you look unto me. My light will shine in you, and it will expose whatever darkness is in you and drive it out of you! My light will shine through you in the world! People will be drawn to you; they will say, "What is it with you? How come you are happy? How come you have joy with all this evil going on?" And it will give you an opportunity to talk to them about Jesus. Hallelujah!

Let's go to Eph 2:1-8, And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ...Did you know, we were dead? Going back to Genesis, when God spoke to Adam, He said, ...in the day you eat thereof, you shall die...When man sinned, he died. And, those of us who lived in sin, all of us have lived in sin; the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God; so those that are living in sin are dead. We are dead in trespasses and sins, but when we come to Jesus, we repent of our sins, forsake our sins, come to Jesus; He comes to dwell in us and our spirit is made alive! We inherit eternal life in Him. Let's read that again, And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God . Hallelujah! This is not a fairy tale! 

We repent. We believe on Jesus. We confess Him Lord and believe that He rose from the dead, and we are saved, born again, unto a lively hope, as Peter said, baptized into His death and resurrection. We are raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places at the Father's right hand, far above all powers, principalities, might and dominion, and every name that is named! Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

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 Foundation 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 )

Today we are continuing to talk about The Foundation. I would like you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 7, verses 24-27, 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. 

Let's turn to Hebrews chapter 6, verses 1&2, Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. I want you to notice here in verse 1: Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, that's what we are talking about when we talk about the foundation: it's being established in the principles of the doctrine of Christ. We need to be firmly established as Christians in the truth that Jesus taught. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Doing the Words of Jesus is like building your house on a rock. We must be established in the whole, true foundation as described in Heb 6:1&2 in order to be able to do the Words of Jesus, to do the Sermon on the Mount. When the foundation is built on the rock; established on the rock, then the building will be able to withstand the storm that is coming. And the storm is surely coming. Not many people build houses upon the sand now a days. Everybody knows that the house will fall if it's built on the sand. So what they do is, they build it on some kind of a concrete foundation. There are different types of foundations that can be built, but the only ones that really stand the test of time, and the movement of the Earth, and the storms that come; the only ones that really stand are the ones that are founded upon the rock. What they do for a really good foundation is they drill piers all the way down to bedrock; it may be only a few feet, or it may be as much as 15 or 20 feet deep; they drill a pier and it's founded on the rock. And they pour concrete, reinforced with steel. And they pour a certain number of piers in certain locations, and the foundation is built on those piers which are established on the bedrock. That way you have a solid foundation, and you can build whatever building has been designed for that foundation. 

But many houses are built on inadequate foundations. They may only pour a concrete slab without piers. In order to cut costs on building a house, many people compromise the foundation, and they build a lesser quality foundation. The result is that they always end up having problems with the house. There is settling; there is cracking; there are all kinds of problems that happen with an inadequate foundation. However, this foundation that we are talking about is a very costly foundation. It was purchased with the precious Blood of the Lamb of God. It was purchased and established through His sacrifice on the cross. The lamb of God, the Son of God became a man; Jesus became a man, and He lived as a man, and He was tempted in every way as we are, yet He never sinned, and He offered Himself a living sacrifice for our sins to establish us in His righteousness, through His grace. And He rose from the dead on the third day to bring us into eternal life with Him; to overcome all the powers of darkness, all sin and unrighteousness, and to live with Him forever in His glory. This is a precious, costly foundation, founded on the Rock. So, as a Christian, we must be established in all that the Lord has built for us.

Last week we talked about Repentance from Dead Works, Faith toward God, and the Doctrine of Baptisms. Today we are going to talk about the fourth part of The Foundation, in Hebrews chapter 6, The Laying on of Hands. Let's turn to Acts 9:10-12, Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.   And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight." And, as we read on, Ananias obeyed the Lord, in verse 17&18,  And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. In Acts 9, Ananias ministered healing and the Holy Spirit to Saul, as he was sent by Jesus to do so, through the laying on of hands. 

Let's turn to Acts 13:2-4, 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, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. We see here that the Holy Spirit is sending out Barnabas and Saul for the work that He had called them to do. The disciples fasted and prayed and then they laid their hands on them and they sent them away. So they were sent out through the disciples, by the Holy Spirit.  The laying on of hands has to do with commissioning disciples for the work that the Lord has called them to. They prayed, they fasted, and then they laid hands on them and they sent them out by the Holy Spirit. When a man is sent by the Lord he has authority to do whatever He sent him to do. The laying on of hands in Acts 13 was to send out Saul and Barnabas, giving them authority by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work He was sending them to do.

Let's go to Acts 6. This is talking about when the Apostles appointed deacons: verses 1-6; Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.   Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables.  Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. This was the appointing, or commissioning of the deacons, including Stephen and Phillip, by the Apostles. It was done through prayer, and then the laying on of hands.

In Acts chapter 8, let's go there; this is talking about when Phillip went down to Samaria and preached the Gospel, with many signs and wonders, and many people were saved. Verse 12, But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Verses 14-17, Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. So we see here a pattern: they prayed for them first, and then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. So here we have a second purpose for the laying on of hands, which is the giving of the Holy Spirit. 

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. So again we see Paul laying hands on the new disciples, and the Holy Spirit was given.

Another purpose for the laying on of hands is to minister healing, as we see in Acts 28: In Acts 28 Paul and those that were with him experienced a shipwreck and they landed on an island call Melita. Verses 7-10,  In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.   And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary. So here we see the same pattern: Paul entered in, he prayed for the man, and then he laid his hands on him and he was healed. 

Luke 13:10-13, Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. So we see Jesus ministering healing through the laying on of hands. Luke 4:40&41, When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. Jesus was sent by the Father, and He was obeying the Father. Remember He said, “I only do what I see my Father doing, and I only say what I hear my Father saying.” He was a man under authority. 

We also see in Mark 16:15-18, in Jesus' commission to the disciples, And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 

The purpose for the laying on of hands, to conclude, is for healing, for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, for commissioning and sending out. Most of the time they prayed and then they laid hands. They did not lay hands and pray at the same time, as we usually do in the contemporary church. Also it is done only through the authority of God, the command of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit; the will of the Father at the direction of the Lord, not when we feel like laying hands on someone and praying for them, or when someone asks us to do so. Things happened because it was by the direction and authority of God. He initiated it. People believed, and prayed, and obeyed, and laid hands, and God moved. First, a man must be sent by God, doing the will of God, led by the Holy Spirit to pray and lay hands, and then, because we are in His authority and obedience and faith and love, it will happen. By the way; just a reminder: all of this works through love. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my Words; if you love me, you will do my Words, you will do my will. So, as we love the Lord, we are seeking to follow Him. We don't have an agenda to be going around laying hands on people. We don't have an agenda to see people healed. Our purpose is to serve the Lord because we love Him and He directs our lives.

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 Foundation 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)

I want to bless you in the name of Jesus, all you who are reading, I thank God for you; all you that are reading this message in your own language around the world, God bless you. Thank God for you. Today we are going to talk about Foundation Repair. I am somewhat qualified to do so, as I've been in construction since the 1970's; just recently retired, by the grace of God. Here in Texas there are many houses that are built upon faulty foundations. If you have a bad foundation it creates problems for the house. We have the same problem in the Body of Christ. There is a great need for foundation repair in the Body of Christ. Let's go to 1 Cor 3:10&11, 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.

Let's go to Heb 6:1&2, Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Here in Hebrews, chapter six, in these first couple of verses, the Apostle Paul describes the foundation. How is your foundation? What is your foundation? Is it Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, and all that He provided us in the Gospel? We must partake of all the true foundation, in order to be truly established in Christ, and to bring forth fruit in Him.

The first part of the foundation is repentance. If you look in the Book of Jonah, I don't have time to go there, you read about how Jonah preached to the city of Nineveh, and the whole city, from the King, unto the poorest person, turned from their sin in true repentance, and they humbled themselves with fasting. They put on sack cloth and sat in ashes, and they cried out to God in true repentance, turning from their sin. True repentance produces true change, there's a real change, there's a real turning. It starts with Godly sorrow. The Bible says Godly sorrow worketh repentance; the Holy Spirit convincing a person of their sin, and then Godly sorrow regarding that sin. Repentance is not just a changing of the mind, as many people teach. Definitely there is a change in the mind, but it starts with Godly sorrow in the heart, being truly sorry for your sin. 

Next we're going to talk about faith toward God, let's go to Rom 4:1-3, What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Let's go to verses 13-16, For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. And we go down to verse 20-25, He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. 

Chapter 5, verse 1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We believe in the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the gift of God, the gift of righteousness through faith. If we believe that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, that is imputed to us for righteousness. It's the gift of righteousness. Our sins are washed away through His sacrifice. By faith in His shed blood we are righteous. Our sins are cleansed by His blood, white as snow. The Bible says, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. All of this starts with repentance, and then faith; faith toward God; faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

The next thing is the doctrine of baptisms. Let's go to Rom 6:1-6, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Do we know this? Do we know that our old man is crucified with Christ; that when we were baptized in water we were baptized into Jesus' death? The scripture says, in Gal 2:20, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. If we are in faith when we go into the water, we are crucified with Christ. When we come up out of the water, we are raised with Him. If we understand Romans 6, if we understand what happens when we are baptized in water: by faith we are baptized into His death, and burial, and resurrection. Our old man is dead, therefore sin shall not have dominion over us, for we are no longer under the law, but under grace; we have been raised in newness of life to serve Jesus with our spirit in the Gospel.

Then we have the second baptism which is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. As Peter said in Acts chapter 2, repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, after water baptism, in some cases even preceding water baptism, we have the third part of the foundation, actually the second part of the third part, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the apostles, in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the Earth." Also, in verse 5 He said, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." And notice, in verse 8, He talked about the Holy Spirit coming upon you. So the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not the same as baptism in water. Many of you understand that, but many people do not understand that. They believe that they received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized in water. 

If we look in Romans 7, let's look at verses 4-6, Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.  Now we serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. That's why we need to receive the Holy Spirit, so we can learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. The Bible says they that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. So, a very important part of the foundation is being baptized in the Holy Spirit: the Holy Spirit coming upon you; being filled with the Holy Spirit; then learning to yield to the Holy Spirit. The first thing you yield to the Holy Spirit is your tongue, to speak in tongues and prophecy. If you look through the New Testament, in the book of Acts, every time a person received the Holy Spirit they spoke in tongues or they prophesied. We need to learn to yield to the Holy Spirit, and then to be led by the Holy Spirit.

As you read through Romans 7, let's go to verse 18-25, For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Remember, in verse 5 of chapter 7, Paul wrote, For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. So, Romans 7 is talking about, in the flesh. Verse 18, For I know that in me that is, in my flesh... So, Romans 7 is talking about a man in the flesh. 

But then verses 1-4 of chapter 8: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Verse 8, So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Verses 13 & 14, For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 

In the church, for many years, many false doctrines have been given by Satan, and taught by false prophets and teachers, to convince Christians not to receive the Holy Spirit, yet believe that they have, and to live under some kind of law, never overcoming sin, thus preparing them to receive false grace, false justification, turning the grace of God, in some cases, into lasciviousness: All is covered, once saved, always saved, all your sins are already forgiven, past, present, and future, not confessing their sins, never learning to walk in the Holy Spirit; to be led by the Spirit. As it says in verse 4 of Romans 8, the righteousness of the law is only fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom 7:4, Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.  Jesus rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, and as we are married to Him, as we receive the Holy Spirit, and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will bring forth fruit unto God. You cannot do that without the Holy Spirit. You cannot just say you have the Holy Spirit when you don't have the Holy Spirit. That won't work. You have to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

The only way to overcome the flesh and sin is to receive all that God has given us; the atonement for our past sins, through faith in Jesus' sacrifice, but also faith in His resurrection; He lives by the power of God. He was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are baptized into His death and resurrection to live by the power of God; to walk in the Holy Spirit and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, but to fulfil the righteousness of the law, by the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The key to all this is the love of God, Romans 5:8, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. If we love God, we will seek after righteousness with all our heart, and He will fill us. We will yield ourselves to Him, and to His Spirit, to walk in the Spirit.

Rom 8:31-39,  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. 

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)

 When The Hedge Comes Down

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or more 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)

Today’s program is called, When The Hedge Comes Down. Let’s turn to Job 1:1-22,  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did regularly. 

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the Earth, and from walking back and forth on it. Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the Earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? So Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face! And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. 

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house; and a messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you! While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you! While he was still speaking, another also came and said, The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you! While he was still speaking, another also came and said, Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you! Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. 

Of course we know, after this, that Satan came again and the Lord gave him permission to strike his body, and he struck him with sore boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, yet He did not allow him to take his life. And so Job suffered greatly, and his three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, and each one came from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. And Job had a long conversation with his three friends. Why did God let this happen to Job? We find out in Chapter 32, verse 1. So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.  Job 33:8&9, Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. Verse 12, Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, For God is greater than man. So we see clearly that Job was righteous in his own eyes. KJV, Behold, in this you are not just; I will answer you, that God is greater than man. 

Do we understand this, after all that has been happening here in America and around the world since September 11, 2001?; That God is greater than man, or do we still trust in our own way, saying how great and proud we are? Job 38:1-7, Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? Job 40:1-14,  Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said: Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the Lord and said: Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me: Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like his? Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together, bind their faces in hidden darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you. 

God always has a purpose in letting His hedge of protection to come down; with a person, with a family, with a city, or with a nation. There is a purpose. It is founded in his love. In his judgement He remembers his mercy, as it is written in Habakkuk 3:2, O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid; O Lord-, revive your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. And if we will humble ourselves, as it is written in 2 Chron 7:14, we will receive his correction. his purpose is not to destroy us, but to correct us, that He might bless us in the days to come. God has prepared great judgements which are prophesied in his Word, which are coming forth even now in our lifetime. He has prepared great salvation for us all in the gift of his Son Jesus Christ, who suffered for our sins on the Cross at Calvary; that we might be saved from our sins, and changed into his image from faith to faith and glory to glory; that we might some day enter into his glorious Kingdom to dwell with Him forever. He has also prepared his wrath for the day of wrath which will come upon and destroy all those who reject the great gift of his Son who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. It is not his will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. If we will repent and turn to Him with all our hearts, He will forgive us and cleanse us and change us, and give unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

Why did God let the hedge come down on Job? It was because of his self righteousness. God dealt with him in a very severe way, and he was brought to true repentance. Then the Lord blessed him twice as much as before: Job 42:10-17,  And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days. 

Why did God let the hedge come down on America on September 11, 2001? He had a purpose, founded in his love, to deal with our pride and our wickedness. And, as many have testified that were there that day in New York City, He had mercy on many people and saved many people’s lives. Yet the pain and the loss and the anguish is still there in many hearts. Many hearts and lives have been changed; many have been corrected and brought to repentance, but many have returned to their pride and rebellion against God and have not been changed. What about our nation? How have we changed? Did we turn back to God after 911?, or have we continued on as a nation in our wicked, corrupt ways. Many other judgements have come since 2001. Have we listened? Have we changed?  We must understand that, according to the Words of the Prophets and our Lord Jesus Christ, there is much more shaking yet to come in the Earth. Do we understand this; that God is greater than man? 

Why did God let the hedge down in 2020 with the CoronaVirus  pandemic? Never in the history of the world has the whole world been forced to stay in their houses. When the plague began the Father told me, I put this plague in the Earth, and I am watching my people to see if they will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. In 2 Chron 13&14, God said, that if we will do so, then He will hear from Heaven and He will heal our land. This is the answer people! We must humble ourselves when the hedge comes down, and turn to God with all our hearts. If we will do that, we will find grace in his sight, and He will have mercy in the midst of his judgement. Turn to Him Church! Turn to Him America! Consider the times we are living in, and understand the days that are coming, according to the Words of Jesus and the Prophets. God has promised that before Jesus returns He is going to shake all things, that only those things that cannot be shaken will remain: all creatures, all the hills and mountains, all the seas, all the towers and great buildings, and all the economies, and all the great men of the Earth, and all nations. The only thing that will not be shaken is the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all those who are truly trusting in Him, and walking with Him in obedience to his Word. 

Let’s turn to Mat 7:24-27, Jesus said, 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. Let’s turn to Heb 12:22-29, But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN. 

Now this, YET ONCE MORE, indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. 

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)