Love Intercedes

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today’s program is called Love Intercedes. Let’s turn to Gen 18:1-5, This is talking about Abraham, Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant. They said, Do as you have said.  Let’s turn to verses 16-33, Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know. Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? So the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said, Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five? So He said, If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. And he spoke to Him yet again and said, Suppose there should be forty found there?  So He said, I will not do it for the sake of forty. Then he said, Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there? So He said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said, Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there? So He said, I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Then he said, Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there? And He said, I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place. Gen 19:15&16, When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city. And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. Verses 23-29, The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. So we see here how Abraham interceded for Lot, and how God remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah when He destroyed those cities. 

Now let’s turn to Exodus 32, and we’ll see how Moses interceded for Israel. Verses 1-14, Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt! So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord. Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. And the Lord said to Moses, Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt! And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation. Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the Earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever. 

So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. And Moses turned and went down from the mountain. Let’s go to verses 30-35, Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written. And the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin. So the Lord plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made. Chapter 33:1-6, Then the Lord said to Moses, Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your descendants I will give it. 

And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you. So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb. Verses 12-23, Then Moses said to the Lord, See, You say to me, Bring up this people. But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight. Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people. 

And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Then he said to Him, If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth. So the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name. And he said, Please, show me Your glory. Then He said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But He said, You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live. And the Lord said, Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen. Chapter 34, verses 5-9, Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation. So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. Then he said, If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance. 

Also, in the Book of Daniel, chapter 9, verses 1-19, Daniel interceded for Israel and for Jerusalem: In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us confusion of faces, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 

And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. 

Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly! O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name. And the Lord heard his prayer, and sent the angel Gabriel to show him and give him understanding of the things yet to come, and of His great salvation through the sacrifice of His beloved Son Jesus. In Isaiah 53, Isaiah prophesied of Him:  Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. 

Abraham loved God. Everywhere he went he built altars and worshiped God. Abraham loved God, and God loved him, and He blessed him. Abraham loved his nephew Lot, and he made intercession for him before the Lord. And God remembered Abraham, when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain, and He brought Lot out and spared his life, and his daughters’ lives. Moses loved God and God loved him, and he found grace in His sight. God communed with Moses face to face. Moses loved God, and he loved Israel, and he interceded boldly before God, and saved Israel from being destroyed by God’s wrath because of their great sins against Him. Daniel loved God, and God loved him, and he interceded for Jerusalem, and for Israel His people. God responded by revealing to Daniel His plan of salvation through His beloved Son Jesus, Israel’s Messiah. The Father loves us, and He sent His Son Jesus, 2000 years ago to live as a man in this evil world, and be tempted in every way, yet without sin, and to intercede for all of us by offering Himself as the spotless Lamb of God on the Cross at Calvary for the atonement for all our sins. Jesus loves the Father and the Father loves Him, and He loved us, and He gave Himself for us to save us from our sins and from the wrath of God to come, and to bring us into eternal life with Him and the Father. When Jesus was on the Cross, being greatly tormented and in great agony and pain, He prayed and He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 

Now, what about us? Will we love the Father? Will we love His Son? Jesus said, Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Will we lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us? Will we give ourselves to love one another, and to intercede for others, as the Lord leads us? Jesus said, If a man loves Me he will keep My Words, and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him. If we are loved by the Father we can come boldly to His throne of grace, loving Him and fearing Him, to intercede for those who are in any trouble, and He will respond according to His will. If we love them we will intercede for them, and God will hear our prayer and respond. Don’t faint! Keep praying and interceding, even when nothing seems to be happening for a long time; keep believing and praying and God will answer; His way, in His time, and He will be glorified. Always remember to give Him glory and thanksgiving for every prayer that He answers. God bless you and strengthen you in all your prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks!

 The Days Of Noah

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus.

Today we’re going to talk about The Days Of Noah and the days of Lot. Let’s turn to Luke 17:20-37. So Jesus was speaking: Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, See here! or See there! For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. Then He said to the disciples, The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, Look here! or Look there! Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left. And they answered and said to Him, Where, Lord? So He said to them, Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

Let’s turn to Genesis chapter 6 and read about the days of Noah. Verses 5-13, Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the Earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the Earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the Earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The Earth also was corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the Earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the Earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the Earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the Earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. Chapter 7, verse 1, Then the Lord said to Noah, Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.

Gen 18:20-33, When God visited Abraham in the plains of Mamre: And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know. Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 

Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? So the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. Verse 31, And he said, Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there? So He said, I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Then he said, Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there? And He said, I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.  

So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place. Chapter 19, verses 1-17, Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way. And they said, No, but we will spend the night in the open square. But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally. This is talking about homosexual fornication. So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! This is talking about the whole city! The whole city came out against them, both old and young. Verse 8, See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back! Then they said, This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them. So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door. Verse 15-17, When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city. And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed. Verse 23-29, The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. How important it is that a person intercedes for someone; so important! Abraham interceded for Lot, and God remembered Abraham when He brought Lot out of Sodom. So it was Abraham’s intercession that saved Lot’s life. So how important it is that we pray for others in this wicked generation!

2Pe 2:1-22, But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 

By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked, for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, 

Verse 19, While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to his own vomit, and, a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire. 

And so we are in the days of Noah, and likewise, in the days of Lot. Our nation has become as Sodom and Gomorrah. The things that are going on in this nation are a great vexation to the soul of every righteous person, even as in the days of Lot; for that righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds: even the willful slaughtering of innocent babies in the womb, the perverse preaching and teaching of young children in the schools, teaching homosexuality and transgenderism, and utter perversion and confusion to little children, rampant, aggressive homosexuality, and corruption on every level. And so are we on the verge of the revealing of the Antichrist and the great tribulation.  As it is written in Dan 8:23,  And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences will stand up. The abomination of desolation is upon us. The great tribulation will soon come to pass, and after three and one half years, Jesus will be returning in the clouds of Heaven. Mat 24:29-31,  Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now is the time to seek the Lord, while He may be found. If we have this hope in us, of Jesus’ returning, and the first resurrection of the saints of God in Christ, now is the time to be purifying ourselves, even as He is pure; to separate ourselves from all this gross evil in the Earth. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the Temple of God with idols? For you are the Temple of the living God, as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. How easy it is, in this hour, with cell phones and computers, and all kinds of media and technology, to touch what is unclean; to look upon that which is evil. The scripture says, I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. Therefore having these promises beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. 

 Be Thankful

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Welcome, all of you who are listening, all of you who are reading. I thank God for you. Today we’re going to talk about being thankful. Let’s turn to 1 Chron 15:25-28, So David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with joy. And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams. David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps. Chapter 16, verses 1-36, So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals; Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God. On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord: 

David's Song of Thanks

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! 

Call upon His name; 

Make known His deeds among the peoples! 

Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; 

Talk of all His wondrous works! 

Glory in His holy name; 

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! 

Seek the Lord and His strength; 

Seek His face evermore! 

Remember His marvelous works which He has done, 

His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, 

O seed of Israel His servant, 

You children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 

He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 

Remember His covenant forever, 

The Word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 

The covenant which He made with Abraham, 

And His oath to Isaac, 

And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, 

To Israel for an everlasting covenant, 

Saying, To you I will give the land of Canaan 

As the allotment of your inheritance, 

When you were few in number, 

Indeed very few, and strangers in it. 

When they went from one nation to another, 

And from one kingdom to another people, 

He permitted no man to do them wrong; 

Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, 

Saying, Do not touch My anointed ones, 

And do My prophets no harm. 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; 

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 

Declare His glory among the nations, 

His wonders among all peoples. 

For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; 

He is also to be feared above all gods. 

For all the gods of the peoples are idols, 

But the Lord made the heavens. 

Honor and majesty are before Him; 

Strength and gladness are in His place. 

Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, 

Give to the Lord glory and strength. 

Give to the Lord the glory due His name; 

Bring an offering, and come before Him. 

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! 

Tremble before Him, all the earth. 

The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved. 

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; 

And let them say among the nations, The Lord reigns. 

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; 

Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. 

Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, 

For He is coming to judge the earth. 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

For His mercy endures forever. 

And say, Save us, O God of our salvation; 

Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, 

To give thanks to Your holy name, 

To triumph in Your praise. 

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! 

And all the people said, Amen! and praised the Lord. 

Let’s turn to Psalm 100:

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 

Serve the Lord with gladness; 

Come before His presence with singing. 

Know that the Lord, He is God; 

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; 

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 

And into His courts with praise. 

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

For the Lord is good; 

His mercy is everlasting, 

And His truth endures to all generations.

 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

Let’s turn to Rom 1:18-25, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.  Verse 21, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Let’s turn to Col 1:9-14, For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins. 

Let’s turn to Rev 4:1-11. Yesterday my wife and I were having lunch together at our kitchen table, and it came in my heart to read this account in Rev 4 about what it is like at the Throne of God right now. Verse 1, After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come! 

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. As I was having lunch with my wife at our table, I said to her, When I see God, the first thing that I will say to Him is, Thank You ! When I said that to her, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, You can say that to Me now. And as we began to thank Him, His presence came upon both of us, and remained upon us. God was there at our table, as we lifted up our hands, thanking Him and praising Him with all our hearts, for at least 15 to 20 minutes. He also spoke to us by tongues and interpretation, saying to us to look up unto Him, and walk with Him; that He is with us unto the end. This was a real time of refreshing in the presence of the Lord. As it says in Psalm 100, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name, for He is good, and His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. As you begin to thank Him, and praise Him with all your heart, for all that He has done for you, first of all, by giving us His Son to suffer and die for our sins to bring us into fellowship with Him, to deliver us from all the power of darkness and bring us into His marvelous light; as you thank Him and praise Him for the things He has done in your life, for His kindness to you, and His great mercy in your life, for the “little” things, and the great things, for the people in your life; whatever comes into your heart, as you thank Him and praise Him, you will enter into His presence; He will respond if you are truly thankful. And by His presence and His power He will refresh you. He may show you something you need to repent of, to Him, or to someone you know. Then, as the Apostle Peter said, Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you. God appreciates it very much when we give Him thanks; He takes notice. He also takes notice, as we read in Romans, when we are not thankful; when we murmur and complain. It did not go well for the Children of Israel in the wilderness when they murmured and complained. Even if you are going through a very hard and difficult time, if you will pause and come before Him, and begin to thank Him, and give Him a real sacrifice of praise, He will respond; He will move on your behalf, and you will be lifted up above the trouble; you will be able to endure it, and He will be with you, and He will comfort you, and you will be able to comfort others that are in any trouble.

So, right now, those of you who are listening, those of you who are reading, especially if you are, as I just said: if you are in a situation of great trouble, of great pressure, of great distress; maybe you’ve lost a loved one, maybe you’re injured, maybe you’re having great trouble and oppression from the powers of darkness: remember your Lord, and how He suffered for you on the Cross, and all that He went through for you, and begin to give thanks! Just begin to thank God with whatever comes into your heart, whatever you are thankful for, whatever He shows you; give Him thanks right now! So we just thank you Father! We worship you together! We give you praise and honor and thanksgiving! Praise you Father! Praise you Father! Praise you Father! We just worship you and we thank you Father! Praise you Jesus, and thank you for your love and your sacrifice for us on the Cross! 

Interpretation of a message in tongues:

I am God Almighty! Those of you who are listening today to my servant Rob, Obey My voice! Listen to these Words that he has spoken to you! They are My Words. I ordained him to speak these Words to you today. If you will respond; if you will call upon My name; if you will be thankful unto Me, I will do as I have spoken; I will lift you up; I will inhabit your praises; I will bless you with My presence, if you will call upon Me and be thankful! But if you will continue to complain and murmur against Me, you will not be happy; you will suffer for it, says the Lord! So hearken diligently to My servant, and give Me thanks!, and you will see what I will do in your life, says the Lord.