The Gift Of God

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. I want to welcome every one of you that is reading this program. Today’s program is called The Gift Of God. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Let’s turn to John 1:1-14,  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Let’s turn to John 3:1-36, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 

Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him! John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. Verse 27, John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 

John 4:7-14, Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, and He said to her, Give me a drink. For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. The woman said to Him, Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.  Eph 2:1-10, 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, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. I want to make myself clear: God gave His Son! He gave His Son to us, that we might live and not die; that we might not perish, but have eternal life in Him.

Let’s turn to Eph 3:1-8, For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Eph 4:11-16, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. 1 Cor 4:1-7 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God. Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 1 Pet 4:10&11, As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

Jesus received everything He gave to us from the Father. He always said that it was the Father in Him doing the mighty works that He did. He always gave glory and honor and thanks to His Father. The Father loved us, and because He is not willing that any of us should perish, He gave His beloved Son to suffer and die on the Cross for us; to pay the ransom for all of us. All of us were dead in trespasses and sins; doomed to eternal damnation.  Jesus is alive! He rose from that grave on the third day, and He is alive! Everyone who lives and believes in Him is alive in Him. The wages of sin is death, but He is come that we might have life, and that more abundantly. We are alive in Him. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. He did not come to condemn us, but to save us from the wrath to come. Those who reject the Son of God condemn themselves to eternal destruction and torment. God has also given us gifts-gifts of the Holy Spirit, and various ministries in the Body of Christ, that we might edify one another and build up one another in love, giving thanks to God who has made us able ministers. We give Him all the glory, for without Him we can do nothing.  We move in these gifts and ministries only as He leads us; as He wills, for without Him we can do nothing. Jesus said, I only  do what I see my Father doing, and I only say what I hear Him saying. And the Scripture says, If any man says that he abides in Him, let him walk as He walked.  In this way Jesus always honored the Father. He loves the Father and the Father loves Him, and they love us. Do we love them?  Do we honor them with all our hearts? Do we seek to only do what we see the Father doing by the Holy Spirit? 

If we have a willing heart, we will receive from the Father all that He has given us: the gift of His Son; eternal life in Him, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we will always seek to yield to the Holy Spirit as He leads us every day to follow Jesus; to do the will of the Father, denying ourselves; our own desires, and taking up our cross.  Jesus took up His Cross because He loved the Father, and He loved us. So should our lives become an offering unto God; a sacrifice acceptable unto Him, through loving Him and following Him wherever He leads us, even unto death. Rev 12:10&11, Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. For by grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. 

Isa 9:6&7, For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

 Everlasting Life

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes with Jesus. God bless you, everyone who is reading this. Today we’re going to talk about Everlasting Life. Let’s turn to John 1:1-17,  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Let’s go to John 3:1-21, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to Heaven but He who came down from Heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in Heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Verse 36, He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Let’s go to 1 John 1:1-6, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. Chapter 2, verses 1&2, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Let’s go to chapter 5, verses 11-13, And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Rom 6:20-23, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

We were dead in trespasses and sins; the wages of sin is death. Jesus came that He might taste death for every man; that He might take away our sins through the sacrifice of Himself. He gave Himself for our sins upon the Cross. He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood, He who knew no sin, though He lived as a man, as we are, tempted in every way, yet without sin. The Father loved us, and He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and be saved from death. So, in His great love for us, He gave His only begotten Son to give His sinless life for us on the Cross; to die for our sins; to take them all away, that whosoever lives and believes in Him; believes in His sacrifice, might not perish, but have everlasting life. Col 2:13, And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him; that’s IN HIM. For 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. We are crucified with Christ through faith and water baptism; buried with Him, and raised together with Him- a new creation in Him, to serve God in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter, being made righteous by faith in His shed Blood. Eph 2:4-8, 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.

Daniel 12:2,  And many of those who sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.  Everlasting life is only in Jesus. Because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. If we are born again-born from above, Christ is in us, and He is the hope of glory; the hope of the resurrection and the life, if we continue in Him and be not moved away from that hope. Hebrews 10:26-31 speaks plainly of a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour those who sin willfully after they have received the knowledge of the truth. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, The Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

The answer, once again, is love. God so loved us that He gave His beloved Son Jesus on the Cross for our sins, to take away our sins, and to bring us into eternal life with Him: into everlasting righteousness, peace, and joy. Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends, as Jesus laid down His life for us: He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood. He said if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love Him, and keep His commandment to love one another. If we love God, we will want to please Him; we will fear Him and seek to do His will every day, laying down our lives for Him and one another; denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Jesus. He will lead us by His Holy Spirit. However, if our hearts are full of self-love, love of pleasure, love of money, and love of the world, the love of the Father is not in us and we will not be continuing in Jesus’ Words. We will surely fall away into condemnation and everlasting contempt, unless we repent and turn from our own way and come back to Christ, to truly lay down our life and follow Him. In Mat 18:8, Jesus said, If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. It’s not your foot or your hand that causes you to sin, but rather, it’s the condition of your heart-the things in your heart, that move your feet and your hands to sin. Jesus was showing how serious this is! We must deal with these things, purifying our souls by obeying the truth through the Spirit, His Word is truth. If this is you, cry out to God now with all your heart and confess your sins to Him; ask Him to change you and cleanse you and create in you a clean heart, and fill you with His righteousness, peace, and joy! Keep on asking; keep on seeking Him. He said, He that seeks after righteousness shall be filled. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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. 1John 3:14-19,  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 

 Words

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Bless every one of you that is reading this! God bless you, and make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace!  Today’s program is about words. Psalms 33:6,  By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. Mat 12:36&37,  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Do we believe that? I believe that this is one of those scriptures that most of us just sort of glance at and move on when we are reading the Bible. But we need to pay attention to this, because Jesus did not speak idly. He did not speak empty words. He only spoke what He heard His Father saying. And He is our judge, and we will stand before Him, and we will give an account for every word that we have spoken. Now if you know in your heart that you have spoken wickedly, most of us have, you can come to the Lord, and humble yourself before Him, and ask Him to forgive you for every evil word that you have spoken. And He will; He will, and He will cleanse you. But you must come to Him in humility and fear. Prov 17:27, He that has knowledge spares his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. 

Verse 28, Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Prov 18:6&7, A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for strokes. A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. Prov 18:21, Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Let’s go to James 1:19-26, So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. The way to be saved from foolishness and evil speaking and wrath; the way to wisdom and understanding is for the Word of God to be engrafted in your heart by the Holy Spirit, as you read and meditate in it, fearing God and seeking Him humbly for understanding and righteousness. Verses 22-26, But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. In John 8:31&32, Jesus said, If you continue in my Word, then you will be my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Psalms 34:12-14, Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 

We need to treasure God’s Word in our hearts. Mat 12:34&35, …For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Mat 15:11, Jesus said, Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Verses 18-20,  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man… Whatever is in our hearts comes forth out of our mouths and defiles us, and others.  If we will humble ourselves before God and continue in His Word: seeing, hearing, and doing His Word, the truth will cleanse our hearts and set us free from evil, as we are forgiving and being forgiven, repenting and confessing our sins, and believing Jesus’ sacrifice and His cleansing Blood. James 3:14-18, But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Mat 5:9, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. As we, as sons and daughters of God, as followers of Jesus, our Lord and Master, continue in His Word, being doers and not hearers only, we shall be cleansed and set free, more and more, as more and more mercy and good fruits, peace and righteousness are sown in our hearts. He will set us free, and if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed: from all bitter envy and strife, and from bruises, wounds, and putrefying sores, bitterness and unforgiveness. Our hearts will be changed! Our words will change; our deeds will change, as our treasure changes: the treasure of our hearts. He that seeks after righteousness shall be filled. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things that are needful shall be added to you. As you look into the Word of God, it will expose those evil things in your heart. It’s not easy or pleasant when God shows you some evil in your heart, but if you will acknowledge it to Him, confess it, and repent of it, He has promised that He will forgive you and cleanse you, through your faith in the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. 

Mat 4:1-4, Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. When Jesus was being tempted by the Devil, he spoke deceitful words to Jesus by powerful seducing spirits. Jesus responded to him with the Word of God spoken in the power of  the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The Word of God is the truth. We stand in the truth, with the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness; we are saved through the sacrifice of Jesus; made righteous by faith in His shed Blood, our loins are girded about with truth; the truth is in our hearts; our feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; we are walking in peace, believing the Gospel, taking the shield of faith, wherewith we quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God spoken by the Spirit. This is how Jesus stood, face to face with the Devil, in His hour of temptation; all this is how we will stand. We must continue in His Word, with the Holy Spirit teaching us, and revealing His Word to our hearts and minds, and leading us in doing it every day. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Jesus overcame him by speaking the Word of God to him in the power of the Holy Spirit. God will also lead us in righteous paths to try us and prove us, where we must rely upon His Word with all our heart to overcome in each situation, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, believing the Gospel; the word of our testimony: what Jesus accomplished on the Cross for us. As we continue in His Word, we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free: free from all the lies and evil things that have brought destruction to us in the past.

Let’s turn to 2 Pet 1:19-21, And so we have the prophetic Word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Chapter 2, verses 1-3,  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. Verses 18-22, For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 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.  Jesus said, Take heed that no man deceive you. Satan’s ministers speak great swelling contrived words to deceive you and bring you into bondage; to make merchandise of you; to lay hold on your money. They care nothing for you. Our only protection from being deceived and being brought into bondage is to take heed to the Word of God; to read it and meditate in it every day; to do it and live it and speak it, with the Holy Spirit leading us, denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus. Remember: what is in our hearts will come out of our mouths, and it will either bring forth good in our lives, and the lives of others, or it will bring forth destruction. Choose this day whom you will serve! God has already proved His great love for you through the gift of His Son on the Cross of Calvary, to die for you and to take away all your sins and bring you into fellowship with Him. But you must respond to Him: you must come to Him. Those that come to Him, Jesus said, He will in no wise cast out. In James 4, verses 1-12, we read, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you! Cleanse your hands (your deeds), purify your hearts, be afflicted and mourn and weep; humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up!

I want to ask you to pray a prayer with me. I’m going to pray a prayer from my heart that the Lord gave me concerning all this about which I’ve been speaking. So, if you have a willing heart, please pray with me:

Lord, grant me grace. I humble myself before you; I draw near to you. Please forgive all the evil and foolish things that I have spoken and done in the past, and please grant me your grace, through the sacrifice of your Son Jesus Christ, that as I continue in your Word, you would purify and cleanse my heart of all evil and foolishness and wickedness and strife and wrath, by your Holy Spirit, with your Word, and create in me a clean heart and righteousness from the God of my salvation. Please put your wisdom and your love in my heart, that I might speak and live in a manner that is pleasing to you, and that you would be truly honored by my life going forward, and that others would be truly edified and provoked unto love and good works. Amen!

 The Honor Of God

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes with Jesus. Glory and honor to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Glory to your Holy and Righteous Name forever! Today’s program is called The Honor Of God. John 12:26, If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. Verse 27&28, Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. John 12:42&43, Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Let’s look at John 5:39-44,  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? John 7:16-18, Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. If you love God, you will be truly seeking His Glory; you will be truly concerned about God’s honor, even as Moses was concerned, when he interceded on behalf of Israel, for God’s name and reputation. Moses said to God, If you destroy this people as one man, then the Egyptians and all the nations which have heard of your fame will say, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness. God’s name would have been dishonored.

Let’s go to John 8:48-55, Then the Jews answered and said to Him, Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered, I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My Word he shall never see death. Then the Jews said to Him, Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, If anyone keeps My Word he shall never taste death. Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be? Jesus answered, If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His Word.  2 Pet 1:16-18, For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which came from Heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 

We’re going to go to Mat 15:8&9, These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. And in vain they  worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Jesus said, If you love Me, keep My Words. If we seek to honor Him, and yet we are following the doctrines of men, our honoring will be empty and in vain. True honor comes from a heart of love. We love Jesus because He loved us and gave Himself for us on the Cross. Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. When we are truly loving Jesus and keeping His Words, when we praise Him and exalt His name, it will be in Spirit and in truth, and Jesus will be truly honored, and so will the Father be truly honored. Let’s go to John 8:28-30, Then Jesus said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him. As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. In 1 Sam 2:30 it is written, Them that honor Me I will honor. Jesus always did those things which pleased His Father. He only did what He saw His Father doing, and He only said what He heard His Father saying. The Father is the head of Jesus, and Jesus always sought to honor His Father. Jesus said, He that despises whomsoever I send despises Me, and he that despises Me despises Him who sent Me. The scripture also says that Christ is the head of the man, and that the man is the head of the woman. Whenever you dishonor your head, you dishonor God. As a believer in Christ we should always be seeking to honor God; to honor the Father, and to honor those whom He puts over us. We need to have a heart after glorifying God; seeking His honor only, not the honor of man. It is written, He that seeks the glory, or honor, of Him that sent him, the same is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. If we love ourselves, seeking our own glory and the honor of man, then we will not be honoring God, and He will not be honoring us. If we will love God, we will seek to honor Him with all our heart, with all our thoughts, with all our words and deeds, and we will be known of Him; He will honor us. He has already shown His great love for us in that He gave His only beloved Son to be a living sacrifice for our sins on the Cross, to take away our sins, that we might come into perfect fellowship with Him through His Son. We love Him because He first loved us. As we continue with Jesus, loving Him and keeping His Words, God will reveal Himself to us more and more, and as we behold His Glory, more and more, we will seek to honor Him, for He is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory, and He will honor us. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the City of our God, in the mountain of His Holiness, beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole Earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the City of our Great King! Jesus is our great King! We must honor Him with all our hearts, and as we do, we will be honoring our Father in Heaven.

Once again we see that the key is love. What do you love? Do you love the praise of men?

Do you love the preeminence, seeking the honor of men? Or do you love God, seeking to honor Him with all your heart? He is your King! He is worthy of honor!, worthy of glory!, worthy of power and of praise! Your name, your name, shall be called Wonderful; your name, your name shall be called Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, throughout eternity! Because Jesus humbled Himself to obey the Father and go to the Cross for us, the Father has given Him a name above every name: that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in Heaven, on the Earth, and under the Earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father! Because Jesus loved His Father and honored Him by obeying Him, even to the death of the Cross, the Father has honored Him and highly exalted Him to give Him His great name, which is above every name in Heaven, on the Earth, and under the Earth. The day is soon coming when every single knee will bow before Him, and every single tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Psalm 104:1&2, Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. 1 Tim 1:17, Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Rev 7:12, saying: Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen! 

Just join with me now, as you are reading this, and let’s give God praise: We just praise you Father in Jesus’ name! We praise your Holy Name! We bless your Holy Name! Glory and honor and majesty and power be unto you Father! We bless your name forever! Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob forever and ever!

Remember that God said, Those that honor Me I will honor.

About two years ago I finally decided to set aside Saturday as a day just for the Lord, not as keeping the Sabbath, but just a day in which I would not do my own work, or do my own will, just only what the Father wanted me to do on Saturday.  A few days later the Father spoke to me, and He said, Because you have honored Me, I am going to honor you. And then, within a few days, the Lord Jesus spoke to me, and He said, I want you to do a 15 minute program. So God honored me, by giving me this program, because I honored Him. He gave me the name 15 Minutes With Jesus, and every week, for over two years, the Lord has given me a program. So this proves that if you will honor God, He will honor you. Honor Him! Give Him glory and praise, for He is worthy!