With All Your Heart

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

Thank you Lord! We thank you Lord! We praise you Father! Thank you Father; thank you Lord! Thank you Father for this day. Thank you for this program Father. We thank you Lord; I ask you to bless everyone listening; everyone reading. Open our hearts; open our minds; open our ears; open our eyes to understand what you are saying, and to be edified; to be built up and to be strengthened in the truth: your Word is the truth. Thank you Lord, Amen. Today’s program is called, With All Your Heart.

When King Solomon was praying at the dedication of the Temple which he had built, in 2 Chron 6:12, he said these words, Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands (for Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven); and he said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God in Heaven or on Earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. This is key: are we walking before our God with all our hearts? Or are we as Jesus said in Matthew 15?, Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother, and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. 

But you say, Whoever says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God— then he need not honor his father or mother. Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Then His disciples came and said to Him, Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? But He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. Then Peter answered and said to Him, Explain this parable to us. So Jesus said, Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 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, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. 

Let’s go to James 4:1,  We’re talking about the heart today, Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 

Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit 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, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Amen.

Let’s go to Mark 12:28, Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all? Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. So the scribe said to Him, Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. Jesus said, If you love Me, keep My commandments; He said, This is My commandment, that you love one another.

Do we love Him? Do we love the Father?, with all our hearts? Do we love Him?  The Apostle John said, If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. If we come into His House and honor Him with our lips, but at the same time we are loving the world, our hearts are far from Him, and we are worshiping Him in vain. How much of this do you think goes on today in the Church? 

Let’s turn to 1 Sam 16:1, Now the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. But the Lord said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you. So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Do you come peaceably? And he said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him! But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these. And Samuel said to Jesse, Are all the young men here? Then he said, There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here. So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him; for this is the one! Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. And God had said of David, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, who shall fulfill all My will. David was a man after God’s own heart, and he fulfilled all His will. A person who has a heart after God, who loves God, will fulfill all His will. They will do the will of the Father, and they will inherit the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, Only those who do the will of My Father are going into the Kingdom of Heaven, not everyone who says Lord, Lord, yet their heart is far from Him, embracing the doctrines of men and practicing iniquity. 

How is your heart? Do you love God, or do you love yourself and your pleasures, money, and the things of this world? If your heart isn’t right, it can be changed, if you are willing. Jesus said, He that seeks after righteousness shall be filled. God said, If you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me. I say this often, but it is so true, even in my own experience with God: If you will humble yourself, and come boldly to the throne of grace, and ask Him, with a sincere desire to be changed,  Father, my heart is wicked. My heart is not right. I love the things of this world, and I really don’t love you very much, but I want to; I want to change. Father, will you please help me, and change my heart to love you, with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength? Will you please take out of me everything that is not pleasing to you, and give me a new heart, to love you; to love the truth, your Word is the truth; to keep your Word; to keep your ways, and to truly honor you in my life? Will you do with me what you have to do to make me into a real man or woman of God?  I’m telling you today: If you are truly sincere about this, God knows if you are, He will do it, according to His will for your life. But you have to be willing to change;  you have to stay with Him, even when it gets hard. 

Let’s go to John 17. In verse 17, Jesus said, as He prayed to His Father, Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth. Do you see how you will be sanctified?; how you will be cleansed? Verse 18, As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.

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

 Put Not Your Trust In Princes

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

Thank you Lord! We give you thanks! Father, we thank You for this day; thank You for everyone reading this message. We pray that You would bless every one of us to understand what the Holy Spirit is saying. Thank You Lord. Today’s program is called, Put Not Your Trust In Princes. Let’s read Psalm 146,  Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. 

His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, Who made Heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down. The Lord shall reign forever—your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! Verse 3, in the King James Version says, Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Which made Heaven, and Earth, the sea, and all that therein is: Which keepeth truth for ever…

Let’s turn to 2 Chron 7:12, Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. This was after Solomon completed building the Temple and they dedicated the Temple, and Solomon prayed. God came to him that night and said this to him: When I shut up Heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  I want to give testimony here of what God said to me in 2020, at the end of March, when Covid was breaking out in America. My wife and I were in the hospital for an unrelated reason, and one morning God spoke to me and He said, I have put this in the Earth. God told me that He put Covid in the Earth, and I just want to refer you back to 2 Chron 7:13, where God said, if I send pestilence… and that’s what Covid was. He said, I put this in the Earth, and I am watching My people to see if they will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways and seek My face, and that’s all He said to me. So, people of God in America, what happened in 2020? Did we humble ourselves and seek the Lord, or did we trust in a man? This is the year, now, 2024, of the presidential election in America. The candidates are making promises, seeking your support. Some are making big promises of what they will be able to do, if elected, to save our country from destruction. But there is only one hope for America and the people of this world, and it rests in the hearts of God’s people: the people who are called by His name. As we just read in 2 Chronicles, if His people that are called by His name will humble themselves and pray, and seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, then, and only then, will He hear from Heaven, and He will forgive our sins, and He will heal our land. God does not change. If His people will do this, He will do what He has promised. Will we do this? Or will we continue to trust in a man? The heart of the king, the Bible says, is in the hands of the Lord. As the rivers of water, He turns it whatever way He wills. It does not matter much what men promise to do. God puts down one, and He sets up another. Whoever the next president of the United States will be, God will cause him to do according to His will. That is why it is so important that we pray, as believers in Jesus Christ, for our country and for our leaders. The Apostle Paul said to Timothy in 1 Tim 2:1, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time… So, as I was saying, it does not matter much what men promise to do. God puts down one and He sets up another. Whoever the next president will be, God will cause him to do according to His will. That is why it is so important that we pray for our country and for our leaders. If we will do this; if we will do as it is written in 2 Chronicles, and truly humble ourselves and pray and turn from our wickedness, God will respond. However, if we put our trust in a man or a woman to save our country, then we will not be seeking God as we need to be; we will not be trusting in Him, and we will be sadly disappointed with the outcome. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. A man or a woman will only be able to do what God enables them to do to help our nation and the world in this hour. We better humble ourselves in this hour and look only to our Savior: the One who gave His life for us upon the Cross; the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood to purify unto Himself His own special people.

Church! We need to come back to Jesus!, to our risen Savior!, in humility and truth and turn from our wicked ways while there is still hope for a better future in the Earth. I’m reminded of when Jesus came to Jerusalem, just before He was crucified, and as He looked upon the city, He wept over it, and He said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! This is our hour, America; people of God in America, what will we do? Will we fast and pray for Her; will we turn from our wicked ways and seek God’s face with all our hearts? Or will we continue to hope in what a man can do for us?

Let’s turn to 1 Sam 12:6, Then Samuel said to the people, It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. And when they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. Then they cried out to the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You. And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, No, but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your God was your King. Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the Lord has set a king over you. 

If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers. Verse 19, And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves. Then Samuel said to the people, Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king. 

Interpretation of a message in tongues:

 I am God Almighty. My people, hearken unto My voice; hearken unto My servant Rob this day, for I have sent him to warn you this day: Look only unto Me! Look only to My Son Jesus!, the One who gave Himself for your sins; suffered for you; rose from the dead. He is your King! Look unto Me; look unto Him. Trust in Me with all your heart!, not in any man or any woman!, and you will find mercy in My sight, says the Lord.  

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

 Take Up Your Cross

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

Thank you Father for this day! Thank you Father for this program. Thank you for every person reading this message. I ask you to bless them. I ask you to give us ears to hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying. Today’s program is called, Take Up Your Cross. 

Let’s read about Jesus taking up His Cross. Turn with me to Luke 22:39,  Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. Then an angel appeared to Him from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 

Then He said to them, Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. 

And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, suffer you thus far. And He touched his ear and healed him. 

Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

Let’s turn to chapter 23, verse 18, This is when Jesus was before Pilate,  And they all cried out at once, saying, Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas—who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder. Pilate, therefore, willing to release Jesus, again called out to them. But they shouted, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him! Then he said to them the third time, Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go. But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will. 

Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed! Then they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry? There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 

And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God. 

The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself. And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: This Is The King Of The Jews. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us. But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit.  Having said this, He breathed His last. So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous Man! 

Let’s turn to Mat 10:37, Jesus said, He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. 

Mat 16:21, From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You! But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Mark 10:21, Jesus was speaking with the rich young ruler: Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  Deny yourself; take up your cross; follow Me, every day. Are you doing all three of these things? Every day?  

This is not a matter of religious thought, or poetry. Are you doing this? Deny yourself: your will; your desire; your pleasure; your self. Take up your cross: the will of the Father for you today. What is the will of the Father for you in this hour? Do you know? Are you willing to suffer in order to do the will of your Father in Heaven? Do you love the Father: the One who loved you and gave His Son for you to save you from your sins? Will you take the time to pray and seek His will for you? Will you pray the Lord’s Prayer and mean it: Your will be done, Father; not my will, but your will be done? And then will you rise up from prayer and go where He wants you to go, and do what He wants you to do?  

If your lust and desire to do your own pleasure; your own will; to follow your own understanding, is too strong,  you won’t be able to do the Father’s will. You must pray and fast and continue in the Word of God and in the Holy Spirit until you overcome your own flesh. You must put it to death through the Spirit. 

When you are baptized in water, you are baptized into the death of Jesus; your old self will is crucified with Him and buried with Him, and you are raised with Him to serve Him and the Father in newness of life: a new creation in Christ. You are no longer your own. You are bought with a price: the precious Blood of Jesus Christ has redeemed you from the power of sin and the power of the devil. You are Christ’s servant: you must do what He wants you to do, and do you know what He wants you to do? He wants you to follow Him. He is doing the will of the Father. In order to continue in His Word; in order to follow Jesus and really be His disciple and do the Father’s will every day, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit! Jesus told His disciples that He was going away to be with the Father, but He said, I will not leave you alone, but when I go, I will send another Comforter, that He may be with you always. And when He comes, He will guide you into all truth. Jesus said, in John 14:15, If you love Me, keep My commandments. 

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Verse 26, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. The Holy Spirit will bring you through suffering in order for you to be changed. We are being changed. God is making a holy people. We have to be broken to be changed; to be made like Jesus. We are stubborn, self-willed, rebellious people by nature, and we must follow Jesus and be broken, and be taught by Him, and be cleansed and washed and made white. We purify our souls by obeying the truth: the Word of God, through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is going to be leading us to do the Word of God in every situation, and as we learn to yield to Him, to do His will, He will help us, and more and more we will overcome.  You have to want this! You have to desire God! You have to love Him with your whole heart. If you love this world and the things that are in it, the Bible says, the love of the Father is not in you. But hold on! If you have a willing heart, you can be changed! Do you want to be?

Jesus said, Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and you will find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; He said that everyone who asks receives! He said that he that seeks after righteousness shall be filled! God has given us everything through the sacrifice and resurrection of His beloved Son. It is up to us to lay hold on eternal life. He said, If you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me.

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

 Lay Hold On Eternal Life

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

Father, we thank you; we praise you! We thank you for this program. Thank you Lord. We bless your Holy Name, in Jesus’ Name, thank you Lord! Thank you Father. Thank you for this day. Give us ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying I pray, in Jesus name. Today’s program is called, Lay Hold On Eternal Life. Let’s turn to 1 Tim 6:3, If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. I believe the Holy Spirit is prompting me to say to someone, If you are following a person; a preacher who supposes that godliness is a means of gain, you need to withdraw yourself from that person. There are many preachers like that; there are many so-called pastors. Pastors are supposed to be feeding God’s sheep, not stealing from them. Verse 8, And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. 

What did Paul instruct Timothy to do? Let’s look in 1 Tim 4:12, Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. We need to give attention to reading; to exhortation, and to doctrine. You have to lay hold on eternal life; you have to hold on to it.  

Let’s turn to 1 John 5:11, And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Notice: Eternal life is in Jesus. He is in you, and you are in Him, and you are continuing in Him. 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. If you don’t continue to believe, you can lose your eternal life; you can end up being damned.  The Scripture says, That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

You can take yourself away from the Lord; no one else can, but you can. And here’s how: John 15:1, Jesus said, I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. One of the most foolish things that Christians do is to think that they can do something without Jesus.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 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. Jesus’ Words are the doctrine. As you continue in His doctrine, the Holy Spirit will be guiding you in it and teaching you, and as you continue on believing in Him: believing His Words to do them, He will be setting you free from the things that would keep you from eternal life, namely sin. Jesus went on to say,  Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin, or practices sin,  is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. So you must continue in the Son and lay hold, hold onto eternal life. 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 we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light: He is the light of the world, continuing in the Word of God and in His doctrine, we have fellowship with Jesus and the Father, and with one another, and the Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Let he that names the name of the Lord depart from sin. The Blood of Jesus purges our conscience from dead works to serve the Living God. Paul said he exercised himself daily to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man. That’s exercise; that’s labor: a labor of love. Jesus said, If you love Me keep My commandments and you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. He was not talking about the Law of Moses. He was talking about a much greater righteousness: the righteousness which is by faith in Him; in His sacrifice upon the Cross and His resurrection from the dead, and being led by the Holy Spirit to keep His Words every day in every situation, denying ourselves and taking up our cross: the place where we suffer and die to our own desires; our own self-will, and following Him, being led by the Holy Spirit; yielding to Him as He leads us in following Jesus to do the Father’s will. 

It’s not easy. As I said in a previous program, love is hard. It was not easy for Jesus to go to the Cross for us, and it is not easy for us to bear our own cross for His name.  The Apostle Paul said, I die daily. You have to fight the good fight of faith to lay hold on eternal life; you have to give attendance to reading, to doctrine, to prayer and fasting, and continue in the faith, and not be moved away from the hope of the Gospel.  Satan is trying to move you away with lies and false prophets, distractions, cares of this life, trying to seduce you away from the truth. You have to love Jesus more than any person or anything in this life if you are going to lay hold on eternal life.  

Let’s turn to Luke 14:25, Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. If we love any one of these, or anything else, more than  Jesus, we cannot be His disciples. This is the cost; this is the narrow gate that leads to eternal life. It is difficult; it is hard, but it is also glorious. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Heb 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

Prophecy: 

I Am God Almighty! Those of you who are listening to My servant Rob this day, consider My Word; consider My Son; consider His sacrifice for you on the Cross: I loved you and I sent Him to bear your sins in His own sinless body on the Cross. He bore them; He took your sins; He paid the price for your sins. Now come to Him! Look to Him!, and He will save you from your sins, and you will be free from them, and you will inherit eternal life with Me, says the Father. Look to Me now! Turn to My Son; look to Him! Call upon His name: His name is Jesus! 

Amen! Thank you Lord! Amen, thank you Lord! Amen, thank you Lord! Hallelujah, Father!

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