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. (Jude 1:2)

Thank you Heavenly Father; we thank you for this day; we praise your holy name. Glory and honor to you Father! Glory and honor to you Jesus! We want to give you thanks right now for what you’ve done: that you so loved us, Father, that you sent your Son, Amen. 

Today’s program is called, Your Cross. Let’s turn 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 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but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?  

Verse 63, Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You? And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him. As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, If You are the Christ, tell us. But He said to them, If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then they all said, Are You then the Son of God? So He said to them, You rightly say that I am. And they said, What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth. Chapter 23, verse 1, Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King. Then Pilate asked Him, saying, Are You the King of the Jews? He answered him and said, It is as you say. So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, I find no fault in this Man. 

Verse 18, 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, wishing 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. 

Verse 26, 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. 

Luke 9:18, And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, Who do the crowds say that I am? So they answered and said, John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again. He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said, The Christ of God. And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 

saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. Luke 14:27,And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 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. Verse 27, …whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 

The Apostle Paul said, I die daily. Gal 6:14, let’s go there, But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Gal 2:20,  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. You cannot say you are a Christian and you love Jesus; you cannot say, Lord, Lord, and be true, unless you deny yourself every day, and take up your cross and follow Him: the Father’s will for you, each day. It may be prison; it may be death; it may be work or service or deeds of kindness, but it must be His will. Let’s turn to 1 John 2:15, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 

Let’s turn to Rom 6:1, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. 

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If we have been crucified with Christ, then we are also raised with Him and seated with Him at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality and power, where there are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16:11, You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. That’s where Jesus is! The pleasures of God far exceed anything you could ever think or ask. The pleasures of this life; the pleasures of sin are trash!; rubbish! If you will die with Jesus, you will be raised with Him into His joy, righteousness and peace. Hallelujah! 

Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

Interpretation of a message in tongues:

I am God Almighty! You are My children: those of you that have trusted in My Son. Look unto Me now! Come to Me with all your heart! Call upon Me! Turn to Me with all your heart; repent of your sins; turn from your evil ways, My children. Turn back to Me with all your heart. 

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . 

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)

 It’s About Love

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

I want to say, God bless you, to everyone that is reading this. Today’s program is about love. It’s called, It’s About Love. Let’s turn to 1 Cor 13:1-13, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

Let’s turn to John 3:14-21, Jesus was talking to Nicodemus and He said, 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. This is a very familiar verse to many, many Christians, and to many people, but how many of us have really meditated on it, and really considered what Jesus said?: that God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son a living sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary for us. Verse 17, 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. 

Let’s turn to 1 John 4:7-12, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. The word “propitiation” is talking about Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. Chapter 3, verse 16, 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. Jesus said, Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. He said, You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. In John 15:7-14, Jesus said,  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. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 

Let’s turn to Mark 12:28-34, 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 our 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.

Let’s turn to John 17:20-26, As Jesus was praying to the Father He said, 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. Did you hear that? Jesus said, 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. We need to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:15-21, Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. Jesus said, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. 

We must believe the love that the Father has for us, that He would send His beloved Son into the world to suffer so much for us: to bear all our sins; everything that separates us from Him, in His own body and soul, there on the Cross. There Jesus loved us and gave Himself for us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood. What does that mean: He washed us from our sins in His own Blood? Jesus, the Son of God, is a man: a man who was tempted in every way as we are, yet He never sinned. He was tried and tested, and He never failed. He loved and obeyed His Father and humbled Himself to do His will, and suffer and die for us there on that tree. When He died, His Blood was shed; they pierced His side, and out came Blood and water. His sinless, perfect life was in His Blood, and it was shed to atone for all our sins; the sins of the whole human race; the sins, that without that atonement and cleansing, would bring about eternal damnation and death; separation from God and all His goodness. But because He loved us, and because He wanted to save us from our sins and give us eternal life, the Father sent His Son Jesus to pay our ransom with His own perfect, sinless life; to offer it up on that Cross: the complete atonement for us. And because Jesus loved the Father, and because He loved us, He overcame and laid down His own flesh, and went to the Cross for us. There the Father made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, in Jesus. 

When we believe this love that God has for us: that He would do this for us; when we repent of our sins and believe that His shed Blood cleanses us completely from all our sins; when we believe that Jesus died for us and that He rose again on the third day completely justified from all sin and unrighteousness, then God imputes that faith to us for righteousness, and He clothes us with the robe of His righteousness. When we receive revelation and understanding by the Holy Spirit of all that He has done for us; of how much He loved us!, how then can we help but love Him and follow Him with all our hearts, keeping His Words; loving one another, as His love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh, with it’s affections and lusts. When you come to Jesus in repentance and confess Him Lord and believe that the Father raised Him from the dead for your justification, because He loves you, you shall be saved, to love Him! and follow Him, and serve Him, and love the ones He has in your life.

Jesus said, that in these last days, that many people’s love would grow cold because of iniquity abounding. As in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot’s righteous soul was vexed by the things he heard and saw every day, so it is today. Our souls are vexed by the evil we see and hear about every day. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that in the last days difficult times would come because people would be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure, and so on. So it is today. We are in these last days. What can we do? Remember the Words of Jesus which I quoted earlier: If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. If we will turn from our own ways, and set our hearts on Him, and on His Word, and spend real quality time each day in His Word, reading and meditating in; doing and living His Word, we will abide in His love, and His love will be manifested through our lives in this present evil world. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

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

 The Judgment Of God Is In Our Land

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

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

We thank you, Father, in Jesus’ name; thank you Father. Glory and honor to your holy name; thank you Lord, Amen. Praise God Almighty! Our hearts go out to those people that are suffering right now, as a result of the floods that have happened. It’s a time of great grief and great suffering, and we just pray right now for mercy, that you would have mercy on many people that are suffering right now, in Jesus’ name. Thank you Lord.

Today’s program is called, The Judgment Of God Is In Our Land. Mat 7:7, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Rom 8:4, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. The works of the flesh are evil against another person. Adultery, fornication, hatred, murder, drunkenness, etc. If you are walking in the flesh, you are not fulfilling the righteousness of the law; you are doing evil against your neighbor, not what you would have them do to you. Therefore, you ask and you don’t receive; you seek and you don’t find. You knock and it is not opened unto you.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. Gal 5:24,  And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Mat 7:13, Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. The fruit of the Spirit is love: the love of God, and love for your neighbor. The only way you can do this is in love: the love that God has for you, that He gave His beloved Son for you, to suffer so much for you, to free you from sin, and to give you His Holy Spirit to teach you and to guide you into all truth, continuing in the Words of Jesus, being His true disciple, knowing the truth, and the truth making you free from your slavery to sin; from the works of the flesh, to walk in the Spirit. Gal 5:25, If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Gal 5:16,  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Rom 8:12, Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. This is the narrow gate, and it is difficult. You must die; your flesh must be crucified through the Cross.

Because of the love of God, you can do it, through the Holy Spirit. He will teach you; He will guide you into all truth, as you continue in the Words of Jesus, and the truth will make you free. You will be broken to pieces as you yield to Him to fall on the precious Cornerstone, to love your enemies; to forgive that person that hurt you so much and did you so wrong; to go to that person that you did wrong to and humble yourself and repent and make things right; to do good to those that hate you and pray for those who use you and persecute you. It’s hard! It’s not easy. It was not easy for Jesus to go to the Cross. This is what He meant when He said, If you will be My disciple, you must deny yourself every day, and take up your cross and follow Me. Mat 16:24, 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? If you will be My disciple, you must deny yourself every day, and take up your cross and follow Me. Jesus was crucified on His Cross, and we will be crucified on ours-if we love Him; if we love the Father and we will put to death the deeds of our flesh, and we will be raised with Him to walk in newness of life through the Holy Spirit. He will lead us, if we will yield to Him, and we will be sons and daughters of God. Luke 9:23, Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 

In America we have so much false teaching: that a person can live in the flesh, doing the works of the flesh, and they are covered; already forgiven, past, present, and future, by the sacrifice of Jesus. In other words, if you believe in Jesus, you can live after the flesh and go to Heaven, when Romans eight, and many other scriptures clearly teach to the contrary. No! If you do the works of the flesh; if you won’t repent and turn from those works, you will die; you will perish eternally. If a person will repent of those works and turn from them and learn to put them to death by the Holy Spirit, being led by Him in the love of Jesus, to do His Words, they will overcome and they will live: they will inherit eternal life in Him.

The judgment of God is in our land, not to condemn us, but to turn us from our evil ways, and to bring us back to God. John 3:16, 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. Now is the time to take heed to these things, and to seek Him with all your heart. Now is the time to draw near to God in humility and fear and true repentance, seeking understanding from Him and seeking His righteousness. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) If we seek after righteousness, Jesus said, we shall be filled. God said, If we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him. Yes, He loves us! No, He is not condemning us. But this is His judgment, and we must repent of our evil ways and turn to Him, or we will perish.

Then we need to follow on with Jesus, in the Holy Spirit; in His Word, and learn His ways and walk in them. We must do righteousness; we must be holy. Yes you can do this: holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Yes, you can do this if you love Him and turn from the evil of your doings, continuing in His Word, with the Holy Spirit guiding you and teaching you. Get yourself away from the false teachers that are telling you that everything is ok, when it is not ok. And turn to God; truly come to Him. He can help you, if you will repent and love His truth. 

Mat 7:19, Jesus said, Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! 

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

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

 Alas Sinful Nation!

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

Today’s program is entitled: Alas Sinful Nation! Just as this was Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Isaiah the Prophet, this is America today: Turn with me to Isa 1:1-28, The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, oh Heavens, and give ear, oh Earth! For the Lord has spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider. Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah. Hear the Word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah: To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? says the Lord. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me; the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them. Therefore the Lord says, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed. 

Verse 2, …I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; Verse 3, The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider. America does not know, nor do we consider. We do not know God, neither do we consider Him. We have rebelled against Him; we have rejected His Word to our own destruction. We do not consider that He is God and our breath is in His hand. Verse 4, we have forsaken the Lord and provoked Him to anger. Verse 13, Bring no more futile sacrifices; I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn meeting. Bring no more empty, vain prayers and religious services. Verse 15, even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Why? YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD !!! Even now we continue to slaughter innocent babies by the thousands, every day !! Let’s go to 2Ki 24:3&4. This talks about King Manasseh who was the son of Hezekiah, a righteous king; but Manasseh did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did much evil, but the worst thing that he did was that he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. Ladies and gentlemen we have filled our nation with innocent blood with the slaughter of these babies. We call it health care. We call it women’s choice. You can call it whatever you want, but it is murder. It’s murder of innocent babies. They haven’t even had time to do any evil or good, and they are snuffed out like some kind of inconvenience. See what the Lord said about Manasseh in 2Ki 24:3&4, Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon. The Lord would not pardon the shedding of innocent blood. Our land is defiled with innocent blood!! 

This is our diagnosis America, by the Prophet Isaiah, and it speaks still today! There is a cure! There is a real healing: verse 16, wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, and the unborn, plead for the widow. Verse 18-20, Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. So, repent now! Turn from your evil ways! Come to your Savior Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for your sins, and let Him wash you and make you clean, and give you real life in Him. The only healing for America is to return to the God of our forefathers; to come weeping and mourning to our God whom we have forsaken and to His Son in true repentance, turning from the evil of our doings, being washed in the precious Blood of the Lamb of God. You cannot pick and choose scriptures and songs and try to justify your life of evil. The only way out is repentance; godly sorrow from the heart and returning to God with all our hearts. Then He will abundantly pardon and restore our judges as at the first, and our counselors as at the beginning. Then and only then shall we be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city; then and only then shall we be great again. No repentance; no forgiveness, and destruction will follow. America has been blessed and become great only because of the faith of our founders and the love and obedience which they lived toward our God; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we refuse to return to Him there will be no healing, but rather a great purging by Him of those who have rejected His counsel to their own destruction. Verse 28, The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

 

Isa 2:11-18, The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. There is a day coming: The Day of the Lord! For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up—and it shall be brought low—upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan; upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. So let us humble ourselves now, all of us, before the Great and Mighty God and come to His Son Jesus, who gave Himself for us a living sacrifice for our sins, with fear and trembling and true repentance that we may find grace in His sight; grace to help us in this great hour of need. We must see our need as Jesus said to the church in Laodicea in Rev 3:17-22, Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 

It is not enough to do a little righteousness and pat ourselves on the back while we continue to slaughter innocent babies and commit many other abominations, quoting scriptures and trying to appear to be honorable in the sight of men. That is not going to work! It’s a lie! It’s deceit! We must repent now, while we still have a nation, while we still have breath, and turn from our evil ways with all our hearts, with fasting and mourning and crying out to God, like the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of the Prophet Jonah. Let’s turn there, Jon 3:1-10, Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. Do not be deceived people! God’s judgement is upon us. If we will turn back to Him, perhaps He will pardon us and repent of the evil that He has planned to bring upon us for our evil ways. But if we refuse and continue in them we will be destroyed. Isa 3:10&11, Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be given him.

Isa 1:9, Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. There is a remnant in America, a very small remnant of people who really love the Lord. Thank God for them, otherwise we would be as Sodom and like unto Gomorrah.

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.