Pure in Heart Part 3

Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 

The motives of our heart are very important for us to consider, the fact is that a pure heart is not about being perfect, but more about the purity of our motives.

Trumpet of Repentance (2 Minutes)

[Lev 25:9 NIV] 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 

God calls us to a deep repentance, a type of repentance that is signified by turning away from sin and following Him. It is not enough to simply know about sin, but rather we should give it our best human effort to deny ourselves.

Trumpet of Adoption (2 Minutes)

[Exo 19:4 NIV] 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 

If you feel God calling out to you, it is no mistake or accident, answer the call of God. He is crying out to you from the depths of His soul, he desires to adopt you, to deliver you from trouble and to carry you on eagle's wings into His arms.

Waxing Hot (2 Minutes)

Exo 19:19 and it says this- “ As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.” 

In this passage we see God calling the Israelite's to Mt. Sinai with a trumpet blast. We commonly think of the trumpet as simply an instrument for entertainment, but in ancient times the shofar or even a rams horn was used to assemble warriors for battle, or to signal that danger was approaching and even as an expression of celebration.

 

Pure in Heart Part 2

Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

The pure in heart can see into God’s heart and one of the important things for us believers is to see how God see all people on this earth.

Many times we see others through our judgmental eyes, through eyes that see only the enemies of God, instead of the children of God.

Tuning In (2 Minutes)

There has been a lot of teachings on fasting for God’s people, but what we should understand is that God is not uniquely impressed with fasting unless it is done with pure motives.

We cannot fast long enough to impress God into making Him respond to our prayers, but rather it is our dedication to fasting that helps us hear our God who is already present in our lives and who always responds according to His will.

Woe to You Teachers (2 Minutes)

Mat 23:23 NIV 23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 

This is a tough teaching for the religious leaders of Jesus’s day. Jesus was making sure they knew that they would be accountable for practicing what they teach. Just because someone is a good teacher it does not mean they are living faithfully.

Substitute Teacher (2 Minute)

Mat 23:8 - But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 

This verse is one of those teachings by Jesus that seems opposite to all the thinking we have about teachers. He says you are not be be called a teacher, yet we see in the letters from the Apostle Paul that teachers are a part of his plan for the church.

Pure in Heart Part 1

Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 

We may think that seeing God is only reserved for an elect group, and that may certainly be the case, but we can also see that Jesus tells His disciples that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father.

Prevenient Grace (2 minute)

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

When people ask what’s so unique about Christianity, most Christians have trouble answering this question. We can tell them confidently that Christianity is unique and different because God is personally interested in a relationship with His creation, not only that... he actively pursues a relationship with each and every person on this earth and especially those who do not believe in Him.

How are you Known??

Sending Us (2 minute)

[Jhn 20:21 NIV] 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 

Most Christians think God cannot use them because they are not a pastor or formally trained clergy. We can easily get nervous about how little we know about the bible or theology and freeze up when called by God and everyone one of us is called by God to participate in His mission.

Bread Alone (2 minute)

Deu 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

God wants to lead us away from the reliance of this world and to rely completely on Him. There may be many sources of information in our Godly studies, but only God can administer the final exam in order to test what is in our hearts.

Your Fight or His Victory??

Blessed are the Merciful

Matt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy

I think we can all say that we want to be judged mercifully and that we want a large measure of grace to be used. The wonderful thing is God has already judged us with His mercy at the cross. If we were give so much mercy at the cross by God, then how much more should we give mercy to others.

Itching Ears make Customers not Servants (2 minute)

Our church services should be a time when we are coming together to serve in our churches as much as to simply hear the word, but when you feel that you did not get fed God’s word on Sunday morning, maybe you don’t have a balanced diet of God’s word during the week. Here is how Jesus put it:

[Mat 4:4 NIV] 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Satan is good at Scratching your Itch!

Itching Ears are Easily Deceived (2 minute)

The problem is sometimes we may not be hearing what we want from God or possibly we are going through what seems to be a season of silence from God, so our ears itch and we go seeking God in others. The issue is that the New Testament cautions against deception and here is what Jesus said in Mat 24:11:

[Mat 24:11 NIV] 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

Itching Ears Love Gossip (2 minute)

[Pro 16:28 NIV] 28 A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

We know we shouldn’t be gossiping about others, but it can be tough sometimes not to listen to the latest juicy news about someone.

Teacher vs Preacher??

[Eph 4:11 NIV] 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, 

It is interesting that we see the role of teaching singled out from the role of a Pastor. Pastor’s do need to develop their skills as a teacher, but in many cases a teacher does not necessarily mean you are a pastor.

Pastors take on the broader role of leading a church or group of believers, which requires a special gifting in many areas....

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Hunger and Thirst Part 2

Matt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

One of the more common causes for people not growing deeper in their relationship with God. Is their lack of appetite and dedication for reading the bible. Our spirit man needs to be fed God’s word in order to grow and mature. The kind of food the spirit requires is the word of God and direct communion with God. 

You Might have Itching Ears if... Part 2 (2 minutes)

2Ti 4:3 NIV - For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

You may have itching ears if constantly Moving from one pet doctrine or biblical principle to other and thinking everyone who is not following that aspect is deceived by the devil.