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  As you have probably heard, there are some folks out there who claim to be the masters of deal making. And as you probably know already, making deals is all about making compromises as you negotiate the small, and not so small… details. Can I just tell you that when we speak about ‘coming to Jesus’, there are no deals to be made, no negotiating petty details, nor do any of us have any leverage to use when it comes to receiving this eternal life that Jesus spoke about. God is the one who lays down the conditions, and we either accept them or we take our toys and go home…and perish. Yes, that sounds cold and harsh, but ‘unless we repent, we will all likewise perish’. (Luke 13:1-5) Let’s be honest here…if you were afloat at sea for weeks in a small dingy, dying of thirst and starvation, and one lone sailing vessel comes by inviting you to board their craft…what ‘negotiating’ needs to take place before you board and are rescued? Yet, how many people today have been led to believe ...
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  “Come to Me…all you who are weary and heavily burdened….and I will give you rest…take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls…” - Jesus (Matt. 11:28-29) “When a person turns to the Lord…the veil of darkness/blindness is taken away” (2 Cor. 3:16). “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” – Jesus (John 5:40)  "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” – Jesus (Matt. 23:37) Now behold, one came to Jesus seeking eternal life…But when the young man heard what Jesus had to say, he turned and went away sorrowful… (Matt. 19:16,22) That last passage I listed there is from the story of the rich young ruler, found in 3 of the 4 gospels. In Mark’s account, it actually reads that this man ‘came running…and knelt before Jesus…’ (Mark 10:17). I find that interesting because in the story we looked at yesterday detail...
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  So you want me to tell you again how you can really know if/when the ‘peace of God’ comes on you? That’s an easy one: You will know it! I don’t mean to toss out trite phrases to questions like that, but I’m telling you the truth. There’s something about God’s peace being ushered in to our lives, whatever the circumstances…and all of a sudden, the clouds dissipate, the darkness flees, and there is clarity of mind and thought; not to mention a racing heart being stilled and at rest. And once you find yourself enveloped by it, you should make it your goal to never lose or leave that place again; seriously! “The Lord blesses His people with peace.” (Ps. 29:11); and He also ‘grants peace to our borders’ (Ps. 147:14). Not only are we exhorted to ‘pursue peace’ …but we are supposed to continue walking in it, given that is how the Holy Spirit leads and guides us. (Heb. 12:14; Luke 1:79; Col. 3:15). If you remember from yesterday’s message, we touched on that incident in Mark’s gospel ...
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  It’s one thing to hear and recognize God’s voice; but it’s another thing altogether to respond to His voice and actually follow His leading. (John 10:27; Heb.3:7-11,15; 4:7). Why bother calling Him ‘Lord’…if we are not going to do what He says? (Luke 6:46). Now I don’t want to come across sounding like I’m suggesting that hearing audible voices in our heads is supposed to be some daily, ongoing experience in our walk of faith; but I’m not going to say that doesn’t or can’t happen either. Both Enoch and Noah had such a testimony that “they walked with God”. I just know I’m not at ‘that place’ yet, myself, but I sure hear Him a lot more these days than what I did in previous years. Some people will stop talking to you when you don’t appear to be listening. Hello? But this idea that we can truly be ‘led by God’s Spirit’ is very attainable for anyone who claims or desires to be a ‘follower’ of Jesus. And yes, I have some very definable moments where I know that I know that I know…...
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  Today’s message is kind of a tricky one, where I find myself ‘walking a thin-line’ not wanting to cause anyone unneeded anxiety or self-doubting, but also want to admonish sincere believers to ‘take heed’ and make sure your heart and mind is ‘fixed on Jesus’ and ‘things above’, not on things of the earth. (Col. 3:1-2). The subject matter today has to do with true peace vs. ‘false’ peace. Those who profess to be true followers of Jesus have not only been called to walk in this peace, but we are exhorted to ‘pursue’ it (Heb. 12:14). Peace is a ‘pathway’ to which Jesus leads us down; that is…if we are truly following Him. (Luke 1:79; Isa. 55:12). We talked about this yesterday and can I just tell you that the best way to maintain walking in ‘His’ peace…is to keep your mind stayed on Him because those who do…are promised to have ‘perfect peace’. (Isa. 26:3). Where this can get dicey is when people are convinced they do indeed possess or have this ‘peace’…when in reality it is not;...
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  We were talking about the ‘way of peace’, yesterday, and how the Bible states few of us know about it (Rom. 3:17). It is the ‘way of peace’ that Jesus came to lead and guide us in’ (Luke 1:79). This should not come as a surprise to anyone who is familiar with that beloved 23rd Psalm. Surely you are familiar with it: “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.” (1-3). That sure sounds like a place of ‘peace’ to me, does it not to you? You might underline that word ‘lead’ which is used twice there, because that is a very important key to maintaining this ‘walk of peace’. If you are going to claim Him as your ‘shepherd’... be sure to acquaint yourself with John 10:27 because that is where Jesus makes it known that ‘His sheep hear His voice, and He knows them…and they follow Him.” You might also jot down Romans 8:14 bec...
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  In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he exhorted the believers there to do something for their own good; and I suspect that if he told many modern day churches today to do this…it would offend more than a few folks, who might respond with a bristling “How dare you!”. What was his advice he gave…? “Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?” (2 Cor. 13:5 AMP) So, if you were to heed his counsel…where would you begin? What ‘checklist’ would be your ‘go to’ to start the self-exam? As I mentioned yesterday, there are plenty of sincere believers today who are suffering needlessly and are presumably ‘holding on to their faith…barely’ because they don’t seem to be thriving and living this ‘abundant life’ that ...
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