A SIFTING AND A BETRAYAL

Luke 22:3 Then SATAN ENTERED Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
Luke 22:31 ‘Simon, Simon, SATAN HAS ASKED to sift you as wheat.

TWO MEN….Judas, the Iscariot and Simon Peter. Three years earlier, before Jesus entered the scene, they were just ordinary men. One was a fisherman at the shores of Galilee and the other, nothing much is said about him before then. But here there are,…three years on sitting with a man called Jesus of Nazareth…whom they have come to love, revere and have deep admiration for. Yes…here at the table of communion. The Lord’s heart is deeply troubled. Yes…because the time has come…THE TIME which His Father had been waiting for. To glorify His Son through a death…DEATH ON THE CROSS.

But while Jesus knows that His death is imminent, His heart is also deeply troubled by the fate of two men…men who had been part of His team. Men…who had shared bread at His dinner table, listened to His sermons and teachings, men who had witnessed great miracles. And yet…these two men, Judas, the Iscariot and Simon Peter has something else in common which the Lord knows about: SATAN’S PLANS WITH THEIR LIVES.

DID HE SAY WAIT?

Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and WAIT PATIENTLY for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Yesterday…he almost succeeded at his scheming…yes, I am talking about the devil. For awhile, he almost had me by his side…but note, I said for awhile. I couldn’t sleep because I needed to hear HIS VOICE last…the voice of THE SHEPHERD. So, I woke up and reached out for my bible and went over to the Psalms. Psalm 37 caught my eye and I started reading. If I had reason to feel upset…I heard HIS VOICE through these words in verse 8; REFRAIN FROM ANGER AND TURN FROM WRATH, DO NOT FRET_ IT LEADS ONLY TO EVIL.

Just a few verses before the Lord had said BE STILL…AND WAIT PATIENTLY. What? What does He mean I wait patiently. God…are you serious? Right there and then…I saw something amazing hidden between the lines of Psalm 37 that I had never seen before: THE LAND...my inheritance. And at the same time, I also saw something else which had escaped my notice up until last night. In Psalm 37 alone,…the word WICKED and EVIL is mentioned 19 times which is 15 more times than the word LAND which is mentioned only 4 times.

DID HE SAY WAIT? Oh my goodness…how can God ask me to wait patiently while all the while evil and wickedness is all that I see and hear all day long? Lord, how can I wait in the midst of so much evil and wickedness? Then He brought me back to the 4 times the word LAND is mentioned.

HUMILITY: TWO GREAT LESSONS

Philippians 2:5-9 YOUR ATTITUDE should be the same as that of CHRIST JESUS:
Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but MADE HIMSELF NOTHING, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being obedient to death_ even death on a cross! Therefore God EXALTED HIM to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,…

It was one of my many conversations with the Lord. This past week, I was asking the Lord. WHY HUMILITY? Why did you have to pass me/my family through this painful path of humility? Is it necessary or mandatory? A couple of days after asking this question…the Lord answered. ‘I HAVE STRIPPED YOU OF VAIN GLORY.’

The Lord took me back to the story of Moses. He was born in Egypt during the time when the children of Israel were under bondage and when Pharaoh had ordered for the killing of every male child born into a Hebrew family. But with God’s intervention…Moses survived when Pharaoh’s daughter took him under her wings as her own son. So…while the children of Israel was oppressed and forced to work under very difficult circumstances, Moses….grew up and walked on the CORRIDORS OF POWER at the Pharaoh court. Oh…his heart was with his Hebrew brothers and sisters, but his presence and loyalty was with the Pharaoh and his family. In every sense of that word…HE HAD GLORY…or so it seemed.

Then everything changed. One day…he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. The following day, he tried to intervene between two Hebrews fighting, and to his utter shock, he heard these words. WHO MADE YOU RULER AND JUDGE OVER US? Before he knew it, the glory he once enjoyed was no longer his. Hence…he fled to the desert. You see, VAIN GLORY…is just but for a time and a season. Without HUMILITY….your glory will soon fade away or be stripped from you with one wrong move you make. One moment, Moses was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and the next, he was a fugitive on the run.

WITHOUT JESUS I AM DONE!

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.

When one because a Christian…the Lord by and large expects us to bear fruit….righteous fruit. But how as a child of God are you sure that your fruit is borne out of the Spirit or out of self-ambition?

After surfing around the Internet for awhile this morning, I felt really disturbed about one blog which seems to be specialized at looking deeper and scrutinizing every big ministry name out there. And while, it seems the person is very well researched and conversant with some of the ministries mentioned, I still felt really disturbed about it. For one, it made me wonder. How is it possible for one person…to be able to have such deeper and inside knowledge of ministries which are far and wide…some of which are overseas. And based on this knowledge, make some quick assumptions that these ministries are ‘off the mark.’ But, then again…I remember without JESUS, I AM DONE. These were Jesus’ words to His disciples when He sent them out:

Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among the wolves. Therefore be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

The sad thing about it is,

HIS DEATH: MY FREEDOM

Hebrews 2:14-15 Since the children have flesh and blood, he shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death_ that is, the devil_ and FREE THOSE WHO ALL THEIR LIVES WERE HELD IN SLAVERY BY THEIR FEAR OF DEATH.

Someone may ask you or me. Are you afraid of death? Personally, I will say, YES, I am afraid of death…or maybe I am afraid of the dying process. Yet…no matter what your answer is on this one…fact remains YOU AND I WILL SOMEDAY go through that process. Sorry, friend. Its INEVITABLE!
But, some years back, I read the above scripture and understood something deeper. We as Christians…know that death is not the end…but the beginning of LIFE…of LIFE ETERNAL. Nothing is lost for the believing person when death occurs. But despite that knowledge, we live still as if death has power over us.

I like that word in Hebrew 2. Knowing that Jesus came and died on the cross for my sins is one thing. But understand that through His death,

HONORING MARY FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

Luke 1:46-48 And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me BLESSED,

First of all, what does it mean to HONOR someone? HONOR can be defined as: personal integrity; allegiance to moral principles; GREAT RESPECT, ESTEEM; a woman’s chastity; out of respect; to hold in respect: TO CONFER A DISTINCTION UPON etc.

Hence…that said. Is it right for the believer to hold Mary, the mother of Jesus in esteem? If yes. Why do you think we should? If not. Why do you disagree? I would love to hear your thoughts on this one! As for me, I personally hold Mary in great esteem and these are my reasons:

HOSANNA: BLESSED IS HE…

John 12:13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “HOSANNA! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”

Oh…I SEE THE CROWD…IT IS HUGE and growing by the hour! I see…children, young men and women, and the older ones are joining in too. Oh…I see the blind men whose sight were restored…and the lepers who are no longer outcasts.. Oh…I see the one’s who had tested death but Jesus raised them back to life. I see the Samaritan woman and the woman with the issue of blood, the smile on their faces tell their story more than a thousand words. And how can I miss out on the Centurion whose daughter was restored to health and Jesus was so deeply impressed by his faith . I see sane men who were once demon possessed. The shouts and jubilation gets louder. Oh…JERUSALEM has never seen anything like this before. Right there in front of their eyes...HISTORY is in the making.

KINGDOM PROSPERITY IS NOT AN ASSET: IT IS A REWARD!

Proverbs 13:21 Misfortune pursues the sinner, but PROSPERITY IS THE REWARD of the RIGHTEOUS.

Oh…I have touched on a topic which many have come to loathe….Or I might be wrong? What is your view on prosperity? Do you think Kingdom prosperity is an ASSET or a REWARD? First let us define these two words:

AN ASSET is: the entire property owned by a person; valuable item that is OWNED; useful or valuable quality, person or thing; an ADVANTAGE OR RESOURCE.

A REWARD is: taking reward of thine own value; the fruit of one’s labor or works; that which is given in return for good or evil done; receive for some services or attainment as for excellence in studies; recompense, requital.

While the discussion has become heated about whether it is right to preach or teach about prosperity in the Kingdom, I believe with all my heart that God was and is still the AUTHOR of the word PROSPERITY! If it weren’t the case, He wouldn’t care to repeat the same to the children of Israel as they prepared themselves to enter into the Promised land. But remember….PROSPERITY is not an ASSET; it is A REWARD.

DOES HE KNOW YOUR ADDRESS?

Acts 19:14-15 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day, the evil spirit answered them, ‘JESUS I KNOW and I KNOW ABOUT PAUL, but WHO ARE YOU?

Yes…the question still goes out today. WHO ARE YOU? DO I KNOW YOUR ADDRESS? By reading this above scripture verse, I see a truth which may seem too simple to discern. But I thank God for His Spirit. In Acts 19, we read about Paul’s powerful ministry of the Word and healing for two years in the Province of Asia. In this two years, all the Jews and Greeks living there have become familiar with him. Many believed, others were healed while some with evil spirits were set free. And of course, some curious onlookers among them, the seven sons of Sceva, the Jewish chief priest got interested. Oh, they are not yet followers of THE WAY. But at the look of things…it doesn’t take hard work to invoke in the name of the Lord Jesus to bring relieve to one in need of deliverance…or so it might have seemed.

A THREE-WORDED INCOMPLETE SENTENCE

I woke up this morning…in the midst of an unfinished dream. I rarely dream…much less, dreams which are God orchestrated. But I have had two very vivid dreams which have had very significant meaning in my life. Today’s dream, I felt was from God…but the strange thing about it was I couldn’t recall any single fact or scene from that dream. Yet when I woke up mid-way…this three-worded incomplete sentence was hanging on my lips: SEASONED WITH GRACE.

I don’t know what that means….or what the Lord has in mind….but I will be listening…or I will lie still in bed and let Him, speak! Oh, He has something in store…that I know. Meanwhile, I will leave you with this very familiar verse which talks about the same as I heard;

COLOSSIANS 4:6 LET YOUR SPEECH ALWAYS BE WITH GRACE, SEASONED WITH SALT, THAT YOU MAY KNOW HOW YOU OUGHT TO ANSWER EACH OTHER.