{"id":11588,"date":"2020-11-08T17:54:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T17:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pjhmail.wordpress.com\/?p=11588"},"modified":"2020-11-08T17:54:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T17:54:00","slug":"notes-from-todays-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/11588\/notes-from-todays-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes from Today’s Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thank you for the notes on Matthew 6, John. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n
Today\u2019s message was one of the purest presentations of what the Holy Ghost has made us that I have\u00a0ever heard.\u00a0 Not only that, the section on \u201ceveryone in the Old Testament being an actor\u201d was SO good.\u00a0 What a wonderful blessing\u00a0Jesus gave us this morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Thanks so very much for sharing truth like this.\u00a0 I will go back and listen to that whole message again, it never can get old, because it\u2019s life!<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Gary<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
==========<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Hi\u00a0Gary.<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I feel so blessed to be around people like you who love the truth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Thank you (and others who have contacted me) very much for loving the truth of Christ enough to confess it! In this world I am certain that there will be great reward for that.<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Pastor John<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\n

Eighth Meeting\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday, November 8, 2020<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sermon on the Mount Continued\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew 6\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b61. \u201cBeware not to do y<\/em>our alms before men, to be seen by them; otherwise, y<\/em>ou have no reward\u00a0 from y<\/em>our Father who is in heaven.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* Jesus did not say (v. 1), \u201cDo not do alms.\u201d Nor did he only say, \u201cDo not do y<\/em>our\u00a0 alms before men.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* What he said was (v. 1), \u201cDo not do y<\/em>our alms before men to be seen by them,\u201d\u00a0 that is, do not do good things for the purpose of winning men\u2019s admiration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2a. So, whenever you give alms, don\u2019t sound a trumpet before you the way the hypocrites do in\u00a0 the synagogues and streets so that they might be honored by men.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* The word \u201chypocrite\u201d means \u201cactor\u201d. The Greeks had been using that word for\u00a0 centuries, so it was nothing new to Jesus\u2019 disciples.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* But the disciples were probably puzzled as to what Jesus was getting at by calling\u00a0 those very devout men \u201cactors\u201d because everybody under the law of Moses was an <\/u>\u00a0actor. <\/u>They had no choice. Everybody who kept God\u2019s law was only doing and\u00a0 saying what the law commanded Israel to do and say.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* This is why the word \u201chypocrite\u201d is not found in the Hebrew Old Testament\u00a0 books, nor the word \u201cactor\u201d, or even the word \u201cpretend\u201d. To act as the law of\u00a0 Moses demanded was all that Old Testament saints could do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

* When Moses built the tabernacle at Mount Sinai that God told him to build, he\u00a0 was only building a stage for the high priest to act on.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The high priest didn\u2019t know it, but when he made intercession to God for\u00a0 Israel he was pretending to be Jesus. He was acting out what the Son of God would\u00a0 really do when he came. And God accepted that act at that time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0When Israel slaughtered the Passover lamb, they didn\u2019t know it, but they\u00a0 were acting out what some of them who despised him would really do to the Lamb\u00a0 of God when he came.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0And when Israel ate the flesh of that Passover lamb, they didn\u2019t know it, but\u00a0 they were acting act what some of them who believed would really do after Lamb of\u00a0 God suffered and died for them. Paul said,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1Corinthians 5\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7b. Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. so that we might keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with leaven of malice and\u00a0 wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    * This is what Jesus was hinting at when he said this:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    John 6\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    53b. \u201cUnless y<\/em>ou eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, y<\/em>ou have no life in\u00a0 y<\/em>ou.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0. . . .\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      * Jesus lost a lot of disciples when he said that. They thought he was trying to add\u00a0 another act for them to perform of eating his human flesh and drinking his human\u00a0 blood. But he wasn\u2019t talking about pretending to eat his flesh and blood, but to\u00a0 really eat his flesh and blood.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      John 6\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. When many of his disciples heard this, they said, \u201cThis is a hard saying; who can hear it?\u201d\u00a0 61. But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to\u00a0 them, \u201cDoes this offend y<\/em>ou?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \u00a0. . . .\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The things that I am telling y<\/em>ou,\u00a0 they are spirit, and they are life!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \u00a0. . . .\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. At this, many of his disciples went back to former things, and walked with him no\u00a0 longer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            * We\u2019re not acting when we eat and drink in Christ. It\u2019s the real thing! It is life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            1Corinthians 12\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            1. For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether\u00a0 slaves or free, and all were given to drink of one Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              * <\/strong>And.\u2026\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

              1Corinthians 10\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                \n
              1. We, being many, are one bread, one body, for we all partake of the one bread.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                * Now, spiritually, an actor is someone who plays a religious role<\/u>, someone who\u00a0 says the words he is expected to say and does the deeds he is expected to do, and\u00a0 some people are excellent at it\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                * Uncle Joe never was good at saying or doing the expected thing. And he always\u00a0 struggled with that. He wanted to say and do what good Christians expected of\u00a0 him, but he was too alive in the holy Ghost to do it. It was a great relief to him to\u00a0 learned that Christianity is not of God, and that he did not have to conform to\u00a0 Christians, but Christians needed to conform to him and walk with him in the\u00a0 Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                * Nothing an actor says or does is spontaneous; nothing is from the heart.\u00a0 * No ceremony is alive. They are all scripted; they are all pretend!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                * This is another aspect on the greatest lesson of the New Testament; there is no\u00a0 ceremony, no acting, in the righteousness of God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                2b. Truly, I tell y<\/em>ou, they have their reward.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                * Every actor performs his act in hope of receiving some kind of reward<\/u>. The\u00a0 actors Jesus was talking about wanted the reward of men\u2019s admiration, and Jesus\u00a0 said that they had it. They were being paid for their acting ability, not with\u00a0 money, but with the being praise of men.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                * Someone may ask, \u201cWhat if the actor\u2019s hope is to be rewarded by God for his\u00a0 ceremonial worship? The answer is that in this covenant of life, God does not\u00a0 accept ceremonial worship because it does not honor the sacrifice of His Son!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                * Paul counted all his acting ability, every ceremony and holy day, every title and\u00a0 position, every tradition of the elders, as dung, just to know Christ.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                * The son of God said he came to bring us life (Jn. 10:10), and Paul said that the\u00a0 Spirit is life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                Romans 8\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                10b. The Spirit is life . . .,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. and if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in y<\/em>ou, He who raised\u00a0 Christ from the dead shall also bring to life y<\/em>our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells\u00a0 in y<\/em>ou.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  * No ceremony is going to raise you from the dead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                  * Jesus was made God\u2019s real \u201chigh priest by the power of an endless life\u201d. He really\u00a0 preached by that same power, and he was really raised from the dead by that\u00a0 power. The whole kingdom of God, Paul said, \u201cis in power\u201d (1Cor. 4:20). And to\u00a0 practice ceremonies now is to pretend that the Son of God has not come to see us\u00a0 free from them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                  * You cannot add a ceremony without adding strife. Quarrels about when, who,\u00a0 where, and how often the ceremony should be performed will always arise.\u00a0 When a woman in Samaria wanted to quarrel with Jesus about the right place to\u00a0 perform acts of worship,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                  John 4\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Jesus said to her, \u201cWoman, believe me, an hour is coming when y<\/em>ou\u2019ll worship the\u00a0 Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                  2. Y<\/em>ou Samaritans <\/em>don\u2019t know what y<\/em>ou\u2019re worshipping; we know what we worship, for\u00a0 salvation is of the Jews.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                  3. But an hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father\u00a0 spiritually and truly, for the Father is searching for such people to worship Him.\u00a0 24. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    * <\/strong>The Son of God was sent here to earth to pay the price for it, and he paid it, and\u00a0 that sacrifice is precious to God, and to everyone who knows Him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. But when you are giving alms, don\u2019t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing\u00a0 4. so that your almsgiving might be in secret. And then your Father, who sees in secret, will\u00a0 reward you in the open.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      * But Jesus also encouraged us earlier in this same sermon <\/strong>to do good deeds that\u00a0 people can see:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                      Matthew 5\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. Let y<\/em>our light shine before men (so that they may see y<\/em>our good works and glorify y<\/em>our\u00a0 Father who is in heaven).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        * So, how can we know when to obey what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 and when to\u00a0 obey what he said in Matthew 6:3?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                        * This is just one example of the conundrums that arise whenever men try to live\u00a0 by a set of rules. Life is too complicated for any set of rules to be able to cover\u00a0 every situation we face.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                        * Another example of such a conundrum is the occasional conflict that existed in\u00a0 Israel between keeping God\u2019s commandment to do no work on the Sabbath and\u00a0 God\u2019s commandment to circumcise male children on the eighth day after birth.\u00a0 Any male infant not circumcised on the eighth day was cut off from Israel:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                        Genesis 17 (God to Abraham)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Every eight-day-old male among y<\/em>ou shall be circumcised throughout y<\/em>our\u00a0 generations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          \u00a0. . .\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                            \n
                          1. An uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin . . . shall\u00a0 certainly be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            * Anyone who did work on the Sabbath was cut off from Israel:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

                            Exodus 31\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. Y<\/em>ou shall certainly keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to y<\/em>ou. Those who defile it shall\u00a0 surely be put to death. Whoever does any work on it . . . shall be cut off from among\u00a0 his people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                              * But what if the eighth day after the birth of a son fell on a Sabbath day?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                              * The right thing to do was to go ahead and break the Sabbath and circumcise the\u00a0 child, and God let the elders of Israel feel that was acceptable. The need to\u00a0 circumcise trumped the prohibition of doing work on the Sabbath day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                              * Jesus pointed this out to those who criticized him for healing on the Sabbath day:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                              John 7\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                \n
                              1. Moses gave y<\/em>ou circumcision, . . . and <\/em>even on the Sabbath, y<\/em>ou circumcise someone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                * But without God\u2019s help, no one can know which commandment to choose to\u00a0 keep when there is a conflict.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                * That is why God sent His Son, to help us know what to do by putting God\u2019s law\u00a0 within us so that we can feel God\u2019s will (which is His law) in every situation.\u00a0 * The Spirit can be with us in every situation, everywhere we go, and let us know\u00a0 what is right in God\u2019s eyes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                \u00b65. \u201cAnd when you pray, don\u2019t be like the hypocrites, for they like standing up to pray in the\u00a0 synagogues and on street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly, I tell y<\/em>ou, they\u00a0 have their reward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                1. But when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have locked your door to <\/u>pray to\u00a0 your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in the open.\u00a0 7. And when y<\/em>ou pray, don\u2019t rattle on like the Gentiles. They think that with their many words\u00a0 they will gain a hearing.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                2. Don\u2019t be like them; y<\/em>our Father knows the things y<\/em>ou have need of before y<\/em>ou ask Him.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                  * Prayer in this covenant, being part of worship, must be \u201cin spirit and in truth\u201d. It\u00a0 must be inspired \u201cby the power of an endless life\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                  * To read a prescribed prayer from a piece of paper, to repeat a traditional prayer\u00a0 (e.g., \u201cthe Lord\u2019s prayer\u201d or the rosary) is a useless ritual, a dead religious work.\u00a0 * It wasn\u2019t always like that, though. Before the Son came, dead ceremonial acts\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                  were all man had, and the dead ceremonies that God gave Israel were glorious\u00a0 because, unknown to Israel, they were acts that foretold of God\u2019s Son.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                  * That is how glorious the Son is. Even the shadows of his coming were holy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                  2Corinthians 3\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    \n
                                  1. If the ministry of death by letters engraved on stones came with glory, so that the\u00a0 children of Israel were not able to gaze at Moses\u2019 face because of the glory on his face\u00a0 (which ministry <\/em>is being brought to an end),\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                  2. how shall the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                  3. For if the ministry of condemnation be <\/em>glory, much more does the ministry of\u00a0 righteousness overflow with glory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                  4. Indeed, that which was once made glorious has been made not glorious in this regard,\u00a0 on account of the surpassing glory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                  5. And certainly, if that which is being done away with was <\/em>glorious, much more glorious\u00a0 is that which lasts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                    \u00b69. \u201cSo then, y<\/em>ou pray like this:<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

                                    * First, this is not \u201cthe Lord\u2019s prayer\u201d. The Bible never calls it that; Christians do.\u00a0 This is the disciples\u2019 prayer. Jesus told them to pray it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    * Second, telling his disciples what they should pray is the best Jesus could do for\u00a0 them as until after he died, for until the day of Pentecost, they didn\u2019t yet have \u201cthe\u00a0 power of an endless life\u201d to inspire their prayers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    * Lastly, Jesus said only that they should pray \u201clike this\u201d. They did not have to use\u00a0 these specific words. Jesus was not giving them another ceremony to perform.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    9b. \u2018Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    * BREAKDOWN OF THE DISCIPLES\u2019 PRAYER: \u201cOur Father who is in heaven\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    * The first thing a Jew with a right heart would do is to confess his (and Israel\u2019s)\u00a0 exclusive relationship with God. This was not a claim; this was a confession of\u00a0 God\u2019s love for Israel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    * No Gentile could call God his Father, and it be true.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    * Nehemiah confessed, like Jesus with the Samaritan woman, his and Israel\u2019s\u00a0 exclusive relationship with God when he told the scoffing Gentiles, \u201cY<\/em>ou have no\u00a0 portion, or righteousness, or memorial in Jerusalem.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                    Nehemiah 2\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      \n
                                    1. When Sanballat the Horite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab\u00a0 heard of it, they mocked us and despised us, saying, \u201cWhat is this thing that y<\/em>ou are\u00a0 doing? Y<\/em>ou are rebelling against the king!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                    2. And I returned a message to them, and I said to them, \u201cThe God of heaven, He will\u00a0 make us successful, and we, His servants, will rise up and build the wall<\/em>, and y<\/em>ou have no\u00a0 or righteousness, or memorial in Jerusalem.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                      * God humbled His people to confess His exclusive relationship with Israel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      Amos 3\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      1a. Hear this word which Jehovah has spoken about y<\/em>ou, O children of Israel \u2026\u00a0 2a. \u201cOf all the families of the earth, I have known only y<\/em>ou.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      * God only asked Israel to humble themselves to do the same.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      * For Jews at that time, to confess that God is \u201cour Father\u201d was to testify that God\u00a0 was not the Father of those who outside of Israel \u2013 though the door was open for\u00a0 any Gentile on earth to submit to the law and be numbered among God\u2019s people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      NOTE!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      * It was Israel\u2019s failure to confess their exclusive relationship with God that caused\u00a0 all their greatest problems. Only a few in Israel\u2019s history were like Nehemiah.\u00a0 And every serious problem Israel ever faced stemmed from that one failure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      * If you have the holy Ghost, you have an exclusive relationship with God.\u00a0 * God humbled Himself greatly confessed you when that relationship began. His\u00a0 Spirit cried out through you, declaring Him to be your Father.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      Romans 8\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      15b. Y<\/em>ou received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry out, \u201cAbba!\u201d (that is, <\/em>\u201cFather!\u201d)\u00a0 16. The Spirit itself bears witness, together with our spirit, that we are children of God.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

                                      * Now, our part is to confess our exclusive relationship with God before men. If\u00a0 we do that at the right time and in the right spirit, people will hear the Spirit of\u00a0 God say, even if we do not, \u201cY<\/em>ou have no portion, or righteousness, or memorial\u00a0 in the body of Christ.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      * Some will hate us for that, as if it is our doing and our plan, but God\u2019s lost sheep\u00a0 will not. It will be the sound they have been waiting to hear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      * It is our purpose on earth to \u201cconfess Christ\u201d. Jesus said,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                      Matthew 10\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        \n
                                      1. \u201cWhosoever confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is 26<\/sup> in heaven.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                      2. But whoever denies me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in\u00a0 heaven.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                        * To be a part of God\u2019s family is such as great honor that one would think that\u00a0 confessing it would be an easy and exciting thing to do. But in this world, there is\u00a0 constant and great pressure against it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        * Confessing the truth of Christ is to confess that HE is the only way to God, the\u00a0 only truth about God, and the only life that comes from God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        * Men will approve of you if you tell them, \u201cMy personal way to God is through\u00a0 Jesus.\u201d But you do not have a personal way to God. Christ is the way to God, the\u00a0 only way, and we confess him truly only when we confess that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        * When we confess that Jesus is THE way (not a way), we are testifying to others\u00a0 that they don\u2019t have a personal way to God, either.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        * To confess Christ truthfully to confess that those with the Spirit belong to the\u00a0 only family God has and that He is THEIR Father and nobody else\u2019s, though the\u00a0 door is open for any sinner on earth to submit to Christ and become a child of\u00a0 God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        * In other words, to confess Christ before men is to testify to them, \u201cWithout<\/span><\/span> the\u00a0 Spirit of God, y<\/em>ou have no portion, or righteousness, or memorial in the body of\u00a0 Christ.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        * Isn\u2019t that what Paul said?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        Romans 8\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        9b. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.\u201d\u00a0<\/span> * To confess Christ is to testify, as Peter did, that\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        \u00a0Or, \u201cconfesses in me\u201d, or \u201cby me\u201d. Also, Luke 12:8. 26<\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                        Acts 4\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                          \n
                                        1. Salvation is not by any other, for there is no other name given among men by which we\u00a0 must be saved!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                          * Confessing Christ truthfully is the real reason Paul was so hated, and it is the real\u00a0 reason that I and some of you have been so hated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                          * And the failure to do that is the real reason some others are not so hated.\u00a0 * It is also the root of every problem the body of Christ has ever had in this world.\u00a0 * It is also the root of whatever problem you have in this world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                          * Hear this! Every circumstance on this earth is determined by God based on His\u00a0 relationship with His people. Every circumstance on earth in ancient time was\u00a0 dependent on God\u2019s relationship with His people. God shaped world history\u00a0 based on what His people needed, ands He is still shaping history based on what\u00a0 His people need. Stay out of politics and stay out of God\u2019s way before He runs\u00a0 you over. He is doing the right thing! Whatever God is doing, He has something\u00a0 wonderful in mind for His children, and they will get to it if they do not get in\u00a0 His way, \u201cthinking to do God service\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                          * If you will live in \u201cthe power of an endless life\u201d, if you will serve God \u201cin spirit and\u00a0 in truth\u201d, the only problems you will have will be somebody else\u2019s, not yours,a nd\u00a0 you\u2019ll be able to help them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                          * To confess Christ is to testify that the only thing that we did, and the only thing\u00a0 that can be done, to enter the kingdom of God\u2019s is repent and be baptized with\u00a0 His Spirit, which God gives in the name of His Son to every soul who obeys Him!\u00a0 * Peter and the other apostles paid the price for confessing Christ like that:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                          Acts 5\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                            \n
                                          1. Peter and the apostles answered, saying, \u201cWe must obey God rather than men.\u00a0 30. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom y<\/em>ou killed, hanging him <\/em>on a tree.\u00a0 31. This man God has exalted to His right hand to be <\/em>a Prince and a Savior, to give\u00a0 repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                          2. And we are his witnesses of these things, and so is the holy Spirit, which God has given\u00a0 to those who obey Him.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                                          3. When they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began plotting to kill them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                            * If we confess Christ as Peter did, it may be that we suffer as he did, if that is God\u2019s\u00a0 plan for us, but then, as Paul said,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                            Romans 8\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                              \n
                                            1. The sufferings of this present time are unworthy of comparison <\/em>with the glory that shall\u00a0 be revealed to us.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                              * May God give us the love of Christ that produces the boldness to confess him\u00a0 before men.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                                              GoingtoJesus.com<\/a>\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 PastorJohnsHouse.com<\/a>\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 SongsofRest.com<\/a>\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 isaiah58.com<\/a>\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 PioneerTract.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

                                              \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

                                              <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                              Thank you for the notes on Matthew 6, John. \u00a0 \u00a0 Today\u2019s message was one of the purest presentations of what the Holy Ghost has made us that I have\u00a0ever heard.\u00a0 Not only that, the section on \u201ceveryone in the Old Testament being an actor\u201d was SO good.\u00a0 What a wonderful blessing\u00a0Jesus gave us this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netmail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}