The Great Motivator

They often say that action speaks louder than words and although this may be true in the world in Gods kingdom there is something that speaks far louder then action and that’s motive.. Or why you do what you do

Luke 18:9-14  and he spoke this parable unto certain which trusted in them that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortionist, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalted he will be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.

Years ago the Lord rebuked me after I preached what I thought was a good fiery message of judgment and He said “Rick never try and motivate my people with fear, guilt, and condemnation or shame again if they are not motivated by my love demonstrated through the cross then it will  always be the wrong motivation. I f its not love it profits nothing

He then reminded me about the day that I was saved and said “don’t you remember what you experienced when you first met me and I said yes Lord the only thing I saw was your great love for me and that you proved your love to me by giving your son to die for me at the cross. He said this is always to be the great motivator behind all you do. If your relationship with me begins to take on the form of rules and laws and have too’s then you need to return back to your first love.

We need to understand it’s not just about doing a bunch of religious stuff that pleases God. No there is only one thing that pleases God and that’s faith that works by love.

We see in the above passage that two men went to the temple to pray or both were on their way to church! But it was the motivation not the action that God was looking at! Or why they were doing what they were doing.

One relied on his own works and righteousness to gain Gods acceptance , while the other was completely reliant  grace and mercy.

If we go to church, pray or even pay tithes thinking that by doing these things that we gain extra points with God above everyone else then our motive is all wrong! But if we do these things because of Gods great love then our motive is right.

Love should be the great motivator behind all we do. If it’s not motivated by love then it means nothing.   1 Corinthians  13:3  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.

In Gods kingdom it’s not just the action that counts but the motivation behind the action.

Let’s at look at giving

Remember the story about the widow’s mite?

The Widow’s Two Mites

Luke 21:1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,  and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;  for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.

I can’t help but think that it was more motive then amount that God was looking at her and she was honored above all the rest because of the motive behind here action

Religion always empathizes amounts and percentages but God emphasizes heart and motive.

Man looks at the outward appearance where as God looks at the heart.

2 Corinthians 9:7
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

God loves for us to give but more than amount He looks at motive. If we give because we are afraid that Gods going to smite us if we don’t or we give because we feel that we have instead of because we want too then our motivation may be off.. It’s the same with all we do.. Do we read our bible, pray, tithe because we want to or feel we have to in order to win favor with God ?

Ive always said if you are paying your tithe then your motivation may be wrong. God does not want us to pay our tithe like some kind of monthly bill  that we owe and dread every time we see it in the mail! No !God wants us to give because  we love to give! And we love to give because of Gods great love for us! We know that God so loved us that He gave heavens best for us! So giving is not a way to gain extra points with God or something we do out of dread or fear but giving is a delight!

I f you look all through scripture  you will see God is more interested in the inward parts more then the outward or the motive behind what we do more than just our doing.

And as Jesus ministered He always emphasized motive, Yes there is something far more important then action and its motive,

The Great Awakening

Do you know what a real awakening is?  well It may not be what you think. A great awakening is really not receiving more of God . Listen I’ve always said when you got saved and received Christ it was at that point that you had all the Jesus that your ever going to have !  So when an awakening takes place you  really don’t get more of Jesus or more of God but you actually awaken or wake up to what you have already been given in Christ.  Now  I  want to make another shocking statement after you got saved you cannot get any closer to God than what you already are ! You often hear christians say ” well I just want to get closer to God.” Well that’s sounds real humble but let me ask you a question how much closer to God can you get than Him being in you? In fact Ill take it a step further how much closer to God can you get than you being one with Him? What ? One with Him? that s sounds like blasphemy! Yes ! to the religious mind it sounds like blasphemy because the religious mind still sees itself imperfect and separate from God trying its best to get closer through its much doing and striving, but let me remind you that I didn’t say  that I was in God and that I was one with God because God himself is the one that said I through Christ am one with Him.

1 Corinthians 12:13

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:17                                                                                                                                                            he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

Do you know what Jesus said that probably  offended the Pharisees more than anything else?

Its when Jesus began to tell everyone that He was One with the father . In fact Jesus said when see me then you’ve seen the father..

John 14:10

 Don’t you believe that  I am in the Father, and the Father in me?  and the words that I speak unto you  I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the work.

¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Now listen carefully , If  we  don’t see ourselves perfectly joined to the Lord and one with Him  then we will  always see ourselves separate from Him and as we see ourselves separate from Him we will  then always find ourselves  trying to earn or work our way to get closer to Him but  we must awaken to the reality truth that God is not way up somewhere in cosmic outer space and we are way down here on earth trying our best to reach Him but we need to see ourselves In Him and  seated right now with Him .  I want to remind you once again that the bible says that He Christ is in us and that we are in Him and have been perfectly united and joined with Him! and as we begin to awaken to this reality we will then begin to experience His greater glory.

Colossians 1:27

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

2 Corinthians 3:18

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

A New and Living way

Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. As we read this scripture in context we will understand that God has provided a new covenant and a brand new way to enter into to His presence. This new way is through the body of Christ and the blood of Christ. As we fully trust in what Christ accomplished at the cross then we can have boldness to enter into the presence of God. If we shrink back then God has not pleasure in this because we are in essence saying the cross was not enough to make ne worthy to approach God. We must understand that its not our works or performance that gains us  access into God presence but it is the blood of Christ  plus nothing else..

So the other day I told the Lord ” I love being in your presence ” and He said to me ” Rick you need to understand that I love being in your presence too!” and this shocked me because I never thought of God loving to be in my presence.. and then God reminded me that when Adam fell it was Adam who ran from the presence of the Lord not God and it was God who was then looking  and pursuing Adam saying where are you? One of the main reasons Christ died was to fully restore man back into the presence of God. The Bible dosnt say God loved the world that he gave His only son .. No! It says God soooooooo loved the world that He gave His only son.. God loves us so much and wants us back in His house where we can fully enjoy Him and where He can enjoy us

How Religious thinking Limits God

As Christians we often limit God because of wrong religious thinking. Did you know that our greatest enemy today is not the devil but its right between our own ears! Now religion often teaches us to think about the old covenant law which includes the Ten Commandments and it teaches us that we should do our best to always think about the law and then to strive to do our best to keep the law, but there are a couple problems with this instruction. First of all the new covenant Christian is no longer under the old covenant law but under grace Romans 6:15 and, Second most Christians who are taught to keep the law couldn’t even tell you what the law is let alone keep it, In fact most in the church toady couldn’t even tell you what the Ten Commandments are let alone all the other 600 laws in the old covenant, so how are we going to keep something that we don’t even know? And last no matter how hard you try and strive to keep the law it’s impossible for you to keep the law by you own fleshly effort. Now if you are set and determined to still keep the law then you need to know it’s an all or nothing deal Galatians 3:10. You cannot just pick and choose which law to keep and which you don’t want to keep. We cannot treat the law like some kind of spiritual buffet line where we pick and choose which ones we want to keep and which ones that we don’t want to keep!  No! its all or be cursed! That’s the real deal. This is why the Bible says that Christ died to redeem us from the curse of the Law. The Law is holy but there has always been one problem with the law and that is man cannot keep it! Now if you are still determined to keep the law then this means that you are going to have to cancel all you plans  from Friday night through Saturday night because this is the official Sabbath, I’ve got bad news for many and that is Saturday and mot Sunday is the official Sabbath  and this is one of the main laws in the Big 10 ! Sunday does not count!  Second you need to also if your determined to keep the law know that you will always be filled with guilt and condemnation and likely feel like a hypocrite most of your lif  because the law is the ministry of condemnation and death and the law cannot free you from sin but actually gives strength to sin and last you need to know that you  will always live a Romans 7 way of life up and down, that is  you will only have temporary spurts of victory  but you will mostly live a defeated Christian life. Now I’m going to shock some of you when I say this but I need to say it anyway but did you know as a new covenant Christian that we are not  called  even  think about and meditate on the old covenant laws  then set out to do our best to keep them? No! We are called to think about the cross and Christ crucified and the Love that God has for us and we are called to follow the new law of Spirit of life who is in us.   As we look to the cross which is a demonstration and reminder about the Love that God has for us and we rest in His abundant Love for us we will then will be filled with the Love of God and as we are filled with the love of God we will then fulfill all the Law of God effortlessly because all the law is fulfilled in this  one little word called Love.. Romans 13:10

Taking the Limits off God

Taking the limits off of God.. The big question is this can we limit God from moving in our lives ? The answer is absolutely yes!

Psalm 78:41 says Gods people turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

How did they limit God? Well they limited God through unbelief, through complaining; through fear and by forgetting how God delivered them from Egypt. So we can limit God from moving the way He wants to move in many ways but what we want to do is to take the limits off of God.

Remember Jesus was limited at times from doing what He wanted to do as well why?, because of wrong thinking and unbelief . I mean we see Jesus healing and providing for thousands of people until He comes to His own home town! And it was in this place He was limited.

Mark 6:1-6

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. ² And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

Our unbelief can limit God from moving like He wants to move..

Our own hesitation can limit God. I heard someone say one time “ Instant obedience cripples second guessing” and I never have forgotten this. When we know that God has spoken we need to obey and not get into our own carnal rational ways of thinking why? because if we are not careful we can talk ourselves right out of the blessings of God.

Remember when God told Israel to go in and possess the land but instead they began to reason it all out and sent in spies first… to check it all out.. but this is not what God told them to do and they limited God..  Our hesitation and fear and reason can limit God. Gods desire was for them to enter in to the promised land and experience all His blessings without limits right away but instead they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years! And God warns us to not make the same mistake that they did.. We are not to limit God through our own hesitation and unbelief.

Hebrews 3:19   so we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Are we trusting and resting in the finish work of Christ? or are we still working hard to please God through our own religious fleshly efforts? Many in church today are wilderness wanderers they still have not entered the rest that Christ provided over 2000 years ago when He said “it is finished!”

Hebrews 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.  Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Many think that God cannot be limited , that God can do whatever He wants to do and in one sense that’s true but there are certain laws that can limit God from working like He wants. God is a Just and righteous but God has also given us a thing called free will and although God is almighty and all powerful make no mistake we can limit what God wants to do in our lives through wrong thinking and unbelief but we want to take the limits off God once and for all so that He can move freely in our lives.

Remember when David fought Goliath? It was because He took the limits off of God.. David saw that God plus David was equaled a majority and while all of Israel was intimidated by the giant David ran out toward him and said “who is this uncircumcised philistine that He should defy the armies of the living God? And armed with 5 smooth stones ( 5 = Grace ) David brought the giant down and then cut off his head! Why because David took the limits off of God. So how do we take the limits off of God?                                                                                                                                                                                                In Romans we see how that Abraham took the limits off of God when God promised him and Sarah a child in their old age.

Romans 4:18-21

 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:

 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

So we see how that through faith Abraham took the limits off of God.

First Abraham against all hope still believed, Second we see that Abraham did not consider the weakness of his own body or his own limited resources, 3^rd Abraham instead began to worship and glorify God for his promise and as Abraham glorified God his hope actually turned into full persuasion that what God promised He was also well able to perform! And we see the end result! Abraham took the limits off of God to move and so can we if we follow Abraham’s example.

 

Is anything too difficult for the Lord?  Now This old song came to me right in the middle of this message .
Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens
And the earth by Thy great power;
Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens
And the earth by Thine outstretched arm.

Nothing is too difficult for Thee,
Nothing is too difficult for Thee;
O, great and mighty God,
Great in power and mighty in deed,
Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing,
Nothing is too difficult for Thee.

This is a great song to remind us of who we serve and to keep the limits off God

Taking the limits off God in our supply through giving.  Any time you seem to lack in resources don’t try and figure out how can I get more but instead how can I give more? We can take the limits off of God through giving!

2 Corinthians 9:6

⁶ But this I say, He who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

⁷ Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

⁹ (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remains forever.

¹⁰ Now he that ministered seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

¹¹ Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causes through us thanksgiving to God.

 

God is able to supply seed to those who give and who give in a certain way with the right attitude called cheerfulness! So it’s not just the amount we give but the way we give that will take the limits off of God.

When you look back to the  law for guidance and not Grace you will limit or disable God from moving like He wants to in and through your life.. The Bible calls it frustrating the grace of God!                                                                                                     Galatians 2: 21 says  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

God wants us to experience His abundant grace but we can limit this grace by our own religious striving for righteousness

The truth is that God wants to bless us even more than we want to be blessed. In fact above and beyond what we could ever ask or think but we limit God  because of our own unbelief, wrong believing or wrong thinking.

Tradition and Religion is often a big limiter of Gods people… It can make the word of non affect. Remember when Jesus told the Pharisees  this in the book of Mark.

Mark 7:13

You make the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered:

We often hand down traditions through our religious systems that do more to limit God from moving then to open up the way for God to move..

I want to take the limits off of God so that God can flow freely in my life to move and bless me any way that He wants to.

Can we preach to much Grace?

Can we ever preach too much grace? have we allowed the enemy to convince us that if we preach too much grace than people will just run wild in sin ? so instead we then try and balance grace with the law in order to restrain them from running wild. The other day I had someone ask me this question “well if you just preach love and grace then what’s going to keep people from going crazy with sin?  And I said that’s easy it’s the love of God that will constrain people from sinning, isn’t this what the Apostle Paul said?  In 2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains, controls and urges and impels us. As we fully understand God’s love demonstrated through the cross and His great grace extended toward us then it will change our hearts and desires from the inside out! God does not want us to be like a muzzled, chained up mad dog! In other words the only reason that we don’t run wild is because of the muzzle and chain No! He wants us to be completely free in our hearts from the influence of sins madness and the only thing that can change a man’s heart is to know the love of God and to receive Gods great grace. When the prodigal son came home did the father then chain him, muzzle him ,punish him or condemn him? No! He instead embraced him and loved him and then threw a big welcome home party for him! Why? Because the prodigal still needed to realize the father’s great love for him. God’s love and grace is the only thing that will ever change the heart of man and keep him from wandering.  God loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us. When He was on the cross you were on His mind.. to the degree we believe this will be the degree we will be free from the power of sin
2 Corinthians 5:15  He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake.

Judgment Day !

Judgment Day !

We have often been taught that Judgment day is going to be a fearful thing even for the Christian. Many preachers often use the fear of Judgment day as a way to keep Christians motivated to live for God and to keep all the rules like go to church, read your bible, pray, fast, tithe and doing lots  of  good works because they say if you don’t do all these things then you will stand before God on the Judgment day  and He is going to take out His list with your name on it and depending on what’s you will either hear  enter in or depart from me but you will never  really  know which it’s going to be until that dreadful day of judgment . The problem with this kind of  preaching is that first its contrary to God’s word and second it goes against all that Christ accomplished at the cross..  So how does God want Christians to face Judgment day? Let’s look at

1 John 4:15-   Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives, makes his home] in God.

 And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him

 In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.

 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. We love Him, because He first loved us.

Listen to what the scripture really says!, God wants us to be confident in the Day of Judgment not fearful. If you have fear of punishment then you still do not understand the reality that you have been 100% forgiven and joined to the Lord neither do you understand the debts of God’s love for you.  The Bible says that as a believer you are joined with Him so as He is so are you in this life! What does this mean? This means that we are as righteous as Jesus is right now! Why?  Because I am in Him and He is in me and to top it off I have also been sealed with the Holy Spirit until that day.  Preaching that makes you always second guess your position in Christ and that causes you to become more self focused and always looking at your own works (am I doing enough?) for right standing with God  instead of the finished work of the cross  is not the gospel of Christ. This self focused gospel breeds fear and uncertainty and robs you of our joy and confidence toward God and should not be listened to not even for one nano second! God wants us to be confident toward Him even on Judgment day and not fearful.

For the Christian God is not going to sit you down and show you a rerun of all your past sins like a home movie! No! This would be contrary to His word and the new covenant!  Where He says your sins and iniquities I will remember no more!  Hebrews 8:7-12! I would encourage all preachers to re read the new covenant agreement and to really see what it says.

Double Jeopardy is a legal term that states you cannot be tried for the same crime twice after a verdict has been reached.  We need to understand that Jesus has already paid the price for all our sins, not some but all and He has declared us not guilty!. Jesus took our judgment so that we do not have to be afraid on Judgment day. For God to Judge us for sin after we have been declared not guilty would be double jeopardy and unjust and God is not an unjust God

So why did God do this? There is only one answer because of His great Love for us! God took our punishment and Judgment because of His Great love for us.

And Hebrews 9:28 says that Christ was offered up once for sin and that He is not coming too Judge us for sin but to bring full redemption, redemption of what? , Redemption of our body. Our body will experience full redemption when Christ comes back. The Bible says that corruption will put on incorruption and mortality immortality and we will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye!

God does not want us to be fearful about Judgment but confidence. As we receive the Love of God and the goodness of God it will lead us to repentance.. It’s not the fear of Judgment but the goodness of God that leads people to repentance

The only ones who needs to be fearful of Judgment are those who have not received Christ as the solution for sin.

John 3:18 (Amp)

 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]

God wants all those who are in Christ to be confident on the day of Judgment and not fearful! Why not fearful because there is nothing to fear! All our sin has been paid for in full and Christ took our punishment at the cross. To say that God will bring up our sins again on Judgment day would be completely contrary to His word.. The only thing the Christian will hear is not guilty!

A a lot of preaching is based on preaching fear to motivate Gods people to do right and to live right but fear or shame  for the believer is never to be our motivation . God’s goodness and His Love is what changes our hearts and constrains us. As we receive Gods great Love we will be changed from the inside out. As we are perfected by His love we will also be confident to come to Him and draw near to Him and we will also be confidently looking for and anticipating His return for us as a bride for Her husband.

Revelation 21:1-2

² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband;

³ Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God

 

2 Corinthians 5:10  says We must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ so, what does this mean?

First we must understand that Judgment for sin will only be for the unbeliever not the believer or saint. God will not judge the believer for sin because they have already placed their trust in Christ for salvation.. This is not my opinion it’s Bible truth. God wants us to be confident on the day of Judgment and not fearful

There’s a New Sheriff in Town !

If you’re under the law or mixture of the law and grace then you will be stuck in the mud of carnality and immaturity. As a Pastor I use to always wonder why so many Christians were so carnal and immature and why they never seemed to grow up spiritually and let me say this that growing up spiritually does not mean you can quote the Bible frontward and backwards or that you have even faithfully attended a church building or service for years. The Pharisees knew the letter and attended temple services and yet they were as carnal as canaries, Jesus even called them blind guides. To be spiritually mature is when you have learned to rest in the finish work of the cross, respond to the even the slight nudging of the Holy Spirit and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So  In the last few years the Lord has shown me that immaturity it is mostly due to the fact that most are still under the law or a mixture of the law and grace and rely more on men and a religious system then the Holy Spirit.  So today if we want to grow up and mature in the Spirit then we first must see that we are not called to be under the letter of the law or to follow the law at all but we are now under grace and we are called to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.                                                                                                                                                                             Romans 7:6 says , But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life].

So this morning I believe that the Holy Spirit spoke this to my heart and this is what I believe He said   “Tell them that there’s a new sheriff in town! And it’s not the Law of Moses but the law of the Spirit of life.                                                                                                                                                                                     In Romans 8:2 it says for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.                                                                                                                                                                                       Now today in spite of what the scripture says will still insist saying that they are still going to let the 10 commandments be there   guide to daily living but let me say that if you do  this then you have put yourself under the dictates of the old sheriff and not the new.

Today the new Sheriff in town is the Holy Spirit.. He is personal, He is gracious, He is gentle and He is not condemning. He will lead and guide you into all truth.

As a minister my main call is to point you to the finished work of the cross. To help convince you that you are 100% completely forgiven and righteous in Christ and to encourage you to follow and respond to the Holy Spirit who is IN you.

The Holy Spirit is the new sheriff in town and He has made you His new habitation.

 John 14:17  The Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive because it doesn’t see him not, neither does it know him: but ye know Him; for He dwells with you, and will be in you.

John 16:13 and He will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

Gal 3:10 Now if you insist on being under the law then you are under a curse.. Why?  because you simply  cannot keep all the law.. The law is an all or nothing deal!

James 2:10 says if you offend in one point then your guilty of all !

Again the law is an all  or nothing deal.. The Law is not like a spiritual buffet where you can pick and choose which one to follow and which one you don’t want to follow. It all or your cursed !  If you are determined to live for God by the Law good luck! There is  only one  who has ever accomplished it and He died for us  to set us free from the demands and the curse of the law.

Today many are still under the old sheriff of the law when there’s a new sheriff in town! And His mae is the Holy Spirit

 

The law was given to give strength to sin. Those today who are under legalistic teaching of the old sheriff will continue to struggle with sin because the law gives strength to sin.

It’s amazing that those who say they are against sin in the church are actually helping to give strength to sin by preaching the law. This is like saying you want your lawn to die so you water it and put miracle grow on it to kill it! It makes no sense! ,but Romans 7 says apart from the Law sin dies

If you want to be free from sin then you must die to the law and alive to the new sheriff who is the Holy Spirit

He will be with you and in you to lead and guide you into all the truth and give you power to become a Son of God

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Our relationship with the old sheriff law which includes the 10 commandments is over when we said yes to Christ

Romans 10:4 Christ is the end of the law for all those who put their trust in Christ. My relationship is now fully with Christ I am fully married and joined to Him and the Holy Spirit is my guide not the law.

Romans 7:4  Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

The law cannot save us or be our guide. The Holy Spirit is our guide period He is our new sheriff.

If you insist on keeping the law then you have to keep it all! And there are over 600 laws to keep of which most do not even know even the basic 10 let alone the other 600!

But you need to believe that Jesus nailed the law to the cross along with all the ordinances  and when He did this He actually disarmed principalities and powers that were against you .. The only weapon satan had was the law and Jesus took it out of the way !  If you go back to the law you re actually rearming  the devil to come against you.. You put the tools and weapons in his hands to condemn you and shut you down. Don’t rearm the devil.. You are not under the law but grace.