THE DOOR OF FAITH

This was a picture taken of my grandfather passing out  Gideon Bibles at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).  As you read this, you will understand why this picture of my grandfather has become so significant to me.   As I have worked on this site, I have fought and wrestled with God.  I have been frustrated and exhausted and overwhelmed.  This picture has served as a reminder to me of why I am here and what He has called me to do.  I look at my grandfather,  “The Tired Gideon”, fighting the good fight. I have never felt called by God to do anything.  God gave all of us gifts as part of being in the body of Christ.   I wasn’t sure what mine was.    Recently, however, he has placed an enormous sense of urgency and conviction in my heart. 

july 2014

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I bought a house that was built in 1940 and I had all these plans for how I wanted to renovate it.   The first thing I wanted to do was paint the outside of it because the whole house is tan, including the roof, and I thought it was ugly.   I put it off and first did a few things that I wanted to the inside.   Not to long after I moved in, however, God started increasing His level of conviction in my heart.  I started looking at all things that were going on in the world and I knew He was testing me.  Am I going to seek Him first, and do what I feel he has placed in my heart, or am I going to put myself first and my desires before him? THE PARABLES OF THE WEDDING BANQUET hit me the hardest.

I created this wordpress website, which I named the “Narrow Gate Entrance” which I derived from LUKE 13 and MATTHEW 7.  These verses struck fear in my heart.  I wanted to use the site as a place to gather and collect what I was seeing going on in the world in relation to what the bible says.    I felt overwhelmed with how to process what I was seeing happening in the world and how it relates to my faith.  There were so many verses in the bible that I felt were in direct conflict with the way I was living my life.

My heart felt like it was being 

pulled in a million different directions

 

 

and my FAITH was hanging by a thread.

 

I was having more and more trouble discerning

 what was even right from wrong anymore.  

 

The LINES were starting to get BLURRY.

 

I felt like THE WALLS WERE CLOSING IN

and I wondered how He could use me.

 

I was doing everything I could just to keep up,

but things seem to be moving so fast. 

 

Psalm 69: The Waters Have Come Up to My Neck! (Matthew 27:32-44; Mark 15:21-32; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:16-27)

1Save me, O God; for the waters are come in to my soul. 2I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. 3I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: my eyes fail while I wait for my God.

13But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of your mercy hear me, in the truth of your salvation. 14Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. 15Let not the flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth on me.

We are DROWNING in DATA, NEWS, MUSIC,

PODCAST, &  ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

and STARVING for truth

In the last days people will be learning more and more and

never coming to the knowledge of the truth

2 TIMOTHY 3 : EVIL IN THE LAST DAYS

1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest to all men, as their’s also was.  

Amos 8 :  The Basket of Ripe Fruit 

11Behold, the days come, said the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

I was DESPERATE to know THE TRUTH and to understand HIS STORY.

april 2016

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(5 months later) I gave my friend a bible at a bible study we were having at my house every week. 

 After just a few days of reading, this was the text he sent me:   

 

I had not mentioned to him, or anyone about my website

may 2016

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The company I work for took us for a team building exercise to play THE ESCAPE GAME 1 month later.THE ESCAPE GAME is where a group will go into a room and you have an hour to gather all the clues to unlock the door and break out. It reminded me of another verse that had a placed a sense of urgency in my heart.

 LUKE 21 :  BE WATCHFUL

I had used a WOODEN BOARD

 

 

to keep THE PATH STRAIGHT

(level, smooth, true) 

so we could

OPEN THE DOOR and ESCAPE

 

 

during a time of CONFUSION

 

John 10: Jesus the Good Shepherd(Psalm 23:1-6; Ezekiel 34:11-24)

7Then said Jesus to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 

 

THE DOOR OF FAITH and HOPE

he made for his sheep to enter into his grace and kingdom,

by placing their FAITH in HIM, which leads to eternal life

Acts 14 :  

26And there sailed to Antioch, from where they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. 27And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith ^[g4102] to the Gentiles. 28And there they stayed long time with the disciples.

JESUS POSED THE QUESTION HOWEVER,

WILL THERE BE FAITH ON EARTH WHEN HE RETURNS?

Luke 18 : Parable of the Persistent Widow

7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them? 8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith ^[g4102] on the earth?

So WHAT IS TRUE BIBLICAL FAITH?

Our BELIEF in him, who is the DOOR,

and in his Righteous Blood that was shed for us,

supports THE DOOR

FAITH is the belief, trust, and confidence in something that causes you to act upon that BELIEF

 

BELIEF, TRUST, CONFIDENCE, and ACTION are the ingredients of FAITH.

 

When we place our faith in Christ, we are convicted in our hearts of the TRUTH, which causes us to TURN from following after LIES and SIN and to TURN towards God and follow after TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 

Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so is FAITH without works (action).  

 

FAITH that does not reshape our life and cause us to turn from our sinful ways is not real FAITH.

 

Real FAITH transforms the way we live.

1. FAITH redirects and recaptures the worship of our hearts (thoughts, emotions, desires, choices).
2. FAITH produces in us a heart of obedience and
3. FAITH finally causes us to submit to the authority and calling of God…to do HIS WILL and not our own

TRUE, living, biblical FAITH causes us to submit all three of these shaping influences to God. He becomes the object of the worship of our heart and his rules define the moral boundaries of our life.  Everyone’s life is shaped by what he or she worships, by the rules that they obey, and by the life calling that they give themselves to.

 

FAITH IS BOUND TO OBEDIENCE

 

FAITH is the product of having a confident expectation and anticipation of something (HOPE), which comes from the PROMISES made in his word, that he can deliver and furnish what he PROMISED. 

 

We in turn submit to his authority and commands by obeying them, which is the evidence of our FAITH 

The Hebrews began their WALK/JOURNEY

in the Exodus BY WAY of the Passover DOOR

where the were REDEEMED, RANSOMED, and DELIVERED by GOD

through his GRACE and MERCY so He could guide them to HIM

and plant them in the mountain of HIS INHERITANCE

 

 

They began their WALK (journey)

to the land that was PROMISED to them.

 

 

During this time God TESTED and PROVED their FAITH

to see if they would do as he commanded and follow His ORDERS.

 

They began murmuring for water and food on the way,

and their FAITH already began to waver, 

asking if God can provide a table in the wilderness.

 

He then led them to Mount Sinai

where they were given the LAW 

 

 

 

The LAW was the Instructions, orders,

commands, and directions they were to FOLLOW. 

 

 

SIN is defined as transgression of the Law.

 

SIN does not exist without the Law. 

 

The Law is not SIN ,

but it gives life to it, by defining what sin is.  

 

EXAMPLE:

 

There would be nothing considered ILLEGAL if 

STATE or FEDERAL LAW did not define it. 

 

The LAW has no power to rescue but

it provided the boundaries for the PATH

in which they were to WALK in and not deviate from

as they journeyed to the PROMISED LAND.

 

OUT OF BOUNDS

---

DISOBEDIENCE

to the covenant

led to Curses

-vs-

IN BOUNDS

---

OBEDIENCE

to the covenant

led to Blessings

The Law was given to the Israelite’s so they could distinguish between the gods of the nations and the God who redeemed them of Egypt whom they were called to serve. 

 

To separate themselves from the customs of the nations so they could serve the God of Israel and bare Him fruit.

 

All the things stipulated in the Law that you were not to do,  were the things that they were doing in Babylon, Sodom, and Egypt.   

 

Although Mosaic Law set conditions for the people to continue enjoying God’s blessing, it wasn’t primarily give as an achievement test, a list of things this special people had to do to gain acceptance and relationship with God. No, God had already chosen them. He had already placed his love on them by redeeming them from captivity and promised them a great land. The law he had given was not a test to gain his love, rather it was concrete expression of his love. God was gracing the people whom he had taken as his own with his law. They they were chosen to receive it depicted the special nature of their relationship with him-a relationship that other nations did not enjoy. 

 

So this meant that when they disobeyed, they did something profoundly more significant than break abstract moral regulations. Disobedience was profoundly personal. Breaking the Law was breaking relationship. Turning their backs on God’s moral code was turning their backs on God. Rebellion was more than transgressing legal boundaries, it was disloyalty to God.  Transgressing God’s boundaries or breaking his law is first about breaking relationship with him.

An angel went before them to prepare THE WAY for them to

bring them to the place God had PROMISED and prepared for them. 

They were to listen and obey his voice

Exodus 23: God’s Angel to Lead (Deuteronomy 7:12-26)

20Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way ^[h1870] and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. 22But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 

They Disobeyed his commands and DID NOT WALK in the STRAIGHT PATH

God set before them and cause them to wander aimlessly in the wilderness

until the died because their heart was not right before him.

 

 

 

• They lusted after evil things.
• They committed Idolatry (they sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play)
• They committed Fornication and 23k fell. 
• They tempted Christ and were destroyed by serpents. 
• They murmured against HIm and were destroyed by the destroyer.
• They departed from the PATH and from God through unbelief and their hearts were hardened. 

 

They did not enter into his rest and the LAND PROMISED because their FAITH, when TRIED, was not proven to be TRUE.

 

They did not hold their initial profession of FAITH steadfast until the end. 

 

601,730left during the Exodus and all of them died in the Wilderness except JOSHUA from EPHRAIM & CALEB from JUDAH, plus the  sons and daughters that were born to those who died during that 40 year period.

 

FAITH without WORKS (obedience) is DEAD, just as the left Egypt by way of Passover Door by way of Faith, they all died in the wilderness because of disobedience.

 

Anything outside the boundaries of what is instructed to do in his WORD OF TRUTH is turning to the right and to the left making crooked paths…ie WAVERING FAITH and DISOBEDIENCE  

Deuteronomy 5 : Moses Intercedes for the People(Exodus 20:18-21; Hebrews 12:18-29)

28And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and Jehovah said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 29Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! 30Go say to them, Return ye to your tents. 31But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. 32Ye shall observe to do therefore as Jehovah your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.33Ye shall walk in all the way which Jehovah your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

MOSES SET BEFORE THEM 

THE LAW of SIN & DEATH,

EVIL & CURSING

---

 

THE LAW is Spiritual but we are carnal, SOLD UNDER THE LAW of SIN and DEATH , because we have all sinned

and fallen short of His RIGHTEOUSNESS .

 

SIN is an Archers term for “MISSING THE MARK”. 

-and-

THE LAW of RIGHTEOUSNESS & TRUTH, LIFE,

GOOD & BLESSINGS

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If there was no mark or target,  there would be no way of distinguishing if their arrow landed in the correct place. 

 

The LAW establishes the mark which we are to aim, which is

RIGHTEOUSNESS and TRUTH.  

Deuteronomy 30: The Choice of Life or Death

11For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. 12It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it. 15See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil; 16In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it. 17But if your heart turn away, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18I denounce to you this day, that you shall surely perish, and that you shall not prolong your days on the land, where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it. 19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live: 20That you may love the LORD your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may hold to him: for he is your life, and the length of your days: that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

THE LAW SERVES TO

WARN

---

what will happen due to disobedience

This is why we are to fear the Lord.

-vs-

REWARD

---

those who are obedient by walking within

the boundaries of His Law

PSALM 19

7The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11Moreover by them is your servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. 13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

GOD’S LAW & COVENANT with Israel 

 

 

is ESTABLISHED 

in the 1st 5 books of the Old Testament.

 

 

EVERYTHING IN THE BIBLE is written IN REFERENCE

to the stipulations in these 5 books 

The next 17 books of the Old Testament are essentially historical books based on how well Israel followed the instructions given in these 5 books.   How well did they stay within the boundaries of the path God laid out before them.

 

The last 17 books of the Old Testament are books written by the PROPHETS warning Israel of they curses that will be enacted from these 5 books if they continue to disobey the covenant that had been established.

Strong’s Greek Concordance

Paths ^[h734] ʼôrach occurs 58x in 58 verses

• way, path, road, way of living (fig.),  traveller, wayfarer (meton) 

Once a boundary is crossed and wander outside the PATH,

 we transgress against the LAW and it works WRATH & DEBT

 

 

ROMANS 4:15

Because the Law Works Wrath: for where No Law is, there is no transgression.

ROMANS 6

23For the wages of sin is death;

A law does not take effect until broken.   

When it is transgressed, it works wrath and debt.

 

EXAMPLE:

 

If you are convicted of a felony by transgressing a man made law,

you are in debt to repay society by serving time in prison,

therefore a slave and in bondage to it.

 

THE LAW of SIN and DEATH works DEBT and BONDAGE

 

 

Every sin committed is like borrowing money

that you have no way of paying back.

 

EXAMPLE:

 

The US is over $20 Trillion in debt, with no possible way to repay it,

and each day that debt continues to grow. 

 

Our debt has doubled just within the past 10 years.  

 

 It has increased at a compounded (exponential)

annual rate of about 9% per year since 1971.

    

 

The Debt from Sin continues to Pile up 

 which ultimately works WRATH & JUDGEMENT based off the CURSES 

 

 

Every Transgression of the Law Adds to the Wrath being piled up

and ultimately a due date for when the debt is due to be paid…

where the curses enacted in the LAW ultimately devour the earth

The covenant made with Israel made them in debt to do the whole Law.

It did not make them Righteous.

 

EXAMPLE:

 

Becoming a US citizen makes you in debt

to act within all the Laws set forth in the constitution

but keeping the Laws does not make you a citizen

What’s the point of trying to obey the Law

if Righteousness cannot be obtained from the Law?

 

Under the Old Covenant they were counted

righteous for striving for obedience to the Law through faith. 

Those who strived to keep the Law through faith is analogous

to them doing everything they could to

pay down the debt owed through obedience. 

 

God in turn, because of his grace, allowed them to take part in the

Promises and Blessings they were bearing Fruit towards God. 

Those who rebel, is analogous to not paying anything down

on the mortgage and bear no fruit towards God. 

 

EXAMPLE:

If a mortgage lender sees you are doing everything you can

to pay down the mortgage, the lender will not foreclose on the house

because it is still bearing them some profit. 

However if you just bail, and make no effort to

pay the bills, the lender will take the house from you. 

Biblical FAITH involves a DECISION 

Psalm 119:

59 I thought on my ways ^[h1870], and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

Our VALUES and BELIEF’S about what we believe

as TRUE are what guide our DECISION making. 

Joel 3 : The Valley of Decision

12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13Put you in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.  14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision^[h2742]: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision^[h2742]. 

DECISION means to cut off from all other possibilities.

 

 TURNING FROM SIN to FOLLOW CHRIST 

 

 

Are our VALUES and BELIEFS shaped by

culture, television, music, and entertainment

 

 

or by his WORD?

 

Numbers 15: THe law of tassels

–Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders ^[h3671]of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders ^[h3671]a ribband of blue: ³⁹And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: ⁴⁰ That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. ⁴¹ I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I [am] the LORD your God.

Once we confess with our mouth and BELIEVE in our heart that Jesus is Lord, and that He is the ONLY WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, we are making a DECISION to FOLLOW CHRIST in the PATH he set before us.

 

Actionable living FAITH is repentance (turning) towards God by obeying his commands and repentance (turning) from Sin.

 

• Sin doesn’t just leave us guilt, it renders us unable
• Sin robs us of the ability to live in a way that pleases God
• Sin kidnaps our desires and distorts our thoughts
• Sin controls our tongues and rules our behavior
• Sin saps our resolve and weakens our knees.
• Sin leaves us lame, weak, and unable

REPENT or PERISH

Proverbs 15:

10 Correction [is] grievous unto him that forsaketh the way ^[h734]:

[and] he that hateth reproof shall die.

(Hebrews 6) The fundamental principles which serve as the FOUNDATION of Christian FAITH :

• Repentance from sinful actions
• Faith in God
• The good news of the resurrection (our hope)
• Warning of eternal judgement for disobedience

REPENTANCE was preached by

John the Baptist to prepare THE WAY for Christ

Jesus continued the message of REPENTANCE during his ministry and issued warnings for not doing so.

Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent ^[h3340], ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth ^[h3340], more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance ^[h3340]
Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents ^[h3340].

REPENTANCE was once again preached after the disciples were given the HOLY SPIRIT

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, repent ^[h3340], and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 3:19 repent ^[h3340] ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent ^[h3340]:
Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and [then] to the Gentiles, that they should repent ^[h3340] and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance ^[h3340].
2 Corinthians 12:21 [And] lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and [that] I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented ^[h3340] of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

REPENTANCE is preached in the end in REVELATION to all of the churches except the church of PHILADELPHIA,

which has an open door set before them

Revelation 3 : Message to the Church in Philadelphia

7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; 8I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door,

Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent ^[h3340], and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent ^[h3340].
Revelation 2:16 repent ^[h3340]; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Revelation 2:21 And I gave her space to repent ^[h3340] of her fornication; and she repented ^[h3340] not.
Revelation 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent ^[h3340] of their deeds.
Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent ^[h3340]. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent ^[h3340].

Revelation finally reveals what happens due to not heeding his warning of REPENTANCE

Revelation 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented ^[h3340] not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Revelation 9:21 Neither repented ^[h3340] they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented ^[h3340] not to give him glory.
Revelation 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented ^[h3340] not of their deeds.

The DIAGNOSIS:  His word confronts us with the reality that sin is the problem and that it lives in our heart.  The Spirit within us lusts to envy.  It separates us from God and leads to inescapable death and destruction.   Anyone who says they don’t have SIN, is a liar, and the TRUTH is not in HIM.

Jeremiah 17 : a pen of iron 

9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

THE CURE:  The good news of the Gospel is that God sent his son to take the penalty for our sin and provided us A WAY TO ESCAPE and to have eternal life through FAITH in him and by following the PATH he set before us. 

 

After hearing the word of TRUTH (the seed (instructions) of the gospel planted in heart), are hearts are convicted of the TRUTH which in turn, makes us REPENT (Turn) from Sin.

Psalm 51 :  Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God (2 Samuel 12:1-12)

1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight: that you might be justified when you speak, and be clear when you judge. 5Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, you desiretruth^[h571]in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me

some seeds fell

ON STONY PLACES,

where they had not much earth:  

and immediately they sprung up, 

because they had no deepness of earth:   

and when the sun was up, they were scorched;

and because they had no root, they withered away. 

 

MEANING:

When any one hears the word he immediately with joy, receives it;

yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while:  

for when tribulation or persecution rises because of the word, 

 by and by he is offended. 

  (Luke: in time of temptation fall away. )

some seeds fell

AMONG THORNS;

and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

 

 

MEANING:

He hears the word but the care of this world, 

and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, 

and he becomes unfruitful.  

   (Luke: bring no fruit to perfection.) 

some seeds fell

INTO GOOD GROUND, 

and brought forth fruit, 

some an 100 times, some 60 times, some 30 times.

 

 

MEANING:

He hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit,

and brings forth, some an 100 times, some 60 , some 30. 

(Luke : which in an honest and good heart, 

having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.) 

 

 

 Our FAITH is predicated on REPENTANCE from SIN and BELIEF in the GOSPEL which is how we receive His SPIRIT, enter into his GRACE, and BEGIN our WALK OF FAITH and rest in His HOPE and His PROMISES

Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our Faith who has gone and PREPARED THE WAY and THE PATH for us, which is to..

FEAR Him, meaning fearing the consequences for not obeying HIM

TRUSTING in HIM and firmly fixing our HOPE in HIS PROMISES made to us, being fully persuaded that he is able to perform what he PROMISED.

OBEY HIM by diligently keeping, observing, and doing all he has commanded  

Hebrews 11:

1 Now faith ^[g4102] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Biblical HOPE is not a dream of what could be, but a confident expectation of a guaranteed result that changes how you live.  Our HOPE is now firmly fixed in HIS PROMISES.  The HOPE set before us, eternal life, is the anchor of the soul.  It does not appear what we shall be, but we know when he shall appear, we shall be like him, we shall see him as he is, and every man that has this HOPE in HIM, purifies himself. 

Romans 5: Faith Brings Peace and Joy (John 14:27-31)

1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope ^[g1680] of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope ^[g1680]: 5And hope ^[g1680] makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. 

The Bible does not deny reality and never tricks you into thinking that things are better than they are. The Bible is straightforward and honest but not void of HOPE.  The honesty does not crush the HOPE but neither does the HOPE negate the honesty.

 

Confession of sin is rooted in HOPE because that HOPE is rooted in whats already been done for us.  The only reason we would confess our sin is because we confidently HOPE and expect to be delivered from it.   When we confess our SIN, he is FAITHFUL to FORGIVE.   

• We all place our HOPE in something and ask it to DELIVER.
• HOPE always assesses something is broken, otherwise there would be no need for it.
• HOPE always has something you bank you HOPE in and you ask that something fix what is broken or to DELIVER what you desire. 
• We are either looking for HOPE in creation or placing our HOPE in the hands of the creator.
• HOPE always surrenders to an expectation.
• If our HOPE disappoints us, its because we have the wrong HOPE.
• We can search for HOPE horizontally in situations, experiences, possessions locations, and relationships of everyday life which all suffer brokenness. 
• They are part of the problem therefore unable to DELIVER what you asking. 
• They were never made to be the source of our HOPE but to POINT us to where HOPE can be found vertically.
• Only when our HOPE is place in HIM is our HOPE secure.
• Because what is broken and needs to be fixed is our heart.
• He is the only way for our hearts to be healed and the only way to find rest and peace.

HOPE comes from a PROMISE that someone can DELIVER or furnish something for the other party.

 

Abraham against HOPE, believed in HOPE that he might become the father of many nations, even though he was 100 years old and Sarah was barren.  He did not stagger at THE PROMISE of God through unbelief but was strong in FAITH, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that what he had PROMISED, he was able to perform.

 

Abraham was PROMISED by God that he should be heir of the world and that all nations would be blessed because of him, through the righteousness of FAITH.  The LAW is not against the PROMISES of God.  The LAW concludes that we are all under sin so that the PROMISE BY FAITH in Jesus Christ might be given to those who BELIEVE.  So the blessing that was PROMISED to Abraham came upon the nations through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the PROMISE of the spirit through FAITH, not by the LAW, because that would void FAITH and the nullify the PROMISE.  The LAW works wrath and defines what sin is, therefore it is of FAITH, that it might be by GRACE to the end the PROMISE might be sure to all the seed.

 

The giving of his HOLY SPIRIT is the fulfillment of the PROMISE made to Abraham. 

Galatians 3:14

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise ^[g1860]of the Spirit through faith.

After we hear the word of truth and the Gospel of our Salvation, and we BELIEVE, we are sealed with the HOLY SPIRIT of PROMISE.  It is God’s PROMISSORY NOTE that we have been bought with a price.

 

Abraham and his descendants were PROMISED the land of Canaan.  Christ is the mediator of a better covenant, established and built upon even better PROMISES by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the 1st testament, they which are called might receive the PROMISE of ETERNAL INHERITANCE.  

 

If we are Christ’s, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the PROMISE which is RIGHTEOUSNESS by FAITH, by which we receive SALVATION. 

 

THIS IS THE PROMISE that he has made to us : ETERNAL LIFE

 

Biblical HOPE comes from the PROMISES made in his word 

• that he has delivered us from death
• that our souls will be saved from Gods wrath
• that he has gone to prepare a place for us,
• that Eye’s have not seen, nor ears heard that which he as prepared for those who love him. 
• that in his kingdom there are many mansions. 
• that we have an inheritance un-defiled, PROMISED before the world began. 
• that we will receive the crown of life
• that there will be a new heaven and earth and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. 

He that overcomes shall inherit all things.  If in this life only, we have HOPE in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.   We are blessed when we endure temptation, after we are tried, we shall receive the crown of life, which the lord PROMISED to those who love him.  Has God not chosen the poor of the world, rich in FAITH, and HEIRS of the kingdom which he has PROMISED to those that love him?   

2 Corinthians 7:1

Having therefore these promises^[g1860], dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2 Peter 3 : Christ’s Coming Judgment (Genesis 3:1-7; Genesis 7:1-5; Romans 5:12-21)

1This second letter, beloved, I now write to you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior:

3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4And saying, Where is the promise^[g1860]of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 

WALKING AFTER SELFISH LUSTS

5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved to fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise^[g1860], as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Once we place our FAITH in CHRIST,

we repent (turn) from SIN and 

our selfish HOPES and DREAMS are redirected 

to doing his will and resting in his PROMISES for doing so.

Psalm 78 : Hear My Teaching, My People (Matthew 13:34-35)

1Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he has done. 5For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 6That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7That they might set their hope ^[g1680] in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

Titus :God’s Grace Brings Salvation

11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope ^[g1680], and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

 God placed a SWORD east of the garden 

 

to keep THE WAY of THE TREE OF LIFE

Genesis 3:24

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way ^[h1870] of the tree of life.

Jesus came to bring a SWORD

to keep THE WAY of the TREE OF LIFE

Matthew 10 : The Sword of the Gospel (Luke 12:49-53)

34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me. 39He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.

THE SWORD is HIS WORD

 

Hebrews 4 : God’s Word is Living and Active

12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

HE THAT DOESN’T TAKE HIS CROSS, 

MEANING: DENYING SELF

and

FOLLOWS AFTER HIM is NOT WORTHY OF HIM

 

 

MEANING:  FOLLOWING the INSTRUCTIONS IN HIS WORD

Matthew 19 : The Rich Young Man (Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30)

16And, behold, one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said to him, Why call you me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments. 18He said to him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 20The young man said to him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21Jesus said to him, If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

23Then said Jesus to his disciples, Truly I say to you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26But Jesus beheld them, and said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

27Then answered Peter and said to him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed you; what shall we have therefore? 28And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, That you which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred times, and shall inherit everlasting life. 30But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

FOLLOW ME

 

Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our FAITH

who has gone and PREPARED THE WAY and THE PATH for us.

 

 

THE PATH is to FEAR Him,

which means fearing the consequences for not obeying HIM,

HOPE and TRUST in HIS PROMISES, and OBEY HIM

by diligently keeping, observing, and doing all he has commanded 

 

 

To FOLLOW means to FOLLOW ORDERS or COMMANDS (OBEDIENCE)

 

 

SHEEP’S EYE’S FIXED ON THE SHEPHERD’s STAFF forms the CROSS

 

Strong’s Greek Concordance

follow ^[g190] akoloutheōoccurs 93 times in 88 verses

1. to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him

2. to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple

   1. side with his party

3. from G1 (as a particle of union) and κέλευθος kéleuthos (a road);
4. properly, to be in the same way with,
5. i.e. to accompany (specially, as a disciple):—follow, reach.

John 21:19

This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, follow^[g190]me.

John 8:

12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth^[g190]me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 10:

4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow^[g190]him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow^[g190], but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow^[g190]me:

1 Peter 2 : Christ’s Example of Suffering (Isaiah 53:1-8; Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; John 18:19-24)

21For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow^[g190] his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously: 24Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed. 25For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Revelation 14:

4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow^[g190]the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

When we take up our cross and make a DECISION  

to FOLLOW Christ,

by confessing with our mouth

and believing with our hearts

that God raised him from the dead for our justification, 

we enter through THE DOOR of FAITH. 

TURNING/CUTTING OFF/FLEEING / ESCAPING from SIN:

 

-vs-

 

Entering in THROUGH

THE DOOR OF FAITH

We turn from

the BROAD WAY/PATH

 

 

PAVED WITH GOLD

 

 

 

WHICH

LEADS TO

DESTRUCTION

-vs-

 

We begin our WALK/JOURNEY

 on the NARROW PATH

 

 

PAVED WITH BLOOD

 

 

 

WHICH

LEADS TO

LIFE 

THE WALK OF FAME

---

 

-vs-

 

THE WALK OF FAITH

---

 

WALKING AFTER

• the imagination of their own heart
• Works and Lusts of the flesh 
• Ways of the world
• Fornication
• Idolatry
• Coveting after Money
• Pursuing dreams
• Fulfilling lusts of the flesh.
• Carnally minded.  

 

-vs-

 

WALKING AFTER

• Righteousness
• Godliness
• Faith
• Love
• Patience
• Meekness
• with them that call on the name
• of the Lord out of a pure heart
• by crucifying our passions and lusts.  
• Spiritually minded 

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk ^[h4043]in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 12:35

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. walk ^[h4043]while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh^[h4043] in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

2 Corinthians 5:7

(For we walk ^[h4043]by faith, not by sight:)

John 12:35 

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you.

walk ^[h4043]while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you:

for he that walketh^[h4043] in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me

shall not walk ^[h4043]in darkness,

but shall have the light of life.

Romans 13:13

Let us walk ^[h4043]honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 

1 Corinthians 3:3

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk ^[h4043]as men?

2 Corinthians 4:2 

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking^[h4043] in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Colossians 1:10

That ye might walk ^[h4043]worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Colossians 2:6 

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ^[h4043]ye in him:

1 Thessalonians 2:12

That ye would walk ^[h4043]worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort [you] by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk ^[h4043]and to please God, [so] ye would abound more and more.

1 John 1:6

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk ^[h4043]in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk ^[h4043]in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1 John 2:6

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk ^[h4043], even as he walked ^[h4043].

1 John 2:11 

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh^[h4043] in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

2 John 1:4

I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking^[h4043] in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 6 And this is love, that we walk ^[h4043]after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk ^[h4043]in it.

3 John 1:3

For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walk ^[h4043] in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk ^[h4043]in truth. 

WALKING IN THE FLESH

Philippians 3:18

(For many walk ^[h4043], of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Ephesians 2:2

Wherein in time past ye walked ^[h4043] according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

-vs-

 

WALKING IN THE SPIRIT

 

Galatians 5:16

[This] I say then, walk ^[h4043]in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

 

Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk ^[h4043]in newness of life.

 

Romans 8:1

[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk ^[h4043]not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:4

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk ^[h4043]not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

OUTWARD MAN

(FLESH)

PERISHES

-vs-

INWARD MAN

(SPIRIT)

RENEWED DAILY

 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

MOMENTARY

LIGHT AFFLICTION

in the FLESH

 ~works for us~

A FOR MORE

ETERNAL WEIGHT

of GLORY

EPHESIANS 4 : PUT ON THE NEW MAN

1 Peter 1  : A Living Hope

7That the trial of your faith^[g4102], being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Luke 16 : The Law and the Prophets (Matthew 11:7-19; Luke 1:5-25; Luke 7:24-35)

14And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15And he said to them, You are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it. 17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one pronunciation mark of the law to fail. 

1 Corinthians 4 : Servants of Christ

1Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yes, I judge not my own self. 4For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judges me is the Lord. 5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Psalm 44 : Redeem us

15My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face has covered me, 16For the voice of him that reproaches and blasphemes; by reason of the enemy and avenger. 17All this is come on us; yet have we not forgotten you, neither have we dealt falsely in your covenant. 18Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from your way; 19Though you have sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. 20If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21Shall not God search this out? for he knows the secrets of the heart.

Jeremiah 17 : a pen of iron 

9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

When faced being CONVICTED of Crime, people are often

 asked to take a LIE DETECTOR TEST, 

 

 

 where they tie a band around your HEART.

 

 

It measures and records several physiological

indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity 

while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions.

 

You are first asked basic questions like:

“What your name”?,  “what is your age”?

 

TO ESTABLISH A 

 

The Needles will stay FIXED during these questions

 

 

This BASELINE provides a minimum staring point

for which all proceeding interrogating questions

will be compared to.  

HIS WORD

ESTABLISHES the BASELINE OF TRUTH

and SETS THE BOUNDARIES of the PATH we are to WALK in 

Hebrews 4 : God’s Word is Living and Active

12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 

All the things we do are compared to whether

they fall within the BOUNDARIES of HIS WORD which is TRUTH,

and when we don’t

we are making CROOKED PATHS, turning to the right and left

JOSHUA 23 

6Be you therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

Phillippians 2 : Shine as lights of the world (Matthew 5:13-16)

12Why, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the middle of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world;16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. 17Yes, and if I be offered on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. 18For the same cause also do you joy, and rejoice with me.

Isaiah 59

The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

Isaiah 42:16

And I will bring the blind by a way [that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths ^[h5410][that] they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Matthew 7 :The Narrow Gate (Luke 13:22-30)

Strong’s Hebrew Concordance

Wings ^[h3671] occurs 108 times in 75 verses

• • wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner (of garment), shirt

It also alludes to the command to make fringes on the borders/wings of their garments which was to remind them to keep the commandments.  This is what the woman touched when she touched Jesus garment and was made whole.

Numbers 15: THe law of tassels

–Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders ^[h3671]of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders ^[h3671]a ribband of blue: ³⁹And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: ⁴⁰ That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. ⁴¹ I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I [am] the LORD your God.

DOES HE KNOW YOU? 

HAS HE SEARCHED YOUR HEART?

 

ARE WE WALKING WITHIN IN INSTRUCTIONS and COMMANDS,

in the PATHS of HIS LAW, or do we work LAWLESSNESS?

Romans 2 : God’s Righteous Judgment (Genesis 4:1-7; Jude 1:3-16) 

 13 (For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

His LAW set’s the boundaries of the NARROW PATH

and WAY which we are to walk in

FAITH without works is DEAD,

meaning there has to be EVIDENCE of our FAITH.

 

 

THE EVIDENCE OF OUR ACTIONABLE FAITH

is our keeping of HIS COMMANDMENTS

and TURNING FROM SIN

 

 

 

GOD’S STANDARD of RIGHTEOUSNESS

JUSTIFICATION

is also builders term for whether

a stone is “TRUE” or not

by using a PLUMMET

 

 

 A PLUMMET is a line or cord

that has a weight such as a plumb bob at the end

and determines VERTICALITY.

 

ie.  is the STONE upright or 90 degrees

LEVEL, SMOOTH, and TRUE?

 

 

If the STONE “IS NOT TRUE”

then it is considered to be WORTHLESS

 

Isaiah 28 :  A Cornerstone in Zion (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 1 Peter 2:4-12)

14Why hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing whip shall pass through, it shall not come to us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16Therefore thus said the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste.17Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing whip shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it. 

I WILL LAY JUDGEMENT TO THE LINE

ad RIGHTEOUSNESS TO THE PLUMMET

 

The plummet represents the cross on which

the SPIRITUAL STONE of ISRAEL was crucified

and established GOD’S STANDARD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

STRAIGHT, LEVEL, TRUE, UNWAVERING 

TRUTH IN OUR INWARD PARTS by having a CLEAN HEART

Psalm 51 :  Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God (2 Samuel 12:1-12)

6Behold, you desiretruth^[h571]in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me.

Matthew 21 : Parable of the Wicked Tenants

42Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 43Therefore say I to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.44And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them. 46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

Christ became the TRUE CORNERSTONE upon which the new TEMPLE

would be built and upon which all stones

added will be set in reference to this one, Peter being the first. 

Matthew 16 :Peter’s Confession of Christ(Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-20; John 6:66-71)

13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He said to them, But whom say you that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven. 18And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.20Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

Just as Solomon hired Stone Squarer’s

to hew JUSTIFIED STONES for the temple…

 

1 Kings 5 : Solomon’s Workmen and Laborers

. 17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stone squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

He works to carve His image into us and to make us TRUE stones through his Holy Spirit.  We are justified by HIS BLOOD through FAITH and obedience to His Commandments.  Being JUSTIFIED in HIS sight, means you are TRUE, RIGHTEOUS, BLAMELESS, INNOCENT and UPRIGHT.  

Our JUSTIFICATION as “TRUE” stones

IS NOT BASED OFF OUR OWN WORKS

 

but by the WORK DONE FOR US on the CROSS

and OBEDIENCE to HIS WORD

 

Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, being rooted and grounded in love, so we may be able  to comprehend what is the breadth, length, depth, and height. Together we work and labor to EDIFY each other, which is “the act of building up” and promoting growth, by serving others and not ourselves. Each stone is bound together (bundled/united) through the Holy Spirit, and we endeavour to keep the unity in the bond of Peace by walking with all lowliness, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another in love. 

Before constructing and laying the FOUNDATION of a building,

 

 

the area must be PREPARED by SMOOTHING & LEVELING 

 

Strong’s Hebrew Concordance

THRESHINGFLOOR ^[h1637] occurs 36 times in 36 verses (17 books)

• from an unused root meaning: TO SMOOTH (as made EVEN) , a place levelled.

David purchased the THRESHING FLOOR at MOUNT MORIAH in Jerusalem

 

 

where EARS of GRAIN would then be

CUT & CRUSHED with the threshing board

 

 

in order to  SMOOTH & LEVEL 

 

 

which would be where SOLOMON’S TEMPLE would be built upon.

 

2 Chronicles 3 : Temple Construction Begins (1 Kings 6:1-4)

1Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah ^[h4179], where the Lord appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

God does does not dwell in temple made with hands

and thus served as a SHADOW of Heavenly things

Mark 13 :  

1And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2And Jesus answering said to him, See you these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone on another, that shall not be thrown down.

Hebrews 8: A more excellent ministry

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true ^[g228]tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.  3For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: why it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:5Who serve to the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, said he, that you make all things according to the pattern showed to you in the mount. 6But now has he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

The New Covenant

7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, said the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, said the Lord. 10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13In that he said, A new covenant, he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away. 

Jesus, the TRUE son of David,

would laid THE NEW FOUNDATION and CORNERSTONE in our hearts,

where he rebuilt the temple not made with hands in 3 days

by writing HIS LAWS into our HEARTS and MINDS

through his giving of the HOLY SPIRIT

 

This is why John the Baptist, whose LOINS were GIRDED with TRUTH,

and who Malachi & Isaiah prophesied would “PREPARE THE WAY”,

was sent before Jesus to “PREPARE PEOPLE’S HEARTS”

and to make their PATHS “STRAIGHT, LEVEL, or SMOOTH”

 by preaching REPENTANCE and baptism.  

LUKE 3 : THE MISSION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST (Isaiah 40:1-5; Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:19-28) 

 4As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying,   The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight^[g2117].  5Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

 

 EVERY MOUNTAIN & HILL SHALL BE BROUGHT LOW

EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE FILLED

ROUGH WAYS

 

SHALL BE MADE SMOOTH

 

 

 

 

UNWAVERING FAITH

Strong’s Greek Concordance

Straight ^[g2117] 

• (literally) LEVEL or SMOOTH 

• (figuratively) TRUE;

We are the LIVELY TRUE STONES, through Faith and OBEDIENCE that make up the rest of the Temple.  Built upon the foundation laid by Christ and held together by the TRUE cornerstone.  We are built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13 :

12Why Jesus also, that he might sanctify ^[g37]the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate  13Let us go forth therefore to him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.  15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.16But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. .

Psalm 51 :  Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God (2 Samuel 12:1-12)

1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight: that you might be justified when you speak, and be clear when you judge. 5Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, you desiretruth^[h571]in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with your free spirit. 13Then will I teach transgressors your ways; and sinners shall be converted to you. 14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, you God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 15O Lord, open you my lips; and my mouth shall show forth your praise.

16For you desire not sacrifice^[h2077]; else would I give it: you delight not in burnt offering. 17The sacrifices^[h2077]of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18Do good in your good pleasure to Zion: build you the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then shall you be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks on your altar.

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