Transcript: Jesus Calls His Sheep to Hear His Voice in Truth

The following is a broadcast recorded live with Patricia Evans from Shining Light 7 Ministries. May the Lord bless your ears to hear and your heart to receive as you listen to God's holy word. Oftentimes I have pondered at the great love the scriptures show that Mary Magdalene expressed towards her Lord Jesus Christ. We learn that the former harlot became a believer in Jesus and she was amongst the devoted women who followed him and ministered to him out of her means or her substance. Minister to here means to aid, to give service to, in this case shown, these women who were followers of Jesus gave out of their substance or means, that is their money, their oil, lodging to Christ and his disciples, their food and so on. They gave what they could. And Mary Magdalene's repentant heart and holy gratitude was due to the healing and deliverance that she experienced as Jesus passed by one day. And it is out of this passing by that her love for her Lord began. In the Gospel of Luke 8, 1, Luke 8, 1, please. Soon afterwards, Jesus went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the gospel of the kingdom of God. And the twelve apostles were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases, Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been expelled. So here we see Mary Magdalene, one who was amongst those walking with the Lord, who had been delivered of seven demons. Can we know that this Mary was truly repentant of her great sin of prostitution, which brought the horrible bondage and right that Satan had to her body, her mind, her soul, and spirit. Her sin-filled, lust-filled life gripped her with the seven demons which controlled and drove her to do what she did in this public prostitution of her body. And no doubt, Mary's mind was wracked with a haunted conscience and sickness of mind and torment that gave her no rest. Mary Magdalene's name and her testimony have been shared throughout every generation of time because she did not remain an unhealed, demon-bound, social derelict, but instead she is known as a healed, forgiven, set free, blood-washed, God-hungry lover of Jesus Christ. and commentators write many variations of their conception of this woman and her account of pursuing her Lord through her tears and anguish of losing sight of him. And also, some commentators disagree with one another. That is, this Mary Magdalene was the prostitute spoken of in scripture here. And since we do not really know, then let us not be divided and turn our hearing off because we might have knowledge of what somebody's opinions have expressed. But let us take the stance that if this was the Mary who was the harlot, what might the Lord be showing us in this example and account? since we were all ungodly sinners. We all were likened to prostitution because of following after the great deceiver and being bound to him in our sin. Sin is sin, dear church, and all sin is vile and wicked. And this is why Jesus came. Some writers, but not all, play down Mary's feminine feelings as weakness of being a woman. And this is saying that all women have uncontrolled emotions that rule and drive them because of the hormonal makeup of the feminine body or the female body. It is easy for any of us to sit back and give our own estimation of what I think and what I would have done if I would have been there. but if we look circumspectly at this woman and her grief and anguish of where they had taken her Lord after the tomb had been opened we will see the heart of a young woman who represents the type of repentant sinner who has been forgiven much and is gratefully pursuing her Lord and desirous to lay a hold of him and not let go I believe this is the example and childlike faith that God, our Heavenly Father, desires of us all in our pursuit of His dearly begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Let us look at this account in John 20, verse 1, please. John 20, verse 1. Now, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark, and the stone had been removed from, lifted out of the groove across the entrance of the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciples, whom Jesus tenderly loved and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. Upon this, Peter and the other disciple came out, and they went towards the tomb. And they came running together, But the other disciple outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first. And stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not enter. Then Simon Peter came up, following him, and went into the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. But the burial napkin, the kerchief, which had been around Jesus' head, was not lying with the other linen cloths, but was still rolled up and wrapped around and wound in a place by itself. And the other disciples who had reached the tomb first went in too, and he saw and was convinced and believed. For as yet as they did not know or understand the statement of Scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes, their lodging places. Verse 11, notice this please. But Mary remained standing outside the tomb sobbing. As she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. and they said to her, Woman, why are you sobbing? And she told them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. I'm saying this. She turned around and saw Jesus there, but she did not know and recognize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you crying? For whom are you looking? Supposing that it was the gardener, she replied, Sir, if you carry him away from here, please tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. And turning around, she said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher or master. Jesus said to her do not cling to me do not hold me for I have not yet ascended to the Father but go to my brethren and tell them I am ascending to my Father and to your Father and to my God and to your God away came Mary Magdalene bringing the news the word that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her Jesus just had to speak and Mary heard and recognized her master's voice in the gospel of John 10 26 Jesus had something to say about those who recognized his voice and followed him in John 10 26 but you do not believe and trust and rely on me because you do not belong to my fold you are no sheep of mine the sheep that are my own hear and are listening to my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never lose it or perish throughout all the ages to eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed and no one is able to snatch them out of my hands my father who has given them to me is greater and mightier than all else and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand. This former harlot, whose sins were forgiven and remembered no more, recognized her Lord's voice and saw him whom her heart longed for. This love for her Lord proved itself over and over, dear church. Mary Magdalene was amongst the handful of faithful followers at the foot of the cross who had risked their own lives in being a demonstration by outwardly worshiping the Christ who had been sent by the God of all creation to be given as an atonement for the sins of man. These faithful people in the heat and passion of the hatred and the anger and rejection of the Christ who had come to save man from their sin as prophesied in the scriptures kneeled at the foot of the cross, weeping outwardly for the Messiah who had come. This much they knew. Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah. He was Yeshua, Savior, who had proven that he was sent and was truthful. He was the way and the life by virtue of his gospel and the miracles, signs, and wonders that he had performed in their midst. scripture point out some interesting facts regarding this woman Mary Magdalene. We must see this account of Mary in light of love for her Lord. And not only was this Mary amongst the few weeping at the foot of the cross, but this Mary remained there at the foot of the cross until they had come to take Jesus' body away to be buried and laid in Joseph's tomb. Mary Magdalene was with the other Mary, who was the mother of James, who went into the tomb where Jesus' body was laying, and they were there and experienced the great earthquake that took place at that time. In Matthew 28, verse 5, please. Matthew 28, verse 5. Now after the Sabbath, near dawn of the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary, who went to take a look at the tomb, and behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled the boulder back and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his garments as white as snow. And those keeping guard were so frightened at the sight of him that they were agitated and they trembled and they became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, Do not be alarmed and frightened, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He is risen, as he said he would do. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples He has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, I have told you so. So they left the tomb hastily with fear and great joy and ran to tell the disciples. And as they went, behold, Jesus met them and said, Hail, greetings. And they went up to him and clasped his feet and worshipped him. And then Jesus said to them, do not be alarmed and afraid. Go tell my brethren to go into Galilee and there they will see me. Mary Magdalene was the Mary who ran to report to Peter and John the Beloved that the tomb was empty. Look please again in John 20 verse 1. on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been removed lifted out of the groove removed from the entrance of the tomb so she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus tenderly loved and said to them they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him the scripture says in verse 8 The other disciple who reached the tomb first went in too. He saw and was convinced and he believed. And verse 9 declares, For as yet they did not know or understand the statement of scriptures that he must rise again from the dead. Verse 10, Then the disciples went back to their homes again, their lodging places. But Mary remained standing outside the tomb, sobbing. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. Well, the scripture shows that Peter and John the Beloved did not understand that the scripture says that he, the Christ, must rise again from the dead. They knew the Messiah was prophesied to come, and they all longed and looked forward to that day. They did not understand, however, all the realities that surrounded the Messiah's coming and needed to take place in order that the scriptures may be fulfilled. Psalms 16, verse 10 declares, For you will not abandon me to Sheol, the place of the dead, neither will you suffer your Holy One to seek corruption. See, they could not understand until Jesus opened their blind eyes That is, their spiritual eyes of understanding To comprehend the fullness of this word The very fact that the true Messiah had come Was contained within this scripture That our Savior and our Lord's body did not see decay Psalm 1610 again for you will not abandon me to Sheol, the place of the dead, and neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption. Apostle Paul declared this truth in Acts 13, 32 to the scoffers in his day as he witnessed the good news, the testimony of Christ the Savior, the risen Lord. Acts 13, 32. So now we are bringing you the good news, the gospel, and what God promised to our forefathers. This, he has completely fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus as it is written in the second psalm. And you are my son. Today I have begotten you, caused you to arise, to be born, formally shown you to be the Messiah by the resurrection. Hear that. To be the Messiah by the resurrection. The proof. Hallelujah. Verse 34. And as to his having raised him among the dead, now no more to return and undergo putrefaction and disillusion of the grave. He spoke in this way, I will fulfill and give to you the holy and sure mercy and blessings that were promised and assured to David. Verse 35. And for this reason, he says in another psalm, you will not allow your holy one to see corruption. to undergo putrefaction and disillusion of the grave. For David, after he had served God's will and purpose and counsel in his own generation, fell asleep in death and was buried among his forefathers. And he did seek corruption, and he did undergo putrefaction and disillusion of the grave. Verse 37, But he whom God raised up to life saw no corruption, did not experience putrefaction and dissolution of the grave. In other words, Christ's body did not decay. Verse 38. So let it be clearly known and understood by you, brethren, that through this man forgiveness and removal of sin is now proclaimed to you. And that through him, everyone who believes, who acknowledges Jesus as his Savior and devotes himself to him is absolved, cleared and freed from every charge from which he could not be justified and freed by the law of Moses and given right standing with God. Take care. Therefore, lest there come upon you what is spoken of in the prophets. In other words, be exhorted and hear this truth is what Paul was saying. Well, the body of Jesus did not see corruption of decay. And his resurrection from the dead is the proof of his messiahship and his testimony of himself being sent by his heavenly father and being the savior of mankind for all of their sins is true. Now Mary Magdalene, the notorious sinner, was used by God in Scripture to show the heart and simplicity of childlike faith of one who had been forgiven much and had fallen in love with her Lord and Master. She was delivered of the bondage due to the sin and her joy and reverent cry of Rabboni, which means my great teacher or master, and is the most honorable of all titles that could be spoken. The only other account in scripture of this tribute of high honor paid to Christ was the blind man Bartimaeus who was alongside the road as Jesus was passing by one day. Mark 10.46 Now they came to Jericho. As he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus sat by the road begging and when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth he began to cry out and say Jesus son of David have mercy on me so when Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called then they called the blind man to him and said be of good cheer rise up he's calling you and throwing aside his garment He rose and came to Jesus, verse 51. So Jesus answered and said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, Rabboni, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said to him, Go on your way. Your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight, and he followed Jesus on the road. this man Bartimaeus' eyes were opened and he followed his master and teacher but the account of Mary Magdalene gives us great insight as to the love of the young or new believers first love and the broken and contrite heart that comes along with this revelation of being forgiven of much Jesus said he or she who is forgiven much loves much. Mary and Bartimaeus lived in the time of Christ and saw the wonderful miracles that Jesus performed. They were the recipients of the Master's touch upon their lives in healing and deliverance and were privileged to see his beautiful face and walk in the light of his glory. They were there to experience the terrible earthquake that shook the countryside upon the death of Jesus when he died upon the cross. And to see the graves that had opened up after the earthquake had subsided. And most probably some of those that had come up out of the graves were some of their own families. They were there to experience our risen Lord's personal reappearance and behold his nail-scarred hands and feet. They were there. They were there. but we are here and now let me at this juncture of our message today provoke you to thought here Once you as a believer in Christ after having made your confession and acknowledgement of being a sinner and repenting of your sins and experienced the forgiveness of those sins and accepting Christ's mandate to produce fruit in keeping with your repentance, Have you been growing in your experience and knowledge of the greatness of his death and the spilling of his blood? Is there something you have not understood in the measure of his love for you personally? Have you believed he is who he has said he is? And have you believed the testimony of the scriptures? faith for you and me is believing that Christ is what he is said to be and that he will do what he has promised to do and then to expect this of him have you had your own moments and experiences Mary Magdalene had in her simple childlike faith in her Lord to shed your own tears in thankful gratitude of what your Rabboni has done for you. The scriptures speak of Jesus Christ as being God in human flesh, as being perfect in his own character, and being made a sin offering on our behalf, as bearing our sins, our sickness and vileness, upon and in his own body, upon the tree. Have you had this revelation of your Christ, your Rabboni, your Yeshua, your Messiah, your Savior, your Master. The scriptures speak of Jesus as having finished the transgression and made an end of sin and brought everlasting righteousness. The holy writings also tell us that he rose again from the dead and he ever lives to make intercession for us, that he has gone up to glory, sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the world in righteousness and his people with equity. We are most assuredly, I tell you so, dear church, with all sincerity, we are to believe this. This is the testimony of the Father when he said, This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. And this is also the testimony of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, God's own Spirit, For the Spirit has given witness to Christ, both in the inspired word of God and by many miracles when Jesus was on the earth, and also by the mighty workings of his power in men's hearts. We, you and I, are to believe this testimony as being true. Faith lies in your belief. Faith is your friend. Faith's name is Jesus. and lack of faith is an enemy to your soul and to my soul. Mary Magdalene had a simple childlike faith in her master. She recognized him as her Lord. As mentioned earlier in this word, we see the heart of a young woman who represents the type of repentant sinner who has been forgiven much and is gratefully pursuing her Lord and desire us to lay hold of him and not let him go. Have you truly recognized Jesus as your Lord? Has your heart been truly broken over what your Lord has done for you? Have you, like Mary, realized what Jesus has done for you and laid hold of the promise of eternal life which is found only in Christ by practicing the knowledge of the truth that is given to us as followers of Jesus and are called to produce fruit as evidence of our obedience. The disciples who were chosen and followed Jesus were privileged to be eyewitnesses of our Lord's transfiguration. They laid hold of the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of his excellence and his splendor. and Jesus' appearance underwent a change in their very presence. His beautiful face shone clear and bright like the sun and his clothing became white as light. As Jesus stood in their midst, he was arrayed in his pure and royal garments of purity and he was as transparent as light and clean as snow. They saw the Lord as he truly was and is. The author of light and life stood before them, manifested in the light of his glory and the glory of his Father. As the glory clouded the Shekinah glory, the manifested presence of God the Father in power and brilliance overshadowed these men. The voice of God spoke to them. Peter, James, and John who were present and announced this is my son whom I love with him I am well pleased listen to his voice what words from the father to us dear church this is my son whom I love with him I am well pleased listen to his voice These were not words in the moment for only those in that time But they are eternal words which live forever to every hearer from that time Look with me please in Matthew 17 verse 1 Matthew 17 verse 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up to the high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. And just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Verse 4, Peter said to Jesus, Lord it is good for us to be here if you wish we will put up three shelters one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah and while he was still speaking a bright cloud enveloped them and a voice from the cloud said this is my son whom I love and with him I am well pleased listen to him when the disciples heard this they fell face down to the ground terrified But Jesus came and he touched them. Get up, he said. Don't be afraid. When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. This is the testimony of the Father telling these privileged men who heard the voice of God. Telling these mere creatures of clay, I love my son and I'm well pleased with him. And not only that, he tells these men, listen to what he has to tell you. Or in other words, take it serious. Lay hold of it and hold it close to your hearts. The word does not say that out of thunder or lightning or a voice of a trumpet or shofar or a wind or an earthquake or a fire as when God spoke to Elijah. but only a voice, not one that had come in like a mighty wind, but a voice described by Peter in 2 Peter 1.17, please. 2 Peter 1.17 For when he was invested with honor and glory from God the Father, and a voice was born to him by the splendid majestic glory in the bright cloud that overshadowed him, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and delight. Verse 18. We actually heard this voice born out of heaven for we were together with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word made firmer still. You do well to pay close attention to it as a lamp shining in the dismal, squalid and dark place until the day breaks through the gloom and the morning star rises and comes into being in your hearts. Hallelujah. You see this voice which had come from the excellent glory. And though they heard the voice, they saw not the one who spoke through the cloud, but they believed the voice. They had faith that the Father had spoken in giving testimony to the Son. Their faith came by hearing. They laid hold of the Lord, their Rabboni. They laid hold of the best news. They apprehended and understood what the Father had spoken, that this was the good news that had come from heaven to earth. God the Father had announced the news that this was his Son, and those hearing this good news were to listen to what his Son had to say. This was the greatest news that ever came from heaven to earth. Since man had sinned in the garden, this was the greatest news, dear church. The testimony of the Father was heaven's greatest announcement, and the great mystery revealed. this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased listen to him listen to his words he is in effect telling us this is your eternal promise and in order to inherit him you must hear what he has to say and obey what he tells you Jesus spoke previously that I have come to speak what my father has told me to speak You see, God the Father was in Christ. Christ is the Son of God. And God was telling the earth that he was pleased with his Son. This is the greatest responsibility of every Christian believer. This is required by God for every believer to truly trust and believe in the words of the Father and the Son whom he had sent to the earth to speak what he had given to his son to say. Listen to his words, the scripture warn. Listen to what he tells you. God will not be pleased with those who do not listen and apply what his son has spoken. Jesus spoke the words the Father had given him to speak. It is not enough to give him your hearing, dear one. What good would that do, you or me, if we just lend an ear? You and I must believe him and believe God's Son, Jesus Christ, as a light of truth from the Father. The voice of God, the Father, from heaven, made all the sayings of Christ as authentic as if they had been spoken out of a cloud. Listen, obey, and trust. This was the command of the Father as he spoke from the cloud. The disciples, upon hearing the audible voice of God, fell on their faces, and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear. When God gives a command, it should cause us to react in some good way to his voice too, amen? By not reacting to or obeying his voice as he commands in the holy book of life, should bring alarm to our souls and cause us to have a fearful expectation of his righteous judgment. The greatness of the light and presence of God will put a healthy fear in any man or woman. In this same account on the holy mountain, the scripture tells us that Jesus came and he touched them and he raised them up and he spoke kindly to them and said, Get up and do not be afraid. And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus. When Christ touches you in his tender compassion and loving kindness, you cannot help but open your eyes and look up into his most beautiful face and truly stand in awe and deep reverence of him. and this is what happened to Mary Magdalene and blind Bartimaeus after Mary was delivered of her seven demons and also the sickness that had accompanied and wracked her body also her mind from the demonic oppression she could then behold the beauty of the Lord and be broken in her heart to some degree and measure of the almightiness of her Rabboni blind Bartimaeus after having his sight restored beheld his master's face in his presence and he followed him and can we please know that as he followed his Lord his spiritual eyes were enlightened with the truth that God had sent his son to redeem and deliver the lost Jesus came to save sinners the ungodly, the lepers, the oppressed the sick, the dying, the poor, the wretched and naked. And he came to clothe all in the glory of his presence. His tender touch will bring healing and strength and comfort if you believe and trust him. Jesus said to these men who were his disciples, Arise and be not afraid. You see, it is by Christ Jesus and his word and the power of his grace that he can raise you up to from your dejections, from your rejections, from your sins and sickness, from demonic oppression, from pride and vile thoughts and horrible images that Satan afflicts you with. It is by one word from the Lord's mouth that he can say, Arise and be not afraid of those things that plague you and silence your fears by His calming words and tender touch. If you will just put yourself in His trust, if you will yield yourself into His precious and divine workings in your life, the Lord will change your nature. He will subdue your old nature and breathe new life into you. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he will take the stony heart out of your flesh. And he will give you a heart of flesh. This is his promise. Where everything was hard within you, everything shall be made tender. This is a promise. Where everything was mean and vicious in you, he will make everything gracious. Where everything was negative and a downer, he will make everything positive with an upward force by the might of his spirit and you too shall behold his face this is a promise where there was a mean and vicious lion of anger within you Jesus will give you his heart which is likened to a lamb of meekness where there was a raven or unclean bird of uncleanness and sexual lust he will give you a clean mind and heart which is likened to the precious dove of purity. This is a promise. And dear one, where the serpent of deceit and lying was found, that foul thing will be trampled underfoot and supplanted with the heel of truth which comes from the word of God. This is a promise. This is the reason Jesus came into the world. with his tender touch and words which were spoken on the holy mount he will meet you there too saying the same words of life get up and arise and do not be afraid just believe and trust and obey again this is called faith and faith must lay a hold of Christ there's a testimony a true story of an evangelist who tells the story of a lady who was struggling in her finding Jesus. And one night when he was preaching in a great city in the east, he says, I noticed down by the side of the pulpit where there was a young lady whose eyes were just riveted or fixed on me as if she were drinking in every word that I was speaking. I became interested in her and after I finished speaking, I went down to where she was sitting and I spoke to her. Are you a Christian? No, I wish I was. I have been seeking Jesus for three years. I said, oh, there must be some mistake. She looked at me strangely and she said, don't you believe me? I said to her, well, no doubt you thought you were seeking Jesus, but it does not take an anxious sinner three years to meet a willing Savior. What am I to do then, she asked. The problem is you are trying to do something you must just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I am sick and tired of the word. Believe, believe, believe. I don't know what that is, she retorted. Well, I said, we'll change the word to trust. If I say, I'll trust him, will he save me? No, I didn't say that. You may say a thousand things. But he said, if you do trust him. Well, she said, I do trust him. But she added in the same breath, I don't feel any better. Ah, I understand it now. Oh, you've been looking for feelings for three years now instead of looking for Jesus. how many times we have heard people say I cannot make this change or that change or I cannot overcome this sin or that problem but the question here is who said you or I could overcome or could change the scriptures speak of what God will do through his son and the one sent to the earth as our helper called the Holy Spirit The scripture does not speak of what man will do or can do. It is God's promise to help fallen man if they will just trust in his son. Trust in him to fulfill his words to you and it will be done. You and I and everyone for that matter who came to Christ as sinners are required to listen. And when we hear the voice of God first through his word, we are required to drop to our knees and fall on our face before him. We are required to lay a hold of him. And lay a hold of means to grasp, to understand, to apprehend, to get a hold of and take eagerly. Now, how could one go wrong in this way of taking hold of the Lord? When the truth comes, we are called to just take a hold of it, believe it. And once you were ransomed out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, the truth, and that is by your repentance and what Christ did for you, I ask you once this happened once this ransoming of your Lord happened in your life and you repented of your sins has the love for your Lord increased as your Rabboni your master your teacher do you have a greater appreciation of what your Jesus did for you upon the cross how many say in the carnal realm looking for feelings rather than believing by faith what God's word tells us just like the testimony of the young girl if she couldn't feel it by her senses she wouldn't believe it how very sad faith is not with our feelings feelings is with your head and your sense of reason and human reason opposes the righteousness of God which is found in his son Jesus Christ. Faith is divine and it is a promise and lies within one named Jesus Christ Faith is trusting in and believing on by divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit Must the Lord explain His ways and give explanation before we will believe Him? The workings of God through the Holy Spirit are great mysteries to simple and weak creatures of clay. God Almighty, infinite, all-knowing and eternal likes it all this way, dear church. Faith for you and me and all true believers in Jesus Christ is to believe that Jesus is who he is said to be and that he will do what he has promised to do and then you expect this of him. He who made the promise has the responsibility of keeping the promise. Hebrews 10.32 Hebrews 10.32 And therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. Verse 37. Yet for a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith And if anyone draws back My soul has no pleasure in him But we are not of those who draw back to perdition But are of those who believe to the saving of the soul Faith is long-term endurance on yours and my part Faith is believing what God has spoken in promise to you in his word and it is God's responsibility to work out and keep his promises. He promises wonderful and marvelous change in your person by the trials that you will go through. Isn't it wonderful? All-knowing and loving Father knows what is best for each one of us. His ways are not our ways. He knows affliction will drive us to our knees in order for us to truly love him and learn to depend on him. He knows we do not like pain, dear church, but he uses painful trials and experience to work out and wring out the best in us. And we can see in this scripture we have just read in Hebrews 10, 32, but recall the former days in which after you were illuminated or the truth came, you were enlightened by the truth, that you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. And therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward, for you have need of endurance. So after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise, and yet for a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. You see, God who promises these things, that is a wonderful inheritance and promise of eternal life, will certainly bring it about in all who receive Jesus, in all who trust in, who rely on, and apprehend him in a real and living way. He gives the power to become the sons of God. God sent His Son to the earth, gave witness to the earth in testimony as to His Son, and that He was to be a seed that would die and go into the ground in order to produce more sons and daughters for His eternal kingdom. Now, in order to become a son or daughter in the kingdom of God, It will require faith on your part, my part. And we cannot shrink back the scriptures have shown us. Oh, dear church, that we will only believe. That we will only believe with all of our hearts that God cannot lie. That he will not lie. That you will believe that God your Father loves you so very much and only desires that you listen to his Son and believe in and trust and obey his words. Believe him for a new heart if you need one. Believe him for a renewed spirit if you need one. He alone can give them to you. You are not capable to apprehend these by yourself. Neither am I. And this is where your change comes out of a new heart and a new spirit. Your faith at first, though it is weak, saves your soul as you persevere. Matthew 17, 20. Jesus declared to his disciples, Oh, he replied, because you have so little faith, I tell you the truth. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will be moved. Nothing will be impossible for you. Faith is the eye by which we look to Jesus, dear ones. And even though our vision may be dim-sided, our eye is still an eye by which we can see. Faith is the hand by which we'll lay hold of our Lord. And our hand may be weak and trembling in our reach for Him, but it is still a hand by which we have to reach. And as you reach out to apprehend your Lord, to take hold of your Jesus. Your heart will tremble within you as you touch the hem of His glorious and most beautiful garment that you can be healed, delivered, and set free. And oh, the joy. Oh, the joy of this freedom. 1 Peter 1.3 describes this wonderful and inexpressible joy. 1 Peter 1.3 praised, honor, and blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ by His boundless mercies we've been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead born anew into an inheritance which is beyond the reach and change of decay imperishable, unsullied, and unfading reserved in heaven for you who are being guarded and garrisoned by God's power through your faith through your faith till you fully inherit that final salvation that is ready to be revealed for you in the last time. Verse 6, you should be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations so that the genuineness of your faith may be tested. Your faith, which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold, which is tested and purified by fire. This proving of your faith is intended to redound to your praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is revealed. Without seeing him, you love him, though you do not even now see him. You believe in him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious, triumphant, heavenly joy. At the time you receive the result, the outcome, the consummation of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. But we must understand that the salvation of our souls is not a one-time act. We do not repent once and call it good. John the Baptist was the one who paved the way and put it in this way as he spoke the words of prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40, verse 3. A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Verse 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord is spoken. The glory of the Lord was shown that day as John the Baptist baptized Jesus. The day that John the Baptist baptized Jesus, the glory of the Lord descended upon him. Our faith is founded, dear ones, not upon feelings, but upon the promises of God contained within the pages of your Bible. Faith is the foot that steps out. And blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by. And he called to Jesus and he said, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and called forth the blind man and blind Bartimaeus threw off his coat and he ran towards Jesus and Jesus says, what do you want me to do for you? The blind man said, Rabboni, I want to see. And Jesus said, go, your faith has healed you. and immediately he received his sight and he followed Jesus along the way. Dear church, stumble though we might along the way, Jesus is still calling us forward and upward. I said to an individual sometime back, your repentance will not save you. The fruit you bear in keeping with your repentance will save you. We are required to bear fruit that is in keeping with our repentance. This is necessary for salvation. The person who truly repents is never satisfied with their own repentance. To repent is to change your mind about your sin. And Christ will see to it by His Holy Spirit who lives within you that you will turn away from this sin and He will give you the power by His Spirit to have the victory over it. There should never be a doubt that Christ is not able through his spirit to bring you through every battle into every victory along the way. You are called to believe that Christ is who he is and that he will do as he says he will and that you by faith expect this from him. Have expectant faith and believe and trust in him and obey the truth which is found in his written word. Understand that the Father sent His Son into the world to die for sinners. And He came to give His life for the ungodly. Can you truly say in your heart, Jesus Christ died for me, an ungodly sinner such as I was. If nothing else melts our hardened hearts, it is advisable for us to sit and read and reread the account in the four Gospels, whereby the four apostles, who we could also say were evangelists, they gave a blow-by-blow account of our Lord's death from the beginnings of his suffering to the end of his death upon the cross. If you harden your heart to this, I fear for your eternal life. Christ died for the ungodly. He didn't owe you or me a thing. He didn't owe anyone anything. If this does not melt your heart, that is the sufferings of Jesus, that he was rejected and alone upon the cross when even his heavenly father had to turn his back upon his son because of all the sin and the vileness that he carried upon himself and his body for you and me and every other ungodly sinner. He died and suffered for the ungodly who are really his enemies. The cross is like the rod which Moses held and struck the rock with and brought water out of it. The hard rock is likened unto our hardened hearts, which have opposed Christ and his promises and his wonderful blessings, which are meant for our good and eternally so. May I be allowed to say to you who need the Lord to strike your heart where it may be hard in order for the healing of tears and the joy to flood forth, to bring the necessary restoration. Please allow him to strike your heart. This is what happened to Mary Magdalene, the notorious sinner who had been forgiven much. she was able to truly love and her expression of her love for her Lord was by tears of gratefulness. You can't help but when you read of the divine sacrifice of Jesus Christ for you personally to see his love, his radiance and beauty through your tears as you gaze upon his wounds and blood-stained head as he hung naked upon the cross. To see all the sorrows he held upon himself, all that sin and sickness and the wretchedness of man, including mine, cannot help but to have the tears of joy and the gratitude to flow from my stony heart as I lay hold of his blood-stained and nail-pierced hands and feet. I cannot help but be grateful throughout the day without giving my Rabboni thanks from a heart full of holy gratitude. Jesus died for me, a sinner. And Jesus loves me and saved me by his grace. Can you and do you say this to yourself too? You will understand this great and divine sacrifice if you believe this. The Father said from the holy mountain that day, listen to my son. Repentance will not make you see Christ, but to see Christ will give you repentance. You may not make a Christ out of your repentance, but you must look for repentance in Christ. and the Holy Spirit by turning us to Christ turns us away from sin. It is just like that. Look away then from the effect of your present sin to the cause from your own repenting to the Lord Jesus Christ who is exalted on high to give you repentance. No matter the torment or blasphemies or horrid thoughts that may overshadow you at times, remember that Jesus died for the ungodly. When Satan comes to torment with his satanic suggestions, remember Jesus came to die for sinners. Romans 5, 6 declares, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Jesus died for the ungodly. Jesus knew we could not overcome the prince of the power of the air. He knew we were powerless. And the scripture declares that one time we too were foolish and disobedient and deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating everyone. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things that we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. And he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. That word is found in Titus 3, 3 through 8 for your notes. Jesus has done his part, dear church, and now it is up to you to do your part, up to me. and that the latter part of the verse that the scripture points out here says, Those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. By faith you will do this. And by faith you will take eagerly, you will grasp and apprehend your Lord Jesus Christ and his offer of eternal life as a son or daughter in his kingdom by devoting yourself to him and his precepts. These sins, horrible torments and thoughts and vile images and bondages and vices that the devil is releasing is part of the reason that Jesus came. He died for those who are guilty of all manner of sin and blasphemy. And he just asked us to cast ourselves upon him and eagerly take hold his hand and his offer as your Redeemer and Savior and your Master. He can still the horrid thoughts and profanities that come like a flood. He will help you if you lay hold of him as your mighty prince and king and Rabboni, as Mary Magdalene did. He will help you if you believe in him. The question I leave you with today is have you grasped the greatness of his death and the spilling of his blood? is there something you have not understood in the measure of his love for you have you believed he is who he has said he is and have you believed the testimony of the scriptures faith for you and me is believing that Christ is what he has said to be and that he will do what he has promised to do and then we just expect this of him and listen to what he tells us and most of all dear ones to obey and submit what he tells us to do. Jesus made an end of sin and brought everlasting righteousness to all who believe in, have faith in, and truly live in him by loving obedience to his commands. Believing does not come by trying. Believing does not come by your feelings. believing is supernatural and it is called faith and you and I are told to arise and to get up and be not afraid we are then expected to take our beloved's hand to look up into his beautiful face and listen to his voice may the Lord cause your faith to increase entrusting in his promises in his son in the Holy Spirit and faith in him so that your praise will ever be giving him the glory and the honor forever and ever. We would like to hear from you if this message has touched your life in some way, either by encouragement, healing, deliverance, or simply if you've been enlightened by the word of God in an area of understanding in your Christian growth. Contact us and remember, your information will be kept strictly confidential. May our Lord Jesus Christ richly bless you this day. Following is a broadcast recorded live with Patricia Evans from Shining Light 7 Ministries. May the Lord bless your ears to hear and your heart to receive as you listen to God's holy word. We live in a day and a time where the newest and latest modern conveniences and inventions have captured and mesmerized and entertained from the audiences, from the elderly to the very young. As of today, some of the most horrendous filth and pornography, foul language, and yes, even blatant blasphemies against God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ have poured forth from the television and even cell phones into the theaters, laptop computers, into homes filling the minds of viewers with wicked, lustful, and lewd perversions. The viewer today is not just an adult audience which is bad enough but from every age now even affecting even little children as it is brought into the home as a diet in which they grow up on and sear their young minds with we could then expect the moral decline of nations into what God's holy word terms the base or mean part of man called the beast-like nature. Fawcett's Bible Dictionary describes this beast-like nature as symbolically as a man who is severed from God and resting on his own physical or intellectual strength or and material resources. Man is only in his right mind when he is made in the image and the likeness of God's Son, Jesus Christ, as he or she dwells in Christ and lives in the continual renewing and prospering of his or her spirit, soul, and body. In the book of Psalms 49.11, we see a scripture which shows that the unrenewed mind or beast-like nature dwells in their inmost thoughts. hear that, dwells in their inmost thoughts, which is foolishness to God, and shows that all that man does in his own pomp, honor, and glory will only perish with him like any other common animal. Look, please, in Psalms 49, verse 11. Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever and their dwelling places to all generations. They call their lands their own apart from God and after their own names. But man, with all his honor and pomp, does not remain. He is like the beast that perishes. This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident, yet after them men approve of their sayings. We see in the New Testament, in 2 Peter 2.12, how the apostle likens this unruly appetite of man like an unreasoning beast. Creatures who follow after their own instincts and perish in their own destruction. 2 Peter 2.12. But these people, like unreasoning beasts, mere creatures of instinct, born only to be captured and destroyed, railing at things of which they are ignorant, they shall utterly perish in their own corruption. In their destroying, they shall surely be destroyed. Being destined to receive punishment as a reward of their unrighteous suffering wrong as the hire for their wrongdoing. They count it a delight to revel in the daytime, living luxuriously and delicately. There are blots and blemishes reveling in their deceptions and carousing together as even they feast with you. Verse 14. They have eyes of harlotry, insatiable for sin. They beguile and bait and lure away unstable souls. Their hearts are trained in covetousness, lust, and greed. and they are children of a curse exposed to cursing. We could expect this of the world. But today, sad to say, even believers are filling their minds with this filth. While they are enjoying this filth, they enjoy the controversies which go along with it. The scriptures in Psalms and Peter that we have just read are speaking of the pretenders of the faith. They only give lip service to what they pretend to believe. Many Christians spend their entire weekends watching the newest and latest terrorist movies, which are designed to cause fear, mixed with intrigue, illicit sex, and violence, which God in his word condemns. Please read with me Revelation 22, verse 7. Revelation 22, verse 7. Jesus says, And then he told me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong. Let him who is vile continue to be vile. Let him who does right continue to do right. And let him who is holy continue to be holy. Several places in the Bible point to the times which Scripture talks about that there will be a fullness of time in which the knowledge of the word of God will be sought after, but it will not be found by those who waited too late. Many, many, many are putting off what they should be doing now on this earth, and that is filling their minds and hearts with the knowledge of the Lord and his ways instead of the knowledge of the tree of good and evil with entertainment, music, vile movies filled with sex, violence and profanities and perversions. Now is the time. Now is the time to be taking your eternal life serious, church. Now is the time to recognize that Jesus says in his word that he comes like a thief in the night. I ask you, are you prepared to meet your maker? Will you pass the test of preparedness in your short time on this earth? You and I, as believers in Jesus Christ, made a covenant promise with the Lord on the day we accepted his wonderful offer and promise of eternal life. Jesus wants custody of our hearts. He wants full custody of our hearts, dear church. Your heart signifies in scripture the whole spiritual part of your being. And keeping your heart means controlling the whole spiritual condition of your nature. And this means that we are not machines, but we are free, immortal, intelligent beings, fallen indeed from our first state, crippled in our bodies and souls, yet now raised again in Christ Jesus. We are free to choose good or evil, and therefore we are responsible for that choice. The term in Scripture which warns us to keep our heart is to guard it, to watch over it, to subdue it. It is attempting and, by God's grace, achieving the work of dying to self. Yes, dying to ourselves. That is putting to death the old way of life. With all of its perversions and lustful appetites is the only way that this dying to self will happen. The keeping of your heart must be habitual. and unless you have been previously vigilant, the tempter who is called Satan, the devil, when he comes will be sure to conquer that which you have not allowed to be put to death. One of the miseries of old sin is that it mars the keeping of the heart. We are liable to fall back into a sin which we have committed before if we do not guard and watch and keep our hearts as we hear and practice the knowledge and the truth of God's word. Old sin tends to soften the soul, to cut off its life and to destroy those habits of carefulness which are so important in resisting temptation. Proverbs 4.23 declares, Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth. Keep corrupt talk far away from your lips and let your eyes look straight ahead and fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the left or the right. Keep your foot from evil. This is saying that we must entrust our hearts to the Lord's keeping. We must submit our hearts to the Lord's will. And he then gives us the strength to overcome all powers of darkness that once held us captive and enslaved to his whims and wiles. This is saying that all other powers other than the staying hand of the Lord must bow to that beautiful name above all names. Your mind or memory may at present be filled with vile images and unholy remembrances, or it may be stored with beautiful thoughts and sweet remembrances of Christ's past mercies to you, whom he called out of darkness into his marvelous light. Your imagination may be crowned with foul pictures, worldly fantasies, and daring temptations, or it may be consecrated by visions of the beauty of God and the splendors of his majesty. Your whole heart must be urgently aware of its state and necessity of being kept in the Lord's ways with all diligence and earnestly so. I tell you, I feel like this message today is an urgent wake-up call for the body of Christ to stir herself up and awaken herself from her willful slumber, her lethargy and stupor due to wandering eyes. Jesus demands to be yours and my supreme focus, dear church. He demands it. And if he is not, then we have other idols. There is a verse in the book of Daniel that we really need to take to heart. Personally, each one of us need to take this to heart. In Daniel 12, verse 1. Daniel 12, 1. At that time, Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress, such as has not happened from the beginning of the nations until then. But at the time, your people, everyone whose name is found written in the book, will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Verse 3, those who are wise will shine like the brightness of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. many will go here and there to increase knowledge. Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on the bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. And one of them said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled? Verse 7. The man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river lifted his right hand and his left hand towards heaven and I heard him swear by who lives forever saying it will be for a time times and half a time when the power of the holy people has been finally broken all these things will be completed. I heard but I did not understand so I asked my Lord what will the outcome of all this be? He replied Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. And none of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. Verse 4 declares many will go here and there to increase knowledge. This verse shows us that the time will come when the Lord will close up the opportunity of knowing him. People who did not prefer Jesus Christ now on this earth as their Lord will certainly not prefer him in heaven as their king. Verse 10 says, Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, But the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand. But those who are wise will understand. Now is the time. Now is the time for the church of the living God to be ready in the preparation, the consecration, and the purification. And all of these terms are speaking of the separation of sin. You who love the Lord hate evil. It is time for the church to be made ready for the coming of our Lord. Now is the time to take serious the wonderful offer of eternal life. And now is the time to be sowing and growing in the wisdom of your Maker, dear ones. Verse 3 declares, Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. You see, the brightness speaks here of our being purified of our past lives and sins and made spotless for the preparation of our bridegroom soon to come. Ezekiel 11, please go with me. Ezekiel 11, verse 14. The word of the Lord came to me. Verse 17. and I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them and I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord. You see, the new land in these verses is speaking of, or in the figurative sense, of the land of our hearts. Our hearts will no longer crave the vile images and the detestable idols that once sat upon the thrones of our hearts. We have come into a covenant agreement, a divine binding and legal agreement with the immortal, invincible, invisible creator of the whole universe, precious church. God always honors and upholds the agreements he makes. It is we who break this holy and binding covenant with him. Sinners have always had need of Jesus Christ in their lives. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, after they sinned, they knew they were naked. They broke covenant with the God who had created them and instructed them in the way that they should go. They committed treason in the place where they were given to care for. They had everything they needed, including the divine protection of God. Once they revolted against God's command to not eat from a certain tree, they knew that they stood naked and ran to make a covering for themselves. They knew instantly that what they had done was wrong and that God's divine presence had left them. Dear ones, that's why they knew they were naked. God's presence had left them. This beautiful presence of God surrounded them and covered them. They were required to obey and submit to one simple command of God by not eating from one tree. They broke covenant with God. Without the presence of God, dear church, we are poor and naked. we have no divine protection nor should we expect it when we sin and commit treason which are crimes against our holy and wonderful Father in heaven. There is just no way, no way, no way we can justify our sins before God. While we have breath, we should aim for perfect death of our fleshly beast-like nature and subdue its appetites. We have been given a wonderful helper called God's precious Holy Spirit. We as God's own children, dearly loved and loved with an everlasting love, should aim to please Him always, because nothing else can prepare us for the glory which awaits us. We aim to please Him purely for who He is. Imperfection will never enter there where there is nothing but perfection. How can darkness dwell with Him who is light and in whom there is no darkness? We should take God's words serious and stop looking at it like any common book to pick up and enjoy. This holy book is God's way for his children to follow and obey. This is God's way of leading us completely into the light of his presence and glory while we live here on the earth. In 1 John 1.5, 1 John 1.5, this is the message we have heard from him and declare to you. God is light. In him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and we do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. Verse 8. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. Jesus Christ, by his own life, sacrificing himself upon the cross by spilling his own blood, has offered you and me and all others who choose his sacrifice and have joined into the total and complete salvation of our body, soul, and spirit. May I tell you that this is not a cheap offer to be taken lightly or to be tried out. May I tell you that this was a costly sacrifice? Christ, the very creator of the universe, divested himself of his glory and stepped out of his honorable and glorified kingdom to give his life and die a brutal death. By the hands of the creatures that he had made, he would die a brutal death. This is Love. This is love. God the Father gave His Son, the innocent Lamb, Messiah, an atoning sacrifice to satisfy His righteous justice in order for a fallen man with His beast-like nature to be redeemed from the darkness and translated into the beautiful light of His presence. the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes but this complete salvation will be for those who are completely joined to Christ who live in Christ the very one who made all things possible for you and me look with me in Romans 1.16 to see this our chief apostle tells us in his epistle in Romans 1, 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, the good news of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation for the deliverance from eternal death to everyone who believes with a personal trust, not a herd-like mentality, but a personal trust and a confident surrender and a firm reliance to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Verse 17. For in the gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith. As it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith. so now instead of looking to oneself for power or authority in our own ableness we recognize and learn that all comes to us from what Christ did for us upon the cross and upon truly realizing and catching the great and everlasting love that he has for you personally you would not You would dare not and you would care not to lay hold of it carelessly or take it lightly and continue dwelling in your old ways. We are called to be new creatures in Christ, putting on his mind and his will in order to fulfill his purposes. Paul said the precious gospel truth is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Believing is in God and not in self. Believing is in the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross and it is by faith. Faith is divine and it is not a work of the flesh. Faith c