Transcript: Renewal of the Mind and Soul: Supernatural Miracles of Faith

The Today we are going to look at the wondrous miracle of the renewal or the transformation of the mind of the individual who seeks hard after the creator of this universe. I say this is a miracle because it is. It is a divine supernatural miracle of the transformation of the individual thinking that comes into right order according to the will of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul speaks of the transformation or renewal of the mind, but we must remember that there is a difference between the mind and the brain. Let's look at Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, and see what the apostle tells us. I appeal to you, therefore, brethren, and beg of you and you of all the mercies of God To make a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all your members and faculties as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted, consecrated, well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable, intelligent service and spiritual worship. Verse 2. and perfect in his sight for you. Paul tells us that we need to be transformed by the renewal of our minds, by the new ideals and attitudes, and the perfect will of God. Prophet Jeremiah, in chapter 17, verse 10, declares the word of the Lord, saying, I, the Lord, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing. Only the Holy Spirit of God can bring about this change of heart or the mind and this is why we say this renewal or transformation is a supernatural happening. It is because God is involved in this divine miracle of changing the carnal thinking or thought life of the individual who is seeking after the Lord Jesus Christ. In searching out the difference between the mind and the brain, I have found that most of the scientists and philosophers and thinkers believe that the brain and mind are one and cannot be separated, while many others believe without a doubt that they are separate and individual. While the brain is considered to be a physical thing, The mind is considered to be mental. The brain is an organ, but the mind isn't. The brain is a physical place where the mind resides. It is a vessel in which the electronic impulses that create thought are contained. With the brain, we coordinate our moves, our activities, and transmit impulses. The brain is made up of nerve cells and blood vessels, whereas the mind is not like that. The brain has a definite place in the head, but with regard to mind, it is only supposed to be in the brain. We can see and touch the brain where that is not possible with the mind. We can ponder on what's happening all around us, what is scheduled for the day, and what possibly might happen in the future. The mind is the manifestation of thought, perception, emotion, determination, memory, and imagination that takes place within the brain. The mind is often referred to, especially, to the thought process of reason. It is the ability to understand. The mind is the awareness of consciousness, the ability to control what we do and know what we're doing and why we are doing it. The brain then, according to various modes of study, is what the mind thinks with. Someone said a man with a bad mind and a good brain is dangerous. He is like a clever devil. Well, when a person comes to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and by faith is saved, they don't get a new brain. They get a new mind. That is the mind of Christ. Satan the devil blinds and distorts your mind with lies and perversion. As Solomon said, For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23, verse 7 You see, this scripture in Proverbs speaks volumes in the importance of a man or woman's thought life. This is saying that a man is as his thought life dictates. This is saying as well that a man can have control over his thoughts. This tells us too that God helps him in the exercise of that control when he is sincerely seeking after God. And this tells us what we are inwardly. We demonstrate that to both God and man. In other words, a man's inmost thinking is the true indicator or gauge, which records and manifests and points out his character. In Genesis chapter 6, verses 5 and 6, the scripture declares, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intent of all human thinking was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. In this Genesis 6 scenario, we see that God destroyed the entire world because of the imagination of men's thoughts, of their hearts, was only continually evil. God had to eradicate an entire generation because of their thought life. The wickedness of man springs from his thought life. As we read and grow in the understanding of scripture, we see that it is vital for every aspect of our being that is our spiritual, mental, and emotional being, part of us, that we gain control over our thought life. The word of God speaks volumes about the mind and having control over it. Chapter 6, verses 7 and 8 declare, Do not be deceived and deluded and misled. God will not allow himself to be sneered at, scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by his precepts being set aside. He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For whatever a man sows, that and only that is what he will reap. Verse 8 For he who sows to his flesh, his lower nature, sensuality, will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. whatever we sow in our mind or heart that is exactly what we will reap there is a saying that says garbage in, garbage out what you choose to believe you will do we do not act upon things we do not believe we act upon things that we do believe I want to declare and give hope for those who are sincerely seeking after God and might be presently struggling to gain control with their thought life. You know that this is the very reason that Jesus Christ came into this world. He came to save sinners. And this wonderful life in Jesus Christ begins with faith on the believer's part. Romans chapter 10 tells us, So faith comes by hearing what is told and what is heard comes by preaching of the message that came from the lips of Jesus Christ, the Messiah himself. So the new believer in Christ believes what is told in the word of God and has faith that Jesus will deliver him or her from the bondage of their thought life. It must be understood to begin with, we must have a regenerate mind. And let's look at what Apostle Paul's word to the Corinthians tells us. That is 2 Corinthians chapter 4 beginning in verse 3. But even if our gospel, the glad tidings, also be hidden, obscured, and covered up with a veil that hinders the knowledge of God, It is hidden only from those who are perishing and only obscured, to those who are spiritually dying and veiled, only to those who are lost. Verse 4. For the God of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds that they should not discern the truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ the Messiah, who is the image and likeness of God. For what we preach is not of ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves merely as your servants, slaves, for Jesus' sake. Verse 6. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts so as to beam forth the light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the person and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. We know, of course, that Satan is the God of this world. But why is the gospel hidden from those who are lost then? And what is exactly the enemy trying to do in his determination to keep people from seeing? Well, let's look at those various words that Paul makes his point with in the scripture. Veiled, perishing, blinded, darkness versus the light, glory, image, shine, knowledge in the face of. Well, you see, Paul paints a picture here, showing the darkness contrasted against the light. Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 12, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Clearly, Jesus is the light of the world. in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6 for God who said let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts so as to beam forth the light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the person and revealed in the face of Jesus Christ think about that what this verse is saying to you personally and to me we see that as a human being we do not hold power over the light of Christ illuminating the knowledge of the truth in our mind or hearts if God the Father had not loved humankind so very much and taken the initiative to command the light to shine out of darkness we would all be walking in the darkness of our minds committing every sinful pleasure that would send us all directly to hell. 2 Corinthians 4 describes the unregenerate mind, the mind of those who have not been transformed by the gospel of Christ but remain dead in their trespasses and sins. It is hard for us to think of ourselves as having been dead before we came to know Christ. We can all reflect back to when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We thought we were just fine, thank you. You see, the lost person sees himself as alive and those who follow Christ pretty much as dead. They're a weird, a lost cause, and they use Jesus like a crutch. So they think. But God sees it all differently. in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 3 the word declares and you he made alive quickened when you were dead slain by your trespasses and sins in which at one time you walked habitually you were following the course and fashion of this world were under the sway and tendency of this present age following the prince of the power of the air You are obedient to and under the control of the demon spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience, the careless, rebellious, and unbelieving who go against the purposes of God. Verse 3, among these as well, you once lived and conducted yourself in the passions of our flesh, our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature, obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the minds, our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginations. we were then by nature children of God's wrath and heirs of his indignation like the rest of mankind. King James Version uses the word quicken. A closer look at the word quicken that whenever we see the word quicken it means to be made alive. Something dead that is now brought back to life. A mind that is dead to God and to spiritual reality cannot see reality as God sees it. You see, unregenerate souls are dead in trespasses and sins. This is God's word. All those who are in their sins are dead in sins. And this includes all sorts of sins. Habitual sins. Sins of the heart. Sins of life. Sin is the death of the soul. And Paul continues, whatever that prevails, there is loss and absence of all spiritual life. Sinners are dead in a state where they are cut off from God, who is the very fountain of life. That is eternal life. Satan is the prince of the power of the air. Without true salvation, people walk about, walk around with a corrupt mind. Satan is battling to control the thought life of every person, young and old, all over the world. Satan is controlling the thought life of so many due to social media, due to technology, music, movies, and so forth. but thank God he sent his son Jesus Christ into this world and commanded light out of the darkness for light to shine out of the darkness of one's soul is because they want Jesus Christ to take control over their thought life first and foremost importantly a person must be saved or born again in order to have their minds renewed. And this is a personal choice. This is not herd mentality. Jesus said in John 3, verse 3, he said, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Did you notice that Jesus said they cannot see? They cannot see the kingdom of God? Satan blinds the mind. Without the new birth, none of us would be able to see spiritually. And this is they cannot perceive or understand the spiritual truths because they are not truly saved. Romans chapter 12 verse 2 explains, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This transformation of the renewal of the mind comes with salvation. And it is by faith in Jesus Christ that we can see. Your mind and seeing and your true and genuine salvation are all intertwined. As we saw in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, Satan has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, pulling the veil of darkness over the mind unless a ray of gospel truth penetrates the dark, murky recesses of the soul and frees it from its prison and darkness. The devil wants to imprison mankind in the dark. He doesn't want God to illuminate the light of the truth in their souls. Romans chapter 8 verses 6 and 8 tells us that to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God nor can it be so then those who are in the flesh cannot please God true salvation gives us a new mind or heart we who have been saved now can have the mind of Christ we supernaturally and miraculously are privileged to have a new mind This is the divine work of the Holy Spirit within a yielded heart who has submitted itself by faith to the Lord's will. In Proverbs 4, verse 23, God tells us, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life. We talk a lot about our hearts. The scripture tells us to guard our hearts. Do you know that this scripture is really saying and is connected to control over your thought life? Hebrews 4.12 declares, For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power making it active operative energizing and effective It is sharper than any two sword penetrating to the divining line of the breath of the life of the soul and the immortal spirit of the joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature exposing and shifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart Hebrews 4.12 overall shows the power of the word of God in a believer's life but it also reveals how closely related our thoughts and emotions are God wants us to have single minded devotion to him Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11 verse 2 and 3 I am zealous for you with a godly eagerness and a divine jealousy for I have betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But now I am fearful, lest that even as a serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Satan's plan is to steal people's minds from single-minded devotion, which is due to the almighty creator. We are to love the Lord with single-minded sincerity and loyalty. Jesus must be number one in my life because a divided heart means a broken relationship with him. Wow, think about that. If a person does not have single-minded devoted heart which focuses on God and his will and plan for their lives then scripture says they're not saved. There is no salvation in a broken relationship with Jesus Christ. The bottom line in this message today is that the battle people face and have begins in their mind. It is said that the mind is the battleground of Satan the devil. Everything begins in the mind. And this is why we spend so much time on speaking about the mind. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 3 declares, All of them ate the same spiritual, supernaturally given food, and they all drank from the same spiritually supernatural given drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock which followed them, produced by the sole power of God himself without natural instrumentality. And the rock was Christ. Verse 5. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with the great majority of them, for they were overthrown and strewn along the ground in the wilderness. Verse 6. Now these are examples, warnings, admonitions for us not to desire or crave or covet or lust after evil and carnal things as they did. Paul is really telling us there is a war. But it is not a war of the flesh. we're in a battle for the control of our minds and today there is so much going on in the world that our minds can be subtly distracted away from keeping and guarding our hearts or minds from the precious word of God which is like a lamp unto our feet remember as a person thinks so is he and we act upon what we believe the word of God tells us that our weapons of warfare are not physical. 2 Corinthians 10, beginning in verse 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, weapons of the flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, weapons of flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds. Inasmuch as we refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ being in readiness to punish every insubordinate for his disobedience when your own submission and disobedience are fully secured and complete think about this if the renewal of our minds or hearts is a miracle brought about by the eternal living God then he gives us spiritual weapons of warfare to defeat the evil one no as is Satan the devil Satan again attacks the mind we have been given the mandate in this word to pull down every stronghold that sets itself up in our minds against the word of God We do this because it is in keeping with our devotion to God Almighty. We do this because God has commanded light to shine out of darkness of our hearts. And he's quickened and inspired the knowledge of the truth to now be a reality in our hearts. This is God's supernatural power working in your heart. And if you believe the truth of God's word and the promises he has given you in the Bible, then you must fight to keep and embrace those truths in your heart and mind until the very end of your life. You and I cannot compromise the truth. Remember our hearts or minds have to be renewed by the knowledge of the Holy Spirit every day. Our hearts and minds are the center of our thoughts and emotions to this knowledge and truth. let us keep our focus in the end days and let us praise and always give thanks to God for his loving kindness and our savior who died for us and for his promises that he keeps us to the very end if we are faithful to him and to his commands in the living word of God God's living word will never fail us. It lives forever. If you believe this with all of your heart, your faith in Jesus Christ is living and active and empowered by precious Holy Spirit to bring you home safely to the eternity of eternities. Thank you. This prophetic word, called The Love of the Lord Drives Us to Go On, was given to Lee Evans on 2-7 in 2008. The dream opens with the first scene, scene one. I saw a path that was spotted with mosaic stones here and there. As my wife Patricia and I would move along the path, a silver light would be shown uncertain of these mosaic stones. These stones were flat and shaped like puzzle pieces. It was only then that we would move to the next place, stepping on the next lighted mosaic stone. With each step we took, it seemed as though the next stone would become larger. The mosaic stone on the paths were positioned on the right side and some on the left, yet never connecting. I could see the edge of the path where the silver light would come on. Then a video or a film clip with sound and video would appear. In the first episode of this video clip, I see a tower. I called out to those in the tower to come down and come with us. But a voice called out from that tower, saying, We are secure and safe. I said, But the storm will wash the house, the tower, away because it is built on sand. I noticed that some of those who were in the tower were facing the east, which means tradition. The tower was on the right side of the path, but however, it was not on it. Scene 2. The second episode, video clip, involved a church and the church leader. I called out for them to come with us, but he said he was secure in the thing that he was doing and declined our invitation. It seemed one after another was content to stay where they were. The church was not on the path either, but it was on the left side of it. In the dream, I knew and concluded that the revelation of the Mosaic path that we had been given will be made known for some along the way, and yet it has come for others who hadn't either accepted or rejected it. But we knew that we were to keep moving ahead with the Lord regardless of whatever decisions people along the path or the way have made. I knew in the dream that there were many who had gone before us who had understood the revelation of this most unique mosaic path and course of life. all of the mosaic stones were clearly revealed as the silver light was shown fully on them i could see all of the pieces within the short range ahead of me i heard a click of a computer and immediately i heard a voice declare love of the lord drives us to go forth i knew from this point on that the path would be very visible because the silver light was shining on every mosaic stone within our view now. At the point of turning, I saw a large mosaic stone, and from that vantage point, I made a left-hand turn, and more stones were then revealed, and we proceeded forth on the path. The interpretation. I believe the mosaic pieces speak of the ancient path spoken about in Jeremiah 6.16, which declares, Thus says the Lord, Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient path where the good old way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Speaking of the Mosaic law, the name Halakha is derived from the Greek Halika, which means to walk or to go. A literal translation does not yield law, but rather it speaks of the way to go. Halakha guides not only religious practices and beliefs, but also numerous aspects of day-to-day life. Halakha is often translated as Jewish law, although a more literal translation might be the path or the way of walking. The word derives from the Hebrew root that means to go or walk forth. We know, of course, that we are not subject to the law described in the Old Testament. But the dream is showing that the ancient path, the mosaic stepping stone, is defined as the way to go or the path that is the right way of walking. Simply said, it is the path of righteousness. Proverbs 8.20 declares, I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full. Proverbs 12.28 says, In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. Matthew 21.32 says, For John came to you in the way of righteousness. You did not leave him. But tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it, you did not afterwards relent and believe him. 2 Peter 2.21 declares, For never to have obtained a full personal knowledge of the way of righteousness would have been better for them than having obtained such knowledge to turn back from the holy commandment which was verbally delivered to them. There has befallen them the things spoken of in the true proverb. The dog turns back to its own vomit, and the sow is washed only again to wallow in the mire. In the two scenes of the dream, the first episode is with people who had built their home, their tower on the sand. They did not heed the warning to come down from their ivory tower and follow the way of righteousness. The term ivory tower connotes a place of intellectual isolation, a safe harbor, or a sanctuary. These kinds of people are self-deceived in what they have built their lives on. They fail to hear the truth and apply it in their lives. Jesus said in Matthew 7, 26, Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a stupid, a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The storms of life for these people will demonstrate which direction and path they have taken. They felt secure and safe in their own deception at that time. But the time comes when they will be shut out of heaven and their lack of obedience to Christ's commands. They felt secure and safe in their own deceptions at that time, but the time comes when they will be shut out of heaven for their lack of obedience to Christ's commands. These kinds of people deceive themselves just as Micah, who thought himself happy because the Lord had a Levite to be his priest, though he had not the Lord to be his God. The seed is sown, but it never comes up. consequently these falsely safe and secure people cheat their own souls if our hearing is not in the means of our obedience it will be the worsening of our grave condition of disobedience and ultimate eternal death the second scene involved a pastor and his church who refused the invitation to leave what he had built because he was secure in the thing that he was doing although it produced no eternal reward or promised blessing for himself or his followers. 2 Peter 2.20 declares, For if they, after they have escaped the pollution of the world through the full personal knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition is worse for them than the first. Verse 21, For never to have obtained a full personal knowledge of the way of righteousness would have been better for them than having obtained such knowledge to turn back from the holy commandment that was verbally delivered to them. There has befallen them the things spoken of in the true proverb. The dog turns back to its own ramen and the sow is washed only to wallow again in the mire. The above scripture likens these false teachers to hogs and dogs. They are like dried up springs of water. These false teachers' idle words were empty and meaningless. They enslaved immature believers and made them prisoners of their self-imposed doctrines and agendas and programs which were mixed and mingled with truths and lies. They promised their converts freedom while they themselves were slaves of depravity. The scripture says it'd be better for these false teachers to have never been born than to have known the truth and then to reject it. To do your own thing is called disobedience. It is actually sinful, and Jesus looks at it as betrayal to himself, just as he did with Judas Iscariot. Mark 14, 21 says, the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man, it would be better for him if he'd never been born. God is a holy God. When people, especially pastors and other leaders, deceive themselves and their followers into believing that they are safe and secure in spite of their sinful and evil practices, which compromise God's truth and say, we are safe and secure where we stand, they fail to realize that God has been watching and observing and the day will come upon them suddenly when his righteous justice is projected at them and at which time there will be no mercy left for his judgment. We'll all have been set. We'll be final. Jeremiah 7, 9 tells us will you steal and murder? Commit adultery and perjure? Burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you've not known? and then come and stand before me in this house which bears my name and say, We're safe, safe to do these detestable things. Verse 11. Has this house which bears my name become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching, declares the Lord. You see, to disobey God's ordained way and path of righteousness is called willful disobedience and open rebellion to his will for the way that we should show honor and worship him. This is stealing from him. It is also called spiritual adultery. Too many people are guilty of exchanging a God of whose power and goodness they have experienced for little gods of whose ability and willingness to help them know nothing. Who can or accept the one true God's help and favor in the day of trouble? this ancient path spotted with the mosaic stones along the way speaks also of laboring for the lord it is not just walking along the path trying to figure out what's next but it is actual ministry along the way of this journey as an obedient laborer in the vineyard of our god reading in jeremiah 6 16 we see how in verse 17 god sets watchmen over his people calling them to come out of where they are and get up on the old way, the ancient path. As we see in the dream, many do not heed the word of the Lord as it comes to them. Verses 16 and 17 continue to show that these people said, we will not walk in it, nor will we listen or obey. Jeremiah 6, 16, thus says the Lord, stand by the roads and look and ask for the eternal paths where the good old way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls but they said we will not walk in it verse 17 also I set watchmen over you saying hear and obey the sound of the trumpet but they said we will not listen or obey therefore hear O Gentile nation and know O congregation of believing ones what great things I will do to them here oh earth behold I am bringing evil upon this people the fruit of their thoughts their schemes and devices because they have not listened and obeyed my words as for my law they have rejected it Verse 20. To what purposes does frankincense come to me from Sheba in southwestern Arab, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices sweet or pleasing to me. Verse 21, Therefore says the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together will stumble against them. The neighbor and his friend will perish. Thus says the Lord, Behold, a people is coming from the north country, and a great nation is rousing itself from the ends of the earth. Silver light speaks of revelation. Whenever my wife Patricia and I walked forward as the light was shown on the stone, more revelation was sure to come because of obedience to do as the Spirit of the Lord directed. As one is faithful to the commands and precepts of God, he gives more responsibility and reveals more of the individual's purpose and calling. patience is the hardest part of walking with the Holy Spirit the example of Pentecost is a prime example of what I am saying 500 started out from the beginning of this awesome event when in over the course of 10 days the number dwindled down eventually to 120 of those who had actually waited upon the promise of the Holy Spirit's coming This is where many make the deadly error of running ahead of the Lord, and somewhere down the road they actually find themselves shipwrecked, all because they refuse to wait upon God for his timing, his anointing, and direction. Revelation is worth waiting for. To receive the divine light, the silver light in the dream of Revelation, one must learn to wait upon the Lord for the fullness of its meaning. And this is what each mosaic stone represented. It was revelation of the walk. It was revelation of the way and the truth and the promises of God in his divinely appointed time. Once the silver light was shown on the mosaic stone, we proceeded forward because we had the revelation of the Holy Spirit's direction and unction of where we were to take the message of hope and encouragement of the good news of Jesus Christ. The computer and the video clips in the dream represents the prophetic. When the Holy Spirit gives the revelation of the next assignment, it becomes like a living picture, just as we saw in the dream with the two episodes that appeared in the form of a video clip displaying the two apostate events. It seems to be the way that the good Lord and shepherd leads and directs his loyal and obedient servants in the ministry assignments that he lays upon their hearts. Each mosaic stone is likened to the scripture in Isaiah 28.10. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little. As you are obedient and faithful to obey the Lord's instruction, it seems each instruction is requisite to that which you have previously built upon, just like stepping from each mosaic stepping stone to the next. precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little. All are enforced by the other, and just like the stones, they come together like puzzle pieces, and you are privileged to see the part of the distinct picture of God's plan of redemption and salvation for yourself and also for others in a clearer view and perspective. Sometimes the message for the prophet is not an easy one to deliver, But nevertheless, it requires obedience to fulfill what the Lord has directed in order for people to be set free, whether or not they will listen or heed the word of the Lord. Our part is to be obedient. Both my wife, Patricia, and I have been sent to those who have accepted what the Lord had to say to them, and some have not. But we do have to say overall that most have been receptive. Praise the Lord. I am sure that neither Jeremiah, Jonah, or for that matter, any of the other prophets, ask the Lord for their calling. The truth is that God gives the call, and he will go to every extreme to make you well aware that his hand is upon you and that he is calling you to come to work for him. He prepares you first for the assignment by testing your obedience and your character. Every day brings new challenges, but nevertheless, the opportunity to be obedient is entirely up to you and me. It is a matter of choice. God will not use rebels nor lone rangers in his army because the lives of his precious inheritance is at stake. You begin to see and understand in your walk on this unique path and course that both God's love and justice are very precise and distinct. God will only give us more instruction, more authority and insight, as we are faithful to do the little that he entrusts us with, if we do it with a cheerful and willing heart. He tells us, do not despise small beginnings. Lastly, and probably the most important part of this dream, comes at the end when I heard a voice clearly and loudly declare, love of the Lord drives us to go forth. Love of the Lord drives us to go on forth. Remember before the voice spoke out in the dream, all of the mosaic stones were clearly revealed as the silver light was fully shown on them. I could see all the pieces within short range ahead of me. I heard a click of a computer and immediately then I heard a voice declare, Love of the Lord drives us to go on forth. I knew that from this point on the path would be very visible because the silver light was shining on every mosaic stone within our view now. At the point of turning I saw a large mosaic stone and from that vantage point I then made a left hand turn and more stones were then revealed as we proceeded forth on the path. The love of the Lord drives us to go on forth. It's a scripture that is found in 2 Corinthians 5.14. You know, it's so wonderful and awesome that as we eat and feed on God's word, he relates back to us according to his word. 2 Corinthians 5.14 declares, For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus, that if one died for us all, then all died, and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again. Apostle Paul in these verses is representing his Savior, Jesus Christ. He is speaking about reconciling the sinner, and that is what this dream is ultimately showing. As the love of Christ apprehends you, you cannot help but demonstrate that same love back to humankind. We are representatives of our Savior and are called to reconcile the sinner. Paul was very aware that God would someday judge him, and he was compelled by Christ's love. He was eager to proclaim and witness the gospel of Jesus Christ, and so should we as we grow more deeply in love with our beloved Savior and the lover of our souls. The voice I heard in the dream that was declaring, love of the Lord drives, compels, urges, obliges us to go forth, is saying in certain terms that once one has matured to the point of this understanding, that it is Christ's love that drives us onward, and this is because you vividly understand his reason for coming and your reason for being. We are his ambassadors, pleading with the unsaved to receive his offer and be reconciled by his grace. You know, when you come to this point of your Christian walk in life, you know it's no longer you who lives, but it's Christ who lives in you and motivates and drives you to go onward in your chosen assignments. You have the love of Christ shed abroad in your heart, and this causes you to love God quite intensely and to love and labor for the salvation of humankind. It is the effort produced by this love which drives and motivates us to lay our lives down for Christ's sake. We are influenced by the very same love that Jesus Christ had when he came into the world and laid down his life for sinners. This love grows out of deep and intimate fellowship with the one whom you love. His burden rubs off on you. This love for and of Jesus Christ is the desire to spend and be spent for the glory of God and the salvation of immortal souls. How beautiful are the feet of them who bring the good news. Before Jesus would restore Peter back to his position of apostle, after denying him three times, Jesus asked Peter three times in return, Peter, do you love me? The third time Jesus asked Peter this question, Peter began to cry and said with deep heartfelt emotion, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus knows and proved the love that he has for each one of us. But we must know deeply that the same love that Jesus has for each one of us must be worth something that we are willing to die for. We must first die to self and then be willing to die for Christ's sake as we pick up our cross and follow hard after him if we desire to serve him on his terms and in his way. What he requires is not an option to be tried out. It is a matter of life and death. Love is the true incentive to obedience. Romans 10.13 declares, for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, invoking him as Lord will be saved. But how are people to call upon him, whom they've not believed, in whom they've had no faith, on whom they've had no reliance? And how are they to believe in him, of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men be expected to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings. How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of his good things. Isaiah 52.7 declares, How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns. This awesome love of the Lord drives and compels us to go forth and proclaim to the world, Your God reigns. We have an audio message entitled, Does the Love of Christ Control You? And this message can be found on our website, www.shininglight7ministries.com That again is www.ShiningLight7.com You may contact Lee Evans at info at ShiningLight7Ministries.com Again, that is info at ShiningLight7Ministries.com Thank you. A few weeks ago, I was listening to the Internet news, and I heard a very famous woman say, when I heard the pastor of the church that I attend say, God is a jealous God, I thought, well, if he is that type of God, something must be wrong here. This now famous woman was a young woman back in that time that she heard her pastor utter these words. She was sitting in a church listening to a sermon about God being a jealous God. And at that time she was 27 years of age, still a Christian in the Baptist denomination. her mind could not grasp or reconcile the idea with her own negative concept of the word jealousy. So this now famous woman, thinking that it was too far out because of her misunderstanding, was the beginning of the end of her Christianity. So she willingly took the wide road that leads into perdition by veering off into New Age doctrines and beliefs. Today this woman is the champion of millions and millions of television viewers, and she is expressing her own doctrines of the millions of ways to get to heaven. She expresses her own mistaken concepts of biblical beliefs without any understanding of God's word at all. She has openly denied the teachings of scripture, including Jesus Christ as Savior, by asking her viewing audience, how can there be one way to heaven or to God? A lady in her television audience asked her some time ago, well, what about Jesus Christ? And this famous woman retorted back defiantly saying, well, what about Jesus? In the book of Hosea 4.6, the word declares, my people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge because you, the priestly nation, have rejected knowledge. The God of this woman and millions of her followers say that God is simply love and he could not be described as a jealous God. I don't know about you, dear church, but God's jealousy over you should make you feel well-loved and very secure. The root word in Hebrew is often translated to mean zealous, which translates to mean jealous. A visual picture of this is very close to seeing a mother or father guarding their young children. And the concerned parents are not about to let that little child out of their sight or away from their protective care. God had a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel beginning with Abraham. And this relationship is very much like a marriage where a man and a woman agree to exclusive rights and privileges over each other, including absolute faithfulness. Israel had promised to be faithful, and they served the only one true God. Before they entered into the promised land, Moses reminded them by saying in Deuteronomy 4.23, So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which your Lord, the Lord your God, has commanded you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. But the rest of the story here is over and over and over again. Israel broke their part of the covenant agreement with God by rebelling. Deuteronomy 32 verse 16 says, They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not gods, gods they had not known. But you see, God never broke his part of the covenant promise with his people, but his people broke his heart time and time again with their unfaithfulness and disbelief and unbelief. God would become angry with them and just as I had stated he never broke covenant with them. He was always grieved and looked for their return to the path into the love bond that he had originally committed to with his people. God's jealousy, dear church was rooted in his passionate love for his chosen people this love of God is still just as passionate today because God never changes hallelujah, hallelujah but both human and divine jealousy starts with intense emotion but jealousy for we mere creatures of clay is usually considered negative because it implies suspicion, insecurity, intolerance, anger, and hostility. And this is probably what this woman was thinking of when she heard that God was a jealous God that day in her church. It was on this day that she rejected the only one true God and launched off into the darkness arm in arm with the evil one to create a God of her imagination. God is not like man. God is a God whose jealousy guards the objects of his deep affection. He is a God who takes his love and commitment very serious and would never break fidelity. He's jealous over his own. God is passionate about your souls, dear one. He is very passionate about your souls. And a scripture that has really touched me deeply lately is found in Deuteronomy 7, 6, and it says, The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. should we not think that God our Father might not strike the hand of any who might consider interfering with his beloved treasured possession I am glad to know this jealous God I am so thankful to know this jealous God and his love and I have such peace and comfort knowing that my God is jealous over me and I believe you can probably say amen sister to that one too Hallelujah But what this woman doesn know because she didn stay around long enough to learn is that God may be a God of love, but He is also a God of justice and judgment. You see, there are millions upon millions of Christians in the United States who thoroughly believe that Jesus is the Messiah, who was born of a virgin, who died upon the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of mankind. And this woman is actively teaching against these truths and all who know differently find it very appalling. God again says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. it is so very sad to see the multitudes of millions of people today who talk about God and his son Jesus Christ as though they know him but show very little evidence of it in their lives as far as beautiful fruit that comes as a result of this divine attachment and vital union the bottom line and the problem is There is no real or true awe or fear of God that is evidenced in their conversation about Him. They can talk about the love of God, but it reeks of mere vain, empty, and God-forsaken words having no substance to back it up. True awe of God is fear mingled with reverence and wonder. It is a state of mind inspired by something heavenly, supernatural and holy. Ah is a man or woman's attitude of reverential fear towards God. Ah arises out of supernatural awareness that there exists an infinite power that is majestic and manifests itself in the holiness of God, which in turn fills your mind with the fear of God and a dread of violating His law and His word. I believe Paul describes this so well when he says in Romans 11 verse 22, then note and appreciate the gracious kindness and the severity of God. Severity towards those who have fallen, But God's gracious kindness to you, provided, hear this, hear the contingency of his gracious kindness, provided you continue in his grace and abide in his kindness, otherwise you too will be cut off or pruned away. The Living Bible Version says it this way. It puts it so simply said, Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is very hard on those who disobey, but very good to you if you continue to love and trust him. But if you don't, you too will be cut off. God himself clearly says in Exodus 20 verse 5, I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God. You see, God's jealousy demonstrates that he does indeed have similar emotions to our human emotions of jealousy, of vengeance, of anger, patience, and goodness, with the exception of one thing. And that is, please hear this, please incline your ear to this, that none of God's emotions are tainted or corrupted with sin. Nahum 1.2 declares, the Lord is a jealous God in avenging. The Lord avenges and he is full of wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and reserves wrath for his enemies. Verse 3, the Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will by no means clear the guilty. Dear church, when God projects his wrath at a nation or an individual, they are receiving the judgment of God because he hates sin. But listen to this. Hear this. The wrath of God is his love aimed at their sin. God hates sin, but he loves the individual. He will work continually in their lives, trying to fit his truth, his love, and his grace into their belief system. But if they continue to reject him, there will be a time when he will say, the door of my grace is shut unto you. They have sealed their own fate and have chosen eternal death for themselves by rejecting God's Son and His truth and love as it was continually brought to them. We see also in the book of Nahum, dropping down to verse 7, that the prophet says that the Lord is good and kind. The Lord is good and kind. a strength and a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows and he recognizes and has knowledge of and understands those who take refuge and put their trust in him. Well, God certainly has many wonderful traits. He is good and he cares and loves those who trust in him. He is slow to anger and he is great in power. but what is his seemingly less or least attractive emotion that we human creatures might cringe or tremble over? We've been discussing God's jealousy and if you've noticed, Scripture links God's jealousy with his anger. The jealousy of God is an expression of his holiness And he says, I will be zealous or jealous for my holy name, Ezekiel 39. But please understand again, in no sense of the word is God's jealousy or zeal explosive or irrational. It is not a fitful kind of anger, not like that of a man. I hate to watch some of the old movies which depict the God of the Old Testament as being a mysterious, prehistoric, aboriginal force that would break out in a fit of rage against any of his creatures at any given moment for no reason at all. never does God's zeal or wrath border on impulse or inconsistency nor is it demonic in any form or way God's wrath is indeed a terrible reality in both testaments but it always reflects a totally consistent disposition which cannot abide in the presence of sin God's anger never causes him to avenge himself or retaliate as if he were temporarily deranged or irrational When Jesus' anger was demonstrated in the temple over the money changers It is defined as his arousing himself to act against sin The people had turned his father's house into a marketplace God says it is mine to avenge I will repay you see God cannot be God if he should allow sin and rebellion to go unpunished his very character in nature cries out for quite the opposite God hates sin because sin opposes his holiness and there are basically two ways in which God will take vengeance the The first is he becomes distinguished and outstanding and displays his jealousy when he takes charge of those who are being oppressed by the enemy. And secondly, he punishes those who break covenant with him. God loves to show his mercy, his love and kindness. And he spoke to Moses in Exodus 34 verse 5. And we can glimpse a balance of God's compassion and justice in these verses when he spoke to Moses. He says, And he, God, passed in front of Moses proclaiming, The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to a thousand, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. and yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. God himself showed himself to Moses in the glory of his self-existing and his own self-sufficiency when he proclaimed his name earlier in a verse in Exodus saying, I am who I am. and now he makes himself known in the glory of his grace and his goodness. He shows himself here both as compassionate and kind but also as one who will punish iniquity. And we see also in God's words that he is very concerned about his own character and reputation amongst his people. Everything that ultimately threatens his honor, his esteem and reverence may be regarded as the object of his jealousy and vengeance. It would be like an emotion of that of a jealous husband when someone may be paying undue attention to his beloved wife. He cannot and will not tolerate rivalry or interference of any kind. Dear one, our spiritual lives depend upon this tenacious, jealous, and adamant love that our Savior has for us too. You see, the great God Jehovah who spoke to Moses in the burning bush and identified himself as I am who I am, is the same person of the Trinity who spoke in the book of John 8.58, declaring to the people, Before Abraham was born, I am. Jesus Christ is this jealous God whom we have been speaking of here today. Dear ones, Jesus is jealous over your souls. Jesus Christ is the very one who spoke all things visible and invisible into existence. He is extremely jealous over his sovereignty and deity. The whole history of the Bible is showing the record of wars between the eternal living God against mankind's insistent and consistent love and preference of idolatry. The Lord God is a jealous God and he's jealous of his sovereignty. because he has made the heavens and he made the earth and he alone has the right to rule his created being in the way he wills. Without his continual care and activity, the world would not exist. His divine government is the continued activity that is necessary and vital in directing all things to the ends he has chosen in his eternal plan. Man must conform to God's righteousness, to God's holy standards, lest he receive the judgment of his wrath. True righteousness is conformity to God's authoritative standard. Righteousness is a moral concept which lines up with God's character, and God's character is the definition and the source of all righteousness. Therefore man's righteousness is defined in terms with God's holy standards. And this is why Jesus has such a hatred of sin. He paid the debt and the penalty when he spilled his precious blood and went to the cross as the atonement and sacrifice for our sins. Every time we sin, we are in effect saying, I do not accept what you have done on the cross. I am doing as I will do. See, this is just as treasonous as Adam and Eve were in the garden that day when they revolted against the only true and righteous God. Sin attacks the sovereignty of God. Self-righteousness is equally guilty of treason because all sin prides itself in actions which in effect say, I will be saved in my own way. I will pave a road to heaven in my own way. And just like the famous woman who is mesmerizing millions and millions of people all over the earth, the world today, with her New Age teaching and doctrines, not only is Jesus Christ zealous over his sovereignty but he is equally zealous over his glory and his glory is the result again of his nature and acts and we should be very careful and extremely cautious when we do anything for God be assured about one thing dear ones you never want to be guilty of taking credit for anything that you assign as doing for god or in his name never congratulate yourselves or attempt to use pseudo humility in taking credit for anything that pertains to the glory of god all things done in his name or for his glory or the kingdom that which he alone will accept as worthy and acceptable will not have the slightest hint or self-congratulation behind it or attached to it. Vain glory is detestable. Herod did not give God the glory as we read where the worms ate him up. Worms in effect will eat up those guilty of touching the glory of God. Jesus was speaking to a crowd in Mark 9, 48, and describing the lot of sinners and their constant torment and how for disregarding truth and living life on earth as prescribed by God's righteousness and holy standards as it was brought to them. He is also speaking to those who do harm to his little ones by bringing false doctrine and erroneous teachings Jesus said in mark 9 48 quote where their worm which preys on the inhabitants and is a symbol of the wounds inflicted on the man himself by his own sins does not die and the fire is not put out Jesus's words were proclaimed by prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 66 verse 24 and they shall go forth and gaze upon the dead bodies of the rebellious men who have stepped over against me, says the Lord, for their worms shall not die, their fires shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind. And this is saying that we ought to be careful as God's children to walk humbly before our Lord God. This is the torment that is described for those who live in eternal death for all of eternity. Their worms shall never die, shall go in and out and horrify them, and the fire shall never be quenched round about them. You see, the instant we glorify ourselves, we've stepped in front of the one who truly deserves the glory, and we have thrown up a wall between us and have now become his enemy just like Herod. There is much misrepresentation of God today in ministry. There is much dishonor to our Lord Jesus Christ and in his name. And these who have stepped in front of the Lord and shield his glory are dishonoring him and robbing him of his glory. Jesus will be jealous over these people. His jealousy will be shown by his judgment. which, remember again, is his love. His judgment will be projected at them in some way or another to first turn them around to understand their sin of interference. And then if they remain so hardened to his convictions, he will confuse their efforts and eventually show them what they really are, and that is that they are imposters and workers of iniquity. God is jealous over his own in the highest sense of the word dear church He is jealous over yours and my love And he is jealous over our faithfulness and our trust He is jealous over your company and your fellowship He will not let you fall prey to the snares of the enemy Through the likes of imposters or deceivers such as this famous woman that I have mentioned today who is becoming the guru of new age lives. Nor will he allow you to follow false teachers or prophets and other leaders in the fivefold without putting up a fight for your soul. What we're talking about here is called idolatry. The Lord your God is very jealous over your soul. And if your soul is not filled with the truth and the wonders of God's holiness in his word, Satan will make sure that it is being filled with something else. God was always moved to jealousy when his people erred, and as the scripture states, they went a-whoring after other gods. Psalms 106.39 Thus they were defiled by their own works, and they played harlot and practiced idolatry with their own deeds. Therefore the wrath of God kindled against his people insomuch that he abhorred and rejected his own heritage. Our God is a jealous God in the concerns of all self-righteousness, pride, worldly-mindedness, depending on our own capabilities which excludes and inhibits any spiritual humility from being formed within you because you have set up your own idolatry Now, reliant traits oppose God's nature and character, and the Lord our God is looking for the beautiful fruit of transformation. But in these traits are questions. no similarity of his fruit will or can be found. An unsanctified vessel dishonors our Heavenly Father and it provokes his jealousy to respond in correction, a rebuke or punishment fitting to the crime of idolatry. Bottom line of what we are speaking about today in this word of God being jealous over your soul can be summed up in simple words. God is looking for your worship. God is looking for your worship. And when you understand, you can only understand truly that in his presence and in his name, there will be a true sense of the dreadful and fearful respect that God demands that will cause your heart to turn away from everything that is odious and noxious and corrupt to him. We are speaking of sin here, dear one. If the true church of the living God ever catches a hold of this truth, we will see fires of revival lighted all over the earth, and in the name of Jesus, Jesus' name will be lifted up and honored to where people truly can see him. This is the desire of his Father's heart, because this is the only way people can come to the Father. And this is through Jesus Christ, His own Son, whom He dearly loves. Worship in our churches, worship in the hearts of His people will be as King David described in Psalms 5-7 when David said, But as for me, I will enter your house through the abundance of your steadfast love and mercy and I will worship toward and at your holy temple in reverent fear and awe of you, O God. David says he will serve the Lord with fear and praise the Lord as a part of his worship. Moses said, O God, who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, to rejoice before God daily. To express your thankfulness for His goodness, for His love and His mercy in your lives is all a part of your worship to God. The way you live your life that is honorable before God is an expression of your worship to God. The way you treat others, by way of your actions and your words and your deeds, all of which show a resemblance to Christ's nature, are ways that you express your love and your worship to your Savior and his Father in heaven. David said, rejoice with trembling. Our whole service to God, every part of our life, ought to be done by us with reverence and holy fear. This is what David was saying. Paul said, we ought to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. You see, divine worship of God then ought to be comprehended in the way that we live our lives. It must be with the understanding that God is so great, so loving and kind and good, but also that he is dreadful in himself and will not tolerate the personal sinful passions of his people to interfere with their worship of himself. Worship of God must be a fearful thing in right perspective in the way that his majesty and glory and purity demand so that we do not defile or bring strange fire which is sin to the altar and lay it before him as acceptable. God will not be mocked, dear ones. He knows every motive of the heart. Jesus says, when two or three of you are gathered together in my name, I am there. What a privilege and an honor we have collectively as the church. The King of Kings is in our midst. He walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks in the church. His countenance is like the sun, with a head and hair as wide as snow, and with eyes like a flame of fire. This ought to put proper fear and awe into the hearts of true worshipers. And if some of those who were examples defiling the manner in which God tells us that we must come to him in worship would have been obedient, we wouldn't read about them today in scripture. Nadab and Abihu were Aaron's sons and they were burned to death with fire from heaven because they attempted to offer false fire on God's altar. Eli's sons, because of lack of reverence and fear of God, when they ministered in the holy presence of God, were both slain in one day by the sword of the uncircumcised Philistines. Uzzah was destroyed and died before the Lord for rebelling and touching the ark as it appeared to be off balance. But the other men who were alongside it too kept their hands off of it and thus they were spared and blessed. And Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, for telling a lie in the church when they were standing in God's holy presence were both struck dead before all the people. They had no fear or awe-inspiring respect for God's majesty, for His name or glory when they came before Him. These examples should teach us to conclude that next to God's nature, His name and His divine sovereignty, and most of all, His instituted method and way that we come to Him in worship, should be with deep reverence and fear of his almightiness. His name is upon his prescribed method or dictums as far as the way his worshippers can come before him. God is a holy God who is jealous over his holy people who fear his name, who respect his name, and will worship him in spirit and truth. people who come before God once a week at church but have not given him any if little notice during the entire week by spending time in his word or before him in heartfelt devotions expect him to receive or hear their prayers they will be sadly mistaken this is no different than the accounts that we have read where Aaron's two sons brought strange fire to the altar and expected God to receive it. They had not set their eyes nor their hearts upon the Holy One, nor had they a deep understanding of His holiness and His majesty. These treat Jesus Christ as a common thing. God is jealous over His Son, Jesus Christ, in receiving the honor that is due Him, dear Church. And you as a true worshiper of the Most Honorable One must be accepted in the beloved. This is the only way your offering will be acceptable. It cannot be tainted by a sinful life or by half-hearted devotion. This is totally unacceptable to the Lord of the altar. You must be careful that in all that you do for your beloved in the way of service for him is done in faith. Your faith must be deeply rooted in Jesus Christ. If it is not, then it is rooted in yourself. And without faith, it is impossible to please God. You must bring your offering of love, worship and devotion to your high priest and he must present it for us and can only be acceptable to his father if he presents it to him. Jesus Christ is passionate about presenting the best to his father. And we are the reward of his suffering. And he does not present junk or double-minded phonies who pretend to love him to his father. Jesus says to us, the kingdom of God is withi