Author: Mr.ScottV.Black

And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. – 1 Kings 8:10-11 ESV

Warrior;

This should be our MOST DESIRED OUTCOME. To be so filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, to be so STUFFED with HIS WORD, that there is no room for anything else. We must have discernment, the Bible tells us; My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27) When we tune into the voices in our head, we must ask ourselves is this ME (my flesh), is this the devil (the world), or is this MY GOD (my guide, THE WAY), speaking to me? In our heads it all sounds like us, because it is in our head. It is written; The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45) When we are filled with things of the world, we are getting input and narratives from those things that we allow to be IN US. And if this is the case- it might look good on the outside, but the insides are corrupt.

Leader, this is why Jesus was always concerned with the heart. Many times, Jesus would say, “you have heard it is said, but I say….” In other words, He is more concerned with what is in their heart. When a sponge is squeezed, the only thing that can come out of it, is what was put IN IT. He called the religious people of His time; whitewashed tombs, hypocrites, brood of vipers, children of the devil. See Matthew 23:27-28, Matthew 12:34 and 23:33, John 8:44. God is always concerned with what is INSIDE THE HOUSE, versus what the outside of the HOUSE looks like. We are living in tabernacles, tents- temporary dwelling places and our home, if we are children of God- is our Heart, Body and Soul- it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Conduit, in Luke 15:11-32 we read the story of the LOST SON, or the PRODIGAL SON. Might I suggest that we are dealing with 2 lost sons, with 2 prodigal sons. We all know about the one who left and came back to Daddy and GOD ran out to meet him and welcome him home. But many miss the ‘lostness’ of the second son. “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.(Luke 15:28-31) The second son was doing all the right things on the OUTSIDE, but inside was resentment, bitterness and his performance based belief system. It is time to clean out the CRAP from our home, and let only God and HIS WORD, HIS WILL and HIS WAY- occupy our hearts, minds and souls! Can I get a witness! Amen.

“For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, -Isaiah 40:9-11a ESV

Warrior;

It’s NOT about you! We must accept and understand that the universe is about God and HIS glory—and that whatever exalts God’s glory also works for HIS CHILDREN’S ultimate good. Trust in the LORD, the testing, the refining, HE does for HIS sake accrues to our eternal benefit! What do you want? Do you want a happy, easy, life…or do you want ALL that GOD ORDAINED for you, through the use of you, for HIS GLORY?

Leader, when a WARRIOR gets knocked down, they don’t GIVE UP, they GET UP! 1 Peter 4:19 encourages us; Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

Conduit, we think to “love” means to “do no harm,” when it really means “to be willing to do short-term harm for a redemptive purpose.” God loves you and is willing to do whatever it takes to make you more like HIS SON. Trust in the LORD and lean not on your own understandings! Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and HIT IT AGAIN!

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:17-19 ESV

Warrior;

God is immutable, in other words, HE DOES NOT CHANGE: “For I the Lord do not change, therefor you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.; God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?; Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change; The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever. (Malachi 3:6, Numbers 23:19, James 1:17, Isaiah 40:8) And then we get confirmation again in the New Agreement: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

Leader, we must know the word of God and we must beware of how the world wants to change our Word and change our God! WE also must know what God can and cannot do.  God cannot lie, He cannot change His mind, He cannot break a promise, HE CAN NOT CHANGE! God says it and God does it and we are called to be LIKE GOD! Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13) What He speaks, He fulfills, and HE never changes his mind, He is omniscient- All knowing.  For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)

Conduit, the sermon on the mount is God’s instruction manual for our way to LIVE on this planet, so that God will be pleased when He comes to get us and His church in the Rapture.  He clearly tells us that those who PRACTICE certain things will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  It is one thing to struggle, or to stumble- God has made provision for our forgiveness.  However, when we practice something it is the conscious will to do that thing, and we do it regularly, if not daily.  ‘Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Jesus is returning soon and we want to be doing what He has called us to do, and NOT DOING, what HE has told us NOT TO DO!  How do you know what those two categories are?  Read your Word of God, listen to the Word of God, submit to the Word of God- Be doers of the WORD and NOT JUST HEARERS of the word- lest you deceive yourself. (James 1:22) Make sure you are practicing the RIGHT THINGS!  For it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 5:13-16 ESV

Warrior;

One of the strange seemingly dichotomies of a believer is to be IN the world, but NOT BE, OF the world. John 15:19; If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. John 17:14-16; I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. “In” the World: It’s Our Point of Location. “Of” the World: It’s Our Source of Information

Leader, Salt and Light are used as metaphors by Jesus because the world is CORRUPT, and the world is DARK! And if we are going to be IN this corrupt and dark world we are to CHANGE IT, instead of IT, CHANGING US! Based on scripture as bad as things are- they are getting worse! Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12-13) This is a warning to us to not LOSE our SALTINESS or to NOT LOSE our LIGHT! The darker things get in life, the brighter light shines. And the less seasoning and preservation the more IMPACT the salt!

Conduit, the Holy Spirit works through us and we can PRESERVE people and bring FLAVOR to a bland world. Salt can be used as a preservative- to slow down the corruption. Salt can also be used to MELT ICE- or a cold heart- and SALT ads flavor and SALT makes us THIRST! Are you making others THIRST for WHO you follow, for what you BELIEVE? First you are salt then you are light. Salt works from within, light from without. Light allows for others to see what is hidden, light allows others to walk safely in an unsafe environment and light allows for people to walk sure-footedly and with confidence. When light shows up, darkness goes away! Today, add some HEAVENLY FLAVOR to others lives, and add some confidence and clarity to their journey! Help others hunger and thirst for our LORD and help them have eyes to see so they may walk confidently on the narrow path that most people can’t FIND, because it is so dark in this world! Light and Salt- BE SOME and GIVE SOME!

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. – John 5:22-23

Warrior;

Part of Jesus’ MISSION OF INCARNATION was explained to us in the 9th Chapter of John; Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment–to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39) Matthew also told us that Jesus told him and others why HE came; “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34) and right before that he boldly says, “Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven”.

Leader, if you are a CREATURE, if you are a being created by GOD, then your purpose is to GLORIFY GOD. The ONE way we honor GOD is to BELIEVE! In John 6:29 Jesus states this Himself; Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” What a GOOD, GOOD FATHER we have, that HE LOVES HIS SON SO MUCH and He wants us to Love, Honor and CHERISH HIM too! For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see–such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. (Col 1:16)

Conduit, this is the reason for our PURPORTED JOY- JESUS! That is why the BIBLE is given to us; The OLD testament points to the coming of JESUS and the NEW agreement is about JESUS and HIS FINISHED WORK on the cross! Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2) And because of HIM we can claim citizenship in HEAVEN! If we TRULY, TRULY want to honor Jesus then we need to quit ACTING ‘AS IF’ we are citizens of this world! For as Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20; But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ACT- ‘AS IF’. Amen!

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. -Psalm 127:1 ESV

Warrior;

UNLESS THE LORD! This is the POINT, UNLESS THE LORD! What is the PURPOSE of your LIFE? Why were you created? Why do you get up each day, do what you do, go home at night, go to bed and get up the next day and do it again, and again and again and again? What is your purpose? The prophet ISAIAH knew, FROM GOD, what our purpose it: everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:7) God created us for HIS GLORY. The Psalmist tells us He knows our frame (Psalm 103:14) God told us through Jeremiah that He knows us: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”

Leader, we are HERE FOR A PURPOSE! And that Purpose is NOT for our own glory, it is NOT for us to make a NAME FOR OURSELVES, it is NOT for us to see how many toys we can get through our sweat and toil! It is to HONOR GOD and to do the WORK that HE SET OUR FOR US! God knows the PLANS HE HAS FOR US! For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) He has GREAT PLANS that He has set them in motion, see Ephesians 2:10: We have been created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Since God planned it, created us, and is the MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE- UNLESS THE LORD, is the only PROPER beginning and end for our LABOR!

Conduit, on an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. (ACTS 12:21 -23) UNLESS the LORD gets the glory, then we work in vain! As we celebrate LABOR DAY lets make sure we LABOR NOT IN VAIN; Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor 15:58) We need to be like Jesus and there should be no doubt about what we are doing! And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? (Luke 2:49) And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17) LABOR IN LOVE for the LORD and HIS GLORY- otherwise we labor in vain! LABOR for THE LORD!

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. – Exodus 1:15-21 ESV

Warrior;

The World tells us to DREAM BIG, but sometimes we need to DREAM SMALL- to be used by God in a BIG WAY! We can change the WORLD for GOD, BY changing our WORLD, based on our DESIRE to live a good life and our FEAR OF THE LORD! The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. (Proverbs 9:10-11) Interesting, there are still debates on the name of the KING of EGYPT at the time, for his is NOT named, but we know the names of the 2 Egyptian midwives!

Leader, Shiphrah and Puah give us shining examples of this understanding of the power of the FEAR OF THE LORD. And consider their circumstances, they were NOBODY in the world. In this scripture verse we have the PHARAOH who rules the most powerful nation, at that time- he got to play BIG. And then there were midwives, who were NOBODY’s in the world, who were playing SMALL in their own little world, but they allowed for one of the greatest events in the HISTORY of the WORLD, the birth and survival of one of the most important MEN in the HISTORY of the WORLD- Moses! It was their FEAR of the LORD that guided them. They were most likely EGYPTIAN, not HEBREW and their FEAR OF THE LORD, directed them to be used by GOD in a BIG WAY!

Conduit, you don’t need to go to a foreign country to serve the LORD! You don’t need to GO ON A MISSION TRIP, you are in your MISSION FIELD! Your life is your MINISTRY, God will use you, if you will just have AWE and REVERENCE for the GOD who made it all; Yahweh, Jehovah, El-Elyon, El-Shaddai, Elohim, Adonai! Let me introduce you to the SIMPLE Path- SEE A NEED, MEET THAT NEED! Avail and COMMIT soldier! Here I am Lord, USE ME- I am your hands and feet and HEART! Love the LORD and Love the stranger and let everything else become everything else! Josh Wilson wrote a great song, “Play Small” and it shows you the power you have to be used by God and to change your WORLD and those whose worlds rotate around yours! “It’s a momma singing songs about the Lord. It’s a daddy spending family time that the world said he cannot afford. These simple moments change the world. It’s a pastor at a tiny little Church, forty years of loving for the broken and the hurt. These simple moments change the world. Dream small, don’t bother like you’ve gotta do it all-Just let Jesus use you where you are.” Today, FEAR THE LORD and DREAM SMALL!