Depart from Me, I never knew you.

I Never Knew You  Matthew 7

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Good Morning. These words, depart from Me, I never knew you, are the final words that some will hear from the Lord and forever be separated from His presence! The interesting words I see here from these same people that will be forever separated from Jesus also will say on Judgment Day “‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” What that says to me is that there are people masquerating around in the church as Christians who never personally knew Jesus! Their motives are far from bringing glory to God through obeying Him, but to bring attention to themselves. These people bring division and strife into any church! May we pray that does not happen in our church or your church. May we all be servants to our Lord and hear  these words on Judgment Day: ” Well done My good and faithful servant …..enter into the joys of the Lord!”(Matthew 25:21) God bless.

Love in Christ, Terry June 25, 2024 See Blog: walkinwithjesusbyhisword.wordpress.com

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Keeping God’s commandments.

Guidance for God’s people. Proverbs 3

1 My son, do not forget my law,
But let your heart keep my commands;
2 For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and [a]high esteem

In the sight of God and man.

Good Morning. Many places in the bible we are asked to keep and obey God’s commands. Here in our text, we see a special promise God gives to all who keep his word and obey Him. Length of days and a long life and peace will be given to those who keep God’s word through Jesus our Lord. Jesus tells His disciples if they continue in His word they will know the truth and the truth will make them free (John  8:31,32)! Also, we see here in verses three and four that if we have mercy and truth in our hearts we will find favor and high esteem with God and man. We as Christians can never go wrong with knowing and obeying God’s word! God bless.

Love in Christ, Terry June 22, 2024

The Foundation, the Building, the Reward.

The Building Material. 1 Corinthians 3

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Good Morning. Yesterday we spoke of works a Christian does that are selfish in nature. They were represented as works that are perishable such as hay, wood and stubble. These kinds of works, which are self-centered will be burned up in the judgment seat (Bema) of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). Today we will discuss non-perishable works, these works are durable and withstand the fire of judgment!  They are represented here as precious stones, silver and gold. They are works for Jesus done for the glory of God. They might be works such as teaching, preaching, witnessing or loving people. These are durable works that withstand the firey judgment of Christ. These works will be rewarded! God remembers to give a reward if someone gives even a cup of water in His name. God also writes His Book of Remembrance for those who reverence and honor the Lord (Malachi 3:16). Daniel 12:3 “….And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.” So we see that God not only remembers but He rewards His children for their/our service to Him through Jesus! Remember too that this is a judgment on our works only not our salvation which Jesus paid for on the cross. God bless.

Love in Christ, Terry June 21, 2024 

The Foundation, the Building, the Reward.

The Building Material of Hay, Wood, and Stubble.  1Corinthians 3:11     
                                             11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Good Morning. In 2Corinthians 5:10 we see that we must ALL stand before the judgment seat of Christ to answer what we did in our bodies whether good or bad! Here in our text are reassured of that reality! Jesus is the foundation of our faith and it is how we build on this foundation. Our works can be self-motivated or Christ-motivated and our rewards given to us by God will reflect to which one we have given our allegiance to. Our selfish motives are represented here by the materials used. Notice some materials are durable while others are perishable. The materials must be able to stand up to the fiery trial by which Christ judges us and as we view these materials we see that hay, wood, and, stubble do not stand up to fire very well! These are the self-motivated works we do to gain attention and there are no rewards offered for these works because they are burned up. Remember these works represent rewards, not salvation. The people in this judgment are born-again believers and they/we will be saved but these selfish works shall be burned up! Tomorrow we will discuss the durable works of gold, silver and precious stones. God bless.

Love in Christ, Terry June 20, 2024 

The Foundation, the Building, the Reward. Pt1

• Christ is the foundation. 1Corinthians 2
  9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
  
  Good Morning. Here in our text, we see that God uses people to accomplish His work on earth. The reality of faith is demonstrated in God’s people. The world sees a part of God in God’s Christian people, the church. We as Christians are His building where God lives through the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who encourages us to go forth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is God through His Holy Spirit who motivates us to teach, preach and witness etc. for Christ in the world! Is preaching, teaching, witnessing the gospel a reality to you and I? Paul is telling us here that by God’s grace he has laid a foundation for our faith and that foundation is Jesus. You and I are called to build on that foundation. How are we doing building on this foundation which is Christ ? Tomorrow the results of building on this foundation. God bless.
• Love in Christ, Terry June 19, 2024

Sin. Pt5

All Have Sinned. Romans 3

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

10 As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;11 There is none who understands;There is none who seeks after God.12 They have all turned aside;They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Good Morning. Here in our text this morning we see a  

righteous perspective of a Holy God’s viewpoint of mankind. ALL have sinned, there is no one person except Jesus who ever walked this earth sinless. No matter how good we have been throughout our lives we ALL still have a sin problem to be dealt with and the only One that can remove, forgive, pardon and remove that sin is Jesus Christ. God requires that for anybody to come into His presence in Heaven for they must come and believe in Jesus Christ! His shed blood is what cleans away sin! By trusting Jesus as our personal Savior we are made the righteousness of God and receive eternal life in Jesus and God the Father sees our sins NO MORE! That is what is called justification or seen as righteous and sinless in the eyes of God! One more thought on that subject of eternal life and being made righteous, God gives us this completely free as a gift when we believe and trust in Jesus. We are told this in Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the [h]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Tell someone today! God bless.

Love in Christ, Terry June 12, 2024 

Sin. Pt4

Loving God Under Trials  James 1

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Good Morning. Temptations are something every one of us has to endure throughout our entire lives! Temptations have their purpose in life, if we endure and resist them without falling victim to them God promises the Christian a Crown of Life! All our temptations arise from our mortal enemy, the world and our own sinful nature. God tempts no one because He cannot present evil to anyone! Inside every human there is a desire to sin, his own lusts create that desire. When one is enticed by desire and lust this gives way to sin and when sin is finished it gives way to death! So lust and sin are bound up in the heart of man because mankind is born into the original sin of Adam. This is a powerful desire and it takes the blood of Jesus to take away this powerful desire to sin and Jesus through love and the power of the Holy Spirit can overcome it! This victory over these trials of faith according to Peter is more precious than gold (Peter 1:6,7)! Stay in the race victory in Jesus is right around the corner! Amen.

Love in Christ, Terry June 11, 2024 See Blog: walkingwithjesusbyhisword.wordpress.com

Sin. Pt3

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God  Romans 6 

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were [e]delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness [f]for holiness.

Good Morning. These verses certainly tell the truth about how a person can become entangled in sin and sin becomes their master controlling their lives. Look at how many people get addicted to illegal drugs and alcohol or other immoral activities. Even after serving years in prison, many come out of prison doing the same thing that put them in prison! We see the stranglehold sin can have to make one a slave (servant) to it. Conversely, we see that a Christian can become a servant to God through Jesus Christ ( The bondage breaker) and live in freedom and righteousness. This righteousness leads one to holiness which causes a Christian to live a life separate from the world and devoted to God. All this is possible for the Christian because Jesus through the Holy Spirit gives one the power to live for God! In our flesh or living for the flesh, we distance ourselves from God and sin can enter in, but if we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit Jesus will become close to our hearts and we will have the joy of living for our Lord and be freed from sin’s bondage! God bless.

Love in Christ, Terry June 10, 2024 See Blog: walkingwithjesusbyhisword.wordpress.com

ABIDING Pt2

John 15 Abiding in God’s love.

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 

Good Morning. To remain in God’s love one must consider partaking in God’s plan. Jesus loved the Father and the Father loved Jesus, and here to abide (remain) in that love Jesus gives the secret to abiding in that loving relationship. That relationship was grounded in Jesus keeping the commands of the Father! Jesus completely did the will of His Father and this allowed Jesus to be in a continual and close relationship with Him. Lastly, we see here the pathway to real joy is obeying Jesus’ commandment to love one another just as Jesus loves us! This is what brings fullness of joy to one’s life! God bless.

Love in Christ, Terry June 7, 2024

ABIDING.

• John 15  Abiding in Jesus.
  4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 
  Good Morning. I believe the key word in our passage today is abide. Abide has the meaning of remaining or staying, like remaining at home. We abide at home or remain there as a branch abides in the vine. Jesus is telling us that in order to bear fruit for Him we must abide in Him. What can we do that would allow us (Christians) to abide in Him? There are five things I can think of to cause us to abide in Jesus. The first is to give your heart to Him believing in Him as Lord and Savior. The second thing is to study and obey His word, the bible. The third thing is to pray often to the Father in Jesus’ name. The fourth thing to allow us to abide (remain) in Jesus is to tell others of His gospel. One more thing I would like to add to the list to enable us to abide in Jesus is to have fellowship with other Christians. These things can allow us to be fruitful for our Lord. The fruits of the Holy Spirit will become more prevalent in our lives and maybe Jesus would allow us to lead a lost soul to Him. All the successful things we accomplish for God can only happen through Jesus, for without Him we can do nothing! God bless. Love in Christ, Terry June 6, 2024 PS. Remembering back 80 years on this day our brave allies invaded Normandy France to take out a ruthless dictator and free Europe of this evil. We must never forget their ultimate sacrifice!