Tag: sacrifice

January 13, 2023 – Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

With your voice, you become a tithe of everything that you are not just your finances, but your life, your voice, your being, your personality, your gifts, your talents, and everything you have.

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Good morning,
 
I invested in you, so I say spill it out at the altar, spill it out upon Me, your sacrifice of worship, and you will see a hundredfold return. Those who have been short inside of themselves, I will replenish everything given for the kingdom. I will cause you to multiply in every capacity and in every way, spirit soul, and body. I will not restrain nor hold back from you, everything that I ordained for you to walk in, for you to see,  for you to hear, and for you to accomplish. You will begin to explode from within and you will come forth. It is a coming out day for My children, as you begin to see who I have really made you to be, and how overwhelming it can be, to the soul, your mind, will, and emotions. The enemy has tried to keep you down with his words. He has had no problem in tithing all of his words against you and getting you at times to use them against yourself. But I say to you today, give everything that you have, all of your words, your joy, your peace, everything that I placed on the inside of you, spill out and spill over until you are overcome with where you are brought to. You will open your eyes and see that you are no longer earthbound but that you have stepped over into the heavenlies.  Seeing in the realm of the spirit those insights that were waiting for your eyes to open clearly and see. I have longed for you to come to this place because you have come to the end of all of your plans, all your ideals, all the things that were inside of you, that were not from Me, now you can receive more of the best that I held for you. I will cause you to overflow into My goodness, joy, peace, and prosperity in your whole being. This is the season of My children and they are coming out, those who have been called and ordained by Me, are coming out they will no longer be held back by circumstances or situations, they are coming out declaring with their own voice.
 
    "One generation shall praise Your works to another. And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts." (Ps. 145:4)
 
    "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Is. 55:11)
 
    "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view 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) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]." (Rom. 12:1-2)
 
Love,
 
Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

    We will continue to discuss holiness of the heart, which is simple obedience. We saw that King David
had a repentant heart, when his sin was revealed by the Prophet Nathan. 
There was even serious consequences of his sin, even after he had
repented.  When we sow seeds, there is an expected harvest, whether good
or bad.  God is not mocked whatever seeds we sow that and that alone
will bring our harvest. (Gal.6:7)  The scripture goes on to tell us; "For
he who sows to his own flesh (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."  "But let every person carefully scrutinize and examine and test his own conduct and his own work. " (Gal.6:8 and verse 4)

    Now, let's look at the heart of another king and how he responded when the sin of his heart was revealed.  Remember a simple definition for holiness is obedience to God and His Word with a yielded heart of humility.  We
will pick up the account after Samuel the prophet told Saul the king,
to wait until he came to meet with the king and offer the sacrifices of
The Lord for the armies of Israel.  You can read I Samuel 13:1-14. "
Saul waited seven days, according to the set time Samuel had appointed. 
But Samuel had not come to Gilgal, and  the people were scattering from
Saul.  So Saul said, Bring me the burnt offering
and the peace offerings.  And he offered the burnt offering [which he
was forbidden to do].  And just as he finished offering the burnt
offering,
behold, Samuel came!  Saul went out to meet and greet him.  Samuel said,
What have you done?  Saul said, Because I saw that the people were
scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days
appointed, and that the Philistines assembled at Michmash…. So I forced myself to offer a burnt offering." (that is usually how we say that we ended up in sins, shortcomings, faults etc.)  "And
Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly!  You have not kept the
commandment of the Lord your God which He commanded you; for the Lord
would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.  But now your
kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out [David] a man after
His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince and ruler
over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded."  We
must obey God in the simple things, that is the testing and proving
ground for the one who will obey.  We can not go around picking and
choosing what we'd like to do and nullifying the rest of God's Word, because it is difficult on our flesh.
    Now let's see if there was a heart change in king Saul. 
Samuel gives Saul a Word from the Lord, that he was to utterly destroy
all of the Amalekites, men, women, infants , ox, sheep, camels and
donkeys.  We know that Saul took the king of the Amalekites alive, and
he kept the best of the sheep, ox, camels, all that was good, Saul
kept.  Listen to the voice of the Lord; "Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, I regret making Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not performed My commands.  And Samuel was grieved and angry [with Saul] and he cried all night." (I Samuel 15:10-11).  Samuel
went to meet Saul and of course he heard and saw Saul's disobedience to
the Lord.  Saul, blamed his sin and disobedience on everybody else. 
Samuel reminded Saul that when he was small in his own eyes, God made
him ruler over Israel.  He told him again of the assignment that the
Lord sent him on, to utterly destroy the Amalekites.  Yet, Saul
consistently said that he did obey God. (I Samuel 15:18-20)  "And Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."  Listen, to the very next words, get it in your heart!  "For rebellion (disobedience to God's Word) is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness (insisting on your way, becoming hardhearted to God) is
as iniquity and idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the
Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.  And Saul said to
Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the
Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their
voice.  Now, I pray you pardon my sin and go back with me that I may
worship the Lord.(verse 23-24)  Do
you notice the difference of the heart of Saul compared to the heart of
David?  Saul hasn't yet repented of his sin.  He wants to look right in
the eyes of his people.  The words that he is saying are not coming from
a broken and contrite heart,(the one that God will not despise).  They
are coming from a prideful and arrogant heart, that needs to be noticed
as one that is respected.  Why do you say that Pastor D?  Let's look at
Saul's heart. "And as Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of Samuel's mantle and it tore.  And Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it
to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. (David)  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie or repent; for He is not man that He should repent.  Saul said I have sinned, yet honor me now, I pray you.  Before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.' (verses 27-30) 
    Saul did reap his harvest, for not repenting.  He
lost the kingdom and also lost his mind and the respect of the people
that he was trying to impress.  Obeying God is better than any sacrifice
that you think is more worthy than yielding to His Word.  When we sow to
the flesh we reap a harvest of death and decay.  Remember, "If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.  But
if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the
mouth of the Lord has spoken it." (Isaiah 1:19-20)  It is the heart that consents, or is willing to obey that ends up obeying.  Will to obey and you will obey!
 

Love,

Pastor D.