HAPPY NON GOD GOVERNED INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Seeing that today is independence day I just wanted to remind all of you that the choice to be independent was a reflection of man's rebellion against God and his rule over them. So as we celebrate independence let us truly understand that true independence is when we are liberated from the bondage of sin and we are in right standing with God.

Check this story out in the bible:

1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

1Sa 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

1Sa 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

1Sa 8:10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.

1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

1Sa 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

1Sa 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

1Sa 8:14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

1Sa 8:15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

1Sa 8:16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

1Sa 8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

1Sa 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

1Sa 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

1Sa 8:20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

1Sa 8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.

1Sa 8:22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

1. Samuel heard that the people of Israel wanted a King even though God was their king.
2. He proceeds to go to God and tell them that they do not want him but they want a king.
3. God tells Samuel to tell them everything that a king would do to them, which includes:

• Taking your sons
• Taking your daughters
• Taxing
• Putting you to work

4. After all that is said, they still asked for a King...

You see the Israelites were being ungrateful and not trusting in their God because they could not see him and all the other nations had a King.... so they wanted one too.
They would pay for it dearly with the amount of corrupt kings that passed through........ but hey that is what they wanted....

So nex time you think about independence.... think if the israelites independence and what it caused them to not TRUST IN GOD.

May God Bless Our Nation.

THE SWEETEST SIN

ESV

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

Gen 3:3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

Gen 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

Gen 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

FOR YOU HARDCORE KING JAMESERS OUT THERE.....

KJV

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

Gen 3:3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

Gen 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

Gen 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

And thus was the first ever recorded sin. It so happens that this scenario provides a model for how sin appears to us. This model can be applied to many other appearances of sin. Let's analyze

QUESTIONING

In order to decieve someone, you should at least know what they think about somehting. That way you will know how to question them and which angle to tackle them from to get the most effective deceit. Think of someone you are trying to decieve, you can easily decieve someone that you know closely because you know how to work around them.

So satan asks a question...... 'Did God actually say that?"

He needs to know what is the woman's stance to formulate a plan of appraoch.

IMPLANT DOUBT

So now that he knows her stance is based on what God said..... he inserts doubt. "You will not surely die but you will be like God"

So now Eve has two stances in her mind, the commandment of God and the question of WHAT IF?

Notice the serpent never physically does anything to her, he MENTALY does it... He attacks the mind and then let's you make the decision.

THE ACTION OF SINNING - Gen 3:6

IT IS GOOD FOR YOU - "was good for food"

The resounding quality of a good sin (pun intended) is that it is in your best interest if you do it.

Things like "it's in your best interest if you do" or "It will work out better this way" or "This will make it easier" always come to mind.

So it appeals to the natural senses of wellbeing. The inate need for a human being to have it as easy as possible.

EG: A man who steals thinks that the money is good for him to buy what he wants.

IT IS PLEASURABLE - "and that it was a delight to the eyes"

Not only is it good for you, but it is pleasurable too. Buckleys is good for you, but it is not pleasurable. Bush tea is good, but it is not pleasurable. Steamed brocolli is good for you, but it is not........ pleasurable. Sin is not good for you..... but it's PLEASURABLE

Sin is pleasurable, it gives a since of fulfullment and niceness that makes you feel special.

The thing about this special is that YOU MAKE YOU feel special.

EG: When my wife and I were courting ......... she was a delight to the EYES!....... i'm sure it would have been pleasurable.... definitely was not good for me.

IT GIVES YOU POWER - " and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise"

If knowledge is power, then Wisdom is supreme power becuase wisdom is the application of knowledge effectively.

EG: Corrupt politicians. They commit sins to get into power, because..... well you get power to control.... what more does a sinful human being want?

YOU COMMIT THE SIN - " she took of its fruit and ate"

What's left to do besides perform the action. Sin is not just the action, there is a mental build up that we see and the action is just the manifestation but in reality 100% of the sin has already taken place in the mind! The physical manifestation is just the seal!

EG: Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

YOU SHARE - "and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. "

We often look for someone to share this sin with because, we won't take the fall for ourselves. At worst we try to justify our sin so that it becomes acceptable.....This sharing process, uses the same attack on the mind.

That's what Satan did.... he passed it on... and guess what Eve passed it on, Adam passed it on.... Cain passed it on..... Children of israel passed it on.... David Passed it on.... BUT..... Jesus DID NOT...... he took it on his shoulders!

What we have to realise is that Sin happens in the mind. There is a build up to sin that preceeds the action. The sin happens in our mind and we are held accountable for it. There is no simpler indicaiton of this than the command from God to "renew our minds"

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Being of this world means that you belong to sin. because all that is in the world is?......

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Practically we are not to sin as Christians. It's not that easy though.... because sin is deceitful as we see with Eve... what we have to do, is 2 things. Fight the battle externally and fight the battle internally.

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

By putting on the whole armor we make it harder for stan to find a loophole to get to our minds. When we are fully armored he has to think twice about how to implant doubt because we are fit and ready for battle.

CONSTANTLY FEED THE SPIRIT SO THAT THE FLESH WILL NOT BE GRATIFIED

(ESV)

Rom 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Rom 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Rom 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

Rom 7:23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Verse 25 says I myself serve the law of God with my MIND!

(this could go a whole lot deeper)

Constantly feeding your spirit, automatically starves the flesh.

When you surround yourself with things of God your spirit feeds on it and grows...... hence the flesh is starved and can no longer battle with the spirit of God inside of you...

The things you watch, listen to, read, promote, speak, friends you associate with, people you listen to....
all these things contribute to the growth of your spirit..... and ultimately determines the outcome of the battle in your mind...

remember, a Christian is not sinless........... but he/she does sinLESS.

Christianitree pt4 - Seasons/Legacy

Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

SEASONS

It is known that trees bear fruit seasonally. Seasonally meaning that they have a time when they are abundant with fruit and a time when they seem dormant. The thing about these dormant times is that they are often the times when the plant is storing up and preparing for the next batch of fruit.

Mar 13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

Agriculture was a big part of Jewish upbringing in those days. They knew all about trees planting and clutivating. Jesus was a Jew of course and he knew all about agriculture. This is why of course he used so many parables of seeds and trees to give examples of the kingdom of God to his followers.

What he points out here is a tree in season. Don't look at this scripture for it's context cuz it really speaks about the signs of the return of the King Jesus. The fact is that the bible shows that Jesus spoke about a tree in season and things to look for in its progress.

There are a few things to look for in your seasons.

Pouring Out - When the tree bears fruit

Php 2:17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. (ESV)

Php 2:17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.

Pouring out and rejuvination are key parts of a Christian's life. Constantly pouring out into others drains you becase you are taking something that is inside of you and pouring it out into use.

Paul was pouring out his life into the Phillipians so that their faith would be strengthened..He was letting them eat his fruit wholeheartedly.

The same thing was happening to Jesus. He often retreated to the hills to pray and store up in his spiritual room to be able to give out more.

It also gives us a chance to take stock of where we are and what we are doing and how it is progressing and what instructions we have to carry out next. This is where we pray and read God's word to continue to thicken that bark that was spoken about in Christianitree pt2.

You see the growth of the tree does not stop when it bears it's first fruit, it continues to do all the things that it did when it was working it's way up to fruit statge... just that now it goes through seasons of bearing and seasons of strengthening until it's growth slows. However, this growth does not stop, internally the tree constantly needs to be pulling from the soil to get minerals to sustain it's growth..... if it does not it's fruit will come out smaller.

Refreshing - When the tree rejuvinates and takes from the soil again

Isa 40:31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. Simply means, you can't continually bear fruit without waiting on God. In the seasons of your life and bearing fruit for others people who are hungry will always want to eat. When you meet a hungry person they may cling to you because they are getting good fruit to eat.

Mat 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

Before the greatest pour out ever........ JESUS WENT TO PRAY. Here he had one of the most intense conversations with God recorded in the bible. What he was about to do was pour out himself for the WHOLE OF MANKIND.

So pouring out and refreshing can be likened unto the seasons of a tree bearing fruit. It shows the cycle that needs to take place to effectively bear fruit, not just any fruit but desired fruit that takes time to bear.

LEGACY

What happens when the tree dies? Does it immediately fall to the ground and no longer exist?

No that only happens to the small trees who have no foundation in the earth.

The really big trees who have brought forth much fruit and have spread their branches far and wide stay in the forest for years and years after...... as a hallmark of the forest for all other trees to see and use as an example.

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Now this cloud is not a literal cloud in the sky. Cloud here is used in the context of such a large mass or large figure. It says great cloud of witnesses who were the witnesses. The heroes of the faith listed in Heb 11. These people examplified faith in God. They stood out so much so that they were given honorable mention in the new testament as a sort of example of what you are to be when you have faith in GOD. However...........

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;

Looking unto JESUS. THE BEST LEGACY EVER LEFT ON THIS EARTH.

Even though we have the likes of David and Abraham etc to follow, these men were all fallen human beings trying to live up to God's standard. They should be followed, but only to a point..... Jesus is the only one who was worthy enough to redeem man and hence is the only person worthy of putting all our faith in.

His branches have spread so far and wide and his fruit had fed so much that he is the only example in the whole forest that every tree should follow. There are many other trees that leave a great legacy, but the tree of trees is Jesus.

As a tree, you don't stop bearing fruit until you are dead. Christianity is not finished when you get old or pass a certain age. It never stops, you never stop bearing fruit, you never stop feeding others, you never stop rejuvinating .... you just continue to grow until you die and you leave a legacy that casts an imprint on the whole forest to look up to.

Christianitree pt3 - Flowers/Fruits

Psalm 1:3

Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

1. FLOWERS

As we begin to bear flowers we start to see some color in our christianity. Flowers are mainly there to attract animals. Humans count as animals also. When we bear our flowers we attract animals who come for nectar, but we also give an indication to the forest that fruit is comming soon. When an animal knows this they prepare to eat.

This is the same way our ministries are; we are to work at our ministries or giftings so that they become appealing to choice animals, meaning the ones we have to impact. Our section of the vineard as it were. When it becomes appealing those that are attracted to it genuinely would be glad to see the fruit and eat it.

Mat 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Mat 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Mat 4:25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

Here we see Jesus going about ministering to people and because of this they followed him. His ministry was such that peoeple were so impacted that they wanted to be around him more and more.

What was Jesus' response to his following......

Matthew 5 & 6 & 7........ The great sermon on the mount.

Here Jesus started to bear edible fruit for the people to eat and digest. He was healing and performing maricles before ... but this was hardcore teaching and impartation. The people were eating from his tree... digesting and seeds were germinating....

Some of the things he was saying were:

Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Coming down to the end of the sermon this is what he said.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

He ensured that what he was doing had the message of salvation in it.

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

The people were astonished, amazed, and interested.

THEY FOLLOWED HIM.

Mat 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

They marveled at his flowers and they were ready to eat his fruit.

2. FRUIT

When the fruit begins to bear those that were watching the flowers now get a chance to eat.

If we study fruits a little more we can see that certiain fruits carry different weightings of minerals. What this means is that your fruit may have greater emphasis on love, because those that need to hear of love would come and eat yours. Some may have high amounts of peace, some loaded with longsuffering.

Jesus was the most complete example of fruit in the bible and that is what we have to strive to become. When we examine the fruit of the Spirit, we can see all of them, not just in Jesus' teachings but in his actions also.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

LOVE - the brotherly love expressed that does not think wrong of people.

agapē

ag-ah'-pay

From G25; love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: - (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.

JOY - The calm delight that is expressed by our daily lives.

chara

khar-ah'

From G5463; cheerfulness, that is, calm delight: - gladness, X greatly, (X be exceeding) joy (-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous).

PEACE - oneness, quetness.... rest...... contentment.

eirēnē

i-rah'-nay

Probably from a primary verb εἴρω eirō (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication prosperity: - one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.

LONGSUFFERING - patience, not ill tempered, enduring.

makrothumia

mak-roth-oo-mee'-ah

From the same as G3116; longanimity, that is, (objectively) forbearance or (subjectively) fortitude: - longsuffering, patience.

GENTLENESS - kindness and graciousness. Not a gentle touch but it really means kindness to other people, extension of grace to others. Good deeds.

chrēstotēs

khray-stot'-ace

From G5543; usefulness, that is, moral excellence (in character or demeanor): - gentleness, good (-ness), kindness.

GOODNESS - The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity.

agathōsunē

ag-ath-o-soo'-nay

From G18; goodness, that is, virtue or beneficence: - goodness.

FAITH - reliance upon Christ. He was always speaking in the context of Christ. This must be evident that you depend on Christ for all things.

pistis

pis'-tis

From G3982; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

MEEKNESS - humility not pride.

praotēs

prah-ot'-ace

From G4235; gentleness; by implication humility: - meekness.

TEMPERANCE - self control. But not just self control in anger! Self crontrol in all things eg. eating, joking, playing etc. This is always confused for angry people, but it is self control in all things that you do.

egkrateia

eng-krat'-i-ah

From G1468; self control (especially continence): - temperance.

There is a reason that Paul said against such there is no law. Galatia was one of the first places to be Christianized and they had a controversy of wether they had to be circumcized or not to be considered Christians.

Paul was a major proponent of the arguement that there needed to be no outward works or requirements to be saved. so he in his letter laid out what one should look for instead of circumcision... look for fruit in the person's life.

So we can't look for people who go to Church, or who wear certain types of garments or practice certain rituals.... We have to look for fruit from a person's life.

The fruit in your life is the goal of your Christianity... nothing less!

BEAR FRUIT

Christianitree pt2 - Bark/Branches/Leaves

Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivulets of water that brings forth its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf shall not wither, and all which he does shall be blessed.

BARK

1. The Bark and how to strengthen it. This is done via consistent reading of the word of God. Consistent gains in knewledge and understanding build a syatem of operation in your life and establishes a framework for propper feeding on the soil.

Xylem

The xylem is responsible for the transport of water and soluble mineral nutrients from the roots throughout the plant.

It is constructed via a series of tubes that work in union with each other. There is a set order of how things should move. Within this framework the plant gets it's nutrients from the roots.

The two main things that we do in our christian walk that establishes a set order of growth in our life is simple.

Studying

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Praying

Mar 6:46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.

You can never go wrong with such a foundation.

"read your bible pray everyday and you grow, grow, grow"

That song does not lie.

Feeding your bark does not only cause you to grow, but it gives your branches a better chance of stretching to places where sunlight is abundant and it can get CO2 to produce energy to bring forth flowers.

BRANCHES

2. Branches stretch out and grow leaves. Branches try to give leaves the best chance to receive sunlight. Stretching out far and wide. We to must stretch and try different things, different ministries, explore our giftings and see where we fall in.

Branching out is one of the most difficult things that one can do. It takes you out of your comfort zone. You have to do things you would not normally do all for the sake of Christ.

What really is branching out?....

Simple story.

There was a guy in a boat, who was all well and good inside and he was Jesus walking on the water.

Mat 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

Mat 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

Mat 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Mat 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Mat 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

What Peter did was step out and try something that he did not think he could do. Or he could have been thinking that he could do it. Either way he branched out from his comfort zone to meet Jesus somewhere else. He had faith that what he was going to do, God called him and he was going with the purpose of fulfilling Jesus' call.

Often times we get comfortable and don't want to spread out our branches... we stay in the boat and don't try to walk on water.

How do we practically stretch out our branches?

There are many activities in the Local Church that we can become active in. At the bark and branch stage local church involvement is the most important part. It is important because this is the stage where we start to see where our fruits are going to be brought forth.

Try Dance

Try Choir

Try Cleaning

Try Sunday School

Try Youth Secretary

Try Prayer Meeting

Try Music

Try Ushering

SPREAD YOUR BRANCHES.... you will never know which ministry is yours and where you are destined to bear fruit!

If you don't try, you will be in your comfort zone and you will be sitting down on your gifts. So yes, you will be an established tree, but you won't be bringing forth any fruit which is THE GOAL.

LEAVES

3. The leaves assist in making energy for the tree. When a leaf finds a favourable spot and conditions it gives rise to potential for a flower. When you settle yourself in your calling u start to work and prepare things to bring forth flowers....then fruit.

Photosynthesis[a] is a process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.

The purpose of the leaf is to produce sugars and material for the tree to flourish. It gets in a good position and takes the sunlight that it can get to convert it to minerals that the plant can use.

Col 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

Act 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

Act 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

The Local Church

The local church is not here to nurture you for your whole life just like a parent is not there to nurture you for your whole life. It is here to provide an environment where you can grow in God and then go forth. If Christ is the temple he was not there all the time, there came a time that he had to go. During that time whith his disciples however he imparted enough to them and they grew enough by doing different things such as feeding, healing, praying, teaching etc. These things were solidified when jesus said

Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

The Local Church is supposed to create a springboard of people that go out to impact the world. They don't have to leave the church membership but people have to spread their branches and find what the Lord has for them to do in this earth and begin to work in it.

AUGUST 09 MIXTAPE

IT'S FINALLY DONE.

AUGUST 09 MIXTAPE FROM DJLIVSTRONG.

DOWNLOAD HERE: August 2009 Mixtape

Minimum requirements:

A open mind

An open heart

An open ear

Winzip or Winrar (or whatever you unzip folders with)

Leave a comment

Give it to a friend

Reccomended Requirements:

A Nissan B13 Sentra with two 12" Pioneers pushed by a 1000W Amp

A home stereo system with at least 2000W of rms power

A pair of bose headphones

No grandmothers who cannot take loud gospel music in the house

TRACKLISTING:

djlivstrong - djlivstrong intro

Tedashii - I'm a Believer

Lecrae - Don't Waste Your Life feat. Cam, Dwayne Tryumf

Viktory - Livin It

Sho Baraka - Let the Record Drop feat Katalyst

Koen Duncan - Shine High

Da T.R.U.T.H. - Trumpet Blow

djlivstrong - GRACE Interlude (Disturbia Riddim)

Shiselon - The Sip Drink Acapella Mix

Hazakim - Genesis 18

Mary Mary - God in Me ft. Kiki Sheard

Papa San - higher hieghts

Russell Léonce - I Am (Feat. Joel Archer)

Samuel Dyer - Turn Me (Dance Remix)

Koen Duncan - A Miracle

Lecrae - Identity feat. Da T.R.U.T.H., JR

Kierra Sheard - Won't Hold Back

Damita Haddon - Don't Leave Me Lonely

Jai - Good To Me

Group 1 Crew - Movin

Lyndon Lai Tan - Stay a While

J. Prince - Holy Fire

Gmasta - Show Me How Much

djlivstrong - PEACE Interlude (Baptize Remix Instrumental)

Papa San - Church House

Dj Nicholas - Undersubjecion mix

Kadisha Adams - Another Day

Kierra Sheard - Wave Your Banner

D.J. Nicholas - Holy Ghost Gym

Elisha - Amp Up

Disclaimer:

If you don't look for Christ, you may not see him. :-)

PURSUE GODLINESS - THE BEST WAY TO SILENCE THE HATERS

PURSUE GODLINESS - THE BEST WAY TO SILENCE THE HATERS

Jul 31st 2009

1Ti 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

The thing about this passage is that most people think it only applies to young people say less than 25

But when properly translated the word "youth" translates to newness or youthfullness. It can be said, let no one despise your "newness" or "inexperience"

neotēs

neh-ot'-ace

From G3501; newness, that is, youthfulness: - youth.

Youthfulness can be relative to the situation.

For example when a Prime Minister wants a youthfull cabinet to run for elections, he is not looking for anybody under 35. To him, that is youthful granted the circumstance.

Another example, when a gym instructior is looking for young prospects for gymnastics they are looking for pre-teens.

Same applies to timothy here, he was not a young tenage boy. Timothy was about in his early thirties.

(Paul met him at about 50 AD when he started travelling with him, he wrote 1st Timothy from Jail in about 63 AD... supposing that Timothy was about 20 at conversion he could have been about 30+)

So seeing that he was 30+ we are looking at a young man that was relatively young to be running a Church.

A church full of old ppl that would have been looking down at him.

1Ti 4:7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

A chuch full of converted Jews that still believed in doing certain traditions.

1Ti 1:4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

So what he was facing is the fact that he was inexperienced because of his age. His teachings (even though he had a bout 10+ years of experience travelling with Paul ) were always going to be shunned by older people because of his age/inxperience/newness.

So what did Paul tell him to do.

1Ti 4:7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

Ignore the fables or rituals that they would be trying to impose on you to make you.

But refuse profane and old wives' fables,

They are riddled with Jewish customs that they believe that should be part of worship to God still. This is why in 1Ti 1:8 he said

"But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;"

The church knows about the law and they know how to manupilate like a Judiazer would.

Exercise yourself rather to godliness.

That is figuratively "train" yourself unto godliness.

When someone is exercising, they can lose focus on what is their goal. If a gymnast focuses on weight training instead of being flexible he is still training, but missing the goal of his/her sport.

Likewise if a weight lifter is focusing on flexibility rather than strength training he/she is missing the goal of his sport.

Timothy was to focus on charachteristics of Godliness, not on the traditions of the Jewish Religion and how to combat them.

1Ti 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

How he was to carry about this pursuit of Godliness was laid out in vs12. The reason he was to pursue godliness was two fold.

To reach to the level where he was not concerned about what the Jewish customs were and how they applied.

The be an example to the believers showing them that true godliness was not in the customs and traditions but in the actual acting out of one's faith in Jesus.

So he starts of with "Let no man despise your youth" because he knew that his youth was/would be despised. What he wanted Timothy to grasp was that the only way for his youth/inexperience/newness to be not despised was by his EXAMPLE.

Be and EXAMPLE in:

Word - logos

The spoken word with more emphasis on preaching and teaching. What you say out loud. Many times we say things out loud without much thought behind it. These things affect out example and damage our credibility.

Conversation - anastrophē

Behaviour. The way we carry about ourself where, behaviour is interaction with other people in conversation. Communicatoin via conversation does not just happen verbally but it happens non verbally also. So our conversation is more of the way we interact with other people.

Charity - agapē

Love in a moral sense aka brotherly love. True brotherly love is not thinking wrong of anyone but always thinking of their best interests whenever interacting with them.

Spirit - pneuma

Rational soul or vital principle or mental disposition. Your mental disposition applies best in this context. Your outlook on things and the redemtion that you have via Christ's spirit that is in you. Don't always be negative, or downtrodden.

Faith - pistis

Reliance upon Christ for Salvatoin. Assurance in Christ.

If we don't show that we have this relienace on Christ for all things our example is tainted and there is room to be despisied because of it, moreso it slows down our press to Godliness. (remember this is two fold)

Purity - hagneia

Chastity (undefiled not just sexualy, but clean in actions deportment, words, corruption.). All these affect out strive to godliness and fuels the despise from older ones.

So when Paul was writing to Timothy about his youth his goal was to provoke Timothy to Godliness in an effort to helping focus not on the eyes that were on him, but on the goal set before him.

So finally:

1Ti 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

:-)