Jacob The Heel Catcher - Spiritual Adultery

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Sep 3, 2016
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The Miracle of God’s Word

Galatians 5:6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Circumcision will not gain us anything with the Lord, but will do quite the opposite, as it was only a sign of the seal of Righteousness under the Law, but under Grace, the heart is what is circumcised which the Lord does at the Born again experience, and is called the Circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11). We also learn in the Letter to the Romans that nothing we eat or drink gains us ENTRANCE or ADVANCEMENT in the Kingdom of God because His Kingdom is a Kingdom of Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

Here we learn the only thing that avails in the Child of God’s Life is Faith, and THAT Faith only works by Love. Get that now, Faith only works by Love. We, as the Children of God have been given The Measure of Faith (Romans 12:3), which is the measure/portion of The Faith of the Son of God who LOVED US and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20), and God’s Word there tells us that this is THE FAITH by which we Live, for it WAS AND IS the Love of God that empowers our Faith, and that power is the power of the Cross (1 John 4:9-10)! This Faith which we as Believers have obtained was received through the Righteousness of God, and our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1), which refers to where Righteousness was manifest, declared and offered to us at the Cross (Romans 3:25-26). True Faith NEVER FAILS because it works by Love, and Love NEVER FAILS because God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16)! Fight every day to keep your precious Faith in the Cross of Christ and you will see your faithful God at work!

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

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9/15/2020

Pastor Curtis
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Your Word for Today

And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

This Scripture is, without a doubt, one of the most quoted found in the entirety of the Word of God. It is an astounding Promise! There are, however, some conditions in this Promise, conditions which many Christians overlook. The Promise made here is not a blanket guarantee, as many think; but, if the conditions are met, then most definitely it is a guarantee.


What are those conditions?

First of all, to have all things working together for our good, we have to “love God.” As Believers, we might automatically think this is a simple requirement. But it’s not quite as simple as we would think. That is why Jesus, after His Resurrection and immediately before His Ascension, questioned Peter closely. The questions concerned Peter’s love for Christ (Jn. 21:15-17). It is very easy to loudly acclaim how much we love the Lord, but words oftentimes are hollow.

To make a lengthy subject brief, if we really love the Lord as we say we do, we will place our Faith exclusively in Him and what He did for us at the Cross. In a greater manner than anything else, that will show our love and will open the door for the consecration we need to make.

The second requirement is that we function in His Calling for our lives “according to His Purpose.” So many times, it is “our purpose” instead of “His Purpose”! Moreover, we cannot know that for which He truly has called us, or what His Purpose is for our lives, unless our Faith is properly anchored in the Cross.

The reason?

When our faith is anchored elsewhere, this means that we are functioning according to the flesh, which harks back to our own personal desires, and not at all what the Lord wants. In fact, faith anchored outside of the Cross can hardly achieve His Purpose at all. Accordingly, we have all kind of things, which are very obvious, not working for the good of Christians.

To have our Faith properly placed doesn’t mean that Satan will cease his operation against us; however, it does mean that whatever he tries to do, the Lord will ultimately turn it to our good. We here have His Promise to that effect, and the Lord most definitely keeps His Promises, that is, if we meet His Conditions, which, in fact, can easily be met, if we get “self” out of the way.

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Your Word for Today

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us (Rom. 8:37).

If we follow what the Holy Spirit gave to the Apostle Paul, thereby ordering our lives accordingly, which refers to Faith being properly placed in Christ and the Cross (I Cor. 1:17-18, 23; 2:2; Gal. 6:14), then we are assured of the fact that we are not only “conquerors,” but also “more than conquerors.” We must, however, always remember that it is “through Him Who loved us.” We cannot be conquerors any other way.

“Through Him” refers exclusively to His atoning Work at the Cross, which totally and completely defeated the Evil One, and did so by atoning for all sin (Col. 2:14-15). “More than conquerors” is what the Lord wants His People to be. But this modern generation of Christians represents, I’m afraid, the most defeated generation since the Reformation.

Why?

Although more books have been written on faith in the past several decades than possibly the balance of the Church Age put together, virtually all of these books and tapes are worthless, because they direct the faith of the Believer to something other than Christ and Cross. As a result, “more than conquerors” is not what is happening, but rather “more than conquered.” Satan has not only “conquered” this generation of Christians, but even “more than conquered” them, making abject slaves of them, which means that the sin nature runs wild.

Let me say it this way:

It is absolutely impossible for the Believer, be he the Pastor of the largest Church in the land or the Evangelist drawing the biggest crowds, to maintain victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, if such a Believer doesn’t know God’s Prescribed Order of Victory.

That Prescribed Order is:

1. The Cross of Christ: Everything we receive from the Lord, irrespective as to what it is, comes to us strictly from Christ as the Source and the Cross as the means.

2. Our Faith: Every single Believer is to place his Faith exclusively in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross, never separating the two. And when we speak of the Cross, we are speaking of the benefits which come from that Finished Work, and which will never cease.

3. The Holy Spirit: Once our Faith is properly placed, the Holy Spirit, Who works exclusively within the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ, will then make of us “more than conquerors.”

This is God’s Way. This is God’s only Way, because no other way is needed (Gen. 3:15; Lk. 9:23; Rom. 6:1-14; Gal. 6:14; I Cor. 1:17-18; 2:2).

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Bread Crumbs “Win Over Sin” September 16

You cannot win a struggle with sin but you can win the fight of faith! Many today are attempting to overwhelm sin through a series of works or man-devised routines. How foolish! Sin was such a devastating reality that it took God sending His only begotten Son from heaven to earth to destroy its power. If it were possible for man to overcome sin by some action, some sacrificial act of kindness, or some habitual regimen, then God would never have had to sacrifice His Son to defeat the power of sin. All men would have had to do was to be given instruction as to the required action, and they would have been able to defeat sin themselves. The believer is responsible to live free from sin, now that Jesus Christ has defeated sin’s power through His death on Calvary. We do so by placing our faith in that which God has designated. The believers’ faith is to ever rest in Christ and Him crucified. Then, the Holy Spirit can work on our behalf and eliminates every nuance of sin that remains within our beings. We can destroy the potential of sin in our lives by fighting the good fight of faith. Jesus won the victory over sin for us at Calvary.

Romans 8:3 - For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries
 
Sep 3, 2016
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The Miracle of God’s Word

Galatians 5:7
Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

Here, Paul is referring to the race the Lord has set before all of His Children (Hebrews 12:1), as the Galatians are being asked who hindered them and now were found not OBEYING THE TRUTH. Let’s recognize that OBEYING THE TRUTH and RUNNING THE GREAT RACE is recognized as one and the same thing. I hope that we can all recognize that OBEYING THE TRUTH is also faith in the Cross of Jesus Christ with NO MIXTURE. This is very important and when the Lord shows us these things, we will either repent OR we will move farther away from Him (Galatians 1:6), because a mixture is telling Him that the Cross of Christ was not enough for my needs to be met today!

Running the Race and obeying the Truth are both in God’s eyes faith in Christ and His work at the Cross. When we are trusting in ANYTHING other than Christ and His atoning work at the Cross, we are NOT obeying the Truth, nor are we running the race, but rather only beating the air (1 Corinthians 9:26) with an outward form and show in deception. This is nothing more than religion and a resistance against God, which without doubt will cause Him to resist us (Romans 1:18, 2 Timothy 2:12). Just because the Lord is reaching for us and in the attempt to refresh us again does not mean that He is not resisting us in all the avenues through which we are attempting to get to Him and to bear His fruit. This is why Paul says that Christ and Him Crucified is THE POWER of God! I’m praying that God’s people find that determination to know nothing other than faith in what allows them to run the race and be found obedient to the Truth in God’s eyes! The Cross!!

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

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9/16/2020

Pastor Curtis
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Bread Crumbs “The Outward Appearance” September 17

A hypocrite cares more about his appearance them the condition of his heart. The definition of the word hypocrite really involves a “false-faced one.” The picture here is a person who says one thing with their mouth but who really feels something else in their heart. That person is putting on an act. They are displaying what they believe people want or need to see. They try to hide what they truly are by actions and words that are appropriate. This activity hides the true reality of the condition of their hearts. But they love the praise that is the result of their play acting. Many in religion know the right words to say or the right actions to perform at any given time. When the audience demands a show of honesty or words of kindness, they are more than willing to play out that role. But the attitude of their heart does not match the words of their mouth. Sooner or later what is in the heart will surface. Those who are dishonest about the condition of their heart will eventually be discovered and exposed. A Christian must be honest with himself and ask God to change whatever in them is ungodly. What’s in your heart?

Matthew 23:27 - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries
 
Sep 3, 2016
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The Miracle of God’s Word

Galatians 5:8
This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

If we are being persuaded to place our faith in ANYTHING other than the Cross of Jesus Christ for INITIAL salvation or DAILY sanctification, this persuasion is NOT from The Holy Spirit to do so. When the object of faith is not Christ and His Sacrifice at Calvary, all the Holy Spirit can do is point us back to THAT FAITH, but praise God, once He gets us back there, He will confirm with His Word daily that we are on the right Path (Psalm 119:105). The Path of the Just is as the shining Light that shines MORE AND MORE unto the Perfect Day (Proverbs 4:18)! Is the Path you're on shining MORE AND MORE?

Jesus is the ONLY Door which leads to The Father, but the CROSS IS THE HINGE that opens the Door to all of humanity. This speaks not ONLY of INITIAL Salvation, but the Cross of Christ is the only Way to The Father for our prayers, our giving, our worship, our thanksgiving, etc…. The Galatians’ faith was being moved away from the Cross of Jesus Christ, and now He could no longer profit or effect them, but this doesn’t mean that they didn’t keep right on playing make believe as they went back under Law and bondage (2 Timothy 1:15). To fight the good fight of faith is SIMPLY to believe that what Christ did at the Cross was enough for me to have all my needs met again today! His Grace is sufficient in experience to us only as His Cross is sufficient to us!

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

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9/17/2020

Pastor Curtis
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Burnt Stones

There are so many believers whom satan has deceived into thinking that they can’t be used by the Lord! It may seem as though God has forgotten about them and forsaken them. Time has taken a toll on ones thoughts, being overlooked by many, and cast to the side by the majority. God has a special place for these burnt stones!

Sanballat was used by the enemy to come against the work that Nehemiah and the Jews had begun in repairing the walls of Jerusalem. He asked the question sarcastically, “ Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” This is exactly what the Lord did when they began to build the wall! I’m so glad that the Lord doesn’t throw us away when we have gone through the fire! It is through the fire that we are conformed to the image of the Lord! It is through the fire that the Lord rids us of the things that are not quite like him! The Lord will remove the rubble away and place us where he deems necessary for His purpose! It is the burnt stones that will fortify the work of the Lord! Those stones have been tried and remain true! Most importantly it is because of the Living Stone that these stones have become lively stones! God has a place for every single believer as long as we don’t quit!

Nehemiah 4:1
"But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews."

Nehemiah 4:2
"And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?"

Pastor Mario Nash Sr.
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Bread Crumbs “What Christ is to Me” September 18

The Christian who thinks he never fails suffers from the sin of self-righteousness. While it is wrong to live a lifestyle of persistent sin, it is also wrong to think of oneself as sinlessly perfect. It is true that the believer is justified by faith, but it is also true that every believer has a condition that falls far below his position. We must prepare ourselves by acknowledging what we truly are and accept our need for being changed. We must not develop a self-righteous attitude towards others. On the other hand, the Christian that believes that sin is acceptable behavior is deceived and spiritually miserable. The wages of sin will always bring death on some level. To embrace sin as a lifestyle guarantees that the believer will live on a plane of death and dying. They will find themselves attacked by guilt and floundering spiritually as a result of quenching the Spirit and rejecting God's Word. Let our faith not be in ourselves but in Christ. Let us depend entirely upon Christ to be in us what He has promised He will be. The Christian who trusts consistently, holistically, and singularly in the Cross, the finished work of Christ, will find Christ to be to them, wisdom, righteousness, victory, and peace.

1 Corinthians 1:30 - But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries
 
Sep 3, 2016
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The Miracle of God’s Word

Galatians 5:9
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

In the Old Covenant as God prepared to bring His people out of slavery in Egypt, He directed them that they should keep the feast of unleavened Bread for seven days beginning on the very day of the very month that He would see the blood upon their door posts and “Pass-over them” while killing every first born in Egypt. This Passover throughout their generations would be celebrated by the feast of unleavened Bread for seven days, and was so important that if anyone ate leavened bread during that week, they were to be cut off from Israel (Exodus 12:13-20).

Paul to the Church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) writes that we as Gentiles are to also keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the Bread of Sincerity and Truth (Faith in the Cross of Christ), BECAUSE Christ as our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us. Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb and we are to partake of Him daily (Matthew 6:11, Luke 9:23, 11:3), as we trust in Him and His Atoning work at the Cross without mixture. When our faith is not in the Cross alone, Sincerity may be present, but we have all been sincere while being sincerely wrong, because we lacked the Truth of the Cross in our lives as Christians. When we are trusting in anything other than Christ and His Atoning work at the Cross, we are not keeping the SPIRITUAL Feast of Unleavened Bread, but are rather allowing the leaven/corruption to take over the whole lump. This was happening in the Church at Galatia, and unless we are learning the Truth of the Cross for our daily experience with the Lord it will surely happen to us. Let us come back to the Cross and there we will find that Sincerity and Truth!

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

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9/18/2020

Pastor Curtis
 
Sep 3, 2016
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The Miracle of God’s Word

Galatians 5:10
I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

The Apostle Paul tells the Galatians that he is confident in them through the Lord that they will be none otherwise minded, which means he is trusting the Lord that they will hear his direction concerning their return to faith in the Cross alone. Those who move away from a determination to trust in and to point everyone else to the Cross of Christ, will surely bear their own judgment of walking after the flesh whosoever they be. Corruption and destruction is inescapable if we are walking after the flesh, which is trusting in anything other than Christ and Him Crucified.

I also have confidence that our faithful Lord is raising up a remnant in these last few moments of time as we know time, before He comes for those who are trusting in the only Way home. His name is Jesus and that Way is the Way of the Cross. Most of the Body of Christ today has been leavened with false doctrine as it relates to “How to live for God”, and all we have to do is turn on the TV or visit almost any local Church to see that the leaven is in the process of leavening the WHOLE LUMP! Come back to the Cross of Jesus Christ and you will find Him that began that good work at work in you once again, and He will not stop until the Day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

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9/19/2020

Pastor Curtis
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Bread Crumbs “Freed by Faith” September 19

The heart of man has been devastated by the fall. As a result of Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden, a sin nature was implanted into the center of man’s being. The sin nature continually corrupts the mind and the heart of all men. It causes us to think that we are going to experience life even as we make choices contrary to God’s ways. The sin nature is actually guiding our hearts and minds to embrace sinfulness and selfishness. It is literally teaching us to sin. There is no way for man to reverse this downward spiral on his own. But the things that are impossible with men are possible with God. What most believers do not realize is that faith in the sacrifice of Christ not only justifies us, it also liberates believers from the devastating devilry of the sin nature. The simple faith that we express in Christ’s sacrifice for salvation is the same faith that is meant to free us from the corrupting force of the sin nature. The damaged goods we had become can be totally transformed into the beautiful and righteous image of Christ. What a magnificent plan! What a mighty God we serve!

John 8:32 - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries
 
Sep 3, 2016
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Bread Crumbs “Faith Under Fire” September 20

Have you ever been under the test, under the gun, under the burden of a weighty terrible trial? You find yourself asking the questions, “What is the purpose? Where has God gone? Why did He allow this?” The doubts run fast and hard through your heart. Your resistance is quickly withered away, your stamina is swept down the drain, and your ability to cope seems to have jumped ship. These are the times that try men’s souls. These are the times that test the genuine quality of our faith. These are the times that give us a “gut check” regarding the stability of what we believe. God always has a reason! God always has a purpose! He has never lost a patient who would trust Him! He has never failed to complete what He started! He has never departed the scene without a job well done. So weary Saint, rest assured as you linger in the waiting room of life’s hospital, that the operation upon your faith is exactly what was needed. The One who supplied you with faith knows exactly what is required to secure your soul. Your faith will only be in surgery for about another hour. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit say, “It’s doing great! Press on!

Isaiah 40:28-29 - Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. (29) He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries
 
Sep 3, 2016
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The Miracle of God’s Word

Galatians 5:11
And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offence of the cross ceased.

The offence of Christianity is ONLY the Cross of Christ, for only through faith in the Cross of Jesus Christ is He expressed and the devil hates more than anything when Christ is expressed, as that reminds him of who he really is and what happened to him at the Cross (Hebrews 2:14). The only persecution which God honors and rewards is the persecution/suffering for Righteousness sake (1 Peter 3:14). Paul refused to bow the knee and go back under the curse of the Law of the Old Covenant. Remember that God denies all those who deny or forsake His Son and His Son’s sacrifice at the Cross as the ONLY WAY of entrance into His Kingdom or way through this life.

When we, and I did for years, preach all the fads that come into the church every year, instead of using God’s Word to point everyone to Christ and His Atoning Sacrifice, we are only avoiding the offence that comes from man, but are surely offending God Himself. God did away with the Old to bring in the New (Hebrews 10:9-10), and those who attempt to hang onto the Old, will ever be learning but not able to come to the Truth (2 Timothy 3:7). Whether it’s circumcision, The Government of 12, Celebrate Recovery, The Purpose Driven, Promise Keepers, or any of the other distractions the Church reaches for today, it will only result in more heartache and bondage because it is a mentality of Law, as we think we can earn something that God has already offered freely to us (Romans 8:32, 1 Corinthians 2:12). For the most part, the Church today is in the same sinking boat as the Church in Galatia, and the fruit of our coming out will only be when we turn back to Calvary, for there God’s Grace was offered, and will fill our hearts once again!

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

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9/20/2020

Pastor Curtis