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DO YOU HAVE PRAYERS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ANSWERED? YOU JUST THINK THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ANSWERED IF YOU PRAYED ACCORDING TO GOD'S WILL. GOD ANSWERS ALL PRAYERS THAT ARE ASKED THE RIGHT WAY. LOOK AT MATTHEW 7:7-8 WHERE JESUS SAYS "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." HE DIDN'T SAY "ASK AND IT MIGHT BE GIVEN YOU". DON'T GIVE UP BECAUSE YOUR ANSWER COULD BE MANIFESTED JUST AROUND THE CORNER.
Jesus Shared His Father's Glory
John 5:18, 'Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.'
JOHN 5:16-27
When the Jewish authorities heard Jesus call God 'my (own) Father', they immediately understood that Jesus claimed for Himself deity in the highest possible sense of that term. That claim was either blasphemy, to be punished by death, or else Jesus was who He claimed to be.
Jesus never associated Himself with His disciples by using the plural pronoun 'our' Father. Rather, He always used the singular 'my' Father, since His relationship was unique and eternal, whereas theirs was by grace and regeneration.
We...
DO YOU REMEMBER THE STORY IN LUKE 5 ABOUT JESUS TELLING PETER TO GO OUT INTO THE DEEP WATER AND DROP HIS NETS? JESUS HAD SEEN THE TWO SHIPS STANDING BY LAKE GENNESARET AND THE FISHERMEN WERE OUT OF THE SHIPS WASHING THEIR NETS. JESUS ENTERED PETER'S SHIP AND ASK HIM TO TAKE IT OUT A LITTLE FROM THE BANK SO HE COULD TEACH THE MULTITUDE. WHEN HE HAD FINISHED TEACHING IS WHEN HE TOLD PETER TO GO INTO THE DEEP WATER AND DROP HIS NETS. PETER COMPLAINED THAT THEY HAD BEEN OUT ALL NIGHT AND HADN'T CAUGHT ANYTHING. HOWEVER, PETER WAS OBEDIENT AND DID WHAT JESUS SAID. HE CAUGHT SO MANY FISH THAT THEIR NETS BROKE AND THEY HAD...
Rest In His Love
John 5:16, 'And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the sabbath day.'
JOHN 5:16-27
The Sabbath was first mentioned in Scripture in Exodus 16, when the Lord started miraculously providing the children of Israel with manna in the wilderness. The Israelites were commanded to gather twice as much manna on the sixth day because God would not provide any on the seventh day. Shortly after this, the Lord commanded the observance of the Sabbath day in the ten commandments that were communicated to Moses on Mt. Sinai on the two tablets of stone (Ex. 20:8-11). In this command, God connected this Sabbath day with the rest that He took on the seventh day of...
THESE ARE REALLY POWERFUL VERSES AND SAY A GREAT DEAL. IT SAYS WE ARE IN A WAR. WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN A WAR FIGHTING AGAINST THE DEVIL. HOWEVER, OUR WEAPONS HAVE TO BE SPIRITUAL AND TO...
Naturally Holy
John 5:14, 'Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.'
In saying this, Jesus shows that sin causes the tragedies that come into our lives. The reason for holiness in the life of the believer is that when we obey sin, we yield ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin. Yielding to sin is yielding to a person - Satan. God doesn't impute the sin to us but the devil does. Our actions either release the power of Satan or the power of God in us.
Although God is not imputing our sins unto us, we cannot afford the luxury of sin because it allows Satan to have access to us. When a Christian sins and allows the devil opportunity to produce his death in...
WHAT CAN WE DO TO BE RIGHTEOUS?
Something New
Luke 5:36-37, 'And he spake a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.'
MATTHEW 9:11-17, MARK 2:16-22, LUKE 5:30-39
These two parables are in response to the scribes' and Pharisees' criticism (v. 30) and the question from John's disciples about why Jesus didn't act according to their religious traditions and expectations (Mt. 9:14; Mk. 2:18). The gist of these parables was to show that Jesus came to do a new thing that would not mix with the old...
Let Christ Live Through Us
Matthew 9:9, 'And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.'
MATTHEW 9:9-10, MARK 2:14-15, LUKE 5:27-29
To 'follow' means to come or go after; move behind in the same direction; to come or go with; to accept the guidance or leadership of; to adhere to the cause or principles of; to be governed by; obey; comply with (Jn. 10:27-29; Rom. 10:9-10, 13).
When a person first comes to Jesus, it is impossible to know everything that following Jesus entails. No one, however, should be fearful of making a total commitment because of some imagined problem that may never come to pass. There...