Archive for November 2014
At What Level Do You Wish To Play?
At What Level Do You Wish To Play?
In the 1980’s electronic chess games became the rage in certain cerebral circles. One particular model would ask its user, as soon as the power button was switched on, “At what level do you wish to play?”
Everyone knew it was just a game. The unit was a cheap handheld device that anyone could play. The user could play in the beginner mode, or even play at the expert level. No one would criticize the level he or she played. It was just a game, and it was only played for fun.
But The Question It Asked Is Still Valid In Real Life Today. At What Level Do You Wish To Play (Or Participate)?
‘Live Like You Were Dying’ is the title of a popular song made somewhat famous a few years ago. The message from just the title of the song is enough to make one think about prioritizing their life.
Like the electronic chess game, some things are just for entertainment, and some things are mainly used to pass the time. Then there are other things that have life and death importance attached. Our souls get intertwined in the process. You have to know which ones are which.
Your Friendships
Your God-fearing friends tell the world the level at which you wish to play.
Your worldly friendships probably display the level you really wish to play. If that is the level you wish to play, so be it.
Friends are more than just pals. Your friends matter to God.
- They Influence you.
- They generate peer pressure that will change you.
- They can take you away from God.
- They can bring you closer to God.
- Chose your friends carefully. You will soon become what they are.
- What do your friendships today say about the level you have chosen to play?
- In Your Friendships, At What Level Do You Wish To Play?
Your Marriage
The way you cherish your spouse and give yourself to your marriage tells your family, friends and the whole wide world the level you have chosen to play.
- God becomes deeply interested and involved in your relationship with your spouse.
- His Word even directs you how to love and express your love to each other.
- Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
- Ephesians 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
- He pays attention to your mistreatment and neglect.
- 1 Corinthians 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
- 1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
- Those who have trouble at home soon have trouble in church. The Lord knows that, you should too.
In Your Marriage, At What Level Do You Wish To Play?
At Church
Your Response And Involvement:
- In the Worship service says volumes about the level you wish to play.
- In the Prayer room shows the level you are playing.
- In the Altar service shows the level you are playing.
- In Outreach shows the level you are playing.
- In Giving To Missions shows the level you are playing.
- In Giving Your Tithes shows the level you are playing.
- In the way you argue about Standards shows the level you are playing.
- In Obeying God’s Word shows the level you are playing.
Your Reaction to the Preaching even when it corrects you makes clear the level you wish to play.
Saying Amen to the Word tells God, the devil, the Pastor and the Church family the level you wish to play.
Pictures and Posts on Social media sites tell everyone the level at which you are probably really playing.
Old timers used the phrase, Playing Church. Never let that be said about you.
Living For God Is Not A Game.
At Church, What Level Do You Wish To Play?
It’s Just A Hole In The Wall
It’s Just A Hole In The Wall
My wife and I love those little mom and pop restaurants. The food served there is often a once in a lifetime find. They just don’t make it anywhere else quite like they do at the hole in the wall places. No, don’t get me wrong. We certainly enjoy the food from major chains and big eateries too, but we don’t avoid a place because it is small.
Once for lunch she guided me across town to her new find. It was hidden on a side street, and was so small that it seemed like a gamble to eat there. It was a little Mexican cafe with about four tables. She beamed as she guided me into the room. She really loves little ‘greasy spoons’ places. So do I. There were no English words on the menu, no readable signs on the wall for gringos to cipher. Even the waitress didn’t speak English. We had to point to the pictures on the menu. But… the food was good.
Within twenty-five miles of my house is a small breakfast and lunch restaurant that is also a hole in the wall. The specialty for me is the cinnamon buns that are served hot and named, “Grilled and Drizzled”. As the younger generation might say, they’re to die for.
The menus are placed under the glass at each table setting. The portions are huge; the service is with a smile. They’ve had the same cook for over forty years. It just happens to be voted the “number two” breakfast place in the whole state. And, it’s a hole in the wall.
On a recommendation, I took my wife on a date to a run-down old brick building in a bad part of town. It kind of looked like a deserted warehouse. It actually was an Italian place that was only open of Friday and Saturday nights, because the family is busy making the pasta on the other days of the week.
The local college kids eat there still dressed in their school clothes, but it is not uncommon to see a limo or two pull up from a hundred miles away bringing the mink stole crowd.
Upon entering the door, one has to turn right and go down a flight of stairs to the basement. It is decorated in old world style. For sure, it’s a hole in the wall, but once you eat there, I promise you, you will go back.
In East Texas there is a little Mexican restaurant with no visible waitress. You walk up to the cash register and place your order. The menu is written on the sidewall in what may be chalk or an erasable maker.
The building is old, nothing is fancy, and the soft drinks are dispensed from an old glass cooler with a see through door. The wooden counter top has been serving its purpose for more years than the person taking the order has been alive.
With great apologies, my host explained that he seldom brings anyone here, only his close friends, because it’s just a hole in the wall.
It only takes a bite or two before this little joint becomes your favorite hole in the wall Mexican restaurant ever. You tell your host that every time you come to this town, you want to come back here to this little hole in the wall.
Home
“Be it ever so humble, no place like home.” Almost every one of us has a photo or memory of a family home that by today’s standards seems substandard. I do, maybe you do too.
When older folks start talking about their home growing up, they often get a smile of remembrance on their face, and a dreamy look in their eyes. They will try to out do each other bragging about how poor they were, but still to them, it is a place cherished above all things in their memory. They were born and raised in something akin to a hole in the wall… and proud of it.
Churches
Why is it OK for a cafe to be a hole in the wall, but not a church? There is no telling and no limit what can blossom from your little hole in the wall church building. Between you and the Lord, you can work towards making your little hole in the wall the place everyone wants to find.
As the son whose parents started six home missions churches, I feel a special connection with small churches, and their pastors. My wife and I started a church. My oldest son started a church, my number three son started a church, and my daughter and her husband did as well.
As a visiting minister it is so common to hear terms like… “Well, we are just a small church, and we don’t have very many.” Or, “where two or three are gathered together…” I know most of the lines. I’ve even used them my self.
After looking backwards over my seventy years of going to church, some of the most wonderful moments of living for God were found in some little church not far from the echoing sounds of the train track. Maybe it’s a storefront, or a small building displaying an amateurish hand painted church sign… maybe it’s a converted garage or even a single-wide mobile home. It is just a hole in the wall.
In the day when mega churches are super impressive, I cannot discount what I have seen, what I have heard, what I have felt in those little hole in the wall places.
Some have no musical instruments, no pews, no microphones, and no overhead projectors. But they have love, fellowship, unity, good prayer and worship, to top it all off, the preacher preaches like there is 400 there and not just the actual four in his audience.
I have absolutely nothing unkind to say or think about medium, large or mega sized churches. God bless them all. I just don’t want the people of God to be embarrassed because of their small building. God most certainly can bless in a hole in the wall.
Every church was a home missions church once, a hole in the wall. The Lord is not restricted or limited by the size of the building. Ask any foreign missionary, ask any home missionary.
I would be the last to tell you keep your church small, only a fool would think that way. What I desire is for you to enjoy and treasure the days of small things. Don’t despise them. It’s even God’s design.
To me the hole in the wall churches are almost sacred. Yes, you heard me right. Remember Azusa Street? I thought you might. The pictures look like it’s just a hole in the wall.
Oh yes, did I mention that it was in a hole in the wall building where I got the Holy Ghost?
The Desire To Be Cherished
The Desire To Be Cherished
“They do not love that do not show their love.” – Shakespeare
It’s A Basic Life Need
Cherish – Definition:
- To hold Dear:
- To Cultivate with Care and Affection
- To Nurture
- To Treasure, Prize, Value
- To Feel And Show Affection For
Babies Desire To Be Cherished And Held.
They cry often for their Mama’s touch. Children run to her to be comforted.
When Babies Are Not Cherished:
I read a few years ago about Romanian orphans who were given only the basic nourishment and hygiene. Soon the babies became withdrawn and unresponsive. They may be forever emotionally damaged… much like adults who are not cherished. They will almost always exhibit emotional problems and act out.
All Children Desire to Be Cherished.
Every child remembers if they were loved. Everyone remembers how their parents treated him or her when they were young. Not being cherished is something most difficult to survive.
Little Kids Ask Their Parents.
Am I your favorite? Who do you love the most? How much do you love me? They are putting out feelers attempting to assure themselves that they are cherished.
Teenagers Desire To Be Cherished.
They dream about it. They sing about it. They listen to music about it. They want to be loved. They want someone to cherish them. To complicate the matter, their hormones rage out of control during the process.
Some girls never feel cherished by their father, so they seek elsewhere for male approval. They never felt cherished at home, so they look for someone to validate and approve of them. They want to be cherished.
Sadly, the title of the song: “Looking for Love In All The Wrong Places,” has more truth than fiction.
During Courtship Both Parties Practice Cherishing The Other Person.
- They say sweet things.
- They do sweet things.
- Treat each other with tenderness.
- The boy courts the girl and brings flowers and candy.
- They overlook each other’s imperfections.
My Father-In-Law, the late William R. Starr, gave me some wise insight before I even asked his daughter out on a first date. He said, “Men love with their eyes, but Women love with their ears.”
Dad Starr was telling me in man-talk, that a woman wants to hear that she was cherished! He was a very wise man.
All Husbands And Wives Desire To Be Cherished
Every woman wants to know she’s #1. So does every man. When you hold your wife in your arms and tell 
her that you love her, she wants to feel your words coming from your heart, and not just your mouth.
If you are a wise man, you will NEVER stop courting your wife and affirming your love for her and expressing it often. The words, “I love you!” have a very short shelf life. You need to say it everyday.
Flowers, cards, candy, dates and accomplishing ‘honey-do-lists’ with a smile, sure helps keep life wonderful at home.
Every Prospective Groom Says, “Will You Marry Me?”… Hoping he will be cherished and loved.
Every Prospective Bride Says, “Yes”… Hoping she will be cherished and loved.
To The Wife:
Don’t settle for less than being cherished. Likewise, cherish him. It’s a two-way street.
To The Husband:
Sir, you are to love your wife As Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. You won’t easily give your life for someone you don’t cherish. The Lord meant for the husband to cherish his wife with his very own life. It’s really not hard.
Jacob Cherished Rachel.
He worked seven years to get her as his wife, and was given the wrong one. The Bible just says: “It seemed but a few days, for the love he had for her.”
David Never Cherished Michal
He always referred her to as “Saul’s Daughter.” He never said that he loved her. He never referred to her as his wife. That may be a reason why she acted out so badly.
Proverbs 31 Wife
Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
“He Praiseth Her”: The word praiseth here is – Halal
HALAL – haw-lal’;
- To shine; hence
- To make a show, (let every one know)
- To be (clamorously) foolish; (enjoy with enthusiasm)
- To rave; (to go on and on with excited appreciation)
- To boast, (brag in public)
- To celebrate, (honor every achievement)
- To foolishly glory, (go overboard in expressing praise)
- To sing, (to express your emotion as deeply as possible, sing His praises.)
- To praise, (to say every nice thing you can)
- To rage, (to be wild about)
When joined with abbreviated form of God’s name “Yahweh” = Hallelujah. That’s where the word Hallelujah comes from. (Saying Hallelujah like saying 10,000 praises to Jehovah)
When a man goes to this extent, of ‘Halal-ing” his wife, she will feel cherished and will perform unbelievable things for her home and family because she knows she has the backing of the man she loves.
In like manner, when the same man goes to this extent to Halal The Lord Jesus… there is no telling what the Lord will do for him.
Not Everyone Has Been Cherished In Life, But There Is Great News!
God Cherishes His People.
They Are The Apple of His Eye
Zech. 2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts… he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
- (Warning: Don’t mess with any one the Lord cherishes!)
God Protected Israel In Goshen
- Egyptian Dogs wouldn’t bark against the Israelites.
- No Plagues came nigh them.
God Protected Israel In The Wilderness
- Provided in wilderness.
- No sickness.
- No one’s clothes wore out.
God’s Desire To Be Cherished By Man
Yes, you say you love the Lord, but do you cherish him? Jesus wants to know for sure that you cherish Him before He can use you.
Jesus to Peter
John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
John 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
David
Psalm 137:5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
Psalm 137:6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
He was saying he loved God’s house more than anything in the world. David also said, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
He cherished the things of God! God said that David was a man after His own heart. Was David perfect? Oh no. He was a long ways away from perfect. But the way he cherished everything about God, made God smile upon him.
The Jealousy of God – Is Another Way Of Saying He Just Wants To Be Cherished.
2 Timothy 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
God Desires Man To Cherish Him
Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
The Lord knows the difference between lip service and heartfelt expressions of love.
- Men that cherish God – Worship
- Men that cherish God – Come to His House
My Visit To See Marcia In 1965
Before our engagement, in the early stages of our courtship, I once closed a revival service on Sunday night in Fort Worth, TX and drove 24 hours straight through to Albion, MI… just to see a little Miss Marcia June Starr for one hour. I arrived after 10:30pm, left before midnight and drove two hours back to my home in South Bend, IN. It’s never a sacrifice to see the one you love.
You’re Not Faithful To God’s House?
Don’t tell me you cherish God and you can’t make it to church. You don’t cherish Him if you layout of church! It’s never a sacrifice to see the one you love.
Like David, we should all say, “I was glad when they said unto me let us go unto the house of the Lord.”
Jacob Cherished The Birth Right
Jacob had major character flaws I’m sure. But he cherished the same Birthright that Esau despised, so God chose to love Jacob and discard Esau.
God cherished Jacob and said, ‘Jacob Have I loved, and Esau have I hated.’
Make God love you too by cherishing those things, which are Godly and eternal.
Don’t Tell Me You Cherish The Lord Jesus…
- If You Don’t Pay Tithes.
- If You Hate Holiness.
- If You Aren’t Faithful To His House.
- If You Don’t Pray.
- If You Don’t Worship.
- If You Bring Disunity To His Church.
- If You Rebel Against His Word.
- Sing Like You Cherish Him.
- Pray Like You Cherish Him.
- Talk Like You Cherish Him.
- Dress Like You Cherish Him.
God is Jealous Of What You Cherish.
Amp Bible 1 John 2:15 Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.
You Don’t Cherish The Lord If…
- If Someone Has To Beg You To Come To Church
- If Someone Has To Beg You To Worship
- If Someone Has To Beg You To Pray
Think about the words the next time you sing: “So, I’ll Cherish The Old Rugged Cross”
The Old Rugged Cross
George Bennard 1913
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
The Lord Cherished Us Even In Our Sins.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We love Him because He first loved us!
Here’s Your Homework For Today:
Tell Jesus that you love Him! Tell Him from your heart that you love Him. Yes, this very moment… say, “Jesus, I love you with all my heart!” Put your heart into it. He can tell.
Next, go tell your spouse and your family that you love them. Put your heart into it. They can tell.
You Say That You Want to Go To Heaven? I’m Really Not Convinced.
You Say That You Want to Go To Heaven? I’m Really Not Convinced.
You say to me that you are an Apostolic Pentecostal. To me, that means you have repented of your sins and have been baptized by immersion in Jesus Name, and have received the Gift of the Holy Ghost evidenced by speaking in tongues. If this is true, surely Heaven must be on your mind!
So then, if that is who you are, then we need to talk a bit. The reasons I want to talk to you are because of what I have been hearing and seeing lately.
You’ve Been Missing Church.
First of all, I hear that you’ve not been very faithful to your regular church services. How come? What’s the matter? Why is it easy for you to miss church? Why do you put your soul in jeopardy? You must not be very serious about being saved.
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
You don’t or won’t come to church faithfully, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Love Sports More than You Love God.
They tell me that you miss a lot of church, yet you faithfully go to ball games and sporting events. Now that really bothers me. Why are you so willing to sit in an arena full of sinners and let your heart beat as one with theirs, yet you don’t let your heart, as a saint, beat as one with them for Him in the church? You know better.
You can quote all the stats of the major teams. You know their names, their rankings, their coaches and when they play next. Yet, you struggle to remember and quote scriptures. Doesn’t that tell you where your heart really is? You must not be very serious about being saved.
2 Timothy 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
You are wrapped up in sports more than church, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Don’t Have A Teachable Spirit.
I see that you question every standard in the church and argue almost every point of doctrine. It’s like you want to change the whole church to suit you.
Some around you get the opinion that you think you know more than your teachers. That you are right and everyone else is wrong. You don’t seem to be teachable. You must not be very serious about being saved.
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
You are don’t want anyone to teach you because you know it all, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Don’t Pay Your Tithes.
You complain that you can’t afford to pay tithes. That makes me really disappointed in you. The bottom line is that you cannot afford not to pay tithes.
Your argument doesn’t hold much water though when everyone sees that you continue to spend your money on pleasures and life comforts. Don’t you know it’s dangerous to rob God? You know better than to walk around with God’s money in your pocket. You must not be very serious about being saved.
Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Malachi 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
You don’t or won’t pay tithes faithfully, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Prayer Life Is Dead.
How come I haven’t been seeing you in the prayer room very much before church? Your soul needs God’s touch every day. You must not be very serious about being saved.
Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
You don’t or won’t even visit the prayer room, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Don’t Worship Anymore.
Your responses in the services to worship and preaching lately have not been good at all. That is a sign that you are spiritually sick.
Worship is everyone’s business. Especially yours. It is a requirement, you know. Don’t tell me that it is not your nature to be demonstrative. When you were born again, you were given a new nature, use it.
Besides, you show plenty of emotion playing a ball game, catching a big fish, and even celebrating a birthday party. Yet, you sit mummified at church. What’s the deal? You must not be very serious about being saved.
Psalm 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
You don’t or won’t worship, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You’ve Been Dressing Just Like The World.
Whatever the fad or fashion of the world is, you are so quick to follow. No one can see much difference between you or them.
Your willingness to sacrifice your modesty for fashion is sad. It seems that you desire to look more like movie stars than to be God’s light in this dark world. You have shown no visible testimony. We were counting on you.
On Facebook and other social media you post pictures of yourself and your family that should have embarrassed you as a Pentecostal. But it didn’t. It embarrasses the rest of us though. You seem to have lost your shame. You know better.
Holiness is not only on the inside. What is in the heart soon shows on the outside. And, what’s in your heart is definitely showing. Evidently, your love for style and fashion of this world has made you ignore Scripture about modest apparel. You must not be very serious about being saved.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
When women cut their hair, put on make up, jewelry or wear pants, mini-skirts and shorts, and still say that want to go to heaven? I’m not convinced.
When men grow their hair long, wear shorts and tank tops, drink alcohol and get tattoos, and still say that want to go to heaven. I’m not convinced.
You Are Dating A Sinner.
Why would you be so foolish as to play the same game Samson did? He lost and you will too. The very fact that you are attracted to ungodly thinking people doesn’t say much in your favor. Why are you willing to risk everything? You must not be very serious about being saved.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
You love the people who love what God hates, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m not convinced.
You Are Looking At Someone Else, And You’re Already Married.
How can you even think God is ok with your conduct? You must not be very serious about being saved.
Matthew 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 have exhibited the spirit of adultery, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m not convinced.
You Let You Job Keep You Out Of Church.
You and I both know how the devil works. Why do you ignore that? No job is worth putting your soul in jeopardy over. If you really wanted to be in church you would find a way, even if it means changing jobs.
Don’t let your ‘need’ for money drive you away from God or His house. You must not be very serious about being saved.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
You are spending your life chasing the dollar, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m not convinced.
You Have Become Hateful.
Your mean spirit has caused you to spread hurtful rumors about others. You seem to be filled with bitterness and refuse to let it all go or put it under the blood. Why do you seem to delight holding grudges?
You have caused discord and division in the house of God. God’s Kingdom only thrives on unity and you are destroying that. You are hindering revival. God is not happy. You must not be very serious about being saved.
Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Proverbs 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Proverbs 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Proverbs 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
You cause division and discord in the house of God, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Are Rebellious, And No Different To God Than A Witch Doctor.
So you don’t want anyone telling you what to do or how to live? You would readily believe what you want, and would change churches rather than submit and obey. You must not be very serious about being saved.
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
You have lived in rebellion against the man of God for years, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Are In Love With Hollywood.
All you seem to talk about is your favorite movie or what you watched last night. Movie Night must be the in-thing now for you right now.
You know all the actors in each sitcom. And, you don’t seem to be too careful about telling it either. Your love for entertainment is so strong. I don’t see you easily turning around very easily.
Would you be comfortable sitting there watching your movie with Jesus sitting beside you? I don’t think so. You must not be very serious about being saved.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 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.
You love Hollywood more than God it seems, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Don’t Even Respond To Altar Calls.
When God gives you a chance to recover yourself and to be restored, you make no move.
The altar is not only where you got saved, it’s where you stay saved. You and I both know that a good old-fashioned praying through would solve all of your spiritual and emotional problems. Why then do you wait?
Your refusal or reluctance to consecrate and pray through is a sign that you are not thinking about heaven. You’ve been avoiding the altar. You must not be very serious about being saved.
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
You don’t or won’t pray through, and you still say you want to go to heaven? I’m really not convinced.
You Say, “God Already Knows My Heart, Why Do I Have To Convince A Preacher?
Don’t even go there. To even ask that, you must not be very serious about being saved.
If your pastor makes it to heaven, he must to give an account of you before the Lord. God will ask him about you. You really do need a pastor to be saved. You cannot make it on your own.
Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
You Must Change.
If you want to go to heaven, it is time right now to start doing something about it. You know what to do. Give God a life that He can bless. He wants to bless you, so give Him the chance.
It is not too late to turn around. Be a light in this dark world. Let your light shine unto them. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Live for God with all your heart.
Don’t even think about compromising anymore. Don’t keep cutting corners with God. Get in church like never before.
But, don’t try to get back where you used to be or you’ll wind up again where you are right now. Get more than you’ve ever had. Really pray through this time. Be filled with the Spirit.
If you will pray through and change, and say you want to go to heaven, I’ll really be convinced.
Apostolic Expository Series
Christy Ballestero (My Beautiful DIL)
http://marciaballestero.com/
Pastor Anthony & Kim Ballestero, New Destiny Worship Center, Clearwater, FL (My Son)
Pastor Bryan & Christy Ballestero, Temple Of Pentecost, Raleigh, NC (My Son)
James Groce Blog – "Toward The Mark"
Kenneth Bow Blog
Kingdom Speak Podcast
Philip Harrelson – "The Barnabas Blog"
Verbal Bean Ministries
Holy Ghost Radio
The Ballestero Blog 