Personal Thoughts and Ministry

GOD spared not the old world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness

5/30/2014

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. (Gen 7:11-16)

Noah and his family obeyed GOD, they and the animals entered the ark, and GOD shut them in. The day of salvation had come and gone, and now judgment was at hand just as GOD had proclaimed 120 years earlier. The waters under the earth exploded and rained back down for forty days and nights, the waters above were brought down, and all the earth that was perished except Noah and the rest on the ark, the lifeboat of salvation.

GOD had tempered his judgement with mercy and grace, He gave them 120 years to repent. He had Noah prepare an ark to preserve life. Noah preached righteousness until the day that GOD shut him in. Yet, only eight souls, Noah, his sons, and their wives, were saved. All the rest rejected the Word of GOD, and refused to surrender to Him on His terms and be saved and so they perished in the waters of the flood.

Today, many reject the Word of GOD that we proclaim. They deny He exists, or worship other gods that cannot save. They refuse to acknowledge their sIn, repent and turn to a Holy GOD, and receive Jesus Christ by faith in His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary. When judgment comes again, this time by fire, they will also perish. Not because GOD wouldn't save them, but because they rejected the only Way of Salvation, Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son. We must go, and as we go, warn them of the judgment and proclaim the Good News of Salvation that they may hear and trust in Him.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Believe His Word and trust His grace is sufficient to pay for your sIn, surrendering to Him on His terms, and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Receive Him by faith in what He has already done on that cruel Roman cross to provide forgiveness, and like Noah you too can partake of the Salvation of GOD.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

By faith Noah moved with fear, prepared an ark

5/29/2014

And GOD said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. (Gen 6:13-17)

GOD told Noah to build a lifeboat to save those that would come, and the animals He would send in pairs to the ark. He had had enough with the sIn of the world and had judged their rebellion. GOD didn't have to explain what an ark was or how to build it, just the dimensions that would be needed for this large undertaking of the worlds largest lifeboat. GOD had already determined what was coming in judgment, and He also provided salvation to those who believed Him and surrendered to Him on His terms, in this case going through the door of the ark. Faith in GOD and in His Word has always been the means of salvation, from sIn and from judgment, for GOD is merciful even while He is Holy and Just.

The Church, the blood bought children of our Heavenly King, are to proclaim His message of hope and Salvation to this lost and dying world. Just as Noah offered salvation through the door of the ark, we are to preach righteousness and offer Salvation, by faith in the finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary of The Door to forgiveness and reconciliation with GOD, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only way to the Father, He is the only Truth, and Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son is the only Life that gives us eternal life in this world and the next. We must be obedient, as Noah was, to GOD's command to minister to the hurting, disciple one another, and as we go, share the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone we meet that they might believe and have Life in His Name.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and receive Him by faith in what He has already done in your place and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Trust Him as your lifeboat from sIn and believe His Word for Salvation today.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

The longsuffering of GOD waited in the days of Noah

5/28/2014

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen 6:5-8)

The descendants of Adam and Eve, now sinners made in Adam's image are given the choice of obedience or rebellion. Their choice of rebellion, and the sIn that follows gets so bad that GOD finally declares a major judgment of the whole earth. His pronouncement even tells us that all flesh, man and animal, is so corrupted by their sIn that GOD was going to cleanse it all with a great worldwide flood. Only Noah, his family, and the animals that GOD sent to him would be saved in the ark that GOD told Noah to build. Not because GOD was not merciful, but because Noah found grace, and everyone else would die before the flood came, or reject the mercy and grace that GOD extended with the open door of the ark.

GOD shut that door, when it was obvious that no one would come in faith, believing GOD's Word at the preaching of Noah, and they were destroyed. GOD is merciful, but GOD is also holy and just. Man is just as depraved and unholy, apart from GOD, as he was in those days, and since GOD promised He would not flood the earth again, the next judgment is by fire. It is already proclaimed, the timing is the Lord's, but it will come and when it does there will be no more mercy for those who have rejected the grace of GOD through the open door of Jesus Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary.

Until that day, we who know GOD through faith in Him, are commanded to tell everyone we meet of His mercy, judgment, grace and holiness. We are to minister to the hurting as GOD gives the increase, we are to disciple one another in love and His Word, and as we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sIn and Salvation that GOD offers to those that believe and believing have life in His Name.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and trust Him for Salvation and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. GOD is holding the door open, but there will come a day that He shuts it, just as He did with the ark. Believe His Word and receive Him by faith in what He has already done on that cruel Roman cross today.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

Death passed upon all men for all have sinned

5/27/2014

In the day that GOD created man, in the likeness of GOD made He him; Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. (Gen 5:1b-5)

Two very important things we see in this chronogenealogy: While names might be missing, the years are complete from Adam to Noah, and all the men mentioned died just as GOD had proclaimed in His judgment on all mankind for their sIn. Since Adam only two men did not die according to their appointment, and that by the grace of GOD. Even the ones, other than Christ Himself, that died and were raised again also died again. Death comes to all mankind, because of sIn, and all have sinned.

But Jesus came to deliver mankind from their sIn and its penalty. For those that have placed their trust in Him, His Word, and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary for forgiveness, He has given us Salvation and eternal life. We have the hope and promise that because of Him and what He has already done for us we will live with Him forever, even though this body dies, and He lives with us and in us now.

His presence gives us power over sIn and its temptation and gives us victory in this world. We are commanded to tell everyone of His mercy ang grace, and the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we go, we are to minister to the hurting, disciple one another in love and the Word, and proclaim the Good News of Salvation to all we meet that they might believe and believing have life in His Name.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and receive Him by faith and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Though Adam brought sIn and death, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son, offers you forgiveness and eternal life. Trust Him for Salvation today.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.

5/26/2014

And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For GOD, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the Name of the LORD. (Gen 4:16-17, 25-26)

Separated from GOD's presence by his rebellion, Cain departed and his descendants settled and began 'normal' domesticated, industrial lives, but without GOD. The descendants of Seth, however, began to call on the Name of the Lord. Those that followed GOD looked to Him in faith, those that did not believe went out from His presence. That is the way of the world, even while GOD is calling all men to Himself, through the preaching of the Cross, they are rejecting Him because of the desire of sIn.

Sin will take us farther than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay, and cost us more than we want to pay. Without the presence of GOD and His power to overcome sIn, we are consumed by its power, its presence, and for those who are not delivered by the blood of Jesus Christ, they will be consumed by its penalty.

We who know GOD through Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son, and His Spirit within us don't have to give in to the power of sIn for we have His power within. But, we do have to deal with the presence of sIn and overcome it through the Word and our faith in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary that paid for our sIn. That is not a license to sIn more, but victory over sIn and GOD's ability within to overcome temptation. That is the message of hope and mercy that we must tell everyone we meet. As we go, we are to minister to the hurting, disciple one another in love and the Word, and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and the deliverance from sIn that only He can give.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that everyone would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with Him that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms, believing His Word, and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Receive Him by faith in what He has already done for you on that cruel Roman cross. He calls you to Himself, but gives you the choice, to call upon His Name for Salvation, or reject His free offer of forgiveness and depart from His presence.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one

5/23/2014

And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. (Gen 4:11-15)

GOD must punish sIn, and in this instance He does so rather immediately. GOD knew what Cain had done, gave him the opportunity to confess, repent, and forsake his sIn, but Cain was unrepentant and unbelieving and so did not and was rejected and cast out. Cain then complained about his punishment, he feared his brothers and sisters more than he feared GOD. We don't know what kind of mark GOD marked Cain with, but whatever writing was used, the rest of humanity understood it to mean leave him alone.

GOD will punish all those who never receive Jesus Christ by faith in His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary, who are not forgiven and cleansed by His blood in repentance and surrender to Him on His terms. He is long-suffering and waiting for all who will come to Him to believe and be saved, but there will come a day when there will be no more opportunity for anyone to confess their sIn to GOD and turn from their sIn and put their trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD who came as a man and took our place on that cruel Roman cross to pay our sIn debt.

That is the message of Hope and grace which we must tell all those whom we meet. As we go, we are to minister to the hurting, disciple one another, and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to all so that they might hear and believe, and believing have life in His Name.

For GOD is not wiling that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. He offers you the choice of faith in Him for forgiveness by surrendering to Him on His terms, or cast out from His presence like Cain because you are already judged guilty. Put your trust in His Salvation and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. The choice is yours.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

Sin, indulged, knows no bound

5/22/2014

And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground. (Gen 4:6-10)

The response of unbelievers everywhere when their own efforts and offerings are not acceptable is to blame GOD, and take their anger at GOD and their frustration over His terms out on believers. They can't get to GOD so they attack us. This first homicide was initiated where all sIn starts, in the mind. We don't know what Abel said to his brother, but regardless Cain was already thinking murderous hatred toward his brother, and when the opportunity came, he killed him. Then when confronted, he denied knowing anything in the face of GOD who knows all. Arrogance, pride, hatred, all egregious sins of the heart and mind that put us first instead of GOD.

GOD gave Cain the chance to repent and be delivered, but he instead chose to answer GOD flippantly and with disdain for GOD and Able. We must not approach GOD and His judgment of sIn with an attitude of complacency or misunderstanding, for sIn is sIn and GOD views all sIn as worthy of death. He has already judged all of us as guilty and sentenced all of us to death, in this world and the next. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary can we be saved. That is the Good News of the Gospel we are commanded to take, and as we go proclaim to this lost and dying world, that those that repent and turn from their sIn and to GOD will find forgiveness and Salvation.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with Him that is real and personal. Believe GOD and His Word, surrendering to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. GOD offers to you the free gift of Salvation, receive Him by faith today.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

By faith Abel offered unto GOD a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous

5/21/2014

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (Gen 4:1-5)

Now man begins his life in the new normal and brings forth children after his own fallen image. They were still required to worship and come to GOD on His terms for acceptance. Here we see that Abel was obedient to GOD's demand for a substitutionary sacrifice for atonement of sIn, and Cain was not (you can't get blood from a turnip.) The offering of one's best lamb and shedding the blood pointed ahead to the day when Jesus Christ would go obediently and willingly to the Cross of Calvary, the Lamb of GOD who taketh away the sIn of the world. Abel brought it in faith, believing GOD's Word about the coming of the Messiah.

Today, we look back at the Cross and worship, knowing the Saviour and what He has already done and having received Him by faith in His finished and perfect work on that cruel Roman cross. We offer ourselves, in humble submission and surrender to Him on His terms, for His work of redemption and Salvation. We minister to the hurting as GOD provides, we disciple one another through His Word, and we proclaim the message of Hope in Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world so that they, like Abel may believe and believing have life in His Name.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Believe His Word and Trust His grace, turning from your sIn and to a Holy GOD for mercy and forgiveness, and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Receive Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son, by faith in Him and His free offer of Salvation.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

Since by man came death, by Man came also the resurrection of the dead

5/20/2014

And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD GOD make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD GOD said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD GOD sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Gen 3:20-24)

GOD has pronounced His judgment and now covers Adam and Eve with the skin of a dead animal, showing them what their sIn cost. He had told them that sIn would result in death, and that will now happen for them, but GOD in His mercy has postponed the execution for them. Instead, He kills an animal in their place depicting the substitutionary atonement that was to come when Jesus would come to this earth as a man and take our place and pay our sIn debt on the Cross. Further, because of their sIn, GOD removed them from His sanctuary and prevented them from gaining paradise and fellowship with GOD directly and on their own merits. From this point on mankind would have to come to GOD on His terms and offer sacrifices for sIn and atonement until Jesus paid the final sacrifice of Himself to atone for the sIns of the whole world.

We who are His, who are redeemed and covered by His blood and clothed in His righteousness by faith in His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary, are commanded to proclaim this message of Hope and Mercy to this lost and dying world. We are commissioned and equipped to minister to those in need, not to earn our relationship with GOD but because of it, we are to disciple one another in the Word, and we are to take His Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, as we go so that others may hear and believe and believing have life in His Name.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Trust His Word and what He has already done for your sIn on that cruel Roman cross, surrendering to Him on His terms, and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Believe Him and receive Him by faith and let Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son, restore the life that was lost in Adam.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

5/19/2014

And the LORD GOD said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel. Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen 3:14-19)

GOD pronounces Judgment on all those involved in sIn. Here He curses the serpent to crawl, adds pain and labor to childbirth for women, and makes work into hard labor and curses all nature because of Adam. Adam was without excuse, and since he had dominion over all nature, GOD turned our very existence in this world into a battle with nature we once were in harmony with. Eve was deceived, and because of her attempt to rule her husband, she is now under his authority. The serpent, whatever he may have been before, was now disgraced for his attack against GOD's authority and His Word and made the lowest of all.

But, even in the midst of all this judgment GOD shows mercy and pronounces the first Gospel to the descendants of Adam. GOD promised that there would come one who would redeem fallen man. The promise of deliverance from their sIn by faith in GOD and the promised Messiah was proclaimed in GOD's judgment of the serpent. Jesus was victorious over sIn and the grave, when He paid our sIn debt and rose again. All those who put their faith and trust in His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary for Salvation and forgiveness while surrendering to GOD on His terms will be saved by His power and grace. From Abel who died in faith to the saints of GOD's Church, to the believers during the Tribulation, He will save to the uttermost all those who come to Him in faith and repentance. That is the message of Hope we have to share with all whom we meet.

For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. He calls everyone to repent, that is, turn from your sIn and turn to Him in faith. Believe His Word and receive Him by faith in His Salvation and forgiveness of your sIn on that cruel Roman cross and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son is that promised one, the Messiah, and He calls you to come to Him and receive the victory He has already won.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

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