Personal Thoughts and Ministry

O LORD GOD of Israel

2/2/2016

And the people came to the House of GOD, and abode there till even before GOD, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; And said, O LORD GOD of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel? And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Jdg 21:2-4, 24-25)

     The accounts of the time of the Judges ends with this bizarre tale of how Israel restored the tribe of Benjamin after the punishment GOD handed out for their grievous sin. Though they come together at the House of GOD to inquire of the Lord, the account ends with all returning to their places and homes, and doing what was right in their own eyes. Once the 'crisis' was averted and solved, every man returned to following himself, instead of the Lord GOD of Israel.

    Our sIn problem means that without the life changing new birth by the Spirit of GOD when we repent, acknowledging our sIn, and trust in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary, we are spiritually dead. Those who are not in Christ, cannot follow the ways of GOD, nor can they understand them, for they are spiritually discerned. Those of us who are regenerated by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Saviour, and have received by faith His free gift of Salvation, have His righteousness, and are resurrected into a brand new life of sanctification and works meet for repentance which glorify Him as He works in us to do His will.

     His Church, unlike the people of Israel in those days, have the Spirit of GOD within us to empower us, to guide us into all Truth through His Word, and to lead us in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake as we serve Him. He calls us to minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides, as His ambassadors, with the Word of comfort, peace, and reconciliation. He commands us to love one another as He loves us, and to disciple one another in the Word and through the Spirit that we may be conformed to the image of His dear Son. He has commissioned us as His witnesses to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world, and as we go, share the Good News with all we encounter that they might repent and believe in Him 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 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 He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. GOD calls you to trust Him and what He has already done for you to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with GOD, forgiveness from GOD, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

0 Comments

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations

6/11/2014

And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. (Gen 13:7-11)

Whether it is family conflict, business disagreements, or too many people in not enough land, strife and dissent must be managed. Here Abraham knew that the land could not hold all the people and cattle each of them owned, so he offered Lot the choice of where to settle apart from him and his family. It was a good solution to the problem, but led to a bad choice by Lot. Lot chose the greener pastures, which at first glance would have been preferred for the flocks, but did not see the warnings of sIn in the settlements nearby.

Many times the short-term gains we see are not the best for us, just as it turned out for Lot. We should always seek the Lord and what He has for us, even if at first it may not seem to be best, for He knows the end and can see the provision He has for us. We must trust Him and lean not on our own understanding, or we can end up like Lot, vexed by the sIn around us and losing everything that is important to us.

GOD still has work for us to do, to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to those we meet. Despite our circumstances, and despite our own failures, GOD is faithful and while He does chastise us, He also loves us. He has commanded us to minister to the hurting as He provides, disciple one another in love and His Word, and as we go, spread the Gospel to everyone that will hear, 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 Him that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and receive Him by faith in His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Choose life in Christ, with its joy of forgiveness and eternal Salvation, today.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

The beginning of his kingdom was Babel in the land of Shinar

6/6/2014

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Gen 11:1, 5-9)

Within a few generations (in Peleg's day) the descendants of Noah, who were told to fill the earth, settled in Shinar, in the plains SE of where the ark landed. GOD had told them to spread out and replenish the earth, and yet they gathered in one place. They had been told that GOD would never flood the whole earth again, and they began to build a tower to reach the heavens, to escape the flood that wasn't coming. Their unbelief and disobedience, led by Nimrod, a mighty hunter, was in utter defiance to the Word of GOD. GOD stepped in to confound the languages, and scatter the people by languages and families, and judging all those who stood in opposition to His Word.

There is coming a day, when much of the world will once again be of one language and purpose. A great leader, just as Nimrod, will rise up in defiance to the Lord, and unite those who reject GOD and His Word in rebellion, unbelief, and disobedience. GOD will judge those people when that day comes as well, and only those that are trusting in Him and faithful to the end will be saved because of their faith in His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary. GOD has always called repentant sinners to Himself, to trust Him and obey His Word, to surrender to Him on His terms, to receive Him by faith for forgiveness and Salvation.

Until that day comes, we are to go and tell, and as we go, we are commanded to minister to the hurting in this lost and dying world, as GOD gives the increase. We are to disciple one another in love and in His Word that we may grow thereby. We are to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ 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. He calls you to receive Him by faith in what He has already done for you on that cruel Roman cross. Trust His Word for forgiveness and Salvation and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Come to Jesus, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son, and be reconciled with GOD.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

Have Thine own way Lord

12/13/2013

I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto Thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt Thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. (Psalms 101:1-4)

We rejoice in the One who has made us perfect in Christ. His Spirit and His Word teaches us and guides us into all Truth, wherein we walk. While no one on this side of the grass is perfect apart from Christ, in the sense of being without sIn, error, or blemish; we are mature, complete, and striving onward and upward to that state of perfecting we already have positionally in Christ.

Because of His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary, we are made perfect in Him. GOD sees us through the blood of Jesus Christ shed for our sIn. Our sIn debt is paid, we are forgiven, and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. That doesn't mean we have a license to sIn all we want, it means we sIn more than we want to, but we are growing and maturing into His likeness, as He conforms us into the image of His dear Son.

It is what GOD has destined all believers to be, and while we are here, as strangers and pilgrims, we are to follow Him and obey His Word while telling all the world about His love, grace, and mercy that He has already paid for. The Good News of the Gospel is our only Hope.

For without Christ, unbelievers, the wicked and those who are as we used to be, are condemned already because of their unbelief. But, GOD is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance and a knowledge of the Truth.

The Truth that Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with Him that is real and personal. The Truth that you must be born again. The Truth that if you believe His Word and receive Him, He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. Put your faith and trust in Him and let Him give you His Salvation, then you will be perfect in Jesus Christ.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

GOD keeps His Word

7/10/2013

All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it. The LORD hath done that which He had devised; He hath fulfilled His Word that He had commanded in the days of old: He hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and He hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, He hath set up the horn of thine adversaries. (Lamentations 2:16-17)

When GOD moves against a city, nation, or people, even His own they are cast down. They may even be destroyed. But, GOD kept a remnant in the city of Jerusalem and around it, and told the people that went into captivity that they would return. In the meantime, GOD has allowed the enemies of Israel to lay waste to Jerusalem, and tear down the temple and the walls. He had warned the Jews for years that He would do exactly what He did to them. No one escapes the punishment of GOD. What He says He will do, will come to pass, in His time. Even in such a passage as this, we can take comfort in the fact that GOD is faithful, even when His people aren't. His mercies are new every morning, and we can rejoice and be glad in Him for His love for us, even when we fail Him.

That peace and comfort we may find, will not last forever for those that as a people, or nation continue to ignore GOD and His Word. Those that deny He exists, or live like He isn't there will soon find out that He purges even His Church. They may find their denomination, or building coming down in shame because of their continued disobedience. We may even find that our country is experiencing the wrath of GOD, or at least He is giving us exactly what we asked for and pulling His hand of protection back from us so our enemies can destroy us, just as He did with Jerusalem and Judah. The Church, nor the USA replaces Israel in the Bible, but GOD does set up and tear down the nations, and our country may be getting its just reward, as well as the congregations within it that have denied and ignored GOD and His word. The people of GOD have gone too long trying to fix spiritual problems with social and physical answers, and we are now less effective than we should be in the political and social realms. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can solve our situation.

IF you don't know Jesus Christ by Faith in His finished work on the Cross, I invite you to receive Him today. He is not willing that you should perish, but does insist that you must be born again, and have a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship in Him that is abundant and everlasting. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and become a child of GOD today.

If you are one of His, be obedient to His Word, and do His work.

In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet

Just do it.

1/9/2013

Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; (Ephesians 5:24-25)

The command is to love. It should come easy, we shouldn't have to be told. But, sIn enters the picture far more often than it should, because of our old nature. GOD tells those of us that are in Christ to love. The wives are, out of respect to the husbands authority, to be subject to him. The husbands are to sacrificially love their wives. It's easy, and yet we make it hard. Either the wives are unlovable because they try to be in authority, or the husbands aren't respectable because they don't sacrificially love. But the command is to do it anyway. Just as Jesus loved each of us when we were unlovable, so are husbands to love their wives. Just as Jesus was subject to the authority of the Father, so are wives to submit to their husbands. And through it all, both will be strengthened and blessed for the obedience to the Word of GOD, and GOD will be glorified.

But those outside the family of GOD, who have never been born again, while they may imitate this action for a time; they can never truly accomplish the will of GOD for they don't know Him. GOD calls all sinners, those separated from Him to repent. Surrender to Him on His terms and be saved to start on the journey of Life with the Master; then you can begin to learn to love others and be subject to the authorities according to His Word.

I urge you to respond to whatever GOD is saying to you today. And if you are not married, love and submit to GOD and let Him provide your spouse while you remain pure until that person comes along.

In Christ,
Jefferson A. Sweet

GO and sIn no more.

1/7/2013

And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (1 Timothy 5:7-8)

As we continue the resolution series of memory verses; we come to this passage that refers to family members in the church that are in need, especially widows. If we who are in the church are unwilling to provide for our own family how can we say to those that are outside the Church of GOD that they are wrong, or doing wrong when we are acting just like them. We say that we believe GOD, and yet don't act like it. For a true believer this is unacceptable since it denies GOD, and His provision for all our needs. For the unbeliever that is playing church this is one of the areas that will show him to be what he is, lost and dead in his sins. The answer to any that disobey GOD is to repent: surrender to GOD on His terms, agreeing that our sIn is wrong and deserves punishment. Believe GOD and act accordingly, not to earn mercy but because we believe we have already received His grace and forgiveness. As He said; "GO and sIn no more."

We who are in Christ, who are bought with the shed blood of Calvary dare not neglect what GOD has put in our trust: either in faith or word or deed, be it family or occupation or ministry. But we do so, not because of any reward He offers, but because of our love for Jesus Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us.

If you are not yet a believer, if you have never received the free gift of salvation that He has already paid for; GOD calls you to become one of His, not to avoid Hell or live in Heaven but because you admit that living for yourself is death, and you can't save yourself or make yourself good enough. Receive Him today and let Him begin a good work in you.

If you are one of His own, tell others of this wonderful gift of mercy that they can receive.

In Christ,
Jefferson A. Sweet

Fully persuaded...

9/17/2012

Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that GOD that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our GOD whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (Daniel 3:15-18)

Despite all the pomp and circumstance, these three stood. Not only physically, when commanded to bow down and worship, but spiritually; because they obeyed GOD and not man. They believed GOD would deliver them, but remained steadfast and obedient regardless of how GOD brought them through. They were resolved, convinced in their heart and mind, determined before (just as they had with the meat offered to idols) to remain faithful to their Saviour and Lord. We need such as these today in the Church. Those that will not compromise at the alter of convenience. Those that will stand against tyranny and oppression, not at the point of a gun; because that will never change hearts and minds, but with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. True strength and resolution comes from a relationship with the Creator by faith in His finished work on the Cross of Calvary. A true relationship, not role-playing 'church' but a real and lasting salvation that GOD gives to those that repent, believe, and receive.

Dare to be like these three and stand. And if you don't know Christ and have come to realize that you can't stand like this without Him (and you can't) then receive Him today.

Stand up Christian, and be who Christ calls you to be. Be His witness to someone today.

In Christ,
Jefferson A. Sweet