To confess or not to confess

It is important to confess our sins if we have sinned and to ask forgiveness, from God and also from the person whom we have sinned against. It is also important that we forgive others because if we do not forgive those who have sinned against us then we will not have forgiveness for our sins; because as Jesus taught us to pray, He said:”forgive us our transgressions as we have forgiven those who have transgressed against us.”

We must also ask forgiveness from those against whom we have sinned. But sometimes the other person does not even know that you have sinned against him and it is better not to confess to that person that you have sinned against him unless he knows about it. Especially in the case of adultery where one spouse has cheated on the other, if that person then confesses to his spouse or to her spouse that they have been unfaithful then it can destroy their marriage. As Jesus also said to the woman who was caught in adultery, He said:”Where are your prosecutors?” She said:”They have left.” and He said:”I do not condemn you ether, go and SIN NO MORE.”

There are some “purists” that will maintain that a person who has been unfaithful must confess to their partner that they have been unfaithful. Many people have been unfaithful without even realizing it. Many believers will tell you that they have never committed adultery, they have never cheated on a spouse but in their mind they have. In their mind they have lusted after another person and Jesus said:”If you look at a woman to lust after her then you have already committed adultery in your heart.” Then you are already guilty of adultery. So before we judge other people let us rather make sure that WE are pleasing to Jesus. Let us confess our sins to Jesus and live in utter holiness and purity because no sinners will enter the kingdom of heaven.

May Jesus bless you.

Backsliders will SUFFER

Those who once accepted Jesus and experienced His deliverance, His love, His joy and His peace and then despised His love and turned their back on Him, who backslid and like the dog went back to their own vomit THEY WILL SUFFER. Jesus accepts all those who come to Him and He is faithful but if they are unfaithful they will suffer. Jesus warned. I read from Matthew 12:43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”  Many who once knew Jesus turned their back on Him and went back into the world after the pleasures of sin and they are now demon possessed and they cannot get loose, they cannot get back to Jesus. It will not be an easy way back. Jesus will not just take you back like the first time because you despised His love. He loves you but He will allow those demons to torment you to chastise you, because YOU TURNED YOUR BACK ON HIM. If you do not show that you are serious then Jesus will not deliver you as easily again. This time around, you will battle. Those demons will torment you, YOU WILL GO THROUGH HELL because you despised the love of Jesus. Is it because He doesn't love you? No. It is because you despised Him. He wants to teach you a lesson but if you do not do your utmost best and humble yourself before Jesus, YOU WILL PERISH. This world thinks that they can just go back and say:”Lord, I am sorry, Lord I am sorry.” You are not sorry and Jesus is not a fool! He is not listening to your prayer. He has delivered you to your desires, and now you will suffer. HE DOES NOT ANSWER THE PRAYERS OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT SERIOUS. If you are not serious and you do not SHOW BY YOUR DEEDS that you are serious, if you do not resist sin to the point of rather dying YOU WILL PERISH in your sin because you have despised the love of Jesus. He loves you but you need to show that you are serious with Him by turning your back on sin, by rejecting the devil, by fighting him off. You need to show Jesus that you are really serious or else you will perish in your sin. The road back will be extremely hard. It is up to you whether you want to perish or want eternal life but this time around you will work very, very hard to get through to Jesus. Start working, my friend, He is waiting for you, but it will not be easy! Seek Him and you will find Him. May Jesus bless you.

The blood of Jesus does not cover willful sin

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, through Whom and to Whom and by Whom all things were created, took the form of a man, flesh and blood, like we are and He came to this earth. He lived a normal human life like we do and He proved that flesh and blood CAN OBEY God; flesh and blood can live without doing sin. Further Jesus also atoned for the sins of the whole world by His blood, on the cross. He took the pain, He took the punishment so that all who REPENT and accept Him as Lord and Master and OBEY Him, SIN NO MORE, so that they can have eternal life. But IF WE GO ON SINNING after coming to the knowledge of the truth WE WILL PERISH. THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST DOES NOT COVER WILLFUL SIN.

We read in Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. 28Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” 31It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

If we go on sinning then it will be a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God because He does not excuse willful sin. Jesus said: “SIN NO MORE.” He forgives our past sin IF we TRULY REPENT and we OBEY Him with all our heart but if we go back to sin then we have a terrifying expectation of the wrath of God. The WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH. IF WE GO ON SINNING WE WILL PERISH IN ETERNAL DAMNATION.

May Jesus bless you.

A Root of Bitterness

The devil uses bitterness and unforgiveness to destroy many people. I am looking at a very sad article on the internet about a person who killed a high school mate for a very silly prank that was played fifty years ago. I include the link to this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/16/carl-ericcson-murder-norman-johnson-_n_1602411.html?utm_hp_ref=crime&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D170481

'From the moment 73-year-old Carl Ericsson rang his old high school classmate's doorbell in January, verified the man's identity and then shot him dead, the question had been what prompted him to confront a man he hadn't even spoken to in years.

The startling answer, a prosecutor said Friday, was a 1950s locker room humiliation that festered in Ericsson's mind for a half-century.

"He said that a jockstrap was put on his head," Kenneth Meyer said. "It's the only thing he's ever mentioned in talking to law enforcement."'

This person played a prank on him so many years ago and the grudge festered in him for all that many years, that he took a gun and he went and killed this person, after so many years. The outcome of it is extremely sad. All that is left is remorse and pain, for the person who committed the crime and for everybody involved, and this person himself, all he could say is:”I wish I could turn back the hands of time. But it is too late.

He allowed the devil a foothold. If we allow the devil a foothold he will destroy us. Many people are walking around with bitterness because of what other people had said to them, what people have done to them and that is destroying them and it is destroying other people. We must not allow the devil a foothold.

The writer of Hebrews warns us in Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;” The devil uses a small thing like that, which is insignificant and he gets a foothold, and he blows it up, and then people go and do things that they never wanted to do. The devil comes into you and once the devil has got a hold of you, then he uses that thing to destroy you and to destroy other people. You must not allow the devil a foothold. We must be very careful what we say to other people and we must be very careful to forgive others or else we ourselves will also not be forgiven. If we set free, we will be set free but if we fester grudges then those grudges will destroy us. Many marriages are destroyed, many relationships are destroyed; many people are destroyed and they end up in hell. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, I read from Matthew 6:11 When we pray we must say ”Give us this day our daily bread. 12‘ And forgive us our debts, as WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN our debtors.”

He says in verse 14“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15“ But IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE OTHERS, THEN YOUR FATHER WILL NOT FORGIVE YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS.” We must not allow a root of bitterness to take a hold of us and fester in us because it will destroy us in the end.

Whatever anybody has done against you, many years back, FORGIVE THEM and then God will forgive you. Go and ask forgiveness and get your slate clean. Don't allow those things to make you end up in hell. Don't give the devil a foothold because he will destroy you. Do not allow a root of bitterness to spring up because it will destroy you.

May Jesus bless you.

Forgiven - Record Cleared

This world does not have much mercy. Once a criminal has served his sentence then his record remains against his name for ever. When we come to Jesus and accept Him as our Lord then He forgives our past sin and He remembers it no more. There is no record, it is not held against us. We read in Hebrews 10:16 “16“THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS IN THEIR HEART, AND UPON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says,17“AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” - forgiven and forgotten! Cleared!

That is how Jesus clears us if we come to Him with true repentance. But then we need to turn away from sin, SIN NO MORE, do not go back to our previous lifestyle. Do not go back to sinning because then there is a terrible expectation of the wrath of God. We read in verse 26”For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.”

If we go back to sin, if we go back to our previous lifestyle we can only expect severe judgment of God. Verse 36:”For YOU HAVE NEED OF ENDURANCE, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.(that is eternal life, we must endure to receive eternal life)37FOR YET IN A LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. 38BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.” If we decide to follow Jesus we must not look back, we must not shrink back but in gratitude to Him we must live in holiness and in obedience.

We expect our record to be cleared but then we must also forgive those who have sinned against us and not remember what they have done to us or else we will not be forgiven. And that is why Jesus taught us to pray:”forgive us as we HAVE FORGIVEN those who have trespassed against us.”

Let us in gratitude endure and serve Jesus in holiness, obey Him and maintain the hope of eternal life because we will only win that prize if we SIN NO MORE and endure until the very, very end.

May Jesus bless you.

Forgive Them

People do not realize that when they harm others they are accumulating the wrath of God on themselves. They do not realize that the harm that they do to somebody else will cause them to end up in hell and that is why Jesus, when He hung on the cross, He said:”Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus also told us to forgive others if we want forgiveness because we pray and say:”Father, forgive ME as I HAVE FORGIVEN those who have sinned against me.”

It is so easy to say to another person:”I forgive you” but then to remember the harm that he has brought to you.

Somebody gave me some wisdom this morning and said that WHENEVER YOU THINK OF THAT PERSON THAT HARMED YOU and that asked forgiveness, FORGIVE HIM ONCE MORE! Whenever any thought of that person comes up with you, forgive him, BLESS HIM, because only then can we forgive seventy times seven in one day and if we forgive others then we ourselves are set free. If we do not forgive then we remain in bondage. We must bless and not curse.

So, if we want to be free we must bless those who curse us and those who have harmed us, we have to forgive and bless them, then we ourselves will be set absolutely free. Bless, and do not curse!

May Jesus bless you.

No Mercy - Demand for Justice

We live in a vengeful world where very little mercy is shown and people want to see justice done whenever anything happens to them, when they are the victims but they forget themselves, the things that they have done to others, how they have wronged others. They forget their own sins. They do not show mercy and therefor they will not receive mercy.

Jesus said, Matthew 5:7“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.“

People pray the Lords prayer, so often but they do not think what they are praying, because they pray, and say, Matthew 6:12‘And forgive us our debts, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS.'

Verse 14:“For if you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15“BUT IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE OTHERS, THEN YOUR FATHER WILL NOT FORGIVE YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS.” If we do not forgive, then our sins will not be forgiven, they will not be forgotten, but we will be punished for those sins and THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, A TERRIFYING ETERNAL DAMNATION! That is the wages of sin. And even Christians don't have mercy on each other. They are continuously attacking each other, gossiping, tearing each other to pieces, tearing other people down, they have got NO MERCY! They WANT JUSTICE! That same JUSTICE will be applied to you. If you cry for justice then God will bring justice to you for whatever YOU have done wrong! But if we forgive and we show mercy then God will show us mercy. If we cannot forgive others then God will not forgive us. If we cannot show mercy we will not receive mercy. If we cannot forgive than our sins will also not be forgiven and we will have to pay for our wrongdoings, for each and every one of them, If we do not FROM OUR HEART, FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED US!

I read in Matthew 18:21”And Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

If we do not forgive FROM THE HEART EVERY TIME, then God will not forgive us, then our sins will be held against us.

I also read from Matthew 18:23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24“And when he had begun to settle them, there was brought to him one who owed him ten thousand talents.25“But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26“The slave therefor falling down prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27“And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28“But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29“So the fellow slave fell down and began to entreat him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30“He was unwilling however but went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31“So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32“Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you entreated me. 33‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?’ 34“And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35“SO SHALL MY HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ALSO DO TO YOU, IF EACH OF YOU DOES NOT FORGIVE HIS BROTHER FROM YOUR HEART.”

How many people are there who are walking around with grudges, who do not forgive others from the heart, who want others to come and beg forgiveness from them, but they themselves do not find mercy in them to others? If we do not have mercy and show mercy from the heart, we will not receive mercy. We will receive judgment!

Let us show mercy and then we can also ask for mercy from our heavenly Father.

May Jesus bless you.

Bitterness will destroy you

Bitterness destroys many people.  Many people carry bad experiences with them and those experiences determine how they react later in life.  How they live their lives, how they interact with other people.  Many people feel rejected and therefore they reject other people.  They have been cheated, they have been abused and therefore they treat other people with suspicion even hatred.  Many people in relationships, in marriages, they are bitter against each other, they resent each other, they hate each other and it destroys that relationship.  Many people become depressed which leads to drug use and drug abuse and addiction and often to suicide.  Bitterness is a KILLER and we must get rid of it dear friends.  Jesus taught us to pray. I read the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we also HAVE FORGIVEN our debtors.” If we do not forgive those who have wronged us, who have sinned against us, then we cannot get forgiveness from God.  We must let go.
We also read in Mark 11:25 “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in Heaven may forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in Heaven forgive your transgressions.” Dear friend, we must let go of bitterness, it destroys us, the root of bitterness will kill us if we allow it to grow in us.  We must pull it out.  Invite Jesus into your life and let the peace of Jesus come into you. He says vengeance is Mine, I will repay.  Let go of your bitterness.  Repent of it, give it up, give it to Jesus and He will give you peace in your heart.  If you forgive others you can also get forgiveness and you can have peace with God.  Many people hate God for things that happened in their life, they feel that God should have prevented it.  Dear friends, we must let go of it.  Let go of the hatred, let go of the bitterness, the animosity and then you will get free.  If we set others free, then we ourselves are also set free.  Trust in Jesus friend and He will give you peace in your heart and your whole life will change.  He will make you new.  He will forgive your sins as you forgive others theirs also.  And that root of bitterness will be taken out and you will be healed.
May Jesus bless you.

Forgive unconditionally and God will forgive you

We must unconditionally forgive everybody who has ever sinned against us, because if we do not forgive others, then God will not forgive our sins and if our sins are not forgiven , we will end up in hell. Jesus showed us the example, when He hung on the cross , He asked the Father to forgive those who crucified Him, because He said: “Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” Dear friends, we must forgive everybody, even without them asking. We must forgive unconditionally, because if we hold things against other people, then our sins will also be held against us. Let go of the past, forgive and forget and follow Jesus Christ and you will also be set free. Set others free and we will also be set free. May Jesus bless you.
Transcript to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-11PP662AtA