Sunday, March 10, 2013

Walking in Faith




This is a message that was given in our radio broadcast EYE OF THE STORM at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/MartusMinistry a couple weeks ago. We cover bible prophecy in the news and other teachings led by the Holy Spirit. The link to that specific broadcast is: http://www.martusministry.org/www.blogtalkradio.com/martusministry/2013/02/27/martus-ministry--eye-of-the-storm. The broadcast is every Tuesday 7-8pm PST. Archives for all broadcasts can be found at our website http://www.MartusMinistry.org


WALKING IN FAITH

Believing that God is with us and will lead us even when we don't see how or don't know what will happen in a situation, but simply doing our best to be obedient and trust in Him is key. I was feeling down and just not in a good mood and attacked the other day. Right in the middle of dealing with that a dear sister in Christ needed prayer. I thought, "how can I be a strong intercessor for her if I am so weak now myself?" "I won't be able to really be a good support to her right now" and I was just getting more and more attacked and down. I knew I had to call her it was getting too late. I called her, was listening to her, and sometime in between I was internally praying for the right words and that the situation with us all be blessed. We continued on for a bit and then we all (my husband Kevin too ) started praying together. It was such a strong anointed time and the God's presence was sooooo tangible! It became one of the most notable prayer sessions with worship and tears and everyone was blessed! I told her I am sooo glad we prayed together, I feel so different too and explained how I had been down. As the popular song goes "He will make a way when there seems to be no way"! Now I was heavily getting attacked that I should not talk to her because I was not strong enough myself. But the fact is that prayer is powerful and simply changes everything. Kevin got a word right before we started praying Proverbs 11:25 "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." I felt not only watered but poured upon drenched in blessing!!

We walk by faith not by sight.

Are we trying to do things on our own or asking God to guide us and lead us in our actions? I have caught myself trying to plan things and then realize that I was leaving God out of the process! We need to ask Him to guide us in everything, little and big. He already has a plan for us and we want to make sure we are following it and not making our own:

James 4:13-16 "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil."

Many times we may think we got something figured out but in God's eyes it is foolishness! We lack true wisdom more often than we may think, which is why we have to be ready and willing to seek God's council:

James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

Proverbs 3:6 is one of the most powerful passages of importance as it is instruction for how to allow God to lead our lives.

Proverbs 3:6
"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

We have to acknowledge Him by worship/giving thanks, making our requests known, and just constantly remembering His presence and that He is with us and watching us. That is certainly a task for our distracted minds. I know if I go awhile without acknowledging Him in the day I feel convicted and as soon as the realization hits I drop everything and start talking to Him and confessing my distractions. Just communicating our heart is important. That is why we are told to continually pray and give thanks in EVERYTHING:

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 "Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Colossians 4:2 "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." ( ESV version there. Usually we use KJV but glean on other translations)

When we are praying we must also remember to pray for others, of course including the brethren:

Ephesians 6:18
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

Sometimes acknowledging Him is simply being still and knowing He is God:

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Vast majority of the time, I would say 99% of the time I go into prayer or worship I have no idea what I will say but just trust being led by the spirit Holy Spirit interceding in prayer like I told you about with the sister in Christ we prayed with:

Romans 8:26 "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."

The Holy Spirit helps us pray and even speak! Our speech is important to God! Jesus himself says:

Matthew 12:36-37 " But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

How we speak reveals if we are being led by the Holy Spirit or our own selves, or falling into temptations from the devil, Our speech reflects our heart.

Matthew 15:18
"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man." We can't be led by the Spirit if we are grieving the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:29-30
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

We just have to be obedient and trust in faith, even when a situation is scary, putting ourselves aside and allowing ourselves to be used by God. Occultists/Mediums channel demons many times in disguise parading around as grandmothers or what ever. The high level occultists have faith in that if they conjure up a demon ( whether they know it or not that it is a demon) that they can give messages to people, write music ( most Hollywood music and film totally demonically inspired. See "Hollywoods War on God"), books, and many others things by allowing themselves to be possessed. They are led by the demonic spirit to do MANY things. How much more faith should we as children of the light have faith to be led by the Holy Spirit and allow ourselves to be a vessel for Him? The true, pure, amazing Spirit of God can speak through us and we can be used in a righteous way for God's Kingdom according to His will.

For example we are told by Yeshua himself:

Matthew 10:17-20 "But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."

Please see Dan Baumann's testimony on youtube. He was a missionary in Iran and ended up being in court and said that the words that came to him just flowed right out of Him and He even spoke about Jesus in front of them! In his case he was let go...and people ended up getting saved!

I am personally so blessed when I talk to someone and it confirms something to them through scripture or something they have been praying about...and when that happens to me too. It confirms that the Spirit is speaking!

We lack wisdom in so many ways which is why we need help in guiding us. It is in trusting that He will lead us even when we have not a clue what lays ahead and even when what we see seems hopeless... that is real faith. Faith is the evidence of things NOT seen:

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Speaking about Moses:

Hebrews 11:27
"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."

READ ALL OF HEBREWS 11 for amazing biblical examples of faith.


With God all things are possible even when we don't see how something could possibly work out or end up:

Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Even when something is happening that is not to our liking and we feel anxiety about it, that is because of our lack of faith. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not have anxiety going in the flames ( Book of Daniel Chapters 1-3), nor did so many others in worse situations than ourselves.. because of faith.

Philippians 4:6
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." "careful" here means anxious/anxiety

Anxiety is the opposite of faith and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). When we have the faith of a child knowing our Heavenly Father is there to guide us in all things, we won't try to figure things out on our own unwise human ways. May we learn to let go of our ways and surrender to God's will! Amen?

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Holy Conversation--What would Jesus say?


This is a message that was given in our radio broadcast EYE OF THE STORM at www.blogtalkradio.com/MartusMinistry last week. We cover bible prophecy in the news and other teachings led by the Holy Spirit. The link to that broadcast is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/martusministry/2013/03/06/martus-ministry--eye-of-the-storm
The broadcast is every Tuesday 7-8pm PST. Archives for all broadcasts can be found at our website www.MartusMinistry.org


James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."


Hebrews 10:26-31 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

There is healthy fear and unhealthy fear of the Lord. Without healthy fear, one can run around not thinking about how we are accountable for our actions. That is why we are told in:

1 Peter 1:17
"And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work, pass the time of your exile here in fear:"

A healthy fear recognizes who He is, the power He has, that He is ultimate judge of us, and gives respect to Him. Healthy fear is not anxiety that when falling into any small error we will be thrown in hell. NOT HEALTHY. Many times people get caught in unhealthy fear, I have done this myself and I hear it often, they feel that they will never please God cause they are so flawed and mess up all the time and in that discouragement they feel like giving up and not doing anything for the Lord. That is a tactic of the devil! He is the accuser of the brethren ( Revelation 12:10)! Thankfully a characteristic of God is patience and long suffering ( Numbers 14:18, 2 Peter 3:9, 2 Peter 3:15). Knowing that He is patiant we should still always be willing and striving/working ( part of good works) to follow Him in spirit and in truth, it is a matter of our heart. Part of the good works is making sure we don't fall into error. Apostle Peter goes on to give a warning in:

2 Peter 3:17-18
"Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."

One way of working to please the Lord is through striving to be Holier more Christ like in every way, including SPEECH.


Holy Conversation--- What would Yeshua say?


The way we talk, when we talk, and what we talk about, everything about our speech, is very important to understand, analyze, and be aware of. As mentioned last week, what we speak reflects our heart.

Matthew 15:18-19 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:"

Again the understanding that speech reflects our heart is seen in James 3:8-15
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

When our heart is not right speaking is not a good idea. When you are angry have you noticed that darts fly out? It is hard to control when we are angry and it may be a better idea to not say anything at all. Have you heard that saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all?" That is it. Now you still may be thinking evil thoughts and cursing someone in your thoughts and that still has to be repented about and confessed to God. But it only makes things worse when we let our mouth run wild when we are upset. The darts coming out will hit someone else and then darts will come flying out of them! Have you ever fought the urge to say something and literally have to press your lips together hard as to not speak? I have and it is so much better to keep silent I have seen over and over again or just talk minimally.

Matthew 5:37 "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

Wisdom does not come from a multitude of words. It is quality not quantity! In economic terms talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand! Sometimes it is best to keep silent especially in volatile situations.

Proverbs 17:27-28
He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding."

Proverbs 10:19
"In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise."

Have you ever said to yourself, "oh I should not have just said that" or " oops I just talked without really thinking" or "why am I even talking about and entertaining something so worldy?" We all have done this at some point, and some more than others. We need to be vigilant about this and really watch ourselves because we will be held accountable:

Matthew 12:36-37
" But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Proverbs 21:23
"Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." "Keepeth" in the Hebrew H8104 denotes protecting, guarding, attending to.."

Proverbs 13:3 "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction."

Our speech is important to God! Watching our speech and what we say with the intent behind it is a good way to making sure our heart is right. We can say words that appear to everyone else as "good" but our intention is evil or has ulterior motives. Apostle Paul spoke of people that preach Christ but not with pure intentions:

Philippians 1:15 "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:"

Right before describing these people he encourages them to be sincere, so they may be found as pure as can be when Christ returns:

Philippians 1:9-11
"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."

Watching our speech can help us hold every thought captive to the obedience of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 10:5) and help us be more sincere and pure, by literally just listening to what we are saying. Then we can look at the intention behind what was said and the thoughts that were involved when speaking the words. We think we would know what we sound like since we are the ones speaking, but it is really revealing in a different way when you take serious effort in watching this. Try it. You can even make a thing where you note on paper and check mark when you speak without thinking or in a sinful way, whether it be pride, anger, lust, jealousy, or whatever...Just doing anything that helps to be vigilant and diligent about this because our speech does have side effects and the temptations set up by the devil are certainly there. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

James 3:2-6 ( ESV) "For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell."

Matthew Henry commentary states it well when stating "We are taught to dread an unruly tongue as one of the greatest and most pernicious evils. It is compared to a little fire placed among a great deal of combustible matter, which soon raises a flame and consumes all before it: Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, etc., Jam_3:5, Jam_3:6. There is such an abundance of sin in the tongue that it may be called a world of iniquity. How many defilements does it occasion! How many and dreadful flames does it kindle! So is the tongue among the members that it defileth the whole body. Observe hence, There is a great pollution and defilement in sins of the tongue. Defiling passions are kindled, vented, and cherished by this unruly member. And the whole body is often drawn into sin and guilt by the tongue. Therefore Solomon says, Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, Ecc_5:6. The snares into which men are sometimes led by the tongue are insufferable to themselves and destructive of others. It setteth on fire the course of nature. The affairs of mankind and of societies are often thrown into confusion, and all is on a flame, by the tongues of men."

It can be easy to fall into unpure speech even as believers, but when we notice anything come up we have to immediately repent, confess and then pray for help to have that calmness, patiance love ,ect.. We can pray like Psalm 141:3 "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

Our amazing God will help us in this regard and give us strength to overcome these weaknesses. I saw the Holy Spirit do a HUGE work in me by just simply getting saved, I changed my whole mannerism of speech from the horrible demon possessed language I was spewing out before. I was demon possessed as some of you know which became very obvious to me after I came back from doing high level yoga in India and I became rageful. I am so glad that it did manifest this way so I could see for myself the truth that there was something more to what meets the eye. Because many of these yogic programs and chanting and such give false euphoria as demons enter the body and alter the system much like a drug would. I would feel a "high" doing these things to keep me hooked and feeling like I am spiritually progressing, SO DECEPTIVE. ANyway so I am happy that demons were revealing true colors and not parading around in disguise. I said outloud with a demon speaking through me " I am going to take you all down with me" in a voice that was not mine. That is when I knew something was going on and started to understand demons....finally I was led to the Lord instead of committing suicide! When i asked Him to be my Lord and Saviour and forgive me of my sins and surrendered to Him, everything about me changed, most notably to my parents, the way I would talk and I would not hardly get angry ever no matter what they accused me with ( they are hindu nonbelievers). My dad really mentioned the change to my brother " Purvi does not get angry anymore, it is amazing, about anything...." I remember one time when demons were manifesting through them with anger towards me for not believing in evolution , I got called all manner of evil and I never got mad ( TOTALLY THE SPIRIT NOT ME). In fact I said, simply "I love you" when they would yell. It was amazing! For more of my testimony and a detailed paper on the roots of Isha Yoga ( what I was involved in) as well as Yoga and Hinduism in general check out this document: http://www.scribd.com/doc/103549370/Isha-Yoga-Roots

The Spirit has begun a work in us as born again children, and although we strive to be perfect for the Lord, we won't be perfected will in resurrected form when Christ returns:

Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

It will be so awesome when one day we don't have to deal with sinning and all this evil world!! But till then we got to keep being diligent and vigilent so that we are found spotless. He is always here to help if we are willing to be helped. In this verse "confirm" is used to mean "sustain":

1 Corinthians 1:8 "Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I read 1 Peter 5:8 above but I want to read it again till verse 11:

1 Peter 5:8-11 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

Let us continue to painstakingly with all effort and awareness, look at our weaknesses, make it a priority to understand them and confess them, pray for strength to overcome them, and learn and grow in maturity!