It is Time For The American Church to Preach Holiness and Righteousness

I have been in the ministry since 1968, that is a total of 50 years.  In those 50 years, I have come to realize that not everything taught in the church is Bibicial truth.  There are many personal preferences found in church doctrine that have no scriptural background.  There are isolated passages of scripture that have been taken out of context to control the membership of various denominations.  Then there are those who have a personal agenda and use the Bible to justify their actions.

In my 50 years in the ministry, the message of the Church has changed.  There was a time when holiness and righteousness was preached from the pulpits.  Today, we excuse sin, tolerate it, condone it and practices it without remorse.  The result is there is crisis of sin and immorality in America’s churches. Across our land, many professing Christians are practicing sinful lifestyles that are little different than those of unbelievers. Sins of adultery, fornication, drunkenness, drug abuse are rampant among those to claim to be followers of Jesus.

I ran across this blog that was shocking.  Forty percent of pastors surveyed admitted to having an extra marital affair after entering the ministry!  40%!  How does that happen?  Of course, it is common knowledge that there have been pastors that have had moral failures, like Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, and John Hagee but to have 40% admit to an affair?  Is anyone else shocked or am I just closed-minded?  Is it any wonder that there is a lack of spiritual power in the church today?  What is disturbing is the number of pastors that are still in the ministry after having affiars.  Bakker, Swaggart, and Hagee are all pastoring churches again making millions of dollars off the deceived. I guess what is hard for me to understand is the number of people who overlook this sin.

When I read about the sins committed by the ministry, it is not surprising why there is little preaching against sin in the American pulpits. Rarely are ministers being held accountable for their sinful behavior.

There is a judgment day coming and those individuals who profess to be Christians, yet practice a sinful lifestyle of immorality, are not Christians.  Yes, I am judging them by the fruits they exhibit in their daily lives. The Bible makes it clear that people who practice “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries,” and so forth, will NOT inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21)

The Church can exist in a world of sin, but it cannot prosper when a world of sin is brought into the Church. A ship in the water is fine, but water in the ship can be disastrous.  One of the problems within the Church is the attitude toward sin.  I am sure at this point there will be many who will vehemently disagree with me.  It is hard to understand how a thinking person can read the Bible and still believe in living in the bondage of sin.  In most of the Churches, today sin is excused because we are “only human.” The Bible commands men to depart from all sin, to keep God's commandments, to be holy because God is holy, and to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. The Bible teaches that all men ought to live without sin and that they can live without sin by God's grace and the power of his indwelling Holy Spirit. The Bible also teaches that Christians do live without sin and overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.  This is not what I say; this is what the Word of God says.

The Bible teaches that the believer can live without sin. Its pages are filled with promises to the believer that he can live a holy life and have victory over sin, temptation, the world, the flesh, and the devil: Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (not in their sins) Matt. 1:21

Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin...If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:34, 36 

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. I John 5:4

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. I John 3:6.

And we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. I John 5:18

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. I John 3:9

Sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law but under grace. Rom. 6:14

Now unto him, that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Jude 24, 25

Now, who are we going to believe? Will we accept the uncertain declarations of mere men or will we receive the sure Word of God? If, after all, what God has said and promised in his Holy Book, it is still impossible to live without sin, then God is a liar, deceitful, and insincere. Surely, if it is impossible to live without sin, God knows it! Yet he promises victory over sin. He commands holiness and Christian perfection. "Be ye holy, for I am holy." I Peter 1:15. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as you father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. 5:48. Would God command us to walk in Christian holiness and Christian perfection if he knew it was impossible for us? I cannot believe it! Do those who propagate the evil doctrine of sin understand its implications on the character of God? If God knows that we can't obey him, if he knows that after He has redeemed us and filled us with His Holy Spirit, we still have a corrupt, sinful nature which makes obedience impossible, then He is insincere and deceitful in commanding us to do what He knows is impossible. And if God knows that we are to live out our life with a sinful nature that makes sin necessary, then all His promises of grace and power to keep us from sin are lies.

God cannot lie. It is the doctrine of constant sinning while in this life that is a lie! For the Word of God reveals that God has always had his saints. He has always had a people that feared him, loved him, and kept his commandments. He has always had a people that did not break his commandments daily in thought, word, and deed: There was Job, of whom God said, "A perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil." There was Enoch who "walked with God" and "was not, for God took him." There was Zacharias and Elizabeth who "were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." There was John the Baptist who was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. The Bible clearly teaches that God's people can and do live without sin. So, the doctrine of a sinning religion, which teaches otherwise, is a myth and a lie.

Is this reason that the Church is weak and without power?  It is because Christians spend all their efforts on repentance and justification and not on  holiness.  The Hebrew writer puts it this way,

 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.   And this will we do if God permit.   For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Here is why the Church needs to return to the message of holiness and righteous living and stop excusing sin. It dishonors God. It makes Him arbitrary, cruel, and unjust.  It causes the Church to wink at and justify sin. It produces complacency and a low standard of religion among Christians.  It is a stumbling-block to the unsaved.  It contradicts the Bible.  It creates false doctrines and false interpretations of the Scriptures.

There is crisis of sin and immorality in America’s churches. Across our land, many professing Christians are practicing sinful lifestyles that are little different than those of unbelievers. Sins of adultery, fornication, drunkenness, drug abuse are rampant among those to claim to be followers of Jesus.  It is time to return to the message of a holy life and stop excusing sin as we are only human.  The transformational power of the blood of Jesus Christ can free us from the bondage of sin.  Accept God’s remedy for sin and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

What Was Abnormal, Is Now Normal

This year marks 70 years for me and as I look back on my life much has changed in the world I live.  There are so many things that were at one time normal, but now are abnormal. There was a respect for authority and obedience for rules and law. For the most part, people were decent and polite both in public and private. Men treat women with respect.  Children were respectful of the elderly.  Sunday was a time for worship and family—all these things have changed drastically, and the world is turned upside down.

People disrespect rules and feel they have RIGHTS. People need safe-places, they are spoiled, pampered and lack respect for any type of authority or people as a whole.  Their sense of the spiritual has been replaced by a virtual world of fantasy.  For the most part, they have been catered to, surrounded by amusements, comforts and their every whim has been fulfilled.  They have no understanding of NO!  This is the culture of “me,” their wants are more important than the needs of others.  Parents are ruled by their children. Schools are becoming a place to learn social protest and churches have lost the message of transformational salvation.

I realize that this is not the case with your children, home, or church, but it is the case with enough families that it is the rule of the contemporary family.  Today, you must be careful how you discipline a child.  Neighbors are watching, teachers are listening, doctors are watching, law enforcement is watching and how you discipline must meet their approval.  This has led to a decline in disciple of children.  When these children grow older, they surround themselves with like individuals.  They are in a constant search for “fun.”  Even in the church, the youth are only attracted to things that are “fun.”  Could it be that the search for “fun” has led to an empty life that is focused on “me?” Could it be that this is the reason suicide is high? Could the fun life style be the reason companies cannot find people to work?  Could this be the reason there are so many marriages failing?  I’m just asking the questions.

I am aware there are youth who turn to religion.  What I have witnessed with most “religious youth” is a religion that is not transformational, it is more about self-improvement, self-development, and emotional.  They are focused on the same type of music to which non-Christian youth are hearing. The music is the same the lyrics are changed to make it religious. They dress and talk the same as non-Christian youth.  They have the same problems with alcohol, drugs, sex, and depression.  Their lives have not experienced the transformation power of Jesus Christ.  They do the same old things only with a “religious” name.  

Let me rant for just a moment. The hymns of the church are gone in most churches, with songs off the wall.  You say that’s OK. But it is not OK.   It is in the hymns where sound doctrine is taught.  The hymnal is a tool for teaching theology. The great principles of our faith have been incorporated into some of our most significant hymns.  The easiest way to discover the potential of the hymnal for teaching theology is to study its topical index.  Enough said.

I grew up when men were respected.  Today, there is this universal attack on men; it is openly in the secular world and becoming familiar in the church world.  The problem in the church is that the subliminal message is that “religion” is for women.  For men, Sunday is a day to relax, enjoy yourself, be comfortable and watch some type of sporting event.  This is the same message which is openly expressed officially in atheist countries.  Religion is not important.  If you don’t realize this, you should.  This is what has turned our world upside down.

Our culture has changed from one where God was worshipped, to forget God there are more important things in life.  The fear of God and the reverence for holy things are no more than the stupid ideas of religious nuts or “old-fashioned” beliefs that need to be eliminated. Christianity is on its way out.  Don’t waste your time going to church with a bunch of old women.  Sad that we have come to this. (Yes, I know your church is on fire and many lost souls have been brought into the kingdom of God.) 

It is true in 70 years much has changed in the world.  The carefree, fun-loving, self-worshipping people of today are in for a rude awakening.  As we see the generation that the Apostle Paul warned Timothy about becoming the norm for our culture, we are in for some troubling times.

Paul tells us these people:

1.     They will love only themselves and money.

2.     They will be proud and boast about themselves.

3.     They will abuse others with insults.

4.     They will not obey their parents.

5.     They will be ungrateful.

6.     They will fight against all that is pleasing to God.

7.     They will have no love for others and will refuse to forgive anyone.

8.     They will talk about others to hurt them and will have no self-control.

9.     They will be cruel and hate what is right. People will turn against their friends.

10.They will do foolish things without thinking and will be so proud of themselves. Instead of loving God, they will enjoy pleasure.

11.They will go on pretending to be devoted to God, but they will refuse to let that “devotion” change the way they live.

Paul says, Stay away from these people! It may be useful advice but when your whole society is this way it is difficult.  Keep the faith, endure until the end, watch for the LORD He is coming back.

I Just Can't Let It Go!

I realize that some of my readers may be tired of my Syria rants.  I feel like a prophet in the desert speaking to the wind and no one really cares about the message. So, at the risk of sounding like a conspiracy nut let me give you some interesting facts about what is happening in Syria.  Here are some things I have compiled that has not made the main stream media.  I cannot do much for my Christian brothers and sisters in Syria, but I can share information that will expose the real reasons the US government is in Syria, with the hope that it may stop the war.

In a journalism class, my professor said if you want to find out what is happening in the world today—follow the money.  Syria is one of the last remaining countries that has it’s own central state-owned and controlled bank.  The IMF (International Monetary Fund)  has gained control of every country the US government as destroyed.  The IMF artificially limits the volume of currency available for the real economic needs of the nation they control.  In Syria, the no-interest credit goes against the IMF.  If the IMF gains control the use of non-credit will destroy the economic structure of the country.  Syria will be forced like other nations to resort to a usury-based banking system that will start the debt chains to grow.

When the IMF comes into a country, they artificially change the volume of public currency issued by the state’s central bank, which generates no interest and forces countries to resort to high interest rates on loans.  This is the reason the US government through the Federal Reserve system is $20 Trillion dollars in debt.  By following the money, you should see a perfect reason the IMF’s bankers want to control Syria.

Syria has no IMF which seems to indicate that the leadership in Syria has a better understanding of the bondage of debt than the elected leaders of the USA.  Any country controlled by the globalist bankers will always fall into debt problems.  Every nation involved with the IMF has run into real economic trouble and has placed on its people a debt that can never be repaid.  This is the real roots of the ‘debt crises’ hitting Greece, Cyprus, Ireland, Argentina, Spain, Italy, UK, US, Portugal, France and a host of other countries.

In Syria, a Muslim country rejects the fractional leading and interest practices as being immoral.  That is the main reason Libya under Gaddafi was destroyed.  Even before the “war” was over the IMF’s banker had replace the Central Bank of Libya.  That is the same reason we are fighting in Syria and may eventually go into Iran.  They did not allow the IMF to take over their nation.

It seems that the policy of the US government is to invent a reason to invade and destroy, then offer $Trillions in IMF funding to rebuild... conveniently paid back by control of the oil fields and the free access to build gas pipelines that benefit the globalist and not the American people.

The American people could learn some lessons from Syria-- no Federal Reserve System and no GMO seeds.  Assad banned GMO’s to preserve human health. He understands that the world food supply is out of control.  It will not be oil that will be our problem but what food we will have in the near future.

Many are not aware the US government after gaining control in Iraq ordered that only Monsanto seeds should be used.  Another reason for companies like Monsanto to want Syria to fall.

Yes, oil is another reason to go to war with Syria.  You may have noticed that every country the US government has gone into there is in the back of everyone's mind-oil. There was the need for democracy in Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, the Falklands, Afghanistan, and Venezuela.  The oil was just an after thought.  Syria has offshore and onshore oil and gas reserves and is helping to build a massive pipeline together with Iran but without Western oil giants’ control. Clearly, the full militarization of all oil production and reserve zones, and the militarization of transportation routes to ‘bring oil home’ from everywhere in the world is a critical on-going joint US/UK strategy.  This should answer the question why we are in Syria-could it be that BP, Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, Texaco, Total, Repsol, and Chevron are looking at Syria’s oil?

Here are some additional facts you need to know about the country the US government is trying to overthrow.

1.      The Assad family belongs to the tolerant Islam of Alawid orientation

2.      Syrian women have the same rights as men to study, health and education.

3.      Syria women are not forced to wear the burqa. The Sharia (Islamic law) is unconstitutional

4.      Syria is the only Arab country with a secular constitution and does not tolerate Islamic extremist movements.

5.      Roughly 10% of the Syrian population belongs to one of the many Christian denominations, all fully integrated in Syrian political and social life.

6.      In other Arab countries, the Christian population is less than 1% due to sustained hostility.

7.      Syria has banned genetically modified (GMO) seeds, stating his decision was made in order “to preserve human health,”

8.       Syria has an opening to Western society and culture like no other Arab country.

9.      Its media and universities openly debate the global power elite’s influence in things. This means that they fully grasp the fact that real power in the West lies not in the White House preferably with the sophisticated and compelling grid of elite think-tanks and central banks.

10.  Throughout history, there have been five popes of Syrian origin. Religious tolerance is unique in the area.

11.  Prior to the current civil war, Syria was one of the only peaceful countries in the area, having avoided significant wars or internal conflicts.

12.  Syria was the only country that admitted Iraqi refugees without any social, political or religious discrimination.

13.  Syria clearly and unequivocally opposes Zionism. Following a massive oil find in Syria's Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, Netanyahu had asked the US government to recognize its annexation of the territory. To consolidate its hold, plans are afoot to quadruple Israeli settler numbers to 100,000.

14.   Syria is one of the only countries in the Middle East without debts to the International Monetary Fund ( Pre-invasion Libya & Iran the only others )

15.  Syria is the only Mediterranean country which remains the owner of its oil company, with an oil reserve of 2,500 million barrels, the operation of which has avoided privatization and is reserved exclusively for state-owned enterprises.

So now ask yourself, why are we genuinely attempting to overthrow yet another government? What are we hoping to fix there?  If the recent invasions and illegal assassinations of Presidents like Qaddafi and Saddam have taught us anything, it should be the understanding of the blowback effect of such lawless actions by the US government and the vacuum of chaos that always supersedes it.  The stability of the Middle-East has fallen apart since the overthrow of Saddam.  The only thing the US government has gained is the hatred of the Muslim world.  Maybe it is time to stop the insanity and rebuild America and let the rest of the world fight their own battles.

I am not a supporter of Islam and understand the evils it has brought on the world.  However, if there are Muslim leaders like Assad who are tolerant of other religions why should we want to overthrow them.  Unlike the Saudi’s who are the primary supporters of terrorist groups, it was 19 Saudis that destroyed the Twin Towers; it is the Saudi’s who deny freedom of worship in their country and persecute Christians as well as other Muslims.   So why do we support them over nations that have never attacked us?

It is my firm belief that we will regret the day we went into Syria.  As a student of the Bible, I understand the importance of what is happening in the Middle-East in regards to prophecy.  These events are to take place before the LORD returns.  When will this happen, I don't know.  Is this the beginning of the end?  Some believe it is.  All I know is that America needs to get her house in order.  Regardless what happens in the Middle-East, America will feel the judgment of LORD if we continue down the path we are going.  Are we in the End-Times?  I believe we are.  We are much closer than many realize.  We need to wake up and  repent of our sins, before the time of repentance is past.  Now is the time, today is the day,  America needs to call on the LORD in repentance and turn from her wicked ways.  The LORD has given us space to repent, but I feel that time is running out.

Pray for Christians everywhere that are being persecuted for the cause of Jesus Christ.

Christ Through the Bible- Isaiah

Text: Isaiah 1:30- A garden that hath no water.

The book of Isaiah is impressive. Why? Well, it was written over 700 years before Jesus was born on that Bethlehem night over 2000 years ago, yet it contains clear and accurate prophecies concerning His birth, life, and death. Due to this precise revelation about the coming Messiah, it has often been called ‘the 5th gospel’. To back this up, the New Testament contains sixty-six direct quotes from the book of Isaiah and twenty of the twenty-seven books include a quote from Isaiah.

The Book of Isaiah is one of the most important books of the Old Testament. While little is known of the personal life of the prophet, he is one of the greatest of them all.

The book is a collection of oracles, prophecies, and reports; but the common theme is the message of salvation. There was, according to these writings, no hope in anything that was made by people. The northern kingdom of Israel had been carried into captivity (722 B.C.), and the kingdom of Judah was in the middle of idolatry and evil. The kingdom of Assyria had dominated the Middle East and posed a significant threat to both kingdoms, and the kingdom of Babylon was gaining power and would replace Assyria as the dominant threat. In view of the fast-changing international scene, the people of Israel would be concerned about their lot in life—what would become of the promises of God? How could the chosen people survive, let alone be a theocracy again? And must the remnant of the righteous also suffer with the nation that for all purposes was pagan?  These are questions that are being asked today about the conditions for Christians in the Middle East.

The messenger of the message of salvation is the prophet Isaiah, whose name means “salvation of Yahweh,” or “Yah saves.”

Here is something interesting about Isaiah, you may or may not know, the book of Isaiah is split into two main sections:

·         The first section encompasses chapters 1-39, and the general theme is the judgement of God.

·         The second section, from chapter 40-66 presents a different theme of God’s grace and comfort through the coming of the Messiah.

There are some more interesting facts about Isaiah:

·         First how many chapters are there in the book of Isaiah? Easy you say 66. That’s correct.

·         And how are those 66 chapters divided up? Well, I told you already that the first 39 chapters focus on judgement and the last 27 chapters focus on the coming Messiah and the grace of God.

·         So now comes the easy bit... How many books are there in the Bible and how is the Bible split up?

·         The Bible has 66 books. The first 39 books focus on the law and judgement whereas the last 27 books focus on Jesus and the grace of God.

Can you see how the book of Isaiah is a picture of the whole Bible?

This morning I would like to look at the greatness of Christ in our life.  I have often been in conversations with people who after I have made a statement about the judgment of God on sin or that God cannot accept sin in any form, have said to me, My God would never do that.  You must serve the Old Testament God.  They are not talking about the God of the Bible; rather they are talking about a god they have created for themselves.  God is the great I AM.  He is not the I am whosoever you want me to be. God is far greater than we can ever imagine.

This morning I want to look at the greatness of Christ in our life.

Isaiah 1:30- A garden that hath no water.

Have you ever looked at your garden after a long spell of hot, dry weather?  The ground is baked and parched with seams and cracks; the plants droop their weary heads.  You grab the garden hose and do your best to revive them, but if you happened to live in a place like Laverna and I lived in the early 70’s where the water supply is limited, and you have to carry your water from a hydrant three miles away, then you are wanting the rains to come.

One spring I decided to have a garden.  I had the garden plowed we bought the corn and beans, and I planted them.  I was sure that I could use the water from the canal that ran through the property since it was only about twenty feet away.  What I didn’t know was that you had to have a permit to get water from the canal.  We didn’t have the money to buy the permit.  So, the corn and beans either did not come up or they came up and struggled, and others just died. 

One morning we got up, and the entire garden was flooded from the canal.  What happened was someone downstream shut a gate and the water backed up.  I thought, what a blessing.  The problem was quickly resolved, and the dry, barren land was refreshed with water. I was going to have at least some beans.

I had one bean plant that survived, and it was growing.  Since we lived on open range cattle and horses were always coming on our property. I wasn’t too concerned when we had over one hundred cows invade our property.  Until I remembered the one lonely bean plant in the garden.  After all the cows were gone, I went to the garden to see what was left of my solitary bean plant. It was gone.

In the East where Isaiah lived, they were dependent on water for their gardens.  The sunshine is much hotter, and they have more extended periods of when the rain does not fall.  Can you imagine what a terribly dreary thing plants in the garden would be with no means of getting water?

There are types of gardens without water I want look at for a few minutes this morning.

The first is the garden of your soul.  God has given to us the garden in it we can have plants, flowers, herbs and yes even weeds.  Unless our garden is well watered everything will wilt, droop and die.  You know what is interesting about a garden, everything in it belong to us, but we cannot make it grow.  We cannot make the rain fall.  So, what can we do?

In Isaiah’s day sometimes, the rain only rained for a few hours each year.  Yet, they had gardens that flourished.  How?  Miles away there were mountains that were capped with snow.  They brought the water down from the mountains with canals and in some cases pipes.  They went to the source of everlasting water.  The mountains were so high and covered with snow all year round and the melting snow gave the needed water to grow their food.

The canal that ran through our property was from a reservoir at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.  The mountain that supplied the reservoir was over ten thousand feet high and covered with snow.  It was a constant source of water.

When we find the garden of our soul drying up, we need to go to the source of our water which we find in Jesus Christ.

It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, and Jesus asked her, “Please give me a drink.”  This happened while his disciples were in town buying some food.

 The woman says, “I am surprised that you ask me for a drink! You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman!” (Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans and men were permitted to talk with women in public.)

 Jesus says to her, “You don’t know what God can give you. And you don’t know who I am, the one who asked you for a drink. If you knew, you would have asked me, and I would have given you living water.”

The woman says, “Sir, where will you get that living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with. Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob? He is the one who gave us this well. He drank from it himself, and his sons and all his animals drank from it too.”

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.  But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.” John 4:5:14

That was over 2000 years ago, and you know what, He is still waiting at the well, ready to give you the water of everlasting life.  Those who the LORD has given this water He has marked as His own.

In the 66^th chapter the LORD said, I will put a mark on some of the people. I will send some of these saved people to the nations of Tarshish, Libya, Lud (the land of archers), Tubal, Greece, and all the faraway lands. Those people have never heard my teachings. They have never seen my Glory. So, the saved people will tell the nations about my glory.  And they will bring all your brothers and sisters from those other nations to my holy mountain Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. I will also choose some of these people to be priests and Levites.” The Lord himself said this.

 The Lord says, “I will make a new world—new heavens and a new earth—that will last forever. In the same way, your names and your children will always be with me.  Everyone will come to worship me on every worship day; they will come every Sabbath and every first day of the month. This is what I, the Lord, have said.

There are those who have gone to the source of everlasting water and are sharing that water with others. Who have you shared the water of life with?

This brings us to the next type of garden.

The other kind of garden is dehydrated, it is the thirsty garden of other people’s lives. Some people have their gardens dried up from want of a kind word or the lack of somebody to love them; so, they become hard, and bitter and disagreeable.  There are no delicate flowers in their garden it is filled with bitter herbs and weeds.

The LORD wants us to lead them to the source of everlasting water, to water the parched garden of their life.  You may not like to work in a dry, dusty garden that is filled with bitter herbs and weeds.  It is so much more refreshing to work with a fresh, beautiful garden, but if you know where the source of everlasting water is to be found, you must show them the way.  It is their choice to accept the water; it is yours to show them where to find the source.  If the garden of your soul is dry and dusty and it looks like there is no hope, accept the water of everlasting life.

The final garden that is parched and dead.

This garden looks fresh, green, and everything perfect.  However, with a closer inspection, we find everything is artificial.  There is no real life.  There is a form of godliness but no power or life.   The LORD’s condemnation of this garden is strong:

·         Once you were like pure silver, but now you are like the impurities that people throw away when the silver is purified.

·         You are like good wine that has been weakened with water.  Your rulers are rebels and friends of thieves. They demand bribes and accept money for doing wrong. They take money to cheat people, and they don’t speak up for widows and orphans. They will not even listen to their cries for help.

 In the future, you will be ashamed of the oak trees and special gardens you chose to worship because you will be like an oak tree whose leaves are dying. You will be like a garden dying without water. Powerful people will be like small, dry pieces of wood, and what they did will be like the sparks that start a fire. These people and their works will both burn up, and no one will be able to put out that fire.

This is the judgment of the LORD on a people who have denied the everlasting source of water- JESUS CHRIST.

In Isaiah 65 we hear the words of the LORD,

“I helped people who had not come to me for advice. Those who found me were not looking for me. I spoke to a nation that does not use my name. I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’  “All day long I stood ready to accept those who turned against me. But they kept doing whatever they wanted to do, and all they did was wrong. They keep doing things, right in front of me, that makes me angry. They offer sacrifices and burn incense in their special gardens. They sit among the graves, waiting to get messages from the dead. They eat the meat of pigs, and their pots are full of soup made from unclean meat. But they tell others, ‘Don’t come near me! Don’t touch me because I am holy!’ They are like smoke in my eyes, and their fire burns all the time.”

These people have allowed their garden to fill with bitter herbs and poisonous weeds.  They have convinced themselves they do not need the Water of Everlasting Life- Jesus Christ.  They are burning noxious weeds that is sending the smoke of abomination into the eyes of the LORD.  The LORD has told us time and time again to repent and He would heal us, make us whole, give us the water of Life.

What type of garden are you tending, one watered from the everlasting source of life?  Or are you one who has been led to the source of everlasting water but has not made the decision to accept the water and change the bitter herbs and weeds to a beautiful garden? Or are you denying the everlasting source of water and burning the incense of noxious weeds from evil of an artificial garden into the eyes of the LORD.

Christ is ready to bring you the salvation needed to change the garden of your life if you only accept the source of everlasting water.  Don’t let your life be like a garden dying without water.  Accept the offer of Jesus Christ to give you a spring flowing inside that will bring you eternal life.