Awakening Audio

Self is the attitude or character of a person that controls them. In this parable both the Pharisee and the Tax Collector show a lot about the human condition. Self is a person’s conscious personality. Both of these men know who they are. The Pharisee sees himself as “set apart.” They were strict, wealthy, self-righteous and conservative. They sought fame and recognition. Personal consciousness meant everything to them. They believed in what the Bible said only so far as they agreed with it. They did not allow the Law of God to override their own disposition. What they needed was total heart transformation, but they put self above God. The Tax Collector was hated by the Jews. He was a Jew himself hired by the Romans to collect taxes. He was willing to do his job no matter what people thought of him. There is a big difference between these two men. The Pharisee was proud and stood by himself. He was afraid his faith would be tested. He wanted to appear outwardly righteous. It was all about self as the ruler of their heart. In the life of a born again Christian Christ is the center, not self. The Tax Collector was humble and convicted of his sin, but conviction must lead to repentance. He must surrender his life to Christ. If he continued in the condition of willful sin he would stay away from God. In order to be free from sin a person must both repent and surrender their life to Christ. The Tax Collector needed to change. A person must be willing to come to the light, put off the old nature, and become like Christ. In contrast everything Jesus did was not about self but for the glory of the Father. The life of a true Christian honors God. Standing Afar Off

John is asked to measure the Temple of God. The Temple is divided into two parts: the Temple and the Outer Court. The Temple is a type of the true Church of Jesus Christ in the last days. The remnant of God! They have come to the cross and worship in the Temple. Those in the Outer Court are a type of the false Church, they seem to be a part of the Temple but they are not. They are cast out. They have willfully refused the truth of God’s Word. They trample the Gospel of Jesus Christ underfoot. But this will only go on for a limited time. The witnesses are God’s remnant in the last days. There are few of them and they prophesy. They are true prophets, they are not those who practice divination like is so prevalent in the professing Church today. They receive power from God. They witness for Jesus Christ with the Power of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Word of God, and the power of prayer and faith! But the beast makes war upon them, overcomes them, and kills them. This is the climax of the growing antagonism and hatred of Christianity. The beast ascends and eventually overcomes them in the city of apostasy. The city of apostasy is described as Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem. Sodom is a type of religion that embraces and endorses sin. Egypt is a type of religion that refuses the Gospel of freedom from slavery. And Jerusalem is the city of hypocrisy that is willing to kill the prophets and witnesses of Jesus Christ. Although the witnesses are killed by the beast this is a false victory! Because the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church! All things are in subjection to Christ! And in these last days we must see Jesus! May We See Jesus

One sin that impacts all of mankind is the sin of religion. John the Baptist uses “brood of vipers” to describe those who are driven by religious zeal. The world today still suffers from hypocritical religion. There are those who boast in Orthodoxy, like the Pharisees, and those who boast in higher criticism, like the Sadducees. All of them make an outward show of religion but do not repent. All must repent! God is no respecter of persons; one must bear fruits worthy of repentance! Repentance is the first condition in order to be prepared for Heaven. There must be a change. Un-repented sin will lead people to hell. Fruitfulness and faithfulness are the only true signs of change. The religious person who claims to listen to a religion that goes against God is mistaken and bound for hell. You cannot follow a religion of your own designing! This is lawlessness! Christ did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. Sometimes religious people listen to demonic spirits that even drive the to kill others in the name of their religion. Religion often produces pride, which leads one to look down upon others. Each born again Christian has received the Pearl of Great Price. How precious is that Pearl to you? What fruit are you bringing forward? Who have you led to Christ? Do you show the love of Christ? Do you bear fruit? Or have you grown unfruitful? We have no business in the garden unless we bear fruit. There is a point when the day of grace will end. Religious people are completely focused on self and not on others. Repentance is moving beyond conviction; it leads one to action and change. Have you truly repented? Or are you merely religious? [Where Is Your Fruit?]

Jesus Christ never lost sight of the final goal in His mind. He was steadfast and determined, He chose to continue doing what God had commanded Him to do. He did not let any things of this world come before His Father. Christians must practice faithful obedience and walk every moment conscious of God. Christians are to possess their souls by overcoming thoughts, moods, and feelings that will lead them away from God. Christians are to die to the sin of possessiveness. Jesus used a child to show one who is humble, teachable, and without personal ambition. Christ taught that we are to be converted through repentance and bring ourselves to the lowest place. This begins when one is born again and continues throughout life. Our goals and ideas are to become worthless compared to God. Those who have the Holy Spirit love God more than all other things. The believer must continually surrender over their right to self and become like Christ in His character. So many live their lives going after possessions and miss going to Heaven. The Christian must live in obedience to God, commit everything to Him and keep Him first. They set their face to do God’s will, even if others did not go with Him or even if the whole world is opposed to them. We must not postpone our call to follow Christ. Jesus lived like a homeless pilgrim, He consecrated Himself to God entirely. Attachments and possession keep people from following after Christ. We must count the cost! We must not look at the praises of men as more important, nor our home responsibilities. We must not be inconsistent, never look with regret on following after Christ. Do not look back, we must be obedient to the call of the Gospel. [No Turning Back]

The resurrected life means newness of life, living for God, and being a slave to God. The resurrected life is a life lived in obedience to God. The first condition of the resurrected life is to walk in newness of life. This begins when one believes in Jesus Christ and they are forgiven through faith. All truly regenerated Christians are raised with Christ to a new life. The newness of life means to walk with conviction, confidence, and assurance because the old life is dead and buried with Christ. All that God’s Word calls sinful is dead and the believer is united with Christ. In order to be united with Christ one must be separated from sin. The change is so complete that in Christ all the old things have passed away. The person who has received Christ by faith has become a partaker of the Holy Spirit and the old man has been put to death. God allows mankind to live independent from Him if they choose, but this independence separates one from God. A person who chooses to ignore the Word of Life while they are living will suffer the punishment of dying spiritually for all of eternity. In order to be made alive from the dead a person must walk in the way of the Lord, not their own way. This way of the Lord begins with saving grace but continues on in sanctifying grace. The Christian must endure until the end and lay aside all sin! A person can either obey sin leading to death, or they can obey God which leads to righteousness. A person who has been made alive by the grace of God cultivates the fruits of holiness in their lives. They are no longer ashamed because they are no longer evil, faithless, and rebellious. They are living the resurrected life. [The Resurrected Life]

Paul encourages the Church to be imitators of God. The Church cannot let the standards of the world pull a veil over their eyes. Sin lies all around, the Church must turn away from it. Enthusiasm for created things cannot replace love for God. Awake! No longer live in ignorance! Do not covet the things that will perish. The sanctified life is not bland, when one lives for the glory of God with enthusiasm they will be blessed. Christians must walk in the light, not darkness. The Christian can either become an imitator of God or they will long after the world and Egypt. If one tries to live between the two with half-hearted ways they will fall into pessimism and laziness. Christ was enthusiastic to live out the will of God. There is nothing wrong with being passionate and having emotions, but one must not be entangled with the sinful things of the world. Bring every thought into obedience to Christ! Emotion is not evil. The Holy Spirit energizes emotions for God. The Christian must have emotion about the things of God. If not one will be only focused on learning and intellect. They will hear God’s Word read and preached but will do nothing about it unless their emotions are engaged. But all must be aware of hyper-emotionalism as well. We cannot desire attention to be drawn to us. The emotional life must be kept in check. Christ never put Himself first. He submitted to God and served others. Christians are free to be the Lord’s slaves. We are to use freedom to be slaves of God. One who has mature Christian faith will be given energy, brilliance, and creativity. The Holy Sprit reveals our nature so we can become imitators of God and surrender to His work in our lives. Imitators of God

The light of Jesus Christ has come into the world! The greatest hindrance facing humanity is a lack of faith. Personal darkness results from harboring secret sin. Men love darkness more than light and it closes mankind off from god. God desires to reveal everything to us by light. One who does the truth comes to the light and they arrive at the conclusion that Jesus is the truth. Those with little or no faith are constantly afraid. Each believer must obey and press forward by faith. Conformity, compliance, and consistency are the keys to spiritual growth. One must love and obey God, running the race set before them! One must love Christ more than everything else, consecrating all to God. This is the only way to positive progress in sanctification. Christ came to save, not to destroy! Never move away from the voice of the Lord. Never become self-centered in your obedience and worship. We cannot go on with God if we sin during every trial, and faithlessness is sin. Mary Magdalene was weeping at the tomb of Christ when she found out it was empty. But she had to look away from herself and see the resurrected Christ! If we are focused on ourselves we will not see Christ. We must trust in Christ. If we become self-centered our progress in sanctification will stop. If we sit around and weep in self-sympathy we will miss Christ. We must go through trials by faith. Never put yourself before God! Every time we face a test or a trial we are to overcome by faith. All disbelief and lack of faith is sin. Why are you weeping? Arise in faith! Why Are You Weeping?

In this parable both the Pharisee and the Tax Collector show a lot about the human condition. Self is a person’s conscious personality. Both of these men know who they are. The Pharisee sees himself as “set apart.” They were strict, wealthy, self-righteous and conservative. They sought fame and recognition. Personal consciousness meant everything to them. They believed in what the Bible said only so far as they agreed with it. They did not allow the Law of God to override their own disposition. What they needed was total heart transformation, but they put self above God. The Tax Collector was hated by the Jews. He was a Jew himself hired by the Romans to collect taxes. He was willing to do his job no matter what people thought of him. There is a big difference between these two men. The Pharisee was proud and stood by himself. He was afraid his faith would be tested. He wanted to appear outwardly righteous. It was all about self as the ruler of their heart. In the life of a born again Christian Christ is the center, not self. The Tax Collector was humble and convicted of his sin, but conviction must lead to repentance. He must surrender his life to Christ. If he continued in the condition of willful sin he would stay away from God. In order to be free from sin a person must both repent and surrender their life to Christ. The Tax Collector needed to change. A person must be willing to come to the light, put off the old nature, and become like Christ. In contrast everything Jesus did was not about self but for the glory of the Father. The life of a true Christian honors God. Standing Afar Off

One sin that impacts all of mankind is the sin of religion. John the Baptist uses “brood of vipers” to describe those who are driven by religious zeal. The world today still suffers from hypocritical religion. There are those who boast in Orthodoxy, like the Pharisees, and those who boast in higher criticism, like the Sadducees. All of them make an outward show of religion but do not repent. All must repent! God is no respecter of persons; one must bear fruits worthy of repentance! Repentance is the first condition in order to be prepared for Heaven. There must be a change. Un-repented sin will lead people to hell. Fruitfulness and faithfulness are the only true signs of change. The religious person who claims to listen to a religion that goes against God is mistaken and bound for hell. You cannot follow a religion of your own designing! This is lawlessness! Christ did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. Sometimes religious people listen to demonic spirits that even drive the to kill others in the name of their religion. Religion often produces pride, which leads one to look down upon others. Each born again Christian has received the Pearl of Great Price. How precious is that Pearl to you? What fruit are you bringing forward? Who have you led to Christ? Do you show the love of Christ? Do you bear fruit? Or have you grown unfruitful? We have no business in the garden unless we bear fruit. There is a point when the day of grace will end. Religious people are completely focused on self and not on others. Repentance is moving beyond conviction; it leads one to action and change. Have you truly repented? Or are you merely religious? Where Is Your Fruit?

Jesus Christ never lost sight of the final goal in His mind. He was steadfast and determined, He chose to continue doing what God had commanded Him to do. He did not let any things of this world come before His Father. Christians must practice faithful obedience and walk every moment conscious of God. Christians are to possess their souls by overcoming thoughts, moods, and feelings that will lead them away from God. Christians are to die to the sin of possessiveness. Jesus used a child to show one who is humble, teachable, and without personal ambition. Christ taught that we are to be converted through repentance and bring ourselves to the lowest place. This begins when one is born again and continues throughout life. Our goals and ideas are to become worthless compared to God. Those who have the Holy Spirit love God more than all other things. The believer must continually surrender over their right to self and become like Christ in His character. So many live their lives going after possessions and miss going to Heaven. The Christian must live in obedience to God, commit everything to Him and keep Him first. They set their face to do God’s will, even if others did not go with Him or even if the whole world is opposed to them. We must not postpone our call to follow Christ. Jesus lived like a homeless pilgrim, He consecrated Himself to God entirely. Attachments and possession keep people from following after Christ. We must count the cost! We must not look at the praises of men as more important, nor our home responsibilities. We must not be inconsistent, never look with regret on following after Christ. Do not look back, we must be obedient to the call of the Gospel. No Turning Back