I AM PASTOR DEB

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We have to get a handle on offenses and the reason why is because they are the bait of satan. Satan uses what offends to entangle us in sins that engage our mind, body, and soul. And sin is the element that keeps distance between us and God.

Today is the prelude message to a series as we take the time to break down how offenses affect us in our physical surroundings, how offenses affect us mentally and emotionally, and finally how offenses affect us spiritually. Before we enter into the prelude of this series let us pray.

If you turn your bible with me to Luke 22: start right at about the 47th verse, we jump right into the story where Jesus is speaking and refers to Judas as one of the twelve, one of His disciples and Judas leans in to kiss Jesus.  But Jesus let Judas know he is no fool by asking  him this question: “Judas are you betraying the son of man with a kiss?’  
See, a kiss can be a sign of affection, a greeting, or in this case used as an act with which Judas identified Jesus to the chief priests and elders of the people to arrest him.  Don’t be alarmed, yes it was the priest and the elders that came to arrest Jesus, it wasn’t Satan who arrested, whipped, and crucified Jesus, it was church folk, those who said they love God.   In a moment my reason for pointing this out is going to make sense.

Judas’ kiss was the kiss of death.  If any of you have ever watched the Godfather or any mafia movie you like seen this acted out on screen. A kiss was given by a mafia signifying that a member of the crime family has been marked for death, and just in the bible this act is usually a result of some perceived betrayal.

Peter loved Jesus so much that he was offended by the actions of Judas and the dignitaries that Peter rose up against one of them and drew his sword and cut his ear off. Now most of us would give Peter a high five for his action, for defending Jesus. But Jesus’ response to Peter's actions was not congratulatory.  He simply uttered, “permit even this” and then He did what our flesh would have never allowed us to do, Jesus touched the man’s ear and healed him.

What was so phenomenal about Jesus healing the man’s ear is this is the only instance in all of scripture where Christ healed a flesh wound.  His gesture of healing was so amazing. Think about it, Jesus healed the wound of the enemy, unasked, and without any evidence, the recipient had any form of faith in God.

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There are some names and stories we as believers should know.  Job 8:8-10 “For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out. For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. Will, they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding? So be a little patient with me this morning  …. there is an inspiration in this for you, as every life can teach and inspire, so bear with me.

I want to take a few moments to tell you about Constantine the Great who was one of Rome’s most powerful and successful emperors and the first to self-identify as a Christian. 

Constantine was the son of a Roman official and his Christian concubine. This placed him in line to succeed the throne of the Western Roman Empire. At age 31, he prepared to attack his chief rival with an army outnumbered 4-to-1. Before the battle, Constantine claimed to have seen a vision of Jesus, with a specific symbol, telling him, “By this sign, conquer.” Constantine ordered his troops to mark their shields with this symbol, the Chi-Rho, then a symbol commonly representing Christianity. The Chi-Rho combines the first two letters in the Greek word for “Christ” and resembles a capital P with an X drawn through the spine. Constantine’s forces routed the enemy, and he became emperor. The Chi-Rho symbol would be part of Constantine’s personal signature for the rest of his life.

During Constantine’s reign, controversy arose over the teachings of Arius, who denied the full divinity of Jesus. Constantine called a meeting of Christian bishops, the Council of Nicea, to settle the dispute. The calling in of the religious council by a political figure was the first act of separation of church and state.  What we don’t grasp is the separation of church and state is not to keep the church out of state business but to keep the state out of church business.

Contrary to popular myth, this meeting did not discuss the canon of the Bible, nor was Constantine influential in the council’s decisions. Emperors saw themselves as responsible for promoting “correct” forms of worship. 

Constantine’s Christian faith has frequently been critiqued and outright questioned. Even though he made great strides in securing political and social rights for Christians and initiating general humanitarian reforms. He poured time and money into building churches and publicly supporting Christianity. Toward the end of his reign, Constantine vocally professed faith in Christ and credited his success to God. He was baptized shortly before his death, according to the common practice of his time.

However,  some of Constantine’s actions resulted in some negatives because of Constantine’s blending of pagan, building-and-priest-centered worship with Christianity he also contributed to the rise of Roman Catholicism.

Constantine’s legacy is complex and not wholly understood, but he stands as one of the dominant figures in Christian history. Without a doubt, his influence helped transform Christianity from a persecuted minority into the most widespread faith in history.

I wanted to share the story of Constantine because many times... we withhold our giftings, our efforts, our ideas, regarding the building of the Kingdom of God, regarding reaching out to the lost for fear of what others may say or sometimes just out of sheer fear of failure.

Constantine not a perfect man by any means but what he set his mind on doing for the spreading of the Gospel was impactful....

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2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

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The words grace and mercy are often used synonymously, however, although they complement one another, they are not synonymous. Grace is about the favor of God.  The word favor refers to an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual when privileges are extended that you didn’t earn and sometimes didn’t even ask for.

To fully understand grace, we need to consider who we were without Christ and who we become with Christ. We were born in sin, guilty of breaking God’s holy laws, essentially without grace, we are nothing more than enemies of God. Think about it, we were unrighteous and without means of justifying ourselves. 

But then there is grace. God’s favor. Ephesians 2:8 tells us For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, It is grace that gives us victory over sin and eternal encouragement and good hope. 

And then there is mercy. Psalm 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Mercy is extended to an offender in the form of forgiveness. We don’t look at our sins as an offense, but the truth is every sin is offensive to God.  Lying, slander, fornication, stealing, homosexuality, adultery, greed… all offensive to God. James 4:17 tells us when you know the right thing to do and don't do, that too is sin.

Romans 6:23 tells sFor the wages of sin is death, the scriptures go on because of God’s mercy and says but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

GOD loves us so that he gave us a double-dip of His goodness. A scoop of grace tope with a scoop of mercy.  See Grace when God gives us what we don’t deserve, and mercy is when God withholds what we do deserve. I know I need the grace and the mercy of God every day, all day, what about you?

In closing, I want to leave you with  Hebrews 4: 15-16 which reads. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

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Psalm 23: 
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

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It's not a challenge to praise God when everything is fine in your life, but can you praise him when you scared when you don't know the outcome, when you don't know if your last breath is drawing near?

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Question: We serve  Almighty God, why is there power in the name of Jesus?
This morning I am going to answer a question that came in.  And the question was why do we say God is Almighty and All-Powerful, but that there is power in the name of Jesus?

The fuel that powers the name of Jesus draws from what is accessible through God Almighty which is the power, depth, and authority of the aspect of eternity.  The love of God is shown through the physical representation of His holiness, Jesus, like  "eternity" is so massive, so broad, never-ending, without boundaries, unconditional while able to recondition.

For we know most sons are imitators of their fathers, however for the name of Jesus to be able to shift atmospheres, heal the sick, invoke change, and rebuke demons it is obvious such power cannot be associated with or derived through any form of imitation this kind of power can only be initiated through the genuine source who is Almighty, who is all-powerful, who knows all, and who is ever-present.

In John 10:30, Jesus says “I and the Father are One”.  The power that is engulfed in the name of Jesus is due to His name being the title place on what is the purest form of love.  Which is God’s sacrificial love that basks in grace, mercy, and forgiveness all to extend us the opportunity to reconcile with Him and spend eternity in His presence.

See our perfect God the creator of all things needed a righteous example to set the standard on earth and to stand as an unblemished sacrifice to atone for our blemishes and sins.

The angels didn’t qualify, Lucifer showed their righteousness can be tainted, and mankind has consistently walked in disobedience from the beginning of time.  The only option God had was Himself.  So from Himself, he impregnated Mary to give birth to His physical representation of Himself.  While clothed in  "flesh", He walked the earth as the ultimate example of love, forgiveness, grace, and mercy.  It is the absolute power of righteousness and love in its purest form that causes demons to tremble at just the mention of the name Jesus.

John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  Jesus was the full manifestation of love, peace, grace, mercy, and wisdom.  The blood that Jesus shed on the cross was done to offer a perfect sacrifice for us, the imperfect.

Phillipian 2:9:11 reads therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and earth and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And because the name of Jesus is above every name, when you don’t know what to pray, when you want to shift the atmosphere, when you need to call down healing when transformation and elevation are needed.  I dee double dare you to for one minute, 60 seconds just repeatedly call His name while your mind and heart embraces the depth of God’s love that is wrapped up, tied up, and consumed in the name of Jesus.  

THE NAME OF JESUS REGARDS OF HOW MANY TIMES AND HOW MANY DIFFERENT WAYS IT CAN BE EXPLAINED THAT NAME IS MORE THAN YOUR MIND YOUR HEART WILL EVER KNOW.

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The 4th of July marks Independence Day as a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the event that took place in 1776 where thirteen American colonies were no longer subject to the monarch of Britain and were now united, free, and independent states.

We as a nation may have been free from the rule of Britain, but we are charged to trust the word of God and strive to exalt unity, not independence.

Matthew 12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 

We have become a nation that has allowed prejudices, politics, and greed to divide us. When the truth is no man, no woman, no child can ever live independently, for independence is an ungodly illusion.  Everything God created, every creature of nature, every form of vegetation, every element of our environment was created to depend on something else to maintain its existence. Man cannot thrive independently of women, women cannot flourish independently of men, nor can one race progress and fulfill their God-ordained purpose for humanity independent of other races.

We are now on the conquering side of the worst pandemic to plague our universe in this nation. We lost a total of 605,000 lives. During the civil war we lost 625,000 and largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was adopted and during the last year of that horrific war, that motto was the first place on United States currency.  But why was "currency" used to earmark this nation's commitment to God? Because currency determines a nation's economic health and the well-being of all the people residing in it.  Good gesture, but the truth is we as citizens of this nation are still struggling to hold on to the demonic illusion of independence rather than the rule of God we trust.

I want to leave you today with two scriptures Proverbs 14:34 and Psalm 33:12 which collectively read Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people and Blessed is the nation whose God is their Lord

Lord, we call on your name as we lift our heads to the heavens, asking for a renewal of the minds of your people, the shifting of the hearts of those who walk in the spirit of deception. On this day as our country celebrates its independence, we ask that you ignite in every soul a spirit of peace and unity and to rely on just "One", you the Almighty One.  Amen Amen and Amen 

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How can the God of peace allow evil to run rampant? Why won’t an Almighty God stop evil? These are valid questions, that warrant an answer.  The simple answer is this without evil, love could not exist. What are you talking about Pastor?  Evil exists because of God’s love. God’s love for us is real, sincere, and genuine.  

We have also to remember love has no restraints, and is not manipulative, or forceful.  In order for genuine love to be exalted, it has to be freely given.  

What God wants in exchange for His love, His grace, and His mercy is for us to reciprocate with genuine love, which is why He gave us free will.  

The gift of free will has been a blessing and a curse, because some use their gift of free will for good while others use it for evil, to violate every godly principle given to mankind.

In  Romans 2:11 the scripture tells us that God shows no partiality, so everyone receives the same gift of free will, and everyone gets to choose how to use it.  In John 14:15  Jesus says if you love me keep my commandments. God’s love language is obedience.

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In order to walk in the true grace of God our Father will require a readiness to change. Ecclesiastes 3:1 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven"

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