Repent and Believe Podcast w/ Cynthia Smalls

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #704, Season 7.

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: We must examine our hearts to determine what's in them! Whatever is at the root of what we do post-justification, will determine if we are still slaves of sin or slaves of obedience! The apostle Paul exhorted us in Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)?"

We know from experience and personal knowledge that what's truly in our hearts, has shown up in our lives, whether it was good or evil. Lord Jesus teaches us all about the heart of men: "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man." (Study Mark 7:20-23).

And if any of these evils are manifesting out of our hearts, our intimacy with the One who died and shed His blood on our behalf, will be hindered, and worse yet, non-existent! The Lord has made it clear: you cannot serve Him and the devil! If we continue to sow to the flesh, from the flesh we will reap eternal destruction!

Ask yourself, "Do I and Lord Jesus have an intimate, personal, deep-abiding relationship?" Is there intercourse? Meaning is their communion? Is there fidelity? Is there oneness? Is there a connection? Is He truly your Lord where you listen, follow, and obey His commands? This all ties into intimacy. How well do you know Him? Do you know that He hates sin and will not tolerate it on any level? Have you given up everything to follow Him as His disciple? Or are you just a religious, hypocritical, worker of iniquity that He will declare on Judgment Day, "I never KNEW* you, depart from Me?"

* my emphasis.

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #703, Season 7.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES!

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort today's message of Luke 3:8-9 succinctly: "8 Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]"... 9 "Even now the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”

💥 Parable of the Fig Tree - Luke 13

6 "Then He began telling them this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find any; 7 so he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground [depleting the soil and blocking the sunlight]?’ 8 But he replied to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, [just] one more year until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit after this, fine; but if not, cut it down.’” Amen!

The lesson for the individual is that borrowed time is not permanent! God’s patience has a limit. In the above parable, the vineyard owner grants another year of life to the tree. In the same way, God in His mercy grants us another day, another hour, another breath. Christ stands at the door of each man’s heart knocking and seeking to gain entrance and requiring repentance from sin. But if there is no fruit, no repentance, His patience will come to an end, and the fruitless, unrepentant individual will be cut down. We all live on borrowed time; judgment is near.

That is why the prophet Isaiah wrote, "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #702, Season 7.

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: What does it mean to be ready to meet the Lord? Scripture after Scripture instructs us on how to live now that we have been born-again as we await the coming of our Lord.

First of all, and most importantly, being ready to meet the Lord means you’ve made sure of your relationship with Jesus Christ, and are trusting only Him to save you—not anyone or anything else, and certainly not any good works you’ve done! Being ready to meet the Lord means living in a way that pleases Him so that whenever He calls you home—and knowing that could be any time—you can hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Scripture teaches with unmistakable clarity, that all believers in Christ will give an account of their lives to their Lord (Romans 14:10-12). Even if Christ does not return for two hundred years, we will meet Him in our deaths, whether in twenty years, twenty months, or twenty minutes. God encourages us not to be surprised about the soon coming of our appointment to stand before Him. If we are ready to meet Christ, we will long for His return! If we are not ready, we will dread it! If we do not feel ready to meet Him, now is the time to get ready!!! FOR THE KING OF GLORY IS ON HIS WAY BACK AND HE WILL HAVE HIS REWARD WITH HIM!

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

**LINK TO THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ON THE RUINS OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH (https://youtu.be/I7_92sjUcOI?si=W1aGDnJhCryhJmbD)** Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #701, Season 7.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES!

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: Those who reject Jesus, are already CONDEMNED! The hour is short and humanity's curtain will be drawn! Christ Jesus, the One whom they crucified over 2,000+ years ago, is on His way back, not to deal with sin, but to judge the world in righteousness!! He's coming back as the Judge. If we just look around the world today, it is exactly how it was in the days of Noah and Lot: unrighteousness and wickedness abounds. Homosexuality, sodomy, and perversion of one's body is off the charts! The Lord Jesus Christ says that when He returns, it's going to be just like those days of Noah and Lot - AND IT SURE IS! And if we do not repent, we will all perish in the coming judgment of God's wrath! (Study Revelation 20:10-15).

The Bible speaks so much of condemnation because of the sin which permeates mankind: “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). In the Bible, the word condemnation is synonymous with damnation, judgment, punishment, destruction, and verdict. In its strongest sense, condemnation means “the banishing to all those disobedient to the will of God”

Listen, Christ Jesus made it clear... that without Him, no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven (John 14:6). It’s no secret. Apart from Jesus Christ, we are all condemned to die in our sins and face eternal punishment - THE LAKE OF FIRE! The only way we can be made right with God and not incur his wrath, is through Jesus Christ, who has made the perfect sacrifice for us!

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #700, Season 7.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Visit me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: HEARTS THAT ARE FAR FROM JESUS AND MOUTHS THAT WORSHIP HIM IN VAIN! These two cannot coexist! Jesus said it best in Matthew 6:24: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." And most professing Christians try to disprove Jesus' exhortation daily with their iniquitous, transgressional, and sinful lifestyles... all the while "decreeing" and "declaring" that He is their Lord!

However, Christ Jesus sees right through the hypocrisy; and He let us know clearly what it looks like to Him, in spite of the wool we try to pull over His eyes: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:8-9). Amen!

Therefore today, so that we are no longer living in deception about the fact that we are, in fact, commanded to be holy as He is holy, we are looking at the account of King Saul. Saul was anointed by the prophet Samuel as the first king over God’s covenant people Israel. Unfortunately, Saul will forever be remembered as a man whose heart was far from the living God. 1 Samuel 15 highlights nine signs that Saul’s heart was far from God.

How beneficial to our salvation when we look over our lives and search the deep crevices of our hearts to see whether or not our hearts are either near or far from the One who died and shed His blood for us! Most often than not, what's coming out of the mouth of those who are just "going through the motions" where their faith is concerned, is nothing more than religious rhetoric! They can quote you chapter and verse every Scripture in the Bible, but they are NOT living according to the Bible! Let not the Lord Jesus Christ say to you on the Day of Judgment, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (study Matthew 7:13-27).

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #699, Season 7.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Visit me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: We are dead to sin and alive to God! The system of grace understands that the "old man" (the sin nature) can never be reformed. He must be put to death, and for the believer, the "old man" died with Jesus on the cross! Sin is no longer our master! We have been set free from the shackles of sin and its dominating control in our lives! Therefore, being Spirit-led, we do not go on deliberately, habitually, and blatantly indulging and practicing lifestyles that will disqualify us from inheriting God's kingdom!

Today, we are looking at commentary on Romans, chapter 6. Romans 6, eloquently teaches that when we are born-again, sin’s power is broken in our lives. The question is asked: Should we live a life of sin so we can receive more grace? Paul emphatically answers, certainly not!! He maintains that we are freed from sin and made alive to God through Jesus Christ. Our sinful nature was crucified with Him when we were baptized into His death. Now through Christ Jesus, we have received the gift of God, which is eternal life! Therefore, we don't go on sinning willfully, but live lives that reflect appreciation and gratitude for our salvation!

Once we are called out of these earthly bodies, we will stand before Jesus Christ to give an account for how we lived these born-again lives. We will give an account of the use or misuse of our time. We are instructed in God's Word how to live according to His holy standards! We no longer live by the flesh, but we walk by the Spirit of God, who sanctifies us! WE WALK IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE!

Amen!

🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #698, Season 7.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Visit me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: How 1 Peter 1:13-16 keeps us in perpetual sobriety when it comes to our Salvation:

13 "So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 [Live] as obedient children [of God]; do not be conformed to the evil desires which governed you in your ignorance [before you knew the requirements and transforming power of the good news regarding salvation]. 15 But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [be set apart from the world by your godly character and moral courage]; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy.” Amen!

Listen, if you and I do not buffet this body and bring it into subjection, taking control over it and making it obey the Word of God, we all are going to perish in our willful, blatant, habitual, rebellious, reckless sin! All the while claiming the Name! Don't believe me? Let the Word of God convince you then:

Romans 8:13, "For if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever." Amen! See?

Do you not know that old flesh man ruled by sensuality, carnality and worldliness, wants nothing more than for you and I to return back to our vomit, playing on Satan's playground so that we repeatedly keep giving him access into our born-again lives!? We give that old serpent a foothold into our lives when we do not put the body/flesh man under subjection!

Listen to the writing of Paul over in 1 Cor. 9:24-27, because you see, Paul had a clue! He knew what time it was! It's wake up time my friend, listen to what he said about subjecting that old flesh:

24 "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." Amen!! Listen, Paul did not want to become a castaway and be denied entrance to the Kingdom of God having preached the Good News to others, but that he himself won't get in! ...AND WE MUST FOLLOW SUIT - BEAT THAT BODY OF FLESH AND MAKE IT OBEY CHRIST!

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #697, Season 6.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Visit me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: The fear of the Lord turns a man away from evil! The Bible says, "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil" (Proverbs 16:6) Amen! When one “fears” God, he holds God in high esteem, standing in awe of the Almighty! One who genuinely fears the Lord, will have a desire and willingness to submit to what He says to do. Again, amen!!

Beloved, as I'm journeying through my faith and coming upon the brethren, I don't see a whole lot of fearing the Lord like we ought to. Not only is there a lack of respect for His Name, sovereignty and authority, but some ignorantly believe that God is not a God of wrath, justice, and righteous who will most CERTAINLY punish the unrighteous, but only as a "pushover" God, doling out blessings and prosperity regardless of reckless disobedience! This is why we see the gospel being watered down! This is why we see most "professing Christians" having a laid back cavalier attitude towards holiness and righteous living! They live a life of lukewarmness, maliciousness, wickedness, rebellion and disobedience, all the while, using grace as a cover-up to somehow "legitimize" their sin! But those of us who understand the ramification and consequence of willful sin and living a lifestyle of iniquity: (everlasting fiery destruction and eternal separation from God and the Lord Jesus Christ), know God is not playing with that Lake of Fire!

That is why we will be looking at the book of Proverbs (the book of wisdom) today, showing us that fearing the Lord is the principal thing! We will also be looking at Scriptures describing the terrifying events of the Day of the Lord, for the wrath of God and the Lamb is fastly approaching! We who are truly born again, we live a life of constant examination of our lives with a healthy dose of fearing the Lord! As Lord Jesus warns, "And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body in ." (Matthew 10:28). Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #696, Season 7.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Visit me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: No follower of the Lord Jesus Christ who has repented and received forgiveness of their sins through His shed blood, can ever please God and walk in DARKNESS at the SAME time!! Not possible! We are either in the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of Satan! You see beloved, darkness is more than just sinning. It is a WAY OF LIVING that takes no thought of God into account. It is to dwell in ungodliness and not care about the consequences, and that's INIQUITY personified! If we are in fellowship with God our Heavenly Father, we must walk in the Light. And that Light is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us get some biblical understanding under our collective belts. We see the Messiah over here in John 12:46 declaring, "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior—all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness."

He also declares in John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Amen!

So what does it mean to walk in darkness? It means to conduct our lives without any thought toward God. It is to let sin have its complete reign over you. It is most tragic when we profess that Christ is our Savior and God is our Father and yet continue to walk in darkness under the distorted doctrine of grace: "once you are saved, you are always saved," even in your willful, blatant, deliberate, habitual, sinful lifestyle - you, can live however you want and still go to Heaven ANYWAY! God is not the King for those who walk in darkness; Satan is! We may think that we are in control of our own lives. But the spiritual reality is that when we live in sin, we are submitting ourselves to Satan’s ways, not God’s.

Peter says we are called, “Out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9). Elsewhere Paul calls us, “Children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness” (I Thessalonians 5:5). BE NOT DECEIVED BELOVED!! "30 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. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:30-31).

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God! Welcome everyone to Episode #695, Season 7.

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Visit me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: "The Lord keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy" (Psalm 145:20). With that being said, do you sow to the flesh or the Spirit? Because, we are either sowing to the flesh in earthly, temporal and corruptible pursuits, or to the Spirit. If we choose to live only for this life, then we will have nothing with God when this life ends!

We are exhorted by Paul, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" (Galatians 6:9). Eternity awaits us all!

Many deceive themselves, thinking that they can sow to the flesh -- living to gratify their own sinful desires -- and still reap life everlasting! They feel that they can use their time, energy and money to gratify their own selfish ambitions and, yet, still grow and mature spiritually and be ready for the Day of Christ's return and Judgment. How foolish!

💥 God's Word warns us of the fallacy of such thinking when it says: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Gal. 6:7-8).

God would not have us be deceived. And, God will not be mocked! If one sows weeds, he cannot expect to harvest wheat! So it is with our spiritual lives. If we sow to the flesh, we cannot expect to reap life, but corruption and eternal destruction!

Amen!

🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!