FOLLOWERS OF JESUS ARE TO BE FISHERS OF MEN  And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” —Mark 1:17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVBXrknp9x8              Are you following Jesus?  If not, why not?  If you are following Jesus then are you becoming a “fisher of men?”  This is what Jesus said He would do for those who follow Him.  He would “make you become fishers of men.”  We do not make ourselves “fisher’s of men.”  It is Jesus that makes us “fishers of men” as we follow Him.  So if a follow of Jesus is defined by being a fisherman for Jesus then are you a…

HE KNOWS… NONE CAN HIDE FORM HIM!  Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge—  the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. —Psalm 94:8-11              Fools need wisdom because the obvious is dull to them.  They live as if the Lord does not hear, but He does!  They live as if the Lord does not see, but He does!  They live as if the Lord will not take action, but He will! …

EXPECTED TO SOW SEED AND SERVE OTHERS—- WE WILL GIVE ACCOUNT TO OUR LORD!  But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? —Matthew 25:26  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ —Matthew 25:40              God has given to each of us according to our abilities that He absolutely knows.  We grow in our understanding of the abilities He has given us.  The way we do that is to apply…

BEWARE!  Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. —Matthew 23:2-3  “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,…

FAITH— ASSURANCE OF WHAT WE HOPE FOR AND CERTAINTY OF WHAT WE DO NOT SEE!  And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have {assurance of what (you) hope for and the certainty of what (you) do not see—Hebrews 11:1} and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have {assurance of what (you) hope for and the certainty of what (you) do not see—Hebrews 11:1}.” —Matthew 21:21-22              Wow!…

PUT MY EYES ON THE ETERNAL, NOT THE TEMPORAL  And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said…

ONLY THE FOOL DENIES HIM!  The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. —Psalm 89:11  The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. —Psalm 24:11-2              Let us not forget for a moment whose creation this is. The heavens are our Lord’s. The earth is our Lord’s. All that is in it is the Lord’s. All the people are his creation. As the Creator He can do as He wills with His creation.             Just look…

BEWARE OF LIP SERVICE!  This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. —Matthew 15:8-9              What a dangerous place to be! With speech to make it look like one is doing the right thing in honoring our Lord, but it is only “lip service.” The mouth speaks one thing, but the heart is far from the Lord. So a person can sound really, really sincere. They outwardly can put on a show, an appearance of honoring our Lord, but inside, the real person, is what they really are and it is…

FAITH…WORKS!  And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. —Matthew 13:58  And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” —Matthew 14:28-31              Unbelief will hinder many of His mighty works from being done. Fear and doubt as…

THE DISPELLING OF DOUBT  Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them and blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” —Matthew 11:2-6  Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one…