YOU ARE UNDER AUTHORITY When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”  And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”  But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one,‘Go,’and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’and he does it.”  When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I…

HE KNOWS YOUR NEEDS… FOCUS ON HIM …your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. —Matthew 6:32-34             God knows what you need!  Is it your first priority to seek His kingdom?  Is it your priority to see His righteousness?  If this is the case then you do not have to worry about what you need.  He will give you what I need.  The question is “what are your priorities. …

FRUIT BEARING DEMONSTRATES SALVATION Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.   —Matthew 3:8  I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.             A doctor is a doctor by the evidence of his actions and not just because he says he is one.  There is an outward demonstration that he truly is a doctor.  So it is with any vocation.  A person can say they are a fisherman, a carpenter, a lawyer, a stockbroker or whatever else, but is the evidence seen in their lives that truly proves what they are.             So it is with following our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is…

GOD GIVES THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear…

BE FAITHFUL AND TRUST GOD But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. —II Chronicles 36:16             It is a dangerous thing to mock the messengers of God.  How treacherous it is to despise His Word and to scoff at those sent by Him.  To reject them is to reject Him!  There is a point when the wrath of the Lord will act on a people or individual.  When He does act in wrath there will be no remedy… none…             Brother and sister let us be faithful…

PAY ATTENTION AND LISTEN TO THE LORD! The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention.  —II Chronicles 33:10             The Lord sought to get an ear from the king and his people, but they would not listen to Him!  Can you imagine the Lord speaking to you and you pay no attention?  You turn from Him and ignore Him.  What is He saying to you?  Will you pay attention?  Not only will you listen, but will you obey?             Are you and I not even taking the time to listen?  Is the business of life crowding out your time with the Lord?  How could…

LORD, BE PLEASED TO WORK QUICKLY AMONG US! Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly. —II Chronicles 29:36             Hezekiah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” and acted according to what the Lord placed on his heart.  Temple worship was restored.  The priests and Levites returned to their service in the temple and purified the temple and everything in it.  Sacrifices and offering were once again taking place as well as singing accompanied by instruments.              King Hezekiah knelt and worshipped.  He encouraged the people to bring “sacrifices and thank offerings, and…

GOD’S MESSAGE AND MESSENGERS OPPOSED Therefore the LORD was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?”  But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.” 17 —II Chronicles 25:15-16             There are those in government who do not want to listen to the counsel of God’s…

LIVE A WORTHY LIFE And the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians.  And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.  And after all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.  In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire…

HE RAISES AND PUTS DOWN For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. —Psalm 75:6-6             It is God who puts down one and lifts another up.  He is the one who executes judgment.  Men may think they move themselves into positions of authority, but it is actually God who has put them in those places of power for His purposes.  Just as easily as He puts them into power He can take them out.             Let us not fret when the wicked are in control.  They really…