This is not new

Temptations, Trials, and Tribulations

Greeting to all. First, I pray that the Grace of our Lord Jesus is with you. They who have ears to hear, let them hear. I want to share with you a revelation I received directly from the Spirit of God just recently. It may come as much of a shock to you, as it did, to me. I am NOT here to win converts to Christ. I will say that again. I am NOT here to win converts to Christ. My little role in God's overall plan, is to talk directly to Children of God, and help them grow in their relationship with God. My role is to help Disciples grow in Faith.

Now of course, if you are reading this message on the Blog, or receiving it in anyway, you know that at the end of every message, I offer the Pray of Salvation and ask you if you know Jesus. However, this is not my sole, nor even main, goal. I never thought of it this way, yet as I look back, I see that I have been talking to Children of God, more so, than not.

You see, "getting Saved" is the easy part. Seriously. To be Adopted into the Family of God, all you have to do is say this Prayer, in your own words, and mean it from your heart...

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Confess to others what you did.. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

It no longer matters what you did before saying that Prayer. You are no longer accountable for the Sins you have committed, up to that point. But now what? See, that's the easy part. New Creature. New Slate. Now what? Now, God cares what you think, do, and say. Before, He could not help you, nor could you please Him. There was no connection. No bond. No Blood. But now, as a Child of God, there is.

Let's talk about now you are a Child of God. Those Temptations you are facing? They are not new. Ever hear someone say something like this? "But you do not understand. I just can't beat this." Do you think you are the first to be tempted with Addiction? Do you think you are the first to be tempted with Sex? With Riches? With Doubt? With Fear? Anything?

1 Corinthians 10:

1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

Remember what Jesus warned us about? He told us this.. "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." However?? "God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

The lure of Riches? It has been around for a long time. This is not new.

8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

Now some like to point this out as a contradiction. For Numbers claims 24,000 died. However, if you notice, this says "IN ONE DAY" Numbers tells us that 1000 leaders were killed the day before. 24,000 total.

So what was this fornication? Everything you can imagine. And some you can't. But basically, one of it's main premises is the women are in charge of men, and men become their slave. In sexual and other ways. The women committed lesbian acts on each other. Modern places of the worship of Baal of Peor are Strip Clubs. Everything including that famous Pole. You see signs of the worship of Baal of Peor in Music, Movies, and TV. This is not new.

9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

What does it mean to "Tempt Christ?" Simply put, to tempt God's Grace. Some believers fall into this way of thinking. "I'm saved. I'm a Child of God. I've been washed in the Blood of Christ. I can do whatever I want. As long as I pray forgiveness, God will have to forgive me." That is tempting Christ. When Satan was tempting Jesus, this was one of the temptations..

Matthew 4:

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Are you forgiven for your Sins. Of course you are. Did Jesus pay the price for you. Of course He did. Are you STILL going to Sin everyday? Yup. Will God forgive you? Yes. However, this is not a ticket to Sin. If you continue to Sin willfully, then you are tempting God, and His Grace. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." {Hebrews 6: 4-6} "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins," {Hebrews 10:26}

Will we Sin daily? Of course. We are Human and we could never live up to a God Standard without falling down now and then. That is why Jesus came. We could not do it on our own. There is a vast difference in falling down and willfully Sinning. Being Saved is not a ticket to Sin. Tempting God is not a wise move. But, this is not new.

10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Why is Murmuring bad? What is Murmuring? Murmuring is usually caused when people are angry at the situation which is occurring in their lives at the moment. They can be angry at the situation, or angry at something or somebody's handling of the situation. Especially when Believers have Prayed for something for a while, and it doesn't seem to happen.

Most of the time, they do not complain directly to the Leader. They start complaining and questioning among themselves. This causes strife. This opens the door. The devil can even amplify the discontentment with God in the mind of those Praying. He can then cause trouble and even rebellion. After all, that is what got HIM in trouble to begin with. Like when there is Murmuring on a Ship, towards the Captain, it can cause Mutiny.

In the Word, we see that Abiram and his company were unhappy with what happened between Moses and some Leaders of the tribes. Before their Murmuring could cause any real harm to the rest of God's people, God destroyed them with Fire. Murmuring, gossip, stirring up rebellion, is not new.

11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

This is an interesting statement. A warning even. "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." What does this mean? It mean that you need to be careful. Even if you think you are Holier than thou, you better keep yourself in check. Look at the things and the people of the past. Read God's Word. Look in the Mirror. Make sure that you are not heading down the same path as some have, thinking they were Children of God, and either were not, or they sure were not acting like it.

There is nothing in your life, in life itself, Temptations, Trials, Tribulations, nothing, that is new. What you are dealing with is the same as what many others long before you have dealt with.

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

There is a common phrase out there based on this passage. "God will not tempt you with more than you can bear." This is NOT what you just read. God does not tempt you. God creates a way for you to get out of the Temptation. He will not allow, Temptation to enter your life by the Tempter himself, nor just the ways of the flesh, human nature, to be so powerful that they destroy you. Oh you can destroy yourself by giving in to the Temptation. Free Will. You do not have to. God gives you a way to deal with it. The strength, even if it may not seem like it at the time, to overcome it. One of the ways to do this, is to understand what IS Sin and what IS Good, and do Good.

Temptations will come. The devil will whisper in your ear. You will see something that plants a thought in your head. You will feel good about this or that, even though you are pretty sure it is not a Godly thing to do. Sin can be fun. But the end result of all Sin is death. Be careful. Do not be deceived.

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say the Prayer above. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you.

Next time we will talk about another misconception. That you, now as a Child of God, will have a free ride. A cushy, sweet, carefree, life. Nothing will come to harm you. Nothing will go bad. Just, glide through Life itself with a smile on your face. Sorry. This is simply not true. Trials and Tribulations WILL come.

If you want to contact me for any reason, Confession, Comment, Question, give Testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. {2 Corinthians 13}