Thanks for checking out the Anchor Faith Message podcast
from St. Augustine, FL.
Now enjoy this message. Well, you know, it is February
and I thought it was really cool how God just orchestrated this.
I didn't know that it would be time for me to minister.
I knew I was going to at some point.
But anyway, with February I thought it was interesting.
Lord, you are so good. Because remember the last time I
ministered, we talked about how to maintain a what reigning
spirit. How to maintain a reigning
spirit. And I got through the first
point, but I never got to the second point.
And the second point is all about the love of God.
It's all about the love of God. So, you know, it is Valentine's
season, but we want to call it agape season right?
As believers. Because this is all agape is.
Who got it? It is his love and it is all
about him. Let's make this month all about
him. Amen.
Let's just pour out some love on him more than you've ever done.
How about that? You know, you think about, you
know, getting so and so flowers, or you know, candy and all these
things. But how about let's just pour
out some love on him this month and just really tell him how
much you love him and spend some extra time with him because he
is our beloved and we are his. Amen.
Hallelujah. But anyway, so we started on
talking about how to maintain a reigning spirit.
And so it's been a few weeks. So I just want to refresh your
memory on what we talked about. Really, it was coming from
Romans chapter 5 and verse 17. Maybe I should pray Father, we
just thank you for this night. We thank you for your word.
We thank you for your word that it is alive, it is active, it is
sharper than any two edged sword.
And we thank you Father. It's able to penetrate all the
places within our lives that it needs to penetrate.
And so we receive your word tonight, the engrafted word of
God, which is able to save our soul.
We receive it in the name of Jesus.
Amen. Say I receive it.
And so we know Pastor started ministering at the first of the
year about the reigning spirit coming out of Romans 517.
Well, actually you know First Timothy, but one of his other
references was Romans 517. For if by the transgression of
one death reign through the one much more, those who receive the
abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will what reign
in life. Do you know he wants us to reign
in this life? He does not want us as believers
to be beat down, broken, barely making it, barely surviving.
Come on anxious, driven, stressed.
Out blowing our minds, crazy people.
He wants us to reign in this life.
He wants us to be able to overcome any situation that this
life. Would bring to us Amen, or
whatever circumstance would come our way that we would be, as
believers, able to reign over it.
What does? That mean be able to overcome
and get the victory in the midst of whatever's going on.
Hallelujah, He. Wants us to reign.
We have say we have a reigning spirit.
If we are believers, then we have a reigning spirit.
And we have to. You know what?
We have to remind ourselves that.
We have to speak that to ourselves.
We have to tell ourselves self. Let me tell you what you.
Are a victor in this situation. You have to tell yourself that,
because everything else is telling and speaking the
opposite of. The.
Truth of the truth. Remember, we started talking
about this. Everything is speaking the
opposite of what truth is, and the truth is greater.
Is he that is in me than he that is in this world.
Amen. That's the truth.
And we have to remind ourselves of that.
We have to speak out over ourselves all the time, every
day. We have to start bringing forth
the Word. Of God and speaking it out of
our mouth. Amen.
So that we can remind ourselves. Wait a minute, I'm a reigning
bean. Amen.
I'm not a mere man. I'm not a natural man anymore.
I'm a supernatural being. Come on with a supernatural God.
Come on living on the inside of me, and I'm going to reign.
And no matter what situation or circumstance, that comes my way.
Amen. You have to tell yourself that.
And so he says this, The gift of righteousness will reign in life
through the one Jesus Christ. And we know that we can't do it
without him. We cannot reign in this life
without him without the help of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. We can't do it.
And we'll end up acting and living a defeated life just like
everybody else in the world that doesn't know Jesus.
Amen. Hallelujah.
But we have to be determined that we're going to reign no
matter what the situation is and we're going to overcome.
Because he says we can say he says I can't, He says I can
right? Hallelujah.
Anyway. But last time I ministered, I
came out of First John Four one through 21.
Which pastor did reference this when he was teaching at the
beginning of the year? But I want to read that again to
you just to refresh your memory. First, John Four one through 21.
It says Beloved, do not believe every spirit.
But what but test the Spirit to see whether they are from God?
Because many false prophets have gone into the world.
And by this you know that you know the Spirit of God.
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh and is from God, and every spirit that does not confess
Jesus, is not from God. This is the Spirit of the
Antichrist of which you have heard that is coming and now it
is already in the world. You are from God, little
children say I'm from God and have overcome them.
Here's the Scripture. What's it say?
Because greater is he who is in you than he that is in the
world. They are from the world.
Therefore they will speak as from the world.
And the world listens to them. Right?
What does the world listen to? All these spirits, right.
We know First Timothy says in the last days, right.
Many are going to fall away listening, say, listening.
They're going to have their ear attentive to seducing spirits,
doctrines of demons, all kinds of false teaching, false
prophets, those that, you know act like they're going to tickle
their ear or be the people that they want to hear from all
along. They're going to deceive them
and seduce them and get them off track, right?
And so we are saying, listen, if we're going to have a reigning
spirit and if we're going to be able to maintain that rent
reigning spirit, then we're going to have to know the
difference. And we said this last time that
the only way we're going to know the difference between the true
is through the spirit of truth, right, through the spirit of
truth. But let's keep reading, he says.
Therefore they speak as the world and they listen to them.
We are from God, who knows God and listens to us.
He who is not from God does not listen to us.
By this we will know the Spirit of what truth and the Spirit of
error, right? The spirit of truth and the
spirit of error. And so we have to recognize that
if we are going to maintain that reigning spirit, we must know
truth. We must know truth.
We must know truth because we're seeing in this very hour that we
are living, that many people are trying to what?
Rewrite the truth. Change the truth.
They're trying to rewrite it and change it.
And so if you don't know any better, you know you'll start
believing the lie that they are saying.
Right. That it's OK to be married to
the same sex, right? These are the lies that are
perpetuating. And it's so sad that we've seen
whole denominations take on those thought processes and
beginning to change their whole doctrine.
It's happening. Right before our eyes, we are
standing in a time that we are seeing the very things that
Scripture has said from the beginning that would.
Happen. And we're seeing it and people
just getting sucked into it and drawn into it, right?
Seduced by it in many multiple ways.
But the bottom line is, it's the reason why is because they are
not staying with truth. They're not staying with truth.
I'm telling you, everyone of you better have a Bible, a hard copy
of a Bible. You need to get one now because
I already know there are Bibles that have literally been
changed, like the NIV I first learned 32 years ago.
Really. That was the first Bible that I
had and started reading out of. But I no longer read the NIV any
longer because I know they have changed the verbiage and the
words in the NIV so that it would not offend homosexuality.
So I wouldn't. Buy one of those today.
Make sure you find 1 from 32 years.
Ago. I don't know.
Right. But this is the these are the
things that we're talking about. So how did they get so seduced
to be able to actually, whoever publishes the NIV begin to
change it? So y'all better have a hard copy
because I'm going to tell you we don't know what's going to
happen with all these electronics.
I'm not conspiracy theory. All I know is I'm going to have
several card copies of the written word of God that has
lasted and stood from the from the beginning of time.
Amen. Because no one's going to be
able to talk me out of what I know this book says.
Because I know truth. Because it is written in my
heart. Because I've hid it in my heart.
Amen. And we must be people that begin
to do that within our lives, so that we don't buy the lies of
what we're hearing in the world and we are not going to be
seduced into taking up the causes that we hear that's
happening in the world. Amen.
Hallelujah. So we talked about last time
that we must know the spirit of truth.
That was the first point that we talked about.
And we said that the Spirit of truth can only be found by the
Holy Spirit who what? Who's living on the inside of
every believer. If you are not born again, you
do not have the Spirit of truth living on the inside of you.
So guess what? You will by the lies of the
world, you will listen to the world, he just said.
The world will receive their own.
You'll listen to what the world is, The doctrines of the world,
right? Because you won't.
You don't have the spirit of truth.
But guess what? Anybody in here who has never
called on the name of the Lord tonight, you can do it.
And guess who will move in? The Spirit of truth, so that you
don't have to buy another lie. From the enemy.
You won't have to buy another lie of this world.
Amen. So in order to know the spirit
of truth, we said what last time That we have to be people of the
Word. We're going to have to hide the
word of God in our heart. We're going to have to know him.
We're going to have to know the Word, right?
We're going to have to know His voice.
And he said the sheep will hear the shepherd's voice and what no
other they will follow. The only way you're going to
know the shepherd's voice is if you've put the word of God
within your life. Amen.
So that then you know what his voice sounds like, so that you
don't listen to any other voice trying to tell you that God is
that, that God is love, and love is love and and he loves
everything. So you won't buy that lie,
because you'll know what he hates and what he does love,
right? So.
And it's important that we not only hide the word in a in our
hearts and know the truth so that we can recognize his voice
and understand his ways and and the way that he operates, but
it's also very important that we recognize.
Listen guys, we have to be people that are receiving truth.
Come on, we don't ever want to be putting ourselves in a
position that we're opposing truth that we're hearing.
So that means when something's being brought forth by the
spirit of truth or the word of God, that our first response
should be, I'm going to receive that even though I may not.
Some things may, you know, be difficult for me and I may not
understand everything. But I know this.
This is truth, and I'm going to receive it.
I'm not going to push back on it.
I'm not going to oppose it. Because if you start opposing
truth that you're hearing, then guess what?
You're going to start hardening yourself to the truth, and that
is going to be a way that the enemy can get into you because
you're he's going to say, well, see, you really don't believe
that. You know, when they said that
you did. You ought to be a person that if
the word of God says it, I believe it.
That settles it. That's it.
That ought to be what it is that you say.
And then even if you maybe don't understand it all, or have the
wisdom of it all, or have the knowledge of it all, you should
be a person that says that's OK. I'm not going to resist it.
What I'm going to do is begin to discover it and dive into it and
study it so that what then it can continue to what?
Strengthen the truth within me. Amen.
And that has to do with even when another believer maybe
speaks the truth to you, you don't want to be in opposition
of it. You need to be a person that
says, I hear what you're saying, I receive the truth and I'm
going to take it, pray it out, study it out.
Not why I don't. I don't know that I actually
believe that when someone's trying to speak the words of
life to you, right, You don't want to be resistant in any way
to truth, so that it would harden us to truth.
I don't want anything that would be in my way from truth being
revealed because truth is revealed.
So I don't want to put any roadblocks, so to speak, within
my heart or within my life that would oppose truth in any way.
I would say just like with the Holy Spirit, you know, growing
up, we weren't filled with the Holy Ghost and you've heard
Pastor's testimony. He wasn't filled with the Holy
Ghost. But you know what he said when
he started hearing about the Holy Ghost?
He said if it's in the Word about what was he not doing, he
wasn't resisting. You see what I'm saying?
He wasn't resisting that this could be truth.
So what am I going to do? I'm going to begin to study it
out for myself and see if it is so and the spirit of truth then
can continue to do what the spirit of truth does.
Amen. Hallelujah.
So it's important that we as believers always have our ear
attentive to truth, because then that's going to protect us from
ever buying a lie. It's going to protect us.
So have your ear always turn towards truth, no matter what.
Amen. No matter what, even if we don't
understand it fully, my ear is still attentive to this truth
and I'm going to study it out. I'm not going to be resistant in
any way because it could be truth and I don't want to resist
truth in any form or fashion. Amen.
So. We talked about the only way
that you're going to continue to know His voice is that if we
abide in truth. And we talked about abiding in
His word, abiding in the the truth of God's word and the
Spirit of truth, living on the inside of you.
And that's why he said you are of God, Why are you of God?
You have the. Spirit of Truth.
Within you now. So you can know the difference
between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, right?
Say thank God. For the spirit of.
Truth Hallelujah. But there the very next
scripture. He continues going on from there
from that last verse 6, where he says for he who knows God
listens to us and he who is not from God does not listen to us.
And by this we will know the Spirit of truth and the spirit
of error. Verse seven And then he gives us
another way that we're going to know God and the difference
between the spirit of truth and error.
He says, beloved, let us love one another, for love is from
God. So not only is he saying we're
going to be able to receive the spirit of truth, now he's
saying, listen, now that you know God, you now have the love
of God in you, and now that you have the love of God and the
spirit of truth, you're going to know the difference.
You're going to know the difference between truth and
error. So the love of God must be
maintained within our lives and within our hearts if we're going
to have a reigning spirit, the truth of God the and the spirit
of truth. But not just that, I'm telling
you. The love of God must be
maintained within our lives if we're going to reign.
Because we know that the love of God effects everything within
our lives. Because faith does not work
without what? And this is not the world's
definition of love. This is not our definition of
love. This.
Is pure, unadulterated love of God.
The purity of who he is, the love of God.
For God is what love, and that love is agape love that we're
talking about. It is the very essence of who he
is. It is his nature, right?
His love. And he's letting us know now
that you have the Spirit of truth, and now that you know
God, and you are of God, you have the love of God within you.
This is how we know. Isn't that what he says in John?
Which I don't have it down, he says.
How is the world going to know it's because of what?
The love. That we have for the brethren.
You see that? So the love of God is going to
keep us from error. It's going to protect us from
error. Amen.
And I'm going to tell you more and more in these last days,
we're going to have to maintain the love of God within our
hearts because of all the wickedness and the vile things
that we see happening in the world, so that we don't turn
that towards people. Remember, we know what spirit
they're of, so it's not against what flesh and blood that these
people are acting these ways. And so the love of God must be
maintained within our hearts for us to make sure that we are
operating in accuracy in. Hearing from the Lord, because
I'm going to tell you, if we have a fence, if we have issues
with people, if we have all, it's going to get it.
We're going to deceive ourselves.
And if we are going to be able to deceive ourselves, then guess
who works and flows and operates.
And his mode is only what deception.
Deception. So if we.
Are not maintaining the love of God properly within our hearts
and not just towards him. We've said this.
He and all of us go together. They're one.
You cannot separate the two. You can't say, Oh well, I love
God, but I can't stand this person and I don't ever want to
be around that person again. And that person did me wrong.
That are believers. It does not work that way.
And you are deceiving yourself and opening yourself wide open
to deception. The deceiver.
The deceiver, because that's where he operates, That's where
he that's his mode, His, you know, his mode, That's where he
flows right through deception in any way that he can.
And so if we have anything within ourselves that is not
right, fully functioning in the love of God, then we're open
ourselves right up and letting him walk right in those doors.
Because look, he said beloved, let us love one another, for
love is from God and everyone who loves, he's letting us know
is born of God and knows God. This is still all in context.
He's letting us know that the people that do not know truth.
And now he's letting us know. But you know truth.
Now you know you're born again. You know God.
So guess what? The love of God's there and this
ought to be operating in your life.
It says the one who does not love does not know God.
He's letting you know. See what I'm saying?
He's just letting you know the one that does not love God does
not know God. For God is love.
And by this love of God was manifested in us, that God has
sent what his only begotten Son into the world, so that we might
live through Him in this love, in this love, not that we love
God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a
perpetuation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we
also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time.
And if we love one another, God abides in US, and His love is
perfected in US. By this we know that we abide in
Him and He and us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
You. See that?
And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent the Son
to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is
the Son of God, God abides in him, and he and God we have come
to know and have believed the love which God has for us.
God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God,
and God abides in Him. By this love is perfected with
us so that we may have confidence in the Day of
Judgement because. As he is, so are we in this
world. There is No Fear in love.
Say there's No Fear in love. And I like how he said that.
By this. What did he say?
We're perfected right as he is. What?
Because as he is, so are we in this world.
As he was, so are we in this world because of the love of
God. So guess what that means?
I don't have to fear a thing that's going on in this world.
I don't have to fear not one thing that's happening in this
world. I don't have to fear not one
person that's operating of the spirit of this world.
Because the love of God has been perfected within me.
Because I know God and I know the spirit of truth and the
difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Because the love of God is in me.
Because the Spirit of God is in me.
Say the Spirit of God is in me. Say the love of God is in me.
Say it again. The love of God is in me.
You need to tell yourself that every day when you wake up, you
need to thank him, Father. I thank you that the Spirit of
truth, the Spirit of you, lives on the inside of me.
And I thank you that the love of God's on the inside of me every
day. You need to be thanking him for
that. Because this world is only going
to get what darker. It's only going to get darker.
And I'm going to tell you, it's
wicked. It's wicked.
And so you need to thank him every day.
I thank you, Father, that I have the Spirit of truth living on
the inside of me. And I have your love.
The love of God is living on the inside of me.
If that's all you thank him for thanking, come on.
Because that's what separates you from this crazy world.
It's what separates. You.
And it's what's going to keep you sane.
As we see people going insane, they're out of their minds.
They're out of their minds. And you need to thank God every
day. And also you can thank him every
day. I have the mind of Christ.
I am not going to act insane like everybody else in this
world that we're seeing. Come on.
Thank you. I have the mind of Christ
because I refuse. I refuse to buy the lies and
operate like the things that's going on in this world.
So it says there is No Fear in love, but perfect love.
What does it do? It casts fear out.
Fear involves punishment and the one who fears is not.
Listen to this. The one.
Who fears is not say, is not perfected in his love.
It's pretty simple. If you're a person that deals
with fear, then guess what you need to do?
You need to dive into the word of God concerning His love,
because the love of God is not perfected within you.
If you're a person who deals with fear on multiple levels,
you can have a fear of man. You can have a fear of of not
trusting God with your finances. Come on.
You can have a fear of rejection or a fear of, you know, never
getting. Married.
Come on, you can have a fear of of having to live by yourself
for the rest of your life. You There's so many fears that
people are bound by. And the reason why they're bound
by it is because they just have not dove in to discover his
love, and that love has not been perfected within them.
You see that? And so why is this important?
Because where there is fear, who?
Else operates in that realm. That's his playground.
And so if there is a fear within
you, guess what? You have an open door for him to
play around with. You have an open door for him to
play and to get you in a in A and get you in a place.
That fear grips you so much that you, I mean, people get so
gripped with fear that they can't even breathe, they can't
move. What are you think?
These panic attacks are nothing but fear based?
I'll tell you the root of it. It's fear based.
You see that? So what does that tell you?
As a believer, if we're going to maintain a reigning spirit,
we're going to have to dive into the love of God.
We're going to have to read John.
Come on 1st John, All the John, John, John, John, John.
That should be your diet. That should be your diet of just
reading those scriptures and getting the love of God so rich
and deep within you until that revelation.
Come on. All it has to do is that
revelation or that truth. Then can just begin to dispel
and push. Out that fear, this is the
answers, not appeal. That's the answer.
It's the answer. Amen.
And he wants us to know Him. He wants us to know Him and to
know the love that he has for us.
To know the love of God is like no other.
To love the To know the love of God is like no other, so.
Let's keep reading what he says. It says we love because he first
loved us. And if someone says I love God
and hates his brother, that is not his earthly brother, right?
We're talking about our brothers and sisters in Christ here.
Yeah, I know plenty of believers that have offense with other
believers, and that is a complete open door for the
enemy, for deception. And it kills people.
It takes them to their grave. I've seen it over the 32 years.
Takes them to their grave early when God never wanted that for
their lives, but because they refuse to deal with offense and
forgiveness issues whatever and hatred towards people come on
sickness ate them up in their bodies.
Now it says if anyone says I love God and hates his brother.
He's a liar for the one who does not love his brother, whom he
has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
So what does he go ahead and let us know, and this commandment we
have from him that the one who loves God should what, love his
brother also? It's a commandment.
And you know, I've taught on love for years, But do you know
what more and more I realize that these are?
Just the two. Key truths that we must know.
We must know the Spirit of truth, and we must know the love
of God. And not our opinions about the
love of God, but what? He literally says love looks
like what his word says love looks like.
That means we should not have not one issue with anyone else
in the body. We should never talk negative,
right? Y'all heard me say this about
one person in the body of Christ.
We shouldn't. Critical or whatever.
The case may be running people slandering all these things.
And if you. Say you love God and you do
that. Well, guess what?
The scripture. I just don't believe you.
I believe the scripture. I believe the scripture before I
will believe you. Amen.
Say.
Amen. So we must love one another.
We must know the love of God. But we also must because again,
he makes the connection that if you love him, then you must love
others. If you love him, you must love
others. You cannot separate the two.
You can't say, oh, I love God and forget about all these.
I don't need that church. I don't need those people.
I, you know, I can do this thing on my own.
It. You can't.
Sorry you are opening. Yourself up wide for the
deception and destruction from the enemy, right?
Because it's not scriptural. There's nowhere in here that
scripturally you can show me where this was just about you.
That's good. Show me and I will change.
Bring it to me in Scripture with.
Three or four? Witnesses that this was ever
just about you can't do it. But there is a multiplicity of
scriptures that it is about all of us, all of us as the body.
Amen. So it's very important that we
deal with this love issue if we are going to maintain a reigning
spirit and not be caught up in seducing spirits, deception,
doctrines of demons in these last days.
I mean, it's just imperative. Look at First Peter One, First
Peter 122 through 25. It says this.
Since you have an obedience to the truth, you see that to the
obedience to the truth. Do you know there's plenty of
believers that hear the truth, sit in the services that you're
sitting in and hear the truth and refuse to receive it and
reject it time after time after time after time and think
they're OK. And then one day things happen
in their life and they're wondering why.
I've been at church all my life. Yeah, but you've sat there and
rejected truth and not received it and put it to practice within
your life. You have to put this into
practice. Practice mates.
Perfect, perfect. Love, Casa.
That means, listen, you're going to have to do what the scripture
says, the depths and lengths and widths of his love, you're going
to have to encounter. If you're going to be a true
woman and man of God to maintain, come on, a reigning
spirit, you are going to have to say.
The first thing that's the most important thing is let me check
my love walk here. That has to be the first thing
that you check up on is, am I actually walking in love with
this situation, with this person?
Is there anything in me that I am not actually doing when it
comes to what love says I should do?
What is love say we should do? Well, you should read First
Corinthians, but I'm not. Anyway, it says since you have
an obedience to the truth. See, the truth is what purifies
your soul. Look at that to the truth.
Purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren.
That's another reason why you want truth, so that it can
purify your soul. What does that mean?
You're thinking about that person.
Right, so he says. Listen.
The truth that purifies your soul.
For a sincere love of the brethren fervently love one
another from the heart. For you have been born again,
not of the. Seed, which is perishable, but
the imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring
word of. God.
We must have the word of God, the truth of God, so much within
our lives. That listen to me, it should
just come up the word. If the word is not the first
thing that comes up when you encounter a situation, you need
to continue to grow. You need to grow.
Say we going to grow this year, we're going to stretch this
year. Come on.
Because every time a situation comes up, whatever it may be,
the word of God ought to be right there within you, giving
you the direction, the word or whatever it is for that
situation that you're going through.
The word of God ought to be popping up, and if it's not,
that means then you haven't hit it in your heart.
You haven't been spending enough time within the word, right?
Because the first thing you're doing is having a meltdown or an
emotional response to a situation, right?
So we ought to be having the word of God within us, so much
so that it can purify us, sanctify us to the truth of
God's Word, so that when any situation goes on, the truth is
right there. I see what's happening here.
But the truth is, you see what I'm saying.
This may have just happened. They may just tell you.
You just have, you know, an incurable disease.
But the truth is, by his stripes, I have been healed.
He took on all. Come on.
These infirmities and sicknesses and diseases.
For me, on the cross, Hallelujah.
What are the first things that are coming up when you're
encountering situations? Is it the truth of God's word?
Look at Jude. We're going to probably close.
You know with these last two scriptures.
There's multiple scriptures and I've read them to you guys in
the past for years on. The love of God and the fact
that we are commanded to love. Right.
And the fact that we know our faith cannot work if we are not
people walking in the love of God.
Faith worketh by. Say it again, Say it again, say
it again. So don't tell me you're in faith
when I know you have ought towards people.
I mean, just how simple is that? It's just so.
Simple. And see how the enemy can
deceive us and get us into deception to where he talks
about how we've deceived our own hearts.
But thank God for the Spirit of Truth.
And as long as the Spirit of truth can still get in there,
Come on, if you haven't hardened yourself so hard from hearing
the spirit of truth, from hearing the truth.
So I know there's people in here by the Holy Ghost that have
issue, and your faith is not working, but you've deceived
yourself to think you're good. You're in faith, and you're all
right. But I'm telling you right now,
you're deceived. You're deceived.
And you are in the devil's playground of deception.
And so this is reality. This is reality that we must get
these things right or it will not end up well with.
Us We won't. It won't.
Amen. So receive truth.
Quit having a deaf ear to truth when it's spoken.
Look at Jude. You know, I thought it was
interesting that when Pastor Lynette was here at how many of
you were in the prayer session? And look at this.
This is awesome. And we read out of she read out
of the book of Jude. Remember that in one of the
prayer sessions and she read it out of the passion translation.
I'm not going to read it out of the passion translation.
Hopefully you you guys went back and read it.
But Jude, as I was reading through it since she brought it
up and read back through it, Jude said this, thought it was
interesting and what we were ministering today.
And verse 17 through 21 it says. But you, beloved, ought to
remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, the things that they
were saying to you, that in the last times there will be mockers
following after their own ungodly lust.
These are the ones who cause divisions.
They're worldly minded, devoid of the Spirit.
What are they devoid of? The.
Spirit of truth, see that then he goes on to say.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy
faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves What?
In the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life?
Look what it says and hear Jude, the book of Jude.
If you read it in context, one chapter is all about what's.
Going to What's happening with these individuals in the last
day, right? It's all in that context.
They're devoid of the spirit, all kinds of things.
They're talking about, you know, reads without different things,
right? All these things and worldly
lust, all kinds of stuff. Mockers.
Are we seeing any mockers on the news?
Are are we seeing any of this stuff happening?
Yeah, we're seeing it left and right, right.
And but look what he says. We must be people that will keep
ourselves in what? The love of God?
Because if we don't keep ourselves in the love of God,
we're going to start hating these very people that need God.
We're going to start hating what other?
What about all these people that are viciously hating what's
going on in the political realm? Come on, Craziness is happening.
Craziness is happening, all kinds of stuff, and they're
hating people. And so if we don't take the.
Posture of making sure that we have the love of God so much in
the forefront of our mind and our heart.
We will start getting taking on some of those things, and so we
have to be careful. So he says, listen, we must be
people that keep ourselves in the love of God.
What does that mean, keep ourselves in the love of God?
Does that mean that we could not be in the love of God?
If you have to keep yourself in the love of God, that means that
you might not be in the love of God, just 'cause you're born
again. No, we have to keep it.
We have to abide in it. You know what that word means?
We have to guard it. We have to hold fast to it.
We have to watch over it. This is all what this word means
in the Greek. We have to reserve it.
That means there ought to be such a reserve within your heart
of the love of God. A reserve.
And I'm going to tell you, the more and more we're encountering
things in this last days, we're going to.
Have to be so full of his love, and recognizing that this is not
of the right spirit, therefore they are bound by this and the
love of God. You know what it ought to do.
It ought to compel you to do something about it instead of
lashing out towards it. So he says, we ought to reserve
keep guess what else, it says, attend to carefully.
So we must be attending to carefully.
The love of God that we know was shed abroad in our hearts
according to Romans 55, when we got born again because the love
of God. Just because it's there doesn't
mean that we are keeping it. Or what it what else could?
We say doesn't mean that we're practicing it.
Are we making it a point to practice the love of God towards
people? Are we making it?
Making that effort to practice the love of God that.
Means you know what that means? We're going to be in situations
that you don't want to. You don't want to put on love,
which Colossians tells us to do as well.
So he tells us we have to keep it.
He tells us we have to abide in it.
He tells us we have to put it on in Colossians.
So that means that just because I'm born again does not mean I'm
operating. In the love of God.
Just because I'm saved and, you know, going to heaven one day
when I die does not mean that I am operating in the love of God.
I have to practice it. And the way that I practice it
is that means I'm going to be in situations that I am going to
encounter as a believer with the body, with other people, that I
am going to have to put on love. I'm going to have to apply it in
that situation. That means I'm going to have to
walk it out. That means I am not going to
think about self and how that is making me.
Feel, but I'm going to put it on and say I don't care how I feel
and I don't care what you just said about me and I don't care.
Whatever. You know, I just.
You know what? I'm sorry.
I love you. Please forgive me.
Can we ever just do that? Make peace.
See that? That is actually practicing and
applying. The love of God to your life.
So he says in Colossians 314, Last Scripture 314 and 17.
Beloved, beyond all these things, put on love, which is
the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in
your hearts. Do you know what peace will not
rule? You can talk about I had the
peace of God all day long. But peace will not rule within
your life and within your heart if you are not operating in the
love of God. You know, you talk, oh, I want
peace in my home. And I just want my children to
all be. I just want to come into my
sanctuary and it all be peaceful.
Yet you got something against your husband and there ain't
going to be no peace. It's not going to be any peace.
You can act like you got it all
together if you want. I'm just telling you what
Scripture says and and see, these are the things that get us
in a deceptive mode. It's the Decepticons.
Oh, my transformer days are coming out with all my sons and
grandsons, right? The.
Decepticons. Listen.
There's so many of them and they can still even infiltrate.
Believers, all these Decepticons can just show up and infiltrate
if we're not guarding keeping come on and allowing truth and
the spirit of truth to actually penetrate and receive it and
actually change and. Do it.
And this is how deception happens within our heart.
This is how the Scripture says you've deceived your own heart.
Because we think that just because we're born again, that
we can just bypass all these other things that the scripture
says and we can't, we can't we. Can't act like we're a person of
great faith when you know you have ought towards somebody
because your faith is not working.
It's not. You've deceived yourself, you
see that? So he says, listen, let the
peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were
called into one body, and be thankful.
And then what does it say? Let the word of Christ dwell
within you richly. You see that?
Let the word of God dwell within you richly.
So we have to have so much truth, so much word put in our
hearts, hiding the word in our heart that it's dwelling within
us richly and when it dwells within us richly, guess what's
going to happen the moment we encounter a situation?
It's going to come out. That's the first thing that's
going to come out. It's the first thing.
I'm not going to think bad about somebody.
If I'm in a situation and something goes on, I'm not going
to think, well, I can't believe that person did that.
I'm not going to think bad about it because that's not love.
It's not love because love believes the in every situation,
even though you may have discernment.
That maybe this situation isn't just right, but does the Lord
need you to reveal that, or do you just need to let it go?
See what I'm saying? So it's important that we
recognize that if we are going to maintain a reigning spirit in
this day, that we are living so that we do not fall into
seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.
We must have the truth of God's Word within us.
Listening to the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of truth and
full of the love of God. Maintaining the love walk.
Walking in it every day. Making sure we're guarding our
hearts against anything that would be able to penetrate
within our lives with an offense or a situation against anyone
because we don't want the enemy. To have access.
So that deception cannot form within our lives.
Amen. Hallelujah.
Say I have the love of God in my heart and I have the spirit of
truth in my life. Come on, say I'm going to
receive truth. I'm not going to resist truth.
Hallelujah. Thank you so much for listening
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