Do This In Remembrance Of Me

In Remembrance Of Me

We Remember!

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PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Kenneth Phillips)

Where Were You?

Where Were You When I Laid

The Earth's Foundation?

The ONE who asked, "Where Were You?"  was Almighty God, who was laying it on the line for Job.  He followed up with a few more pointed questions like, "Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest?  Or, who hath stretched the line upon it?  Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?  Or who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?  Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?  Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?"   The Lord God went on and on with these very significant soul staggering, tongue binding, no answer questions.  In other words, God asked in no uncertain terms, "WHERE WERE YOU?"



The mighty people of the Bible were NOT limp-handed, weak-kneed, dainty-talkin', posy-pickin', effeminate walkin', "when I said change - I didn't mean tomorrow," scared of their shadow, people pleasin', scared of the dark, vacillating cowards! 

Paul said, "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.  Thrice was I beaten with rods; once was I stoned; thrice I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I have been in the deep.  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."  Hey, people; have we hit the jackpot on "perils?"  As the song says, "I ain't no ways tired; I don't believe; I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me!"  WE can make it!  

The men weren't the only "strong" ones in the Bible.  There was Deborah, a prophetess and judge.  Deborah called Barak unto her and reminded him that the Lord told him to go to Mount Tabor and take ten thousand men with him, but Barak said to her, "If thou wilt go with me then I will go, but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go."  I guess maybe "all" of them weren't so bold and strong!  Barak wouldn't go to meet the enemy without Deborah!  But, Barak didn't get it "all" wrong; he knew the wisdom of listening to and staying close to One with "prophecy!"

Don't forget "strong" determined Abraham!  The Bible says that he "rose up early" to take Isaac to be sacrificed.  Would we have risen "early" to sacrifice our own child?  Better yet, would we have agreed to it at all?  When Isaac asked his Dad, "Father, where is the sacrifice?"  Abraham answered prophetically, "God, himself, will provide the sacrifice!"  As the Angel grabbed Abraham's knife-plunging arm, the ram bellowed from the thicket!  A sacrifice is the eternal Godly appeasement, Jesus Christ our Lord, the ultimate sacrifice!

                                                      

What about Moses?  He was a little wary at first, saying he had to take Aaron with him to do the talking, but in the end, he became a giant of the faith, commanding the seas, standing on the mountain waiting for a visitation, and conquering the desert under a cloud by day and a fire by night! 

O, then, there was the mighty duo of Elijah and Elisha, the double portion guys!  Elisha followed Elijah everywhere, because he wanted a double portion of Elijah's power.  Elijah told him, ok, if you see me go away, you'll have it, and when Elijah went up in a whirlwind, the annointed power-forging mantle came floating down like a directioned red leaf in Autumn breezes  ...  landing on that eager, ever committed, hungry Elisha!  That "secluded" Holy anointing only lands on very very hungry, night-watching, lonely, beggarly people!  

We would be remiss if we left out David and Goliath!  That Philistine giant was over nine feet tall, and here was David, a young teenager.  All he had was a shepherd's staff, a slingshot and a pouch full of stones.  Where are the people today who will fight for unborn babies, marriage between a man and a woman, the rights to say "God" anywhere and everywhere we want to?  They're out there; but we need many more of them  ... people, whose faith never wavers! 

The next time we "whine" and we all do it at one time or another, we need to remember the Bible gives us examples of people who "made it" and they went forth conquering, wrestling, fighting for the right, slinging nothing but a piece of leather, proclaiming victory and power, standing on a mountain to command the elements, and the mightiest ONE of all is coming back!  

It would be wise if we rise up, mount up, gird up, stand up, power up, look up and spew faith's unconquerable, unstoppable, never-ending, never failing, ever winning, triumphant shout of glorious Victory!  ... Lest we hear those memorable, human shaking, Job-subduing, words of the Lord God Almighty  ...  "Where Were You?"

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Lights Are On ... Nobody's Home!

Lights Are On  ... Nobody's Home!

The Lord Jesus Christ conquered Death,

Hell, and the Grave

Three days and He arose; He's Almighty, He's God,

and the consummate Brave

None can hold Him down; He tramples evil

without even a move

He eradicates the enemy with a mind thought,

leaving nothing to prove

He orchestrates the thunder, pronounces

the winds and waves

He is Alpha and Omega, The Omnipotent

Ancient of Days

The Lord of all creation; He rules with  

power, and it is His impetus

To save mankind, ransom our souls, and

 emancipate us

There's none like Him, and no force or foe

can diminish His effect

His forte is wisdom beyond this earth, and

His children He will always protect 

Jesus Christ is Lord, God, and King of all

the earth 

He's coming soon to gather those obedient to 

the call of a new birth

But He doesn't look like the One who rose

again, and left, staking His claim  

Still, He's coming back to deed His earth, and

proclaim His domain

 Hair white as wool, eyes aflame, feet of brass,

changed from when He rolled the stone

The universe is His and all that's known; that's

why "Lights are On  ... Nobody's Home!"

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Genesis 1:3

Daybreak!

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  Physics: visible electromagnetic radiation; "light" has numerous and varying definitions, such as: illumination, something that ignites, or a gleam in somebody's eye!  No matter the definition  ...  whenever "Light" is present, darkness ain't got a chance; it's Daybreak! 

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"

made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light 

of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

(2 Corinthians 4:6)

You don't think your brains came from you, do you?  We would be babbling nonsense without the Glory of God in creation.  To God be the Glory for all things; He gives us the ability to think, to dream, to love, to imagine, to invent, to discover, to "be!"  God IS!  He turns the "light on" in our existence.  We have our own wills, and He will not override those, but the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ comes from Him.  "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."  (John 6:44)  Are you drawn to the Lord?  Do you feel a tugging at your soul?  It is the Lord Jesus Christ wooing you  ...  don't push Him away!  The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with lovingkindness."  (Jeremiah 31:3)  

"And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city

of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper

of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her

heart to respond to things spoken by Paul."

(Acts 16:14)

The Lord opened Lydia's heart to respond!  The light of God drew her, and she was pliable in the mighty hand of God.  I don't know about you, but I want to be someone to whom the God of the universe can reveal things, illuminate His Word, direct me and guide me, share His secrets with, bless and inspire, whisper His love, tell me to turn left because He knows there will be a head-on collision up ahead  ...  Can God do that?  Oh, Yes, He can, and He does  ... with those whose "hearts can be opened" to Him!  

"For who has known the mind of the Lord or who became

    His counselor?"

(Romans 11:34)

Can we know the mind of the Lord?  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 2:5)  Barnes' notes, speaking of Jesus Christ, says, "The point here is, that he left a state of inexpressible glory, and took upon him the most humble form of humanity, and performed the most lowly offices, that he might benefit us."  How do we know what Jesus Christ our Lord thinks?  His Word, the Holy Bible; that's what He thinks.  You say, "But, I don't always understand it."  Yes, I agree; we must "study to show ourselves approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  (2 Timothy 2:15)  It all comes down to the "light."  Lord, illuminate our understanding, shine the light of your will upon our souls, bring brightness to our darkness, daylight to our midnight, and put "a gleam in our eye!"

"Pray without ceasing."

(I Thessalonians 5:17)

What is the switch that turns on the light?  Prayer!  We can go all around the world on our knees!  When was the last time we spent all night in prayer?  "All night?" you say.  All night!  There's nothing like "wrestling with angels," crushing devils, loosing angel warriors, bathing the world with groaning tears, flipping the light switch in every Nation, reaching into unsaved hearts, and last but not least, being washed with the light of God as He smiles on you in prayer!

LIGHT  is "daybreak;" it comes after wrestling, after effectual fervent prayer, after blood sweat tears, after calling unto the deep, after fighting off the darkness, after bowing low to climb high  ...  After Jacob wrestled with the angel all night, for the answer to his prayer, the angel finally said, after he forced Jacob's hip out of joint, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."     

Why don't we "Wrestle with an Angel"  ...  and bring "Daybreak" to the world!

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

Matthew 4:1

"TEMPTED"



"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)  It happened then; it happens now  ...  We all have been "Tempted!"

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable

to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have

one who has been tempted in every way, just as

we are--yet was without sin."

(Hebrews 4:15)

We have no excuse before Almighty God, because He's been there, done that!  But, without sin!  So, our excuses don't hold water; and the bottom line?  If He could do it; we can do it  ...  without sin also.  You say, "But, He was God in the flesh; He has more power than we do."  Amen, but you brought up an excellent point  ... "Power!"  It is not within us, as human beings, to have power over anything; that is, if we have not "received" the power from God.  But, the Lord Jesus Christ died to give us the power over sin, sickness, disease, and all manner of evil, through His Spirit!  When we have been filled with His Spirit, the Holy Ghost and fire; we become overcomers, winners, and we have the impetus within us to live pure holy lives.  Without the Holy Ghost, we "have not" the power to resist!

"But each one is tempted when, by his

own evil desire, he is dragged away and

  enticed."

(James 1:14)

 O, Samson; you're playing with fire!  You remember the story; Delilah accepted money from the Philistines to "entice" Samson to give her the secret of his power and strength, and over and over he gave her fake stories.  He would fall asleep on her lap, and suddenly she would shout, "The Philistines are upon you!"  He then awoke to a gang thralling him with those expose's of what would take away his strength.  Samson, having the Nazirite vow from birth, was set apart unto God.  Part of the vow was that his hair was never to be cut and herein was the secret of his extraordinary strength.  

It's amazing to me that Samson kept playing the game with Delilah, and the Philistines came in repeatedly to attack him after he supposedly told her the secret.  Why didn't he realize she was in collaboration with the Philistines?  Maybe he did, but was "enjoying" the game!  Finally, Delilah, wore down fun-loving, cruisin' for a bruisin', play with fire and ya gonna' get burned, Samson.  He told her the truth; if a razor were put to his head, he would lose his strength and be like any other man!  You know the end; she told the Philistines; they attacked and shaved the seven braids of his hair  ...  Samson's strength left; they gouged out his eyes, put him in a Gaza prison, and to work at hard labor grinding grain like an oxen.  The moral of the story  ... Don't "play" with Delilah!

Samson was now humbled and wise to "games."  He prayed to God and God answered Samson; his hair grew back and he killed more enemies in his death than in his life.  

Samson's mission from birth was to deliver Israel from the Philistines.  (Judges 13:5)  About .Com.Christianity says it perfectly, "Samson is just like you and me when we give ourselves over to sin.  In this state, we can easily be deceived because the truth becomes impossible to see." 

"Then the devil taketh him up into the holy

city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the

temple, 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 ..."

(Matthew 4:5-6)

How did Jesus Christ fight temptation?  He replied to satan in the above scripture, "It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."  Jesus said "again," because satan had tempted him twice now and would tempt him once again.  Jesus Christ our Lord fought temptation by quoting the Word of God!

We must "know" the Word of God, the Holy Bible, in order for it to come to our minds in tempting situations!  The Holy God-breathed Word will not come to us when we are in dire straits if we have not read it, or heard it.  "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."  (Psalm 119:11)

  

"The law of his God is in his heart;

his feet do not slip"

(Psalm 37:31)

The good news is that "if we have slipped;" the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us.  We need only ask  ... Lord Jesus, forgive me of all of my sins; cleanse me of all unrighteousness; fill me with Your Spirit that I might not sin against You; I will be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of my sins.  Help me to live a life pleasing to You.  I will turn around and walk another way; I will turn my back on sin and evil.  Thank You for dying for me, for loving me, and for leading me in the paths of righteousness for Your name's sake.  Amen and Amen !

The Answer to this:

Is this:

And this:

And then, You can run from this:

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)