"Tree Of Life"

"In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river,

was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and

yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree

were for the healing of the nations."

(Revelation 22:2)

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,

 which is in the paradise of God."

(Revelation 2:7)

The Glory of what awaits the child of God is amazing and astounding!  The key word, though is "overcomes."  As the song says, "Nobody told me that the road would be easy; I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me."  Ah, the road  ...  it's the road, the earthly sojourn, the trial of the believer, the tribulation for the saint, the tests of faith, the growth of the saved-up seed, the path of the righteous, the time on the wheel, the wandering in the desert, the waiting by the brook, and the trail of "whys."  It's a tough road; biblical Job can tell us all about it, along with Paul, Joseph, Abraham, Samson, and the beloved John the Baptist, who lost his head.  It's not funny, this life of the believer in Christ Jesus.  It's all about "growth."  We must become the image of the One we serve, the Lord Jesus Christ, and it begins from the moment we say "I will."  Huh?  "I will give my heart and soul to You, Lord Jesus; come into my life and fill me with Your Spirit; I will be baptized in Your name, and I will be a witness for You all of my days."  That's when it begins  ...  We must become a "Tree of Life."

Life begins for the believer when he is "born again" of the water and of the Spirit. (Acts 2; Acts 10; Acts 19)  "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."  (Jeremiah 17:7-8)  That sounds just like a "Tree of Life" to me; something that digs deeper when the winds blow, that does not wilt when heat is applied, and that bears fruit continually.  O, saint of God; that's a description of you; trouble only causes our roots to spread and dig in deeper; we don't run from it; we wield our sword and fight; we're armored soldiers, after all.  Then, when we're thrown in the fire, we look up, and there's a fourth man walking around with us  ...  Jesus is with us in the flames of life, always.  And, we are soul winners, always bearing fruit, doing what we were saved to do ...  win souls for the One who saved us.  It's not easy being a tree, and especially, a "lively tree."

"And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side,

 shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the

fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months,

because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof

  shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."

(Ezekiel 47:12)

These waters signify the gospel of Christ, which went forth from Jerusalem, which spread into all the surrounding countries, along with the power of the Holy Ghost.  Matthew Henry says it like this:

"If we search into the things of God, we find some things plain and

easy to be understood, as the waters that were but to the ankles;

others more difficult, which require a deeper search, as the waters

to the knees, or the loins; and some quite beyond our reach, which we cannot

penetrate; but must, as St. Paul did, adore the depth."

I love it; water to the ankles, to the knees, to the loins, and then we're in over our heads  ...  deep calleth unto deep  ...  the beauty of the unsearchable riches of God's Word.  But, hold on; to him who seeks wisdom; he shall find it  ... "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."  O, Lord, take us into deep waters; teach us your infinite wisdom, reveal to us Your secrets; grant to us the thoughts of Your mind, and the movings of Your Spirit  ...  take us into the Deep; we will "adore the depth."

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields

its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers."

(Psalm 1:3)

"My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie

all night on my branches."

(Job 29:19)

The Holy Word of God; don't you cherish it?  It's so powerful, life-giving, strengthening, loving, and true!  If we are a healthy "tree;" and we are growing, bearing fruit, strong in the Lord and the power of His might, we will prosper.  You say, "But, I'm doing what I should, but I have terrible financial troubles."  Do you pay your tithes; do you give in offerings; is there anything God wants you to do that you have not done?  Everything is God's, but the tithe, 10% belongs to Him; we will not prosper if we do not tithe on all we receive.  This is essential ... when we obey the Word of God, the "dew will lie on our branches."  What?  We will be blessed.  The Bible explains it in the Book of 3rd John 1:2, which says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."   The key there is "even as thy soul prospers;" our souls do not grow and do not become giants in the realms of Spirit, power, and glory, if we do not obey the Holy Bible, and consequently, we do not prosper.  The face of God is always toward those who obey His will; His will is His Word; and His Word is the life of the "tree."

The Tree of Life always dwells with the "living waters."  We, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, saints of the most high God, His Church, and His bride must have living waters in order to flow into all the world as His witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Those living waters are the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost and fire.

The Spirit of the Lord flows through us and into others, causing a river that is ever flowing all over the world.  Lord, let us be a vessel of  Your power, an overflowing of Your Spirit, an instrument of Your Gifts, and help us to be strong, offering a covering to the world from our branches, healing for the Nations from our leaves, and let us bear much fruit for Your Kingdom; let us each be a mighty "Tree of Life."      

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

{Special Thanks to cooltext.com for

text graphics}

"Fishers of Men"

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make

you fishers of men."

(Matthew 4:19)

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

 and he who wins souls is wise."

(Proverbs 11:30)

Jesus and His Apostles

Who deserves to hear?  Is anyone too low or too evil that God does not desire salvation for them?  Who will be welcome in heaven?  Does the Spirit of Jesus Christ desire to dwell in everyone?  Should the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ be taken to every Nation?  These are good questions, and the answer to all of them is the very soul of a loving God, stated in 2 Peter 3:9:

 

 











Souls, souls, souls  ...  the thought upon the mighty Creator's mind day and night.  He's done His part; He was born of a virgin, died on the cross and bled for all mankind, and rose again the third day; then, He sat down.  What?  He told the disciples that He would go away and send back the comforter, the Holy Ghost, and when the Church began in the Book of Acts, the baton was passed to the believers, the apostles, the saints of the Living God, to go out and fish for men.

Lord, lay some soul upon my heart,
And love that soul through me;
And may I bravely do my part
To win that soul for Thee.

The old hymn tells us what to do, so we cast out the nets; we pass out the tracts; we go tell it on the mountain; we shout it from the housetops; we tell it, tell it, tell it, that Jesus Christ was born, and He lives evermore to bring redemption to every breathing soul, before it is everlasting too late.  Huh?  The clock is clicking down; there is a time when the "last" soul will speak in heavenly tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance, and that last soul will be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ  ...  and the clock will stop  ...  the trumpets will sound, and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  (1 Thessalonians 4:16) 

We need to "fish" while it's yet day, for the night cometh when no man can fish.  The hand of the Lord reaches through our hands to the lost and dying of this generation.  People are lonely, tormented, lost, fearful, ridden with guilt, miserable, and they're looking for peace, joy, love, forgiveness, and the knowledge that they have obeyed the gospel and they are ready  ...  for whatever happens  ...  they need to HEAR that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings; He brings them hope and a future.  To whom?  To everyone who asks, to anyone who repents, to all Nations, kindreds, and tongues, to the world  ...  He is ready with open arms. 

"Holy" will be the cry of earth before long, when the Holy Spirit of Almighty God is poured out on all flesh, Joel 2:28.  Come unto Jesus, all ye who are heavy laden, and He will give you rest.  SIN is heavy, and draining; it makes people depressed, moody, and lost; it's killing the world.  Peace, like a river, calms our weary souls.  Come unto Jesus  ...  Come unto Jesus  ...  You are on His mind, in His heart, the burden of His soul, and He longs to welcome you into His fold; He's the Shepherd and we're His sheep.  Lord Jesus, we come  ... 



Dear ones, we're coming!  Your redemption draweth nigh!  Rejoice now, and lift your heads for the Spirit coming down; it's the Holy Ghost and fire; it's joy unspeakable and full of glory; it's power from on high; it's what you've been waiting for all of your life; it's the Comforter and the Spirit  ...  It took us a little while to get there; the ocean's big and, you see, we've been fishin'  ... Come on board; with Jesus on your ship, you have nothing to fear.  He calms the storms, rebukes the seas, speaks to the winds, sleeps in the hurricane, and walks on the water  ...  He IS the weather man and we are "Fishers Of Men!"

The Holy Ghost and fire!

(visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works; and that

my soul knoweth right well."

(Psalm 139:14)

Barnes' Notes explains the translation of 'fearfully and wonderfully' in this way: "I am distinguished by fearful things, that is, by things in my creation which are suited to inspire awe."  Adam and Eve were created by God and He was pleased with His creation.  It was His desire that they live in the Garden of Eden in holy bliss all the days of their lives, but they sinned, and were cast out to work by the sweat of the brow and reproduce with pain.  But, even after being cast out of the Garden, they were still greatly loved, and the very heart of God; they were and would always be: "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made," and so are YOU.

"So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown."

(The Old Rugged Cross, George Bennard, 1913)

The hope for the descendants of Adam and Eve; that would be You and me, is that SIN didn't win.  The Lord Jesus Christ took care of the domino sin effect by His death on the cross, and His subsequent resurrection.  His blood shed for the "fearfully and wonderfully made" has granted us a fearfully and wonderfully beautiful eraser of sin forever; Jesus Christ paid it all on the cross.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we cherish and cling to the cross, the rugged wooden sign of a "plus," which our Lord Jesus Christ used to give us the victory over death, hell, and the grave.

"The texture of the human body is the most complicated and curious that can be conceived. It is, indeed, wonderfully made; and it is withal so exquisitely nice and delicate, that the slightest accident may impair or destroy in a moment some of those parts essentially necessary to the continuance of life; therefore, we are fearfully made. And God has done so to show us our frailty, that we should walk with death, keeping life in view; and feel the necessity of depending on the all-wise and continual superintending care and providence of God." 

(Clarke's Commentary) 

Ah, "we should walk with death, keeping life in view;" beautiful, isn't it?  We have much for which to glorify God!  We are His creation, intricate in our design, holy in His image, beautiful in our uniqueness, precious in fleshly touch, and it is astounding that we are but dust  ...  Thank You, Lord Jesus. 

  

His Glory is His Diety, His omnipotence, and His position as God of all creation.  We were created to worship Him, serve Him, love Him, as He loves us.  The Book of Isaiah 48:11, "My glory I will not give to another."  God gives us temporal blessings, spiritual blessings, His grace, His love and heaven, but the Glory of who He is, His throne, He will not give to another.  He IS the Creator and every knee shall bow; every tongue will confess   ...  mark it down, it will happen  ...  that Jesus Christ is Lord!

You are the only one of YOU in the world even if you are a twin; there are certain creative origins that are only YOU, which no one else has.  God made You who you are for Him; you are an artwork of His majesty, a form of His splendor, a vessel of His unique and  special magnificence.  For this reason, none of us should ever put ourselves down; we are a bloom of ecstasy in God's garden of souls and He loves you and me with an everlasting love.

 

We are loved even when we're not pleasing to Him.  He is patient and longsuffering, full of compassion, and He understands our moods, our hurts, and even when we are angry at Him.  But, He forgives our transgressions, washes away our sins, and gathers us in His arms once again.  We've all been there  ...  places and times in life when we did not understand "why."  Some things will be explained when we get to the other side.  We march on, soldiers, and we trust and lean not to our own finite feeble understanding; we will understand it all by and by.

Jesus Christ loves you utterly and completely; you are always on His mind; your cares are His cares; His whisper is for peace in your life, His desire is that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.  You say, "Well, why doesn't He help me, and get me out of this mess I'm in?"  His answers are: Yes, No, and Wait.  The longer you serve Him, the more you will comprehend those answers.  

I can look back over 35 years of serving the Lord Jesus, and I understand many things.  I asked why I had to go through that, and He said, "I wanted to see if you could prefer your brother."  As my powerful Pastor of wisdom has taught us; we must determine in every trial whether it is "of God, of the devil, or of man."  In other words, if we spend too much, we will have debt, and that's our fault, or man's fault.  Some things are attacks of the enemy; some things are trials of God, and some things are just "life."  We live in a fallen world, and the rain falls on the just and the unjust.  He doesn't always remove the storm, but He will carry us through it.  Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus  ... 

Look in your mirror today and smile; the reflection you see is beautiful, and that person has cause to praise and worship the One responsible for life, peace, love, joy, strength, beauty, and hope, because, beyond all the troubles; aside from all of life's dilemmas; we can see that above all, we are "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made."

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

"Holiness Lives; Evil Burns"

"Holiness Lives; Evil Burns"

"And many of those who practiced magic brought

their books together and began burning them in the sight of

everyone; and they counted up the  price of them and

found it fifty thousand pieces of silver."

(Acts 19:19)

Oh, Paul, everywhere you go, there's a ruckus, and this was no exception.  We have to start at the beginning to see what Paul was up to, what led to the fire, and why they were all so involved in this book buirning.  We will see that it is, indeed, a fact, "Holiness Lives; Evil Burns."

Paul had arrived at Ephesus and found certain disciples; he asked them, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?"  And they said unto him, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost?"  Then, Paul asked them how they were baptized, and they replied, "unto John's baptism."  Paul explained to them that John baptized unto repentance, but that they should believe on Him who came after him, which was Christ Jesus.  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.   

Paul laying hands on Ephesians

(Acts Chapter 19)

 After this, Paul laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost, spoke with tongues, and prophesied.  It's ok to be rebaptized; these people were, and it's especially important if one was baptized incorrectly in the first place.  If you have not been immersed in baptismal waters with the words of "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins" being said over you; consider being rebaptized.

Paul continued to preach for two years until all of Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Greeks and Jews.  And, God gave miracles through the hands of Paul, and he prayed over handkerchiefs and aprons and when they were placed on the sick, the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.  

"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call

over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying,

We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.  And there were seven

 sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and

 Paul I know; but who are ye?"  And the man in whom the evil spirit

was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so

that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

(Acts 19:13-16)

Ah, even evil spirits know Jesus Christ, and His anointed ones; don't be trying to cast out devils if You don't know the One who created all things!  When word of this got around, fear fell on all of them, the Jews and Greeks alike, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.  People confessed their sins, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and were baptized in His name.  Now, we arrive at the book burning.  

"And many of those who practiced magic brought

their books together and began burning them..."

(Acts 19:19)

The people were convicted in their hearts for practicing magic and sorcery, so they brought the books dealing with those things and burned them.  Almighty God was against magic, sorcery and all forms of witchcraft in the Old Testament, and He is still against it. 

"Let no one be found among you…who practices divination or sorcery,

  interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is

 a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does

these things is detestable to the LORD…"

(Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the

tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the
dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers,

the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."

(Revelation 22:14-15)

Those who practice magic, who deal with horoscopes, and who are involved in sorcery and witchcraft of every kind will not enter the kingdom of God.  The good news is that we can repent of this evil today; Psalm 97:10 says, "Let those who love the Lord hate evil."  The Lord Jesus Christ loves the sinner, but He hates the sin.  

Lake of Fire

"Evil burns" in more ways than one; it separates humanity from a loving and Holy God; it sends the practitioner of all such things to the fire that burns forever and ever  ...  that is, if there is no repentance of this sin before it's everlasting too late.  The devil has three purposes with humans: To kill, to steal, and to destroy.  If you are into witchcraft, it steals your peace of mind; it destroys your sanity and your soul, and finally, it kills your will: body, soul and spirit, and leaves you a tormented raving person, who is miserable and dying with no hope.  

Don't you want that peace that passes all understanding, that holy spirit of joy unspeakable and full of glory, that holiness of mind and body that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ?  Ask the Lord to forgive you for dealing in those things, and get them out of your house, out of your life, and out of your spirit.  Ask the Lord to deliver you from all evil, and to fill you with His Spirit.  You will speak in the language of God, in tongues, as His Spirit gives you the utterance.  Then, be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.  You will be born again!  Hallelujah!

We all have a choice, and there's still a little time to make the right one.  The Lord Jesus Christ stands ready to take you in His arms and there you will be forever and ever; it's a safe and wonderful place to be.  He will never leave you nor forsake you; He came to give you life, and that more abundantly.  I choose life, holiness, peace, joy, and love  ...  How about you?  It's a choice that lives or a choice that dies:  "Holiness Lives; Evil Burns."

Jesus Christ holds the keys to

death, hell, and the grave!

Choose Life!

(visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)

"A Tree With Your Name On It!"

"A Tree With Your Name On It!"

"And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief

among the publicans, and he was rich.  And he sought to see Jesus who

he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.  And he

ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass

 that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him,

and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down;

 for to day I must abide at thy house."

(Luke 19:2-5)

The Lord Jesus Christ

It might be a mountain of pain, a disease, a mental disorder, a financial battle, a family turmoil; everybody's got a problem for which we need a "tree," something we can scale to reach The One who holds all the answers, something for which we can use to get higher, to get closer, to get a better view of Jesus Christ  ...  whatever it is, it always constitutes the need to CLIMB!  There will be a time in all of our lives when we will become like a desperate Zacchaeus, who wanted to get to Jesus so badly that he climbed a tree.  Jesus Christ always notices those special ones that cannot be stopped, the "desperate beyond normal" faith bearers, the somewhat fanatical reachers, the rabid believers in His power and love, the second and third milers, for Him.  Hey, if you're like the rest of us, who are always in need of a Savior for every situation in our lives, there's "A Tree With Your Name On It!"

It's all about reaching for Jesus Christ; taking up our cross and following Him, climbing higher as we bow lower, reaching up for His hand reaching down, pushing ourselves to go higher in Him than we have ever been before, praying longer to see further, sitting at His feet to look in His face  ...  climbing a tree of persistence to stretch our faith  ...

Our reaching, pushing, pestering, "not gonna' give up until you bless me" faith is a thrill to the Lord.  He loves that kind of faith, that 'tear the roof off,' that 'climb a tree to get to Him,' that 'even the dogs eat of the crumbs under the table,' that 'just speak the word and my daughter will be healed,' that 'thou art the Christ,' that 'if I can but touch the hem of His garment,' ...  that exceeding the normal limit of belief in God and "climbing" kind of faith.  What?  "Climb" means to ascend with continuous strenuous effort.  Climbers always get a view of Jesus  ...

What do you want?  What do you need?  What have you prayed and prayed for, with no answer?  Is there something more you can do in the realm of Faith?  You say, "But, I've done and prayed everything I know to do; nothing has changed."  Have you climbed a tree?  Huh?  Have you gone on a three-day fast, prayed all night and day for many days, dropped everything to have a Pastor lay hands on you, given away your last dime if you need money yourself, laid hands on someone else if you need healing yourself, obeyed His Word in regard to baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with tongues as His Spirit gives the utterance, sat at His feet for hours on end waiting for His Word?  ...  Those are "tree climbing" things, extra mile in the name of faith things, letting Him know you are willing to 'give to get' things, obedience to His Word things  ...  moving the heart of God things  ...

What if you've done those things and more, and you have waited for years; then what? Then, you do the thing most don't think about.  You praise and thank Him extravagantly for giving you the thing you want or need!  Huh?  "But, I haven't gotten it yet," you say.  Right, but you worship as though you have; you thank Him and rejoice like a person who has received the blessing of your life, and you keep doing it until  ...  That is radical Faith!  Thanking Him with exuberance for something you do not have  ...  yet  ...

You say, "But, aren't these things just ways of trying to manipulate the Lord?"  Nope.  They're things we should all be doing whether we get what we want or not; and furthermore, those things only help us to draw closer to the lover of our souls  ...  which is what He "always" wants  ...  the "tree climbing" endeavor just might take us into deeper spiritual realms; miracles, signs, and wonders; visions and dreams  ...  and we may discover that our wants and needs change, and/or the answer is on its way!  ...  It's at that point that things happen  ...  Why?  We have crossed the barrier of heaven and earth; we have entered the heart and mind of God.  It's really all about "A Tree With Your Name On It!"

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)