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Follow Peace with All Men

Romans 12:18

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

People are watching us each and every day. They are use to people saying “I go to Church,” or my parents my mother, sister or father went to church.” That is fine but is the Church in you or are you in the Church? There are people who are in the Church, but He wants the Church to be in us. Its not a facility or edifice, the Church is the people of God, filled with the Holy Ghost, inside of us where the Holy of Holies resides. We are the example this world needs in this day, in this unconscious world of sin. People are doing things today with no retribution, not caring if it hurts others. We are doing things that are not conducive to being Children of God. We all say that we love the Lord. We sing songs of accolades and of love but we don’t mean them. People here us singing those songs, but then we walk out in violence. We are very negative. Do Christianity and negativity go together? No. So why are we so negative?

Y’all know when people get on your nerves and then they say they’re just playing. We can’t allow ourselves to fall in the traps of this world. People draw you in. Satan has been doing it for years. If he can’t get you physically he’ll get you financially, so you can’t do anything you want to do. You can’t even go out a buy a hot dog. I can’t go out and buy a bag of chips. You go around saying I can’t. Satan knows how to reach you by how you’re effected in your walk. In decisions. If you’re habitual. That is why some of us can’t take drugs. You shouldn’t take drugs in the first place. We can’t smoke weed because we’ll be hooked. They say it calms their nerves. We make up every excuse.

Live: To exist; to be; to aspire. To live through an amount of time.

You should exist peaceably. To exist to be understood. To exist to live in harmony with one’s self and ones God. To live to be; to exist to be. You think about the emotions; to be caught up in a quiet emotion. To look at the Hebrew word Shalom: completeness. You look at the word welfare. If you’ve ever been around Hebrews or Muslims they say Shalom. Peace be with you, and they return the peace back to you. To make peace and shalom; to be complete and sound; to be perfect. Is everyone perfect and complete? Is everyone’s heart where it should be? Are you all clear with your focus where it should be? Is it foggy or misty? The Lord tells us He keeps those in perfect peace whose mind is set on Him. If you are not focused on the things and situations in your life, then you won’t stay in peace, because these folks will drive you up the wall.

What do bill collectors do? They collect your money, caring nothing about the bills. Now think about this, when you make a bill with someone they ask for your name, address, phone number. Why? So if you’re negligent with your bill they can reach you. You can’t live in peace if someone is blowing up your phone about a missed payment every week. It doesn’t feel good when you miss a payment does it? Because they add up. You miss this month, then another month. You’re jacked up because you’re worried about what you will do next. Now your unstable because it has rattled your foundation of peace. All the while you are building up with stress. You’re not happy. Now you have family members that will bug you to no end. “Can you give me some money… can I come to your house?” If you have a relationship, they’re bugging you. Are we going out tomorrow…are we going to meet…because you said we were going to meet? You have the bill collector, your family, your spouse…they you say Lord deliver me. Its just too much on me I’m stressed. Then the Pastor says, I need you to go out and witness with this group today. Are you at peace? You’re mad with the people who keep calling you, then you’re mad with your cousin, you’re mad with your spouse, then you’re mad with the Pastor and they’ve done nothing. No one likes when someone else is coming after you. So people say they’ll turn it all over to God. But we don’t do that. We’re Indian givers; give things, then take them right back. This is the same thing we do to the Lord. “Lord take all my burdens, I surrender all,” we say. As soon as we give them to Him, we go back home, sit at the table and lament over our issues. We take them right back from the Lord. We ask the Lord to heal us. If we pray and the Lord doesn’t answer right away, we start going through saying it didn’t happen. Are you feeling at peace? We’re stressed as stressed can be. We can’t even think about helping anybody in the Lord when we are stressed.

The Lord wants us to know one thing, He’ll keep you in perfect peace, even when you cause mess in your life. How many people know that if something costs $900 and you only have $200 to your name, you don’t purchase it? You don’t go get a loan to make up the rest of it. Some of us haven’t learned that yet, knowing we get $200 a month, why make a $900 loan that will collect interest? It will take you how many months just to get $900? We should know better. Why should you buy a brand new car when you can’t even afford a used one? People stress you so you’ll make the wrong decision, but by that time you’re caught. Now we’re pressured, we make decisions, have relationships, make deals and bargains, out of stress, and in the process of it, peace is tip toeing out the door. We don’t realize it. When we enter into contracts or deals, makes sure its not of stress, not of duress, but rather looking at the future of that same thing.

We look at relationship. Being in relationships isn’t free, every time I pick them up, I have to spend money for gas. They’ve got to eat so I have to feed them. They’ll want a gift so I have to buy them something. You ever heard the term “we can live on love?” You can’t pay with love when you are trying to buy a happy meal at McDonald’s. It costs money. The Bible says that no one should take something upon themselves without counting the cost. How many can repair a car, or rocket engine, or electronics? So why would you buy a car that has a rocket engine or radio? So when it doesn’t work anymore, there it stays because you can’t fix it. What will it cost me to maintain something. You have to count the cost in your life. Its always good to understand if you want to succeed in something, count the cost first. Everyone is always saying go ahead and do what pleases you, and they don’t have a dime to help you keep it. You have all their weights on your life, tons and tons of weights on your life. Why are the bill collectors constantly calling? Because you wanted something that someone else had and you can’t afford it. You know there are some people who will buy a game system before they buy food or clothes? We’re stressed to the max, we can’t be at peace. When you are stressed are you peaceable with all men? No, you’re upset and you speak to them firmly.

We can’t walk peaceable with all men because of all the stress. We begin to act attitudinal with people. If we go back to the word Shalom. Peace. You go to some place and a person overcharged you and you don’t realize until 2 days later. You can’t go back because too much time has lapsed. Then you become stressed about that. Love of money is the root of all evil. Under stress in life is unnecessary. You don’t need the stress in your life. Follow peace.

When you allow your soul to be caught up with the thoughts and emotions of your physical man, there can be no peace of joy in the Holy Ghost in your life. Satan come to steal, kill and destroy you. Who cares about you better than you? When you get into a situation and your life is at stake, we think about our immediate things. When I was sick in the hospital, I was thinking about how I would pay the hospital bill. This society has groomed us to be worry warts. If you allow your soul to be caught up with what your flesh is doing, you cannot, you cannot live a holy life. It will keep you from finding out who Jesus is. Its not about you.

We get it confused saying that our lives are all about us and what we can get out of it. Our lives are about being available for God to use us.

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Weigh it Before You Say it Part 2

1 John 4:1-5

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

Everyone who calls themselves a Christian is not always a Christian. Just because they wear the implements of the house doesn’t make them a part of the house. Just because someone comes into your house and sits in your chair doesn’t make them a part of your house. Just because someone comes into the Church, doesn’t make them a Christian. Just because a person says they love Jesus, but doesn’t show it, doesn’t mean they are a Christian. People always say I love the “Lord,” or “I Love God,” or “The Spirit of God.” They never mention the name Jesus. He is the One that died for you, not God, not His spirit.

No one can say that they love the Holy Ghost or Jesus when they don’t have a personal relationship. What is a personal relationship? You walk together, you eat together, you cry together, you pray together, when you wake up in the morning you say Jesus, when you get in the car and go somewhere you say “Lord watch over me.” You have to have a relationship with that individual before you can claim to be of that individual. It’s the same thing with Christ. You have to have a relationship with Him before you can call Him your Christ, Lord, friend, confidant, comforter…if you don’t have a relationship, you don’t have the right to call Him your Saviour. So when people go around saying I love Jesus, and their fruit is not good…then you know one thing, they don’t have a personal relationship with Him. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, what is it? A duck. If a person says they’re a Child of God and does everything like the world, then are they a Christian? If you don’t have a relationship with Him, you shouldn’t call…you remember Peter? The Lord looked at Peter and said before the cock crowed twice, you’ll deny Me thrice. Peter walked with Him, prayed with Him, ate with Him, confided in Him, Peter had a relationship with Him and still denied Him. So if Peter had a relationship, and you don’t, who are you? If you forget everything else I say, remember this: you must have a relationship. No relationship, no Jesus. If you are a Child of the King, its how you handle yourself. People know you by your Father’s scent…His clothing…His heart. By your heart being the same as His, people will want to be around you, because they want His heart, but they sometimes go the back way to get His heart. They stand behind Jesus and say “I love You,” rather than face Him head on. This is how they claim they’re a Child of God. They are no different from others that want to be a part of something, but not connected to it. So what did Peter say when the girl kept saying she saw Him with Jesus? He denied Him. It’s important that we realize one thing, that we need to know to build a relationship. You can accept Him, but once you do, you must build a relationship so you can hear His voice. His sheep hear His voice, and a stranger they won’t follow. He wants us to realize that He only hears the voice of His children. If you hear a baby crying, do you go and find out about the child? No, you hope that the child’s parents do.

When you speak something out of your mouth, make sure there is some commitment behind it. Don’t say I’m going to do this, so help me God. You just swore and lied all at once. Before something comes out of your mouth weigh it. Make sure you can fulfill the agreement. Your tongue signs contracts all day long, but never fulfills them. We make a contract with Christ all the time saying “Yes, I will do what You want.” And when He tells us, we say “That will be kind of hard.” He says go and apologize to the person you hurt, and we say “that will be hard.” Why is it so hard? Because we’ve said everything under the sun about that individual, everything but their name. We do these things because we’re guilty. That is why before you say something out of your mouth, make sure you weigh it. A kind word turns away wrath. As Christians, our moto should be weigh it before you say it.

Colossians 4:5-6

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Weigh it before you say it as pertains to making an agreement or contract or vow to the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 5: 1-7

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. 

This is an awesome saying. Keep your mouth when you get into the house of God, If you don’t have anything good to say don’t say anything at all. You talk nice to people, and entreat them with love.

Ecclesiastes 5:4

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 

You have to realize one thing, people don’t pay their bills, that is why we have bill collectors. There is no overstretched pay with the Lord, He gives a heavenly discount. If you make a vow to the Lord, you’d better pay it. I’m going to wait to hear from you before I do this. You’d better wait to hear from Him. Most people make vows to the Lord and don’t fulfill them. Then pay up time comes up, and we try to get out of it.

Ecclesiastics 5:6-7

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

Don’t let your mouth make a contract that your behind can’t pay. If you can’t do something, don’t agree to it. Don’t say something you can’t fulfill. Be very cautious with whatever comes out your mouth.