You Are Offensive to Me - Your Pasture looks Greener Than Mine

        You Are Offensive to Me - Your Pasture looks Greener Than Mine Hello and welcome to My Little House of Prayer. I am so very glad that you could join me today. I am so very sorry that I have not exactly been on time like I like to. I take the ministry the Lord has given me very seriously. I need your prayer. But, I have learned that even in this experience, the Lord is going to use it for His glory. I can’t wait to be able to share this testimony with you. Today’s message is a continuation of learning what it means to love. But, let’s open in prayer. I hope that you are ready to go on a word study with me. This is going to be great! Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. We are still looking at verse 4 where it says, charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, . When I think of envy in scripture, I end up going to this scripture. James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. I believe when we envy one another, it opens the door of being easily offended with one another. Then, we become and behave angrily towards one another. Then, as we entertain envy and anger, every other evil door is opened. Do you see how we open the door of offense and it ends with stealing our joy and testimony. Then, it kills our joy and testimony, our relationships with others, as well as, our relationship with the Lord. Then, it destroys our eternal destination. To be able to spend an eternity with Lord our God. Let’s look at James 1:13-16 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, let’s look at the definition of envy in not only the Webster’s Dictionary, but also; the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. All throughout this bible study today, I will be referring to these two books. In the Webster Dictionary Envy means: resentment or discontent at another’s achievements, possessions, etc; an object of envy. And, in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word envieth in the Greek means: to have warmth of feeling for or against; affect, covet earnestly, have desire, move with envy, be jealous over, be zealous, zealously affect. You see, understanding is half of our battle. The warfare is for our minds. This is another teaching I will get into later. I will say this, our thoughts should be totally on desiring the very presence of God. If our focus is on Him and His Word, Torah truths, He can totally direct our lives. If our minds are always on Him who created each and every one of us, He is more than faithful to lead and guide us. From what the definitions are in the dictionary and the Greek interpretation, it not only describes what envy is, but, in the definition; is a foretelling of one’s future if we indulge in the entertaining of the thoughts and intentions of this temptation. What?! We are tempted?! Yes. We are. But, not of God. The Lord allows the enemy to tempt us. Why? Because, we are constantly having to choose whether we will walk the crucified way. Whether we will choose the Lord of our fleshly desires; no matter how righteously good it looks. Remember, Satan and his cohorts come to us as angels of light. They know exactly how to imitate the lord and the things of the Lord. We have to have the Holy Spirit in order to properly discern the Lord’s truths. I can’t express the desperate need for the baptism of the Holy Spirit; especially in these last days. With everything going on in our world today, we need his person in our lives. He is the witness to the truth according to Romans 8:16-25 and in John 5:31-6:13. He is the comforter and teacher according to John 14:23-31. He is our leader and guide into all truth according to John 16: 13-15. He is our exhorter in our most Holy Faith according to Jude 20-25. So, you see, we have no reason to have to walk a defeated life when we have all that we need for the mountain tops and darkest valleys in our Christian walk. I am so blessed to have this truth. The Holy Spirit was given to each and every one of us. We choose whether or not we will ask for Him and all that He has for us to be completely involved with our daily lives. I want to stop right now and pray with you for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. First, if you have not made the Lord Savior and redeemer of your life, I need you to know the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Let me introduce you to Him. It is really simple. First you must acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a savior according to the mirror of the law of the Lord. Ask Him for His forgiveness for all of your sins and call them out to Him. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Then, forgive those who have sinned or transgressed against you. Then, repent. Repent means to change your mind concerning sinful habits. Change your choice making decisions. Let Him influence your choice making decisions as you get in His Holy Word. Ask Him to be Lord over your life. I want to pray this prayer with you. But, this is just an outline. The real work begins after I pray with you because it is a very personal walk with the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Now, the gift of salvation is a free gift of God that you have just accepted. You have accepted and opened His gift. Now, He wants you to have another gift. This gift is a piece of Himself. It is highly precious to Him, but so are you. Just like we are all given a seed form of faith, He gives us His seed form of His Holy Spirit. It is up to us to accept and open this gift. Just like we are to grow our seed of faith, we are to grow in our most Holy Faith. How do we begin to do this correctly? We accept the baptism of His Holy Spirit. We need Him to direct us.To inspire us to a Holy lifestyle. To help us to grow up in the fullness of Christ, which is in our most Holy faith. So, without further adieu, if you so desire, please allow me to share with you someone I have yet to introduce you to. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for offering this wonderful gift to me. First, of salvation. Now, the precious Holy Spirit. I Accept your gift of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I praise your Holy Name and want to know you more. The Holy Spirit promises to help me know you more. Thank you Lord. In Jesus name amen. Now, begin to praise and thank Him for it. Open your mouth by faith. Let the words roll out. You will feel a bubble in your stomach. Don’t be afraid. That is the rivers of water that Jesus talks about. Let it come out. You may just have one syllable to start. That’s o.k. As you pray that one syllable, He will cause that language to grow. Just remember to praise and thank the Lord for it. For those who don’t speak in tongues right away, quit focusing on the gift. Focus on the giver of the gift. When you do that long enough, you will begin to speak in tongues. Also, stay alert to His conviction of sin. Just because we have accepted His salvation, does not mean that we are no longer sinners. That is a lie of the enemy. We will be a sinner in desperate need of a Savior until He calls us Home. How else will we be able to sing the song angels do not know? The song of what? The song of the redeemed. I like to think of this as putting your faith into action. That He is forever faithful to hear your prayer of repentance, Forgive you of your sin, and lead and guide you in your choices. Remember He loves you and wants you to make heaven your home more than you do. He loves you and so do I. So, envy is wanting what someone else has to the point you will do anything to get it. The spirit of envy brings us thoughts that bring us to the choice of resentment or discontent at another’s achievements, possessions. If we entertain these thoughts of envy, we then become discontent and react to those we are envious towards with anger and hostility. We open the door to the workings of the enemy. Instead of being a child of God, we can choose to be a child of darkness. The choice is always left up to us. Just as the choice was left up to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Paul says in Philippians 4:10-13 10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Did you see that? Paul learned that whatever situation and/or circumstance he was in to remain content. This coming from a man who had been “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. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.” Word for word, 2nd Corinthians 11:24-31. I don’t know about you, but 50 stripes the first time would be enough to make me take a pause at the idea of proudly opening my mouth, much less this Christian walk. I hope and pray that I will be able to withstand what is going to come to pass in this world. But, like Paul says, “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.” Yep, I totally agree. It is only through the Lord that I live, move, breathe, and have my being. Now back to the subject at hand, the greatest example of envy I could think of goes like this. “Man. I wish I had so and so’s anointing. They can hear the voice of God and tell me everything I know about myself. They can preach and heal people instantly. He/she walks by and people will fall out.” Then, as we think of how much we want to be like that person, we try to do everything in our power to be that person. First I want to point out the fact that we have an innate ability to want to worship created beings. We are called to worship the Lord God Almighty and only Him. Not one another. Second, all we get to see is the glitz and glamor of someone’s life. We don’t get to see the price they paid to have that anointing. Third, we don’t get to see them on a regular enough time to be able to tell if they are living a dedicated life to the Lord Jesus Christ, or some other demonic being. So, when we look at it through this light, we realize that everything that glitters is not gold. The grass is not greener on the other side, and we are not all that and a bag of chips. But, we are created in the image and likeness of the Lord. And, when He looks at us, to Him we are all that and a bag of chips. But, the reason the grass is greener is because it is filled with sewage. Do we really want someone else’s sewage? I don’t. I got enough with my own sewage. Sewage represents a place of dead things. Our sins are dead things. And if God is the author of life, why would we want to fellowship with darkness. According to scripture, light represents the presence of God. Darkness speaks of the absence of color or light. The absence of God. So, why do we want to fellowship with darkness, if we are children of the light? We are created beings that were created out of love. Love of our parents and love of our God. He created us with a destiny for greatness. If we are busy not walking in His love and envying other people, we will not make it to our destiny. How do we walk opposite of envying other people? By walking like our heavenly Father would. God is love. He showed us how to walk in love towards one another. So, we could encourage them in their walk in order that they reach their destiny. When we help others reach their destiny, we will reach ours. You know, you reap what you sow. So, let’s walk in the Father’s love towards one another. Let’s not envy one another and in so doing open other doors of sin in our lives. Thank you for joining me today at My Little House of Prayer. Remember, I love you with the love of the Lord. But, Jesus Christ of Nazareth will always love you more.