NPPBC's Media Ministry

There will be a time when people will turn their ears away from sound doctrine and look for false doctrine. All around us today people claim to have a form of godliness yet deny Jesus Christ. If you’ve been saved then it will never leave you but, you can turn your back on it. In this reading, we see a child that left his first love. He requested from his father his inheritance as if he was dead. What a disrespect it is to look to your earthly father and demand your inheritance as if he was already dead. For the saved. An even worse disrespectful act is to turn their back on God, the one that gave you life and can take your life. Rebelling against God never turns out good. Look around today and you quickly see that there isn’t a true God-fearing church that is full in attendance. This is because the people have left their first love. Church attendance does not declare salvation. But if you’ve been saved you’ll want to attend a church, there is a drawing. A saved person knows better because they know what God saved them from. Some people can take a dollar and turn it into 2, then take 2 and turn it into 4, etc. In a spiritual sense, we are given talents, through God’s blessing we can take those talents and turn them into a bunch more. If we stop God from working thinking we can do it on our own without Him, we can take those talents and waste them and lose them. Chastisement is a proof of love. If chastisement isn’t made then the person doing wrong will never learn from right or wrong. God is in full control and He can do whatever He wants whenever he wants. Since He’s all-knowing He knows what chastisement is needed to keep us on track for the present and future. In this reading, the famine was going on around the son who ran off. The famine was not happening at the father’s house. There is a difference between chastisement and punishment. Punishment is made for deeds done wrong. Chastisement is made out of love to turn from the wrong deeds. If you are not chastised by God then you are NOT one of God’s children. Once you’ve been chastised then you should repent. Repentance is a turning away from wrongdoing. How many people went to bed last night remembering they wanted to attend a church service this morning, yet didn’t attend? One can remember but if they do not turn, and repent, then they are still in sin. Once true repentance is made, then forgiveness is made. For the unsaved. They are already on their way to Hell.

Dwell means to settle, or to wed as in marriage. Many think that if they get married and it doesn’t work then they can just get out of it, a trial run if you will. It doesn’t work this way with God. Once you’re His then you’re His forever more. The secret place. Being saved means that your relationship is in secret. No one knows the relationship between Him and you. His secret place is bountiful and full of His grace and love. The only way to get there is to go through Christ. The world is driving people mad because they think they can’t escape the chaos. Abide means to stay permanently. We start by dwelling and then move into abiding. It’s like a drop of water in the ocean. The drop is part of the ocean and the ocean is part of the drop. One can’t separate the two once put together. 2 Corinthians 5, once one is Born Again then they are made a new creature. The secret place is a protective place. The things of the world might come against you just as a storm blows through but His secret place is a place of protection. Under the roof of God! The perfect example of grace. God doesn’t make one come in out of the storm. We have a choice whether to stay in the storm or seek shelter under His wings. A fortress, a walled area of protection. We may have to live in it or work around it, but we don’t have to be a part of it. He protects us while we go out into the world. Habitation means a dwelling place. For people, our habitation is our home, where we live. For a saved person our habitation is the Lord. He bids us to come into His protection because He wants to help and keep us. There is only one way to get to God, Jesus Christ. He is the only one with the key to God’s secret place.

Leviticus 1:1-5

A Study of Leviticus. Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:4-6

Regardless of anything that is going on in your life, God is good. The miracles that Jesus performed are an example of His deity and compassion. Compassion & purpose John 4; is the story about the woman at the well that Jesus met. Jesus made it on purpose to visit the well during a time when no one else would be there except this woman. Everyone else had already visited the well early in the morning when it was cool in the day. John 5; a pool of water that once a year it was troubled by an angel and whomever stepped in it would be made whole. Jesus met a man there who had waited for 38 years to be healed. All He asked the man was do you want to be made whole, healed? Imagine this man waiting for 38 years and each time someone cut in front of him. We get upset when someone jumps in front of us at the grocery store one time. John 9; the people asked Jesus who sinned and if it was his parents. The problem was that it wasn’t his parents that sinned and caused the man to be blind but it was Adam and Eve, the first sin. The woman at the well, the man at the pool, the multitude that was hungry, the blind man, all who were sinners that Jesus healed or helped. Why did He do these things? Because to prove who He was and His compassion. Why do we need to suffer? Because we need to. Laid up in the bed with a hurt back, sick with the flu, etc. If you have no needs then you will not appreciate the compassion of God. God is not our idea of good but His idea of good. John 11 is a perfect example of purpose and compassion. We are not hurting for no reason. We are not sick for no reason. We don’t struggle with depression, anxiety, emotions, or anything else for no reason. The purpose for us we don’t know but God’s purpose is for Him to get glory. His compassion is perfect and so is His purpose. His purpose seems at times to be imperfect. Job is a man that we often look up to and think we can’t be like him. What is the purpose of Job’s life? Job is not a chess piece in God’s life. What is the devil's purpose in Job’s life? The devil's purpose was to trick him. The devil doesn’t care about those that are already his, he wants to turn the ones that want to work for God away from God.

Most want to give an excuse instead of owning up to it. At the time of your death, there will be no more excuses. If you chose to be lost then at your death you will say amen to your own condemnation. Thousands and thousands of witnesses to Jesus’ miracles that He performed. They were all done publicly for people to believe. If done in secret then no one would have known. There is no excuse for not knowing who Jesus Christ is. One can certainly tell another they were never told about Jesus but that would be a lie. Romans 1:19-20. Thankfully, there are still churches out there today that still believe and preach that Jesus Christ is still alive. You know that Jesus Christ is the son of God. What is it that holds you back from being saved? You pass multiple churches on your way to work each day and God speaks to you each time. The many crosses are placed along the side of the road as a memorial but that cross brings to memory the one that was sacrificed on it. His crucifixion was a public display. The tomb is still there and people still visit it, and it’s still empty just like it was on the 3rd and appointed day after His death. People are sitting next to you that are there because Jesus Christ is real.

Why do you follow God? You can’t see Him. You can’t feel Him. Jesus began His journey way before He came to Earth as a child. Throughout the entire Bible, even though the naysayers say it contradicts itself, it does not. In a saved person's life, there are so many miracles that have taken place that no man could ever do. A lost person gets their information from man and man is evil and doesn’t want God in their lives. The lost say about the Christian is that they are narrow-minded, yet the Bible states that narrow is the gate to Heaven and wide is the gate to Hell. When trouble comes, who do you call on? A lost person has no one to turn to in their time of trouble. A born-again Christian has God to turn to any time, anywhere and He is always there. One thing that is true is death. One can not defeat death. We were all alive and we will all die at our appointed time. At death, we will be judged. There is no confusion about what God said, no person can get to God but through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way to God. God is looking for people to take His Word out and into the world of the lost and tell them what He’s done for them. A Christian has a story and more than likely many stories of what God has done for them. Tell the lost your stories of God’s blessings. Every person has someone that follows them or looks up to them. What are you showing or teaching the person who follows you?

The first offering of man was when Cain and Abel gave their sacrifices. Abel gave his first, his best as a sacrifice while Cain gave to God uncaringly. Noah made a burnt offering unto God selecting the best from the ark after the flood. Abram made a burnt offering to God of a little lamb. God told Abraham to take his only son and offer him up as an offering to Himself. Abraham knew God wouldn’t fail and never wavered his trust in God for this test of faith. Isaiah 53:2-3; God gave His best for our sin. His lamb was sincere, honest, and meek. We turned our faces away from Him because of our shame. Isaiah 53:4-5; God’s lamb was a suffering sacrifice. There has never been a true day of peace since sin came into the world. When God’s lamb was sacrificed He suffered it all of us. They didn’t force the lamb to do something it didn’t want to do, the lamb laid down willingly. The only way for us to be saved and forgiven of our sins, God’s lamb had to be sacrificed. Isaiah 53:6-7; God’s lamb never opened its mouth during its sacrifice. All the lamb had to do was whisper and thousands of angels could have come to protect Him. All of the people who saw Him humiliated Him, spit on him, mocked him, and cursed him. While the entire time He never said a word. Once upon the cross at His sacrifice, he then asked His Father to forgive the people. He then gave up His life. Isaiah 53:8-9; God’s lamb was a sinless lamb. All of the sacrifices up until this point were all animals. There was a difference between the animals and God’s lamb. All of the animals didn’t ask to be sacrificed and didn’t want to die. Yet, God’s lamb requested to be the ultimate sacrifice. He was a perfect, spotless lamb. Isaiah 53:10; God’s lamb was a slain lamb. Isaiah 53:11-12; A saving lamb. In order to be the saving lamb He had to be all of the other lambs first.

The eagle is a great animal. The eagle can lift other animals much heavier than they are. An eagle doesn’t always soar and fly all the time. They go through a molting period where they light and others feed and care for them. A backslid Christian must be loved back into the flock. One doesn’t beat them down further, they help them back up. When the eagle is in its molting period some of them die. The eagles that are helping will fly over them and scream for them to get up, drop food to them, they encourage the depressed eagles to get out of their time of sorrow. Once they get out of this hole they resharpen their talons and they will not return to that depression. Lift each other up. Help out the brother or sister who’s going through a slump. Feed them the meat of God through encouragement and much prayer.

If you’ve sat under a preacher then you’ve likely heard that God will appear to you at least one time. He has warned everyone that you will appear before Him at your death and give an account for everything you did and didn’t do. If you are a child of God then He has given you mercy but if you are lost you lack His mercy. If you do not listen to God and His invitation then once you die you will open your eyes to Hell. We all have mercy right now, but at the final trumpet call, you will not have time to get saved. It will all take place in the twinkling of an eye. God is worthy of everything that we can give Him. He has done so much for us that even if we tried to thank Him today it wouldn’t be enough at our death. The things that you have and own down here on Earth don’t mean anything to God. God allows us to have certain things but if they take place over God then they become a problem. Paul was a great man of God but even though he was great he still struggled with his flaws. He stated that he had to die out daily, kill the sins, and repent to God the sins that try to take one over. We should also strive daily to repent. Those who are of an older age and eventually surrender to God’s invitation, always say they should have done it sooner. There is nothing like the love of God and the love that He has for His children. He never leaves, forgets, or stops loving. If you’re lost and don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, then you have no hope. You can try to bargain with God all you want but Hell will be your home at your death for eternity.

We as Christians are to keep the fire burning. Since the beginning of sin, there was a mandatory death, a sacrifice offering for the sin. Before Jesus came, the sacrifices and offerings were an atonement, a covering of the sins. When Jesus came and died he paid the penalty for our sins that we couldn’t pay. Who is responsible for keeping the fire going? Revelation 1:6; 1 Peter 2; the saved are the chosen generation and to keep the fire burning in the house of God. It must start with you. If you’ve lived like Hell all week long and expect the fire to burn only on a Sunday morning, you’ve been badly mistaken. There is something about a fire that just brings out the people. The light, warmth, and the calming of a fire are welcoming. If Jesus Christ isn’t exalted then the fire will not burn. According to Jewish custom, they kept the fire burning for 800 years. God knows the difference between a strange fire (not His) and a Holy fire (His). The Word of God is not made to make you feel comfortable. Is there enough fire in the church to save people? It’s every saved person's responsibility to keep the fire going. Cutting the wood, bringing in the wood, stoking the fire, etc. If you’re not working and doing your Christian duty then you’re relying on someone else to do it for you. Shame on you! God has done everything for you to save you from entering into Hell. If all you’re looking for is a religion, don’t come here. Religion will lead you straight into Hell. One mind and one accord. What do you think would happen if everyone in the house of God came into it with one mind and one accord? We all have a responsibility to keep the fire burning. One person can’t do it all! We have babies in the church that once God speaks to their hearts they will get saved. It’s the church's responsibility to keep the fire burning so that God can be welcomed. Jesus Christ is our High Priest and He tends the fire within the soul. He requires each person to tend to their own fire. If you’re disobedient to God it doesn’t mean that your fire goes out. God wants the fire to spread so He continues to chastise. The internal fire will never go out. It might grow dim but the amber will never go out. How do you keep the fire burning? Fire needs air and oxygen. How do you get more air to the fire? It’s not about the air but the things that are smothering it. You take a heavy enough blanket and throw it on a fire and it’ll smother it out. Sin is like a heavy blanket and it will smother out your fire. It doesn’t matter what it is or what you call it or what the world says it is. If the Word of God says it’s sin, then it’s sin. Fire needs fuel, 1 Timothy 4; we often times neglect to add fuel to the fire. Get the bad stuff off your fire, the ashes, the sin. Then place some fuel to the fire. The Bible says wood so they had to cut it, chop it, and split it. It took work to get the fuel for the fire. Readying your Bible daily, studying your Bible daily, praying to God daily, and attending church regularly are all things that are fuel to your fire. Fire needs attention. Don’t take your eyes off the fire. The rate at which a fire burns often deceives us. Have you ever known someone that burnt out? Don’t throw all of your fuel on the fire all at one time. Someone who has lived by a fire cooking and keeping their house warm knows you can’t throw all of their fuel on the fire at once. Pay attention to your fire and don’t neglect the fire. If one never cleans the ash (sin) off or adds the fuel then the fire will start to go out. Give your fire some attention.

The same word can mean different things. One example is the word, fish. This word can be used as a verb or a noun. To understand the word one must understand the context. In John 3:16 we see the word, world. We know that God did not send His son to save the world because we know that the world will be destroyed. The word refers to humankind, persons. In John 3:19 the word world means the same thing, mankind. He didn’t die on a cross to save planet Earth, the trees, or nature. For God so loved mankind, He gave His only Son. The Trap 1 John 2:15 we see the same word, world. This word means the wicked, worldly. The things of this world, are sinful, and the things that keep pulling people away from God. Love not the sinful (world[ly]) things. Matthew 5 says to love the enemies therefore we are not to hate them. Bless them not curse them. Love them and not hate them. Care for their soul. Love the sinner and not the sin. Each and every person is a sinner and He loves each and every person. He hates and despises the sin. Reproving a person means one loves another. A lost person loves the things that are in the world, the sin of the Earth. The problem is not the nature we live in, it’s the human race. Adam and Eve sinned first by disobeying and rebelling against God, it wasn’t the fruit or the tree. The blame can’t be placed on anything other than Adam and Eve. If you love the world today then you’ve been caught in the trap. Until one understands 1 John 2:15 then one will not understand John 3:16. The first thing a person thinks that to be saved they must give up _______, fill in the blank. That “thing” is a sin and they think they must remove it before they can be saved. This is not true because we can’t save ourselves. God saves and He cleans house kicking out the “things” that need to be removed. The Lust 1 John 2:16; the lust of the sin (world). God will never tempt you with a sin. He will never tempt you with beer or a naked woman. There is a war going on in a saved person's life. There is an outward man and an inner man. The inner man is the saved person's soul, holy. The outward man is the flesh that is sinful and lusts after sins. Lust is built into a person. Anything that is not of faith is a sin. Have you given yourself to God completely? When was the last time you attended a church service? When was the last time you read your bible or studied it? When was the last time you repented of your sins? When was the last time you hated someone? A lost person doesn’t understand an inner and outer man. A Christian understands this and is at war with the person in their mirror. The inner man drags the outward man to church because the outward man doesn’t want to go. The flesh has desires. The eyes have lusts. Then there is pride that everyone has and must be dealt with because it’s a hurtful, wicked thing. Life 1 John 2:17; humankind will die, all of us. 1 Corinthians 15, when a Christian dies the flesh (outward man) is left behind and the soul (inner man) goes to Heaven. The dead will rise first (those that are already dead). Some people are missing, some are ashes in urns or scattered, and there are also some in the ocean. All of those people's souls will be brought back alive. If they were saved then they will be in Heaven. However, if one is lost then they will also live forever but they will NOT be entering into Heaven but into Hell. They will beg to die but they will never die, they will be tormented in Hell for eternity.

You might think that you don’t have the smarts or knowledge that others may have but once you’re born again, you’ve been granted access to the “wise men training program”. This program is 10 times better than the world could ever teach you. One must understand what is 10 times better. Let’s compare some worldly things. A four-wheeled vehicle is better than a 2 wheeled one when you’re trying to get out of a mud hole. West coast beach is brown, rough unclear water where the sand is grey and brown too. If you’ve ever been to the Gulf of Mexico you’ll find out the sand is powder soft and white. The water is clear and blue. It’s 10 times better. The first time you see your soon-to-be wife or husband oftentimes it’s a known you’ll be married. Your spouse is 10 times better than any other. Your home church is 10 times better than any other church out there. Jesus Christ, multiple books have been written about this man and the things He has done, and not a single book has exhausted what He’s done. When you first meet Jesus He is 10 times better than anything else out there. A Commitment Daniel 1:8; they refused to defile themselves with the world’s meat and drink. Many saints of God have gone home and if they were a part of your life they were 10 times better than any doctor or medicine you’ll ever know. When something flips your world upside down the first thing you do is run to others, social media. A good saint of God is someone you could run to because they will point you back to God to find out what to do. Will God say you were 10 times better or will He say you were lazy on Him. Romans 12:1-2; half-hearted will not ever equal 10 times better. It’s not a “lil-dab will do ya” relationship. Grace Daniel 1:9; God did something that no one else could do. He placed them in the favor of the prince. In order to be 10 times better than this world we will need a little grace. 10 times better is not just for the world but for other “Christians”. Many so-called Christians run around doing things they ought not to do. You might say you’re seeking after God’s grace but somehow you run out of it on Sunday and Wednesday nights. Chores: at a young age children often have chores to do at home. If the child asks for help and they seem invested in their chores the parent will usually help them out. However, if the child never does their chores they find themselves in a rough situation. A Test - Faith Daniel 1:10-12; in that time period God had given a commandment that certain meats could not be eaten due to them being unclean. Daniel told the king to test them. Going through a test is where faith blooms. Daniel was committed before he had to make a choice. Daniel knew that if he stood with God He would bring him out of the test 10 times better. A judgment is coming to everyone but to the believer, a God will judge what was done and not done. Will God tell you, a believer, “Well done my good and faithful servant”? Are you, just saved? Not doing for God? Just sitting in a building every now and then? Never reading and studying His word.

Luke 5:27-28 The first step to salvation was to accept Christ’s invitation to follow Him. One can’t ask yourself. Isaiah 53:4-10 The reason why Christ can call one to salvation. Mark 1:17 Ezekiel 47:2-3 It’s a process in order to swim. Being a strong Christian is a process that takes time to be stronger and stronger in the Lord. God wants to build you up. Mark 6 We read about the abundance of fish and bread after Jesus blessed it. He can do this for you too. In order for God to do this the small boy had to give up his lunch. Just the same as this small child, we have to give up something in order for God to work in our life. Philippians 4:19 God does what He does because of what and who He is, not for who you are. Jesus Christ does because He is who He is. He always over pays. Psalm 37:3-7 God knows the desires of your heart and He cares. Psalm 23:6 Unworthy of His love. Unworthy of His sacrifice. Unworthy of His grace. Unworthy of His blessings. Once you’ve been saved then you will dwell with God forever! Matthew 8:14-15 Working for the Lord pays off.

All the while Moses took the people out into the wilderness with each hard thing that came against them their reply was, “Let’s go back”. Going out into the wilderness was not Moses’ idea, but God’s. The people of God got upset with Moses but it wasn’t Moses that decided it. God got upset at the people because of their disobedience and lack of thankfulness. God continued to bless them even though. There are things in our future where we may trip up and at times fall, but that shouldn’t stop your commitment to God. If you’ve been saved do you really want to go back to the time that you were lost? No! If you’re going to go forward with God you must be born again. A lot of people are sitting on church pews and they’ve never been saved. One can’t keep something that they never had. A hog once cleaned will go back to the mud because it’s still a pig. A saved person can try to live a lost person's life but the comfort of it will never be there. A foolish person builds their house on the sand so that when the storms of life come their house will fall. A wise man builds their house on solid rock and when their storms of life come their house will stand firm because of its firm foundation. It’s not in God’s plan that you ever go back to being lost once you are saved. He is always there regardless of the situation. When God called Moses, Moses cut some ties. He was brought up in a great home with Pharaoh but he cut those ties to obey and follow God. He made his mind up that he would rather follow God than live in Egypt in a king's home. The same to a saved person. God called the Christian out to be different than the world and that requires cutting some ties. It costs a little at times to be a Christian. Moses saw his enemies die. Do you think it ever crossed his mind that he would rather go back to Egypt? As a Christian we know how the story ends, the enemy dies. Why in the world would you want to go back?