I'm Following Jesus – Page 1727 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Chapters: Isaiah 58-62
Message: Spending Time With God

Hello My Friend,

I have come to the conclusion, and have known this for years, but still not so good as executing it all the time, that spending time with God is the only way you go anywhere in this life He gave us. What I mean by that is, that one on one time you have with Him the first thing in the morning or before you go to bed. It is not the same a saying prayers throughout the day, we need to do more with God than just ask Him for the things we need or confess our sins. And by the way, He loves to spend time with us, in fact, He longs for it, and delights in it. How amazing is it that with all the saved, born again Christians in the world, that He takes the time to focus directly on you the second you call His name? “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Romans 10:12-13.

“for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” People worship, pray, and fast every day in an attempt to reach God, but let me tell you, He will not hear them because they are not part of His holy nation. Can I tell you that the majority of people who pray and fast do it for the wrong reasons, and God knows this, He knows exactly what they are doing, and why they are seeking Him, and it had nothing to do with spending time with Him. Through Isaiah, God calls out those who pray and fast to Him for the wrong reasons.

“Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:” – Isaiah 58:3-6,9-10.

“ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.” I have seen people fast for all sorts of reasons, and even I have fasted in an attempt to lose weight. Let me tell you, unless you are saved, unless you come to Him sincerely, and unless you come to Him for the right reason, He is not going listen to you. We are holy people, fasting is a time solely for God, it is used for deep communication with Him, to seek His help in removing burdens, yokes, pains, oppression’s, and sorrows of life. It is not used to inflict harm on others or for our own selfish purpose. When we take the time to spend with God we will learn that He knows all our needs and will take care of even our sincere requests as we become obedient to His commands. While our salvation is not based upon our obedience to His commands apart from receiving Christ as our Saviour, our obedience to Him comes as we spend more time with Him and realize how much our sins have separated us from Him. Through Isaiah, God reminds us that our iniquities have separated us from Him.

“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.” – Isaiah 59:1-2,12-13,16-17,21.

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God,” Well, this is our state before we are saved, but even when we are saved, if we have sin in our lives, and I mean prominent sin, then it does, in fact, separate us from God. While He never leaves nor forsakes us, He will not watch us living in sin, unless we call out to Him in repentance. “and it displeased him that there was no judgment.” Let me tell you, we need some discipline in life, we need someone to tell us what we are doing wrong, and we need to accept that righteous judgment is for our own good. “nor out of the mouth of thy seed,” This is the amazing revelation that all who receive Christ as their Saviour receive God’s holy, and living Spirit in them, and that they become of seed of God. That means we are His children, and He gives us the power to speak the same Gospel as Jesus did. Through Isaiah, we are given the same assurance that one day, after we have endured the judgments our loving Father we will join Christ in His Kingdom, a day when there the glory of the LORD will shine so bright we will not even need the sun.

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.” – Isaiah 60:1-3,18-22.

“they shall inherit the land for ever,” What an incredible day it will be when we all gather together in the LIGHT of Christ, to live with Him for eternity. If you believe in the LORD, Jesus Christ, and asked Him to save you, then You will inherit the land His promised, and it will be yours forever. Amen! Through Isaiah, God continues to explain this further, including the day in which vengeance will come, and all evil will be destroyed.

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.” – 61:1-6.

“because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;” Of course, this is Jesus speaking again, He is always talking, but only the meek, the ones who are humble, and not so full of the pride that they suffocate in it, are the ones who hear Him. We, who are saved, born again Christians, are to preach those same good tidings to all because God’s judgment is coming upon the entire earth. And it will be far more terrible than the righteous judgment we receive. And through Isaiah, God goes on to tell us who will be saved from this.

“For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.” – Isaiah 62:1-4,8-9,12.

“but thou shalt be called Hephzibah,” Hephzibah; My delight in her. God delights in those who receive His Son, and as much as we deserve it if Christ left us, He never does. Beulah; To marry, to unite with God forever. Beulah land is the name which the land of Israel is to bear when “the land shall be married.” to God. What this means is, God would have dominion over the land, and we would live with Him there forever. When we take the time to spend time with God, we give God dominion over our lives, which He dwells through the Holy Spirit. And if we give Him dominion over our lives, we have victory. Amen! We may still face some suffering, chastening, or other obstacles, but God delights in us, and joys in our time together. “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” – Psalm 139:16-18.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.” – Isaiah 59:20.

Today’s Prayer: God, I cannot fathom the amazing grace that You gave me and still give me, to take a life that was a complete mess and turn it into one that has meaning is truly a miracle that only You can produce. Thank You God, for seeing something in me that is of good use to you, thank you for your grace and mercy and for never giving up on me. Lord, as I humble myself before You, be merciful to me, a sinner, lead me and guide me, help me to never lose sight of Christ in me. I love You Lord and ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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