The Crux Of The Matter

Crucify Him!

The Crux.  The Cross.

That was the cry. The general consensus. The people wanted their way. Politics, religion, simple mob frenzy.

Mark 15:13 (AMP) - "And they shouted back again, Crucify Him!"

They got their way.

Thank God.

Because they crucified Jesus a new cry, a new intent, a new petition to God is able to be shouted.

"Crucify ME!"

All that is ever going to be done to provide for our spiritual nourishment has already been done. There are no more saviors, no more sacrifices.  Jesus is it.

The question now is what are we going to do with it?

Can't get angry at God anymore. There's nothing to demand. Can't kill His Son again.

The human race is out of options. We can only strike out at each other now.

Or...

...Crucify Me!

No, not actually, with wood and nails and blood and stuff.

By accepting, instead of kicking against, what Jesus did for us.

When we do that it becomes..."I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live" (Gal. 2:20).

He died so that we could die too. Die to our old person. The way we were. Sinful. Useless. Posioned. Corrupt.

Where we become resurrected with Him also. Alive. Perfected. Forgiven. Righteous.

What did you think He was doing bleeding out on that piece of wood?

He was making a way for you.

Why not take it?

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

The All Over It Jesus

Seriously. Whatever it is, Jesus is in the midst of it.

John 14:6 (AMP) - "Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me."

He's the Only Way. The All The Way. The Far Reaching Way. The Simple Way.

He's the Only Truth. The All The Truth. The Far Reaching Truth. The Simple Truth. 

He's the Only Life. The All The Life. The Far Reaching Life. The Simple Life.

Only. All. Far Reaching. Simple.

That's Jesus.

Who wouldn't want to know Him?

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

Well...Have You?

There has to be a difference in who you are now as opposed to who you once were. If you fancy yourself a believer in Christ, that is.

This is a short message today.

I simply want you to examine yourself after you read this verse.

Ephesians 4:22 (AMP) - "Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion."

Ask yourself, "Does this verse describe me as something I have done, or something I need to do?"

Hopefully it is something you have done, as Paul says that the above verse is contingent on the following:

Verse 21 - "Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him]."

If you haven't met and known Jesus then there is no former nature. There is just the unregenerated, non- born again, you. You are acting accordingly to the rules of sin and hell.

But... if you have met Jesus, and you have believed in Him as your Lord and Savior, then there is NO excuse for living like you haven't.

Jesus IS Truth, and Truth brings change.

I'll just leave you to quietly decide.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

Freedom!

Happy 4th of July for those who live in America and enjoy the freedom we still have!

I say "still have" because freedom is not something we can take for granted although many do.

Freedom has come with a cost over the last 237 years. Many, many lives of patriots have been given to ensure we keep that freedom.

It has come at the cost of great bloodshed.

It can be said that America's freedom has been bought with a price.

So have you.

1 Cor. 6:20 - You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.

Jesus Christ paid for your spiritual freedom from sin bondage upon the Cross 2,000 years ago.

Even if you do not acknowledge that this morning facts are facts. Jesus loves you so much that even when you were still a sinner, he died for you. He died for you with no guarantee you would ever accept it. (Romans 5:8)

If you have received it to yourself then you know full well what I mean. If you haven't, well...there's an unopened gift waiting for you to unwrap.

Not everyone who lives in America enjoys its freedoms. Not everyone enjoys what Jesus did for them either.

To fully enjoy America and all it offers one must be or become a citizen of the United States of America.

In order to enjoy all God has to offer one must become a citizen of heaven.

Did you know that it is easy to become a citizen of heaven? Even easier than becoming a citizen of the USA?

Although while one can be a citizen from birth if they are born in the USA, one cannot simply be born a member of heaven.

However (Good News!), God has made it very simple to rectify that.

First He decided He would send His Son Jesus Christ to die for the sin of all humanity. Not simple, but the hard part was taken upon Himself.

He did however, decide to make it simple for everyone to receive what Jesus had done.

Ready...here it is:

Romans 10:9 - If you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

That's it. Honest.

Granted, there's some depth in that verse. It encapsulates repentance from sin and acceptance of the freedom won by Jesus for you. But it can all be yours in a moment.

The simplicity is that you simply need to accept it. No long flowery prayers. No pomp and circumstance. Just simply a slave to sin being freed from the bonds by the One who took the penalty for you.

Just like our freedom in the USA has been won by others, so has the battle against sin and the devil been won by Jesus.

That my friends is the simple truth.

Jesus said, "The Truth will set you free!" (John 8:32)

All you need to do is simply acknowledge what He did and receive it!

And that is....

...Keepin' it Real!

God Bless America!

Pastor Kevin <><

Payback Time

It's funny how the term "payback" might give people the wrong impression. I wonder how many who read this today will think it pertains to some sort of retribution? It could serve as a litmus test to show how much carnal thinking has entered into the Church.

What it refers to is that we should demand that others open their hearts as wide to us as we do to them.

Sounds like a foreign concept doesn't it? God's ways are surely not our ways. However, God's way is the right way. The world (and even some of the Church) has gone the wrong way.

2 Corinthians 6:11-13 (AMP) - "11 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians [we are hiding nothing, keeping nothing back], and our heart is expanded wide [for you]! 12 There is no lack of room for you in [our hearts], but you lack room in your own affections [for us]. 13 By way of return then, do this for me—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also [to us].

Paul wasn't asking here. He was demanding something he knew was full well due to him because it was the Jesus Way.

Paul wasn't saying this because he was feeling unloved or shortchanged. 

Carefully consider this now...Paul was saying this for our benefit. WE need to love back because it is good for us to do so. A lack of affection in the heart is a dangerous signal. A lack of affection, a lack of love, shows an incompleteness. It show immaturity in Christ. It shows that we are missing the mark. If we can't love the best of us, how in the world will we love the worst of the human race? 

You may be pondering this as you read. You may even be applying this to your own situation (I hope you are!). You may even recognize that you lack in this area (I suspect many will).

You may also be thinking, "Pastor...how can I change this poor attitude and lack of affection on my part?"

It's right there in the passage! Isn't God great? He challenges us with truth and then even provides the remedy! You don't need to run to the witch doctor for pills and analysis. You only need to do one simple task.

Open WIDE your heart! Emphasis on WIDE. That's the problem. Our hearts are too small. They need to be enlarged, they need to open wider toward those who need love.

Again, this is for us. We reap the benefit from hearts turned toward others. A wide open heart is a heart that propels us to action. When your heart is bursting for the needs of others, you will find a way to serve and meet those needs.

I can hardly imagine what a world teeming with this truth would look like.

I trust it would look something like heaven.

Thy Kingdom come on earth AS IT IS in heaven.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

Faith Where It Belongs

Imagine going back to the town or city you grew up in, only to have the people conspire against you and try to throw you off a cliff? And those were the church folk.

Welcome home. Not exactly what was included in your itinerary.

Luke 4:29 (AMP) - "And rising up, they pushed and drove Him out of the town, and [laying hold of Him] they led Him to the [projecting] upper part of the hill on which their town was built, that they might hurl Him headlong down [over the cliff]."

They were in such a frenzy to kill Jesus that they lost awareness of Him and He slipped away.

Jesus was not surprised. He knew His mission. He knew the hearts of men.

There was only one thing on His mind as He traveled those 3 1/2 years. You and me.

Luke 4:24 (AMP) - "Then He said, Solemnly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable and welcome in his [own] town (country)."

Jesus knew of the Prophets intimately. He saw the persecutions they faced in their own homeland.

What would be the reaction of your church if Jesus came to visit? Would He be embraced, or would He be viewed as the wet blanket?

Your church is His hometown.

You would be surprised at how He would be treated. In some churches it would be like a factory owner making his yearly visit to check on morale and production. The workers would smile at him all the while hoping he would just hurry through and leave so things could get back to normal.

Jesus is either your honored King and given a place of utmost prominence, or He is subjugated to a place of dishonor below whatever pet doctrines are exploited for the sake of religious success.

Does your House have room for the Builder?

I couldn't remain at a place where my King was not honored every day the doors were open and all points in between.

Soon He will come and gather those who have honored Him. His Church will be triumphant because He will find faith where it belongs.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

Trust His Stuff

Did you ever walk away from something in which you had put a lot of time and effort into? And then after you made your choice, whatever it was you left suddenly explodes with everything that you had hoped would have happened when you were there?

I think that believers do that at times. They grow impatient and stop trusting God. They end up making poor decisions that will haunt them forever.

John 14:1 (AMP) - "DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me."

The troubled heart. The wounded spirit. Sometimes a person's needs grow so large that they think it is bigger than God. If they think it is bigger than God then they are in essence accusing God of being a failure.  

The remedy for this is not to apply the scripture when trouble arises, but to stay in it and live in it!

Don't allow yourself to become distressed and agitated. Exchange those damaging emotions for the Truth.

Instead of fretting exercise faith and action toward trusting and relying and embracing God.

Embrace God and trust what He has given you. Trust where He is leading you. Listen to His voice and simply obey it. Don't overthink issues of uncertainty. Know that it is His voice, and once you have determined that, follow through and execute His plan.

Believe. Trust. Rely.

It's all Him. That's where the adherence comes in. Stick to Him like glue even when it feels like it is all coming apart.

Particularly when it feels like it is all coming apart.

No matter what, always trust God's stuff.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com