F4S: With Transparency Opt to Maintain an Untwisted Lifestyle, an Unsullied Testimony, Believer. Fear Not to Open Your Mouth! Share Your Story Before Those of Every Strata, Socioeconomic Background and Profile. Yes, For Decisions! Let the Spirit Lead You.

Friday, July 27, 2018

With Transparency Opt to Maintain an Untwisted Lifestyle, an Unsullied Testimony, Believer. Fear Not to Open Your Mouth! Share Your Story Before Those of Every Strata, Socioeconomic Background and Profile. Yes, For Decisions! Let the Spirit Lead You.

Our praying, our saying, our obeying, our walking, our daily talking ...and our sharing of the Gospel at the right time, or our own story with tact can make an impact! Listen Sport, it all can be as worship unto the Lord! Pause, wait on Him daily, and God will use you! It happened with Paul!

Me thinks the most important change in your perspective is a turn.. a growing desire to biblically worship the Lord with your whole life.

The second most important perspective is to please Him by.. worldwide bringin' others into this growth of pure worship in the Lord. You have a story to tell, believer! If you don't you can have one as you become one. Our first ministry as believers is unto the Lord Himself. It's 24/7/35 priority number one for all. Our ministry is first upwards, then inwards (to the body), and as an outgrowth of that.. it's outwards. That's what they Great Commission is all about!  

In Jesus’ Name I pray that God the Father will greatly bless you today, and O so gently address those areas in your life that you need Him to. Sure, even as I teach verse by verse from Acts 24:24 through to 25:12. God's word is alive and active -- SO POWERFUL My opinions aren't. Holy Spirit, please do your thing in us. Spring up O well. We want to see You do what You did in Acts. Turn the welling up into a stream and then into an overflowing river towards all the dry places we visit. Give more grace, a fresh anointing, yes, rivers of living water.. to satisfy. Minister to the hurting and hopeless. Raging rivers of God flow, but not in some lame kinda way. You are our good Source and Way of Salvation! Amen. 
People, now grab your Bibles and let’s pray and dig in. God, fully has a Way for you--Christ is your way-in today. The only way. 

“And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla (in v. 24), who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now as he (Paul) reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.’"
That was how he rolled. Man, Felix was so corrupt, so twisted, so worldly and greedy. He now, for a time, felt like he’d had enough of this preacher. Paul, where’s my bucks?..he thought. Yep, check it out.  
“Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.”
Lost people might hang with you some, believer. They might even listen to you with different motives at times.. perhaps. But the worst sin that people can commit, the unforgivable sin, is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This is the outright rejection of Christ. Never reject the Son of God! Think about Hebrews 2:3 goes, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (remember how the Bible says we are all sinners in need of a Savior. Romans 3:23).
Religious people can act like Mr. Lu-Cifer the ultimate religious accuser of the brethren. He is a liar, a deceiver and a murderer. Many religious people and leaders are mean-spirited with their hard-hearts. They each of course, are a bit different from each other in personality, but they tend to be power-craving and money-hungry. They easily become jealous (it happened when they saw Jesus and Paul), and they are shady-creepy-slimy with all that in their evil worldly minds. Remember how they killed Jesus Christ. Them ...and our own sin got Christ up there on the Cross where He suffered and died. Didn’t stay dead though! Our duty is to lovingly share the Gospel ..calling them to repent.. with religious folk as well. 
“But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix (in v. 27), wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.” (Paul was left there for mere political reasons, but God’s will was being done in his life just the same.)
“Now (in Acts 25:1) when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem--while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him.”
So.. what’s this context all about? The overview? (click here). It’s about...
* A Twisted Accusation (Acts 24:1-9).
-- Tertullus started out with flattery to butter-up (vv. 2-4). It's about...
* A Non-Twisted Response (24:10-21). Paul, was thinking of others and the Church.
-- Tertullus then used slander (vv. 5-8). Paul didn't take it personal. Sinners sin cuz they're sinners -- they need regeneration. It's about...  
* A Twisted Attitude (24:22-27). Not Paul's, he was upbeat in spirit.
-- Paul’s defense was threefold: 1.) His simple life, 2.) His simple faith of others-oriented practicality, 3.) His simple service... to those of his beloved nation. Paul was a humble servant and with the Spirit’s help he was determined to finish a victor. We can walk like that. Wanna go and tell! Wanna hear rivers of living water flow! It's about...
* A Non-Twisted Appeal to Caesar (25:1-12). If you use what ya got, where ya are for your first-love Lord and Savior... God will give you more than ya got, and won't leave you where you're at. 
This is a contest about a long legal ordeal for the Apostle Paul, but guess what.. he gave em his testimony strait.. for a decision. 
He was filled and controlled by the Spirit -- you can be too! Paul wasn’t disobedient to the heavenly vision -- where he was led, he sure didn’t fail to give out a clear testimony ..and all the councils of God. 
Paul did what was right even though he was put off by his hearers. Think about it all, muse on the text again and again. Felix was actually the prisoner and Paul was like the prosecutor here. Felix knew he was guilty, but he delayed instead of accepting Jesus. Listen, the best time to get right with God is now
The Bible says, “..while he (Paul) answered for himself, ‘Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.’ But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, ‘Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?’ So Paul said, ‘I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.’ Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, 'You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!'"
No time for fear today. Do like Jesus did, do like Paul in Acts did. Pray to be bold, to be candidly accurate, to be transparent, pure and honest. It was a wise move for Paul as a Roman in how he responded, and God had a good timing for his life. Never forget as you live it and share your testimony. In Christ you are indestructible until that day when God is finished with you here. 

Acts 24 and 25 Are About Acts not Lazy Passivity. Yes, 'bout Wise Actions for the Pleasure and Applause of One. These Chapters are About Words too, the Right Ones with Right Motives Inside.. from Reborn Believers.. At The Right Time with the Right Tone! Yes, About Blessin' Christ and Fishing for Peeps -- Choosing to Win and Edify People on Every Level. 

That's in these chapters, but how did the unsaved here go against their conscience in opposing the Lord servant? Why should we do that and oppose God's righteous Great Commission work? Why compromise spiritually? Hard hearts never help any sinners or saints -- never have.  
-- Yes, the first aspect of Tertullus’ words (the prosecuting attorney in this text), the very message from this man.. it was brief and terse with false accusations). They were words of flattery to Felix -- just buttering him up (vv.2-4). No, Paul wasn’t a pest at all. He wasn’t a pestilent fellow or a ringleader pest.
Many people in high places are susceptible to flattery because it appeals to their inner pride (and man, we all battle this hubris at times, and should reject it). If we believers have pride in us, just repent. And if we did not flatter ourselves inside, then others could not successfully flatter us. It’s weird how we really want to believe what they say.
-- The second aspect of Tertullus’ accusation was slimy slander (vv. 5-8).
Napoleon said, he who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander. As his last weapon here, this lawyer called on false witnesses. He was not a good man. (verse 9) who together supported tour to Lissa's lie about Paul.
-- The third aspect of the Apostle’s defense were threefold: Love to repeat for emphasis.. Paul's life, Paul's faith, in it Paul’s service to his Nation. 
Although his enemies could not prove their accusations, their finger-pointing, Paul did not go free. But remember this. The safest place for Paul was in that prison, for God had work for him to do in Rome. and the safest place for you today.. it is in serving Christ in the center of God’s will for you.
Let's never be religious finger pointers. Sometimes you might not understand why God permits the trials, the tests, the temptations, the tribulation, the troubles around you. You might not understand why God allows certain people to seemingly triumph.. but listen.. just leave it all in God’s hands. The Church really triumphs and succeds in His will. The Father is in control and the final judgment will rest with Him.
Actually Felix was the real prisoner here, and Paul was free, was the prosecutor of sorts. Felix knew he was guilty inside, but instead of accepting Christ he procrastinated, just foolishly dilly-dallied and delayed. The convenient time to be saved is now. This week meditate upon 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 and Isaiah 55:6-7.