Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Matthew 2

Matthew 2  (NKJV)

Wise Men from the East

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Note: Men came from far away to meet with Jesus. We can meet with him right where we are at. He is always there.
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

Note: So many people knew where the Christ would be born but no one was looking for His coming. How many of us are looking today. The signs are coming together, prophecy is being fulfilled, could Jesus be coming soon.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Note: Another prophecy being fulfilled concerning the coming of Jesus. It comes from Micah 5:2

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Note: They brought gifts to Jesus which gave them the finances they were going to need for their next move. They didn’t know what God had planned yet. When God blesses us we need to inquire of the Lord what he blessing is for. Don’t just spend, but maybe God is providing for you in advance of something that is coming down the line. Also, don’t be afraid to give to the Lord your tithes and offerings.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Note: As we talked about in Chapter 1, God gives dreams but it is up to us as to whether or not we fulfill them. God will show us the way but it is up to us to walk in it.

The Flight into Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Note: We have to majors here. One, prophecy being fulfilled. That’s the second one in this chapter. This word was given in Hosea 11:1 and fulfilled here. The second thing is again, the obedience to a dream. Begin writing down your dreams to see what God is saying to you through your dreams.

Massacre of the Innocents
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”

Note: The third fulfillment of prophecy of Christ in this chapter. The odds of one fulfillment is incredible. They concluded that the chance of one man being born in Bethlehem was one in 300,000. After examining only eight different prophecies (Idem, 106), they conservatively estimated that the chance of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies was one in 10^17.To illustrate how large the number 10^17 IS (a figure with 17 zeros), 1 in 100000000000000000. We already have three in this chapter.

19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Note: Joseph was good at understanding dreams or at least being obedient to them. It should encourage us to learn more on what God is saying to us through our dreams.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”


Note: Here is number 4 prophecy being fulfilled just in Chapter 2. The promise we have is that Gods word does not return void to Him. It accomplishes that which it was sent for. It’s okay to ask God what He is saying to us. Don’t be afraid to ask. It’s important to ask. 

Matthew 1

Matthew 1
This chapter has fulfilled prophecy.

The first is that God made promises to Abraham about an everlasting covenant that would come through Him. The lineage is important to us to show that that word is being fulfilled and we are a part of it as a believer.
The second one is that Jesus would be born of a virgin as spoken in Isaiah 7:14. Joseph didn’t know her till after the baby was born.

We also see that angels were at work. Gods ministering spirits at work to bring to pass His plan. God still uses angels today to make this happen. The thing that I saw was that He didn’t make Joseph take her as his wife, but Joseph chose to follow the dream that God gave him. God has dreams and vision for all of us but are we willing to follow what God is saying? It’s our obedience to the Lord that brings about the fulfillment of what God is saying.

So with reading this the question that comes to my mind is are we being obedient to the Lord to see His plans come to life in us and through us? The decision is ours as God has had a plan since the beginning to make a way for us to be with Him.


Pastor Ron

Happy New Year

Hello New Hope Family,
2015 is upon us and the past is behind us. If you want this year to be different than last year there has to be change. If you do things the same this year as you did last year, things won’t change. Change is something we can do very simply.
  1.     .    We can invest in ourselves. Read the New Testament through with us. Read one chapter a day morning, noon, and night.
  2.          Join our book of the month club and enrich your life.
  3.          Make an effort to activate the promises of God by becoming a tither
  4.          Make time to connect with other Christians to encourage one another
  5.          Don’t forsake the gathering of the saints in church for Worship, Prayer, and the Word.

If you step into growing in God and His word your life will be different. Sometimes the enemy of our soul will try and disrupt us from growing in God by throwing trials our way. The promise of God is that the devil will have to flee if we stay submitted to God. Hold on to the promises and not the trials and God will bring you through.
God Bless you and Happy New Year.
With Much Love,

Pastor Ron and Dalanda

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Goodness

James 1:17   17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Everything that comes to us that is good comes from God. God's goodness is not wrapped up in money or social status. He even declares that if we discriminate between the rich and the poor we are in sin. God's goodness rains down  from Heaven above. John 10:10 tells us that the enemy of our soul comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but that Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly. 
Believe and receive that. The scripture tells us not to get deceived about this. Don't attribute evil to God. When bad things happen to you, don't blame God. Allow God's goodness to fill you and let the love He has for you flow through you to bless others. 
God bless you.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Believer

Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[b] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

What an incredible description of what the Lord Jesus says we should look like. These are the signs that happen when He confirms the Word we speak. As a believer you need to have a message. We need to be ready to give an account of what Jesus is doing in our lives. It doesn't have to be a long message, just 3-5 minutes is all you might get from somebody. take the time to write down a word of encouragement for someone you might meet today. You never know when God is going to give you an opportunity to share.
God bless you.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Promises

Genesis 12:1-3 
12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

When God made this promise to Abraham, he was 75 years old. He didn't have the promised son till he was 100 years old. Sometime the promises of God don't come right away and the total fulfillment may take generations. The promise went from Abraham  to Isaac to Jacob...
What promises are you waiting on God for. Pray the way Elijah prayed when God told him it was going to rain. He had to pray seven times before he even saw a cloud form. Contend for God's promises and don't give up. God has a plan and purpose for your life and we need to see it come to fruition. 
God bless you! 


Thursday, June 26, 2014

Being Made Whole

1 Thes. 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a very powerful verse for those that believe in Jesus. God sanctifying us completely is a wonderful thing. When we are born again our spirit man is regenerated. It is renewed and we are tied to Christ. Our soul which is made up of our Mind, Will and Emotions is being sanctified as we submit to God. In the body of Christ we need a greater understanding when it comes to this.
1. Mind: I need to renew my mind. I so that by not only reading the Word of God (The Bible) but by activating it in my life and doing what it says. I become a doer of the Word as my mind is transformed through my study of the Word. It doesn't matter how much you read, if you don't do it there is no transformation.
2. Will: Everyday we have to make decisions. When my decisions start lining up with God's way of doing things I am more on track than ever. People want the power of God to move in their lives and this is a key to seeing it happen. I decide how I will act and respond to those around me and if my will is surrendered to God I will draw people to the Lord because that is His will.
3. Emotions: Every time we act in negative emotions as a response to how people treat us we give them power over us. I don't want anyone to have that power over me. I want to move in positive emotions and not let anyone but God have control over my emotions. If we would submit our emotions to the Spirit we will find ourselves in a much more peaceful state of being on a regular basis.
I found a study on 263 emotions. We are emotional people. If we can renew our mind and let our decisions line up with God's will our emotions will be submitted to the Holy Spirit and we will live a more Godly life.
Scripture makes the statement; Choose this day whom you will serve.
It is up to us and happiness is just a state of being submitted to God in all things. It brings an everlasting joy.

God bless you.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Equipping

Hebrews 13:20-21 (NLT) 
20 Now may the God of peace—  who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,  the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him.     All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

It is God's desire to equip us with everything we need to be a good Ambassador. We have the written Word of God. We have the Holy Spirit. It is up to us on how much we desire to be an Ambassador. God has done His part for us to be equipped. I have a couple of things that we can do on our part so that we are not limited to do what God has called us to do.
1. Let God of your past. 
2. Surrender your gifts and talents to God.
3. Be intentional to build the Kingdom of God
These three things help us to be in position for God to move through us. As we are filled with the Spirit of God, He will do powerful things through us. Just take a moment and ask the Lord to fill you today. Even if you have been praying in tongues for years, ask Him to fill you again and let the power of God to be a witness flow through you. Let Him do a work in you. Be filled with the Spirit of God.



Ambassador

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

As the body of Christ moves forward today we have to realize that the church is meant to be a group of Ambassadors. We are saved and need to turn our attention away from being entertained to winning people to Jesus.
So much of the church has become spectators, watching and waiting. It was God's intent that once we meet Him that we would begin to plead for Him to those that are still lost. This is the affect of being reconciled to God. We plead with people on God's behalf. God gave all he had for us to be reconciled to Him now it is our turn to do the same.


Friday, March 28, 2014

C-4

When you look at explosives and see the impact that C-4 can have it is very powerful. Here at New Hope we are pushing a different type of C-4.
COMMIT
CONSISTENT
CONNECT
CHANGE

When we commit to the Lord and each other and are consistent in it, we get connected. We truly take interest in God and people. When we surrender to the Lord (Commit) we are called to love him with all of our heart, soul, and might. In the same way we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. All this love causes us to connect and with that there is change that takes place in our lives and in the life of the church body.
C-4 can bring about a revolution of doing things God's way and not the worlds way. Let's make an effort to get on board with God's way of doing things and His way of being right.
Be committed to the cause of Christ and be consistent in your service to Him and you will connect with God and His people and it will bring about change in your life and those around you.

God Bless

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Deep and Wide: Loving your Spouse

As I have been going through the book of Acts learning more of Christ through Paul, there are some things I see that Saul did that we do also.

Acts 9:1 (NKJV)

The Damascus Road: Saul Converted

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest.

Breathing threats and murder is how many people talk to each other. When I counsel married couples there are financial issues, sexual issues and many other things that are making the marriage a tough place to stay.   The biggest issue that seems to be taking place is how we communicate with each other. What comes out of our mouths has an lasting effect on the marriage. When Paul breathed out threats, he followed through with them to the point of murder. He would tell people to renounce Christ and if they didn't they were beaten, thrown in prison, or even murdered. 
In Marriage when we say things, we can never take them back. We can say things just to be mean out of frustration which the other person takes to heart and it hurts them. When a man says something to his wife just to be mean, she thinks that's how they really feel and she is destroyed. The damage is murderous. If we begin to think about the weight our words carry we might exercise a little more self control. If we love someone we should 
1. Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to wrath. 
2. Speak blessing and not cursing over our make
3. Ask the Holy Spirit for a new tongue 

These three little steps can revolutionize your marriage if you let it. With the Holy Spirit at work in us we can change the face of marriage in our land. Step out today and be the one's who stay married "till death do we part."

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Deep and Wide

I used to be a mold maker. I would build many different types of molds for the plastics industry. One type of mold I made was blow molds. Your water bottles, milk jugs, and many cases for tools are made this way. In making these molds there were rules that you had to follow to make sure the there would be no weakness in the parts that came out of the mold. One of the rules was "Don't go deeper than your width."
EX: If I cut the cavity 2 inches deep I had to make it 2 inches wide. If I didn't the plastic would thin out trying to go that deep and would lose it's strength which would allow for a possible hole in the bottle.
The Lord has told us to be filled with Holy Spirit so that we could receive power.  The purpose is so that we can be witnesses from Corona (My Jerusalem) to the ends of the earth.
If all we do is go deep with Lord and don't go wide as in far reaching, we will weaken the body of Christ.
Deep and Wide is what we need.
Out of your depth with the Lord be as far reaching as possible.
God Bless you.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Deep and Wide

As we walk with the Lord, He would like us to go deeper in our relationship with Him. He would us to go beyond the shallow "How's it going?" to expressing our hearts to Him so that we begin an intimate, deep relationship. The challenge for us is in our relationships with each other, we have learned to keep it shallow so that when it comes to God we have a hard time with deep. Women crave intimacy and men are scrambling  to try and figure out what it is. The way we treat each other is the way it goes with God many times and vice-versa.  The understanding that we need to come to is that God already knows everything. He is all knowing. What He wants is that we express our hearts to Him and open up to Him. He's not looking for one-sided relationships.
In our going deep with the Lord and discovering the mysteries of the Kingdom, He desires for us to go Wide with that. As we take in what God has that we distribute it wide. We are to be far reaching people. He has filled us with His Spirit, not so we can just pray in tongues, but so that we can go to Corona, California, the USA, and the ends of the earth. As we go deeper we should reach further.
A missionary once said "The light that shines the farthest, shines the brightest at home."
Let your depth in the Lord push you to be wide reaching. Don't limit yourself today. Spread the Good News.