Joseph Hall on the Call of Matthew

"There we see Matthew the publican, busy in the counting-house, reckoning up the sums of his rentals, taking up his arrearages, and wrangling for denied duties, and did so little think of a Saviour, that he did not so much as look at His passage; but "Jesus, as He passed by, saw a man sitting at the receipt of custom named Matthew....

....What sawest thou, O Saviour, in that publican that might either allure thine eye or offend it? What but a hateful trade, an evil-eye, a gripple hand, bloody tables, heaps of spoil? Yet now thou saidst, "Follow Me."...

...What canst thou see in us, O God, but ugly deformities, horrible sins, despicable miseries? Yet doth it please thy mercy to say unto us, both 'Live' and 'Follow Me'...

...O Saviour, our breasts are too often shut to thee, thy bosom is ever open to us." -Joseph Hall

Not Believing But Christ Alone (25 min excerpt) Tim Conway

MP3: http://illbehonest.com/Not-Believing-but-Christ-Alone-Tim-Conway

See also: Joseph Hall on Jacob & Esau Going To Isaac For A Blessing

Joseph Hall on Jacob & Esau Going To Isaac For A Blessing

"Isaac... blesses the younger son in the garments of the elder. If our heavenly Father smell upon our backs the savour of our elder brother's robes, we cannot depart from Him unblessed.

Now Esau comes in, blowing and sweating for his reward, and finds nothing but a repulse. Lewd men, when they think they have earned of God, and come proudly to challenge favour, receive no answer but - "Who art thou?"

All I Have Is Christ -(Song & Animation )

Knowing Your Inheritance by Kevin Williams

Verse-by-verse study through 1st Peter.
Do you only KNOW ABOUT the Lord?
Or do you KNOW HIM?

Play or download mp3:
1 Pet 1:4 - Knowing Your Inheritance by Kevin Williams - 62 min

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The Weights by Bob Jennings

Luke 21:34 "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;

Luke 21:35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.

Luke 21:36 "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

What are the weights? The Lord Jesus gives us three, really two:

1) dissipation and drunkenness – too loose.

2) worries of life, decisions, – too many.

Results? "The day" – of the Lord's return or of death – catches us "suddenly like a trap."

Rare? No, the masses of humanity ("all who dwell on the face of the earth") get caught in the trap.

What to do? 1) Watch – "keep on the alert." Watch yourself, your choices, your heart. 2) "Pray." Ask for strength to escape. I've seen wrestlers escape the hold because they had the strength. A firefighter I know had a wall fall on him in a fire. He had strength enough to lift the weight off of him and escape. Be strong in the Lord. Only deep awareness of spiritual and eternal realities will withstand the lure of things, things, "all these things."

Essential? Only those who withstand it now, can "stand before the Son of Man" then. Keep the weights thrown off if you will stand. All others are banished to eternal destruction – hell.

The essence? There are various duties and callings, but keep your "heart" free of the weights and full of God.

Bob Jennings

5 Reasons Why Christians Can Be Negligent In Prayer by Kevin Williams

-We draw from these verses 5 reason why Christians can be negligent in prayer:
1. Not realizing how desperate our need is
2. Falling into legalism and thinking we can only pray to God based upon our performance
3. Having a wrong sense of priorities and so being easily distracted by many things
4. Not knowing how to pray biblically
5. Holding a unbiblical view that we can't keep going to God and asking for things, which discourages us to persist.
Play or download mp3:
Luke 10:25-11:13 - 5 Reasons Why Christians Can Be Negligent In Prayer by Kevin Williams -54 min

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Who Am I ? Charles Leiter

A wonderful short sermon by Charles Leiter:
Moses as an example of five common responses of those God uses. Exodus 3:11-4:17


Play or download mp3:
Who Am I? by Charles Leiter

Because GOD IS, He is Our Refuge -A Meditation on Psalm 46 by Kevin Williams

"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

"God is our refuge and strength"

-Not our works, not sin, not our abilities or giftings, not our achievements, and certainly not our unbelief.

"A very present help in trouble"

-Always close-by and ready to help

But the key to this truth is that "GOD IS".

Because GOD IS and He is who He is, then He is our refuge and strength and a very present help.

v2, "Therefore"

-Because of this truth that "God is",

And so if He is who He is then He is our refuge and strength and a very present help.

And so "therefore" as a consequence of realizing this glorious truth:

"we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;"

-All else is temporal, moving and changing, But GOD IS. He is eternal, immovable and unchanging, and so:

v3, "Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah"

-Though in this temporal life, great trials and persecutions may roar at us. Mountains of impossibility may quake, we need not fear, because God is, and since He is, then He is our refuge and our strength and is close-by and a very present help.

v4) "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,"

-Rivers of blessings of knowing the Lord and having our confidence in Him

"the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High."

-The church is the "city of God", which is:

"holy" a people set apart for His own possession, and:

"dwelling places" (plural) many believers and many congregations of believers around the world, where God dwells. Of course, God is everywhere but He dwells in His churches of believers in a special way, He acts personal with them, they know Him personally and He knows them.

Also: God is "the Most High"

-It is a most grievous and blasphemous thing when a man takes this title upon himself.

v 5, "God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;"

-God is in the midst of His church. "The Kingdom of God is within you" or "in your midst". God dwells in the believers heart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart. "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God"

"she [His church] will not be moved"

-because God's seed [Christ] abides in us. That is the reason we will overcome and persevere.

"God will help her when morning dawns."

-The church here is described as "her". The bride of Christ is one body, yet like a human body is made up of many members (body parts), throughout this Psalm we see this truth:

v1, "our", v2, "we", "city of God", "holy dwelling places (plural) of the Most High", v7, "us" and "our", v11, "us", "our".

-Those to whom God is their refuge and strength are not a spiritual island. Those who separate themselves from the body of believers "seek their own desire" and do not see God as their refuge and strength but trust in some other stagnant water of self. "We know we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren" and "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another".

-Also realizing this truth that God is also the refuge and strength of many other believers, will help us be less impatient with others.

v6, "The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted."

-Whatever the unbelieving world roars in rebellion against God now, however bold they may seem now, their hearts will melt like wax when they stand before Him. Though they may roar now and for a little while, it will not shake Him or those who take refuge in Him, because: "we have the prophetic word made more sure" Christ confirmed the already sure Word of God and made Himself known to us. "Every word of God is pure, He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him". Many things in this life are temporal and will fade away, but "The Word of our Lord stands forever".

v7 "The LORD of hosts is with us;"

-He has an army of angels to keep charge over us. But most of all the Angel of the Lord Himself encamps around those who fear and take refuge in Him.

"The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah."

-The God of that "worm" Jacob is the believer's stronghold, "while we were yet sinners" and "when we were helpless" "Christ died for us", like the thief on the cross, "there have I though vile as he, washed all my sins away", every debt we owed is "paid in full" by Jesus, blessed Jesus, none but Jesus, "our Emanuel God with us" and so:

"Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you," declares the LORD, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel". To all those who have put simple childlike trust in the Saviour: "your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake". If it were only for "our sakes", I would struggle to believe it, but it is "for His", for Christ's names sake that the believer is forgiven and is forever pardoned before the throne of God in Heaven.

v8, "Come",

-The invitation to all

"behold"

-Take hold of these truths within your heart, soul and mind. That because "God is", then He is our refuge and strength and a very present help.

"Come behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth."

-None can win by rebelling against Him, and so why continue?

v9 "He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire."

-Behold the miracle of salvation, how God is a changer of hearts. He makes people warring against Him cease. He can and does and is ready to, shed His love abroad into the hearts of the most rebellious. "The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives" and so:

v10, "Cease striving" or (margin) "let go" "and know that I am God;"

-To the unbeliever (to all those who have not truly come to personally know God through saving faith in His Son Jesus Christ): Give up warring against God and be saved. Realize His great mercies, "let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.",

"Cease striving" and know that I am God;"

-"know the truth" of who God is "and the truth will set you free".

"Cease striving" or (margin) "let go" "and know that I am God;"

-To the believer: Take great confidence and security in that God is, and because He is, He is our refuge and strength. Know Him, who He is, that He alone is God. He is eternal and faithful. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

"I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

-The Gospel will be taken "to the ends of the earth". God has His elect "in every place". "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."

v11 "The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah."

-The church will proclaim His Name and have strong confidence in Him and His Kingdom will advance in us, because He is with us.

What glorious truth to those who realize that "God is" who He is.

-Kevin Williams

I'm Suffering, Why Me? Why Now? By Charles Leiter

When a trial enters into your life are you asking God "Why?" or are you trusting the Lord, that no matter how great the storm, He is on the throne.
"If we don't bring our thought life into captivity to what we know is true then we are going to be miserable"~Charles Leiter

Download MP3: http://illbehonest.com/Im-Suffering-Why-Me-Why-Now-Charles-Leiter

There's No Atonement For The Man Who Dies In Unbelief ~Charles Spurgeon

"Mention every crime in the calendar of evil, and I will show you persons who have found forgiveness for it. But ask me whether the man who died in unbelief can be saved, and I reply there is no atonement for that man. There is an atonement made for the unbelief of a Christian, because it is temporary; but the final unbelief—the unbelief with which men die—never was atoned for. You may turn over this whole Book, and you will find that there is no atonement for the man who died in unbelief; there is no mercy for him. Had he been guilty of every other sin, if he had but believed, he would have been pardoned; but this is the damning exception—he had no faith. Devils seize him! O fiends of the pit, drag him downward to his doom! He is faithless and unbelieving, and such are the tenants for whom hell was built. It is their portion, their prison, they are the chief prisoners, the fetters are marked with their names, and for ever shall they know that, "he that believeth not shall be damned." ~Charles Spurgeon

Some Results Of Meditating Upon God (Psa 63:6-9) by Kevin Williams

"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches" (Psa 63:6)

In the following verses of this Psalm, here are some of the results of regularly and earnestly meditating upon God.

-THANKFULNESS-
v7 "For You have been my help,"

-A GREATER REALIZATION OF HIS CLOSENESS, LOVE AND PROTECTION
"And in the shadow of Your wings"

-BREAKING OUT IN PRAISE FOR HIM AND SINGING
"I sing for joy."

-CLINGING TO AND BECOMING MORE DEPENDENT UPON HIM
"My soul clings to You;"

-GREATER ASSURANCE
"Your right hand upholds me."

-TRUST THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO SEEK PERSONAL VENGEANCE BECAUSE THE LORD WILL SURELY SEE JUSTICE DONE.
"But those who seek my life to destroy it, Will go into the depths of the earth."

"6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
7 For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life to destroy it,
Will go into the depths of the earth." ~Psalm 63:6-9

-Kevin Williams

Light and Heat - 8 Sermons by John Piper

Click on links to listen OR download at Desiring God.

1. Quest: Joy! Found: Christ!
2. Undoing the Destruction of Pleasure
3. Let Your Passion Be Single
4. Where Is God?
5. Don’t Waste Your Life
6. Boasting Only in the Cross
7. Live to Die (Passion 06)
8. Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain

(4 min) God Crushed Jesus Christ to Save Wretched Sinners - Paul Washer

Download MP3: http://illbehonest.com/God-Crushed-Jesus-Christ-to-Save-Wretched-Sinner-Paul-Washer

Being Thankful For What God Has Done For Us by Kevin Williams (1 Pet 1:3)

Verse-by-verse study through 1st Peter.

How considering the great mercy of God in what He has done for us in Christ, causes us to be thankful and greatly helps us to live for Him.

How God caused us to be born again?

What are the evidences of the New Birth and do you have them? You can't get to Heaven without being born-again.

Play or download mp3:

1 Pet 1:3 - Being Thankful For What God Has Done For Us by Kevin Williams -55 min

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The Wicked Disposition Of A Cursed Tongue Like Ham's by Kevin Williams

Fri Bible Study:
Many are delighted to see godly men fall and can't wait to broadcast their sin to others. This is a sign of a cursed man.

Play or donwload mp3:
Gen 9:18-27 - The Wicked Disposition Of A Cursed Tongue Like Ham's by Kevin Williams -59 min

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The Fickle Convictions of A Stony Heart ~Charles Spurgeon

"A man who, seeing a large congregation all weeping under a sermon, said, "What a wonderful thing to see so many weeping under the truth!" and another added, "But there is a greater wonder than that—to see how they leave off weeping as soon as the sermon is over, concerning those things which ought to make them weep always and constantly." ~Charles Spurgeon

Gospel Preaching: Speak as man to man and pour our heart in to our fellow's heart ~Charles Spurgeon

"To preach the gospel is not to preach certain truths about the gospel, not to preach about the people, but to preach to the people. To preach the gospel is not to talk about what the gospel is, but to preach it into the heart, not by your own might, but by the influence of the Holy Ghost—not to stand and talk as if we were speaking to the angel Gabriel, and telling him certain things, but to speak as man to man and pour our heart in to our fellow's heart. This I take it, is to preach the gospel, and not to mumble some dry manuscript over on Sunday morning or Sunday evening. To preach the gospel is not to send a curate to do your duty for you; it is not to put on your fine gown and then stand and give out some lofty speculation. ... Nay; to preach the gospel is to proclaim with trumpet tongue and flaming zeal the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus, so that men may hear, and understanding, may turn to God with full purpose of heart. This is to preach the gospel." ~Charles Spurgeon

Meditate on Christ, No Matter the Cost By Tim Conway (6 min excerpt)

Download MP3: http://illbehonest.com/Meditate-on-Christ-No-Matter-the-Cost-Tim-Conway

We May Help To Save Others But Perish Ourselves -Bishop Joseph Hall

"Doubtless more hands went to this work than his (hired hands in the building of Noah's Ark). Many a one wrought upon the ark, which yet was not saved in the ark. Our outward works cannot save us without our faith; we may help to save others and perish ourselves." -Bishop Joseph Hall

To Tell A Person 'Go Home & Pray" is Works, Works, Works! ~Charles Spurgeon

"To preach the gospel is to exalt Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is the best answer that I could give. I am very sorry to see very often how little the gospel is understood even by some of the best Christians.Some time ago there was a young woman under great distress of soul; she came to a very pious Christian man, who said "My dear girl, you must go home and pray." Well I thought within myself, that is not the Bible way at all. It never says, "Go home and pray." The poor girl went home; she did pray, and she still continued in distress. Said he, "You must wait, you must read the Scriptures and study them." That is not the Bible way; that is not exalting Christ; find a great many preachers are preaching that kind of doctrine. They tell a poor convinced sinner, "You must go home and pray, and read the Scriptures; you must attend the ministry;" and so on. Works, works, works—instead of "By grace are ye saved through faith," If a penitent should come and ask me, "What must I do to be saved?" I would say, "Christ must save you—believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." I would neither direct to prayer, nor reading of the Scriptures nor attending God's house; but simply direct to faith, naked faith on God's gospel. Not that I despise prayer—that must come after faith. Not that I speak a word against the searching of the Scriptures—that is an infallible mark of God's children. Not that I find fault with attendance on God's word—God forbid! I love to see people there. But none of those things are the way of salvation. It is nowhere written—"He that attendeth chapel shall be saved," or, "He that readeth the Bible shall be saved." Nor do I read—"He that prayeth and is baptised shall be saved;" but, "He that believeth,"—he that has a naked faith on the "Man Christ Jesus,"—on his Godhead, on his manhood, is delivered from sin." ~Charles Spurgeon

No Faith Is True That Is Not Linked With Hearty & Sincere Repentance - Charles Spurgeon

"No faith is true but that which is linked with a hearty and sincere repentance on account of past sin. So then, dear friends, those people who have a faith which allows them to think lightly of past sin, have the faith of devils, and not the faith of God's elect. Those who say, "Oh, as for the past, that is nothing; Jesus Christ has washed all that away"; and can talk about all the crimes of their youth, and the iniquitous of their riper years, as if they were mere trifles, and never think of shedding a tear; never feel their souls ready to burst because they should have been such great offenders—such men who can trifle with the past, and even fight their battles o'er again when their passions are too cold for new rebellions—I say that such who think sin a trifle and have never sorrowed on account of it, may know that their faith is not genuine. Such men as have a faith which allows them to live carelessly in the present who say, "Well, I am saved by a simple faith"; and then sit on the ale-bench with the drunkard, or stand at the bar with the spirit-drinker, or go into worldly company and enjoy the carnal pleasures and the lusts of the flesh, such men are liars; they have not the faith which will save the soul. They have a deceitful hypocrisy; they have not the faith which will bring them to heaven.
    And then, there be some other people who have a faith which leads them to no hatred of sin. They do not look upon sin in others with any kind of shame. It is true they would not do as others do, but then they can laugh at what others commit. They take pleasure in the vices of others; laugh at their profane jests, and smile at their loose speeches. They do not flee from sin as from a serpent, nor detest it as the murderer of their best friend. No, they dally with it; they make excuses for it; they commit in private what in public they condemn. They call grave offences slight faults and little defalcations; and in business they wink at departures from uprightness, and consider them to be mere matters of trade; the fact being that they have a faith which will sit down arm-in-arm with sin, and eat and drink at the same table with unrighteousness. Oh! if any of you have such a faith as this, I pray God to turn it out bag and baggage. It is of no good to you; the sooner you are cleaned out of it the better for you, for when this sandy foundation shall all be washed away, perhaps you may then begin to build upon the rock. My dear friends, I would be very faithful with your souls, and would lay the lancet at each man's heart. What is your repentance? Have you a repentance that leads you to look out of self to Christ, and to Christ only? On the other hand, have you that faith which leads you to true repentance; to hate the very thought of sin; so that the dearest idol you have known, whatever it may be, you desire to tear from its throne that you may worship Christ, and Christ only? Be assured of this, that nothing short of this will be of any use to you at the last. A repentance and a faith of any other sort may do to please you now, as children are pleased with fancies; but when you get on a death-bed, and see the reality of things, you will be compelled to say that they are a falsehood and a refuge of lies. You will find that you have been daubed with untempered mortar; that you have said, "Peace, peace," to yourselves, when there was no peace. Again, I say, in the words of Christ, "Repent and believe the gospel." Trust Christ to save you, and lament that you need to be saved, and mourn because this need of yours has put the Saviour to open shame, to frightful sufferings, and to a terrible death." -Charles Spurgeon

The Place of Humour In Preaching ~Martyn Lloyd Jones

"We turn now to another point... the place of humour in preaching. Here again is a very difficult subject. What makes all these things difficult is that they are natural gifts, and the question that is raised is the use of natural gifts, or the place of natural gifts, in this great work of preaching. The history of preaching and preachers shows there have been tremendous variations. In the case of an outstandingly great preacher like Spurgeon there was a great deal of humour - some of us would say too much humour. You have heard of the lady who went to him and complained about the humour in his sermons. She was a great admirer of Mr. Spurgeon and derived great benefit from his preaching. But she felt that there was too much humour in his sermons and told him so. Spurgeon was a very humble man and he said to her, 'Well madam, you may very well be right; but if you knew the number of jokes I do not tell you, and the number of things that I refrain from saying you would give me more credit than you are giving me.' Now I believe that was true. He was a naturally humorous man, it bubbled out of him. But then take Whitefield, on whom Spurgeon modelled himself - he was never humorous. Whitefield was always tremendously serious. In the eighteenth century to which he belonged, there were other men like John Berridge of Everton in England, who, again, was one of these natural humorists. These men always troubled me because I feel that they tended to go too far, and allow their humour to run away with them. I would not dare to say that there is no place for humour in preaching; but I do suggest that it should not be a very big place because of the nature of the work, and because of the character of the Truth with which we are dealing. The preacher is dealing with and concerned about souls and their destiny. He is standing between God and man and acting as an ambassador for Christ. I would have thought that as that is the overriding consideration, the most one can say for the place of humour is that it is only allowable if it is natural. The man who tries to be humorous is an abomination and should never be allowed to enter the pulpit. The same applies to the man who does it deliberately in order to ingratiate himself with the people. That this kind of thing has been expected of so-called 'professional evangelists' has always passed my comprehension.

All these things have got to be considered and must not be brushed aside. All these things can be handmaidens, can be of very great value; but we must always be careful in our use of them. We must be equally careful not to over-correct their abuse to such an extent as to become dull, colourless, and lifeless. As long as we forget ourselves, and remember the devil, we shall never go wrong" ~Martyn Lloyd Jones from Preaching and Preachers.

Is Birth Control Biblical -Ask Pastor Tim Conway

Chosen To be Sprinkled With His Blood by Kevin Williams

We begin a verse-by verse study through 1st Peter.
That God's love and favour for the believer is NOT based upon the our performance but upon His promises. Dwell on this and let is motivate you.

Play or download MP3:
1 Pet 1:1-2 - Chosen To be Sprinkled With His Blood by Kevin Williams -72 min

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Recovering Biblical Womanhood By Paul Washer

Download MP3: http://illbehonest.com/Recovering-Biblical-Womanhood-Paul-Washer

The Wheat & The Tares: True Converts & Pretenders by Kevin Williams

Fri Bible Study: -A false convert (tare) will normally refuse to bow the knee to Christ is some secret area of his or her life.
-Do NOT be a half-a-Christ! The difference in eternity is enormous!
-Also: that "let them both grow together" does NOT negate the many commands to practice church discipline. This is talking about false converts who in many ways look like wheat.
-Why it's NOT good to be overly judgemental with those who for a period look false, but there is NO obvious open sin.
Play or download mp3:
Matt 13:24-30,36-43 - The Wheat & The Tares: True Converts & Pretenders by Kevin Williams -49 min

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George Whitefield: Why should I lean upon a broken reed when I can stand upon the Rock of Ages

"Why should I lean upon a broken reed (trust in self & our works) when I can stand upon the Rock of Ages...  Can you say: 'the LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (that He alone is the only way I am accepted by God & that I am accepted fully because of what He has done)?   Saying the LORD our righteousness without applying it to your heart will only increase your damnation" -George Whitefield

If You're Single, God Has Not Forgotten You By Tim Conway (10 min)

Why Judas was never a Christian -Mack Tomlinson

HT: Thoughts on the Way.

There have been new discussions on the life of Judas Iscariot in recent years. Television documentaries have caricatured him as a sincere seeking person, as one who simply had some identity problems, and ultimately as a victim of circumstances beyond his control.

But the Bible gives a different picture of Judas. He was a thief who never cared for the poor, as he tried to portray about himself. And he was never a Christian at all, despite some who would erroneously say that he was a believer, but then he "fell from grace."

Ultimately it must be Jesus' words that shape our understanding of Judas.

Why did Judas never truly come to faith in the Lord Jesus? Jesus said it was because it was not granted or given by the Father for him to do so. This is hard saying. The disciples themselves stated this. Read closely John 6:64-66 and see the connection between Judas not believing and the Father not granting it.

" 'But there are some of you who do not believe.' (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him). "

Notice the inference--the one who had never believed was the one who would betray him--clearly one man named Judas.

vs 65- "And he said, 'This is why I told you, that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

What could be more clear? Judas did not come to saving faith. He never believed truly and Jesus says it is because it was no one can come unless it is granted them by the Father.

Only those will come to Jesus who have it granted to them by the Father. Some will object to this by saying, "But God grants that to everyone, and then it is dependent on them to choose and believe."

But the passage in view here shows that God does not grant faith to everyone. He did not grant it to Judas. And Jesus said this is why Judas did not believe.

This is a hard thing to grasp. And it is a hard thing to believe. It was for those who heard it and it still is difficult.

That is why the next verse (vs 66) says that many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

Will we continue to walk with and trust the One who says "No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father?"

If we love the Saviour, we must love his hard sayings, even if one of them is that it was not granted to Judas by the Father to believe in Jesus. That is why he never became a Christian.

-- Mack Tomlinson

They Know Not God Who Think To Please Him By Making Themselves Miserable ~Bishop Joseph Hall

"Pleasure may stand with innocence. He that rejoiced to see all He had made to be good, rejoiceth to see all that He had made to be well. God loves to see His creatures happy ; our lawful delight is His : they know not God, that think to please Him with making themselves miserable.

The idolaters thought it a fit service for Baal, to cut and lance themselves : never any holy man looked for thanks from the true God by wronging Himself." ~Bishop Joseph Hall

God Knows Our Needs Better Than We Do & Is Ready To Help ~Bishop Joseph Hall

"Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Gen. 2:18

"I do not find that man, thus framed, found the want of a helper. His fruiton of God gave him fullness of contentment : the sweetness which he found in the contemplation of this new workmanship, and the glory of the author, did so take him up, that he had neither leisure nor cause for complaint. If man had craved a helper he had grudged at the condition of his creation, and had questioned that which he had, perfection of being. But He that gave him his being, and knew him better than himself, thinks of giving him comfort in the creature, while he sought none but his Maker. He sees our wants, and forecasts our relief, when we think ourselves too happy to complain. How ready will He be to help our necessities, that thus provides for our perfection" ~Bishop Joseph Hall, 1574-1656

Some Want To Feel Saved Before They're Willing To Commit Themselves To Christ -Reidhead

"I have talked with people that have no assurance of sins forgiven. They wanna feel saved before they’re willing to commit themselves to Christ. But I believe that the only ones whom God actually witnesses by His Spirit are born of Him, are the people whether they say it or not, that come to Jesus Christ and say something like this: “Lord Jesus, I’m gonna obey You and love You and serve You and do what You want me to do as long as I live even if I go to hell at the end of the road simply because You are worthy to be loved, obeyed and served. And I’m not trying to make a deal with You.” -Paris Reidhead

Christian Conduct #16-Love One Another, The One Another Verses by Kevin Williams

-How your love is towards others, reveals how in your heart you think God's love is towards you. We consider the 'one another' verses.

John 13:34-35+var - Christian Conduct #16-Love One Another, The One Another Verses by Kevin Williams -78 min

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You Dishonor God by Being Self-Dependent By Tim Conway (9 min)

In this video excerpt Tim Conway exhorts the believer to cry out to God for more humility, to rely upon Christ in every situation. When we do not rely upon God we are dishonoring Him and being proud.

Download MP3: http://illbehonest.com/You-Dishonor-God-by-Being-Self-Dependent-Tim-Conway

End Times Continued: The Christian Is A True Jew by Kevin Williams

Fri Bible study:
-Looking at how Scripture overwhelmingly teaches that the Christian (all those in Christ. united to Him by faith, no matter what ethnic background they are from are of the true Israel/true Jews).
-All those without Christ are NOT true Jews/of the true Israel
-What is the mark of the beast?
-Who are the 144,00?
-Is the prince in Daniel 9 Christ or the anti-Christ?
-Is the millennial Kingdom now or future?

Play or download MP3:
Phil 3:3+Var End Times Continued: The Christian Is A True Jew by Kevin Williams - 77 min

Listen to our sermons on itunes or alike:
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The Defeated Philosophy of Atheism

Atheism has no moral power to change lives.

Atheism is the death of hope and the suicide of the soul.

For an atheist to find God is as difficult as a thief finding a policeman--and for the same reason.

An atheist is not lacking faith--he is lacking evidence.

The world is still waiting for the first wise atheist.

An atheist is a person fighting against something which he does not believe exists at all.

Every atheist should have to take a lie-detector test, with the first question being: "Don't you believe in your heart of hearts that there really is a God?" He would fail the test on the first question.

HT: Mack T