21 “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 On that
day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and
cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew
you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ ~
Matthew 7:21-23
Doing the will of the Father who is in Heaven is a lot more
important than we think or teach. A lot of the time we’ll say we need to go to
church to be saved. Or we need to read our bible. Or quiet time. Which yes they
are all true. But what seems to be one of the most important, if not the most
important, is “doing the will of the Father.”
How many of us can say we are doing God’s good and perfect
will? How many of us can say that we are doing what God has called us to do?
How many of us can say that “I am doing what God called me to do, every day
of my life?” I’m sure not too many. Why? Simply, we weren’t taught how to.
We were taught that we need to do God’s will, but not how to do that. Not how
to find out our calling. Not how to hear His voice when He is speaking.
Are you where God wants you to be, or are you following in
your parent’s footsteps because it’s the
family business? Or maybe just doing it because it will bring security? Or
maybe following your own selfish desires?
I’d urge each and every one
of you to take a second and evaluate your plans. Are they following the will of
God, specifically for your life? But how do you know? Spend time with God, and He will tell you. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” As
you build up your relationship with Him, the voice of God will become clearer
and clearer every day.
1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. ~ Luke 5:1-11
Simon had come in from fishing was washing his nets. He hadn’t caught any fish, and a stranger steps into his boat and starts preaching. When He’s done preaching, He tells Simon to go out and lower his nets into the deep. Imagine you were out fishing all night, never caught anything, then this man gets into your boat starts preaching, then tells you to go fishing again. Would you listen to Him? Would you do what He tells you to do?
Before Jesus was even established as Savior or Christ, Simon knew there was something different about Him. So, Simon did as Jesus asked Him. It may not have made sense to him, but because Jesus asked him, he did it and received a greater reward than he could have ever imagined.
How often does God tell us to do something, and we respond with ‘we’ve already done that, and it didn’t work.’ We forget that without God, things may not work, but as soon as God steps into the picture, the miraculous happens. We can have confidence that God will not let us down. We can have confidence that God will not fail us. We can have confidence that God will not lead us astray.
Faith is believing and doing the miraculous. It’s by faith that miracles happen. It’s by faith that strongholds are broken. It’s by faith that the impossible is possible. It’s by faith that we are saved. Before Simon knew that Jesus was even the Messiah, he had faith that Jesus was more than just some nut preaching on his boat. Two thousand years later, we have the stories, the scriptures, the documentation, but do we have the faith? I guess it’s up to each of us to decide.
There is by no other name that we can be saved. Only Jesus’ name can save us from our sin, yet we have demeaned His name. We’ve lowered Him below prophets when He is the Son of The Living God. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he wraps up this two-part series, What’s In A Name Anyway?, showing us the importance and reverence of the Name of Jesus.
“11 This Jesusis the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among menby which we must be saved.” ~ Acts 14:11-12
Genesis 35:18 Genesis 13:4 Matthew 1:20-25 John 1:1-5 Acts 2:17 Acts 2:21 Acts 4:17-18 Acts 5:28 Acts 5:11 Acts 4:7 Acts 3:6 Acts 4:30 Hebrews 11:35a Acts 4:12 Mark 16:17-18 Philippians 2:9-11 Acts 2:38 Luke 10:17-20 John 2:23-25 Matthew 10:22
Importance of Names in the Bible
The Name of Jesus
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
Names have weight. They are important. Jesus has a name so powerful, that He alone knows it.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but Himself.
Revelation 19:12
24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
Genesis 32:24-30
Name Changes in the Bible
Abram and Sarai
4 Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
Genesis 17:4-6
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
Genesis 17:15-16
Jacob
24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Genesis 32:24-30
Joseph of Cyprus
36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts 4:36-37
Simon, James, and John
16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
The Angel of The LORD (AKA The Angel of God) is a mysterious and frightening being in the Old Testament. Is he a regular angel? Is he a special angel? Is he an angel at all? What is he? If he is a special angel, then what are angels? Is he a member of the Trinity? Is he a false god? Join ArieRashelle as she strives to answer these questions in our video The Angel of The LORD.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
Genesis 16:7-13
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 3:1-6
The Summary
Just to clarify, we believe that the Angel of The LORD is Jesus because of the way people react to Him, He accepted worship, and both of their names are Wonderful. The reason these things are important is because these are all attributes unique to God. We believe that The Trinity is made up of three separate beings (Yahweh, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit) that make up one being, God. We believe that the Angel of The LORD is another name for Jesus, as is, The Christ, The Son of God, Prince of Peace, The Word of The LORD, and more.
We’ve all fallen down. We’ve all made mistakes that don’t deserve forgiveness but thank God we serve a God that does not give us what we deserve. Instead, He gives us mercy. We don’t deserve it, if we did, it would not be mercy. He doesn’t give us justice because justice would be an eternity in Hell for our sins, but mercy. Mercy is what He gives us lovingly. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” What exactly does that mean? What was God trying to say? That we can get away with whatever we want and still go to Heaven? Or is there a deeper meaning to this verse from Hosea? How does it affect us in today’s world? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he dissects Hosea 6:6 in this Spirit-filled message, Second Chances Pt. 1: The Second Time Around, explaining the mercy of our God.
Psalms 51:1-2 Psalms 103:3 Psalms 103:8-10 Isaiah 64:5-7 Ezekiel 18:20 Romans 3:23 Isaiah 65:1-2 Exodus 34:6 Hosea 6:6 Mathew 9:13 Matthew 12:7 Matthew 15:8-9 2 Peter 3:9
Second Chances Pt. 1: The Second Time Around
God Desires All To Have a Second Chance
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
John 3:16-17
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
The Mercy of God
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6
10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when He heard it, He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The number three is a number of Divine Perfection. We are three: Body, Spirit, Soul. God is three: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. We have three main weapons of warfare: Prayer, Fasting, and Giving. Join Rev. Kenny Yates this morning as he goes through our Three Cord Spiritual Weapon’s importance and impact on our lives and society.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 Deuteronomy 6:4 1 Corinthians 13:13b Isaiah 62:7 Matthew 9:15 Matthew 6:17 Acts 10:4b Psalms 50:23 Malachi 3:8-9 Mark 12
Is the Holy Spirit really God? Is the Holy Spirit even a person? Does the Holy Spirit have His own thoughts? How do we know it’s not just the manifestation of The Father’s presence? Join ArieRashelle in the final video, The Spirit, of our three-part series, The Trinity, as she explains who the Holy Spirit is and what His role is in the Trinity.
Psalms 51:11 Luke 1:19 Hebrews 9:24 John 16:7 2 Timothy 1:14 Matthew 28:19 Matthew 3:11 Mark 3:28-29 Jude 1:8-10 John 3:5-6 Romans 8:26 1 Samuel 10:10 1 Samuel 10:12 Luke 1:67 1 Corinthians 12:1 Acts 1:8 Romans 15:13 John 1:32 Luke 24:29 2 Kings 4:18-37 2 Kings 2:19-22
The Holy Spirit’s Role In The Trinity:
We explained the Trinity as being a body: The Father as the brain, directing the arms and legs, which is Jesus, which means the Holy Spirit makes up the blood, veins, nerves that connect the Father and the Son. For instance, in the video above, we explained that Jesus could not begin His work on Earth until He was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.
32 And John (John the Baptist) bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him.’
1 John 1:32
Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the one who gives out the Spiritual Gifts.
When Jesus was explaining who the Holy Spirit is to His disciples, He explained that He would bring conviction to the World.
8 And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
John 16:8-11
So, we can see that it’s the Holy Spirit’s role to be our conscience. Jesus never said that it was just the Church that He would do this for, but the world, which means that the world has no excuse for the Spirit has personally convicted everyone of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
Fun Fact:
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:1-2
Moses tells us that God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth, but not the specific God-Head being because it took all three of them to create. So, the first God-Head being mentioned is the Holy Spirit.
How can Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father all be God, if there is only one God? So is Jesus really God? Wasn’t Jesus born from a human woman? Didn’t He have an Earthly Father? How can we be sure that there is even a Trinity? Does the Bible ever actually say there is such a thing as the Trinity? Join ArieRashelle as she explains how Jesus fits into the Trinity through Scripture in this second video, The Son, of our three-part series, The Trinity.
John 10:30 John 1:1-5 John 1:14 Matthew 3:16-17 2 Peter 1:17 Isaiah 42:8 Isaiah 48:11 John 8:54 John 17:1 Isaiah 43:11 Hosea 13:4 Titus 3:4-7 Acts 5:30-31 Isaiah 44:6 Isaiah 48:12 Revelation 1:17-18 Revelation 2:8 Revelation 22:12-13 Exodus 7:14 John 8:58 John 1:1-2 1 Timothy 2:5-6 Hebrews 4:14 Hebrews 5:9-10 Hebrews 7:26-27 John 14:6 John 16:23 John 8:34 1 John 2:1 Romans 5:18-19 1 Corinthians 15:21 Hebrews 10:4-11 Galatians 5:1 Romans 6:6-7 1 Corinthians 10:13 James 4:7 John 15:15 Luke 7:34 Philippians 2:5-7 John 14:14 Hebrews 2:11 Matthew 12:49 Proverbs 17:17
The Trinity: The Son
Jesus’ Role in the Trinity as the Son
We truly didn’t get into Jesus’s role in the video, in fear of it being too long. One of Jesus’s primary roles, as being the Word of God, is fulfilling what The Father says. We see this throughout Scripture from Old Testament to New Testament. In our last video we explained that Yahweh, The Father, makes the plans and leads the Head of the Trinity. So then can we say Yahweh is more powerful or important than Jesus? No, it doesn’t. Because they balance each other.
Each member of the Trinity has a specific role to play. The Father plans, directs, and leads the Trinity. The Son fulfills the plans of the Father. Think of The Trinity as a body. The Father is the head, and the Son is the body. The body does as the head commands. The head is not more important than the body, and the body not more important than the head, for neither can be without the other; instead they complement each other.
For example,
19 So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’
John 5:19
28 So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.’
John 8:28-29
Jesus follows the lead of The Father not because He is weaker, not because He is less of God, but because He humbles Himself.
Paul explains it like this:
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
So why would Jesus do this? If we keep reading, Paul tells us.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
So Jesus did this to glorify His Father. He took the sin, punishment, debt, and death that we could not bear so that we could have life and life more abundantly. And in doing this the Father glorified the Son, bestowing upon Him the name above all names.
Jesus is also the Righteous Judge. As any good society, there are laws. So if there are laws, there would need to be someone who decides whether the laws have been kept. Once the judge has spoken, someone must either reward or punish those whom the judge has judged.
We see this plainly when Jesus said,
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
John 5:21-23
So the Father has given Jesus the task of being a righteous judge, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The Father did this to make sure that all saw that the Son was honored as God, to ensure we saw that they are equal. Jesus explains when and whom He will judge.
31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And He will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Matthew 25:31-33
So at the final judgment, we will all stand before Jesus as He sits on His throne. He will separate us according to how we lived our lives. Jesus tells us that the Father carries out His righteous judgments.
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
John 15:1-2
So Jesus judges and then the Father brings forth the judgment itself, whether it be a reward or a punishment.
Throughout our lives, we’ve been taught that God makes Himself and His plans for us known in extravagant ways. Burning Bush. Extreme Storm. Swallowed by a big fish. Fire from Heaven. Rain from Heaven. But does God always speak to us like this? Or sometimes are there no significant features? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he explains that the voice of God may be subtle, no clouds may be in the sky, but the rain is on its way, in his message, No Significant Features.
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1 Kings 19:9-13
There may not be any significant features that you can see, but if you do what God has commanded, and believe that it will be, you will see miracles happen!
Honoring mothers shouldn’t be celebrated just one day a year; mothers deserve honor all year round! They do so much for us, and oftentimes, they receive nothing in return, not even a thank you. Often times it is a mother who will guide the world. How? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shows us the importance of a mother in his message, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. And Happy Mother’s Day!
1 Kings 3:16-27 Matthew 20:20-23 Proverbs 18:22
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”
26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
1 Kings 3:16-28
This story is not just about two prostitutes or a wise ruling by a very wise king. No, it’s much more than that. It’s about a mother’s love. The real mother couldn’t bear to know the son she had carried for nine months, the son she had travailed within childbirth, the son she had given life to would be cut in two. She’d rather have the thief have him than to see him killed.
The pain of death would be more excruciating for her than the pain of someone receiving his love, enjoying his first steps, rejoicing over his first words. Mothers will suffer so their children won’t have to.
Happy Mother’s Day! May God bless you each richly!
