{"id":199,"date":"2013-09-08T07:53:15","date_gmt":"2013-09-08T10:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/?p=199"},"modified":"2013-09-08T17:23:16","modified_gmt":"2013-09-08T20:23:16","slug":"go-beyond-the-clouds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/2013\/09\/go-beyond-the-clouds\/","title":{"rendered":"Go beyond the Clouds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew 5:14 says Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.\u00a0<\/em> That was the\u00a0key verse\u00a0of our 2013 Camp Meeting, Higher Ground.\u00a0 Matthew 5:16 goes on to say, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. <\/em><\/p>\n

We sing, this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.\u00a0 Shine all over Buffalo, I’m gonna let it shine.\u00a0 Won’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine.<\/p>\n

How bright are we?<\/p>\n

Sometimes my light is shining, other times it is under a bushel.\u00a0 Sometimes it seems my light is one big string of bright Christmas nights yet the smallest burned out bulb trips the whole set.\u00a0 At times it is so bright it blinds everyone I come in contact with.\u00a0 Other times it dims like a snuffed out candle.\u00a0 I seem to shine brightest at church or when I am alone or preaching on the street.\u00a0 I seem to shine the weakest when I’m around lost family, or at work too busy or too focused or too afraid to open my mouth.\u00a0 Other times things seem so dark, I might be projecting some light but I can’t see any.<\/p>\n

I was signing the other day in between street preaching, “the whole world was lost in the darkness of sin, the light of the world is Jesus.\u00a0 Come to the light, it dawned upon me! Once I was blind, but now I can see, the light of the world is JESUS!”<\/p>\n

Ye are the vine.\u00a0 HE is the branches.\u00a0 YE are the light of the world.\u00a0\u00a0You are the light bulb and he is the power source.<\/p>\n

John 8:12\u00a0 says Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world<\/strong>: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.<\/em>\u00a0 There is no need for the sun, in heaven we’re told, the light of the world is Jesus, continues the song.\u00a0 Yet mankind seems to love the dark like a bunch of light despising cockroaches.\u00a0 John 3:19 says And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.\u00a0 <\/em>We have offended a holy God by our actions, and the light makes us tend to run FROM God.\u00a0 Instead of to God.<\/p>\n

Oh, lost man, fight that tendency.\u00a0 Yes God hates your sin, but that is part of God’s holy nature.\u00a0 He must punish sin wherever it is found because he is JUST.\u00a0 A good judge faithfully upholds the laws and dishes out adequate punishment for the crimes.\u00a0 It is the unjust judge that gives murderers 2 months probation and rapists the slap on the wrist.\u00a0 Lust is adultery and hatred is murder.\u00a0 You need to be saved from God’s wrath.\u00a0 Can you see you are guilty when\u00a0 you would have to stand before God?\u00a0 Now I can offer you the cure, once you know\u00a0 you are sick.\u00a0 We have heard the joyful sound, JESUS SAVES, JESUS SAVES!\u00a0 Come to Jesus, weary sinner, he from sin can set you free. Look to Jesus Christ as Saviour, he who died on Calvary! Grace is flowing like a river, all who come will be supplied.\u00a0 Grace is moving like a fountain, none have yet to be denied.\u00a0 So goes the Ron Hamilton song.\u00a0 Look and live, my brother, live! Look to Jesus now and live!\u00a0 I have a message from the Lord, Alleluia, that only that you look and live.\u00a0 \u00a0Isaiah 45:22 says Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.<\/em><\/p>\n

My blog post was to encourage the saved as well.\u00a0\u00a0 A message preached at our meeting described the Christian walk as one headed up a mountain.\u00a0 Picture a snow capped mountain with a ring of clouds around the half way point.\u00a0 We start climbing and run into the patch of clouds about half way up. It gets confusing and instead of continuing to climb, we tend to keep going in circles.\u00a0 Or head back down below the clouds.<\/p>\n

It is a lot<\/em> like LOT’s<\/em> wife.\u00a0 The Bible says REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE.\u00a0 She was almost to freedom, she almost had her foot reach the valley of Zoar and there she turned back. It wasn’t when she had taken the first step out of Sodom. It wasn’t at the half way point.\u00a0 It was just when she almost had made it to freedom.\u00a0 Maybe she relaxed and forgot she was told to not look back. She\u00a0perhaps wanted to get one more memory.\u00a0 She maybe wanted to see the fireworks display.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Whatever the reason, that is a good principle\u00a0to remember.\u00a0 Often, just when you are the brink of a breaking point, or a turning point, or an explanation point in your life, that is when the temptation comes to return\u00a0or quit or give in to something you know God doesn’t want for you.<\/p>\n

I think God is about to do something in my life.\u00a0 Usually in the times in my life I get stuck in the clouds, I have panicked.\u00a0 It seems in those cloudy days the devil launches every assault at me he can muster.\u00a0\u00a0Just before I get past the clouds,\u00a0hell seems to open up and every demon seems to come out and make you regret wanting to climb\u00a0to higher ground.\u00a0 All havoc will break out in the marriage like\u00a0a sudden case of hives.\u00a0 Finances take a tumble.\u00a0\u00a0Things break down.\u00a0 The kids will all get sick suddenly.\u00a0 You won’t know where it started, you won’t know where it\u00a0is going, but that is the time to hang on.\u00a0\u00a0 Unless Jesus calls you out, stay in the boat until the storm passes by.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0evening and even tonight I saw some real\u00a0battles and while I am not yet at the top, nor have I finished my course, in my heart I know I experienced some victory.\u00a0 I am weak but he is strong.\u00a0 I know some of my weaknesses and I know I have some blind spots too.\u00a0\u00a0 Pray I make it to the top.<\/p>\n

A principal I heard is new levels, new devils.\u00a0 You would think that as you climb and the air thins that you would be alone.\u00a0 Oh, you will be alone.\u00a0 Alone with your dreams a lot of the times.\u00a0 Alone from those who don’t understand.\u00a0 Alone from the world who thinks you are crazy and the church even who can think you are a nut.\u00a0\u00a0 Yet until you get past the clouds, you will find the enemy prowling and seeking whom he may devour.\u00a0 We start up the mountain and hit the fog half way up and go in circles.\u00a0 The second time around the path the The devil will try and lure us in when we least expect it.\u00a0 He is like that lion and he is on the scent.\u00a0 If we go back to that same path, we may find him there following our scent.\u00a0 He is on our tail, on that trail.\u00a0 Yet if we keep climbing instead of ending up back where we left our scent, we will be better off.<\/p>\n

Go beyond the clouds.\u00a0 Hebrews 12:2 says, \u00a0Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 I think of another song, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.<\/p>\n

Micah 7:8 says Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.\u00a0 <\/em>Ye are that light.\u00a0 Keep climbing fixing your eyes on him, and stay in the word.\u00a0 It is a light unto our path and we merely need to reflect the light.<\/p>\n

It is harder to reflect it when we wander in darkness.<\/p>\n

Go beyond the clouds.\u00a0 Do you want that mountain?\u00a0 I know I do.<\/p>\n

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Matthew 5:14 says Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.\u00a0 That was the\u00a0key verse\u00a0of our 2013 Camp Meeting, Higher Ground.\u00a0 Matthew 5:16 goes on to say, Let your light … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/etvfc.org\/wp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}