THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS...

Romans 14:17 

For the kingdom of God is... RIGHTEOUSNESS, and PEACE, and JOY in the Holy Ghost. 

Do I have these 3 things in my life? What is righteousness anyway? Am I upset and troubled constantly? Do I have joy in the Lord and express it at church and at home? What does it mean to have joy in the Lord?

These are some tight questions, huh?  Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Maybe its time you did. Maybe its time we all did. That is, if we truly desire to be part of God's kingdom. 

Righteousness is a condition acceptable to God. This condition includes your integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, and correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting. But how do we enter into this condition that will be acceptable to God? By the Word of course. 

But how will you know how the Word wants you to be if you don't diligently seek it out? This is key. We are not to reason it out based on circumstances or on what other people do. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us and He will lead you to His Word. The first step is to know what the Lord asks of each of us. And yes, He does ask much from us. To say that it's grace only is to make it a disgrace. Grace is what saves us but we are expected to conform to His requests once we accept His grace. This is what makes Him our LORD. We do what He says or our love for Him is questioned.

Many people lean hard to grace without diligently seeking all the Word and never seem to achieve full separation from the world unto God. There are some things they just don't want to let go of. Now I don't De-Christianize them and I believe that they are still His children, but they never attain to what they could be and are not as pleasing to the Lord as they could be if they were to separate themselves according to His Word. 

Then on the other hand there are those that lean so heavy onto the law of it that they make themselves and everyone else miserable. If the Bible says that the kingdom of God is righteousness AND peace AND joy, then we must have all three, right? Then to live in such a way as to cause us to be miserable would preclude us from having peace and joy, wouldn't it?

We shouldn't want to just hit the target of His Will. We should want to hit the center of the target of His Will. Hitting the bulls-eye is to achieve righteousness by knowing what God wants by diligently searching His Word and then seeking God to bring us into that condition and then resolving to follow it the best we can based on our tremendous love and respect for Him. We can't sit back and pretend that grace is all of it.There is something for us to do too. Brother Branham said it's the power of your decision and then acting on what you have heard to be the truth. And acting is praying and resolving to become what you have discovered that God wants you to be. 

Confused? 

Well, I have seen those that lean so heavy on grace and not achieve that separated life Brother Branham speaks that we should have, and let so many worldly things stay in their lives, and then claim that anything beyond that is legalism. HUH? You see, they don't come to a full understanding of what it means to live righteously. Then they wonder why they have so many troubles. Legalism is an attitude and a spirit and not to be mistaken with separating yourself from the world. Attaining a completely separated life from the world is NOT legalism if done through the Holy Ghost. It is what is preferable to the Lord Jesus. It is also what Brother Branham preaches. A total separation from all unbelief. And you cannot attain this state without the Holy Spirit. Actually, I have noted that those that do lean heavy to grace are grossly legalistic! What, you say? Yes that's right. For instance, they determine the legality of the clothes they wear by whether it is within the "set" boundaries and not by the spirit that it represents. That is why you may see them fully clothed but with a sexy appearance.

On the other hand I have seen those that pick at every little thing that the devil shows them and deem it wrong. These are usually very critical of others and have a hard time dealing with those that don't do the things that they feel everyone should do. They seem to lose track that many times its really a matter of opinion if it is not addressed specifically in the Word. But when it comes down to it, they can't do it and they end up allowing other worldly things in. You've probably heard the scripture, "squint at a gnat and swallow a camel". This is what happens when you approach righteousness legally. You become hard against certain things but let other, usually bigger things in. Then many times they fully backslide on out into the world. It's because it's not by the Spirit.

Listen, especially you young people. You can't go by what other people do. You have to search the Word and find out for yourself. You have to want it. And you have to develop a relationship with Jesus that your whole motive is to please and serve Him. Then you separate yourself from as many worldly things as you can in order to please Him and not to hurt Him. This is the way.

Don't stop short and use legalism as an excuse to keep little worldly things in your life. But, don't try to become righteous on your own either.

What about Joy and Peace? 

If you really have the Holy Ghost you WILL have peace and joy. Even in the trials. Brother Branham said there are two things that please God: 1. Believe His Word as it's written and 2. conduct yourself with joy amidst the trials He sends to mold our character. 

Our joy should be IN THE HOLY GHOST. Being joyful all the time isn't necessarily it. I know people that are very joyful but don't even know the Lord. But our joy should be in the things of the Lord and the working and moving by Him in our lives. This is the JOY we should have. And living a separated life from the world increases our ability to have joy in the Holy Ghost. 

Peace comes from the trust that we put in our Lord and His Word. Whatever His Word promises, should be our absolute and we should place such trust in His care for us that we don't excessively worry and distress. Of course we may have times that our faith is weak, but overall we should be resting in His care.

PEACE! :-)

Common Courtesies Continued

Make every effort to serve and not be served.

Get In The Spirit

PATMOS VISION  -  CHURCH AGE BOOK  CPT.2
Look at it this way. All too many read the Bible where it says in Acts 2:38,"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," and just pass right on. They don't see it. If they saw it, by getting in the Spirit, they would know that if they want to receive the Holy Spirit, they need to repent and be baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus and then God would be duty bound to fulfill His Word by filling them with the Holy Ghost. They never get in His Spirit or it would happen to them exactly as the Word says. Pray to God for a revelation by His Spirit. That is the first step. Get in the Spirit.
Let me just use another illustration. Suppose you need healing. What does the Word say? Well, we have all read it countless times, but did not get in the Spirit when reading it. Did we ask God for His Spirit to teach us the real truth of it? If we did, we would call the elders, confess our sins, be anointed and prayed for, and that would be that. It might not come immediately, but in His Spirit, it is all over. There is no other court of appeal. God will fulfill His Word. Oh, we need to get in the Spirit, and then things will be done. DON'T GO THROUGH THE ACTS FIRST. GET IN THE SPIRIT AND THEN GO THROUGH THE ACTS AND WATCH WHAT GOD WILL DO.
Have you ever noticed how the world gets into the spirit of things that are in the world? They go to their ball games, their sporting events, and their dances. They enter into the spirit of it. They don't sit there like wall flowers, old dried up sticks. They enter right into the feel of things and become a part of things. But, oh, how they hate the Christians for getting into the Spirit of God's Word. They call us fanatics and holy-rollers. There is nothing they won't do to show their hatred and disapproval. But ignore that. You can expect it, knowing where it is coming from. Just go on and get in the Spirit of worship.
Our spirit is clean. It is fresh. It is real. It is sober and serious but nonetheless, full of the joy of the Lord. The Christian ought to be just as exuberant and full of his pleasure in the Lord as the world is when it savors and delights in its pleasures. Both Christians and the world are human; both have emotions. The difference is the Christians' hearts and emotions are purely on the Lord of Glory and His love, while the world satisfies the flesh.

Alice Williams

It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our precious sister Alice Williams. She fell asleep on Monday February 28, 2011. She was 77 years and 7 months old. We will miss our precious sister very much. And Ezekiel will miss "the sucker lady". We love you Sister Alice and we will see you again soon.

Common Courtesies Continued

6.  When someone else has put forth a lot of effort to help you or do something for you, always look to what you can do for them in return. Offer to pay them or to do a task for them or provide for a need that you know they have.

Dog with an attitude

Accepting His Grace -- IMPORTANT!!!

One of the first "personal' revelations that I remember receiving after I became a Christian is "How IMPORTANT it is to receive God's grace". It is not an option. It is necessary. It is essential. It is required. I have seen so many believers living so bound and even totally back-slid because they fail to see this one premise. Without it, you will die. There is absolutely NOTHING that you can do to merit salvation. If you feel that there is, then you insult our Lord Jesus. If there was then why did He have to die. Then He died in vain. If we truly believe in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin and unbelief, then we must accept it for ALL of our failures. We can't hold on to some sin we have done not knowing if the Lord has forgiven us or not. My friend, do you REALLY believe? Does His blood cleanse us completely or not? If we don't receive our forgiveness, then we are calling the precious blood of Jesus Christ an unholy thing and doing despite to the Spirit of grace. And the sacrifice means NOTHING to us. Unbelief is a horrible thing. It will bind you and make you feel unworthy. Then you will get discouraged and then the devil can just pound you. Discouragement is a chain that binds. But when you feel that you just can't get good enough, then you finally feel like you just don't want to try anymore and you give up. This is the "Hill of Difficulty" Brother Bunyan wrote of in "Pilgrim's Progress" when Pilgrim was trying find "Mr. Legality" in the "Village of Morality".
And just as he notes in the book, this is exactly what the LEGALISTS do. They never are able to get the peace that passes all understanding because they are constantly focusing on their faults and shortcomings. Trying to make themselves righteous. Trying to make themselves spiritual. Our own righteousness is but filthy rags. And what's even worse is when someone else is constantly pointing their faults out to them. This is why we MUST receive His grace. You will NEVER get good enough. You will NEVER become perfect in yours or anyone else' eyes. Only in God's eyes are we made perfect and that by the perfect, purifying blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the Message "That Day on Calvary", Brother William Branham said:

THAT.DAY.ON.CALVARY_  JEFF.IN  V-2 N-5  SUNDAY_  60-0925
  14-8   " Now, there's where we lose our position. If we don't watch, we try to look back to what we was; and as long as we look back to what we was, the sacrifice means nothing to us. Oh, can't you see it, church? I would no... I would not try the job; I can't, and neither can you. There's no need of trying. You're lost to begin with, as long as you look to what you've done. But don't look to what you've done, look what that day on Calvary did to you.
It paid your price. It settled the question. Your sins be as scarlet, they're as white as snow: red like crimson, white like wool. Then you have no sin. You are perfectly sinless. No matter what you done or what you do, you're still sinless. As long as you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your sins are forgiven. Anything that's forgiven is remitted and forgot about.
Then what does it do? It gives you, after that condition, His Spirit to follow Him and to do as He did, for others who is following on."


So do you see the IMPORTANCE of receiving His grace? If you haven't done so already, I pray that you will soon receive it.
God bless you all.
Brother Marty

HEBREWS 10:29
     29    Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Chainsaw Analogy

   This may seem funny, but I was driving the other day and an analogy began to develop in my mind. I'd like to share it with you if that is OK. If you disagree with it or have your own ideas about it, no problem. This is just my take on it. Here it goes:
A chainsaw is like the Word of God, it cuts on both sides like a two-edged sword, both coming and going. It is a POWER saw. And appropriately using the Word produces power. The saw is POWERED by fuel that is placed IN the saw. This fuel is our FAITH that we have IN the Word. We place our faith (fuel) IN the Word to produce power according to the Word. Brother Branham said that however much faith you can release is how much power you can have. So we want to fill the tank all the way up. But this fuel (faith) has to be ignited to produce this power. This requires a spark. The spark plug / ignition system would be the HEARING or reading of the Word of God. This ignites our faith (fuel) to produce power. Now there is effort required to ignite the fuel. This is done by the cranking of the saw with our hand. The same goes for hearing and reading the Word. It requires effort on our part to set forth sufficient time to do this. It could be said here that "pushing play" IS the cranking of our saw. But that's still not all. When the fuel (faith) is ignited and the saw (Word) begins to move (power), if the chain is not lubricated, it can get bound and you can get friction that will seize the chain and disable your saw (Word, power). You need lubrication. You need bar chain OIL. The oil would be, as Brother Branham says, the Holy Spirit that you get through prayer and it is also IN the Word (saw). When the Word (saw) cuts with the oil (Holy Spirit) IN the saw, the cut will be smooth and not much effort is required to do the work that is needed. But without the oil the job becomes very difficult and causes much friction that can, like I said already, seize the saw (Word).
Another point is this. Trying to manhandle the saw is equivalent to being overbearing and trying to shove the Word down someones throat. Or bringing correction to someone we perceive as wrong without the love and sweetness of the Holy Spirit. We should develop a soft touch with the saw, being sure that the chain is sufficiently honed and lubricated, and let the saw do the cutting. We don't want to try to force the saw to cut through the object faster and harder. It will only dull the chain faster, burn the wood, and wear the operator down.
   So we place our faith in the Word and the Holy Spirit gets IN the Word through prayer and we ignite our faith by hearing the Word, then we receive power to use the Word for the job at hand. And we must use good care and maintenance for our saw and become good woodmen through proper training and practice and then dedicated service for our Lord.
Now, I hope I didn't make a simple analogy complicated. I hope this has been a blessing to you all. God bless,
Brother Marty

Common Courtesies Cont'd

5. When you commit to something or to someone, don't take that commitment lightly. Follow through with it or arrange for someone else to take your place. And be there on time. Most people have other important things to do which may be hindered by your tardiness. It's true "better late than never", but it is not courteous.

THE KEY!!!

If you want to know an important key to becoming the kind of Christian that you long to be, the following quote pretty much sums it up.

HEAR.HIS.VOICE_  JEFF.IN  SUNDAY_  58-1005M
  E-45    Now, there's a code of ethics to it. God has a new birth for you. But listen to His still small voice. Every one of you people who profess to be Christians, get yourself quiet before Him. Don't let the washing hinder. Don't let the work hinder. Don't let nothing hinder. Don't let nobody know what you're doing. Just go before Him. Get up in the woods somewhere. Get out on the side of the road. Go into the secret closet and close the door, when the kids gets at school. There get down on your knees. You've heard all kinds of voices everywhere. But just get down and stay there until those voices are silenced and you begin to lift up. It'll change you. It'll make you different like it did this little Samuel. It'll do something to you if you'll just do it. Now, it'll make you what you should be. It'll make you the kind of Christian that you ought to be.
William M. Branham

Brother Fergusson came to our church last year and preached about committing time every week to the Lord. Pick a night during the week that is good for you and commit it to the Lord. Don't worry about the time, just go in and stay there. Don't go in and read your Bible, although sometimes this is good, but read your Bible at other times. But go in before the Lord and commune with Him. Worship Him. Fellowship with Him. And then bring your MANY supplications. And although there are always things and people to pray for, I have found that I need to pray for myself the majority of the time. "I'm" the one who needs it the most. "I'm" the one who is wrong. "I'm" the one who has faults. "I'm"the one who needs to be changed. It's me, it's me, it's me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer. And if you do this AND pray for everyone who needs prayer, you will see, you won't be coming out too soon. Stay there until...

Brother Branham had this to say about Martin Luther in the Church Age Book:
He was a man given to much prayer and had learned that the more work he had to do, and the more sorely he was pressed for time, the more of his time he gave to God in prayer in order to ensure satisfactory results.

Online Guitar Tuner

www.onlineguitartuner.com

Marriage

   The Bridegroom searches the world for a virtuous and pure lady to be His Bride. When He finds Her, He extends an invitation to marry Him. He proposes to Her. If she says no, he moves on to another. If she says yes and accepts the invitation, he gives her a token of promise. He leaves to go build her a home promising to return for her in one year. While He is gone, she is vowed to Him only and she prepares herself for His return. She remains pure and clean and keeps her virginity. He returns in one year to receive her and to marry her. After the ceremony, the wedding supper is held. Then He takes her to her new home and they enter into a physical relationship with one another. She sits aside Him on His throne as His Queen.
   The token today, naturally speaking, is a wedding ring. This ring is a perfect and complete circle. This indicates eternity. Spiritually, the Holy Spirit is the Token and it is eternal life. This is His vow to Her, that She is His, and nobody can take her from Him for eternity. Satan can't take her, the world can't take her, nothing can remove her from that vow. Unless SHE breaks that vow and turns to fornication. Fornicating with the world and with anything that takes her from the pure Word of God. Becoming a harlot to the Word is the only way to become dis-annulled by the Bridegroom. He will never break His vow.
   Brother Branham said: Mary was impregnated with the Word, Jesus. And, if Eve would not have fallen, she would have brought forth children by the Spoken Word. Also, the Spoken Word is the original SEED.
   See, it is the Spoken Word that impregnates us. So as we sit and listen intently to the Spoken Word, we are making love to our Bridegroom and we are becoming impregnated with the Word which will bring forth new life. That life comes with travail (birth pains). But, when it is delivered, "She remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. (John 16:21)"
   So, as we sit and listen to the Spoken Word, if we are yawning, falling asleep, nodding, looking at our watch, etc., what kind of wife are we? Are we truly IN LOVE with Him?
   On the other hand, if we become stimulated by the revelation and we shout and scream "amen", are we not manifesting and proving our overwhelming LOVE for Him and pleasure in His Word? Are we not satisfying unto Him?
   How do YOU feel about your Bridegroom? Are YOU His satisfying portion?

Brother John Pruitt

My heart is deeply saddened by the passing of my precious brother. He crossed the riven vale yesterday at 6:00 am. I am glad that I was able to get to know him better over the last year. I know he has passed the curtain of time and is resting and waiting for us. We will see him soon. God bless you my brother.

Babius de Martimus

Eliana Danielle was born July 6, 2010 at 12:43 pm at Casa de Martimus.

Even More Common Courtesies

4. Don't try to tell other people what to do, or what they need to do, unless you are doing it or going to do it too. Nobody likes someone that is always going around trying to delegate tasks to other people but yet not putting forth the effort and example to do it themselves.

Even More Common Courtesies

3. When someone is conversing with someone else, it is not polite to barge in and interrupt and start speaking to them. If it seems to be important and you feel you need to talk with them right away, then at least say "excuse me just for a moment". Then once you have said what you needed to say, offer the opportunity for the two to continue with their original conversation.

More Common Courtesies

2. When you borrow something from someone, return it in a condition that is at least as good as when you borrowed it. Optimally you would return it in better condition than when you borrowed it. For instance, when you borrow someone's car, return it with a full tank of gas, washed, and clean on the inside.

Common Courtesy

More and more I have noticed that this society has produced generations of people who know little to nothing about common courtesies. I know the blame for this lies directly on the parents and grandparents of today's generations, but it is a real problem and appears only to be getting worse. The kind of things I'm speaking of are really small things and things that are basically common sense. But it seems that they go unnoticed, even by many people that I know. It is scriptural to be courteous you know. Peter actually says in I Peter to "be courteous".

Over the next several days/weeks I will be listing a few common courtesies that I feel are severely lacking in our society.

1. When you are at someone else house and the host is working, it is courtesy to offer to help. Then it is courtesy to go ahead and help even if the host claims that help is not needed. You should develop an eye for things that need to be done and go ahead and do them. Don't wait for the host to wait on you.
   

I will be adding more in future posts.....
God bless you all,
Martimus

What Doth the Lord REQUIRE of Thee?

Micah 6:6-9 says the following:

1. "Do justly"- live righteously and be honest with all men.

2. "Love mercy" - have grace for others and also receive God's provided grace for our own failures.

3. "Walk humbly with thy God" - be humble in all things.

It also asks, "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams (sacrifices)? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions? the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (My own works, LEGALISM).

Back Parts

When you look at other believers, you see God's GLORY.

When Moses said show me your glory, he saw the back part of man. And when Israel journeyed through Moab, Balaam pointed out their "back parts".

Your back parts are your sinful nature and what you are unable to change yourselves. These are your faults, your shortcomings. These require the "power" of God to change.

Bro Branham said that the "power of God" is the power to change sinners into Christian ladies and gentlemen. It is HIS power that changes those back parts. Thereby we can glory in HIS power to change our back parts not our own. It's His righteousness, not ours. Our righteousness is but filthy rags.

When you see someone else's back parts, you are seeing Gods glory. So instead of being critical and pointing a finger, rejoice in the power of His grace because you have back parts that need that grace as well. Let us pray continually for the Lord to change OUR back parts.
God bless you,
Martimus

Don't Start None Won't Be None

If you don't start communion with God, there won't be none.

We must worship or commune with Him in our hearts at any and all times of the day we can.
(... In the shower, etc.)
Instead of thinking unimportant thoughts, praise Him. Stop thinking about carnal things like cars, sports, and material things. Think "anointed thoughts".
That's how we can stay in a Godly atmosphere.
We don't have to wait till we have time to get on our knees to worship or commune with Him. If He is IN us, then we can talk with Him at anytime. We don't always have to be on our knees before we can speak to Him. That's legalism. Of course, we do want to put forth sufficient (preferably abundant) "knee time" too.

You know, it's not about right or wrong, it's about the atmosphere it brings.
That's the same with all things we do. Some things we decide to do may be within the boundaries of what is OK or not necessarily WRONG, but what atmosphere does it bring? Does it bring a worldly, carnal, or just a natural atmosphere? Or does it bring a Godly atmosphere?

BB said that it's not only carnal or wicked thoughts that draw us away from God. But sometimes just natural thoughts and things do it too. Let's ask the Lord to change our way of thinking.
God bless you all.
Martimus

Shyness

Anything that hinders you from glorifying or worshiping God and serving Him or that keeps you from communicating effectively with your brethren is an evil spirit. This is exactly what shyness does. It serves no good purpose. Shyness is not to be confused with humility or modesty. These are two completely different things. Anyone who has never been shy may not understand those that are. And they may not understand this post. People will misread you when your actions are governed by shyness. They will think you are rude or uninterested in them. They will not want to be around you because they will think you are weird, mysterious, or just plain boring.

Shyness is fear and pride, two well known evil spirits. Fear of criticism, failure, attention, etc. Pride in that one is worried what others think. Shyness is also being ashamed. And if you are too shy to praise and worship God, you are possibly ashamed of Him. You may be more worried about what others are thinking of YOU than you are of pleasing your LORD.

People that are very shy are bound by the devil and are generally unhappy. They feel trapped and want to be freed. Most do not want to be shy.

And being that it is an evil spirit, I believe, we must cast it out and pray for the Lord to deliver us from its grasp. It is a characteristic that MUST be overcome to be able to move further in the Lord. You will be hindered from growing optimally spiritually if you do not overcome this. I also believe that when one is filled with the Holy Ghost, shyness begins to fade and will eventually be eradicated.

I know what I am speaking of from experience. I was cripplingly shy when I was younger. And I was all of the things I wrote of above. But the Lord filled me and revealed to me that He did not want me that way and He helped me to overcome it. I could not be an effective servant for Him with that kind of fear in my heart. He can't use a coward.

Christian Character

Live for others. Commit time to God to get in His presence. Love and serve all, especially the brethren. Humble thyself. Pray for revelation. Pray for inspiration. Keep your thoughts upon Him and what you can do for Him (anointed thoughts). Worship Him.