THE WATERFALL OF GRACE

Luke 2 The Message-- The Birth of Jesus  2 1-5 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.  6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.  8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide:

Jesus comments on the Pharisees' Praying Matthew 6:5-8 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches on prayer. Jesus exposes the prayer practices of the religious leaders. He said that their prayers were all about getting the recognition and attention of others when they prayed. He contrasts their approach to what God desires. Prayer is not about public display of faith; it is about a conversation with

 TITUS 1:2 NKJ 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, It's not just that God has decided He will not lie -- He CANNOT lie. God only speaks truth!  JOHN 17:17 NKJ 17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. Whatever God says comes to pass. God cannot lie, because anything He says will come into being -- even if it did not exist before He said it.  GENESIS 1:3 NKJ 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. So God's Word is ultimate reality! More real, and lasting, than anything we can presently see. God cannot lie because it is contrary to His nature. God's nature is one of selfless love for others. His nature is not to deceive. It is natural for God to be truthful and never to deceive.  NUMBERS 23:19 NLT 19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

Scripture Genesis 50:15-22 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father."  When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said. But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

1 JOHN 4:16 ESV 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  It is one thing to mentally assent that God loves you. It is another thing entirely to know and believe it. Do you truly believe that God loves you? If not, you should meditate on God's Word until it becomes clear to you. You should think about the great price God paid to redeem you.  This is foundational. You need to believe the love that God has for you. God delights in you! God rejoices over you! He truly loves you! And you need to believe it! Because people act on what they believe. What you truly believe is what you are acting on. For example, if I tell you the building is on fire, you may say a thousand times that you believe me, but I know you don't believe me unless and until I see you leave the building.  Regardless of what people say, or what games we may play with ourselves, the truth is tha

Brian had everything....founder and lead guitarist for the band "Korn" but he felt empty and sick inside. Hear how the Holy Spirit led him to a place of peace. Click below to hear this awesome testimony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKqajubpF0Y

 JEREMIAH 9:24 ESV  24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."  There is one problem in the world: people don't know God. Many think they know God, but have been deceived. This primary problem is the cause of every other problem. All sin is the result of people not knowing God. For if people knew God, they would love Him, respect Him, want to be like Him, and desire to please Him.  1 JOHN 4:8 NLT 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. People who don't know God's character and nature think He is unreasonable or a hard master. The truth is God is the most loving, giving, unselfish being in existence. Everything He does is for our benefit.  EXODUS 34:5-6 NLT 5 Then the LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. 6

As we have learned that we are under GRACE  and no longer under the LAW, we might wonder why God gave the Law to the Israelites in the first place? Pastor Prince enlightens us on this issue. i hope this short video is a blessing to you! Click below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MinJi73Cyk8

EPHESIANS 2:4 NKJ 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, The devil promotes the lie that God is mad at people and anxious to condemn them, but the Bible says that God is rich in mercy.  Mercy means not getting what we deserve. Rich means an abundant supply -- more than enough.  The Bible says 41 times of the Lord that "his mercy endures forever." Psalm 136 makes this statement in every verse.  PSALM 136:1 NKJ 1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. We may look at people and think they don't deserve another chance. They may have blown it again and again and they may seem hopeless to us. But God looks at people differently. He looks at them through eyes of Love and sees their potential and so shows mercy. Yes, God is against sin. But it's because He loves us, and knows how harmful sin is.  SAY THIS: God is more merciful than I have realized. God has plenty of mercy.

 PHILIPPIANS 4:4 NKJ 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! At least five times the Bible tells the people of God to rejoice in the Lord. We may not always be able to rejoice in other people, or in our circumstances. People can be frustrating. People can be immature. People can be undependable. Need I go on? But the Lord is different! God is dependable. God is faithful. God is honest. God is good. God is patient. God is kind. God is understanding. God is merciful and gracious.  MALACHI 3:6 NLT 6 "I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. When we focus on our circumstances, or on what people do, we can lose our joy quickly. But with a true understanding of what God is really like, we cannot help but rejoice because of His goodness and greatness. If you are not sure what God is really like, then look at Jesus Christ in the pages of the Four Gospels in the New Testament. Jesus Christ perfectly re

 JOHN 11:25 NKJ 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  The sting of death has been removed for the Christian believer by Jesus our Lord. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:55 NLT 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"  I am not afraid to die. There is no reason for any follower of Jesus to fear death.  REVELATION 12:11b NLT 11 And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. I'm in no rush to die, for it's best to live a full life on earth and finish our race here. But after we finish on earth, death for a Christian believer is a promotion. There are many people who claim to have visited Heaven and came back. I have never heard one indicate they wanted to leave and return to earth. They all say it is wonderful there beyond words. What else could we expect from our wonderful Lord Jesus!  1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-14 NLT 13 And now, dear brothers and s

 MATTHEW 14:25,28-32 NKJ 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Most people like to "play it safe." They don't even want their boat to rock, let alone consider getting out and "walking on water." God allows us to make choices. God's plan is that we would walk with Him in His realm of miracles, but He allows us to grow and develop until we are ready. He does not force u

Isaiah 58:2-8  For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, t

Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. We often have difficulty understanding why God would allow children to suffer or why he allows the wicked to prosper. Pastor Chan gives his insight into these questions. Please enjoy this short clip from Francis Chan: click below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnrJVTSYLr8

 1 CORINTHIANS 1:30  30 You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our righteousness, our holiness, and our ransom from sin. People now have two choices:  1. Quit trying to be right with God by their own efforts, and accept the gift of righteousness by receiving Jesus Christ.  2. Or, try to be good enough for God to accept them based on their own performance. One choice is impossible.  No one can succeed with the second choice. Here are three verses that say "no one" can do it.  ROMANS 3:20 NLT 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.  GALATIANS 2:16 NLT 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right

 DEUTERONOMY 30:19 NKJ 19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;  Most people don't realize that God has given them the power to choose whether they will be blessed. We choose whether to go God's way and be blessed, or ignore God and go our own way and reap the unfortunate consequences.  God has given humans an amazing freedom to make choices. God does not force blessing on us -- we must choose blessing by choosing God and His ways. God did not create us to be puppets, robots, or slaves. God desires a family He can fellowship with. There would be no joy in being loved by a robot who had no choice, so God created us with the freedom and the right to make choices. With our right to make choices also came the responsibility to make them. So we must make choices. God does not make our choices for us. How do we choose

 PSALM 78:41 KJV 41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. God is unlimited (but people can limit what God does for them).  True, God cannot deny Himself. That means He cannot act contrary to who He is and what He has said. But beyond that God has no limits that we know of. The Bible tells us the people of Israel limited what God could do for them. We should not make the same mistake.  1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-6 KJV 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. God is very creative. From looking at His creation, you could even guess that sameness might bore Him. Every fingerprint is different. Every eyeball is different. Every ear is different. No two leopards have the same spots.  Yet people think things like: "God cannot work outside of our denomination." "