Andrew Golden's Blog, page 45

Turn The Other Cheek

Matthew 5:38-40

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

If I do you wrong is it okay for you to return the favor? The answer is no. Christ wants us to be at a point to were we can be punched in the face and keep from hitting them back. The love that Christ had was strong enough to take the beating he recieved during the crucifixion and yet he never raised a hand. Think, what if you return the evil that was done to you? It does not matter what that person did to you, all anyone will hear about is what you have done and with that your testimony is destroyed. That is what Christ is trying to get across to us. He wants to know that all people will see how we handle when we are done wrong. If we have a close enough walk with Christ, we can turn and pray instead of striking back. If we can get to this point we take the fire out of the enemy. It gives us the high road instead of lowering ourselves to their level. So the next time you are done wrong, do not strike back, turn and began to pray.

How About You Just Work As Well

1 Samuel 18:7-8


7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

It is amazing to go to a church and there is that one person that works hard for God. They pray hard for everyone. They clap and amen the pastor as he preaches. What is annoying is the one person who gets jealous because they are not working as hard. It’s like king Saul being jealous of David. Saul was a skilled warrior, but at this point David was following everything God instructed. David was willing to work. Saul on the other hand had only wanted the praise and when David received it, Saul could not handle it. All he had to do was work harder and listen to God. That is what is exactly what is happening in churches today. People are getting jealous because you may work harder. They will set there pouting when all they have to do is step up. All they have to do is ask God for the work. Imagine if they prayed just as hard as the go-getter. Imagine if they said amen just as much instead of being jealous. If you are one of these people who have become jealous, I pray for you.

Heart Don’t You Fail Me Now

1 Samuel 17:32

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

Turn on any news station and you will see news of war and disease. Pick up a newspaper and you will see more bad news. Get on social media and that all people are talking about. It is disheartening. To say it makes you feel like throwing in the towel is an understatement. That is how the jews felt looking at this mighty Philistine. Their hearts were failing them. But a young man showed them how much heart God can give you. So, turn off the news, lay down the newspaper, and get off of social media. Find you a place to pray and let God strengthen your will. Know that God is there to fight for you. David went into the fight not thinking what if God will help him, but knowing that God had his back. He knew there was nothing the enemy could do. We should know this. No matter how crazy and bold the world gets, they can never cross over my God. So don’t let yor heart fail and let’s stand tall.

Almost

Acts 26:28-29


28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

So many people are almost persuaded to serve Christ. Then they see the season of sin and change their minds. They look at us and see us looking like we woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It does not look fun to be a Christian. We act like it is an inconvenience to go worship God. Why would they want to come? We have to stop settling for almost. Paul testified to a king. He wanted so bad to convert him. We need that desire again. It needs to burn in our hearts to persuade people to leave a life of sin. We do this through our testimony and by our actions. Tell what God has brought you through. Show how happy God makes you. Show people it is fun to be a Christian. Most of all, stop settling for almost.

I Will Preach Harder

Acts 23:20-21



20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.
21 But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.

The apostle Paul was one of the greatest teachers of Christianity that walked. He taught so well that the jews wanted him dead. Forty of them took a vowel not eat till they had slain him. Paul would not stop. He would rather die than stop working for God. The thing is, the men of God then faced death and still stood on the word. Now we back down because someone might say something bad about us on social media. I promise you, I’m not going to get upset and stop preaching just because someone calls me a bad name on social media. I am just going to preach and pray harder. If the apostles can face death I can face a few ugly rumors.

No One Is Greater That The Other

Acts 10:34-35


34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.


I say this so many times, but God does not care about your past. He does not care where you come from. He does not care what nation you was born in. He only cares that you accept Jesus as your lord and saviour. If you ever wonder if you are worthy, no that God loves you. If you question if where you come from matters, know that it does not. His love is boundless. It is for the rich living in a mansion and it is for the people living in a 3rd world country. God gave his son for us all. So know that you are just as worthy as the pastor of a church. All you have to do is accept Jesus and feel the love of an almighty God.

Don’t Hide From Prayer

Acts 9:13-14

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Ananias was told to go and pray for a man who had lost his sight. No big dreal, right? Well the man he was sent to pray for was Saul. Now, Saul was a very bad man. He had a mission to murder all followers of Chist. He wanted to end the church before it even started. He did not care if it was an adult or child. Ananias was hesitant, but he listened to God. Saul would become Paul and spread the teaching of Christ and write most of the new Testiment. Now, in today’s time we have forgotten what Ananias did and that he did not question God. We are more likely to say a sinner deserved to be punished with a disability. We want to tell them how they did wrong and deserved what they got. I am so thankful that Ananias did not see thing this way. I wish Christians today did not look at things this way either. Whenever God says go and pray for them to be healed you may want to listen. God can take that vile sinner and change the world. Stop looking at their past and instead to what God can to make them. Remember God called your name, and you were just as evil as Saul at one time.

It’s Not All About You

Acts 13:46-47


46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

I have watched preachers be in the middle of a sermon and someone look at their watch and roll thier eyes because the message is not for them. However, as soon as the service is over another person will walk up and tell the preacher how they needed that. To many people think that every message preached should be for them. This is not the case. A preacher may have a message for the entire congregation or it may be for one person. If you do not feel the message is for you, do not get upset and roll your eyes. Instead start praying that whoever that message is for touches their heart.

Stop Second Guessing

Acts 12:14-15

14 And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.

These people had been praying for Peter. They wanted to see him set free. When God answered thier prayers they couldn’t believe it. Many times we pray and ask God to move, we find it hard to accept. We are always waiting for the worst to happen. It does not matter if I get good news from a doctor I have to take time to let it sink in. It doesn’t matter that I had been praying about the results and I know God can move, I still expect bad results. Why are we doing this? Why is are faith so weak? We serve a mighty God. If we are praying for a family member to come to God, we should look for them everytime the church door opens. If we are praying for healing, we should not be looking for treatments or medicine to help it. If you are praying for God to help your finances, then have the faith that he will make a way. God will answer your prayers, but you have to have the faith to accept it when he does.

They Will Try

Acts 6:8-9

8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

You can teach the world the word verbatim. You can teach people the truth. You could change the world and still someone will not only disagree with you, they will try to destroy you. These people rose against Stephen and wanted to stop his teachings. It is going to happen. Don’t let them budge you. Be like Stephen and do not budge. If you are teaching the truth God, who is unchangeable, is with you.