Servias Ministries Blog

Jesus spoke:

Matthew 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

In this passage, Jesus describes two categories of people: the wise and the foolish.  All of us fall into one of these two categories.  The house represents us, our life, our body, and its content.  In this passage, Jesus tells us that judgment will come upon all of mankind.  He uses the term: rain, floods, and wind.  These words describe the judgment of the Great Flood in the time of Noah:

Genesis 7:4  “For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.”

Genesis 7:17  Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

Genesis 8:1  Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

As Kemper mentioned in our Online Bible Study yesterday, the three aspects of Jehovah are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Dr. Speckhart’s Quantum Book goes into great detail).  They represent thought, word, and deed or action.  Here we see the expression of the Godhead as well.  Our Heavenly Father spoke the Word “I will” from Divine Intent.  After the thought and word came the action.  Judgment, trials, and testing will come to all mankind.  All flesh will be judged.  The outcome will be determined by the source of your wisdom.  Will it be wisdom from above or earthly wisdom?  We are told in the Epistle of James to ask for wisdom from Above:

James 1:5   If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

This is in contrast to earthly wisdom which is compared in chapter 3 of James:

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

16 For where envy and self-seeking exist,confusion and every evil thing are there.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Let me reiterate, judgment is coming and whichever type of wisdom you walk in will determine your personal outcome.  The current focus of our Bible study is to prepare the Remnant for this coming event.  The book “Raising a Remnant” is focused on building your house on the Rock, with Wisdom from Above as its foundation.  Our discussions are to provide understanding once you have sought Wisdom.

Proverbs 24:3  

Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;

This is the house Jesus was referring in His Sermon.  We must seek to understand.  Our Heavenly Father brings forth understanding.  In Romans 3:11, Paul links understanding to “seeking”: 

There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.

Wisdom is the foundation, understanding are the walls, and knowledge fills the house:

Proverbs 24:4

And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

No One Knows the Day or Hour:  In Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, Jesus was asked about the End of the Age and He tied the rain, floods, and wind to the End.  In Matthew, He spoke the following:

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Now is the time to build your house with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.  We are being prepared for the coming judgment and transition.  A properly constructed house will withstand the judgment, trials, and testing.  Only you can determine your priorities in life.  It is your decision where you place your focus.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus assured us:

Matthew 7:7 “Ask (for wisdom), and it will be given to you; seek (understanding), and you will find; knock (knowledge), and it will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened

If you don’t heed His words, your house will fall, and great will be the fall!

Each of us has been bestowed gifts for the purpose of fulfilling our calling.  Those gifts were given as a Sacred Trust to be used by each of us in a lawful manner, not just the letter of the law, but by the Spirit of the Law.  When you use your gifts for any reason other than your calling, you are lawless.  You can work the law to your own personal benefit but in the end, you are disqualified from entering into HIS rest.  Those of you who are wealthy have a great challenge to part with your money for the Kingdom’s sake.  Those of you who seek to be wealthy are not far behind.  Greed’s insidious hooks are an issue both to the wealthy and poor alike.

Each of us is called to be a fruit inspector, especially of our own fruit.  If you are producing no fruit or bad fruit, you must make an assessment of your thinking.  You must change, not everyone else.  You must not justify your failures by blaming some external force, person, or situation on your woes.  Repent!  Jesus made it quite clear that you can “work” a law and still not be acceptable in His sight:

Matthew 7:

21  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

22  “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?

23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Jesus did not dispute their acts and successes, they did produce fruit.  However, the intent behind the fruit was not based on Love.  Love is not lawless.  Instead, they practiced lawlessness as the operated in Spiritual gifts.  Those gifts have power to produce results even if the vessel is lawless.  Gravity shows no preference to the heart of man.  It operates in a reliable fashion for both.

The above passage is indicative of the Pentecostal age.  Many evangelists have been used to bring forth healings and at the same time practiced lawlessness behind the scenes, later to be exposed.  Were the miracles genuine?  Yes.  Our Heavenly Father’s grace and mercy prevailed, even in the midst of lawlessness.  Moses was disqualified from entering the Promised Land because of his lawlessness of striking the rock.  However, the rock did respond by bringing forth water. (Exodus 20:1-13)

Each of us is responsible for pursuing absolute Spiritual Truth.  I am convinced that the path to this level of Truth is reserved for those who have the revelation of Love in the hearts and minds.  This is the straight and narrow path.  As we mature in Love, we are able to handle this Truth and walk in it.  Love has replaced the lawlessness in our lives.  Love demands the death of the old man and we are in full agreement in the departure of the old man.  We then seek to serve all of mankind rather than exploit them for personal gain.  We no longer look at others and their possessions with the intent of extracting something from them in order to satisfy our lusts, whether it be physical, emotional, mental, or financial.

The foundation of our house is wisdom.  I would suggest that the material of the foundation is Spiritual Truth.  Jesus expounded the Truths of the Kingdom.  Wisdom precedes understanding.  Understanding requires that something be there to be understood.  Truth is the object of understanding.  As we change, Truth comes to be used as the substance of our foundation.  Truth withstands all of the lies, illusions, and deceptions.  It is the balance that everything is measured by.  When you know the Truth, it will set you free.  When you walk in Truth, nothing will prevail.  Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

The “Law” of Sacred Trust, when properly honored, will withstand all the world can throw at it.  You will produce good fruit.

Jesus made an emphatic statement about the GOD of Heaven of earth: HE is our Father.  The term “Father” establishes a relationship between the greater and the lesser.  Instead of being some distant autocratic monarch who is unmoved by our situations, The Lord God Almighty is Our Heavenly Father and takes personal, intimate interest in our well-being.

Matthew 7:7   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

This particular verse denotes conditions-  If you don’t ask, be assured you won’t receive.  If you don’t seek, you will not find.  However as we see in the letter of James:

4:3   Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

A father would not give you anything that promotes death and destruction.  This is true even more so with Our Heavenly Father:

Matthew 7:9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

These are the words of Jesus.  You either believe Him or you don’t.  He makes it quite clear that Our Heavenly Father’s Divine Intent of Love is directed to each of us.  In the Old Testament, HE was known as Jehovah-Jireh (The LORD who sees and provides).  Our Heavenly Father told Abraham in Genesis 22:

18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Obedience is necessary to blessing.  Denying the flesh is a precursor to receiving the blessings from Our Heavenly Father.  HE will not reward lawlessness and sin.  HE will only promote life.  HIS grace and mercy are sufficient for the immature as they grow in stature, but at some point, HE expects maturity.  You must become mature and reliable for HIM to see fit to release HIS blessings to further the Kingdom.  Our one year-old grandson requires much oversight, our fourteen year-old granddaughter requires minor oversight, and our grown, mature daughter requires no oversight.  We love them all but would only give full access to all of our resources to the one who is fully mature.

In the 1990’s, I was called to pray an hour each morning for the entire decade.  One morning I was praying “GOD this…, and GOD that…”.  Suddenly, HE stopped me and said: “Quit calling me ‘GOD’!”.  “You can call me ‘Father” or ‘LORD GOD ALMIGHTY’, but don’t call me ‘GOD’.”   I chose “Father”.

Jesus emphasized this relationship when instructing us how to pray:

Matthew 6:9   

“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

We must not forget the Love of Our Heavenly Father toward us.  It is HIS good pleasure to provide for us, but only in accordance with HIS Divine Intent.  HE will not reward our sin, but will withhold resources as any Loving Father until we can and will deploy those resources properly.  Yes, HIS grace and mercy will prevail until such a time as we come to the end of ourselves.  Jesus also warned us that there will be substantial challenges to be overcome in receiving the fullness from Our Heavenly Father:

Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

It requires us to act and take the initiative to enter through the narrow gate.  There is only one Way and unfortunately few find it.  Why?  They are unwilling to die to the flesh.  The ego would have you believe that you cannot have an intimate relationship with the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.  The Sons of GOD truly understand  “Fatherhood” and desire to take on that relationship with those of less maturity.  Paul emphasized this reality:

1 Corinthians 4:15   For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

PS:  The following 5 verses emphasize the point of HIS word of correction to me:

Revelation 4:8 NKJV
The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"

Revelation 11:17 NKJV
saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

Revelation 15:3 NKJV
They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!

Revelation 16:7 NKJV
And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."

Revelation 21:22 NKJV
But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

HIS ways are higher than our ways.  HIS Laws supersede all lower laws.  When Our Heavenly Father speaks, it is from a point of reference of understanding these higher laws.  Wisdom understands that these higher laws exist and becomes comfortable in submitting to those laws even though they may not be fully comprehended at the time.  After all, none of us fully understand all of the lower laws such as gravity, thermodynamics, etc.  The higher laws operate under absolute Spiritual Truth which arises from Divine Intent.  At the source of Divine Intent is Love.  Thus at the source of all Higher Laws is Love.  If you want to tap into these laws and walk in them as Jesus did, focus on getting the revelation of Love.  That is the key!

James 1:25   But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it,and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

The revelation of Love requires action.  When Our Heavenly Father speaks to you, the higher laws support HIS every Word.  Though HE may tell you to do something contrary to man’s understanding and logic, HE is not subject to those lower laws much of man’s logic is based on.  There is no sickness or disease able to exist in the presence of those higher laws.  The sooner we all gain access to those higher laws and become “doers” according to those higher laws, the better for mankind.

Jesus paved the way for our access to these higher laws of absolute Spiritual Truth.  Many of the 613 commandments and statutes that guided behavior, dimly pointed to these higher laws.  Jesus then summed up all The Law by the Commandments of Love.  Further, He spoke of the need to forgive, not to invoke vengeance, and to reconcile and restore.

Dominion will be given to those who are able to operate in those higher laws, nobody else.  Think not that Our Heavenly Father would give authority to those who are immature thinkers and fail to respond to HIS Word.  Only mature and seasoned sons and daughters will be found worthy to be given the keys.  Each will have his or her special focus in establishing the Kingdom.  Each will be fulfilled and walk in peace and joy, no matter what persecution may come forth.  Each will be blessed in what he does for he is not a forgetful hearer.

As we walk according to HIS commands, our past errors are expunged.  As we forgive, we are forgiven.  Let not bitterness take root and prevent you from accessing those higher laws.  Let not some irritant sway your focus from that perfect law of liberty.  You must take command over your thinking:

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Now is the time to access absolute Spiritual Truth!

There are laws set in place by Our Heavenly Father we count on.  The Law of Gravity is one of them.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed the Law of Retribution… and it never sleeps as well.

Matthew 7:

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.

2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Retribution is something justly deserved; recompense or reward.  We tend to believe that since Our Heavenly Father has wiped away our sins, that this grace applies to our lawlessness toward others.  Jesus made it very clear that this is not the case.  As we judge others, we should expect to be judged.  As we deceive others, we should expect to be deceived.  As we forgive others, we should expect to be forgiven by others.

The Law of Equal Weights and Measures demands a reconciliation of accounts.  Don’t think that you can hide behind your Christianity as a license to sin against your fellow man and suffer no consequence.  The scales must and will be balanced.  Jesus made it abundantly clear.  The issue is not your “vertical” relationship with Our Heavenly Father, it is your horizontal relationship with your fellow man.  If you are a manipulator, you will be manipulated.  If you Love your enemy, your enemies will begin to Love you in return.

Does it seem like you are constantly living in turmoil and lack peace?  If so, you must consider this law.  If you want to reduce the liability you have accumulated, ask Our Heavenly Father what you should do.  Acts of Love affects the disequilibrium found on the scales of Equal Weights and Measures.  Acts of kindness in effect wipes away some of your liability.

Retribution may come in many forms.  Sickness, financial distress, and other maladies may all originate from the imbalance you have created by you the “measure you use”.  This cosmic law never rests and will carry out its judgments.

In Matthew 6, the word “reward” is mentioned seven times by Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Some positive, some negative.  Consider the following:

3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

Throughout Scripture, there are examples of just rewards.  As you do a charitable deed without expecting a specific reward from the recipient, Our Heavenly Father will handle the accounting of the reward.  It may come in a form of a judgment being removed or a blessing being administered to you.  This law operates on cause and effect, just like gravity.  If you jump up, you will come back down.

Have you ever wondered why some people live an extended life of suffering?  Could it be that the Law of Retribution is demanding the scales be balanced before their physical death?  When Jesus spoke these words, He was well aware of grace and mercy from Above.  He only spoke the Words given to Him by Our Heavenly Father.  By grace and mercy did He reveal this cosmic law of justice focused on the horizontal plane where men dwell with each other.  If you focus on walking in Love and intend every act and interaction be inspired by Love, you will soon wipe away all of the outstanding judgments against you.  You will then be openly rewarded by Our Heavenly Father.  Peace will prevail in your life.  Blessings will be attracted to you like a magnet.  The small things will work themselves out on your behalf for this law never sleeps.

The last Beatitude may be the most difficult one to embrace:

Matthew 5:10

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

​​For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This Beatitude assures us we will be tried and tested.  This is the test of maturity for the flesh seeks the path of least resistance.  Paul understood this and wrote in Romans 8:

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

In our last Bible study, I emphasized the fact that you must change your mind, you must change direction, you must repent.  It is your decision and as a man thinks, so is he.  If you live according to the flesh, you will “reap” the flesh- death and destruction, thus to be carnally minded is death.  If you are Spiritually minded, life and peace will result.  Those living in the flesh will persecute you… misery loves company.  The carnal mind is enmity against Our Heavenly Father and as we walk according to HIS specific direction, we too will experience hostility from those circumstances brought forth by the carnally-minded men.  Just as Jesus was not subject to their devices, we too will not be subject to those attempts designed to divert us from the path of righteousness.  James 4:4 emphasizes the point:

4  Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

You cannot have one foot in the world and the other foot in the Kingdom of Heaven.  It’s your choice.  Once you choose the Kingdom of Heaven, persecution will come, both internal and external.  Your carnal man will “persecute” you in an attempt to gain control over your life.  When you are no longer moved by the circumstances, adversaries, and challenges, you will experience a true liberation.  You will “know that you know”- the Truth has set you free.  Our Heavenly Father is found everywhere, HE is omnipresent.  HE is even in the persecutions.  If you run from the persecutions, you cannot experience the fullness of righteousness.  How can you become mature without testing?  Muscles must be stressed to grow stronger.  Persecution in this passage is really about surviving and overcoming the suffering or hardship.  It is about dying to “self”.  It is the culmination of your being set free.  When persecution comes, and it will, overcome it.  After all, the Sons of GOD are known as Overcomers.