The New Covenant

Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Hebrews 13:12
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

God purchased His Church with HIS own BLOOD. How did God get blood? The scripture teaches us that a Spirit hath not flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). In order to get the depth of understanding God obtaining blood we must go back to the Ark of the Covenant and understand how the Old Covenant paved the way for the coming of God in the FLESH.

In the Old Covenant, God dwelt between the Cherubims on top of the mercy seat, which was on top of the ark.

The Ark of the Testimony (aka Ark of The Covenant)

Exodus 25:22
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Numbers 7:89
And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

2 Samuel 6:2
And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

1 Chronicles 13:6
And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.

Psalms 80:1
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

Psalms 99:1
The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.

Isaiah 37:16
O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

Since God was dwelling in this Ark, all that was built around it as instructed by God to Moses on Mt Sinai was representative of the Spiritual Order of the New Covenant, in which was fulfilled by the manifesting of God in the FLESH of Jesus Christ and then by the born again obedience to His Gospel as preached by the Apostles (Acts 2:38) We must take special care to notice the Apostolic links that the New Testament writers accomplish through their ministry in writing the letters of the New Testament, and then it will be established how God has set up the New Covenant.

1 Peter 1:18-23
(18) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
(19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
(20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
(21) Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
(22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
(23) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

The lamb was provided to us by God, just as Abraham had experienced many years before, Jehovah-Jireh, God WILL PROVIDE Himself a sacrifice.

Ark of Covenant and Ark of Testimony
The Ark is interchangeably called Covenant AND Testimony.

Covenant - God's promise to man
Testimony - Man's record of God's promise.

What was in the Ark of the Covenant?

Hebrews 9:4
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

1. pot of manna (God's Provision)
2. Aaron's Rod (God's Protection)
3. Law on tables (God's Instruction)

Notice that the testimony of the natural man (Israel) did not match the Covenant of God.

Man's testimony WITHOUT God
1. manna had worms (slothful in seeking God)
2. Rod had to bud (rebellion toward leadership)
3. tablets were broken (disobedience to the law)

In order for the Ark of the Testimony to match the Ark of the Covenant the BLOOD had to be sprinkled on the Ark. There was a process that this was to be accomplished.

Hebrews 9:18-26
(18) Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
(19) For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
(20) Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
(21) Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
(22) And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
(23) It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
(24) For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
(25) Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
(26) For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant, now the Bible tells us that we have a BETTER Covenant built on BETTER promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

In the Old Covenant there was a fault. (Hebrews 8:7), the fault was that the sprinkling of the BLOOD on the mercy seat simply Atoned for the sins of Israel each year, but did not give REMISSION of sins. REMISSION of sins is what makes the Old Covenant have a fault.

Hebrews 9:13-14
(13) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
(14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

God tabernacled Himself in flesh, He did this to have blood. He also did this out of desire to DWELL IN HIS PEOPLE. Jesus was the perfect example of a man filled with God, all the fulness of the Godhead was in HIM bodily. By allowing the suffering of the Son of God, the Spirit of God split the veil in the temple.

Hebrews 10:19-22
(19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
(20) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(21) And having an high priest over the house of God;
(22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

So in order to establish entering this New Covenant, we cannot simply accept the traditional teachings of man that instruct us to simply have faith in God, misquoting the book of Romans 10. This teaching disavows the types and shadows presented to us through the Old Covenant. The priest did not just go into the Holy of Hollies haphazardly or irreverently, it was done according to the teachings that God gave Moses.

Exodus 30:18-21
(18) Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
(19) For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
(20) When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
(21) So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

So God instructed that they must not only burn the offering and take the blood from the offering (Brazen Altar) but the next step into the Holy Place was to WASH with WATER at the Laver. This is important to the New Covenant. The Gospel of Mark tells us:

Mark 16:16
(16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

As I stated earlier, the Apostolic link is established, and not by man, not by tradition, but by the apostles themselves. Compare Exodus 30:20 with Mark 16:16 and it is clear that the Old Testament Laver is a type and shadow of New Testament Water Baptism in Jesus Name.

All Christian groups want to claim that they have obtained favor with God and have the Blood of Jesus on their soul, but it is done in a haphazard, irreverent way either influenced by tradition, philosophy, and/or just a misunderstanding of the Word of God, but always leaves the seeker empty and unfulfilled, undelivered and unregenerated. This is why our society is so weak because people are being fed false gospels and half truths which in the end leave them disappointed and unsatisfied, so the world becomes too much to resist and they leave the life of sacrifice and love for God behind and get caught up in the pleasures of this life. Their TESTIMONY does not match God's COVENANT.

What is God's Covenant for us?

Hebrews 10:15-18
(15) Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
(16) This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
(17) And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
(18) Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.


The Covenant of God is that He will remit our sins and REMEMBER THEM NO MORE! He will put His LAWS into OUR HEARTS and in OUR MINDS. There WILL BE TOTAL REMISSION OF THE SINFUL DEEDS.

This is what we refer to as "Having the Victory" over SIN, over our FLESH, over the WORLD. And it is available to us if we obey the teaching of the Apostles. God had them sprinkle the BLOOD over the Ark to cover the broken law, the manna with worms, and the rod that budded as an example of His intention to tabernacle Himself in Jesus Christ, where when we go through Him, (John 14:6) we find the TRUTH and we are cleansed by the BLOOD. God's Blood makes us whole. Keep in mind that the BLOOD agrees in one with the other parts of the tabernacle. John tells us:

1 John 5:8
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

And Jesus taught us:

John 3:4-5
(4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
(5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

This is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, the BLOOD which brings REMISSION of SINS is only available through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 10 is the wrong place to read to find this. Romans is a letter written to the Church, so people often misquote what Paul was writing to the Church to try to make it a "Salvation" plan. This is incorrect, if you go back to Romans 6, Paul states in verse 3, 4 "as many of ye that were baptized in Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism in death." This tells us the true story, that Paul was writing to people in Romans that had already been baptized, had already received the Holy Ghost, and had already been born again as written in John 3:5. Keep in mind that Romans was a LETTER written to the CHURCH, not intended for people that were not born again to read without the born again message, Romans is written to born again believers.

Therefore, we must rightly divide the word of Truth and find our way to the Acts of the Apostles, which tells us how to receive remission of sins. Acts 2:38 which was preached by Peter who had the keys to the kingdom tells us.
"Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ FOR THE REMISSION of SINS, and ye SHALL RECEIVE the GIFT of the HOLY GHOST."

As we continue, Phillip/Peter preaches this same message to the Samaritans (Acts 8)
Peter preaches the same message to the household of Cornelius (Acts 10)
Paul preaches the same message to the disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19)

This message is
Acts 2:38

Repentance (Brazen Altar)

Baptism in Jesus Name (Brazen Laver)

Receive the Holy Ghost (Holy Place/Holy of Hollies)


This is the ONLY Covenant that will create the TESTIMONY to match. You will get deliverance from SIN and receive the Holy Ghost when you repent and get baptized in Jesus Name, it is a promise from the Word of God. All other ways will lead to disappoint, emptiness, and wihtout satisfaction. We should desire to have a Testimony that matches the Covenant of God and this what the New Covenant is all about. A better Covenant built on BETTER Promises.

God-given Conviction

Padre Pio on Women's Dress
from Prophet of the People, by Dorothy M. Gaudiose, pp. 191-2

Women received especially rough treatment from Padre Pio because of current fashions. He had always been a merciless enemy of feminine vanity. "Vanity," he said, "is the son of pride, and is even more malignant than its mother. Have you ever seen a field of ripe corn? Some ears are tall; others are bent to the ground. Try taking the tallest, the proudest ones, and you will see that they are empty; but it you take the smallest, the humblest ones, they are laden with seeds. From this you can see that vanity is empty."

Padre Pio wouldn't tolerate low-necked dresses or short, tight skirts, and he forbade his spiritual daughters to wear transparent stockings. Each year his severity increased. He stubbornly dismissed them from his confessional, even before they set foot inside, if he judged them to be improperly dressed. On some mornings he drove away one after another, until he ended up hearing very few confessions.

His brothers observed these drastic purges with a certain uneasiness and decided to fasten a sign on the church door: "By Padre Pio's explicit wish, women must enter his confessional wearing skirts at least eight inches below the knees. It is forbidden to borrow longer dresses in church and to wear them for the confessional."

The last warning was not without effect. There was a furtive exchange of skirts, blouses, and raincoats, that took place at the last moment in the half-lit church to remedy any failings.

The women made their adjustments, but perhaps not exactly enough. Padre Pio continued to send some away before giving them a chance to confess. He would glower at them, and grumble, "Go and get dressed." And sometimes he added, "Clowns!" He spared no one... persons he saw for the first time, or his long-time spiritual daughters. Often the skirts were decidedly many inches below the knees, but not sufficiently long for his moral severity.

As the years began to weigh on Padre Pio, his daily hours in the confessional were limited to four, equally divided between men and women. In addition to being dressed properly, they had to know the Italian language, even though he could somehow understand people speaking another language. But he knew Italian, Latin, and very little French, consistently refusing to hear confessions except in Italian or Latin.

Sometimes when Padre Pio refused to absolve his penitents and closed the small confessional door in their faces, the people would reproach him asking why he acted this way. "Don't you know," he asked, "what pain it costs me to shut the door on anyone? The Lord has forced me to do so. I do not call anyone, nor do I refuse anyone either. There is Someone else Who calls and refuses them. I am His useless tool."

Even the men had rules to follow. They were not permitted to enter the church with three-quarter length sleeves. Boys as well as men had to wear long trousers at church, if they didn't want to be shown out of the church, that is. But women in short skirts were his prime targets. Padre Pio's citadel was perhaps the only place in the world where the fashions of the 1930s still ruled in the 1960s

This stirs me to think that we are responsible for holding this conviction in our generation, it is not a badge we wear because of the title Apostolic, it is God given revelation and it doesn’t take a title to obtain it, when the people of God get close to God, His standard becomes their standard. I remember how strict my grandparents used to be when I was a boy and to look at our family today I can see the distance from the conviction of God that they have traveled (even from the natural mind), and it makes me so thankful to have been called into the beloved brethren (Apostolic Church) that gave me the strength and lead me to developing God given convictions through obeying the Truth (Acts 2:38) and receiving the Holy Ghost and to give this to others. If we stay close to God and dedicated to prayer, we will have a FRESH revelation of God's conviction which will bring a real fire to the Church in our present day.

Willing and Obedient

Isaiah 1:16-20

(16) Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

(17) Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

(18) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

(19) If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

(20) But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

The key to pleasing God is to operate both being willing AND being obedient.

I have seen folks that are willing but are not obedient.

I have seen folks that are not willing but are obedient.

They key to having the blessing of God and getting to eat the GOOD of the land is to operate both, I want to be on the edge of my seat during preaching, the most willing to praise God, excited with a smile to bring my tithes and offerings to the house of God, and shout the loudest Amen in the Church, but along with that willingness, I must obey God. This is where the promise comes to fruition, then I can be assured by the promise of God's Holy Word: I will eat the good of the land. But most of all, I will be pleasing Him, which should be the intent of the child of God above all else.

Pattern of the Old and New Testament

Exodus 25:8-9
(8) And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
(9) According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Hebrews 8:5
(5) Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

A pattern is an original design concept that is used by others to duplicate the original. In the case of God, He has created patterns in dealing with mankind and is the ORIGIN of these patterns. When man does not follow the pattern of God, he fails to live up to the original purpose that God intended for man to have. The mercy of God has revealed the pattern of Salvation to mankind, beginning with Noah, Abraham, and then unto Moses and the nation of Israel. The Bible instructs us that we have been giving ensamples through the pattern of God dealing with Israel. (1 Corinthians 10:1) Paul tells us that he does not want us to be ignorant, and then explains that Israel was born of the water and of the Spirit

"how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;"

This indeed is a pattern that requires study, because absolutely was written to us through the Apostles, but was also taught to them and us in the Gospel when Jesus taught Nicodemus about being born again:

John 3:5 "... Unless a man is born of the water and of the Spirit HE CANNOT ENTER into the kingdom of God..."

I believe that the pattern of Blood, Water, and Spirit (1 John 5:8) are throughout the Old and New Testament.

In Creation
Genesis 1:2-3
(2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
(3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

The first chapter of the Bible speaks of water and Spirit, notice this is the same pattern of John 3, in verse 5 Jesus speaks of the birth of water and Spirit, and then later in the chapter speaks of the light (v 19,20,21)

Jesus taught that condemnation comes from someone who rejects the light because they love their evil deeds. v19

That means that coming to the light IS ONLY POSSIBLE through the pattern of Blood, Water, Spirit. Without this, there will be no coming of the light.

The Testimony of Noah

BLOOD

Genesis 6:12

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto
Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with
violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14 Make thee an ark
of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it
within and without with pitch.

The Hebrew word for pitch is defined as “atonement” which means he used animal blood in between each piece of gopher (cypress) wood to construct the ark.

WATER

1 Peter 3:20

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight
souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Not only does Peter tell us that Noah was saved by water, but the Apostle himself
compares that water to baptism of the New Testament.

SPIRIT

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (The Spirit spake to Noah)

BLOOD

Exodus 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be
upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

WATER

Exodus 13:18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

SPIRIT

Exodus 21

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead
them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to
go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire
by night, from before the people.

1 Corinthians 10:1

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our
fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

The Gospel of Jesus Christ (Blood, Water,
and Spirit)

1 Corinthians 15:1
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

BLOOD

3 ForI delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;

WATER

4 And that he was buried …

SPIRIT

…and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:

The Acts of the Apostles (Obedience to the
Gospel)

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Peter is given the keys to the kingdom

(Matthew 16:19) for His declaration of His God given revelation of the One God
in Jesus Christ. In obedience to John 3:5, Peter preaches water and Spirit
and unlocks the entrance to the kingdom of God to (Acts 1:8) in Jerusalem and
in all Judea (Acts 2), Samaria (Acts 8), and to the uttermost parts of the
world (Acts 10).

Peter preached this message:

Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, 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.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Progressive Revelation of Salvation in the Bible:

Example 1 John 5:8	BLOOD	WATER	SPIRIT
Noah	Pitch	Flood	God spoke to Him
Exodus of Israel	Doorpost	Red Sea	Pillar of Fire/Cloud
Tabernacle	Brazen Altar	Brazen Laver	Holy of Hollies
The Gospel	Death	Burial	Resurrection
Acts 2:38 (Obeying)	Repentance	Baptism In Jesus Name	Holy Ghost

The 4 Withouts of Hebrews

WITHOUT BLOOD there is no remission of sins.
Hebrews 9:22

WITHOUT FAITH it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 11:6

WITHOUT CHASTISEMENT we are not partakers.
Hebrews 12:8

WITHOUT HOLINESS no man shall see the LORD.
Hebrews 12:14

Church Steeple Ressurected

We lost our steeple in September 2008 (Hurricane Gustav), and also had many other damages to our building (ceiling tiles, etc). We marked September 2009 by having the steeple repaird and we were able to get the steeple back on the Church this weekend (Labor Day Weekend).

Completed

Respect unto the recompense of reward

The writer of Hebrews (who I think is Paul) discussed Moses in the following verse:

Hebrews 11:26

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

The word recompence is defined as "repayment" or "give what is due for work or accomplishment". Looking at the verses surronding this verse, we can see what motivated and strengthened Moses to choose the afficltion with the people of God and foresake Egypt:

Moses Revelations:

Did not foresake his birthright (11:24) - meant more to him to be called a child of God than a child of Pharaoh's daughter

Sin is only pleasurable for a season. (11:25)

Esteem the reproach of Christ, he counted it a privelege to suffer shame for the name of Jesus (11:26)

He had RESPECT for the recompense of the reward, He saw the blessings of God as a sure thing, and saw them as HIGHER than anything he could ever have in this world without God. (11:26)

Feared God more than the wrath of the King (11:27)

He saw God through the eyes of Faith without seeing Him Physically (11:27 says INVISIBLE)

He was aquainted with the symbols of God (1 John 5:8 - Blood, Water, And Spirit) He sprinked the blood of the Passover, He passed through the Red Sea, followed the pillar of Cloud and Fire.

(Hebrews 11:28-29)

These are examples for the Church, no doubt when we read the book of Acts this is the same drive that got a hold of the Apostles. Peter after being filled with the Holy Ghost, was quoted saying that they should obey God rather than man, they indeed did see Jesus, and as per Acts 2:38, they applied the Blood, Water, and Spirit to their lives through obedience to Jesus' gospel (Romans 6:1-6, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5). When Thomas was able to touch the Lord and put his hand in the Lord's wounds and in His side, Jesus said BLESSED are those who though haven't seen me, but yet still believe. We are blessed to be the folks that the Lord was talking about, if we can learn to RESPECT the RECOMPENSE of reward. Just as the Apostles told us, they were convinced of better things for us (Hebrews 6:9) things WHICH ACCOMPANY Salvation. God is NOT unrighteous to FORGET our LABOR OF LOVE that we do toward His name, in that we have ministered to the saints, AND DO MINISTER.

In other words, don't give up, and don't lose hope, if we faint not in due season WE SHALL REAP THE HARVEST.

"I've been working for Jesus a long time, and I'm not tired yet."

I believe the key to this is to never lose sight (respect) for the recompense of reward, I not only know that God is going to take care of me, I am convinced that it will be better than anything this world has to offer and I want to experience His reward. There is no bitterness in the blessings of God, no regret.

In Jesus Name!