"If I Be Lifted Up" - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

“If I Be Lifted Up”

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." John 12:32, NASU

Speaking of His soon approaching death on the wooden cross, Jesus (Yeshua) told His disciples that when He was lifted up, this would be the main catalyst that would then draw all men to Himself.

When Jesus was lifted up, He drew all people to Himself.

In a recent Sunday worship time, before the speaker came to the podium, the beautiful song being sung wonderfully proclaimed Jesus. As the congregation focused in on praising His Name, I could really sense the move of the Holy Spirit drawing those focused on Jesus, and bringing them into a greater realm of the spirit. Jesus was being lifted up in our midst. He was drawing the people even closer to Him.

We weren’t focused on our needs. We weren’t singing, “Bless me. Bless mine.” Or, “Woe is me. Help me. Take care of me.”

We were singing Jesus.

Over 7 years ago now I led a worship team at a local Highway to Zion assembly here in Charlotte, North Carolina, headed by founder Cathy Hargett. We sang several Messianic songs, written by Messianic Jews, and a few written by popular Christian worship leaders. Present in the meeting was a Messianic Jewish leader from Israel, one very prominent in the movement taking place among believers in the Land of His people.

After the time set for all on the schedule had been concluded, he came up to me afterward and said, “I never heard the name of Yeshua in all of the songs sung during the singing and worship time.”

I was startled and immediately said, “We sang all songs written by a Messianic Jew!”

His reply was, “You never mentioned the Name, Yeshua.”

A bit offended, for days, I dismissed it as, “Who is he to come here to America and tell us what we should sing, when we are singing Messianic songs, written by Messianic believers.” Others who had been there agreed, and yet the Lord wouldn’t let it go in my thoughts and spirit.

Again, during this recent time of Christian worship in the Sunday gathering, when Jesus’ Name was lifted up, the Holy Spirit began moving among the people. Hearts and souls were being centered on Jesus, not on themselves.

In many Christian circles these days, with a lot of the songs played on the radio, sung in our churches, or used among small and large gatherings, a self-centered theme is very prominent.

Even in the sermons and messages being delivered from the pulpit, it is a lot of the “me” stuff.

What can Jesus do for me today? What needs will be met if I seek Him to have them fulfilled? When will my hurt and pain and suffering endured daily as I drink my Starbucks and drive my new car to the high-paying job be over with?

I write this in a somewhat demeaning way, but isn’t it often how we think? It is “Me, me, me. It is all about me.”

When Yeshua (Jesus) is lifted up in our lives, when it is Him Whom we are focused on, for Who He is, high and lifted up in the heavens, and not on ourselves, things will change. When He is praised, when He is worshiped, when we vocally and prominently declare His supernatural actions and reflect on the results of overflowing His love and grace for the nations, then we will be amazed at how He will move among us.

“If I be lifted up” Jesus said, He promised to draw all men and women unto Him. Not only did He then on the cross, but He will now among us this day.

That will be amazing when we finally do.

Lift up Jesus. Glorify His Name. Forget about yourself for a moment and think, thank Him.

Now think on this and see what good things the Lord has in store for you and those around you.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

Please sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter: Now Think On This

This Friday night, Aug. 2, 2019, at 7 pm, Strength For Israel will be having our monthly meeting, the 2^nd one to be held in the main auditorium of The Barn, at Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC. Come and celebrate the goodness of our God! Look here: Strength For Israel

Love For His People ministry

P.O. Box 414

Pineville, NC 28134

loveforhispeople@gmail.com

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.  Others will be thankful you did.

Now Think On This #443 - in the year of our Lord 07.30.19 – “If I Be Lifted Up” – Tuesday, 5:30 am

"There Is No Other Name" song, prayer for healing - Dr. Peter Wyns, Antioch International Church

"There Is No Other Name" song, prayer for healing

Dr. Peter Wyns, Antioch International Church

July 28, 2019

Steve Martin

Published on Jul 28, 2019

"There Is No Other Name" song, prayer for healing - Dr. Peter Wyns, Antioch International Church July 28, 2019 - Sunday morning Videos filmed and shared by Steve Martin - to give appreciation to and love for those we support, through Love For His People, Inc.

Category

Travel & Events

"Intimacy" - Think About It. Again. - Steve Martin, Love For His People ministry

July 28, 2019

Greetings friends of Love For His People.

As the Lord gives me titles of those messages once given, to be shared again, such as this one entitled “Intimacy” from March 2015, I realize that each of us need to be reminded of that which the Lord has already done in our lives.

When the Israelites (Hebrews) crossed over the Jordan River, under the leadership of Joshua in Exodus, they were commanded to take stones from the dry river bed and make an altar on the other side, to continually be reminded of the Lord’s deliverance for them out of slavery and bondage.

As you read the following, again or for the first time, be thankful for that which the Lord has also given you from your history, to share with the next generation and those who would follow. Our testimonies and lives laid down are to be examples of what the Lord has already done, thus giving us faith and courage for that which He yet plans to do with us, and them.

Think about it. Again. Or for the first time.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People ministry

Charlotte, North Carolina USA

Intimacy

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“My beloved responded and said to me,

' Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along.

'For behold, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

'The flowers have already appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for pruning the vines,

And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

'The fig tree has ripened its figs,

And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along!'"

Song of Songs 2:10-13 NASU)

As my bride came down the church aisle that beautiful early evening, I sang these Scriptural words to her that I had written in my song, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along.” Though I had intended to sing several verses, I choked up on the second one. My heart was just overwhelmed at her beauty, her movement in that flowing white lace gown, and the presence of the Lord’s Holy Spirit in that place of matrimony. The time had come for us to be joined together as man and wife.

Our parents standing with us on Oct. 8, 1977, in Peru, Illinois

What seemed to have been a decade long wait was about to be fulfilled at that moment, as we were acknowledging the Lord’s plans and purposes for unity. Out of our desire to share the love in our hearts, He would also bring forth a family to demonstrate His love on the earth, in preparation for the eternal love in heaven.

From that day forward, we have grown in our care and provision for each other, sharing the gifts and spiritual fruit we each have had to give. In physical, emotional and spiritual intimate moments, we have experienced a touch of what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have shared for all eternity. Believing that through the times of trials and required persistence, our hearts have been bonded together, the intimacy becoming more real in our lives together.

Being intimate with one other is not an “overnight sensation” that one can have with another simply out of a physical act. To participate in the intent of the Father’s love for mankind, there must be that commitment to be joined together for the long haul; to stand strong when the temptation is to flee; to keep the promise that was spoken at the altar years before. Intimacy is not for those who are looking for quick satisfaction of one’s emotional lust, but is given to committed hearts who have been and continue to be willing to sacrifice for each other, time and time again. From that solid promise to stay through sickness and health, riches or poverty, until death do we part, the intimate moments are fully experienced, fulfilling the longing in each heart to be accepted, nourished and kept in committed and submitted love.

In today’s society, there is the prevailing belief that there can be emotional intimacy without having a strong commitment to one another beyond a sexual act. When the Lord says that sex outside of marriage is wrong, it is because the Creator knows that a deep soulish tie will occur, bringing hurt and lasting pain when an improper joining happens. We were not created to share this intimate act in a non-binding relationship.

The emotional and physical act also carries with it a spiritual bond that has to be kept within the protected walls of marriage. Thus doing that which was intended only within the committed relationship of sacred marriage will produce an emotional scar, keeping us from experiencing real love. It will also leave a strong imprint that will need to be healed later. Our loving Father thus has warned over and over again that sexual intimacy is for the marriage bed only.

Laws are made to protect us, not to keep us from the Lord’s goodness and favor. Abiding in His laws of love and protection will bring eternal satisfaction, keeping our hearts pure and emotions strong. Breaking His loving laws will produce destruction in our spirit, soul, and body.

Intimacy between a man and a woman is a beautiful gift from God. Keeping it that way is a protection for our society and the good of all mankind.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

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Now Think On This #169 “Intimacy” by Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2015 (03.29.15) Sunday at 12:30 pm in Charlotte, NC

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

"Be Encouraged. Our God Wins." - Steve Martin book. Just published. Now available on Amazon.

"Be Encouraged. Our God Wins." - Just published. Now available on Amazon.

Buy here: Paperback: $12.95 Kindle: $1.99

July 24, 2019

All of us need more courage. We are called by God to be on a specific mission, to carry out His command to take the Gospel to all the nations. Some will do it while communicating in friendship among their neighbors. Others will be a light in the work office, being there to speak hope and encouragement to the other staff members who may be struggling to make ends meet or who need a word of truth and love in helping the difficult child at home.

Still, others will hear the call to join a mission organization, or travel through contacts in their church congregation, to bring the light of the Gospel to the distant land.

But more likely our need for courage proves itself most in the ongoing struggle we face daily as we stand strong against the winds of change, the forces arrayed against believers, who are committed to adhering yet to the principles and foundational stones found in the eternal Word of God. Even as the Bible itself is mocked, lied about, and spoken as irrelevant to this day and age, we who have been taught the truth must be the ones to stand strong upon it.

DEDICATION

  

I dedicate this book to the next generation of those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and have been shown mercy and grace.

My heart and prayer are for our sons and daughters to have a life-changing experience of who the Lord is, who He wants them to be, and what they can do to impact this world with the spiritual gifts and calling that rests on them.

The world is awaiting how they will impact it with the truth of the Gospel. If ever we needed them, it is now.

INTRODUCTION

Be encouraged in your daily walk with God, for when it is all said and done, our God wins!

God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and God the Holy Spirit – the Three in One – rule from their heavenly throne. Together they are daily involved in the lives of men, women, and children in all the nations. The establishment of their kingdom here on earth is taking place. And one day Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach, will set up His earthly throne in Jerusalem, Israel, the place where He left from in 33 AD, promising to return to that same place.

Knowing the last chapter recorded at the end of the Book, the Word of God, the Bible, as revealed to John the Apostle, we know that from the beginning in Genesis, to that ending chapter in Revelation, the Lord has been preparing His people and bringing about His plans and purposes.

Both believing Jews and Gentiles are seeing His work and getting involved.

These messages are to encourage you, including among them I trust, in your walk with the Living God of Israel.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People ministry

Charlotte, North Carolina USA

"Be Encouraged. Our God Wins." - Just published. Now available on Amazon.

Buy here: Paperback: $12.95 Kindle: $1.99

“Encouragement” - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

“Encouragement”

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:4-6, NASU)

Courage comes. Courage delivers. Courage allows us to hear the Lord, obey His commands, and see the world touched out of His grace and mercy working through us as we go forth.

I remember reading the required book, “The Red Badge of Courage” in high school about a young Union soldier during the Civil War. It was later made into a movie in 1974, starring Richard Thomas of “The Waltons” TV series. (Our family loved that show. With 8 kids in ours, we could relate to theirs!)

Though I don’t recall a lot of the details, the young soldier discovered he needed more within him than what he had, to carry out the mission he was about.

All of us need more courage. We are called by God to be on a specific mission, to carry out His command to take the Gospel to all the nations. Some will do it while communicating in friendship among their neighbors. Others will be a light in the work office, being there to speak hope and encouragement to the other staff members who may be struggling to make ends meet or who need a word of truth and love in helping the difficult child at home.

Still, others will hear the call to join a mission organization, or travel through contacts in their church congregation, to bring the light of the Gospel to the distant land.

But more likely our need for courage proves itself most in the ongoing struggle we face daily as we stand strong against the winds of change, the forces arrayed against believers, who are committed to adhering yet to the principles and foundational stones found in the eternal Word of God. Even as the Bible itself is mocked, lied about, and spoken as irrelevant to this day and age, we who have been taught the truth must be the ones to stand strong upon it.

Joab, a commander under King David, called on his fighting men to be of good courage.

“When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel's best, and put them in battle array against the Syrians. And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in battle array against the people of Ammon. Then he said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight." (1 Chronicles 19:101-13, NKJV)

Today, Jews in Israel must also always on the alert and must stand ready in good courage to protect their families and their God-given promised land. Christians supporting Israel and the Jews will also need to stand strong in good courage, as they also face the demonic onslaught of the fallen angel and his hordes who hate them and us to the utmost.

As I have written many words of encouragement and inspiration received through the Holy Spirit to share with those who read them, it is He Himself Who is the One we must continually turn to. He saw that we would have words to read and consume, in order to be built up daily with His spoken and written words from the Scriptures themselves. The Psalms, the Proverbs, the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible), the Prophets, the Gospels, the Epistles (almost 90% or more written by Jews through the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit) have been given to us, believing Jews and Gentiles, to bring us through to the glorious end that awaits us.

As you get serious about reading the Bible I pray you are encouraged in your walk. Hear the Word of God, read the Word of God, walk out the Word of God. For through these everlasting words we will receive the encouragement to fulfill the call on our lives, and see His kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven.

May you be richly blessed then to bless others you touch around you in these coming days.

Now think on this and see what good things the Lord has in store for you and those around you.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

*The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Wikipedia

Please sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter: Now Think On This

On Friday night, Aug. 2, 2019, at 7 pm, Strength For Israel will be having our monthly meeting, the 2^ndone to be held in the main auditorium of The Barn, at Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC. Come and celebrate the goodness of our God! Look here: Strength For Israel
Love For His People ministry

P.O. Box 414

Pineville, NC 28134

loveforhispeople@gmail.com

Please share Now Think On This with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.  Others will be thankful you did.

Now Think On This #442 - in the year of our Lord 07.21.19 – “Encouragement” – Sunday, 7:00 pm