Did you ever wonder why Jesus gave the following command to His disciples?

Matt 10:5-8... Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

This profound passage can unfold a wealth knowledge for every student of God's Word. It puts the four Gospels into an orderly context, magnifies the truth about the Kingdom of Heaven, and unfolds great depth concerning God's Promise of restoring the land given to the Hebrew nation. Above all... Christ is magnified as our promised Messiah!

God bless you all as I look forward to this great teaching!

In order to understand this passage it's necessary to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is. After all the Kingdom of Heaven is what Jesus is commanding His disciples to preach to the lost sheep if Israel. John the Baptist preached the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus himself preached the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven was promised by God to Israel.

The Kingdom of Heaven was Christ's physical reign on Earth as the Promised Messiah. God's Promised Kingdom of Heaven would begin in Israel where Israel would be restored as promised in Old Testament Prophecy. Christ's reign would be an earthly and visible Kingdom and would begin in Jerusalem. The land that flowed with milk and honey promised of Old would be restored by God. Humanity would be restored morally. The plant life would be restored, the animal life would be restored, and the Garden of Eden would begin in Israel and spread throughout the world by the obedience of Israel to the law of God. Christ would rule on the throne of His father David as promised in Old Testament Prophecy. Any Jew could understand this teaching!

Why did Jesus command his disciples to preach this message to the lost sheep of Israel only? The Kingdom of Heaven was promised by God in the Law of Moses! The Kingdom of Heaven was promised by God in the Psalms! The Kingdom of Heaven was promised by God and given to the Prophets! Gentiles knew absolutely nothing about God's Prophets. Gentiles knew absolutely nothing about the Jewish Priesthood. Gentiles knew absolutely nothing about God's Promises of the Kingdom given to Israel! That's why Christ openly forbid the disciples to preach the Kingdom of Heaven message to the Gentiles. The Kingdom of Heaven was never preached to a Gentile in Jesus' day nor should it be preached to Gentiles today!

Why? First, you rob Israel of God's Old Testament Promise of restoration to the land which by the way has not been fulfilled yet. Second, you're taking the four Gospels out of their proper context given to Israel and applying these wrongly to the Church now. Thirdly, you're causing confusion in the personal study of students of God's Word which has caused many to have a shipwrecked faith years down the road in their Christian walk.

When the Gospels are put into proper context a foundation is laid (for any man) that can be built upon for a lifetime! This foundation will stand throughout life's trials! It will stand because its built by rightly dividing God's Word! There will be no confusion! There will be no frustration! There will be no spiritualization! It will fortify your faith! It will give you something to cling to everyday of your life until the Rapture of the Church or until you die and go the Heaven!

Matt 10:5-8... Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Learn it! Understand it! Rightly divide it! Build upon it! God bless you all! Ask your questions! More to come on this beautiful subject...

The Churches on Trial does not use the Bible to "entertain" the mind...

To entertain the mind with the Bible comes from mixing up, spiritualizing, and taking the Bible from its proper context. Using the Bible to entertain the mind is a very dangerous concept and can lead any convert to a frustrated faith over a period of time. Biblical entertainment of the mind offers no foundational backing, no right division, and causes future confusion for the new convert in Christ. Confusion has frustrated the faith of many new converts for centuries as the truth of the Bible is missed and the Devil has his way in the religious world.

Right division of the Word of God does not entertain the mind! The intent of the Bible is not to entertain the mind ...but to confirm the truth about Christ! Who He was in Creation..Who he was during His earthly ministry...What He done at Calvary...Who He is now...and what He's going to do in the future.

Right division of the Bible makes distinction between Law given to Israel and Grace given to the Church now. Right division makes the distinction between the Kingdom of Heaven message to Israel during Christ's earthly ministry...and the Gospel message today in the Church, the body of Christ. This kind of truth is not entertaining! It's Bible Truth and fulfillment of prophecy. Right division of the four Gospels takes out much of the modern day entertainment of the mind and gets to the core truth of the Holy Scriptures! Here's a few examples.

Right division of living holy under Grace is different than living holy under the Law of Moses! To go back to the days of Christ, under the teachings of Christ would put you under Law of Moses...because Christ taught the Law of Moses! Right division of the Word does not put the Church under the teachings of Christ...it puts the Church under the teachings of Grace now...where the Holy Spirit regenerates, sanctifies, and leads the believer in Christ. All the Epistles teach such doctrine! This is the doctrine if the New Testament! The New Testament began at the death of a Saviour. The birth, life, and ministry of Christ was under the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses. The Grace covenant had not began yet...and the Church had not been birthed yet! Many today are taught or find it entertaining to take these teachings in the four Gospels and run them into the Church Now. This kind of doctrine is dangerous and has plagued society for centuries.

When this kind of right division is brought to peoples attention...there is no entertainment to the mind, no spiritualization, or no emotionalism formed as a basis for faith. This leaves no room for confusion to seep in...that has led many to a frustrated a faith in Christ. When Scriptures are rightly divided they can be built upon for a lifetime. Heartfelt faith is built! Heartfelt Faith is grown! Heartfelt Faith is added to! Faith is not entertaining it is substance to the soul of a believer in Christ! It lasts for Eternity! It offers a relationship that has been prophetically recorded since the first Promise of a Saviour in Genesis 3:15.

There is no entertainment to the mind when confirmation is found in rightly dividing the truth. This type of confirmation is found in the heart and soul and fortified by the truth of rightly dividing the Holy Scriptures! Right division does not entertain the mind...it magnifies Christ, the Father, and the Holy Ghost in the prophetic truth of the Scriptures. Law has its place, Grace has its place. The four Gospels have their place, the New Testament has it's place. The Old Testament has its place, the New Testament has its place. The Kingdom of God has it's place the Kingdom of Heaven has its place. All have a certain place!

DON'T MIX UP THE BIBLE! IF YOU DO... IT CAN CAUSE GREAT HARM! IF YOU DON'T IT CAN BE VERY REWARDING! LEARN THE BIBLE IN ITS PROPER CONTEXT AND YOU'LL NEVER ENTERTAIN THE MIND!

There is no process in becoming a child of God...you either have salvation of the soul or your soul is lost

The mindset today is to achieve Christ by "works". These works I speak of are "religious works". These religious works are the activity of man in effort to obtain a better standing with God by his own religious actions, works, or practices. These religious activities of man are very dangerous and even cause some to miss the activity and truth about God's Divine Grace in the Church the body of Christ. God's Divine Grace is not a process "worked out" by men that call themselves Christians. A believer in Christ has a new and better life of clean living in an ungodly world because he's been changed by Divine Grace that is given through faith alone in the person of Christ. A believer in Christ is a sinful man that has been "cleansed" from a heart of disobedience and sinful conduct...through trust alone in what Christ did for him personally at Calvary.

Forgiveness of sins is granted to the penitent not because of human sorrow only. Forgiveness of sins is granted because of the fact that Christ is a Savior. When man believes and trusts in Christ, trusts in Christ at Calvary, and trusts in Christ's power from the Throneroom forgiveness is granted to the heart of man and offers Salvation to the human soul. Forgiveness is granted to the human soul because man "trusts and believes" in Christ crucified... for personal forgiveness. Christ's shed blood and the suffering of a Saviour are man's only grounds for personal forgiveness.

Acts 13:38-39... Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him (Christ) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

There is no process for man to do any religious act... to receive forgiveness for all the past sins that were committed. There is no process to become more spiritual with God by religious works, actions, or practices. The Christian life is not a process to get more spiritual or to be gradually be delivered from sin. Studying God's Word does not make you more spiritual. Spirituality does not even come through praise and worship. People should praise and worship Christ "because" they're delivered from sin "not to be delivered from sin. Sin is not essential in the heart of a believer in Christ.

Recognizing Christ is the key to everyday Christian living. Realizing Christ as a personal Saviour is essential to the better life of holiness. Realizing who Christ is and what He did for you personally allows the conscience to be cleared from all sins of the past. Realizing who Christ is allows Christ to govern your heart and life every day of your existence on planet earth. Recognizing Christ is not a process, it comes through your personal belief and trust in Him. Realizing where you stand daily in Christ shows your subjection to a Saviour that lives. Behaving yourself as a child of God "proves" that a Saviour lives and actually changes the heart of a sinful man. Becoming a child of God is not a process of religious works but the activity of God's Divine Grace in the heart and life of a believer in Christ.

Human works and man's religious activities are stinch to the nostrils of God! Why? Human works cause men to miss the work of Christ from Calvary and from the Throneroom...now in the present tense. Religion is man's attempt to reach Christ. Christianity is where Christ is found through belief and trust. Religion is a human process. Christianity is a human experience found through faith and belief in the person of Christ. Christ is the head of the body...not you! Christ governs your heart and life because He's God. Christ purchased the Church with his own Blood. It's what Christ did at Calvary that gives you and I personal forgiveness not our own sorrow or our own works.

Titus 3:5-7...Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

When we get into the mode of part time belief...sinning religion...asking for forgiveness... and committing sin over and over again...the Bible calls this "worldly sorrow" that only brings death.

2 Cor 7:10... For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Godly sorrow bringeth Salvation to the human soul. Why? Salvation is the work of God's Divine that gets man in the Spirit...that gives man the new birth, and that gives man a desire to quit practicing sin. What I'm saying is, "Sin is not essential in the heart and life of a child of God". Divine Grace forgives man of all past sins and rids man of sinful conduct in the present tense. A child of God's desire therefore is to "forsake" sin and sinful conduct. Divine Grace keeps the Holy Spirit present in the life of a believer in Christ. A believer in Christ is just as subject and conscious to Christ's Holy presence in the workplace as he is in the local Church. No process to get into Christ and no process to get into the Spirit. This mindset of the gradual process to reach or achieve Christ through religious works is a very dangerous deception that's rampant today in the mainstream.

I like Peter's word when the people that crucified the Lord of Glory were stirred so much by the Holy Ghost they asked, " What shall we do?" Peter responded, Repent and be baptized everyone of you for the remission of sins.

Acts 2:37-38...Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins

Sins are remitted when sinful men get into Christ! Glory to Christ! The Gospel message leads sinful men to repentance! The Gospel leads sinful men to Christ and forgiveness that only comes from a Saviour's love. The Gospel message causes men to turn from sin and disobedience. they repent, believe, and trust in Christ! The Gospel is why Rick Roehm writes these words. God Bless you all! May the Grace of God become "real" to your hearts...because God's Grace....

Titus 2:11-12...that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Miss Charlotte Ross's funeral...12/29/2009...she's in Heaven now!

The Lord gave me a message to preach at my grandmothers funeral today. Things are different in the Roehm family since Christ came into the picture. I had the privilege to share with her before she passed that Christ had root in this family now! All praise and glory to the Christ we serve. When my mom died (2) years ago God revealed to this heart the meaning of the following verse. It explains the true meaning of life beyond the grave. I would appreciate your prayers today.

1 Cor 15:54-55...So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The victory is Jesus and the hope of Heaven He gives to His saints. The sting of death is temporal...the glory of the grave for the saints is VICTORY in life Eternal! Glory!

Christian humility...

Humility is the God-given state of a believer in Christ. Christians have humility because Christ had humility and gave himself. Christians give themselves as Christ gave himself. Who do Christians give themselves too? They give themselves to God and to humanity. God gives this bond of perfectness. Humility allows the believer to represent Christ in love. Humility does not come from head knowledge or from the human intellect where pride stems from. Humility comes when people recognize who Christ is (now) in the Throne room and what Christ did for each of us personally at Calvary. Glory! Humility is the melted soul, subject to the Christ that forgave us, cleansed us, and put within us a holiness of heart that comes only from God Almighty. Glory! Humility is produced when man realizes he is nothing at the Saviors feet. Humility is the fruit of God manifested in your Christian character and conduct. Humility is shown in the action of a believer in Christ. Humility never shows pride. Humility is birthed when pride is buried. Humility is shown through the surrendered life of a believer in Christ. Humility and meekness does not mean "weakness". Humility only shows the controlled life of a believer. Humility is produced by the power of God. Your temperance (fruit of the Spirit) proves your humility! The world doesn't have humility because they don't have Christ. Glory to the living Christ! He's Exalted! He's exalted! He's exalted! Glory!

P.S...after sending this comment to a sister at ChristianBlog.com I decided to post this comment at the Churches on Trial. May its content Bless you all! Glory to Christ who gives us a state of humility!

We're not ashamed to magnify "Christ" on Christmas Day 2009

Seasons Greetings to all from the Churches on Trial!

Merry Christmas!

It's probably not necessary to preach Christ today (on this Blog) but we never leave Him out of the picture. Christ is the reason for this Blog. Christ is the reason for this ministry. Christ is real to us and when He becomes "real" to you you'll have it made...just like us! As we endeavor to scatter the truth about Christ we thank God for this Blog and for our dear Brother Jimmie Allen who also scatters this truth at... Tangle menofthestreet at the following link.

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=47f41448ae8d9da1f53a

Many audios of Brother Lindsey and my own sermons as well, are publicized at Brother Jim's site, for the cause of Christ.

Glory to Christ who makes it all possible! God Bless you all this Holiday Season!

Rick Roehm, author of the Churches on Trial

Recognizing Christ, minding the Spirit, and allowing the Spirit to have full sway

How blessed we are to have Christ in our hearts and lives... in the midst of our trials and tribulations! Yesterday I was home with the bug, this morning I get the call that my Grandmother passed on to be with Christ.

Life has a different meaning when Christ is in the picture. Glory to Christ, He gets us through our trials and tribulations. Glory to Christ, He comforts us in time of need. Glory to Christ He shows us the way... is His way.

There was a day when Christ wasn't in the picture in our hearts and lives. Today by the Grace of God we can see through a different set of eyes. He wants us to do more than to just recognize Him. He wants us to "mind" His authority and to be subject to His holy presence. By doing such the Holy Spirit is able to show us that Christ wants "full sway" of our hearts and lives.

Full sway is to completely trust and to obey His Holy presence in your life. Full sway is when Christ has full control of your total being. Full sway is when you completely trust Christ for every need of your life.

I'm thankful to Christ that HE owns, controls, and meets every need of Rick Roehm's life. God bless you all. I love you all and appreciate your support through the good times and the bad. Recognize Christ, mind His Holy presence, and allow Him to have "full sway" of your complete being.