Dear friends
The past two months they have been very busy read more by clicking in the Newsletter – December 20th .
In His Bonds
Pastor Skender Hoti
Dear family in Christ
It has been really a blessed tough months in these past months, and it has been really a blessing to see what God is doing with our church.
Please take sometime by clicking Newsletter – October 8 and reading our news updates and then take a time and pray for us.
In HIS bonds.
Pastor Skender Hoti
Note: This post originally appeared on JC Ryle Quotes
It is an excerpt from JC Ryle’s book, Old Paths
1) A right heart is a NEW heart (Ezek. 36:26)
It is not the heart with which a person is born—but another heart put in them by the Holy Spirit. It is a heart which has new tastes, new joys, new sorrows, new desires, new hopes, new fears, new likes, new dislikes. It has new views about the soul, sin, God, Christ, salvation, the Bible, prayer, heaven, hell, the world, and holiness. It is like a farm with a new and good tenant. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17).
2) A right heart is a BROKEN and CONTRITE heart (Psalm 51:17)
It is broken off from pride, self-conceit, and self-righteousness. Its former high thoughts of self are cracked, shattered, and shivered to atoms. It thinks itself guilty, unworthy, and corrupt. Its former stubbornness, heaviness, and insensibility have thawed, disappeared, and passed away. It no longer thinks lightly of offending God. It is tender, sensitive, and jealously fearful of running into sin (2 Kings 22:19). It is humble, lowly, and self-abased, and sees in itself no good thing.
3) A right heart is a heart which BELIEVES on Christ alone for salvation, and in which Christ dwells by faith (Rom. 10:10; Eph. 3:17)
It rests all its hopes of pardon and eternal life on Christ’s atonement, Christ’s mediation, and Christ’s intercession. It is sprinkled in Christ’s blood from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22). It turns to Christ as the compass-needle turns to the north. It looks to Christ for daily peace, mercy, and grace—as the sun-flower looks to the sun. It feeds on Christ for its daily sustenance, as Israel fed on the manna in the wilderness. It sees in Christ a special fitness to supply all its needs and requirements. It leans on Him, hangs on Him, builds on Him, cleaves to Him, as its physician, guardian, husband, and friend.
4) A right heart is a PURIFIED heart (Acts 15:9; Matt. 5:8)
It loves holiness, and hates sin. It strives daily to cleanse itself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1). It abhors that which is evil, and cleaves to that which is good. It delights in the law of God, and has that law engraved on it, that it may not forget it (Psalm 119:11). It longs to keep the law more perfectly, and takes pleasure in those who love the law. It loves God and people. Its affections are set on things above. It never feels so light and happy as when it is most holy; and it looks forward to heaven with joy, as the place where perfect holiness will at length be attained.
5) A right heart is a PRAYING heart
It has within it “the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15). Its daily feeling is, “Your face, Lord, will I seek” (Psalm 27:8). It is drawn by an habitual inclination to speak to God about spiritual things—weakly, feebly, and imperfectly perhaps—but speak it must. It finds it necessary to pour out itself before God, as before a friend, and to spread before Him all its needs and desires. It tells Him all its secrets. It keeps back nothing from Him. You might as well try to persuade a person to live without breathing, as to persuade the possessor of a right heart to live without praying.
6) A right heart is a heart that feels CONFLICT within it (Gal. 5:17)
It finds within itself two opposing principles contending for the mastery—the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. It knows by experience what Paul means when he says, “I see a law in my members warring against the law of my mind” (Rom. 7:23). The wrong heart knows nothing of this strife. The strong man armed keeps the wrong heart as their palace, and their goods are at peace (Luke 11:21). But when the rightful King takes possession of the heart, a struggle begins which never ends until death. The right heart may be known by its warfare, quite as much as by its peace.
7) A right heart is HONEST, UNDIVIDED, and TRUE (Luke 8:15;1 Chron. 12:33; Heb. 10:22)
There is nothing about it of falsehood, hypocrisy, or image-acting. It is not double or divided. It really is what it professes to be, feels what it professes to feel, and believes what it professes to believe. Its faith may be feeble. Its obedience may be very imperfect. But one thing will always distinguish the right heart. Its religion will be real, genuine, thorough, and sincere.
Summary
A heart such as that which I have now described, has always been the possession of all true Christians of every name, nation, people and tongue. They have differed from one another on many subjects—but they have all been of a right heart. Some of them have fallen, for a season, like David and Peter—but their hearts have never entirely departed from the Lord. They have often proved themselves to be men and women laden with infirmities—but their hearts have been right in the sight of God. They have understood one another on earth. They have found that their experience was everywhere one and the same. They will understand each other even better in the world to come. All that have had right hearts upon earth, will find that they have one heart when they enter heaven.
Dear friends
I have been thinking from Monday of this week though reading in other places my mind would come back in same place in book of Mathew and answer of Jesus about the commandment of the law.
Let’s read it together.
36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Mathew 22:36:40
I really love the respectful way of approach that this man did to Jesus He starts calling him, Master, though the man was lawyer and He knew the Mosaic law, He approached Jesus with higher title than He had from himself in modern time now we would call him, Dr. Jesus, word in the Bible used for Master is didaskalos” which means: an instructor (generally or specifically): – doctor, master, teacher.
And the way how Jesus responded to him it was completely opposite of what He thought He would get the response, because his mindset was I respect God, I respect His law, and I try to practice, the law, and what do you think I should do more there is nothing that I can do more.
I can imagine Jesus hearing his mind, like He would do time after time, and saying oh yes you can do much better. And He gave him a response:
In simple short sentences: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
In other words Jesus said, God’s law will not change you, no matter how much you know it and keep it, you can’t be delivered from slavery of sin, no matter you know how bad you are, and how much your nature is corrupted, law is good because by it you will know the sin, but law will not deliver you or keep you away from sin, there is a person that can deliver you from sin, and set you free.
To be free you have to love the Freedom Giver, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, first thing is love, love and hunger and thirst for God will bring you near to God, if you don’t have love and hunger and thirst start praying and asking God to touch your life with His love, and make you hungry and thirsty for Him, and after you start eating the Bread of Life (Jesus), and feeding your soul, then drinking from the River of Life(Jesus), He will set you free, and whom the Son will set free, will be free indeed. Master Jesus, the Freedom Giver who is a owner of our life, wants to set us free of this World though we live in this World. He want’s to baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire, and fill you with power and joy, that is unexplainable for your mindset and reasoning. To have this power and joy you have to love him with all the mind, and heart and soul.
And I know that this hunger and thirst is there and I know you have it, and you can have it right now, find a place alone, GO in that place and ask him to fill you and baptize you, with fire, so you will burn for Him, and I ask the Lord that everybody that read’s this message would start to burn for Him.
Would love to hear from you
Pastor Skender Hoti
Giving to the Mission
It has been a long time that I did not speak on the finances on our church or elsewhere, today while I was praying and also while I
was talking to a brother God confirmed in my heart that I should address some of the problems with so called “Giving for the Work of the Lord”
The biggest organization’s today that are humanitarian aid concentrated they call up in the name of Jesus and call up people of God to give for the Work of the Lord and many of you during the lifetime have given milions to these organizations, my question comes are these organizations and missions doing really the work of the Lord?, and what is the Work of the Lord?
I know that answering these questions are going to stir up some people to not give anymore without looking good where there are giving and some are going to reject this insight that I have about the humanitarian based organization.
Let me answer first question:
I have noticed and talked with pastor’s and leaders all over the World and also watched and seen in my country 11 years ago when war was finished and many of these organizations and denominations came and help plus from my research came to conclusion that it’s a proven fact that with people in the World that motives of their heart will not change even if you feed them and help them and their questions and search for God will not be answered and found though they was feed and helped. In China a pastor friend of mine called the believers motivated from humanitarian aid “Rice Christian’s” in Kosovo I heard expressions like “Food Believers – believers for interest” which has truth and reality they was more than 200 church’s planted in Kosovo, when there was food and interest to take from church and today you don’t have more than 35 church’s in total. Question comes why? Because it was wrong way of approach and also it was not the work of God it was work of men, “Where is that church that Jesus spoke: I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Mat 16:18.
Is the church responsible to help the World and meet the need of the community? My answer NOT AT ALL. And you don’t call out the Mathew 25:40 because these leaders in humanitarian aid organizations have twisted the verse and put it out of the context just to achieve their goals.
Notice the verse said: Jesus referred the help to my brother’s and not to the World. And yes we are called to help one another.
What is in real “Work of God” and our responsibility towards the World?
Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Mat 28:19
To practice this and apply it in our life’s if we don’t and we are not able to go then give to those people that do the Work of the Lord, give to those that raise up disciples, give to those people that, teach, and preach the Bible. Help brothers and sisters in Muslim countries where they can’t find the job and they are excommunicated from their community because of their faith in Christ.
Help church planters to plant church’s, print Bibles, publish books that help growth of the believers and helps spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
That is the Work of the Lord that is something that wealthy church of Europe and USA has lost because of spending millions and millions on humanitarian aid and helping the World instead of concentrating on helping the Kingdom of God.
Some advises before you give to any organization,mission or denomination.
1. Is that organization committed fully 100% to the great commission? (My advise give)
2. Do they do humanitarian work on helping the World? (My advise Don’t give)
3. Ask question how much the staff and leaders are paid? And why?
4. Ask how much goes in total in mission field on Church planting, and other areas that church has.
I wanted to say more about this but I did not want the article to be long so for that I have just said main issue
If you have questions and you want to talk more about this message and how you can help real work of God I will be privileged and available for you to share with you.
Contact me with no hesitation and send me email so we can set up time and Skype or chat.
Pastor Skender Hoti
