And when he (The Spirit of Truth) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. John 16:8-11

But we'll save that one for another day. :-)

Lest we forget...the END of our faith (what we do with it after we receive it) is more important than the beginning (how we received it), because if we keep it then we keep it unto the saving of our souls! 1 Peter 1:9

Our walk (our being samctified to and) with Christ requires that we GROW in the knowledge of the Lord in Love and Truth. Our Love is to become perfected - Our Love for the Truth is to be total, as we come to know not only more and more of Him, His ways, His words, His nature, His holiness and His grace - but also keep on doing what we know as well. John 14:23
This is 'unceasing'! We are to grow up and mature into the "image of Christ" that each of us initially received through faith when we first believed!

Remember that faith: "baby faith" (our initial faith) contains primarily "milk"... simply because we are too immature to handle MEAT. But we are told we mustn't stop there but continue to grow and increase in the knowledge and grace of our Lord (Hebrews 6:1-2), gaining some spiritual teeth, whereby we are able to sink them into the meat - the Life - the Spirit - of His word! ("My words are Spirit and Life!")

Milk is for babes, while meat is for the mature, for those having discernment. Then we'll need none to teach us! We are NOT to remain dependant on others for our spiritual milk, but grow up in Him, who is our daily Spiritual Bread, until we can administer grace and truth to the hearers by ourselves. This is what the Lord is after: "Maturity" in both Love and Truth!

We must come to "SEE" what it is that Jesus saw and is saying! Then we'll have the necessary "discernment" to keep from being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14) by the teachings of men who twist the truth - "IF you continue in My word you will know the truth and the truth will make you Free"!!! John 8:31-32

The Holy Spirit has a job to do in each one of us! To be "sealed" with the Spirit, being yielded to God, is to want to be more fully formed and conformed into God's image of the Lamb that was slain! Romans 8:28
This simply means that we will do God's will, even if that means we must follow Jesus to do it. (and it does)

Many times the Spirit wants to take us and put us in places where we DO NOT WANT TO GO! John 21:18
I myself am guilty of not wanting to go or of doing God's will more than a lot of others, always looking for the "easy" (non self-sacrificial) way out, as God well knows! *

Regardless of the cost, will we follow??? Will we lay it all down??? He knows if we will but we don't. The Test of our faith to reveal our hearts will be "Right Here" (whether we go or not - Matthew 21:28-31), that will decide for all time "IF" we really do love Him enough to Deny ourself, Take up the cross and Follow Him, thus DO His will... or if we're a bunch of phonies "Pretending" all the while to play Christian! He knows!

Do we love Him enough to obey Him in the sacrificing/laying down of ourselves? (We may protest at first, but IF we really do love Him who first loved us, we will later change our minds and do it (For such is the Power of Love)... OR... will we go on refusing to DO His will, and instead pretend it's something else/something slothful and easy going that God wants us to do, until we become dry and shriveled up like a bunch of dry, rotting wood awaiting the fire!
We can't just "Drift in" when we feel like it, and "Drift out" when we don't! The Kingdom of God isn't like that at all! He INSISTS, yes DEMANDS that we follow Him!!! And in order to do that, one "MUST" deny themselves and take up their cross! In other words: "One must DIE!" And those who Love Him... Will!

We are likened to a fruit tree: First the seed goes in, it takes root, it pops it's head above the ground, it becomes first a little blade, then a full blown fruit tree full of pretty leaves.
Is that it??? Then what??? Well the Lord EXPECTS, yes even DEMANDS that we bear FRUIT! What good is a fruit tree if it doesn't bear fruit ? What good is the Word/Seed of God IN US, if we won't let it bear fruit???

The Lord will wait only so long. He will take us ALL THE WAY into 100 fold fruit production if we will let Him. Matthew 13:8
The problem does not lay with Him but with us. We are stubborn and resistant! How much are we willing to GROW UP??? How much of ourself are we willing to lay down at the foot of the Cross in order to bear fruit???
He'll wait until that tree should be mature enough to bear fruit. Then He will come, look and expect to eat of the fruit of His labors!
The Lord has absolutely no qualms in getting rid of those trees who take up precious space in the Kingdom without ever producing, even though they have had MORE than adequate wooing, time and fertilization to produce good fruit (Luke 13:6-9).

So in this sense we are to "Grow" - in love - in truth - in doctrine - in our personal knowledge of and relationship with our God and King! Those who don't (i.e. won't) grow and produce fruit will, sooner than later: "Fall Away". (see the parable of the sower)
It doesn't take long for the world, the flesh and/or the Devil to re-claim what was once "theirs", all the while allowing "us" to retain the "outward" facade of Christianity going while the "inward" reality has long since been dried up, choked off and most likely lost forever.

If I would pray one thing, it would be that everyone who names the name of Christ be shown with absolute and total conviction that THIS IS NO GAME! And that is EXACTLY what John 16:8-11 refers to. Yet not everyone (because they resist - because they love remaining in the darkness more than the light) will receive the Spirit of Truth!

This also has to do with the end times. I believe and I have said repeatedly that: "Once the false Christs and prophets of Matthew 24:23-26 are around it will be TOO LATE for the "foolish virgins" to find oil for their lamps; virgins who once had oil but lost it, virgins fully expecting to go with Christ, and virgins who fully expect to find some oil - BUT who end up going "Outside" of the church to find it. Matthew 25:10

They went out at precisely the wrong time, because they were "unprepared" to meet Him, even though they thought they were. They expected Him to come sooner in a "pre trib rapture"!" They had no need for enduring in the faith to the end! They had no need for carrying extra oil.
All they heard from their false prophets was: "PEACE, PEACE", when there was no Peace! So... we either have some extra oil for our lamps NOW - we either walk in the light NOW - OR we don't and won't later either!!!

Speaking the truth in love: "Those who have been deceived once, by the teachings of men concerning the last days and a rapture BEFORE Jesus Appears; they even deny His own words: "After the tribulation of those days", have allowed themselves to be tossed to and fro by every wind of Doctrine!
I can draw no other conclusion than say: "they are NOT receiving the Love of the Truth, and making the Truth/the Word their "Holy Ground" where NOTHING UNHOLY ever must be allowed to tread.
Therefore they will find it easier to be deceived a second time into believing the lie, when they go "OUT" to buy oil from those who sell: "Matthew 24:23-26"!!!"

Concerning the end times: "Those who have kissed His feet and elevated His Word WITHOUT CORRUPTING IT and leaving it AS IS, show a maturity, a love and a passion for the truth, and will yield to that truth in their sanctification to it whenever and wherever it applies"!

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

What Jesus is saying is simply this: "You want peace? You want security? You want rest from your sins and for your soul? Do you want what's really important? Then seek ye first and foremost - 'To enter (Hebrews 4) the kingdom of God and gain His righteousness (Phillipians 3:7-9)' (today, right now)!"

Now note what this world offers: "The ability for us to lay up treasures on earth where they will rot instead of our laying up treasures in heaven where they'll be preserved." (verse 19)

Just look at the world! This is what the world does, what it lives for: "To keep up with the Jones'; to buy and have to have the very best of what this world/life has to offer by being surrounded in it in order to try and feel secure and gain peace and comfort in these TEMPORAL things."

Any wonder then why they have no lasting peace and security? Any wonder why their hearts are always troubled? It's no wonder to those in the know when they see someone put faith in these shallow, temporal things and act as if their very lives depended upon them. They strive for them and can't live without them, and many do so all the while being "religious". (So much for that!)

You can't keep ones conscience quiet for long, especially when it constantly finds itself so ALONE AND EMPTY AND VOID of the real food and drink of personally having found eternal peace before they die. (Matthew 13:34-36).

In other places and to others, what does Jesus have to say about 'these' things?...
"...If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Matthew 19:21
and again...
"Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple!" Luke 14:33

Simply put, if we are UNWILLING to forsake all we have in order to follow Christ then we had better quit kidding ourselves and hang it up before we even start. If TEMPORAL things and our love of them are more important to us than God and doing His will is, then we are most deplorable indeed.

What else does this world offer?: "The ability to make us believe that we can serve two masters (the things of this world and God) and love them both." (verse 24)

Take another look at this life and this world! What this world does is to make us believe that we can faithfully serve two masters. The world somehow believes that by going to "church", and/or cleaning up our "act" a little, that we are somehow capable to make up for a life-style of greed, lust, self-gain, fornication, etc.
Yet the only thing that can make up for having the love of the world is having the singular love of 'God', not 'church', and/or not some self-imposed 'clean-up action'. It's one or the other. Going to church, giving up cigarettes, booze, or giving to the poor, etc., cannot replace genuine (i.e. 'God-given') peace and security.

This is a lesson we've learned from hearing about 'Lot's wife'. Once you've decided to love and obey God, there's no turning back for any reason. The things of this world are a thing of the past. God knows what you need! By seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, he'll make sure we have enough food and clothing not to worry. A whole new change of heart needs to happen for this 'miracle' to take place. A whole new birth! This is a ... "MUST"!

Again Jesus tells us that...
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24

He makes it obvious that what the "MANY" (spoken of in Matthew 7:13) are doing is trying to serve both God and mammon. It is clear that we can't live for 'both'. One of them has to go! That's just the way it is, and the Lord knows who they are and will give His Spirit only to them that 'LOVE HIM' (in 1 John 2:15), and do not love the world. To love Him means to do what He says, as He says in John 14:21.

What are some of the things that this world offers a man?: "A short life span, religion, temporary riches, fame, prestige, honor, the fear of death and the unknown, having expensive clothes for our bodies and the need for laying up a constant supply of food and water for our bellies." (verse 32)

Jesus sums it all up with these words...
"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34

When it's over... it's over! And now we know why Jesus says: "Seek ye first...".
Entering the kingdom of God and having His righteousness is more important than all the food, or drink, or clothing, or houses, or ambitions, or worldly treasures, or anything else that this world deems worthy of possessing. "Eternal Life" is priceless, and the only way to gain it is to believe on and come to the Lord Jesus Christ for it... and ye shall be saved... and Know it.

What do we mean by "Secret" sins as opposed to "open" sins?

Simply this: "Secret sins are those lustful thoughts we entertain and things we do that are kept private and away from other people, while "known or open" sins are the things we do or say in public before a live audience."

We are all guilty of lusting after someone or something from time to time; and I more than others it seems. Nevertheless I will in no wise allow that shallow excuse to stand between me and my God, and neither must you! We are all tempted by and can all be drawn away by our own individual lusts "IF" we (being Christians) allow them to once again reign over us.

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:17; 26

There is a "Struggle", a "War" going on inside of us to be sure, one that we (in Christ) can and will gain the upper hand over... "IF" we will walk the way we began: following after the promtings of Spirit, and not the flesh. We don't need to follow behind the old STUBBORN JACKASS which is our flesh, but only in the yielded newness of the Lord. Let us finish the way we begun!

This "Battle" between the Spirit and the flesh has been ongoing since day one. To overcome it we need daily to Sanctify ourselves to the Truth - to receiving and abiding in His word - His word alone is Truth!

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." Romans 6:12-15

There remains NO EXCUSE for sin!
At one time (before we knew the Lord personally) it didn't really matter what we did, because (as long as we considered ourselves to be "good" and therefore, "righteous" men) we did what we wanted to do as long as it didn't hurt anyone else. (99 % of the world (most religious people as well as atheists) think this way!)
Doing this seemed "Right" in our eyes!

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 16:25

After all, we thought as long as we weren't "hurting" anyone that we were fulfilling God's commandment of, "Love one another". But now (upon our knowing Christ) we are no longer ourselves - we cannot keep on doing that which pleases us (i.e. the old creature) but do what pleases the Lord and the new men we are in Christ! This is imperative...

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

We are no longer our own! We have been bought with a price! We can no longer indiscriminately do what we feel like doing. We are "Christian men" who know God, therefore let us continue walking in the Light and continue obeying what we know God has said and is saying to each of us.

These are the "lusts" that the Bible makes us aware of: "Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride (or lust) of life". (1 John 2:16) We are never FREE from these evil lusts (see Galatians 5:19-21) until we leave this world. What God is saying is that as Christians we (through the Holy Spirit) have the power in us not to fulfill them.

The breakdowns of these "lusts" are basically this:

The lust of the eyes can begin when anything has caught the attention of the eye. This is a "higher lust" in that it desires fulfillment in the way of the soul, in order to accumulate to itself all of the high and mighty and sparkly things that this world and its ruler can present.

The lust of the flesh deals with rebellion against God and with "fornication", that is, with anything that has to do sexually craving for another. This is a "lower lust" in that it desires fulfillment in the way of the bodily satisfaction and self-gratification.

The pride of life has to do with a mans pride, boastings and arrogance that he has in himself as measured by his own (rather than by God's) stature according to things as the amount of wealth, knowledge and power he has accumulated in this life.

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:14-15

Have we all clearly understood exactly what the Spirit of God; through James, is saying???

He is saying that we all (no exceptions) are drawn away when we dwell on and allow our lusts to control our persons. This is a sin! Once our lusts (evil thoughts) have become fulfilled they brings death. In other words, the full intention of Satan working through our lusts is to destroy the spiritual men that we have become in Christ.

That simply means that if we continue in these "lusts" unchecked, then we are as we were before the Lord saved us. We have become dried up (spiritually) and sitting on death row, only we don't know it, even though we may maintain a great looking outward appearance of being a Christian to others, but inside (where it counts) we are... DEAD and void of God, as we were before!!!

In conclusion, our sinning in "Secret" will find us out - if not before men while we live, then before God at the judgement. Hide them in the dark recesses of our soul as we may, yet if we chose to continue in them; rather than deal with them as one would deal with a festering cancer, it will not matter how much we "say" that we are Christians, for our own hearts condemn us now as well as when we stand before the Lord.

I pray that all of us who come into contact with this little message (myself mostly included), HEAR what is being said and repent of all of our Hidden and Secret sins before it's too late! With God's Grace we can and will overcome our lusts, as long as we keep doing our part (as God's children) to walk after the Spirit thus keep on stamping out the flesh with its lusts instead of letting it grow to astounding proportions and rule over us, as it had before!

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1

Let us be determined to walk after the Spirit, and we won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh! How much better to be found abiding in those words of Romans 8:1 than to be found in those of 2 Peter 2:19-22.