The Purchase of Desolation

Acts 1:17-20

For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: And his bishoprick let another take. (Psalms 69:25)
Judas did not directly purchase anything, but by what he did with Jesus (Matthew 27:3-7). He actually “purchased” his place of habitation which was, and is… desolation. Judas did not realize what he was buying for himself, but what you do with Jesus is EVERYTHING. You are purchasing something RIGHT NOW. What you do with Jesus determines what you are purchasing, and be assured, you are purchasing something.
You can start out with Jesus, walk with Him, learn of Him, witness of Him, and glorify Him, but unless you STAY WITH Jesus, The Jesus, The Christ of The Holy Scriptures, you are purchasing something for yourself you’re NOT going to want. Judas “had obtained”, he had “received part” of “THIS MINISTRY”. This ministry was The Ministry of The Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 9:1-6; Matthew 10:1-15; Mark 6:7-9) Judas did not continue IN Believing. Judas allowed his selfish purposes to be taken over by Satan instead of continuing to Believe that Jesus came to die for sins. Yes, he did know that. John The Baptist prophesied of Who Jesus was, and all Israel knew of Whom He claimed to be. Jesus told them over and over that He would go to Jerusalem to suffer and die. If we are in this thing called Christianity with our Faith anywhere other than In Who Jesus IS, and that means faith in what He did (bear His cross), we will not make it.
The only unforgivable sin, the Bible teaches, is that of the blasphemy of The Holy Spirit, but not contradictory, Jesus also teaches that we must repent. Before True repentance can even take place there must be faith. The “repentance” of Judas in the Greek is only that of regret, not the True repentance that he once preached (Mark 6:12).
When the father of the demon possessed boy spoke the words to Jesus, "if you can do anything", and when he cried out "Help my unbelief", Judas was there (Mark 9:14-29). If Judas would have asked The Lord to Help him to Believe again, The Lord would have answered him in the same way he answered the father… and a True Repentance could have taken place.
Examine yourself (2 Corinthians 13:5) right now to see if you are IN THE Faith. Not whether or not your IN church, IN your Bible, IN the choir, or IN the pulpit... but rather, IN The Faith.

Naaman

Although Naaman was a great man (Captain of the King of Syria’s army), yet still, he was a leper. Leprosy in the old covenant was symbolic of sin and Naaman desired to be free of this disease just as any Christian should desire to be free of the dominating power of sin. After being told of a prophet of God, Naaman set out, but the prophet just sent a messenger with a message for Naaman. The message was, “Go dip in the river Jordan seven times”. Naaman wasn’t pleased saying, “are not all the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?

The Jordan River, Jordan meaning descender, descended from Galilee into the Dead Sea. The Jordon is representative of Calvary. Just as the Jordan runs into the Dead Sea, so does Christ’s baptism by John identify Himself with man and the purpose on His life. The Jordon points to His death and ours as well, because we were crucified with Him being baptized into His death (Romans 6:3)
All other waters (messages) look and sound good, but for those who have ears to hear and desire to walk in a place where leprosy (sin) doesn’t have dominion over you (Rom. 7:14), take note; It is only your faith in what Christ did at Calvary that allows the Holy Spirit to bring the victory you need. All else is just water that will not satisfy or sanctify. Remember: Your faith is not in the cross of Christ if your preacher isn’t preaching the cross of Christ.

The Lord will be coming any moment, in a twinkling of an eye, and the difference between the one’s that are gone with Him and the one’s remaining behind will be what the object of their faith has been. Months ago, the Lord revealed to me that for years I learned about ministry, but never learned what to minister. If we’ve been called by the Lord ministers of reconciliation, and have had the Word of reconciliation committed unto us, and have been reconciled by the blood, what is the ministry of those whom the Lord sends? Over the last few years, I’ve found my faith in many things that are good things, but none of them were things that allowed the Holy Spirit to work in my life. He only works in me based on my faith in His finished work at Calvary. (Romans 8:2)