In The Garden Dealing with Controversy James 2:2-2:4 Dealing with Controversy. As we enter into this end time era, I feel that we all need to know how to deal with controversy. Jesus dealt with it; from the time He started His Ministry until the Day He was crucified. Have you ever dealt with areas of life that caused a division among you and your friends, your spouse or your entire family? It’s difficult to be different, isn’t it? Lets deal with specifics of controversy. Controversy is a disagreement, or debate. Here is one that James dealt with ; James 2:2-4 For if there come into your synagogue ( church, place of worship) a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile ( loathsome, nasty, obnoxious, odious, base, degraded, foul, etc) clothing; and ye have regard (look upon, gaze at, have preference to, etc) to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool; Do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? These three verses are pretty self-explanatory aren’t they? Controversy starts with a difference of opinion, or a difference in policy. So you ask, “Where s the controversy here?” Its everywhere a poor man cant come into a church, to seek after God, dressed the way he is, maybe all he has are a pare of blue jeans and a clean shirt, some churches would stop Him at the door and refuse him entrance, Yes, its true, I’ve seen it. Have we gotten to the point that salvation is only for the best dressed or only for those that can afford it? Isn’t salvation a free gift from God? Have we become a Nation of judges, having evil thoughts? Maybe so, or maybe, we have lost sight of who we are in Christ. The end days are a negative time that needs to be addressed and opened up. If we are to endure and be faithful witnesses for Christ, we must bring out the worst of mankind to help others make a complex decision on their place in eternity. Dealing with controversy here is learning to deal with, church doctrine and making it line up with the word of God, instead of contradicting it. Hebrews 13:2-3 Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them that are illtreated, as being yourselves also in the body. We have a responsibility to others that are in bondage as once we were, to help set them free, and those that are illtreated (abused, neglected), to suffer with them, showing compassion. Lets stop and think for a moment, has there ever been a time in your life that you’ve met someone, talked to him or her for a moment and turned around and they were gone from sight? Or you needed help along side the road, and all of a sudden someone was there? Have you ever passed by someone on the road and looked in your rear view mirror and couldn’t see them? Have you ever turned away someone away from the church because of the way they were dressed? Someone that may have been turned away from the church doors, could have been an angel. Now we all know the difference between vile raiment and just plain vulgar clothing, the latter must be stopped at the door and addressed. But to turn away some one because of a dress code or other doctrine, that, might I say, is contrary to sound doctrine, is very dangerous. Because of James 2:2-4 and Hebrews 13:2-3. Matthew 19:23-25And Jesus said unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. (The Sadducee's and Pharisees, were fixed on or had an fixation on clothing and fine apparel, which became part of their downfall) And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye (a passage way, very narrow, that camels had to be unloaded to pass thru, on the trade route), than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And when the disciples heard it, they were astonished exceedingly, saying, Who then can be saved? Controversy, because something hadn’t been taught before makes it difficult for people to comprehend and understand. Sometimes people have been taught wrong for so long that they begin to take it as being right. Controversy on the salvation of the rich over the poor. Jesus was asking in His teachings, “Who among you have made the Rich better than the Poor as far as salvation, as far as sin, as far as condemnation, as far as the Law and as far as Gods love for each?” Matthew 19:30 But many shall be last that are first; and first that are last. Your status or station on earth will not be the status that you will receive in Heaven. {M.H.} There will be reversals; those rich on earth, but poor hereafter; those high in station, degraded hereafter; and the lowly on earth, exalted hereafter. The right man to follow any cause, be it what it will, is he who loves it well enough to fling to it everything he has in the world, and then think that not enough, and so fling himself after it. This last item often weighs down the scales in heaven, and the man gets what he gave himself for. This is where many controversies lie. Being exalted of ourselves here, self-righteousness, does nothing to change the destiny that is ours in the afterlife. Jesus once said of John the Baptist, Matthew 11:11 “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This in itself, is a controversial, statement, because of mans pride wanting to be the best of everything. If the smallest in Heaven is to be greater than the greatest man born of woman, then where are we as man, not born the greatest of woman, going to stand? Humbleness is a virtue that we all need to work on. Our station in Heaven is only secure if we are obedient to the will of God. This does not take away from our rewards, for the labor that we have done in the name of the Gospel. It is only teaching that rich or poor there is no difference in the eyes of God. Want more proof, lets read a little more in Matthew. Matthew 20:9-12 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a shilling. And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received every man a shilling. And when they received it, they murmured against the householder, saying, These last have spent but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. Who has made us higher than God, who has made us judges of what is right and wrong? Who among us can tell God who deserves what type of reward? Mat 20:15-16 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Or is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last. When we start thinking that we are better than others, then we inter into sin. Controversy is not just the sins of the flesh but also sins of the mind. Matthew 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. John 6:53-60 Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a hard saying; who can hear it? Speaking things contrary to popular beliefs brings forth controversy and debate. Speaking of controversy, Jesus opened the eyes of the religious community, by telling them; it’s not only the sins of the flesh that you have to worry about but also the sins of the mind. What is controversy? Jesus is. Jesus was and is, the most controversial man in history. What other man do you know in history, ever took 12 unimpressive men and turned the world upside down. Jesus took controversy and changed this world forever. Believing in Jesus and the Gospel has always been controversial; it is not for us as believers to deal with controversy but just the opposite. It’s the world of unbelief that has to deal with Jesus. Religion and worldly laws must come to grips with the teachings of Jesus. God gave man, law and man failed to abide by them. All controversy stems from the righteous teachings of Jesus. Why? Because the teachings of Jesus allow for the inclusion of all man kind and not just a chosen few. Wars, rumors of wars, hate, strife, abortion, homosexuality, infighting among the church, pride, arrogants, etc, all come from resistance of the Gospel. 1Titus 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully, Those who are unbelievers are lost due to their knowledge of carnal sin and must repent to have everlasting life. For where there is no law there is no knowledge of sin. Paul stated that he only knew sin by the knowledge of the law. The teachings, of Jesus, were and still are, so much more advanced than any other, and controversy is always around. He opens all the locked closets, turns on all the lights to brighten the dark places, reveals all the dirty laundry, tells all the hidden secrets and tells all the truths of your life, making them known to all the world, He lays all sins bare before the world, He makes the crooked straight, and the mountains flat, the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. He humbles the mighty, and exalts the weak. He has made the impossible, possible, the wrongs, right and the united, divided. He came not to bring peace but a sword, not to bring adhesion but division, among nations, leaders and families. All the controversial issues of life, abortion, same sex marriages, homosexuality, politics, nation, church leadership, women’s rights, baptism of babies, ECT, all answered in the word. So then if all answers are given in the Scripture, why are we having such a hard time in coming together as one body, “Pride”. Answers are only as good as the ability of a person to accept them; otherwise they become only words on a page. You all know this next set of verses, lets get to the point. Mark 4:12-20, emphasis on Mark 4:19-20 and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. We deal with controversy by dealing with Christ and the Word of God. Once we believe in Him that sent His Son to die for us, we no longer live or have to deal with controversy. As believers in Christ we have been made over comers by the word of God and by our testimony. All controversy stems from the Gospel, because it is contrary to the laws of man and mans idea of what life should be. Sin and unrighteousness are contradictions of the Gospel and result in controversy. Many don’t and will never believe in Jesus or God. Their lives are spent in trying to discredit the Gospel to justify their lifestyle. Dealing with controversy is as easy as praying. Cast all your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you. Ars   Dealing with Disappointment Philippians 4:11-4:21 Dealing with Disappointment. How did the people in the Bible and How do we deal with Disappointment? Philippians 4:11, Not that I speek in respect of want, for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am , therewith to be content. David and Saul and many others of the Old Testament when faced with disappointment, rent their clothes and put on sack cloth an dashes, in repentance to God for not only their sins but for the sins of the people of Israel. They cried and wept bitterly, prayed and made sacrifices. What is disappointment, Strong's Dictionary of Bible words, says it, to frustrate, to disesteem, to cease, neutralize. So what is it in our life? Sometimes its when we think that something is going to happen and it doesn't when you don't get the promotion that you've been waiting for, or the loan from the bank falls thru or when you always wanted to do something and the opportunity comes and everything looks great and you anticipation is at an all time high and suddenly something happens. Your back where you started from. Disappointment leads to depression and depression leads to lack of confidence and lack of confidence leads to low self esteem. How did Paul deal with this spirit, and yes ,its a spirit. If one action leads to another which brings torment, then its a spirit. Paul, after all that He had to go thru, finally realized that the only way to defeat this spirit, was to be content with whatsoever state that He was in. Ive been disappointed many times in my life, promotions that should have come to me was given to others that had less experience, bank loans, that should have went good, were denied, prayers that I knew that would be answered, weren't. But we can always go to scripture and find the answers. Philippians 4:6, Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. This doesn't mean that He will grant your request, but He will know your intent. Remember that sometimes the best answer from God on your prayers are NO. Verse 4 tells us to rejoice, in everything, rejoice. This is a good way to get rid of that disappointing spirit. Your not the first person that has had prayers not answered or been disappointed about how life has treated you. We've all been thru it, and we have all survived. Disappointment is one of the biggest causes of suicide in the world, because it leads to other things. We have to get a handle upon it and rebuke it, before it starts to grow. At times it will also cause you to stop going to church. When disappointment sets in, we start feeling sorry for ourselves and then we want the world to have a pity party for us. I refuse to have these spirits in my life and home. I tell others that have this spirit that visit me, I can help you but I'm not going to join in the pity party that this spirit wants. We then proceed to cast it out and then work on the rest. Did Jesus ever feel disappointment? Yes, but he knew how to deal with it. When the deciles couldn't cast out a demon from a child, Jesus rebuked them, How much longer must I suffer you. Bring the child to me. He rebuked the spirit and finished the work. And that is what we are supposed to do. Jesus has given us all an example of all situations and the means to deal with them. Lets look at Paul again as an example. Phil.cpt 4:12, I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound, every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Powerful statement, wasn't it? But we have to, as Christians, be able and willing to, share in the need of another that has a spirit of disappointment, to help bear one another's burdens. To be willing to say, Ive been there and know what your going thru, lets sit down and talk about it. Can you do that? I believe that you can. Lets get rid of disappointment as quickly as we can before it gets rid of us. ars. Dealing With Life John 11:9-11:10 Dealing with Life. A Bibles point of view. Part three How do we deal with the living, others and our selfs. Knowing how to deal with life is just as important as knowing how to deal with death. The life we lead on this earth, determines, how and where we spend eternity in the next life. Jesus said, that a man who believes on him ,even thou he be dead the same shall live again. He told us that he came to give life and to give it more abundantly. What is life? Life is a series of trial and error. A way of relating to our present exsistance, spirit,heart, mind, and soul, of being. Life is a period of time that has been given to us by God to reconcile ourselves to Him thru Jesus. There is none of us that ever asked to be born . We made no decisions about our parents, color, race, sex, geographical location, whether to be rich or poor. This is who we are. We may not have the education of others, or we may not even be whole, we may be handicapped, lame, halt, blind or deaf. But the exsistance that we have ,is what we have to work with. You nor I can change our features or physical status, but we can learn to adapt thru the grace of God. Most people that I have met, make their life decisions on experience or change in the economy, geographical location, government or religious regulations. But if we make our decisions based upon the Bible then we will endure this life much better. Dealing with life is being able to deal with decisions. Lets look at what Jesus says. John 11:9-10, .. Are there not 12 hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. Jesus was talking about decisions of life and how a man has two ways of dealing with them. We can make our life decisions based upon the light of day, where by we can see clearly to make our decisions by the word of God, or we can make them by the darkness of this worlds systems. Our lives are full of decisions, who we marry, jobs, education, clothes, food ,transportation, where we live and who we associate with. But if you notice , there is a lot of complaining in this life, you've heard it, time and time again. If a man comes to you complaining that he has no shoes, remind him of the man who has no feet. That is dealing with life. If a man comes complaining that the bread that he has is two days old, remind him of the children that have no bread at all. Church, there is coming a time where all your decisions on life will be made for you, government officials will enact laws governing everything about your life, right down to your religion. Its even possible for them to outlaw all religions to stop trouble between false religions and Christianity. Didn't Jesus say that, it was better to enter into life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into hell fire? Matthew 18:8-9. The apostle Paul stated that, He learned that whatever state that he was in, to therewith to be content. We have to learn to deal with whatever state that were in. To be content, if we cant be content with what we have, how church, can God bless us with something better? If God cant trust you with 1 dollar, how can he trust you with 2? Are you looking for a perfect life here on earth, well your not going to get it, so we all have to deal with the reality that Jesus came to give life but he didn't say here. He said that, My kingdom is not on this earth, if it were, wouldn't my disciples fight? This life is a dressing room, a staging ground, a stage, a training camp for something higher or lower depending on the decisions you make. We were born into this life for one reason only, it was for Gods good pleasure, and nothing else, can the clay tell the potter what it wants to be? No. So this is how we deal with life. We do the best we can with what God has given us and maby he will bless us with better, when we show him that we can take care of it. Remember these few things, some of the ways God answers prayer are these, 1.Yes. 2. No. 3. Maby ars. Dealing with Memories Romans 8:13-8:15 Dealing with Memory This message is part of the Dealing With Series. How do we as Christians deal with memories of the past, (good or bad)? What is a memory? The faculty of the mind by which it retains the knowledge of past events, or ideas, which are past. A distinction is made between memory and recollection. Memory retains past ideas without any, or with little effort; recollection implies an effort to recall ideas that are past. Is it an affliction at times? Yes. So then, what is an affliction? 1. A condition of pain, suffering, or distress, burden. 2. A cause of pain, suffering, or distress. Inflected forms: af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on, Middle English afflighten, from afflight, disturbed, frightened, from Latin afflictum, to cast down, to strike afflict, agonize, rack, torment, torture These verbs mean to bring great harm or suffering to someone: tortured by painful memories. Heb 10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 1Co 4:17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. 1Ti 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. 2Pe 1:15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. John 11:35 Jesus wept. To the unsaved, memories are primarily, recollections of past sins that were pleasurable and badges of conquests, the jobs that you beat others out of, the sexual encounter that went your way, the money you acquired by the loss of others, etc. But to the saved they are pricks to the soul and spirit. Many are hurtful and bring harm to the spirit of the individual. Heb 10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; the word afflictions here represents, not physical only, but of mental anguish. The past of a Christian always bring to each a separate set of problems. Other Christians bring many of those problems on, Yes, I said other Christians, bringing up your past. Many of your friends that are still in the world will always bring up you’re past trying to get you to revert to the way you once were. They don’t understand what you have and wish only to have you back the way they remember you. Many times I’ve noticed, that people that are miserable with their life, wish to have everyone else just as miserable as they are, so they bring up your past to remind you of your faults. When this happens, the old memories start flowing, as a river, not to refreshen you but to drown you in you’re past faults. The types of memories depend upon the individual. Satan knows your past and will use the most painful to cause you loss of sleep, loss of concentration and confusion in your daily walk with God. Do you have, Bad dreams, nightmares, dreams that once brought you pleasure that you thought were gone, are you happily married and still have recollections of lost loves of your youth? Do you sometimes have doubts about the choices that you made in the past? If you said yes to any of these, these are the things that the Bible says are fights of afflictions. After ye were illuminated, most of your memories never affected you until after you were saved, true of false? There are good memories and bad. The good memories are those of departed loved ones, happy times as a child, accomplishments you’ve attained, etc. These are no burden to you and Satan will not bother with them. The ones he uses are those that we have discussed before. Do all men have memories? Yes, even Jesus had memories of past events, not as the Son of God only, but also as the Son of Man. John 11:35 Jesus wept. The shortest verse in scripture but one that reveals a lot. Why did Jesus cry? His friend Lazarus had died, when Jesus was confronted with the reality of the passing, sometimes memories are invoked by the, confrontation of reality in this life. The memories Jesus had, of his friend, came flooding back to him and he wept. These were good memories. Now how can I say this about Jesus and memory? Remember that Jesus had prior knowledge of the death of Lazarus and the scripture doesn’t state that Jesus cried after telling the disciples that Lazarus had died. The actual burden never came upon Jesus until after the memories came to Him, until after He came, face to face, with the reality of death itself of a loved one. Think of this for a moment and you will understand. What makes us cry when a loved one passes away? Not only the actual death itself but the memories of them and the knowledge that there will be no more contact with them. An end to future good times and bad, an end to plans, hopes and dreams of better times ahead, a parting of spirits never to reunite in this life. Of all the funerals that I have attended, the main subject upon everyone’s mind was, memories. But what about the bad memories that cause torment? These are not of God. God does not bring torment to His children, so we have to look at the source of this burden. Satan and his demons (aka) evil spirits are the source. How then do we deal with this? Different means are and can be used in relieving torment. Recognition, Revitalization and Rebuking. 1. Recognition. Recognizing a good memory from a bad one. Knowing weather a memory is from God or Satan, otherwise as the scripture states, discerning of spirits [1Co 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits;], those that are of God and those that are of Satan. This is one of the spiritual gifts. Once we recognize that the spirit we are dealing with is from Satan then we know how to contend with it. 2.Revitalization. Renewing your faith in God. Faith plays an important part in dealing with the past and its memories. Knowing that God no longer remembers your past nor does He remember your sins of the past. Many may disagree at this next point but I want to bring it forward for discussion. If a memory of a past sin haunts you and brings you torment, many people try to ask God to help you with it. But, remember, that when God forgave you of your sins, He forgave you of all not just some. So when you bring up a past sin to God, He has no memory of it. The Father has no idea what you are speaking of. Psa 103:12, As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Reference; Psa_50:1, Psa_113:3; Isa_45:6 Isa_43:25; Jer_31:34, Jer_50:20; Mic_7:18; Heb_10:2; 1Jo_1:7 3. Rebuking. Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. What is to rebuke? In Scripture, chastisement; punishment; affliction for the purpose of restraint and correction. Ezek 5. To check or restrain. We must restrain or check these spirits that bring upon us bad memories. How you may ask? First by recognizing the spirit and calling it out by name. Each spirit of Satan has a name, such as, spirit of; evil, Legion (many), heartache, sickness (various), unclean thoughts, depression, anxiety, nightmares, lust, greed, hate, bondage, confrontation, ECT. In the following verse, the Lord calls the spirit out by name. The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. Zec 3. Isa 17. Act 19:15-16 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; Rom 8:26 Likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities: So you can see thru these examples, that we must take control of these spirits, rebuking them and restraining them from using our memories from harming us. Our memories are just fragments of our past, some of them are of failures in life and others are accomplishments, we have to discern which and control them. God has given us power over all the enemy, and we must learn to use it effectively. Remember you can’t change the past, and even if you could ask yourself, “ would I want to? “ Sometimes the things you want are not necessarily the things that you need. Ars. Dealing with Terror Isaiah 8:12-8:13 How do we as Christians deal with terror? Terror has been an effective tool of Satan from the beginning and He will continue to use it until Christ does away with it. Terror is a spirit and if left unchecked will destroy a mans faith in Gods promises. From Vietnam, Racial discord and the Cold War, we have been dealing with terror on our own terms. Viet Nam was a terror in a distant land; we knew where the front line was and whom the enemy was. By, The Grace of God, we overcame racial Discord and predigest. . The Cold war, we knew who our enemies were and it was dealt with by prayer and persistence. Our greatest threat today is September 11th.Fighting a cowardly enemy who knows neither decency nor boundaries to murder. An army with no face nor uniform, no rules of conduct or set country. The enemy here is religion, false religion. It has come in as a thief, to steal souls and lives of the innocent. The basis for their terror is found in the Koran;” The Guilty may be killed”, and who are the guilty according to Mohamed? Any one who is not Muslim. Christians around the world are being martyred every single day, beheadings are on the increase, bombings, imprisonment, rape and abductions are common practices for the anti-Christian nations. We should and must be able to defend our religion with meekness, in the fear of God. There is no room for any other fears where this great fear is; it disturbs not. The Fear of the Lord should be our only concern, for Christ said,” Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The conscience (principles or the sense of right and wrong) is good, when it does its office well. But when the conscious deters from its intended purpose it brings forth death (spiritual and physical) and sin and all manner of abominations. Lacking truth and wisdom in God. In the case of our Lord’s suffering, he that knew no sin, suffered instead of those who knew no righteousness. The spirit of terror has no righteousness within itself; it has no shame and no love for mankind. Terror wishes to destroy the spirit of the people and bring them into bondage. If terror is allowed to accomplish its mission we as Christians are in bondage to it and not to the freedom that we have in God. Who is stronger, man or God? If you suffer the anxiety of terror you must renew you strength in God by renewing your Fear of God and your Joy in Him. Rom 13:3 for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 2Co 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 1Pe 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; Lets look a little closer at, 1st Peter 3; 14; For righteousness, "not the suffering, but the cause for which one suffers, makes the martyr" [AUGUSTINE]. Augustine was indicating that the suffering of Jesus was not for the suffering itself, which was in the flesh, but the suffering was for the cause of righteousness and our salvation. Without a cause, suffering is pointless. Many today are suffering for the cause of Christianity this makes them martyrs for God and the Gospel. Happy, Not even can suffering take away your blessedness, but rather promotes it. Terror cannot take away your blessedness or salvation unless you allow it to. Our suffering, again, must have a purpose or we suffer for nothing. Our safety is based on the Power of God and His Grace and not on the things that man can do. 2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. We are made strong thru our weakness and terror is overcome by our strength in our faith. If man kills the body there is no more that he can do. This body must return back to the dust of the earth but the soul will live forever. 2Co 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Jesus dealt with terror or should I say the spirit of terror, in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. Mat 26:38-39 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Overcoming terror for Jesus was accomplished by Joy, “for the Joy set before Him, endured the Cross, Despising the shame.” Joy overcomes terror and grief. The Joy of the Lord is my strength, my stay and my salvation; with the Joy of God we are over-comers of this world and its terror. Does not the scripture say that we are more than conquers? Jesus dealt with and overcame every spirit that we deal with today, we can do no less than our savior did, and we also must overcome. Look at Revelations, Jesus spoke of “He that Overcometh.” And the overcoming of terror is thru and by the Word of God, knowing that if we are martyred for the cause of the Gospel, we are assured of Life everlasting in the arms of the Almighty. And--Greek, "but." Do not impair (damage or weaken) your blessing (1Pe 3:9) by fearing man’s terror in your times of adversity. Literally, "Be not terrified with their terror," that is, with that which they try to strike into you, and which strikes them when in adversity. This verse and 1Pe 3:15 is quoted from Isa 8:12-13. God alone is to be feared; he that fears God has none else to fear. God alone is to be feared, knowledge begins with the fear of God. Not a physical fear but a reverent fear, there is a difference. Neither be troubled--the threat of the law, Lev 26:36; Deut 28:65-66; in contrast to which the Gospel gives the believer a heart assured of God’s favor, and therefore unruffled, amidst all adversities. Not only be not afraid, but also be not even agitated. When you hear or see signs of terror, take it with stride, understand the cause and be not afraid. Terror always has a cause and understanding it and facing it will relieve the fear of it. I pray that this message will strengthen your resolve to endure and to strengthen your faith. We are never alone; Jesus promised that He would always be with you even until the end of the world. Ars. Dealing with the Past 1 Corinthians 13:10-13:12 There are many things that we as Christians have to deal with, when we give our life to Christ. One of these things is our past life, before we were changed into a new creature. As we grow in Jesus we start to expand our testimony to those that we use to know, hoping to get them to join in the family of God. But as we prepare our testimony and present our case to them, they always bring up our past and Satan tries to defeat us with it. So how do we deal with our past? Lets get some scripture and start to learn about, Dealing with the Past. Romans 8:6-7. We’ve all at one time or another ,been hurt, by those that bring up our past as if we were still living it. The scripture tells us that we all at one time were unruly. Most people that are miserable with their lives, want to make others, just as miserable as they are. This seems to be a way of forgetting their failures in life and passing the hurt to someone else. Consequently, they bring up your past, to help themselves to feel better about their failures in life. They don’t count the consequences of the hurt that they will cause you, and believe me ,it does hurt, especially when you’ve fought for a long time to forgive yourself for your mistakes. yes ,you do have to forgive yourself also. When Jesus forgives, He and God no longer remember what you’ve done, but you also have to forgive and forget,for, yourself. Romans 8:33, Who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods elect ? It is God that justifieth. Who are these people that condemn you,for your past, we are and all have been unruly. Christ made the sacrifice for us, He paid the debt, He did not owe, so it is to Him weather to forgive and judge, and not others. Just remember, when Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. Rebuke these spirits that torment you, and yes these are spirits that bring up your past, because torment is not of God. There is a lot about mans ignorance that shows thru when they remember your past, but we must be willing to deal with it, to be a good witness for Jesus. Showing them that, the sins of the past are forgiven and the sins of the future are hidden under the blood, for a Christian will not sin willfully. For we as, reborn creatures ,can no longer live in sin, for we are of the seed of God. John 8:6-7, 1Corinthians 13:10-12, and many others tell us us people that will bring up the past to hurt or justify their anger at situations that they cant control. 1st Corin., 13:10 speaks of ,”But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. “ Dreams, visions, etc, will come and go, but to end, the way to deal with the past is to, rebuke the spirit of torment, calling it by name. Remember to bind on earth, is to bind in Heaven. Call these spirits by name ,rebuking them in the name of Jesus, believing that they will no longer bother you and ,forgive yourself as Christ has forgiven you. Paul said, “let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of dead works, unto repentance.” Read the scriptures and understand, what God has forgiven, He no longer remembers. We serve God not man. ars. Dealing with Heart Disease. There are two different types of Heart Disease, the disease of the flesh and the disease of the spirit. For a moment I would like to talk to you about the Heart Disease of the flesh. In 1999 I had a massive heart attack, in fact I had three. On the first one I was pronounced dead by a Doctor from a prestigious Hospital. God in His mercy raised me up to continue my ministry, but He also allowed my body to maintain the Disease. I understand what many go thru when their hearts fail them. I know the pain and sometimes the despair that follows the attack. Fear wasn't with me but was rebuked. I was ready to leave this world and be with my Saviour. Living with this disease is sometimes difficult because the symptoms don't show outwardly. Have you ever heard people say, ” I don't see a thing wrong with you.?” I have. Heart disease is a silent killer that gives little or no warning just as Cancer. There sometimes is no outward sign that a person has the disease. I have experienced, nights without sleep, pains that come and go and depression that I have to rebuke. Yes, ministers also are attacked by Satan. I know how it affects family and friends. Many friends walk away from you, because they don't want to deal with it. The best friend I have is my wife Juanita. She is always there with words of encouragement and comfort. This reminds me of the times Jesus sent out the disciples by twos, one would be able to lean on the other and help each other. Thats how I feel about my wife, she is my best friend. To be able to live with this debilitating Disease, I turned to the Bible for my answers, the first question I had for God was, 1. Why Me? The answer I received was, 1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. But the most surprising of His answers was, ”Why Not You, My Son also had to suffer.” I accepted these answers and went on. 2. How will I continue on with my ministry? 1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 2Co 8:7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. The key word here was grace. His Grace would be sufficient for me to continue in His path. Unlike the Scientologist, I accepted the help of my doctors, took my medication, blessed each pill by the grace of God and trusted in Him. I don't think about dieing, for its up to the Lord. I learned one thing real fast, I have no control over my time to die, so why worry about it. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. The best example that God showed me was the life of Job. Job 1:6-12 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. So I put myself in Jobs shoes. Satan have you considered my servant Anthony? So put yourself in Jobs shoes. Satan have you considered my servant ..................? To live with Heart disease, 1. Live. Don't let the disease rule you. 2. Grace. Let Gods grace fill you with understanding of why you. For God Grace is sufficient. 3. Faith. Let your faith in God deliver you thru all the pain and suffering that you go thru. 4. Believe. Believe that God has a reason that you are allowed to be inflicted. 5. Show. Show the world what your God can do. 6. Witness. Be a witness to His majesty and Power. 7. Rebuke. Rebuke the spirit of infirmity. 8. Stand. Stand, and when you've done all, stand on Gods word. 9. Don't Fear. Don't fear or fret about the body but consider the soul and the one who has power over body and soul. 10. Read. Read Gods word daily, it comforts the Body, Mind and Soul. Remember this one thing, Prayer isn't automatic. Many Christians believe that God will answer all prayers because of the statement by Christ. Mat 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. This statement has a condition that goes along with it, ”If it be Gods Will !” Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Praying in the will of God is important,” not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Luke 21:25-26 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Now to the Spirit. Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Mans heart is a complex thing not just in the flesh but especially in the spirit. Man has come from the creation of God in His image to a creature that is being killed in spirit by the cancer that has taken over this world. I just want to share with you a letter that I received today from a good friend of mine. “Dear Brother Smith, It has been a long time you never heard from me, an incident occurred that completely took me off my feet. My wife was shot by armed robbers on September 10th, over $30,000 collected from her as she was working on her new clinic site, 8 bullets has so far been removed from her head, the rib's were broken by bullets and the right leg. She will be injected for 28days and no one is permitted to see her during these period. Brother it's a tormenting period for me, help me in prayers please. Bishop Dr. Joseph Rankin” This world is dieing. Many are calling for peace, but peace is unattainable in this life. Prostitution, Homo-sexuality, Rape, Murder, Theft, Unrighteousness, war, rumors of war, Earthquakes, Floods, Fires, And man still fails to repent or to see the signs of the times. There are many that say that they belong to God, but which god do they belong to. John 8:44-47, Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. The cancer of mans spirit is growing each and every day. Many worldwide are calling for an alliance of Christian, Judaism and Islam, to bring about world peace and prosperity. They want to join all three under one universal name. But there can only be two that can align themselves together, Judaism and Christianity, for the Jews and Christians are brothers. All other, so called religions that denigh the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not of God but of that spiritual cancer. You cannot make an alliance with the Devil. His promises to you are worthless and misleading. Death and destruction are in the paths of man, for he knows not the God of our fathers. Rejection has become the norm around the world. Many are ignoring the signs of the times, many are being cautious stating that the things that have are are going to happen are fulfillment of prophecy. The cancer in man has blinded him from the truth. He no longer sees the suffering of others, he no longer sees the signs of the times, the signs in the heavens, the signs in the earth and the signs on the earth. Hell enlarges its boarders daily and is never full. Man is on a course that puts him in the number that will have not only one death but will die a second time. Heb 3:10-12, Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 1Jo 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. Apostasy; An abandonment of what one has professed; a total desertion, or departure from one's faith or religion. Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 2Pe 2:14-22; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Apostasy; An abandonment of God for the lust of the flesh, power, corruption, instability, hypocrites all. Lost and dieing without hope of a resurrection in Glory. Falling as a tree in the woods with no sound to be heard, falling with cancer without any truth within them. False teachers, false preachers, false prophets, without understanding, without knowledge, without wisdom. As a tree falls, so shall it be raised. My words are nothing compared to the words of God. ars Dealing with Divorce. Many divorces happen because of an unequal alliance. A joining of two, separately dividing, different people. Many times its a matter of rich and poor, Immaturity, educated and uneducated, Christian and non-Christian. But most of the time, its a joining of two different people, out of the will of God. Marriages made by lust, convenience, and popularity. In most of the instances I've seen and councled, its a matter of, abuse and adultery, and or, childish lust that gives way to an act that is not justified. The joining of two different people, is what God warns of being unequally yoked together. There is no reason nor cause for abuse in any form, mental or physical, for this is a violation of the Laws of God and man. This is a violation of the Gospel, and will be dealt with by God. Eph 5:28-29; So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: The sins of Adultery. Pro 5:18-20; Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished(delighted to ecstasy.) with a strange woman,(A woman, not your wife.) and embrace the bosom of a stranger? These sins of man are equal to the same sins created by the woman, having a relationship with a man, not her husband. JFB. States of this; unequally yoked — “yoked with one alien in spirit.” The image is from the symbolical precept of the law (Lev_19:19), “Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind”; or the precept (Deu_22:10), “Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.” Compare Deu_7:3, forbidding marriages with the heathen; also 1Co_7:39. The believer and unbeliever are utterly heterogeneous. Too close intercourse with unbelievers in other relations also is included (2Co_6:16; 1Co_8:10; 1Co_10:14). A marriage of people that haven't grown up and still think as a child. Many times its the parents that cause a division between the wife and husband and often it's just childishness that is the cause. 1Co 7:15 - if ... depart — that is, wishes for separation. Translate, “separateth himself”: offended with her Christianity, and refusing to live with her unless she renounce it. brother or a sister is not under bondage — is not bound to renounce the faith for the sake of retaining her unbelieving husband [Hammond]. Deu_13:6; Mat_10:35-37; Luk_14:26. The believer does not lie under the same obligation in the case of a union with an unbeliever, as in the case of one with a believer. In the former case he is not bound not to separate, if the unbeliever separate or “depart,” in the latter nothing but “fornication” justifies separation [Photius in Aecumenius]. but God hath called us to peace — Our Christian calling is one that tends to “peace” (Rom_12:18), not quarreling; therefore the believer should not ordinarily depart from the unbelieving consort (1Co_7:12-14), on the one hand; and on the other, in the exceptional case of the unbeliever desiring to depart, the believer is not bound to force the other party to stay in a state of continual discord (Mat_5:32). Better still it would be not to enter into such unequal alliances at all (1Co_7:40; 2Co_6:14).(Clark.) bill of divorce — literally, “a writing of cuttings off.” The plural implies the completeness of the severance. The use of this metaphor here, as in the former discourse (Jer_3:1), implies a close connection between the discourses. The epithets are characteristic; Israel “apostate” (as the Hebrew for “backsliding” is better rendered); Judah, not as yet utterly apostate, but treacherous or faithless. jfb Jer 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 1Co 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. 1Co 7:28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. Mat 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. The sins of some churches. 1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 1Co 7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.1Co 7:15 - But if the unbelieving depart - If they choose to leave you. Let him depart - You cannot prevent it, and you are to submit to it patiently, and bear it as a Christian. brns. Divorce does not mean the end of ones ability to love or remarry, if they chose to do so. We cannot condemn the divorce for abiding to the word of God and Jesus, concerning divorce. If the circumstances arise, then we must not condemn ourselves, for if the individual does all to reconcile to the other and is refused, then the person is not bound any more but has retain peace between them and God. In these cases, do not try to bear the burden of blame or fault with yourself, this is self condemnation. Those that are not saved, the laws of God are not in force with them, for the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God. Proof? Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Jfb. In such a state of mind there neither is nor can be the least subjection to the law of God. The reason here is explained, that, a person, an unbeliever is not, or will not, be bound to the laws of God and will do as he or she desires to do. There by, being not subject to the Laws of God. This is where many say that a person being married in or as sinners, after divorce, cannot remarry. This is untrue, for being out in sin, and then being saved, God no longer remembers the sins of their past. In so that a person can remarry and still be in the will of God, without a judgment being leveled against that person. This is not to say that they are not bound by the plan of salvation, for all will give an answer for their actions. Fornication; 1. The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman. 2. Adultery. Mat 5. 3. Incest. 1 Cor 5. 4. Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 5.conjugal infidelity 2 Chr 21. Rev 19. ars. Gen_2:23, Gen_2:24, Gen_24:67; Pro_5:18, Pro_5:19; Ecc_9:9; Mal_2:14-16; Luk_14:26; Eph_5:25, Eph_5:28, Eph_5:29, Eph_5:33; 1Pe_3:7 Dealing with Sex. pt.1. This message is not to show what sexual sins are but rather what the Bible teaches about it. The thing about this subject is that many, so called religious ministers and organizations, are teaching the wrong message. These next 5 are the basic sins of sex. Fornication 1. The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman, having sex between the same gender. 2. Adultery. Mat 5. 3. Incest. 1 Cor 5. 4. Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 5. Animal Husbandry. Lev 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Lev 20:16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. The Bible is full of beautiful passages concerning, love and sex between a man and a woman, and curses on those that disregard Gods intent for sexual relations. The first verse we will look at is; 1Pe 3:7. “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” The husband to stay within the good graces of God must; 1. Be in Knowledge of a relationship with a woman. “dwell with them according to knowledge.” Where does this knowledge come from? The Bible and the parents instruction. If a child is raised according to the Law of Grace, and shows their Children a loving relationship between the two, then their children shall grow up in the same manner, fearing God. 2. Respect. “giving honour unto the wife” as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life. The woman is the weaker of the two. 3. Why these commandments to the husband? “that your prayers be not hindered.” A husband out of the will of God, concerning his wife, will have his prayers hindered as a transgression on his part. These commandments are for the believer and not unto an unbeliever. Why? For the unbeliever has a carnal mind and a carnal mind is not subject to the Law of God and neither can be. 1Co 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. The Bible doesn't say, Life Partner nor Mate. 2 Chr 21. Rev 19. 1Co 7:2 - to avoid: 1Co_7:9, 1Co_6:18; Pro_5:18, Pro_5:19; 1Ti_4:3 In this message we are going to look at the Book of Proverbs. Pro 5:2-5; That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. (“Discretion”; Prudence, or knowledge and prudence; that discernment which enables a person to judge critically of what is correct and proper, united with caution, knowing who is his and who is not, making a sound judgment.) For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: (We see here a woman, with alternative thoughts, will try to be seductive to a man. This type of woman is pleasant to the eyes and lusting to the senses. Her mouth brings forth many a seductive sound and words that will try to lead a man, unlearned in the word of Knowledge, away from his wife. But her end is bitter as wormwood(Poison.), sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. (She has a life style that will lead more than one man astray, and her destiny if bitter judgment.) Pro 5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Brns.;The words describe with a terrible vividness the state of heart and soul which prostitution brings upon its victims; the reckless blindness that will not think, tottering on the abyss, yet loud in its defiant mirth, ignoring the dreadful future. Prostitution is not a victim less act, but an act of destruction of body, mind and family. A prostitute is not only a woman selling her body on the street but also a woman that desires to disrupt another womans life, stealing affections from the other womans husband, without any regard of any consequences. The best advice that I see here in Proverbs is this next verse; Pro 5:15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 1.“Drink waters out of thine own cistern” From your own wife. 2.“running waters out of thine own well.” Happiness, Fulfillment and Satisfaction, from your own wifes body. Pro 5:17-23; Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. 1.Your own Wife. The repetitiveness of this Idea is to instill in a man that strange flesh, strange women, not your own wife, is a transgression of the Laws of God, concerning man. When a idea is repeated more than once it is stating a great importance upon that subject. End part 1. ars Dealing with Sex. pt.2.. Dealing With Sex. pt. 2. Pro 5:17-22; Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Here we see the blessedness of marriage; “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. (Fountain; your rain of life.) Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished(delighted to ecstasy.) always with her love. (“Hind”; gentleness, Pro.5:19, feminine modesty, Son.2:7; Son.3:5) (“roe”, Slender, graceful, shy, and timid; the image of feminine loveliness (Son.4:5; Son.2:9; Son.2:17; Son.8:14). The eye is large, soft, liquid, languishing, and of deepest black; image of swift footedness (2Sa.1:19; 2Sa.2:18; 1Ch.12:8). Pro 5:19 - jfb; loving ... roe — other figures for a wife from the well-known beauty of these animals. breasts — (Compare Son_1:13; Eze_23:3, Eze_23:8). ravished — literally, “intoxicated,” that is, fully satisfied. A man, who being in the will of God, shall be please with his wife, and have no other to desire after. Sex is an important part of a marriage, but the spiritual side is also important to maintain. The Lord stated that, That which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit. To have a successful relationship between husband and wife, it must contain both physical submission and spiritual guidance thru knowledge. Sex was established by God to populate the earth and to make a pleasant relationship between husband and wife, anything out side of this type of union is vulgar and sinful. Man has taken a beautiful thing as love between a man and a woman and made it something that is hidden. He has taken sex and made it into something that is repulsive to many. The relationship between a man and a woman, is an teaching relationship that shows us the relationship that God desires from us, it shows Gods desire to have that same relationship between Him and The Children of Israel. God is showing us thru His word, 2 separate things, a relationship between husband and wife and a relationship between Christ and the Church. to her: Rev_3:4, Rev_3:5, Rev_3:18; Psa_45:13, Psa_45:14; Isa_61:10; Eze_16:10; Mat_22:12; Rom_3:22; Rom_13:14; Eph_5:26, Eph_5:27. Rev 19:7-9; Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? (Will you become a whore to another?) For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.(God knows all that each man does in this life.) His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.(Mans sins shall destroy him because it is the man that comitts such things that are contrary to sound judgment.) Lets read some beautiful passages of Love in, The Song of Solomon; Son 1:10-17; Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver. While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi. Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.end pt. 2. ars. Son 1:8 - O thou: Son_1:15, Son_2:10, Son_4:1, Son_4:7, Son_4:10, Son_5:9, Son_6:1, Son_6:4-10, Son_7:1-13; Psa_16:3, Psa_45:11, Psa_45:13; Eph_5:27; Rev_19:7, Rev_19:8 Dealing with Sex. pt.3. Dealing with Sex. 3. In this conclusion message, we see that a sexual relationship between a married couple is ordained by God. This relationship may have problems later on in life. These problems do not occur because of a love relationship is lost but rather a loss of ability of the body. We must look at 1Co 7:5; “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” The key words in 1Co 7:5, “with consent”. Maintaining a sexual relationship is important in a relationship, but there comes times when a man and a woman become unable to preform these actions because of health or just age. We see this in the relationship between Abraham and Sarah. Gen 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Gen 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? Brns. Gen 18:12 - Sarah laughed within herself - It was not a laughter of faith, like Abraham's, Gen_17:17, but a laughter of doubting and distrust. The great objection which Sarah could not get over was her age. I am waxed old, and past child - bearing in a course of nature, especially having been hitherto barren, and which magnifies the difficulty, My lord is old also. Observe here, That Sarah calls Abraham her lord, and the Holy Ghost takes notice of it to her honour, and recommends it to the imitation of all Christian wives, 1Pe_3:6. Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him lord, in token of respect and subjection. The statement in 1Co 7:5, is not a commandment but a suggestion from God thru the Apostle Paul. We say this because of what is stated afterwards; 1Co 7:6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. “by permission” brns. This word means “indulgence,” or “permission,” and stands opposed to that which is expressly enjoined; compare 1Co_7:25. “I am ‘allowed’ to say this; I have no express command on the subject; I give it as my opinion; I do not speak it directly under the influence of divine inspiration;” see 1Co_7:10, 1Co_7:25, 1Co_7:40. Paul here does not claim to be under inspiration in these directions which he specifics. But this is no argument against his inspiration in general, but rather the contrary. 1Co 7:6 - by: 1Co_7:12, 1Co_7:25; 2Co_8:8, 2Co_11:17 1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. The Apostle Paul was not married, but his advice for the married and unmarried are words from the Father, by permission, and not of commandment. 1Co 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. “if they cannot contain” is speaking of a sexual relationship before marriage. “for it is better to marry than to burn.” Speaking of the desire of the flesh and also of the penalty of sex before marriage, fornication. 1Co 7:29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; 1Co 7:29, is speaking of the end days, where it will be all a man and a woman can do, to remained saved, to remain solely concentrated on God. Sex at this point and time for Christians will be a low priority, but rather their priority will be on worship. Mal 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. Mal 2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. Mal 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? Dealing with sex is a matter of wisdom and knowledge, in Gods word. We cannot continue to have random sex between, the unmarried and the fornication of same sex couples. We cannot accept these types of lifestyles, we cannot say that these things will be ok, or that they were born this way, for these are the lies of Satan. These things or should I say relationships, bring about, pain, heart ache, disease, trouble and damnation, for after sin is conceived it brings forth death. This world is coming to and end. God will accept you as you are, but He refuses to allow you to continue in the ways of sin. We deal with sex as a part of our very exsistance, ordained by God as a union between, a married, man and a woman. We can take the dirtiness of sex out, with instruction and education, we can remove the sexual sins by raising our children in the knowledge of Lord. In my opinion, we have almost lost an entire generation to lack of teaching, knowledge and instruction. We are losing many thru the, shows, books and commercials that bombard our nation and our children that state that all sex is ok. Accepting these lies will lead to damnation. Ars. If thou shalt confess. Romans 10:9-10. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. KNOWL'EDGE, n. nol'lej. 1. A clear and certain perception of that which exists, or of truth and fact; the perception of the connection and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of our ideas. We can have no knowledge of that which does not exist. God has a perfect knowledge of all his works. Human knowledge is very limited, and is mostly gained by observation and experience. 2. Learning; illumination of mind. Ignorance is the curse of God, knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven. Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Knowledge of one faults and need of salvation is essential to confession to God. Knowledge of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for you is paramount in becoming a Christian. Many have a zeal for serving God but as the passage states, without Knowledge. Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted(Surrendered; resigned; yielded; referred.) themselves unto the righteousness of God. In Rom 10:3, we see that, submission to the righteousness of God is the beginning of establishment of a covenant agreement between those that are lost and God. They say that confession is good for the soul, and they are correct. Then whom shall we confess our sins to, man or God? Fausset states that; Confession is desirable (1) In case of wrong done to a neighbor, Mat.18:15;(This is true, if we wrong a neighbor, we are to apologize and ask forgiveness for the transgression.) (2) To a Christian adviser, ordained or unordained, anyone who can apply God's written word suitably to one's need, and "pray for" and with one, James 5:16; Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. We are to pray for one another, weather it be between only 2 people or an entire congregation, for the prayers of many shall avail over any obstacle. (3) Open confession of any wrong done to the church, which has caused scandal to religion, in token of penitence. Not auricular: Mat. 3:6; Act. 19:18, "many confessed and shewed (openly, not in the ear of a priest under the seal of secrecy) their deeds." 2Co 6:3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed;. We are no longer bound by confession or giving offerings to the priest hood for our sins, which we as gentiles, were never added unto the law and by that, we were not subject to any law. Only the Jews were under the Law! As without law - Not practicing the special rites and ceremonies enjoined in the law of Moses. Not insisting on them, or urging them, but showing that the obligation to those rites had been done away; and that they were not binding, though when among the Jews I might still continue to observe them; see the notes at Acts 15; and the argument of Paul in Gal_2:11-18. I neglected the ceremonial precepts of the Mosaic law, when I was with those who had not heard of the law of Moses, or those who did not observe them, because I knew that the binding obligation of these ceremonial precepts had ceased. I did not, therefore, press them upon the Gentiles, nor did I superstitiously and publicly practice them. In all this, Paul has reference only to those things which he regarded as in themselves indifferent, and not a matter of conscience; and his purpose was not; needlessly to excite the prejudice or the opposition of the world. Nothing is ever gained by provoking opposition for the mere sake of opposition. Nothing tends more to hinder the gospel than that. In all things of conscience and truth a man should be firm, and should lose his life rather than abandon either; in all things of indifference, of mere custom, of prejudice, he should yield, and accommodate himself to the modes of thinking among people, and adapt himself to their views, feelings, and habits of life, that he may win them to Christ. BRNS. James 2:10 states about the Law; “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” 1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. This is the gentile race of people, we had a law within ourselves. In Acts 8:37, we see the simplicity to this whole question; “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” By this confession, by knowledge of Jesus Christ, this man was Saved. We confess to God that, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We repent of our sins and are Baptized. After that, being saved, if we sin, we confess our sins not to man but to God. We are in no need of anyone else to interseed for us, for we have a High Priest forever, that interseeds for us, Jesus Christ, our mediator. Our confession of being lost goes to God, our confessions of sin and transgressions goes to God thru Jesus Christ and we do not confess our sins to any priest for we are free from the Law. So again; “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”ars. tsk. That if: Rom_14:11; Mat_10:32, Mat_10:33; Luk_12:8; When Religions Collide. The Truth of the Gospel offends many religions in this world today, of compromise. Every one is trying to compromise on religion, salvation and life itself. Compromise was never in the intent of Gods plan of salvation. Compromise was never in the intent of Gods Word. Compromise brings about weakness, when it comes to the word of God, this will not be allowed. We do as our Lord commands, we do not compromise, but we are to reason together, one with another. Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. This reasoning is not compromising, but rather a closer look at problems and misunderstandings that sometimes comes between man and God. Many religions are very pleasant, friendly and agreeable, until confronted with the truth. Then they become offended and nasty. Not wanting to compromise on their religion, but all others. Jesus went thru this when He started His ministry. Mat 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. Master, “Master,” when the translation of 'ādhōn, “ruler,” “lord” (Sir), often translated “lord,”“Rabboni,” Isa 41:21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. The word, “Hypocrites” is listed 20 times in the Bible. God knew that religion would be a great obstacle in conversion of the Lost. Religion is becoming a great disappointment in this, the end days of mankind. Job 15:34-35; For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit. Mat 15:7-9 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. BRNS;And he called the multitude - In opposition to the doctrines of the Pharisees, the Saviour took occasion to show them that the great source of pollution was the heart. They supposed that external things chiefly defiled a man. On this all their doctrines about purification were founded. This opinion of the Jews it was of great importance to correct. The Saviour took occasion, therefore, to direct the people to the true source of defilement - their own hearts. He particularly directed them to it as of importance - “Hear and understand.” In his answer he implied that his disciples were not bound to obey their traditions - they were invented by human beings. He said, also, that those traditions could not be binding, as they violated the commandments of God. . He proceeded to specify a case in which their tradition made void one of the plain laws of God; and if that was their character, then they could not blame him for not regarding them. Religions Collide when doctrines of man, additions to the scripture or deductions from the Gospel, become open to discussion. We all can recognize blatant disregard for the Gospel, but the ones that are causing the most controversy and trouble, are those that try to introduce doctrine and passages, not of God, slowly and unobtrusively. Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. A man is defiled, when what he says is contrary to sound doctrine. Christians are not in the business to downgrade anyone, but on the contrary, Christians have 2 duties to God and their faith. 1. Defend the Gospel. And 2. Compel those that are lost to come to Jesus before its too late. Here is where religious beliefs Collide. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is pure and needs no other words to support it. Those that try to add to and take away from this Gospel, become the enemies of Christ and the enemies of His followers. These man made doctrines bring forth; evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness and blasphemies Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, (Offended by the Truth.)after they heard this saying? Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant(doctrine, ministers, teachers, prophets), which my heavenly Father hath not planted(Sent.), shall be rooted up.(This speaking of the Pharisees and their doctrine.) Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.(Teachers of false doctrine and those that follow them.) And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.(Hell) Two different religious beliefs collided here, between the Truth of the Gospel and the laws of man Changed doctrine. The Mosaic Law was given to man by God, but man Changed the words, making the Law tainted. In other words, God gave us the key to unlock our soul from Sin and Satan, and those that reject Gods word as it is written, gives man a key but they also changed the lock so that the key doesn't fit. Mat 7:22-23; Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Wesley; Mat 7:22 - We have prophesied - We have declared the mysteries of thy kingdom, wrote books; preached excellent sermons: In thy name done many wonderful works - So that even the working of miracles is no proof that a man has saving faith. Brns; I never knew you - That is, I never approved of your conduct; never loved you; never regarded you as my friends. See Psa_1:6; 2Ti_2:19; 1Co_8:3. This proves that, with all their pretensions, they had never been true followers of Christ. Jesus will not then say to false prophets and false professors of religion that he had once known them and then rejected them; that they had been once Christians and then had fallen away; that they had been pardoned and then had apostatized but that he had never known them - they had never been true Christians. Whatever might have been their pretended joys, their raptures, their hopes, their self-confidence, their visions, their zeal, they had never been regarded by the Saviour as his true friends. The collision of the True Gospel and The False Doctrines of Man. Act 19:26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: Act 19:40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. The collision of Religions will progressively get worse in this end times, all trying to confuse and entice with great swelling words of false hope and freedom. But all other religions offer false doctrines and keys to eternal damnation. Ars. Satan's Grip. Why Children Go Bad. To understand our children's fall from grace we must look at whom they serve. Many parents ask and even blame themselves,”What did I do wrong?” Parents do have a certain amount of responsibility to guide their children into the righteousness which is God, they must teach and explain, what salvation is, further more this must begin at a young age. But after you've done these things, forget about blaming yourself on the state of your children. We cannot make the decisions for them and we cant hold their hand forever. A child goes bad many times, by choice, per- pressure and a falling society. There comes a time in each child's life that they must choose their walk in life. Then you say, “Who's to Blame?” Its not really blame that we must look for but Circumstances that have surrounded them. Its easy to see the, cause and or circumstances, for our children to fall away from the teachings of their parents. Lets look at a few things before we get into the scripture. 1. The government, because of one woman, took God out of the class room. 2. The media has brought in sex and violence into the children's everyday life. 3. The Church has failed them because of so much Hypocrisy within its walls. 4. The entire education system has let the children down by not discouraging binge drinking, pre-marital sex and violence on campus. The emphasis is more on sports and less on education. Then who is this man our children follow? Let take a close look. Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Satan was a teacher in Heaven, an Archangel, a Spirit of Beauty and Light. But Jesus stated that Satan's fall was because of Pride. 2nd Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (Sometimes beauty kills.) Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you ( Satan's desire is to cause the fall of anyone that will believe his lies. For He cannot return to the Kingdom of Heaven and will prevent as many as He can from doing so.) , that he may sift you as wheat (To tear into peaces.): But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Prayer is the best defense against the wiles of the Devil.) When a name is repeated in the Bible it is a sign that the event will take place twice, it also signifies, love and also a warning, just as we did when our children were out side playing and were about to get themselves into trouble. The first is to get their attention and the second is a warning. Satan is trying to destroy all who will not listen to the warning. Lets look at 2nd Corinthians 2:11; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Many times our children fall because they do not know how cunning Satan is, nor what devices he uses to intimidate and confuse. Satan's grip on not only our children but mankind today has grown because of lack of social integrity. Society in large has become uncaring and disinterested in God. Wars and rumors of wars. Society has taught of children that gain is more important than the soul. The social decline and Lack of reverence to God has caused this world to come into turmoil. When I was a child, my parents taught me about, right and wrong, Jesus and God, responsibility and patriotism. Thou it took me many years after leaving home to realize for myself that I was missing something in my life. I had it all but still felt empty. When the Holy Spirit reminded me of who Jesus was and I was converted, I found that that empty place in my Heart was gone. If you've taught your children about the Bible, the word will never leave them, its still there in their mind. Many times children fall because what they see their parents do, just because a parent does something wrong doesn't mean that the parent cant explain what he did wrong, why he did it and the consequences of their actions to their child to help prevent another wrong. If the parents live in sin, the child will believe this action is normal, so we must be careful how we live and what kind of example we give. Children go bad, basically, because of lack of leadership. 1. From the parents. 2. From the Schools and 3. From their minister. The Minister is the last line of defense for a child. A good minister, after trying all prayers, will do as Paul had to do to save those that were hard hearted. Lets read 1st Corinthians 5:5; “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” A minister that is well informed in the scriptures has the power to turn an individual over to Satan to teach the other side of life. And if this method doesn't work, He has no other recourse but to turn them over to God, to preform His will. 1Titus 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. Society has taught teenagers that it is natural to have intercourse before marriage, it has taught them that getting pregnant and aborting the pregnancy is natural, it has taught them, having a baby hinders their fun in life (I.E. You can have the pleasure of sex but you don't have to accept the responsibility for it.) Ars. Killing God ! COLUMBUS, Ohio - A church that burned to the ground earlier month was deliberately set on fire, officials announced Wednesday. The fire took place on Feb. 10 at the Full Gospel Sons of God Church, located at 1200 Vera Place. BAGHDAD, Iraq - Assailants wearing uniforms detonated two bombs inside one of Iraq’s most revered Shiite shrines Wednesday, blowing the top off its landmark golden dome and spawning mass protests and reprisal attacks against dozens of Sunni mosques as leaders pleaded for calm. Alabama Burning; 6 Baptist Churches Burn to ground in the South. India News, 2006; India and Pakistan urged to build Nuclear weapons by U.S. Government. West Virginia; 2006; Another Baptist Church is burnt to the Ground, no arrest have been made. India 2006, Murder for Church Building was a frame. Apparently, members of the local Hindu nationalist political party advised the parents to dash their dead child's body against some rocks, breaking its bones. They then took the body to a doctor for a postmortem examination. Only after threats from the radical Hindus did the physician reluctantly file a false report, citing murder as the cause. Then the radicals advised the parents to file murder charges against Pastor Kasota and 10 other Believers Church members, including four other pastors, saying the murder was part of a plot to grab land for a church building. We have seen churches burned sense the early times of mans existence. Time after time, the ungodly take it upon themselves to try to change the course of mankind's involvement with God. Church buildings are not necessary to become involved with God and neither does it take one to become saved. Man today takes himself a little to seriously. The Buildings are considered an intricate part of their worship, prestige and notoriety. When you get people to donate $500.00 to buy a brick to place in a sidewalk, what you have is a $500.00 brick. God is not noted because of buildings nor any other structure that man can build but of His Awesome Power over creation. Before we go any further we must go to the scripture for Gods view on Buildings. 2Ch 6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! God cannot be contained in any House, Temple nor Universe. God is not in the Building of Rock and Stone but He dwells within the Individual. There have been many that have tried to kill God by burning down the Temple or Church. Not realizing that God is from everlasting to everlasting. Hitler tried, Cos cove tried and now the Spirit of Anti-Christ is trying. Removing the building is not going to kill God but in fact will make peoples resolve to worship God the more greater. You can kill a body but you cannot kill a spirit. God is Spirit. Acts 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Dwelleth: To kill you must find the victim. In Acts 7:49, we see that God has no one dwelling place. Wherever you find a believer, you will find God, wherever you are, The Mountains, The Valleys, The Rivers and Streams and the Oceans, you will find God. 1Co 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. For man to kill God he must also kill the people that believe in Him, not in the flesh but rather in the spirit. Here we see prophecy of the end times; Amos 9:10-12; All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. And finally, Lets see what Jesus said about the most beautiful temple ever built by man for God, Solomon's Temple; Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Clark states of the destruction of the Temple; The temple was destroyed because of, 1st. Justly; because of the sins of the Jews. 2ndly. Mercifully; to take away from them the occasion of continuing in Judaism: and 3rdly. Mysteriously; to show that the ancient sacrifices were abolished, and that the whole Jewish economy was brought to an end, and the Christian dispensation introduced. If you remember your Bible Study, you should notice that Jesus was not upset with the knowledge that Solomon's temple would be destroyed. Even Jesus being the Son of God, was not upset about the destruction of a building, for He stated that, we were the stones, we were the Building, we were the Temple of the Most High God. A building is just a building, if Gods Spirit does not inhabit the building it is empty. Acts 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: To kill God, man has tried everything that is imaginable, fire, stones, war, rumors of War, genocide and selective breading. Their efforts have come to nothing. You can kill an animal but you still cannot kill its spirit. You say,”Does even an animal have a spirit.?” Yes. The Bible clearly states that this is true. To kill God you must kill the memory of Him, the Sanctity of Him, The very Idea of Him. Many have tried and still fail. In James 4:2, we see how limited man is, how week and unlearned. How week is man that he should try to fight against God? “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. If mankind cannot even change the mind of God, change the prophecy's of God, nor change the will of God, he cannot kill God, but only quench the spirit of God in an uncontrolled setting. 1Th 5:19 Quench not the Spirit. In closing I wanted to add what Clark states of 1 Th.5:19; “The Holy Spirit is represented as a fire, because it is his province to enlighten and quicken the soul; and to purge, purify, and refine it. This Spirit is represented as being quenched when any act is done, word spoken, or temper indulged, contrary to its dictates. It is the Spirit of love, and therefore anger, malice, revenge, or any unkind or unholy temper, will quench it so that it will withdraw its influences; and then the heart is left in a state of hardness and darkness. It has been observed that fire may be quenched as well by heaping earth on it as by throwing water on it; and so the love of the world will as effectually grieve and quench the Spirit as any ordinary act of transgression. Every genuine Christian is made a partaker of the Spirit of God; and he who has not the spirit of Christ is none of his. It cannot be the miraculous gifts of the Spirit which the apostle means, for these were given to few, and not always; for even apostles could not work miracles when they pleased; but the direction in the text is general, and refers to a gift of which they were generally partakers.” ars. These References are extremely Important. 1Ki_9:7, 1Ki_9:8; Jer_26:18; Eze_7:20-22; Dan_9:26, Dan_9:27; Mic_3:12; Luk_19:44; 2Pe_3:11 Act_17:24, Act_17:25; 1Ki_8:27; 2Ch_2:5, 2Ch_2:6, 2Ch_6:18. as: Isa_66:1, Isa_66:2 The Prodical Son. Many look at the story of the Prodical Son as a contrast between two Brothers, one conservative and the other a non conformist, a rebel. But in essence it is way more than that. We can see many a lesson from this account. The first is between the Father and two different sons, the second is a conflict between God and two different religions, or should I say, interpretations. The View of the Gentiles (i.e. Christians.) and the other the Jewish House of Israel. (i.e. Gods Chosen People.) Now the third thing that we see here is the difference between the people of Israel, (The Poor and unlearned.) and the other the Pharisees.(The ruling class.) Luke 15:12 And the younger of them ( Barnes states;- By this younger son we are to understand the publicans and sinners to be represented. By the older, the Pharisees and scribes.) said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. (This was the separation of Lands between the twelve tribes of Israel. Historical Fact) Barnes was stating that the publicans and sinners, were rebellious because of the treatment that this class of people had gone thru. They were disillusioned with the religious right and wanted the freedom to seek God and their identity in other ways. This is historical fact, not only from the record books of the Isralies but from The Books of Moses. They found out later that the road to religious freedom required to be bought by a great price, that they were unable or unwilling to pay. Rejecting the Teaching that they had received from the Mosaic Law, these people became a target for Satan and the demons of Lust, Theft, Idolatry, Hunger, Depression and want, of things of the Body and those things of the Spirit. We still see this today in Israel, a separation of peoples, Brothers, divided only by religious differences but joined as one for preservation of a Nation. Now in contrast we see the Pharisees and scribes as a constant unmovable force that stayed with the Mosaic Law. Jesus was trying to teach that, If the people of Israel and the ruling Class of the Pharisees and the Temple Priest, could have come together and live as God had intended them to live, that there would have been no division between the two. The Eldest son, (The Religious Order.) Wanted everything for themselves. They said that they were loyal to the Law and The Prophets and Jesus was saying, “Why are you angry when your brothers come back to their senses and accept the rule and will of God?” Luke 15:17-27; And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare (Love. Remember Jesus stated that He was the Bread of Life.), and I perish with hunger! This is in reference to Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Righteousness at this time was missing from not only the House of Israel, (The people.) but also from The Temple, Priest, Pharisees, and Scribes. Need proof ? OK, lets look at Matthew 5:20; “For I (Jesus) say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees ( They practiced the Law in principle but not truly in Spirit. This is not to mean that there were none that were righteous but only a very few.) , ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.(Here, they had a form of religion, knowing the form and fashion of it, but none of the truth nor power of it.) Somewhere between the Prophets of Daniel, Isiaha and Ezekiel and Malachi the Righteousness of the Nation, as a whole, fell. I will arise and go to my father,( i.e. Return to the Law.), and will say, (Repent.) unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. (This verse is a repeat of the prior verse, for we must first admit to ourselves that we have sined, and then admit it to God.)- And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants (Angels.), Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: (This is the acceptance of non-jews as sons and daughters.) For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. (God cannot accept a Son of His as a servant no more than we could our own children.) Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. Now in Luke 15:28-32, we see the anger of the Israelites over Jesus accepting the poor and the lower class, also with the addition of the gentiles into salvation. This all was contradictory to what the Pharisees were teaching. And he was angry, and would not go in ( Not going in, was speaking of acceptance of Jesus as the messiah and the fulfiller of prophecy.)(Referencing Matthew 23:13; “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.”) : therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid(Referencing a reward for service.), that I might make merry with my friends: (We see here the bitterness of the ruling class against Jesus and any change in their status regarding control over religious matters.) But as soon as this thy son(Gentiles) was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots(False gods and Idols.), thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. (God was telling the Religious order, that their place with Him was not taken away but was altered with the acceptance of the others, so that all mankind would have a place with Him. So long as they accepted Jesus as The Christ.) It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother(The gentiles and The other Tribes of Israel. We must remember that the other tribes, as it is today, were and still are separate of each other.) was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Just as I stated in the beginning of this message, this is just one of three interpretations that are within the same scriptures. each interpretation has its place. Just as Paul stated; I have become all things to all men that by some means I might win some. I hope that this message has given you a little more insight into the understanding of Gods word. ars Luke_5:29-32, Luke_7:29, Luke_13:30; Eze_18:27; Mat_9:10-13, Mat_21:28-31; Rom_5:20; 1Ti_1:15 Bang, Bang,Your Dead. Zechariah 14:1-14:12 Preaching the Gospel is an exciting adventure into the past, present and future. Many believe that humanity will continue at its present rate and eventually come together in peace and love. I’m sorry to say that this is just another lie from the father of all lies, Satan. Man is destined to die, no matter what, age, race, color, weather they be rich or poor. Death will not be denighed. As a child, I believe that many of you played games with your friends, some played, Cops and Robbers, and others Cowboys and Indians. The game was always the same, when we came upon our opponent we said, Bang, Bang,Your Dead. Lets look at the reality of the truth. This part of verse comes from Zec 14:12; “Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” This scripture is stating that the flesh of mankind, that refuse God, shall be obliterated as they stand, bang, bang, your dead for real. Gog & Magog, Armageddon, and the Last war with Satan, which follows the 1000 year reign of Christ, all have the same thing in common. Death and destruction of man-kinds way of life. We as ministers have just scratched the surface of the truth in scripture. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Remember how that God decided to destroy all because of the unrighteousness. How the people had forgotten about God and His laws and statutes. How they turned to false gods and idols, homo-sexuality and all manner of debochery? Gen 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Well my friends, look around you today? “Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,” No where to run ,no where to hide, no time to repent, no time to ask forgiveness nor say good by to this life. Consumed by fire as you stand upon your feet and at the next moment surrounded by everlasting fire, heat and smoke. Each day that we live brings us closer to death, for some the joy of death and others the shame of it. I am just an old country preacher, some call a Hell Fire and Brimstone Man. But as this world races closer to the end of times, we must warn them that are outside the will of God. Jude gives me the inspiration that I need to continue to preach. Jude 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. As I have said before, I will say again, It doesn’t matter what you believe, what matters is what Gods word says. Many are going after, Scientology, Budism, Musleumism and many other isms. Science is the bigest false god that runs rampant in this world today. Christians are being attacked by scientist that are trying to prove the existance of some other way of evolution. Man has corrupted himself with, false doctrine, unrighteous laws and attrocities hand over fist. Christianity has been and will be blamed for all of mans woes. Jude 1:22-23, And of some have compassion, making a difference: There is still a place for compassion. Compassion among those that are willing to hear with their ears and for those that are willing see with their eyes. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; {The fire of Hell} hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. The garment, the false religion and attitude of man. Every man has religion, every man believes in something, Buda, Allah, False Prophets, Money, Power, Prestige, Government and even themselves. They all believe that what they are doing is right. But their path is leading to a death of all deaths. All of this is religion. Psa 110:6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. When God says enough, then death will be reliesed, as it was in Egypt, but Death will strike quickly and with a vengeance, according to the will of God. Isa 66:15- 16 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. Man will not listen to God, man has refused to listen to His ambasitors, prophets and even His own Son. Isa 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. This earth is going to rock and real, like a drunkard. [Extremely important references; Eze_38:18-22, Eze_39:17-20] Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. Can you emagin, people , jumping from cliffs, shooting themselves, drinking poison and not being able to die? A Day of sadness and day of torment a Day of Vengeance. Zec 14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem;{Who are these nations that have fought against Jerusalem? All Nations.} Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. As a Nuclear blast only worse. Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. Eze 39:14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. Eze 39:15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. Its time to stop playing around with space, its time to stop playing with scientology, its time to stop playing around with evolution, its time to stop condemning the Ten Commandments as being subversive to our Children. Coming soon will be, Bang, Bang, Your Dead, for real. Eternal Punishment By Ron Boatwright Man has tried to explain away eternal punishment with various false theories such as: Universalism, Purgatory, Annihilationism, etc. But Jesus says in Matthew 25:46, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Everlasting punishment in Hell will last just as long as eternal life in Heaven. Revelation 14:11 says, "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night." The torment goes on day and night, forever and ever, without end. In eternal torment there will be no relief. In Luke 16:23-24 Christ is telling of a certain rich man, "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." There will be no relief. People will be begging for even just one drop of water, but they will not get it. Jesus is trying to warn us of Hell. He says in Mark 9:43-44, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to Hell, into fire that shall never be quenched, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." It will be horrible to be constantly eaten on by flesh eating maggots. In Hell people will be "cast into outer darkness where there will be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 22:13, 13:42). The pain is indescribable and unbearable. No one has to go to Hell, but if one goes there he will only have himself to blame. Hell is not a fictitious place. Hell is a real place in which the vast majority of people will be thrown into (Matthew 7:13-14). It will be a nightmare that will never end. There will be no second chances. Today we must be serious about the eternity of our souls. Let’s make going to Heaven our number one priority in this life. Sown in Weakness. 1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. The hope that Jesus Raised from the dead, is the Hope that dwells within us all, who believe. What does 1st.Co 15:42-54 really mean? We have went from the Cross to the Grave, but the grave is not the end of all things but just the beginning. I attended many a funeral this year, all family members that went to be with the Lord, all having the hope of the resurrection within themselves. The Cross for Jesus was two different things, 1. Giving His Life so that we might live. 2. Showing the Power of God, laying the sins of the entire world on to the shoulders of His Son. The Cross is our symbol, not of Death, but of Life, thru the one who hung between Heaven and Hell, between Heaven and Earth, between Us and God. Jesus was, and still is, our connection with God that before was impossible. A link of flesh and blood shed and a link of Spirits. The Resurrection of the Dead. 1Co 15:42-54. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. Sown in; 1.Corruption; Depravity; wickedness; perversion or deterioration of moral principles; loss of purity or integrity. 2. Dishonour; 1Co 15:43 - in dishonour — answering to “our vile body” (Phi_3:21); literally, “our body of humiliation”: liable to various humiliations of disease, injury, and decay at last. JFB. 3. Weakness; Want of physical strength; want of force or vigor; feebleness; as the weakness of a child; the weakness of an invalid feebleness of mind; foolishness. 4. Natural Body; This flesh that contains our spirit & Soul. All of these things, we are, or were. The Seed. The seed is the word of God, it is sown in many physical bodies, some believe and are saved and many more reject and are lost. The Word of God came to all by this sowing of seeds, thru a minister of God. This Depraved; wicked; perverse, the lacking of moral principles; and the loss of purity, came to us from sin and our acceptance of it. As we came to the knowledge of truth, we were weak in our bodys, accepting anything that this flesh wanted. We were not in control of our lives and we were not in control of our spirit, for our spirit, before Christ, lusted to envy. Therefore as by the offense of Adam judgment came upon all men for by Adam we were all condemned. For if you say, you never sinned, you become a lier and the truth is far from you. For all men have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: The seeds of the truth; 1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul(In the weakness of the Flesh.); the last Adam was made a quickening spirit(In the Power of God.). As we die, so shall we be raised, dieing in corruption ,we raise in corruption, as we die in sin, we also raise in sin, for the corrupt after death cannot be saved, those that die in sin cannot be forgiven of sin. For it is appointed unto man, once to be born, once to die and then the Judgment. There is no place after death, where men can receive forgiveness after he has rejected Christ in this life. To say or teach otherwise, is a deception and false doctrine. 1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1Co 15:54 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. For only by the Cross, can this corrupt put on the incorruption, this vile put on Cleanliness, this mortal body be made in the likeness of our Lord, and this weakness put on Power. For the resurrection of the Saints is by the Power of the Cross and the Power of The Holy Ghost. That same Spirit that Raised our Saviour from The Dead. The seeds of truth are sometimes harsh, gentile, easy to understood and sometimes hidden to only those that refeused to believe. To some; Phi 1:15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: Phi 1:16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: Phi 1:17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. Brns. The earnest desire and hope which Paul had was not, primarily, that he might be released; but it was that, in all circumstances, he might be able to honor the gospel, living or dying. To that he looked as a much more important matter than to save his life. Life with him was the secondary consideration; the main thing was, to stand up everywhere as the advocate of the gospel, to maintain its truth, and to exhibit its spirit. For it is the preaching of the Gospel(Seeds.) and the living of the Commandments of Christ, that Saves, regenerates, revives and rejoins us, to Him that Died and raised, and to His Father that now accepts us into the Beloved. It is sown in Weakness; it is raised in Power: Ars. Your Covenant with Death, an Agreement with Hell. As we walk in the beautiful raze of the sun, we don’t take much time considering our death nor or eternal home. The Bible tells us that we have an appointment and a covenant, with death and an agreement with Hell. Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Do men actually believe these doctrines will save them in the time of Christs reappearance? Do they believe, Wood, Hay and Stubble, will keep them from the fire of eternal damnation? Isa 28:15, are the thoughts and words of those that have, and will reject God and His son Jesus. From the Mosaic Law to the Law of Grace and Mercy. As was in the Days of the Mosaic Law, today there are multitudes that reject the word of God. The Bible is one of the most read books in the history of the world. Many read it to find salvation and guidance and others read it to find fault. Many scholars of the past and the present, have tried to avoid this subject, many saying that hell is just an imaginary place created by the church and death is just the end of life, no reward nor punishment. Isa 28:15, Covenant; A mutual consent or agreement of two or more persons, to do or to forbear some act or thing; a contract; stipulation. Agreement; Union of minds in regard to a transfer of interest; bargain; compact; contract; stipulation. The covenant with death came with the fall of Adam. We are all born into the curse that Adam and Eve placed us with. We are all of the Family of Man, from the beginning to the end. Now being born so, we also hold the same responsibility of abiding to the covenant that Adam brought upon all. So we are appointed to die. Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; The agreement that many sign with hell, is the spiritual and not the physical body, that enters into a contract with hell to abide by no rules nor limitations on our actions as a physical being. Satisfying the flesh while letting Satan have the soul. Deu 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. The word,”Hell” is mentioned 55 times in the KJV. All with the idea that it is a place of utter torment and a result of Gods anger with mankind. Psa 21:8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Many say, they don’t need God, we are beautiful, we are intelligent, we are in control of our own destiny, we are gods of ourselves. We have attained the summit of intellect, wisdom, knowledge and understanding of our world, and the universe is ours to plunder and shape. Psa 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. In Mat 23:13, we see an example of the things going on in the time of Jesus, but we also see things that are going on in our world today. There are many teachers, teaching for doctrines of man, things that are contrary to the Scriptures, false religions, false doctrines, books written by man, for man, by the will of man and not of God. Bibles that are written by man that alter Gods word, false prophets are made to be something when they are not, for example, the Books of, Nostradamus, Scientology, Joseph Smith, the Church of Satan bible, Marshal Applewhite, Jim Jones, the new world religion, and many many others. Man has created himself gods of stone, wood, gold and paper. Its not just these men but also those that believe in them. Mankind has, sense the time of Adam, sought to make gods many that would supply the lust of the flesh and make salvation easier to obtain, these times were the days of darkness. Mat 23:13; But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Just as with the followers of Nostradamus, his writings are so vague that anyone could intreprete any of his words, to mean anything they wanted. Its not the words but mans use of those words, that create a real and present danger. These writings are the writings of confusion and deception. If they would take the book as a fantasy, things would be different. But the use of these words create a stumbling block to them who teach, and a wall of ignorance to all who listen and believe. Just as Jesus stated; “ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. Ignorance and Indifference make men susceptible to all manner of false doctrine, accepting these things, results in a pact with death and an appointment with hell. False preacher,Prophets and Ministers of Lies; Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Ars Isa 28:9 - shall he teach: Isa_30:10-12; Psa_50:17; Pro_1:29; Jer_5:31, Jer_6:10; Joh_3:19, Joh_12:38, Joh_12:47, Joh_12:48 doctrine: Heb. The hearing, Isa_53:1 *marg. Weaned: Psa_131:2; Mat_11:25, Mat_21:15, Mat_21:16; Mar_10:15; 1Pe_2:2, Deu 32:22 - For a fire: Deu_29:20; Num_16:35; Psa_21:9, Psa_83:14, Psa_97:3; Isa_66:15, Isa_66:16; Jer_4:4, Jer_15:14; Jer_17:4; Lam_2:3, Lam_4:11; Eze_36:5; Nah_1:6; Mal_4:1, Mal_4:2; Mar_9:43-48; 2Th_1:8; Heb_12:29 shall burn: or, hath burned lowest: Psa_86:13; Isa_30:33; Zep_3:8; Mat_10:28, Mat_18:9, Mat_23:33 shall consume: or, hath consumed, Isa_24:6, Isa_24:19, Isa_24:20 foundations: Job_9:5, Job_9:6; Psa_46:2, Psa_144:5; Isa_54:10; Mic_1:4; Nah_1:5; Hab_3:10 Special Commentairy by Brother Herman Tiberend Subject: DON'T JUDGE THIS BOOK BY ITS COVER If you have children or grandchildren or you have neighbor children whose parents you know, please take note of the info below or pass it along to others. Schools are a distribution point to children for this book through the Scholastic Book Club. ~~~~~~ Beware of the book, Conversations with God. Dr. James Dobson talked about this book twice this week. It is devastating and parents and Christian schools need to be aware of this. Do pass it on to church/e-mail addressees, Parents, Grand parents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends. Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV and in movie theaters and the music they listen to, but we must also be alert regarding the books they read. Two particular books, "Conversations with God" and "Conversations with God for Teens," written by Neale D. Walsch, sound harmless enough by their titles alone. These books have been on the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks, and these publications make truth of the statement, "Don't judge a book by its cover/title." The author purports to answer various questions from kids using the "voice of God". However, the "answers" that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God. For instance (and I paraphrase), when a girl asks the question "Why am I a lesbian?" His answer is that she was born that way because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with blue eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and "celebrate" her differences. Another girls poses the question "I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?" His reply is, "Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong." Another question asks about God's forgiveness of sin. His reply "I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is "'judge not lest ye be judged.'" And the list goes on. Not only are these books the false doctrine of devils, but in some instances even quote (in error) the Word of God. These books (and others like it) are being sold to school children (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children. Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums, because our adversary, the Devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). And how many of us know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, and weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey. The Millennium and Beyond. There is a misunderstanding of the Millennium and the future of man upon this earth. No where do I find in Scripture, the statement that God, destroys all of mankind upon the earth. This message is not a continuation to, Comets, UFOs and The Bible, but rather an addition to it. Many believe that Space is, or, will be inhabited by man, but the Bible doesn't state this in any form, but on the contrary, it speaks contrary to this belief. What we see, as space and the universe, is just a curtain according to the Bible. This is only a 3D representation in our mind. Its as the distance between the audience of a play to the stage. For our time, until prophecy is fulfilled, The Sun, Moon, Planets and the Solar System is real and in place. Man cannot inhabit, what doesn't exist. In Revelations 6:14 (And the heaven departed=(Not present; having left, Well in the past; former, Absent.) as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.) we see a continuation of fact from Issiah 34:4 And all the “host of heaven”=(Sun, Moon and Stars.(Deu.4:19; 17:3; Amos 5:26; compare Acts7:42-43), but shall be dissolved=(Come to an end, will no longer exist. ), and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll( Here we see the curtain removed.): and all their host(The Sun, Moon, Planets and the Solar System.) shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. The place we call space(“the heaven departed”) is just a curtain between us and the realization of Gods kingdom behind that curtain. In Isaiah 65:19-20, shows that man kinds age expectancy will be a minimum of 100 years. “And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. Barnes interpretation of verse 20 is this; The sense of this appears to be, ‘not all who reach to a great age shall be judged to be the friends and favorites of God. Though a sinner shall reach that advanced period of life, yet he shall be cursed of God and shall be cut down in his sins. He shall be held to be a sinner and shall die, and shall be regarded as accursed.’ A Millennium is A period of a thousand years foretold in the Book of Revelation. During the millennium, those who have been faithful to Jesus and who have not worshiped the Antichrist will reign with Jesus over the Earth. According to the Book of Revelation, the millennium will precede the final battle for control of the universe; Judgment Day will come afterward. An apprehension of danger; a certain anticipation of ruin if the gospel is not embraced; a conviction that ‘there is salvation in no other,’ is often a means of leading people to seek the Saviour. That will not serve thee - That will not become the servant of the church of God: that is, that will not promote its interests, obey its laws, and maintain the true religion. Shall perish - This is applied particularly here to a ‘nation’ and a ‘kingdom.’ The idea is, that no nation can flourish that does not obey the law of God, or where the worship of the true God is not maintained. Isa 60:11-12; Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. In This verse we see the penalty for disobedience to God. “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.” In this next verse we see the remnant of those that fought against Israel and the remnant of the ones that were not killed at the last battle of Gog and May gog. Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. Here we see the penalty of disobedience. Zec 14:17-19; And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. So as you can see, That which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit. Remember mankind is flesh and flesh cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and cannot enter into it. Remember, Man cannot inhabit, that which, Doesn't exist. Ars. Psa_2:8-12, Psa_110:5, Psa_110:6; Isa_45:23, Isa_60:12; Jer_10:25; Rom_14:10,Rom_14:11 Social Commentary. A Social commentary is the act of expressing an opinion, on the nature of society. This is most often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace about a given problem and appealing to people's sense of justice. Note that social commentary is not necessarily connected with the idea of instigating change or edifying the public through literature. It could also be a part of an everyday conversation. The best example of social commentary, that I know of is, The War of The Worlds by H.G.Wells. This book was speaking of the state of England and its Army. The other Book that I will Reference is The Quatrains of Nostradamus. Called a book of prophecy, but is in reality, only social commentary, Sort of a rise and fall type of book. The Quatrains of Nostradamus is the biggest book of deception that I know of. Many say that The Words of the Bible are social commentary, but in reality, they are not. Jesus spoke of many things happening in the present day world openly, but never as a commentary. Even His remarks of the political system were void of any hidden message. Social Commentary's are statements of social injustice, hidden in the words of poetry and novels. The phrase that Jesus used to indicate the condition of world events came from Luke 12:49, “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?” This verse is not a social commentary but a statement of fact. This verse is indicating that religious differences were at a kindled state and that the fire, which is a broader devision of religious beliefs, were going to come. We see this in todays society between the believers in Islam and the Peoples of, Christianity and Israel. We can say this because of recent events around the world, with the hatred of Christians and especially Israel by the Islamic Union. Even when the Apostle Paul rebuking Peter for removing himself from the gentiles as the Jews entered, was not any type of Hidden message, but just pure fact. In John 18:36, we see that Jesus knew of the state of the world but had not come to interfere with the short term but rather to make a difference in the long term, of humanity from birth to death. A kingdom on earth would not have changed man ideas of right and wrong but a kingdom not of this earth would. John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. If you've noticed, in His statement, His remarks were directed toward the Jews and not at the Gentiles, for they were the biggest hindrance to His ministry. In John 6:15, we again see, that Jesus was not intended to be made a King, but rather a savior to the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. Jesus had no need of social commentary, for every one knew of the oppressive state that the Romans had made of the Jewish State of Israel. Israel had been saved from The Pharaoh and were in need of deliverance from the Romans. Israel expected The Messiah to be another Moses, David and Solomon all rolled up into one. This is what they wanted, but didn't receive. In Revelations 13:14 we see again, not a social commentary but a prediction of future events. There are no hidden verses in scripture that cannot be understood. The fact that many want to say that The Bible is a Book of Hidden social commentary, have either, never read it, or, Understood it. As in Revelations 13:14, as with all verses, The Holy Spirit uses, either, Parables, Metaphors, Visions, Dreams and Interpretations, to explane many of the passages or words in Scripture. Nothing is hidden and all can be understood clearly. Revelations 13:14, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. In these next verses, we see that the Bible speaks, not of the social climate but of the individual or individuals, in respect, not toward the society nor government, but of their relationship toward God. Lets read Mark 12:14-17 and see if you can understand; And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him. Mark 12:1- 12:12 are verses of parables, teaching to those that are and will condemn Him to death and also will condemn themselves to Hell. Jesus is showing, not only the past, but the present and future. Nothing is hidden, nothing is written in secret. Mark 4:2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine. Why is all this important to us who read the Bible? The Reason is in, Rev 13:5, Dan 7:11, 7:25 & 11:36. Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. To change the Bible into a Social commentary, The Anti-Christ can deceive many into believing that His way will be the way to everlasting peace upon this earth and the Predictions of the Bible can be changed. In assuming infallibility, professing to forgive sins, and to open and shut heaven, thundering out bulls and anathemas, excommunicating princes, absolving subjects from their allegiance, and exacting obedience to his decrees in open violation of reason and Scripture. (tsk.) ars. References for Luke 12:49 - come: Luke_12:51, Luke_12:52; Isa_11:4; Joe_2:30,Joe_2:31; Mal_3:2, Mal_3:3, Mal_4:1; Mat_3:10-12 and: Luke_11:53, Luke_11:54, Luke_13:31-33, Luke_19:39, Luke_19:40; John_9:4, John_11:8-10, John_12:17-19 Mar_4:11, Mar_4:34, Mar_3:23; Psa_49:4, Psa_78:2; Mat_13:3, Mat_13:10,Mat_13:34, Mat_13:35 Mark 12:38; Mat.7:28; John 7:16, 7:17, 18:19 The Anchor Holds The Anchor Holds, Tho the Sails are Torn. Matthew 8:24-26. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. The Anchor held in the midst of the storm, the Sails of Faith, were torn and nothing would do except Faith in the Saviour. There is a tempest in all of our lives one day or another. A Tempest so large we believe that we are to perish in the waves and wind. We all have been there, a death, a lost opportunity, financial ruin, disease, sickness running rampant in our body or our family. But Remember that the Anchor Holds in the Midst of all storms. Lets read Psalms 89:9, “Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.” In 1999, I was pronounced dead of a massive heart attack. My wife, Juanita, Daughter, Tiffine and a close friend, Jack, were there to witness the greatest storm of their lives. I can't imagine what they were going thru, the tears, pain, suffering, disbelief and hopelessness. Their sails were tearing when this storm came upon them unexpectedly. This was a tempest that they would not want to happen but it came never the less. And as for me, I was without pain for the very first time in my life. Darkness engulfed me, as it were a soothing blanket, no pain, sorrow, trouble, worrys, I was at peace. There came crys' of painful desperation as My wife, came into the room and declared that the Anchor Holds. The storm was raging and the sails were tearing apart but she knew that Jesus, as the Anchor, was Holding. She turned to the only one that could calm the storm, and with tears of helplessness, she spoke to The Lord God Almighty. “Dear Lord, My Husband is dead and we need Him so much. If it be thy will Lord, give Him back to me, for His work on this earth isn't done. Give Him Lord another chance to make a difference and to preach the Gospel. I need Him Lord, let him return to me. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.” I came alive and the pain fell on me, as a great millstone falling upon the surface of the waters. God took us both thru the tempest. Her fears were relieved and Her Sails were strengthened, as God wove the Fabric Himself. After Six months of rehabilitation, I was able to preach once again. These storms, that we all go thou, are storms of testing and storms of faith in the Creator. There are many storms and tempest in this life, Iraq, Iran, Islam, Murder, Theft, Wars and Rumors of Wars, Doubt, Confusion, Helplessness, and Mens hearts failing them for fear. We mention many false religions because they are storms within themselves, worshiping, dead men, animals, doctrines that were written by man, without the inspiration of God, which all have one thing in common, hatred of Christianity. These storms result in division of nations, wars of idealogical ideas and threats of violence upon the light givers of the world. These are all signs of the end days, when man is a lover of himself, more than lovers of God, and are lovers of darkness, more than lovers of light. When the sky is blue, we see only rainbows and pretty flowers, but as the unexpected tempest arises, we see doom and despair. Many, when the tempest arises, have no light to guide them, they run to and fro seeking answers, but none are found. The sails, are the fabric of the faith, that man has in God, even tho many do not believe and never will. These are the dark clouds that contain no water but are just for show. Our fabric must be repaired as each new storm arises. Satan trys' to rip and tear at this fabric until the wind passes thru. The wind and sails together move the ship forward upon a set course that will eventually land the believer in the shores of Heaven. But if the sails remain torn and shredded, they stop the forward movement of the ship, bobbing aimlessly, with no direction and no destination. These rips and gashes are easily seen, The attacks of 911, Iraq, Afghanistan, corrupt government, Islam, Evolution, Storms, Hurricanes, Floods, Fires,and the entire Middle East situation, from Africa to Syria, its all interconnected, to bring about fear to multitudes, shaking the foundation of our spirits. Lets read Psa 107:25-30 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Barnes states of Psa 107:28 - Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble Sailors pray. If they do not pray elsewhere, they often do in a storm, when in danger of being wrecked and lost. A storm at sea brings hundreds on their knees who never prayed before - for they feel that their only help is in God, and that it is a fearful thing to die. Then they do “right.” They do what “ought” to be done. But they do then only what people ought always to do, for it is as plain a duty to pray when we are in safety as when we are in danger; when sailing on a smooth sea as in a storm; when on the land as on the ocean. People anywhere, and at any time may die; and people everywhere and at all times “should,” therefore, call upon God. Storms, tempests, fire, disease, and danger, only impel people to do what they should do always from higher motives, and when their motives will be likely to be more disinterested and pure. And thru all this the Anchor Holds. When we can do no more, we stand, stand with the anchor down, until the Storm Passes and is subdued. Can we pray for the Anchor to lead us, Guide us and deliver Us from these storms? Yes. The Anchor is always on the ship and is at the ready to aid in times of need. Ars. See Psa_107:6, Psa_107:13, Psa_107:19. Mat 8:26 - Why: Mat_6:30, Mat_14:30,Mat_14:31, Mat_16:8; Isa_41:10-14; Mar_4:40; Luke_8:25; Rom_4:20 and rebuked: Mat_8:27; Job_38:8-11; Psa_65:7, Psa_89:9, Psa_93:3, Psa_93:4, Psa_104:6-9, Psa_107:28-30, Psa_114:3-7; Pro_8:28, Pro_8:29; Isa_50:2-4, Isa_63:12; Nah_1:4; Hab_3:8; Mar_4:39, Mar_4:41, Mar_6:48-51; Luke_8:24, Luke_8:25; Rev_10:2 The Light. Many in the World are taking concern and truth, for hatred and condemnation of other religions by Christians. In some circumstances they are correct, but in the majority they are wrong. Christians are not reactionaries, confrontationalist, nor an army, seeking the death of all non believers. We must look closely at the messages and comments that are being made by concerned Christians over false religions, and their lack of, being able to provide salvation for the soul of man. In John 9:4-5, we see the reason that many Christians have, and are still, speaking out, for the time is come to prepare to meet the Lord. Jesus Stated; "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." Here He was speaking of the proclamation of God, when He stated, "My Spirit shall not always strive with Man." Once the Spirit of God is withdrawn from this earth, Darkness Falls. Jesus Was and still is, doing the works of the Father, for He stated that without Him we can do nothing. The Spirit of Christ is manifest thru us, as witnesses of the Light. "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." This was speaking of the Spirit Of Christ that dwells within every believer. As Long as there are believers in Jesus and His light, He will be upon the Earth. Jesus exists within us, because we believe, without faith is would be impossible for any man to be saved. Where there is light, there is also the possibility of darkness just around the corner. We have seen darkness and hatred of Christianity, Israel and Jesus. That old serpent Satan, has in the past weeks showed His willingness to kill converts to Christianity because they desired to come into the light, rather than to stay in Darkness. Many of the so called peaceful religions have showed here recently, that they are Hippocritical within their own beliefs and have showed that they are, the darkness in a frightened world. These false religions would rather kill a convert rather than to allow many more, to convert to Christianity, believing that they would eventually lose their power over those they have kept in Darkness these many years. This is where Christians, that have total faith would give their life instead of saving it, and speak out against this darkness. In Matthew 16:25 we see this. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." This world wide darkness is just a shadow, a lie, a deception, that keeps the unlearned and frightened, subject to the temporary power of Satan and His followers. Many evangelicals are getting involved in politics and mans business rather than being about the Fathers Business. We are not to break the law but rather obey the law and not aid those that would break established law. In Luke 1:79 we see that many are sitting in darkness and at the point of immanent death. "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." John 1:9 That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Every man that comes into this world, born of woman is introduced to the light, at the age of accountability, after, they must chose for themselves. There will be no excuse come judgment day. John 3:19 And this is the condemnation,(condemnation= an expression of strong disapproval; pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable. blame, censure, denunciation, reprehension, reprobation.) that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Darkness takes many forms in many religions, here is an example; Koran; [9.5] So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.(This shows forced religion.) [9.29] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection. [9.30] And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah(Jesus) is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! [9.31] They have taken their doctors of law and their monks for lords besides Allah, and (also) the Messiah son of Marium and they were enjoined that they should serve one God only, there is no god but He; far from His glory be what they set up (with Him). Luke 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? This fire is, a fire of religious differences, hatred of the Light of Jesus by all other religions. Barnes states of Luke 14:49; And what will I ... - This passage might be better expressed in this manner: "And what would I, but that it were kindled. Since it is "necessary" for the advancement of religion that such divisions should take place; since the gospel cannot be established without conflicts, and strifes, and hatreds, I am even desirous that they should come. Since the greatest blessing which mankind can receive must be attended with such unhappy divisions, I am willing, nay, desirous that they should come." He did not wish evil in itself; but, as it was the occasion of good, he was desirous, if it "must" take place, that it should take place soon. From this we learn: 1.That the promotion of religion may be expected to produce many contests and bitter feelings. 2.That the heart of man must be exceedingly wicked, or it would not oppose a work like the Christian religion. 3.That though God cannot look on evil with approbation, yet, for the sake of the benefit which may grow out of it, he is willing to permit it, and suffer it to come into the world. In Luke 9:52 we see that Jesus did not desire the death of those that would not believe, but rather rebuked the Disciples for even considering it. Luke 9:52-56; And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. Here we see a spirit within James and John, that Jesus recognized but these two didn't. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives(No killing, Murder, not to kill but to save.), but to save them. And they went to another village. When people reject Jesus and the Bible as being Light, we do not condemn but we simply leave them to God and Move on. Remember we don't, As Christians, Condemn the people, for it is not within our Power, but we condemn only the darkness and sin that is within them. John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. So what does this all meen? The Darkness is runing rampent, and the Light is about to be extinguished so that no man can work(Ministers, Preachers, Teachers of the Truth.) Isa 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. Isa 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Psa_81:11, Psa_81:12, Psa_109:17; Isa_29:9-14; Joh_12:39-43; Rom_1:21-25, Rom_1:28 1Ki_22:18-22; 2Ch_18:18-22; Isa_6:9, Isa_6:10; Eze_14:9 Isa_44:20, Isa_66:4; Jer_27:10; Eze_21:29; Mat_24:5, Mat_24:11; 1Ti_4:1. ars Science, Blessing or Curse? Why must mankind try to ignore the God of Creation. Many use drugs, alcohol, Idols and deception. The conversion of man must begin at the House of the Lord, and our efforts must be according to the Will of God. Every historical society trys to use science to downgrade the truth of the Gospel. Why is man so afraid that there is a God, and that no one else is in this expanse called space? When mankind looks to the stars, they are actually saying, "We cannot fix this earth, so lets see how many other planets we can mess up." When nations fight against nations, the exploration of the expanse of space, is a useless project. When so many billions of dollars are spent to send rockets to planets, that man will never inhabit, they refuse to admit that the money they waist could feed millions. Why is it so important to man to refute the Bible and its Truths? Is there some hidden agenda, is there some military agenda for going to where no man has gone before? 1Ti 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust,( This is the Truth, not only of Creation, but of the Son of God.) avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:(These oppositions are those concerning the Scripture. For if Gods word is true, then all of the scientific, papers and journals, of the past two generations must be destroyed, being proven false.) The vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called, is explaining that man will and has become a creature of unknown ideals and wisdom that is useless to God and to man Himself. If knowledge doesn't help our fellow man, it is useless. What profit does science have when it doesn't help mankind? What usefulness is mans science to God, when God already knows what man will do? God knows all and His wisdom is far above man. Man babbles about many subjects that they cant prove and say that it is the truth. Scientist say that there are billions of pounds of space dust falling on the earth, each and every year. They say that mankind evolved from this dust, God said that He created man from the dust of the earth. These babblings are for their own vanity and pride. Their assumptions neglect the truth, that man could not evolve from dust unless it was designed by a higher being. Science looks in the dirt of the past and the water of the present to negate the Bible. Jesus said,"Let the Dead, Bury their Dead." Those that have died are no longer a factor in our lives. Sodom and Gamorah was an example of science and sin that resulted in two sister citys being destroyed. We have no need in diging up these relecs, all we have to do is read Gods word to find out what happened to them. 1Ti 6:21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. Fausset states of Science; "knowledge falsely so-called" (1Ti_6:20). There was a true "knowledge," a charism or "gift" of the Spirit, abused by some (1Co_8:1; 1Co_12:8; 1Co_13:2; 1Co_14:6). This was counterfeited by false teachers, as preeminently and exclusively theirs (Col_2:8; Col_2:18; Col_2:23). This abuse of the gift of knowledge, has plagued man for centuries.God stated that man would think up many sinful devices. Is space made for man or was it Made for Gods good pleasure? Col 2:23 Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. Mankinds obsession with science is hindering him from knowing the truth. Going after self accomplishment and recognition, negates what this gift of knowledge, from God, was given to him to do. As we go forward day after day, we see many a child that has become unruelly and disorented because they are taught one thing then see man doing another. When will this madness of mans vanity come to an end. We cannot say what is at the far reaches of our own oceans and still man ignores these close to home mistries and seeks a home away from home. Our society is slowly but shurely killing itself from within. ars Who is God? I believe that this is the most asked question in todays world. As mankind races toward Armageddon and the end of Days. Many are seeking a place of peace and safety, not knowing what is on the rise for tomorrow. The general conception of God may be said to be that of an infinite being who is supremely good, who created the world, who knows all and can do all, who is transcendent over and immanent in the world, and who loves humanity. By the majority of Christians God is believed to have lived on earth in the flesh as Jesus. To find out who God is we must also look at who He isn’t. Lets Read from Gods word. Exodus 3:14-15; And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. I am, that I am – That is, “I am what I am.” The words express absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being. The Eternal, who passes not away. I am he who exists. John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. God is; 1. The Eternal. 2. Spirit. 3. Lord Jehovah. 4. The Holy One of Israel. Isa 45:21-23; Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the LORD? And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Here we see the absoluteness of God. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.(A declaration from God on His of Being the only God that there, was, and is, and ever will be.) I have sworn by myself,( God cannot swear an oath to any one that is higher in power, so He must swear to Himself.) the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return,( All mankind shall hear the word of God. Being preached by those that He, has and will call unto Himself. There will be no excuse as to mans state when he dies.) That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.( This includes the saved and the unsaved.) God is all power and His demands will be required by everyone born upon this earth and those spirits in Heaven and under the earth. This includes Satan. Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers ( These are those that Christ took captive after the resurrection.), he made a shew of them openly( These are the unrighteous, Devils, Demons also including Satan. Which were paraded before God in Heaven, as a defeated foe.), triumphing over them in it.( making Death, Hell and the Grave his to control.) This is repeated in Phi 2:10-11; That at the name of Jesus ( We see that at the declaration of the name of Jesus, all will bow, and all tongs will declair, Jesus as Lord and Christ.) every knee should bow, of things in heaven,(The Spiritual angels in Heaven) and things in earth,( Those that are present upon the Earth. Teaching that the earth will burn with fire but it will survive and man will be present, under new Laws set down by Jesus from Jerusalem.) and things under the earth;( These are the ones that have been in captivity in Hell.) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(God is not a respecter of man.) Romans 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. God is all knowing, knowledge and wisdom. Mans actions upon this earth are being recorded daily. God knows who is and is not true to Him. God being a jealous God, will not be put in second place by anyone, For He has declared it. Jesus stated that there are many false gods, but these are formed, not by God, but by the hands and the imagination of man. Such as, Mohamid, Buddah, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Mohandas Gandhi, Gopala- cowherd; protector of cows . Govinda-protector of cows, Hari-the fawn (or yellow or gold) colored one, Hrshikesha- master of the senses , Jagannatha-lord of the universe, Keshava- long haired; in some accounts, the killer of Kesi, Madhava-bringer of springtime, and Vasudeva. These are but a few. The word,”God”, is mentioned 1196 times in the New Testament and 2705 in the Old. Scripture. Gen 6:5-7 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. Why? Because God had made man in His image and gave man of His spirit. When man walked away from God and His spirit, man became unrighteous and fell from Gods grace. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. God not only destroyed man the first time but also the animals and Birds. Why? Because mankind had violated animals and the Birds. Having introduced animal husbandry and using all animals as sacrifices to false Gods. They had to be destroyed. We see the same thing today, Animal Husbandry, False religions trying to say that Jehovah is their God but De nighing Jesus and His word. The filthiness of man is coming again, full circle. God sent down His judgment upon all mankind and only found 8, that were worthy of Salvation. God is, and will do this again as the world comes to an end. Henry States of God; Does God thus hate sin? And shall we not hate it? Has our sin grieved him to the heart? And shall we not be grieved and pricked to the heart for it? O that this consideration may humble us and shame us, and that we may look on him whom we have thus grieved, and mourn! Zec. 12:10. It does not imply any change of God's mind; for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? With him there is not variableness. But it expressed a change of his way. When God had made man upright, he rested and was refreshed (Ex. 31:17), and his way towards him was such as showed he was pleased with the work of his own hands; but, now that man had apostatized, he could not do otherwise than show himself displeased; so that the change was in man, not in God. God repented that he had made man; but we never find him repenting that he redeemed man. What God is not, is, unrighteous, uncaring, hateful, deceitful, a murder, a thief, a lier, unforgiving and self centered. These are all the attributes of all other false gods. The Demon Seed. Demons,Devils and Darkness.pt.1. The Unseen Forces of Darkness. To watch or read the news is an effort in trying to see what this world is coming to. The Bible is full of the reality of Demons, Devils and Darkness. We see the effect of Demons and Devils every day and no longer wonder why this world has been thrown into darkness. The Word, "Demon", has a number of meanings, all related to the idea of a spirit that inhabited a place, or that accompanied a person. In Hebrew demons were workers of harm. To them were ascribed the various diseases, particularly such as affect the brain and the inner parts. For by controlling the brain and thoughts, Demons and Devils can control the physical body. The Word, ”Devil”, means, A subordinate evil spirit, A bad or fallen Angel . When a seed of unrighteousness is planted in a mans mind, he rejects any other thing that would alter what he has already accepted as truth. Here is one example of thought control, speaking of Homosexual rights; "I am humbled that I am the one given the honor to sign the bill," she said. "It took the tenacity of many people to make this day possible." A demon seed was planted in the minds of lawmakers to further the growth of homo-sexuality and it became law. Here is another example from the spirit of greed; A dead body can be worth tens of thousands of dollars when it is dissected for parts. Millions of dollars a year are made from stealing body parts and selling them to hospitals. Here is another example from Matthew 17:15, "Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water." (Strong’s G4582), the moon, one who was affected with his disorder at the change and full of the moon. This is the case in some kinds of madness and epilepsy. This youth was no doubt epileptic; but it was evidently either produced or taken advantage of by a demon or evil spirit. A lunatic is a commonly used term for a person who is mentally ill, dangerous, foolish or unpredictable. Another great example is in the Book of Job, 2:7. Matthew 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: The word, “possessed” means, Controlled by or as if by a spirit or other force; bewitched. These demon seeds are present in the following types of people, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters, liars, fornicators, adulterers, drunkards, effeminate, extortioners, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies and Envyings. Demon seeds come in various manifestations. Most of them in this modern times, are seeds of theft by law. This is stating of the many companies around the world that steal from their employees by using the law to protect their theft, such as retirement, medical benefits, ect. Other demons seed, such as rape, theft by deception(Using the Law of Emanate Domain to steel land from others to profit from their loss.) and even war, are gaining strength in this world. Isaiah 56:10-11; His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. No one wakes up in the morning determined to rape, murder, steal nor deceive anyone. These actions take place when a demon seed is planted in their mind. Demons and Devils work independently from one another and even independent from Satan. Demons and Devils mainly go after the weak and unsaved. For in those that are saved, the Demons and Devils fear the Spirit of God that dwells within the Believer. Many times these seeds come not from the planting in the mind but from permission from God. Even Satan cannot harm a believer unless He is given permission from God, as in the experience of Job. We see this in, Matthew 8:29, And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Demons and Devils know that their time of controlling man, is a short time. Demons and Devils cannot reconcile themselves with God, for their sin was a grevious sin. They have already been judged unrighteous and will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Here are examples of different Demons and Devils in Scripture. Mark 5:9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. The Demon Legion, is the most famous or should I say Infamous in Scripture. He controlled the multitude of the others demons and devils that were present. Legion, also known as the Gadarene demon, ie; generally or often considered a vulgar demon. Luke 8:30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. Luke 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. Demons and Devils fear not mankind, for they seek to control them, but they are afraid of the spirit of God. Acts 16:16-18; And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. The spirit of divination is world wide today, false prophets, teachers, preachers and doctrine. If you noticed in Acts 16:16-18, Paul didn't address the woman but the demon directly. Each Demon and Devil has a name. To controll them and remove them from our lives, we must do as Jesus and Paul instructed us. We call each unclean spirit by name and rebuke them in the Name of Jesus Christ. By doing so we gain control of them and can command them to depart. One Thing that a Christian can not do to an unclean spirit is send it to Hell. That is not within our Power. Proving this, all we have to do is look at all the spirits cast out by Jesus and the other disciples. None cast a demon to hell but simply out. Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; End Pt.1.ars (References; Gen_38:16; Jdg_16:5, Jdg_17:10, Jdg_18:19, Jdg_18:20; Isa_56:11; 1Ti_3:3, 1Ti_6:9, 1Ti_6:10; 2Pe_2:3, 2Pe_2:14, 2Pe_2:15 Mat_27:3-5; Gen_37:26-28; Zec_11:12, Zec_11:13; Act_1:18) The Demon Seed. Demons,Devils and Darkness.pt.2. The Demon Seed. Demons, Devils and Darkness. pt.2. Demons and Devils are evil spirits that are unseen by the natural eye, but their effect on mankind has been from the beginning of mans knowledge of his surroundings. Weather you believe or not doesn't matter to them, for if you believe Gods Word, you must also believe in the existence of them. These Demon seeds have manifested themselves from the beginning of Satan and starting with Eve in the Garden. They have grown in number as man has reproduced. These Demons have controlled many famous and infamous men not only in the regular populace but also in the clergy. 1. The most famous of these were the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Beginning at Paris, the French soldiers and the Roman Catholic clergy fell upon the unarmed people, and blood flowed like a river throughout the entire country. In one week, almost 100,100 Protestants perished. The rivers of France were so filled with corpses that for many months no fish were eaten. In the valley of the Loire, wolves came down from the hills to feed upon the decaying bodies of Protestants. The list of massacres was as endless as the list of the dead. When news of the Massacre reached the Vatican there was jubilation. Cannons roared—bells rung—and a special commemorative medal was struck—to honor the occasion. The Pope commissioned Italian artist Vasari to paint a mural of the Massacre—which still hangs in the Vatican. 2. The next is the Massacre of 1641. At the beginning of October, 1641, the leading Catholic clergy and laity met at a Franciscan Abbey in Westmeath, to discuss what course of action was to be taken against the Protestant settlers. Those who died first were never buried, but were left to be devoured by dogs, and rats and swine. Some were driven into rivers and drowned, some hanged, some mutilated, some ripped with knives. They flung babies into boiling pots, or tossed them into the ditches to the pigs. They plucked out grown men’s eyes, turned them adrift to wander, and starved them to death. The priests told the people "that Protestants were worse than dogs, they were devils and served the devil, and the killing of them was a meritorious act." 3. The latest is after the outbreak of World War II. Hitler, Who was obsessed by the occult, established death camps to secretly implement what he called "the final solution of the Jewish question." By the end of the war 6 million Jews had been systematically murdered. Many men have fallen for these Demons of Darkness, being played like a violin and dancing to the music of bloodshed. So what is this darkness that we speak of ? Lets look at the Bible for our answers. Matthew 6:23, Jesus said; “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” and in Luke 11:34; “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.” This darkness is what causes men and women to do the things that we mentioned in part 1. Even those that we say are upright and sociable, never robing, stealing, murdering, you know the type, the very good neighbour who pays his taxes and takes care of his family, but who are not saved, these also are in darkness, for the greatest sin that I know of is unbeliefe. For without the Spirit of Christ within them, they are in darkness. Here we see the sum of the whole matter of Darkness in Isaiah 44:18, “They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand”; and in Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” This darkness comes from the Demons and Devils, which fill the man. As the man must accept this darkness he turns away from the truth, which is Gods word. Accepting rather to live in this darkness rather than to remain or turn to the light. The Bible says we can have more hope in a fool than one who turns from the truth. Pro 26:11-12 As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. How many people have turned away from the truth because of an charismatic man, or an institution or even a Church, because of seeds being planted into their mind growing untill they believe a Lie? The Bible proves that men will be turned over to a reprobate mind letting them believe a lie and be damned. Saved and unsaved will be tempted by these seeds and because of this darkness that fills their eyes many will be led to believe that there is no Heaven, Hell or Judgment. As the old saying goes, “Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.” In Luke 11:35, We see a warning from Jesus, "Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness." This is stating that we must constantly review ourselves and what we believe so that we are not led astray from the truth. These that Jesus was speaking of were the self righteous, who believed that they were light but instead were in Darkness. Hypocrites. John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Reprove; 1. To blame; to censure 2. To charge with a fault to the face; to chide; to reprehend. 3. To blame for; with of; as, to reprove one of laziness 4. To convince of a fault, or to make it manifest. 5. To refute; to disprove. 6. To excite a sense of guilt. 7. To manifest silent disapprobation or blame The vicious cannot bear the presence of the good, whose very looks reprove them, and whose life is a severe, though silent admonition. Men murder in the name of God, nether knowing Him nor following His ways. We all die because of sin but we all will be judged on our works in this life, weather they be good or evil. Come out from the darkness of your soul before its too late. It doesn't have to be the end of the world for a man to die, it only has to be him time. ars. Mat_20:15; Isa_44:18-20; Mar_7:22; Eph_4:18, Eph_5:8; 1Jo_2:11 If: Mat_23:16-28; Pro_26:12; Isa_5:20, Isa_5:21, Isa_8:20; Jer_4:22, Jer_8:8, Jer_8:9; Luk_8:10; Joh_9:39-41; Rom_1:22, Rom_2:17-23; 1Co_1:18-20, 1Co_2:14, 1Co_3:18, 1Co_3:19; Rev_3:17, Rev_3:18 As the Eagle. Obadiah 1:3-4; The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. Men think to be higher in knowledge than God. Men seek an easy way of seeing into the future and to rewrite the scriptures. The Bible Code does not exist, and the Da Vinci Code is a farce. Men wear the long robes and fine apparial and exalt themselves as being the greatest there is saying. ” I know the truth, follow me, for I am all knowledge.” Many of the books coming out are misleading and take away from the time that should be spent in doing the will of the Father. Many are saying that they have the answers but require you to pay for the knowledge that they say has come from God. Why? To build sanctuaries and monoliths to themselves as a monument to themselves, saying,”Look at what I've done for the Lord.” Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Our reward in Heaven is not based on how much we build, but on our works, weather they were good or evil. We will be judged by our responsiveness to the Holy Spirits direction to Gods will in our lives. What house will you build the Lord, how big, how glorious, and how will God live in a house built by man? Vanity is mans name. Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, your righteousness is as filthy rags. Amos 9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: Hell is not deep enough nor Heaven high enough to keep God from reaching out to take his revenge upon those that say they are workers for the Lord and do lie. Jeremiah 23:23-32; Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. God stands with mankind. He sits upon His throne and knows, sees and judges mans thoughts and actions. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;. Deceivers run rampant among man, saying things that are not from God, the spirit of anti Christ is among us. Its not only the populace but also many clergy, those that say they are from the Lord. Teaching false doctrine and not knowing God nor His word. Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.( The practice of sacred prostitution seems to have been associated with the worship of Baal in Palestine and the cult was vehemently denounced by the prophets, especially Hosea and Jeremiah. The abhorrence in which the cult was held probably explains the substitution of Ish-bosheth for Esh-baal, of Jerubbesheth for Jerubbaal (a name of Gideon), and of Mephibosheth for Merib-baal. The substituted term probably means “shame.” The same abhorrence is evident the use of the pejorative name, Baal-zebub. ) The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? (Stating what do the Followers of God have to do with the followers of Satan.)saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Here we see that there are many who do not hear from God, stealing dreams, visions and knowledge from their neighbors and call them their own. Many are going about telling lies and calling them scripture, this is stealing from their neighbors the truth of Gods word. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. In these end days, many who say they are prophets are not. Many are calling out today, “Come to me and I will tell you when the end of the world is.” “I know the days and the seasons, I am the Christ follow me.” Doesn't this sound like Jim Jones and David Corresh? Doesn't this sound like Bud-ah and Mohamid? Deceivers all, killing men in the name of the Lord, teaching heresys( beliefs or views held by a member of a church that contradict its orthodoxy, or core doctrines. It is distinguished from apostasy, which is a complete abandonment of faith that makes the apostate a deserter, or former member. Heresy is also distinguished from schism, which is a splitting of or from the church brought about by disputes over hierarchy or discipline, rather than over matters of doctrine. The heretic considers himself or herself not only a church member but, in a doctrinal controversy, the true believer; indeed, some persons originally labeled heretical were rehabilitated after once abhorred views become accepted. ) and false doctrine, teaching children to hate and kill. Wearing the Long robes and fine apparial, seeking only people that will not doubt their word, the Blind leading the Blind. Mat 15:13-14; But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Many today, as in the past, are corrupting the word of God for their own lust and greed for power. You must always remember, It is a terrible thing to fall into the Hands of an angry God. ars If thou shalt confess. Romans 10:9-10. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. KNOWL'EDGE, n. nol'lej. 1. A clear and certain perception of that which exists, or of truth and fact; the perception of the connection and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of our ideas. We can have no knowledge of that which does not exist. God has a perfect knowledge of all his works. Human knowledge is very limited, and is mostly gained by observation and experience. 2. Learning; illumination of mind. Ignorance is the curse of God, knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven. Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Knowledge of one faults and need of salvation is essential to confession to God. Knowledge of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for you is paramount in becoming a Christian. Many have a zeal for serving God but as the passage states, without Knowledge. Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted(Surrendered; resigned; yielded; referred.) themselves unto the righteousness of God. In Rom 10:3, we see that, submission to the righteousness of God is the beginning of establishment of a covenant agreement between those that are lost and God. They say that confession is good for the soul, and they are correct. Then whom shall we confess our sins to, man or God? Fausset states that; Confession is desirable (1) In case of wrong done to a neighbor, Mat.18:15;(This is true, if we wrong a neighbor, we are to apologize and ask forgiveness for the transgression.) (2) To a Christian adviser, ordained or unordained, anyone who can apply God's written word suitably to one's need, and "pray for" and with one, James 5:16; Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. We are to pray for one another, weather it be between only 2 people or an entire congregation, for the prayers of many shall avail over any obstacle. (3) Open confession of any wrong done to the church, which has caused scandal to religion, in token of penitence. Not auricular: Mat. 3:6; Act. 19:18, "many confessed and shewed (openly, not in the ear of a priest under the seal of secrecy) their deeds." 2Co 6:3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed;. We are no longer bound by confession or giving offerings to the priest hood for our sins, which we as gentiles, were never added unto the law and by that, we were not subject to any law. Only the Jews were under the Law! As without law - Not practicing the special rites and ceremonies enjoined in the law of Moses. Not insisting on them, or urging them, but showing that the obligation to those rites had been done away; and that they were not binding, though when among the Jews I might still continue to observe them; see the notes at Acts 15; and the argument of Paul in Gal_2:11-18. I neglected the ceremonial precepts of the Mosaic law, when I was with those who had not heard of the law of Moses, or those who did not observe them, because I knew that the binding obligation of these ceremonial precepts had ceased. I did not, therefore, press them upon the Gentiles, nor did I superstitiously and publicly practice them. In all this, Paul has reference only to those things which he regarded as in themselves indifferent, and not a matter of conscience; and his purpose was not; needlessly to excite the prejudice or the opposition of the world. Nothing is ever gained by provoking opposition for the mere sake of opposition. Nothing tends more to hinder the gospel than that. In all things of conscience and truth a man should be firm, and should lose his life rather than abandon either; in all things of indifference, of mere custom, of prejudice, he should yield, and accommodate himself to the modes of thinking among people, and adapt himself to their views, feelings, and habits of life, that he may win them to Christ. BRNS. James 2:10 states about the Law; “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” 1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. This is the gentile race of people, we had a law within ourselves. In Acts 8:37, we see the simplicity to this whole question; “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” By this confession, by knowledge of Jesus Christ, this man was Saved. We confess to God that, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We repent of our sins and are Baptized. After that, being saved, if we sin, we confess our sins not to man but to God. We are in no need of anyone else to interseed for us, for we have a High Priest forever, that interseeds for us, Jesus Christ, our mediator. Our confession of being lost goes to God, our confessions of sin and transgressions goes to God thru Jesus Christ and we do not confess our sins to any priest for we are free from the Law. So again; “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”ars. tsk. That if: Rom_14:11; Mat_10:32, Mat_10:33; Luk_12:8; When Religions Collide. The Truth of the Gospel offends many religions in this world today, of compromise. Every one is trying to compromise on religion, salvation and life itself. Compromise was never in the intent of Gods plan of salvation. Compromise was never in the intent of Gods Word. Compromise brings about weakness, when it comes to the word of God, this will not be allowed. We do as our Lord commands, we do not compromise, but we are to reason together, one with another. Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. This reasoning is not compromising, but rather a closer look at problems and misunderstandings that sometimes comes between man and God. Many religions are very pleasant, friendly and agreeable, until confronted with the truth. Then they become offended and nasty. Not wanting to compromise on their religion, but all others. Jesus went thru this when He started His ministry. Mat 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. Master, “Master,” when the translation of 'ādhōn, “ruler,” “lord” (Sir), often translated “lord,”“Rabboni,” Isa 41:21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. The word, “Hypocrites” is listed 20 times in the Bible. God knew that religion would be a great obstacle in conversion of the Lost. Religion is becoming a great disappointment in this, the end days of mankind. Job 15:34-35; For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit. Mat 15:7-9 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. BRNS;And he called the multitude - In opposition to the doctrines of the Pharisees, the Saviour took occasion to show them that the great source of pollution was the heart. They supposed that external things chiefly defiled a man. On this all their doctrines about purification were founded. This opinion of the Jews it was of great importance to correct. The Saviour took occasion, therefore, to direct the people to the true source of defilement - their own hearts. He particularly directed them to it as of importance - “Hear and understand.” In his answer he implied that his disciples were not bound to obey their traditions - they were invented by human beings. He said, also, that those traditions could not be binding, as they violated the commandments of God. . He proceeded to specify a case in which their tradition made void one of the plain laws of God; and if that was their character, then they could not blame him for not regarding them. Religions Collide when doctrines of man, additions to the scripture or deductions from the Gospel, become open to discussion. We all can recognize blatant disregard for the Gospel, but the ones that are causing the most controversy and trouble, are those that try to introduce doctrine and passages, not of God, slowly and unobtrusively. Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. A man is defiled, when what he says is contrary to sound doctrine. Christians are not in the business to downgrade anyone, but on the contrary, Christians have 2 duties to God and their faith. 1. Defend the Gospel. And 2. Compel those that are lost to come to Jesus before its too late. Here is where religious beliefs Collide. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is pure and needs no other words to support it. Those that try to add to and take away from this Gospel, become the enemies of Christ and the enemies of His followers. These man made doctrines bring forth; evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness and blasphemies Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, (Offended by the Truth.)after they heard this saying? Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant(doctrine, ministers, teachers, prophets), which my heavenly Father hath not planted(Sent.), shall be rooted up.(This speaking of the Pharisees and their doctrine.) Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.(Teachers of false doctrine and those that follow them.) And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.(Hell) Two different religious beliefs collided here, between the Truth of the Gospel and the laws of man Changed doctrine. The Mosaic Law was given to man by God, but man Changed the words, making the Law tainted. In other words, God gave us the key to unlock our soul from Sin and Satan, and those that reject Gods word as it is written, gives man a key but they also changed the lock so that the key doesn't fit. Mat 7:22-23; Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Wesley; Mat 7:22 - We have prophesied - We have declared the mysteries of thy kingdom, wrote books; preached excellent sermons: In thy name done many wonderful works - So that even the working of miracles is no proof that a man has saving faith. Brns; I never knew you - That is, I never approved of your conduct; never loved you; never regarded you as my friends. See Psa_1:6; 2Ti_2:19; 1Co_8:3. This proves that, with all their pretensions, they had never been true followers of Christ. Jesus will not then say to false prophets and false professors of religion that he had once known them and then rejected them; that they had been once Christians and then had fallen away; that they had been pardoned and then had apostatized but that he had never known them - they had never been true Christians. Whatever might have been their pretended joys, their raptures, their hopes, their self-confidence, their visions, their zeal, they had never been regarded by the Saviour as his true friends. The collision of the True Gospel and The False Doctrines of Man. Act 19:26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: Act 19:40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. The collision of Religions will progressively get worse in this end times, all trying to confuse and entice with great swelling words of false hope and freedom. But all other religions offer false doctrines and keys to eternal damnation. Ars. Tyeing The Hands of God. There are many verses in Scripture that tell us not to interfere in the workings of God and His plan for humanity. For the Bible tells us that Gods will is that no man should perish. When you are in need, do you tie the Hands of God by your inconsistencies in faith? Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand; To persist; to persevere. To remain fixed in a purpose or opinion. To stand fast, to be fixed; to be unshaken or immovable. When we ask of God and become impatient we then become shaken or movable, we have tied Gods hands in attempting to answer our prayers. We doubt, when we become restless and worried. We have become a people transfixed by time. Time in seconds, minutes, hours and days. We don't accept patience as a virtue. When we doubt and get in a hurry, we start loosing many of the things that we have obtained from the beginning of our faith. Humbleness, trust, faith, insight, and patience. We loose our ability to comprehend the will of God. And isn't that the thing that we are looking for, Gods will? Many times we don't seek out Gods will in our life, family or even ministry. We decided, somewhere down the line, that we are in control of God, instead of God being in control of us. When we first believed, we gave our total life over to Gods will, accepting things as to the purpose of God for us. Accepting His perfect will and direction, as the way to go. We cannot tell the Creator, that something is wrong or right, what's acceptable or unacceptable, what should be or shouldn't. God cannot be contained nor controlled, He cannot be manipulated or changed. I believe that Job had the correct attitude when he stated of his life;” And said, “Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21) Certainly we came into this life with nothing, no home, no possessions, no material substance, no direction nor righteousness. We came not into this world with ordination from man that we were to be of any value. A man once told me that If I doubted his interpretation of scripture, that I was sining, but he failed to correct his mistake in scripture, for the Bible tells us that the interpretation of scripture was not open for any private interpretation. We cannot judge another mans servant, for to one he does well and to another he falls short. We all have a vision, a dream a prophecy and an interpretation. Lets read a little scripture; Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Rom 8:28-30; And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Your life as a Christian is well ordered by God. He will direct your foot paths, if you acknowledge Him in all your ways. What is meant by this? Acknowledging God is to accept all manner of change in your life from the unrighteous thoughts and actions of man unto the righteousness of God. Acknowledging God for your Food, Substance, Talk, Thought, Heart and Manner of life, giving God all the Glory. For we must remember that without Jesus we can do nothing. Those that posses great wealth are indebted to God, for without His approval no man would posses anything. Confusing? Well its really not. Lets read the proof in Scripture; Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. The key here is, ”the powers that be are ordained of God.” For whom he did foreknow(To have previous knowledge of.), he also did predestinate (To predetermine or foreordain; to appoint or ordain beforehand by an unchangeable purpose.) to be conformed (Made to resemble; reduced to a likeness of; made agreeable to; suited.) to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. “to be conformed to the image of his Son”, is not stating the physical appearance but to the image of Christ Righteousness, His manner of dealing with life and dealing with death and the resurrection, in other words having the Mind of Christ. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. You must believe that God has control over every, man, woman, leader(good or bad.), situation, and circumstance. We must not fail to remember that God allowed His Son to suffer for us and sometimes we also must suffer for the cause of Christianity. We must have faith that God knows our hearts desires and will, in His time, address your needs. Predestinate; Act_2:23; Rom_8:29; Rom_11:2; 1Pe_1:2), one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full import of which we cannot comprehend. In the most absolute sense his knowledge is infinite (1Sa_23:9-13; Jer_38:17-23;(Easton) We are on a planet, in the vastness of the universe, and we have no place to go. Therefore we must address the virtue of patience. Wait upon the Lord and He will answer. James 4:10; “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”to stand: Mal_3:2; Luk_21:36; Col_4:12; Rev_6:17 1Th 3:8 For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. Ars. 1Sa_2:9; Job_22:29; Psa_27:6, Psa_28:9, Psa_30:1, Psa_113:7, Psa_147:6; Mat_23:12; Luk_14:11, Luk_18:14; 1Pe_5:6 Jam 4:3 - and: Jam_1:6, Jam_1:7; Job_27:8-10, Job_35:12; Psa_18:41, Psa_66:18, Psa_66:19; Pro_1:28, Pro_15:8; Pro_21:13, Pro_21:27; Isa_1:15, Isa_1:16; Jer_11:11, Jer_11:14, Jer_14:12; Mic_3:4; Zec_7:13; Mat_20:22; Mar_10:38; 1Jo_3:22, 1Jo_5:14 ye may: Luk_15:13, Luk_15:30, Luk_16:1, Luk_16:2 lusts: or, pleasures, Jam_4:1 Jesus. Mat 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. We cannot eliminate poverty in this world, we cannot feed the multitudes of the hungry, we cannot end war, we cannot end natural devastation, for we are just Human. There are many that say; “There is a God and we believe.” They are correct, but as the scriptures state, “The Devils also believe and tremble.” When the worlds believes in God and not upon His Son, there in lyes the problem, and the deciding factor in all this worlds problems. Will God bless a people or nation that has turned their back on His Son? This world believes in many gods, deities and idols, but none except Jesus as the Son of God, none believe in the resurrection, none believe in the ascension and none believe, nor teach, salvation, neither through God nor His Son. If a people never teach salvation, repentance or forgiveness of sin, then what or who are they worshiping? What type of god are they believing in? Where there is no shedding of blood, there is no salvation, where there is no absolute covering of sin there is no hope. Who then is Jesus, man or God? The answer lyes within what you believe. You say that you believe in the Old Covenant offered to Moses on the mountain, you say that God has directed others to deliver you a better way, a better prophet a better covenant, if so then, where is the proof, where are the signs and wonders, where is the deliverance from war, hatred, violence, poverty and hunger, where is the love of mankind for one another? Where are your prophets that have risen from the dead? Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? You say that Jesus was, a prophet, a teacher, a good man, a man of God and still you refuse to heed to His words. If you don't believe in Jesus as the Son of God, then why do you make yourselves hypocrites and heretics? You can't believe that Jesus was a prophet from God unless, you believe what He came to say? You say that you believe in Elias, but you refuse to believe his words. You stone the prophets and kill the messengers of God, in whom you say is your Father and God, Ho can this be so? If you say that Jesus was a prophet from God, why then do you not believe Him when He said that He and the Father are One? If you believe that God is all powerful then why cant you believe that He could not desire a Son, of His own of His Spirit, of His Will? Do you then not limit the Power of the God you say that you believe in, do you not also say that the God you believe in can only do those things that are pleasing to you and your doctrine? Are you then manipulating your god to satisfy the pride of your eyes and the pride of your life? Does God desire another sacrifice, cannot God destroy His own enemies, without murder? Hypocrites and heretics all, God is the Almighty, The Alpha and the Omega, The First and the Last, the Beginning and the Ending. Believe you Him! Martyrs are not those that murder themselves and others in hatred and violence, a martyr is one that comes forward, meek and gentile as a lamb to the slaughter. Hypocrites send others to do there murder, never offering themselves for their cause, where is their faith, where is there devotion, cowards, cowards that hide behind flaunty words and speeches, they will offer the lives of others, that they have deceived, but never, Oh, never offer themselves. Tit 3:10-11 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. A man that is an heretick = ( A person who dissents from the doctrine of an established church: Dissenter, Schismatic, Non-conformist ) after the first and second admonition = (Words expressive of strong disapproval: rebuke, reprimand, reproach, scolding. Advice to beware, as of a person or thing: warning, caution) reject ( Put Him to the side stay away from); Knowing that he that is such is subverted(SUBVERT'ED, Overthrown; overturned; entirely destroyed.),and sinneth, being condemned of himself. The time is coming that God will do as He said, He will turn them ( The Un-believer) into a reprobate with a reprobate mind, let them believe a lie and be damned for eternity. 2Th 3:2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. Heb 9:18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. Without a perfect sacrifice. Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. God is not in a rock, nor a building, He is not in an animal, nor a beast. God cannot be contained, nor bound by mans idea of right and wrong. God will not have any man, prophet or not, to be worshiped. There is no man born of woman that is a god of any sort, nor are they to be taken as such. We bow to no man, beast, rock, tree, or animal, for this is sacrilege and a sin. What are mens words, they are full of frailty, faults and contradictions, they are not to be taken seriously or for any truth. God is not in the east, nor west, only, but God is all in all and about all in the top, the bottom, in the middle and in the end. No matter where or when we pray, it doesn't matter where we are or where we are facing, God is still there. Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Heb 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Our sanctification, justification and salvation comes from no other, god, deity, statue, or prophet, except the man Jesus Christ. You must make up your mind, whom you will serve, the false doctrine of man, the idols of gold, silver and rock, the leadership of violence and murder, Satan and His demons, or Jesus Christ, Both Lord and Christ. The decision is yours and you must give account for it. Ars. I will teach you to Fear the Lord God Almighty. Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (Webster, Easton.)Ransom;The debt is represented not as canceled but as fully paid. The slave or captive is not liberated by a mere gratuitous favour, but a ransom price has been paid, in consideration of which he is set free. The original owner receives back his alienated and lost possession because he has bought it back “with a price.” This price or ransom is always said to be Christ, his blood, his death. He secures our redemption by the payment of a ransom. Release from captivity, bondage or the possession of an enemy. To redeem from captivity or punishment by paying an equivalent; applied to persons; as, to ransom prisoners from an enemy. We as believers must depend upon God for all things concerning this life and the next. Fear is not of God but, fear is a weapon that is used by the believer in times of great stress and danger. We can call upon the Lord, in times of great stress, to put fear into the hearts of those that oppress us. We are not helpless in these instances, but rather we are armed with power, given to us by Christ, in the person of the Holy Ghost. Psa 145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. “He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him.” By having the fear of God within you, He sees and accepts your petitions, and answers them. Psa 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? With these words we build confidence in the Lord. What can man do to a believer? Can he kill the body? Yes. Can he kill the spirit? No. Can he kill the soul? No. For then he is helpless, that which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit. What can man do to me? This flesh is mortal, it will and must die. We cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven with flesh and blood. We have the spirit of Christ within us and it cannot die. Pro 3:25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. The wicked will rant and rave and cause great damage to many. You are not alone. As the gates of the prison was opened for Paul, they will also be opened to you. Many shall become martyrs for the cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but great is their reward in Heaven. In these, the end days many shall die for Christ. The anti-Christ, is running about consuming as many as He can. The world religions are taking control of nations, kings, princes, leaders and countries, this is a terrible time to live in. Fear the Lord and not man, Fear God and not the commandments that were not written by him, fear not the prison, nor the captor, for the same fear that they try to set upon you, will return to them 10 fold. The secret to knowing God and His word is to fear Him first. For who are we, but just men of flesh and blood. Another key to answered prayer is the Fear of the Lord. We see in scripture, verses that show two types of prayer, 1. The prayer of a boastful man that does not fear the Lord and 2. The prayer of a humble man that fears God. We cannot bargain with the forces of darkness, for why should the victor bargain with the defeated? Eze 6:9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. Psa 56:4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. We are no longer captives of the will and sin that is Satan. Many men have gone after evil spirits and only desire to put men under submission and captivity. We are not of these men but as 1Pe 2:9-10, states; But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. When are we going to exercise our power over the forces of darkness, when are we going to believe that we are the children of The Most High, when are we going to start putting fear back into our worship of God? Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. God has not, nor will, He forsake His Saints. He is a power to be dealt with, a force that cannot be stopped, a God of Vengeance over all that hurt His Children, Vengeance is Mine, Saith the Lord, I will repay. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. When you hear the mountains rumble, is it the Lord, when you hear the sky screech, rumble, and see the lightning flash, is it the Lord, when you see sign and wonders in the Heavens, is it the Lord? We know nothing except that which we should know. Those that say they fear not the Lord, are of a breed of idol worshipers, a breed that take women, men and children captive. These are those that cower after noises and lightning flashes, these are cowards that seek their own pleasure after the pain and suffering of others. These men have no God, these have no religion, these are those that are hypocrites, these are those that love evil: pride, and arrogance and have the froward mouth. 1Ti 5:20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Psa 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 2Th 3:2-3; And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. “all men have not faith!” Pro 8:14-16; Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. Mankind, each and every one born of woman, is predestined to be. Their thoughts and actions are foreknown to God. Every mans destiny is an open book. Who then can rule without the consent of God? The wicked, the just, the righteous and the unrighteous, owe their power to God. Jesus proved this in scripture. John 19:10-11; Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. Psa 9:20 Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah. “That the nations may know themselves to be but men.” Fear God only, for we are talking just about men, men of flesh and blood, men with high expectations, cowards that rise to power and misuse and abuse it, men who's admirations are set upon false doctrine and lies, hypocrites, hypocrites all. Saying God is their Father and knowing Him not, for their tung is full of deception and their words are drenched in poison. Sorcerers, Adulterers and Witches, whose end is damnation. Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. Mic 7:17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee. Fear God. ars. Patience and the Word of God. Many say that patience is a virtue and I agree with that. When we begin our journey with God the first thing that we must deal with is patience. (ISBE)Patience is often hard to gain and to maintain, but, in Rom_15:5, God is called “the God of patience” (the American Revised Version margin “steadfastness”) as being able to grant that grace to those who look to Him and depend on Him for it. It is in reliance on God and acceptance of His will, with trust in His goodness, wisdom and faithfulness, that we are enabled to endure and to hope steadfastly. Patience is often hard to gain and to maintain, asking God for patience is an accomplishment within itself. Many believe that patience is easy until it comes their turn to deal with it. We ofttimes want so badly to accomplish much within the ministry that we get into a hurry. This is also including our prayers. Our prayers are heard when we ask not for our own lust, but for the betterment of others and within the will of God. Must we have patience in our walk with God? The answer is; Yes. Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Patience is the suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from Christian submission to the divine will. In Hebrews 10:36 we must look at one part of the verse a little closer. “ye might receive the promise.” Why is this there? To show that many times a persons prayers are not always granted, for one reason or another, or they are delayed for a time so that God is waiting for you to become stronger in Faith and Patience. Remember God will answer a prayer 1. If it is in accordance to His will. And 2. It doesn't cause you to fall or become hurt. I wish to share a portion of a letter that I received the other day, see how God works patience within the ministry. “I have been providentially hindered for now in returning to these places l have been invited until I have waited on the Lord to receive power from the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. It is true we have not had the Bibles to return, but I now see clearly that God chose to withhold the access to these Bibles in order for me to seek Him with all of my heart and to find the greater need that I have. The life work for the man of God is to follow his receiving the power of God and not to precede it. By God's grace I shall be properly equipped and empowered to go into all the world to make disciples. To God be the Glory forever. Timothy Olago Christian Bible Church Benin City Edo State Nigeria I have been trying to obtain Bibles and Tracts for many Churches and Brother Timothy is a fine man of God. He learned that Gods will must be looked at before anything is done. I agree with him totally that many times we must look into ourselves and see if we are prepared to accept Gods blessings. “The life work, for the man of God, is to follow his receiving the power of God and not to precede it.” Gods ability to use us depends upon a number of things, 1. Patience. 2. Faith and 3. The ability to believe in Him. For the scriptures state that a man who comes to God must first believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. Patience is hard to gain, especially in this world of rush and hurry. We, as in Adam nature, are not used to being patient and willing to wait. We are a people of self. We are first to war and the last to forgive. We are a people of give me now and I will think about giving you later. Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. The only saving grace that man has, is the sacrifice of Jesus for the remission of Sins, without Him, we would be of all people most miserable and lost. An honest and good heart indicates that there is nothing within us that is good but rather that when we believe in Christ our spirit is renewed into the spirit of acceptance of the truth. The Apostle Paul stated this same thing, “and I know that within me dwells no good thing.” Luke 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls. When mankind try to obtain peace, they are to eager to obtain, that which is needful, in a short period of time, and when their time is up, it generally means actions that eventually leads to war and conflict, being without patience. We see this every day at the European Union and the United Nations, many times, even within our own government. If you ask God for Patience, you must be ready to go thru many difficult times, I know, Ive been there. Patience comes at a cost, that we all must pay. We possess our souls with patience. We must learn and learn again, over and over. There is no one that knows all about the scripture, there is no one that cannot be retaught, there is no one that can say God gave them all the wisdom and knowledge of scripture that he needs. Here we see the patience of the Saints, patience in Faith, Doctrine, Hearing of the word, Doing of the word and being put in Remembrance of what we have heard to remain saved. 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 1Co 15:1-2; Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. “if ye keep in memory.” Patience will give you memory, of who you are supposed to be, supposed to be doing and who you are within Christ. Many Christians have lost their identity with Christ because of lack of patience and Remembrance of who they are supposed to be. Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. If your idea of what your life with Christ is supposed to be or your ministry isn't growing fast enough for you, remember what Paul stated above, Wait for it, you may not see your duty or ministry, but it doesn't mean that God hasn't given you an answer to your prayer, it just simply means that He is not ready for you to move yet. Don't move until God tells you to move, it will bring about catastrophic results. We must not do anything that will bring blame upon the message of God, if mistakes are made they are ours. I want to leave you with some beautiful words, lets read; 2Co 6:3-10. “Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” ars. On Higher Ground. I have no presumption to believe that I am a master of all knowledge of Scripture. The only thing that I can say is that I preach and Teach, what is given to me from the Holy Spirit. Many are seeking the truth concerning, Life, Death and the Hereafter. What I try to accomplish, is to give only the Bibles View and Truth, to all those that are seeking the Truth. There are multitudes that are not, and will never, search for, nor seek, the truth. For not all men have faith. Joe 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The Bible stands as the only true presents on this earth, that can be searched, researched and studied, for all answers to all this worlds questions. With out the leadership of Gods word, many would be lost as to what salvation and righteousness is all about. As was the gentile race before Christ, we all would be worshiping Devils. The Christian community is being bombarded by many half truths and attacks over their faith in Christ. We as Christians must seek out Higher Ground, for the flood is upon us. Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. In Mat 16:18, many mistakenly recognize Peter as the “Rock” that Jesus was speaking of but actually, Jesus was only recognizing Peter as to whom he was. The Rock Jesus was referring to was,”Himself.” This is proved in many places in Scripture, so I will use 1Co 10:4. Mat 16:18; And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 1Pe 4:11- 4:19; If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: We all go thru trials of Faith, sometimes daily and sometimes ever so often. But one thing is for certain, as the end days approach, these trials will become more often and stronger. As a flood upon the land, Christians will be tried and tested, to assure that they will stand upon that Rock that will deliver all who come to higher ground. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. There are many that are being persecuted for their testimony of Christ and our Governments are trying to give way to alternate lifestyles. Banning each and everything that constitutes Christian beliefs. We will be partakers of Christ's sufferings, pain of rejection, persecuted, hounded, lie upon, and despised by many. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. We are commanded to remain neutral in all of mans matters, we do not try to interfere in matters that do not Glorify God. In these past years we see great divisions in Politics, Immigration, Gay Marriage, and Abortion, but being on Higher ground, we as Christians must see what is actually happening, that is, the Spirit of Anti-Christ, is coming out stronger and showing his ugly head, deceiving many. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. We rejoice in persecution. We must allow Gods prophesys to avail themselves to all and be shown to all. We cannot change the things that must come to pass, Divisions in the Church, Homosexuality, Wars and Rumors of Wars, Political indifference to what is right and wrong, and False Doctrine being taught in our schools and neighborhoods. For those upon Higher Ground, we welcome these things coming to pass, even knowing that ,many will suffer. We welcome these things because, 1.We can use these prophetic words to aid us in our evangelism. And 2.We know that we can start looking up for our redemption grows near. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Isa 28:16-18; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. Ars. multitudes: the end: Ecc_7:2; Jer_5:31; Eze_7:2, Eze_7:3, Eze_7:6; Mat_24:13, Mat_24:14; Rom_13:12; 1Co_7:29; 1Co_15:24; Phi_4:5; Heb_10:25; Jam_5:8, Jam_5:9; 2Pe_3:9-11; 1Jo_2:18, 1Jo_2:19 Joe_3:2; Isa_34:2-8, Isa_63:1-7; Ezek. 38:8-23, Eze_39:8-20; Rev_16:14-16, Rev_19:19-21 decision: or, concision, Phi_3:2, or, threshing for: Joe_2:1; Psa_37:13; 2Pe_3:7 Is America Loosing its Faith in God? Is there a place where the workers of iniquity can hide from God? Is there no place where mankind, turning away from God, can go to worship strange gods and not be seen? Is a nation that goes after gods of the idolaters justified before the Lord? I wish to para-phrase the words of Hosea in, Hosea 5:7 ; “They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.” To wit this nation has begotten strange children, children of idol worship, strange gods that abhor the living God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the God of our forefathers that established this nation on the strict principles that Jesus is Both Lord and Christ. Has this Nation dealt treacherously against the Lord, by allowing these strange children of idols, to grow and prosper in a nation of freedom? We have seen in the past, when at war, people of certain backgrounds and nations of origin, being rounded up and put in camps. We being afraid that these people were also the enemy that we were fighting. We segregated these people, hated these people and, despised their nations of origin, because of what they desired to do. Has this nation forgotten all that it has learned over the past 100 years? We used to call, the Indians, and then King George, the anti-Christ, we were a nation that was in Love with The Living God, and also feared Him the most. Has this nation dealt treacherously against the Lord, not standing up and declaring that, He is the God of Our Nation, or are we afraid to make sound statements to all because we fear reprisals and ridicule from the rest of the world? Who are we afraid of, lawyers, judges, principality's, powers, Kings, Priest? Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. There are no, lawyers, judges, principality's, powers, Kings, or Priest, that exist that are not ordained by God. All these powers exist at the will of God. Do you not believe that God can give power and also can take it away? Why have we, as a nation, been able to exist with so many enemies for so long? Because we had God on our side, who has protected us. We were the light of the world to the gentile race of people, we preached the Gospel and proclaimed God as our Leader, Lord and our Sovereign God. We once guarded our shores against the enemy of freedom but have we made a pact with the devil and allowed him to set up palaces of Gold and Silver in our heart land? We must leave the wheat and the chaff grow together, for God will separate them in the end. But where is our National pride, where is our National Prominence among the world, where has our devotion to the living God gone? Does not each leader that comes from other nations, seek only after the wealth of this nation? Do they come to hear about our fear of God, or do they come with their hands out? What Happened to One Nation under God? In Matthew 21:43 we see that what was taken away from Israel, for a time, was given to us. “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” Have we allowed these worshipers of strange and false gods to pervert this nation? Have we allowed Satan to come in freely and make up laws, transgressing the true laws, changing the ordinances, and breaking the everlasting covenant that was handed down to us by God? Isa 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 2Ki 17:29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. There is a separation between the physical and the spiritual. Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. We all have the knowledge of Gods word, we cannot be so blind as to believe that all religions can come together and be as one. For the light hates the darkness, and Idols have no place in the House of God. Are we to close a blind eye to history? Are we to forget what happened to, Babylon, Rome, Berlin and Moscow, and the latest Baghdad, with all their false gods and idols, did they not all fall? The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, He makes us to stand and also can allow us to fall. 2Co 6:14-18; Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. We do not go to arms nor do we fight the flesh. Our fight is with the spirit of anti-Christ. Our weapons are not of this world but of a world beyond measure. Our weapons are fashioned by God, The Armor of Faith, Salvation and Truth. Eze 12:28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD. Psa 33:12-15; Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. Bible prophecy is coming to pass, we as a Nation must continue to stand upon the truth of the Gospel. We must declare to all that we are a nation that believe and trust in only one God threw His Son, Jesus Christ. Ars. (TSK)Psa 33:15 - fashioneth: Pro_22:2, Pro_27:19; Ecc_7:29; Isa_64:8; Act_17:26 considereth: Psa_44:21; Job_11:11, Job_34:21, Job_34:22; Pro_24:12; Jer_32:19; Hos_7:2; 1Co_4:5, Eze 12:28 - There shall: Eze_12:23-25; Jer_4:7, Jer_44:28; Mat_24:48-51; Mar_13:32-37; Luk_21:34-36; 1Th_5:2, 1Th_5:3; Rev_3:3   For Him Web Designs