Believing The Truth.

“And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (24)  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (25) Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 1:23-25

As we ponder our hearts on these scriptures, let us all think about truth. Truth is something that is very hard to find in the Twenty-First Century, almost everything said or done today is a lie, phony, or just plain untruth. If you look-up the word “truth” in the scriptures you will find it means - stability, figuratively certainty, trustworthiness, and sure -. But to us what is truth, and where do we find it? How about church, is your church teaching truth, no I am not talking about what they say is truth, but real truth. Well let’s see if we can figure it out. We know that the bible is truth, and we know that Jesus is truth because the Bible tells us He is. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 and we know that the bible is truth because it is the absolute word of God, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16 We know that the writers of the bible were inspired because the bible tells us they were. If we do not believe God, the bible, and Jesus Christ then we have absolutely nothing to trust to be truth. God tells us that mankind are sinners, liars, corrupted, and enemies of God, Jesus, and the bible. Since mankind are corruptible and totally depraved they have nothing in common with God, fleshly or spiritually. That means mankind is doomed for eternal hell and there is nothing that can change them, not even themselves. God is clear that only He, and He alone can change the Ethiopians skin color, the leopard’s spots, or the sinner and hater of God that mankind is. Unless God change a sinner, they will die a sinner at enmity with God. “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44 The only truth found on the face of the earth is in the bible, and the men speaking the messages of God from the pulpits. But, even at that it is limited to a small few. How do you know if your pastor is preaching the word of God in truth, study the scriptures. Jesus said of the scriptures, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39 While many search for the truth of the scriptures, they cannot find it, because they are not of God. Since they are not of God they change God’s truth into a lie and preach hearsay rather than truth. You will find in this evil, corrupt, godless world it is easier to preach a lie than the truth. This is why, men love a lie more than the truth, and therefore people will flock to a false hope in themselves, rather than a real hope in Jesus Christ. However, the saddest part of it all is they change Gods truth into a lie and serve the lie as truth. But, this is very sad “…God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts…” in other words God is not going to change them, ever. Therefore, it is up to you to figure out what is truth and what is the lie of Satan, and does your church teach truth or a lie. If you are blessed to figure it out then follow the truth, it is still being taught. Ask yourself when listening to your Pastor, is this the bible or is this a lie? To many Preachers teach false doctrine, lies, untruths and call them truth. They read words, phrases, and lies into the scriptures that are not there. They will teach you doctrine that is man’s doctrine and not Gods. Beware, your eternal soul may burn forever and ever. Folks, the truth is hard to find, and only God will show it to you. So many believe lies because it sounds good to the lost sinner, the world, and Satan. Be careful, study the word of God, and believe what it says. Just allow the scriptures to teach you and you will know the truth, you will know the real Jesus Christ our Saviour. "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (36) If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:31-32, 36

God Works In Us The Will To Do…

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

I know and understand mankind enough to know this, as mankind we believe there is not much we can’t do if we just set our hearts and minds to its conclusion. However, we must understand the works of God, for spiritual things can only be accomplished by God. Fleshly speaking there is a lot we can do if we set our minds to it, but it is only by the power of God that we can work spiritual satisfaction to God. First, let’s look at salvation. Only God can cause a lost sinner to repent and seek salvation, and to receive it. No one has the ability to turn from their old nature to a new one if God has no given them a new one to start with. God uses the examples of an Ethiopian changing their skin color of a leopard changing their spots. Neither can change what they are no more than man can change what they are, depraved, lost sinners. Second, let’s look at church membership. Church membership is brought about by God also. People don’t just join a church, God has chosen the fold before the foundation of the world, and He has elected His church before the foundation of the world. God in comparing the church to a human body says in 1 Corinthians 12:18 “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” He said “every member” meaning that if you are a true church members that God has set you in the church, and in the position He wants you to serve in that church. God chooses the Pastors, missionaries, and all other workers as He is pleased to send them. Just as He sent the prophet Jeramiah. The main problem with so many today is they either fail to understand these truths, or they are ignoring this. Let us look at what John said in John 3:27 “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” Some have said we should add “of his own will” when speaking of man, which does the original text no harm at all. Because spiritually speaking the closer a believes is to this thought, the closer they are to God, and trusting God in everything. God is always telling us to look to Him for our life resources. James wrote in James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Whatever you need ask of God, stop trying to do-it-yourself. You are not washing your car, or changing your oil. You are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are attending to the King’s work. When working for the King it is best done if he is doing it through you. Let us look at what Amos said in Amos 7:15 “And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.” Amos did not just choose to do this work, God sent Him and like so many others, he obeyed and did as the Lord said. We must be patient and wait on the Lord, He knows what is best and what need to be done. The “preacher” Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:8 a very profound truth, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Let us remember that waiting on the Lord to act in us is better than just acting. I remember waiting more than 20 years in the ministry before the Lord gave me my first and only church, and it was worth the wait! If you have a need, your church has a need, or if you are searching for a work, or searching for workers, always remember God sets people in place as He chooses, be patient. We will end with these words, “And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron…So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.” Hebrews 5:4-5 DO NOT ATTEMPT IT, IF GOD HAS NOT CALLED YOU TO IT. Amen!

The Everlasting Father.

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Here in this wonderful passage of scripture God gives us some most wonderful and exciting news about our Saviour Jesus The Christ. First notice the words “For unto us a child is born” God speaks here as a thing already done, God did not say this Child would be born but as though He already had been. So how is this The Saviour of mankind, Jesus The Christ? We must understand that we are speaking of God, Who is eternal. There is a reason that God never changes, that reason is because He is eternal. John Gill described this word “eternal” this way “God is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting; the Ancient of days, before all things, and all time; which is, and was, and is to come:” since God is “before all things, and all time; which is, and was, and is to come” He can describe things as though they have already happened, because to God they have. This is the reason God cannot change, He has already predestinated, or ordained all that is going to be. Therefore, before the creation of the world, before sin entered the world God had already ordained our Saviour, Jesus The Christ, therefore it was as sure as though it had already happened. Another example of this is found in Romans 8:29-30 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30.) 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. God foreknew them (His Elect) before creation and had predestinated them to be called, justified, and glorified and it is as certain as though it had already happened. If you are saved you have experienced all of these except one, being glorified has yet to happen, this completion of our salvation will not take place until Jesus raptures us in His return glorifying our bodies completing the trifecta of our salvation soul, spirit, and body. So, while we can ascribe all these other names to Jesus Christ, some have an issue with the words “The everlasting Father” Their argument is, how can the Son of God also be described as “The everlasting Father”? I must ask, of whom are the scriptures describing, Jesus is not just a Son, He is the Son of God. Jesus declared in John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.” Now understand, they are not one as the churches are unified as one, but they are absolutely one single being. Jesus also said in John 14:9 “...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” Also remember in John chapter one verse one where John wrote about Jesus “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is proof that Jesus Christ was not “just” Gods Son, but God Himself in the likeness of sinful flesh. In Verse 14 of John 1 it says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” If Jesus Christ is God, then He is God in the flesh. The words “everlasting Father” recognizes His as creator of all things. Which is verified in Colossians 1:16 "For by him were all things created..." and in verse 17 it says, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Again, speaking of Jesus Christ. This is telling us that Jesus Christ is “the Father of eternity”, which identifies Him as the creator of all things, before all things He was. One thing about Jesus Christ people forget is, He is God, very God. While He was born as a child, He came from eternity which is proved out in all the above scriptures.  

Do You Know The Power Of God?

“What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:” Romans 9:22

We live in a time when there is much powerful destruction in the world, earthquakes, hurricanes, shootings, etc. etc. etc. The question that is often asked is “where is God”? Well, one thing that is absolutely true is God is Omnipresent or everywhere at one time, no place is ever without God. God is a Spirit; therefore, you might never know God is present unless you just accept the fact that God is Omnipresent. If one truly knew God, and who He is, one might ask this question out of ignorance “where is God”. People look at God with different eyes, some look at God as though He does not exist, some look at God through moral eyes (thinking He is what they think He should be), Some look at God as a weak and insignificant being who depends on us to help Him. But, regardless how one looks at God, and regardless how He may appear in their mind, God is The only true God, and that makes Him Omni-everything. God is all-power, all-knowledge, He is all-holy, and God is all-right in all His doings and choosing of His doings. The first thing one must understand about God is, He answers to no one. People are not counselors to God, He is a Self-Existent Being Whom existed alone before creating everything that exist. Next, one must also understand that whatever God chooses to do, that He will do, regardless to what you might think of it. This leads us to this extremely important point, God is ABSOLUTLY SOVEREIGN, this means (God is a Supreme Being choosing, ordaining, predetermining, and executing His will and pleasure). People must know that if God wants something to be, it will be, regardless to what you might think of it. One must also understand that God owes no creature anything, nor does he owe them an explanation about the things He does. God controls all His creation, even the evil of Satan did God make for His own glory. The issue some people have is they have no idea who God is, they are simply ignorant to God’s Being. I hear people make the most ignorant commits about God, like “I cannot serve a God like that”, or like “my God would never allow that to happen”. Here in our text scripture it says, “What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known…” what if God was to make His power known? What if God was an angry with the sinfulness of the world and wanted to make His displeasure know? So why if God was sending some destruction to show us we have gone too far in sinfulness. Would you believe that? Oh, you don’t believe it, your God is not that kind of God, then you do not serve the God of the bible. Folks, God is not who we think He is, God is not who we want Him to be, God is pure Sovereign in His will and purpose. This means God controls everything, read Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and Ephesians chapter 1 and Romans chapter 9. And when you read them stop making excuses for them and believe them. We are simply created beings to be used as God is pleased to use us. If God has predetermined that you die a horrible death then you will, if God has ordained that you live a long glorious life you will. God had predestinated that millions of His own elected children die horrible deaths in what is called the “dark ages” at the hands of Catholicism and others and they did. If you read history, true history, you will find that God’s people have always suffered at the hands of our enemies, why, because God chose for it to be that way. Folks, it God was willing to show His wrath the things we see happening today is nothing compared to what His true wrath is. We must remember God is not a man, He does not think like a man, nor does He do as a man, and no He is not a woman either! God is a Spirit and does at His own choosing, and if you do not accept God as He is then you do not serve the God, one true God that is the God of the bible. John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”           

It Is Time For Christians To Come Together As One.

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” 2 Corinthians 6:17

I have in my lifetime seen this scripture abused more time than I can count. I have over the years heard it taught that this scripture means white people and black people cannot mix, that they cannot worship together, that God means for us to be separate, that is the biggest lie I have ever heard!!! Shame on any believer that has been saved by the grace of God who believes such a thing. God would never tell his beloved children to separate. If a person is white and teach their children to hate or to devalue black people then that person is wrong. And if a black person teaches their children to hate white people they are just as wrong. It matters not what history was, it matters not what happened in history, all that matters are what happens now. Folks, if you are saved then you must LOVE all other children of God, no matter what. Race, Nationality, nor anything else should keep a child of God from loving another child of God. God never told His children to separate or to hate, in fact God said if you do not love the other children of God then you are not saved. 1 John 4:20 “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” God did not exempt race or Nationality! It is time for the separation because of race to stop, and it must stop on both sides. We were saved to bring glory to God and we cannot bring glory to God if we cannot worship the Lord together. When John wrote that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 He was saying that He loved people from all Nations and not just the Jews. It makes me angry when Christians seek for ways to separate themselves rather than ways to bring us together. There is no doubt what God is talking about in our text scripture. The Lord set the context in 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” As Christians, we are not to be “yoked together” with unbelievers. Most people believe this is speaking about marriage, well it is, but it goes deeper than marriage. The word “yoked” means - not to mingle with unbelievers – that would include marriage but it would also mean in life as a union of friendship or association of any sort. But what is absolutely does not mean is by race or nationality. As I said before, I never intend to re-hash history, because what happened has happened and no one can change that. If you look at believers throughout history millions of them were abused, mistreated, and killed in horrible ways. John Newton, who wrote the most famous hymn of all time “Amazing Grace” was both a slave and a slave trader. But when he was born of God his entire life changed, and he was a wonderful child of God. There is way too much hate in the world than for believers in Jesus Christ to join it. Any Christian who hates another Christian needs a salvation check. We are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus and we ought to behave as such. There is one God, and one Saviour, and we are all God’s children by God’s choice. There is no room for the murmuring and hatred among Christians. When we are with the Lord we will all be the same, like Jesus. We ought not do things that offend our brothers and sisters in Christ, nothing! We ought not do anything that causes our brother and sisters to sin. Folks, this world and the “god” of it is a hater of God, and His children, therefore let us step above this sinful world and show the world how Christians should love and support one another. Psalms 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful…But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night…And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”