Be careful in dealing with other believers.

1 Corinthians 2:15 “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”

This chapter teaches us so much about our knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of God and His word. We understand that everything from God is a gift, and God gives His gifts in diverse ways to His children. 1 Cor. 12:1 – 11 will teach us more about this. But to us who are blessed with God’s gifts of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of God and His word. We are responsible for those teachings, to grow in them, to decern them, and to walk in them. Everyone, from the Pastor down are to spiritually know, understand and in wisdom how to properly decern biblical truths. And one of those teachings is to “spiritual judges all things.” Not somethings, not things we think of, not things with human understanding, but things taught by God in His word. Once we step outside of those guidelines, we have failed God. Everything we judge must be judged in LOVE, with the love God gives us and not human love. Since our understanding of God’s giving of gifts to each believer, our judgment must be with much caution. Because another believer may not understand spiritually or be as spiritually smart as you are. We must remember that only God can truly teach another believer and cause them to decern the scriptures. God went on to say “…yet he himself is judged of no man.” Because we do not know the workings of God in every believer’s spiritual life, or even what God is doing in our life. We only know and understand what God is showing us; we do not know the mind of God. Our judging others must be with much love and understanding of what God is doing, and this takes much prayer. Please understand, God is judging us on our action as we are judging His other children. Especially as Pastors and church members. Let us never stop studying, praying, learning, and walking in that spiritual education, because we do not want to fail God.

When God says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Gal. 5:25 While our walk will not be perfect, that cannot be our excuse in a voluntary failure. Every believer is required to walk in the Spirit. Our walking in the Spirit or in the Holy Spirit is to follow our spiritual hearts in the Truth of the Word. And if we fail, we are giving in to the lust of the flesh. The Lord went on to say in the next verse Gal. 5:26 “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” That is by our failure to walk in the glory of our hearts and not that of the Spirit. Living in the Spirit is walking in the Spirit, a failure to do one is a failure to do both. Again, we will not be perfect, but that is not an excuse to fail. We may ask, “how does this equate to how we treat other believers,” well we must try to understand not only ourselves but others. God is the giver of everything good, therefore He gives His gifts diversely and while He may give to one does not mean He gives to everyone. This makes every gift a blessing and therefore we cannot blame another for not having that blessing. The greatest example is the gift of salvation, because God gives it, it cannot be obtained by anyone except to whom it is given. Therefore, we cannot blame a lost soul for not being saved, it is not within the person’s choices. Neither is any other of God’s gifts, they like salvation is a gift, not earned are a choice of getting. Therefore, we must be carful and not judge God’s other children for what they do not have, because God may not have blessed them with it. It is better to thank God for our blessing instead of being critical of believers who may not have it. Every saved soul is God’s child; it is Jesus who justifies and Jesus who judges and He has promised to judge us as harshly we judge others. As Christians we are to help the weak, we are to attempt to teach them, but while some judgment is right, it is extremely limited.

Matthew 7:1-6 “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

Are you prepared?

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

Death is coming, I know people ignore the subject, but death is not far away, and the fires of hell await those who have ignored the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you live your life at your pleasure and ignore God and His word, please be aware that judgment day is coming. Your final place for eternity is either in heaven or hell. Think of it as a joke if you please, ignore it if you please, but the day of judgment without mercy and grace is coming, it is going to happen. 1Cor. 15:52 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” As Christians all we can do is plant and water the seeds of God, any increase is of God. So, the seed and the water is this article, hate it, laugh at it, ignore it, but in judgment you will wish you had taken it to heart. Luke 16:24 “And 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.”

Here is the solution for your redemption, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28 and in Luke 16:23 - 24 “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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.”

John 5:22 - 27 "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man."

John 8:16 "And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me."

Romans 2:2 "But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things."

2Cor. 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."

Revelation 20:11 - 15 "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

So, as we can all see, that judgment is coming and the lack of thinking about it will not delay it. There is a place called hell, and the road is wider than the road to heaven. When a lost sinner dies not amount of prayer, no amount of hoping, no minister preaching your funeral and just insert you into heaven. Only Jesus Christ, His being, His life, His work, His most painful suffering, His crucifixion, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His blood shed can save you from hell. Titus 3:3 - 7 “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Satan’s Walk.

Job 1:7 “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.”

Satan works daily along with hidden demons to trouble those that belong to God through the salvation that God has so graciously bestowed on us. When we study the word of God on Satan, we learn that he has many names, the devil which means the slanderer, the tempter or one who entices Christians to sin, the evil one or the one who is the source of sin, then there is the liar that is the deceiver of truth, murdered because he the killer of life, God called him the god of this world because he has dominion over the people or rulers of this world, he is called a dragon because of the manifestation of the power of Satan, and while there are many more biblical names for Satan God gave him one more name we need to pay close attention to, and that name is Roaring Lion.1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” God called him this because he is “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” This is why when God spoke with Satan in Job 1:7 he said he was “and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” As a hungery Lion seeking out his prey. I am sure when God suggested a more favorable target like Job, whom God said, “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?” Satan was like a hungry lion looking at the best piece of meat he could have ever been given to him. However, Satan is like so many they forget that God is Omniscient, and God knew the outcome. God never gives up His people, His servants without deity protection. However, God did not need to ask Satan what he was doing, God already knew that Satan was walking as a roaring lion seeking prey. But who exactly is Satan’s prey, it is Christians and churches, why, because he has the lost blinded already toward God and Truth. The lost are like dry bones to Satan, they have no meat because they have been blinded and dead since birth. Satan wants meat on those bones, he wants to hurt and devour as many of God’s people that he can, this is why he was overly excited when God offered up Job. The word “devour” does not mean that Satan wants to cause us trouble, it does not mean this very hungry wants a leg or an arm, the word “devour” means - to drink down, that is, gulp entire, swallow (up). Satan wants to totally control you heart and mind again, he wants to laugh at God that he has swallowed up one of His own. God allowed Satan to take almost everything Job had, about all he had was a wife that told him, “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.” Job 2:9 But all that Satan put Job through, even turning his wife against him, he kept his “integrity”, God said of Jobs integrity in verse 3 of chapter 2 “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? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” Do not be so hard on Jobs wife, her faith and integrity were not as strong as her husbands, in fact God said of Jobs integrity “there is none like him in the earth,” not even his wife. Satan uses the weaker around us in his effort to devour us, just as he did with Adam. So, what was Jobs answer to his wife, but he said unto her, “Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” Job 2:10 Therefore, instead of Job allowing himself to be devoured by Satan, he remembered that no matter what, I will stand with the Lord, because all that I have was a gift from God. Therefore, Job said if Satan takes it all, “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. We all need to remember, as Paul wrote “But by the grace of God I am what I am:” no more and no less, God has made me what I am only as He has elected. Beloved, we all need to “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil…” because we are all Satan’s prey and he is looking for our weaknesses and any kink in our armor, and crack he can slither through, to make us prime prey for him to stop our walk long enough to devour us. Satan never stops walking because God said he knows his time is limited therefore, his walk is constant. Beloved, be careful, remain alert, examine all things, and make sure God’s will is in it, and pray much.        

How shall God not freely give us all things?

Romans 8:32 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

God asked in v. 31 “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Looking at the context of this chapter God is telling us that through His electing us, and His “predestinating us to be conformed to the image of his Son” v. 29 God has made us into the image of His Son, Jesus. God did not just redeem us, but also “conformed” us to be like unto His own Son. That is a total changing us from a wretched lost and dying sinner to be like unto His Beloved Son. The process of this change was costly to God because it was essential that God choose the perfect source of our change. Therefore, the only way for God to be molded in the image of His Son was to sacrifice His own Son. Therefore, God elected us, predestined us, called us, and in Christ He justified us, and in the end, He will glorify us. This means God, in His finished work will make all believers in heaven to be fashioned like His own Son Jesus. God through all this, brought to view His glorious love for us, because He sacrificed His own Son to accomplish this work of change in us. If God was to form us like unto the image of Jesus, then Jesus had to pay the price for our redemption. This is what God did for every Christian throughout time and until this change is complete. We, in this flesh will never understand what God has done for us in our redemption until we are in heaven. The love it took for God to allow His own Son in Jesus to crucified by Satan and those wicked and sinful hands that sacrifice Him. We will never in this life ever understand nor appreciate the love and sacrifice of what God has done for us. If we did, just our smallest and most insignificant sin would cause us to fall on our face and ask God for forgiveness. Our human mind cannot understand the reality of heaven and hell and the glorious love that God has given to us. In heaven we will surlily understand the true meaning to these words “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me.” God, “spared not his own Son,” God put on Jesus the entire burden of sin for every soul that He is going to redeem.

Then God said, “…how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” The words “all things” does not include our every wish in this life, God did not say this for our selfishness, but for His grace given. Let us remember the gift of grace God had just given, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all….” The question is, isn’t this all things? Isn’t this more than we would or could ever ask for? What else could we ever ask for that overshadows our gift of salvation? “All things” are our spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to us along with our salvation. God said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James1:17 God is not a giver to selfishness; God is the giver of grace and mercy. God knows our needs before we ever ask, “for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” Matt. 6:8b. Therefore, Jesus warned us in the same verse “Be not ye therefore like unto them…” that is “thou shalt not be as the hypocrites.” The greatest gift that God has ever given to a sinner is salvation through redemption by His sacrificed Son, how dare we ever be selfish. Therefore, God has given us everything He has chosen for us, let us rejoice and be glad, let us enjoy everything God has given to us. We that are saved have the greatest gift because there is none greater, every other gift just adds to that joy. Thank you, Lord!

If God Be for Us.

Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

What a true blessing of a scripture, what a blessing from our Sovereign God, the very Being that controls everything that is created. As created beings, even as Christians, we will never be able to totally understand nor grasp what God is saying here in this verse. This verse should bring glorious peace of mind to every believer, and when we add in verse 28 “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.” it should cause every believer to rejoice and shout from the mountain top, so that everyone can hear us for miles around. Listen closely to Psalms 46:7 “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” The word “refuge” means God is our cliff or inaccessible place, meaning there is no safer place in existence than being in the Lord and the Lord being in us. Look at how the Psalmist describes the Lord in Psalms 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” We must ask ourselves, “do we need anyone else” the answer must be no, because in the Lord our God we have everything we need. Beloved, we need never worry, wonder, nor fear any creature or anything else because God is for us! Listen once more to the Psalmist in Psalms 118:6 “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” As Christians we are God’s children, we are His possession, and because of that we have His greatest promise, “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb. 13:5c This very thought should give every child of God the greatest of comfort. We live in a dangerous world, Satan and his people in this world hate us, they want to destroy us every second of every day. And if it were not for the power and grace of God, they would. But God is our refuge or our hiding place, we are in the palm of His hand, and no one has the ability nor the power to bring any harm to us that God does not allow. Think about the word is “perseverance”, it is found only once in the entire scriptures, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” Ephesians 6:18 The word “perseverance” means persistence which means we are to be "to be attentive or vigilant." in our faith in God. We pray because we trust God in all things, in our everyday life and every event or action or happening in our everyday life. We need to constantly remind ourselves that “God is for us” and since He is, we can believe that whatever He brings us to, that He will also bring us through it. If God (as He did with Job” bring suffering and challenging times to us, then we are going to be fine. The Lord said in Rom. 8:17 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” God will lead us into trials, persecutions, and tribulations, just as He did Jesus His own Beloved Son. It is our walk in this life, suffering with the Son because this is God’s will for us and it is for our own good.

Then God added in verse 31 “who can be against us?” this is our perseverance or our persistence that our faith can be strong because we do not walk alone in this life, God walks with us protecting us from all evil. God sets the limits of what happens in our life, there are no coincidences, or we do not live by “luck” everything in a Christians life is by God’s will and grace. Just as He told Satan “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand…” Job1:12 God is not against us, God does not allow things in our life to hurt us, but everything has a purpose and that purpose is, “…all things work together for good to them that love God…”. Therefore, no one can be against us, because God is not only for us but in us. God is the Omnipotent God over all creation and there is no greater power than Him. Praise God for His always being with us!  

Is Satan real, and what is his purpose.

 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

If you believe in God and if you believe God’s word, then you must believe Satan is as a real and powerful being. Satan is anti-God; He was created to be Satan even though he was originally created a powerful angel. God never created any one or anything without a purpose to bring Him glory. “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” Proverbs 16:4 We must understand the reason God created anything, it was all created for God’s personal glory, God gets glory from everything, even from Satan. This world, man, Satan, and everything else was created because of the glory God wanted for Jesus His Son. Without the creation of everything there would not have been the fall of Adam, and sin would not have entered the world. Therefore, God created evil in the person of Satan and created Eve to sin, therefore creating Adam to sin and through Adams sin bringing sin upon all mankind. Satan was created also as an adversary of God; he fell from heaven by challenging to be like God. “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Isa. 14:14 This challenge from the angel Lucifer was a sin, and angels that sin with him were cast into hell which God made just for Satan and his angels, and for all those who die lost. God said to Satan after the fall in the garden, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent…And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed” Gen. 3:14a, 15a. The word “enmity” means -hostility and even hatred- meaning God has put hate between “the woman’s seed, and Satan’s seed, the seed of the woman is Jesus and the seed of Satan is the non-elect. Therefore, the real hate that exist between God and Satan is also between the elect and non-elect or those that are saved and those that are eternally condemned. Satan through the fall took dominion over the world in the fall of Adam. God gave this dominion to Adam and Satan took it in the fall and Satan became ruler over the earthly system. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul called Satan the “god of this world”, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” In the fall Satan through Adams fall brough spiritual blindness to the entire population of the world. And this blindness is so powerful that only the power of God can remove it and cause man to see, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6.

God said Satan was, “your adversary the devil” Satan is the Christians greatest adversary because of his power. We have already looked at how he blinded the entire population of the world with such blinders that only God in His glorious power can undo the damage that Satan has done. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts…”. People have no power to undo the damage that Satan has done, people are helpless without God. God said Satan is “as a roaring lion, walketh about”, he is a wild beast and he is so dangerous God compared him to a “roaring lion”, Vincent’s Word Study said of the word “roaring” “it denotes especially the howl of a beast in fierce hunger.” Therefore, he never rests to do as much harm to Christians and churches relationship to God as he can because his time is short. Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Satan knows God and he knows what his future is, but he is still wanting to cause as much havoc as he can to God’s people. This is why God warned us all “Be sober, be vigilant….” It is our responsibility to be watchful and not allow ourselves to be overcome through his trickery. Satan wants the weak and those that are easily tricked into falling. It is unfortunately that so many Christians and even churches have failed the Lord because they are not watchful enough. God went on to warn us that he is “Seeking whom he may devour…” and the word “devour” means “to drink down, that is, gulp entire.” Satan’s desire is to cause all of us to be worthless, so the Lord cannot get glory from us. He cannot steal our salvation, but he can rob us of our service in righteousness, if we are not watchful for him.      

Christians are not under the law, but grace.

Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

What does it mean to be “under the law of God,” it means that lost souls are bounded to live the law to obey it in fulfillment. Lost souls cannot live the law of God because we were all (that is all souls) born in sin and with sin. People are not condemned because we sin but because we were born condemned in the sin of Adam. God made this crystal clear in 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:” Therefore, we must conclude that every soul born was born under sin and therefore bound to sinfulness. So many people mistake moral goodness and spiritual goodness as one in the same, but a soul can be morally good and a condemned sinner at the same time. God’s law was ever written for us to be made righteous; the law was written to show us our sinfulness. God said in, Gal. 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The law was never meant for salvation, meaning living good will never save a human soul. This is why God said in Eph. 2:8,9 that salvation is through grace and not by works. In Rom. 6:14 God said, “For sin shall not have dominion over you…” the word “dominion” means to lord over someone or to be a divine authority over someone. When people are lost, they do not control their thinking nor actions, sin does. The word “dominion” makes it clear that a lost or unredeemed soul is living in a depraved state of mind and will never turn to God for redemption. The reason for this is because every human soul is born not only depraved but at enmity with God, or a hater of God. God said in Rom. 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God…” which means mankind, without redemption is hostile to God and everything He is. Therefore, every lost soul’s thinking is opposed to God’s Law, and not just a law but everything God is or says. God said that mankind hates Him so much that, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Rom 3:11 The reason they do not seek God is because they do not understand God, to the unredeemed mind, God is their enemy not their Saviour. Therefore, people make-up a god that suits their condemned mind and that god is weak, subject to the will of man, and is controlled by man’s thoughts and opinions. This is why people hate the Sovereignty of God, because a Sovereign God controls the creature which is reverse to what man wants. This is why so many mistakenly believes that “God cannot change the human will” because man’s human will is so free that God must beg man to come to Him. The truth is that salvation cannot be of works because true salvation is a gift from God and is accomplished by and through Jesus Christ. We who are saved were saved by God’s grace through the work of Jesus Christ. God even went as far to say in Eph. 2:8 “…and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” and He even went farther to clarify this in verse 9 “Not of works…” because salvation is by grace. This makes us that are saved, “under grace” and not under the law. We as Christians are not subject to the condemnation of the law or “the curse of the law” because “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:” Gal. 3:13 Therefore, we are under grace and no longer bound to the condemnation of the law. God said that salvation is not of both grace and works because they do not accomplish the same thing but are opposite of each other. “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” Romans 11:6 The law condemns the soul to eternal hell, but grace saves our soul from hell. This does not mean that the law is meaningless to a Christian, because Paul went on to write in Rom 6:15 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” But the law no longer condemns us, but it becomes our standard of life. God’s grace through the blood of Jesus forgives and pardons our sin therefore if we sin, we are no longer condemned by that sin. This is what God meant in 1 John1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” His blood cleanses us so much that we can walk in fellowship with God, beloved that is grace!   

Are we hearing the Holy Spirit?

Revelation 2:7a “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;”

God’s Spirit which we all know as the “Holy Spirit” is more active in our life than we will ever realize. When God says, “He that hath an ear” God is saying that if you are saved then you have a spiritual ear, and that spiritual ear allows us to hear God speaking to us through His Spirit. In a believers’ daily life, we may think of the Holy Spirit less than we do, the Father or the Son, however, the Holy Spirit while least thought about is the most active in our life. He quickens our dead spirit, He causes us to have spiritual ears, and spiritual eyes, He also us causes to hear God’s call to salvation and see the gospel and then He gives us the faith to believe. He is the one who not only leads us to salvation, but walks us through the process, He is the one who delivers the completion of our salvation. He lives inside of us and will never leave us, and He works every second of everyday in our life. He teaches us and brings things to remembrance. He also causes us to join a church, and assembles the church, He also sets the membership into the churches and delivers the needs to the churches. He is the very one who authored the bible, He saved, called, and delivered all the writes of the bible, every writer, every word written, and He is the very one who teaches the bible to every believer. John wrote a scripture that sums all this up for us in Joh. 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.” So, just remember Paul brilliantly wrote a very humbling truth in 1 Corinthians 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 laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” We are only what God’s grace has made us, and while is it believed that some people do waste God’s grace and others do not, we are still what God’s Holy Spirit has made us. The command from God is, “let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Not just to the churches but to every believer, the Holy Spirit speaks to us as He calls, saves, teaches, directs our hearts, and brings things to our remembrance. What the Apostle Paul was saying in Corinthians 15:10 is that we owe everything to God that is spiritual and Christian, every accomplishment was because of the powerful leading of the Holy Spirit. Paul listened to the Holy Spirit in his heart, and did exactly as He command, and he did accomplish much because he did not waste the grace given to him. You can ask any accomplished minister, and he will never take credit or glory for his work, because if he does then he is not “accomplished.” You may ask, how do I recognize an accomplished Minister or Pastor, He will teach, walk, and live by the scriptures and give every gory for every accomplishment to God and all power to the Holy Spirit. Paul gave all glory to God, then while it may appear he may have taken a smidgin of credit, he ended the verse with these words, “…yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Jesus said in Matthew 10:19-20 “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” And God told the Prophet Jeramiah in Jer. 1:6-7 “Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” God speaks to the churches, in Rev. chapters 2 & 3 and as He is speaking to the churches, we need to be listening, are we listening to the deep things to these churches? Throughout the entire bible God is speaking to us through the inspired word, God’s Spirit lives in us teaching and reminding us of the word of God, but are we listening? God reminded all seven churches “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;” Did they? Do we? Or do we ignore the Holy Script of God and do things our way? Think about it and it may surprise you to the true conclusion. Instead of, in regret saying, “I should have listened to God,” then listen to Him and be right the first time. Even if it may seem not so right, if God leads you there, then it will be right no matter the outcome. God is never wrong, and the Holy Spirit will never lead us wrong!    

The Vengeance of God.

2 Thessalonians 1:8 - 9 “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (9) Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

As a Christian, as a Pastor, and as a member of one of the Lord’s churches. This passage of scripture does two things, (1.) it makes me very thankful for God’s love, mercy, and grace toward me in saving my unworthy soul from this punishment, and (2) it makes my heart cry for the lost souls of this world. It does not matter how evil people are because the very though of someone spending eternity in hell’s fiery flames where God said, “the fire that never shall be quenched: and their worm dieth not” Mark 9:46, 46 make me pray harder for the lost. The Prophet Isaiah wrote in 66:24 “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” God said, “their worm die not” Vines define this as, “The statement signifies the exclusion of the hope of restoration, the punishment being eternal.” Therefore, once a soul enters the fiery flames of hell it will never end, the pain, the misery, or the unquenchable fire. This will be for eternity, and it is “God taking vengeance” on them because they “know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” These are those who are ignorant of God, who mock Him, hate Him, laugh at Him, and disobey His word. These are those who mocked Jesus Christ by their disbelief, who believed in the works and power of man over the works and power of Jesus Christ. People will one day understand, just saying you are a Christian does not make you a Christian, God said, “he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” 1 John 5:10b. People will pay in the eternal lake of fire for calling God a liar, for mocking God in their disbelief, and for not believing in Him and trusting His Beloved Son as their Saviour. God gave us a record, His own record, and it does not include works for salvation.

God said, “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” The word “vengeance” means - vindication, retribution, anger or wrath – in the flaming fires of eternal hell. People can believe anything they want, they can believe there is no true God, that the bible is untrue, that Jesus was just a man and not our Saviour, they can believe that their ungodly works will save them, the fact is it does not matter what they believe because the undeniable truth is, if they do not believe in Jesus Christ as their eternal Saviour then hell awaits them.

Then the Lord said these people “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” These poor lost souls will spend eternity separated from God’s grace and mercy, and from His presence or from hearing from Him ever again. They will eternally suffer as the rich man did, “for I am tormented in this flame.” Matt. 16:24c He was suffering because God no longer showed any mercy or grace to him but left his wicked soul in hell all alone and for eternity. This man’s soul will never know a good day ever again and neither will the unbelievers of this world.

One day God will melt this earth with fervent heat, the crust of the earth will be melted and sealed and those in hell will forever be sealed in hells flames crying for God who will never hear their cry for mercy. Sadly lost people have no idea and give no thought to what awaits them when they die. People that call themselves Christians who are not truly Christians, that believe in their ungodly works over God’s own given Saviour for their salvation will one day open their eyes in hell wondering what went wrong. When people refuse to believe on Jesus Christ for their salvation (which is the command of God) and believe their own false religion they have called God a liar. The only way to be God’s child is to obey His command,  “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (5) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4 

All Blessings Belongs to God.

All Blessings Belongs to God.

Ephesians 1:3 - 6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (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: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

People throughout the history of the New Testament have obliterated the Truth of God, turning it into a lie just as God said they would. “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 1:25 Their goal is Satan’s goal, to make God irrelevant in in everything, and especially salvation and making salvation entirely the plan and work of sinful man. However, when the truth is revealed, salvation is the work of God and not sinful men. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12, 13 It is impossible for salvation to be both of God and man, because it is a gift of God and not the work of sinful man. We must remember that sinful man are at enmity with God, which means man in their natural state hate God and will forever reject the salvation offered by God. Therefore, as churches and ministers of the Gospel message we must ask ourselves, “Who hath believed our report?” and we also must have the same answer as the Prophet “to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” Isaiah 53:1 This very question was quoted two times in the New Testament by Paul in Romans 10:6 and by John in John 12:38 “That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?” The answer remains the same, “to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed.” This is only accomplished by the omnipotence or power of God. The Prophet Isaiah wrote about this in Isaiah 65:1 “I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.” So, if the Lord does not seek us and calls us by His grace then we will never come. Listen to Isaiah in verse two, “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;”. To lost and sinful people all that matters is self, they cannot accept the very God they hate by nature. It is not hard to understand why the world of religion is so rebellious toward God’s Sovereignty, they reject and deny Him. Just the very thought that God is Sovereign over people destroys their ego and pride. They do not by nature call on God for salvation, when they pray in their churches for God to save sinners, they are being hypocritical, because they do not believe God saves sinners. Salvation to them is by decision, choice, or works, God has nothing to do with it, because they have changed the Truth into a lie to make God irrelevant in salvation. Listen to the Apostle Paul speaking of these people, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 That is that God in sovereignty saves sinners, that man cannot on their own make decisions and choices, and that being born again you have eternal life. They simply cannot believe God and what He says in His word, so they make God out to be the liar when they themselves are the liars. It is impossible for us to change their hearts. We cannot convince lost souls of any of these things unless they are enlightened by His Holy Spirit. As Christians, we must stand and praise God from the highest mountain-top to the lowest of valleys, for God’s blessings not only in salvation but in every step of our life. When our hearts are right in God, then we understand that we are what we are by God’s rich grace. All blessings are to God because it is He that hath blessed us.

What Our Father Hath Done for Us!

Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”

It is beyond our greatest thought what our Father has done for us. It brings me back to Abraham and what God told him to do with his son, “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Gen 22:2 What would go through any father’s mind if God were to tell them to take the very son that they loved so much and to sacrifice him on an altar. It reminds me of all those parents that must have watched helplessly as their children were martyred in the “dark ages”. No parent that loved their son or daughter would have any pleasure in watching their child given as a sacrifice. The tears and broken heart Abraham must have had as he began obeying God’s command. “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.” But just as “Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” “the LORD called unto him out of heaven, God said to Abraham, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him” for as Abraham looked, “behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” I could only imagine how blessed Abraham must have been feeling with God’s blessing. However, I could only imagine how blessed Abraham would have felt if God had allowed him to follow through with the sacrifice. It is a blessing to do anything that is pleasing to our Father.

As we turn our attention to Jesus, the very Son of God in the flesh. As we think of everything He suffered, the humility of the arrest, the horrible beating He took, and then the hours He spent on the cross in unimaginable pain. He had all the power; He could have come off the cross and destroyed those wanting Him dead. He could have called legions of angels, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Mat 26:53 But no, He could not, “But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” Jesus was here to fulfill the Fathers will and His will was for Jesus to go through everything He did, even on the cross of death. Why did the Father feel so much pleasure, it was all because He loved us. Jesus was the only being in all the world and all of creation that could accomplish this great task, for there was no other. No “ram caught in a thicket by his horns” This Son’s sacrifice was to cleanse the sins of every redeemed soul that God was going to save. Therefore, the Father “shalt make his soul an offering for sin,” and rejoice in His death. Our Heavenly Father was not selfish, He was not greedy, He was not ashamed, He was pleased in every possible way. “Yet it pleased the LORD”. What an act of pure love our Selfless Father has done for sinners like us. As we look at the grace that God had for us in sending the only worthy Saviour as our Redeemer. Let us all rejoice today and everyday until we are with the Lord. We all have so much to be thankful for, because without God sacrificing His own dear Son, we would have all went to hell.     

What is good for a Christian?

Ecclesiastes 7:1 “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.”

When people look at life, they must look at who they are, for example if you are a lost soul then you look at earthly/worldly things or humanistic things. For a Believer in Jesus Christ, for a soul that has been redeemed by God’s grace through the blood of Christ, for a soul that now has a living spirit, our outlook on life should be completely different. For a believer, the things that are good for us are opposite to those that are lost. For example, look at what God says, “A good name better than precious ointment; the day of death better than the day of birth; the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting; sorrow is better than laughter, the rebuke of the wise better than the songs of fools; the end of a thing better than the beginning; the patient in spirit better than the proud in spirit.” If you do not understand God and what God says is good for us, then we will always look to our human side. For a believer in Jesus Christ to be happy and satisfied is to be faithful to/in God and to be walking in the Spirit of His word. There is nothing more satisfying to God than a faithful servant, Noah – obeyed God, built the Ark exactly as God commanded and because of this Noah had a good name. It was Able’s faith in God that gave him a better name than Cain his brother – “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain….” Again, Abel’s good name is what made him better than his brother. Then there is Enoch, God credited his faith and said, “for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Therefore, it was Enoch’s faithfulness to God that gave him his good name. And the examples continue, Abraham, Sara, Isaac, Jacob, and etc., etc., and etc. all who gained good names by trusting God and doing as God commanded. It matters not how great our name is with the world if it is not great with God. Now compare what God says about what is good for Christians, opposite to what the world says is better for us, or that we sometimes believe is better for us. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting” How is this possible, it is simple, because whatever God has given to you is better than anything else. It is all about how much we believe and trust God. God said, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” Matthew 6:31- 32 The question is, do we believe this? The question is, do you really believe God and what He said? The ask yourself this question, do you really believe this, “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.” Rom 8:28 The question is, do you truly believe that everything that happens in your life is for your good? Our true faith in God is seen when God rest us, gives us trials, tribulations, or even persecution. It is easy to praise God when good things happen, but what about when bad things happen in your life? Either we trust God or not, either we lean on God or ourselves. Listen to God, is “Sorrow is better than laughter”, is it “better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools”, and do you believe “by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” God said all of this is better, because it is what God promised would be better for us because He chose it for us. We do not know what God has sent to be in our life, but if God sent it, then He ordained it for our good. Is it better for a Christian to die than to live on this earth? Is it better to give than it is to receive, is it better to suffer for the Lord than to live happily in this world? God said it is, that all of this is better for you, if God gave it to you. The truth is we do not know what is good for us nor do we truly know what is good for us, but God does. If we truly trusted the Lord, we would be glad and thank Him for everything that happens no matter what it is, because God controls everything in our life. There are many reasons God brings things into a person’s life, some He brings to reproof or rebuke us, sometimes to teach us, maybe to draw us closer to Him or to trust Him more, but be certain, God brings it for our good.  

How does the Lord stop people’s mouth?

Romans 3:19 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

God answers this question in the very next part of this verse, that “all the world may become guilty before God.” Our guilt is our depraved nature, and it stops us from every doing any good for God. Therefore, it must be concluded that every single human soul born, are born sinners, and totally depraved in their entire being. Paul wrote, “…but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing…” Rom.7:17b – 18a. This means in a person’s lost state, there is nothing good in them to God. Once we learn this, then our mouths are stopped, and we learn that only in our Lord Jesus and through the grace of God anything is possible in godliness. The Apostle Paul admitted in speaking about his own Christian life that the grace of God was his only good. However, you may ask, “how does this stop our mouth,” once we see our true state before God, we realize how much we need His grace. It does not matter who you are (Jew or Gentile) we are all sinners; we are all totally depraved sinners. “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;” Rom 3:9 God shuts-up those who think through their own pride that they are someone and that they can on our own accomplish certain things! God said, “that they are all (every soul ever born) under sin; that us under sins power.” Even the Apostle Paul admitted, “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 laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul admitted, that in all he had accomplished in his Christian life, it was by God’s grace, then Paul put a explanation mark after it to make it loud and clear, even though I had worked so hard and accomplished much, “but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” This great Apostle could not take credit for one single thing he had accomplished, and neither could/can one single soul saved ever saved and accomplished anything for God, it was all through Jesus and by God’s grace. Our mouths are stopped, we have no pride in ourselves, there is no room for boasting. This is the very reason when Paul wrote Ephesians 2:9 he wrote, “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” It is because God shut our mouth in verse 8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” God has told us the Truth, the question is do we believe His Truth or do you like some people, simply ignore His Truth for Satan’s lie of works for salvation? Has God shut your mouth, or do you simply ignore God’s Truth and believe in yourself over the grace of God? These scriptures should stop anyone from boasting of their righteousness, and to stop people from making any excuse for themselves when God said they are “without excuse” Rom.1:20. God has made everything plain to see, that He created all things and that He saves the souls of the lost by grace and through Jesus Christ, it is so plain that when people disagree they are calling God a liar. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. (11) And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:10 – 12. A lost soul must believe God, humble themselves, and understand that salvation is a gift of God in which we cannot earn. God must stop our mouths and make us to understand that in this flesh “dwelleth no good thing…” no, not one. Every soul must believe God and reject Satan’s lie about salvation, and that we cannot be saved through ourselves but only by God’s gift of Grace and through Jesus Christ His Beloved Son. This is God’s record, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Match this with Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Because if your belief contradicts this, then you have called God a liar, you are lost, and you will go to hell when you die. “…the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

Are Tribulations, Trials, and Persecutions Bad?

Romans 5:3 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;”

The question is, are tribulations, trials and persecution bad for a Christian, and the answer is no. In Romans chapter 5 verses 1 – 11 God describes a believer’s life; He also describes how He builds a believer’s strength as a Christian into maturity. We must never forget that we are flesh, therefore our abilities to comprehend and keep our minds focused are sometimes hard. This explains why the Holy Spirit must bring things back to our memory. “…and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26 If we had a perfect understanding of God and a perfect memory of God’s works then we would be in heaven, because in this flesh we will fail to understand. For example, God said, “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.” Rom. 8:28 However, do we really comprehend God’s thoughts, powers, and actions in our life through this verse? If we had a perfect understanding of this verse and God’s Sovereign Powers, then we would never need the Holy Spirit to remind us that God controls every single aspect of our life’s happenings. Do we truly, without doubt, worry, or confusion glory in our tribulations in life? Do we simply apply the tribulations, trials, and even persecution to the working of God in our life for a purpose He is applying for our better and growth? Do tribulations in your life build patients or do you worry, and cry? Listen to the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor12:10 “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” Did you know that persecutions build strength in our faith in Jesus? And when these things come do we glory in the Lord, we ought too. Listen again to the Apostle Paul, “Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.” 2 Tim 3:11. Now go back and study what events Paul is talking about, did you know that at one point Paul was stoned so badly, they thought they was dead? “And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.” Acts 14:19. But even though they tried to kill him, he returned to do God’s work in those cities, why, “but out of them all the Lord delivered me.”

In conclusion, one of the hardest things we can do in life is to just simply trust that God is doing these things for our own good. It is easy to forget the Sovereign hand of God is behind these things and panic. In some way we all do it at some point, because we are not perfect, we all have weaknesses. It is when God reminds us we remember and come to our spiritual senses and accept that GOD IS SOVEREIGN, He has promised that EVERYTHING is for our good, and that HE WILL DELIVER US. However, this depends on the strength of the believer’s faith and knowledge of God and His word of promise, if a believer does not grow much their level of understanding will be so weak, they may never understand. A question we must all ask ourselves, do we know “that tribulation worketh patience;” and that the harder the tribulations the more patients it builds. Therefore, the next time tribulations, trials, and/or persecutions come our way, even if we panic, let us remember “that God is building patience and that He WILL deliver us. The question must be, HOW STRONG IS OUR FAITH IN GOD?    

God cannot be defeated!

Rev. 11:1 – 14

After Jesus returns in the rapture for the collecting of every Christian on the earth, there will not be one single believer left on the earth. No believers and no true churches, they will be many false churches and false Christians but none that belong to God. In the bible we must understand there is so much we do not understand. The reason we fail to understand is two-fold, (1.) God simply did not reveal it to us, or (2.) God did not choose to put it in His word. Either way God meant for us not to know. There are things in the bible that are unknown and guessed at, I believe we should not be guessing what is meant and just accept that God does not want us to know. Therefore, we must accept that these two witnesses are unknown, but they will be two men who God has chosen for this time. These two men we do know will be dressed in incredibly old clothing and have great powers given to them from God. They are two witnesses, they are here to perform the purpose of Christ in this world, to witness to whom the Holy Spirit sends them, mostly if not all Jewish people. They will also witness the Truth of God to a world that hate them. They will anger the people of this world, and the world will want them dead but cannot kill them. God gave this warning in verse five, “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.” However, this satanic controlled world does not care what God says, but they will in hell. God went on to say in verse 6, “These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”  These two men will preach against ungodliness, against the anti-christ, and against the sinfulness of the satanic controlled world. Their God given powers will prove who they are, they are of God. However, as history has proven their witness will fall on deaf ears, as it always has. The hate of this world will show how much these two men are hated. When they are finished, “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” V. 7 Again, we do not know who this “beast” is, but we can believe he is powered by Satan. Again, we must be careful by guessing, we do not want to lead anyone wrong. After the rising of the beast, God will allow these two witnesses to be killed, just as He has with many of His saints. But please notice the hate of the world against them, “And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” Verses 9 – 20. Notice their charge was “because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” Just as God and God’s people have always tormented the people in this world. This is why they want Israel dead, they want churches dead, they want Christians dead, they want bible truth dead, they wanted Jesus dead, and if it were possible, they would kill God, but it is not possible. The hate began in the garden after the fall, when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and separated themselves from God. God said to Satan in Gen. 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.” The word “enmity” means hate, or hostility, meaning between Jesus, Christians against this Satanic controlled world. Today, we see this hate, from the days of Christians and churches being tormented, to the hate of Jesus, to now again rise its ugly head to hate these two men. Today, we can see the hate once again rising its ugly head, preparing to hate these two men called witnesses of God. The hate is so real and strong that they pull their dead bodies in the street and let them lie for 31/2 days while rejoicing and celebration even giving gifts to each other in celebration. Why, because they hate God and His witness so much, although their belief is they have defeated God, but they will soon find out, they did not, as the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and “there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” God will never be defeated, neither will His word, His Son, His churches, nor His people. “…he shall reign for ever and ever.” Amen!     

People do not understand God.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 “For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.”

People by nature do not understand God, they simply do not understand anything about Him. It is only after a soul is saved by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the blood of Jesus, then trough the teaching of the Holy Spirit that we will ever understand anything about God. Nothing about God comes naturally, it is not simply studied and learned, and it is not handed down through time, it is the gift of God, and all gifts from God are called spiritual gifts. The Apostle Paul wrote it this way, “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:3, 4. As Christians, it would do us well to understand that we are in God’s grace, we live, we move and have our being only by His gracious hand. The Preacher (Solomon) wrote a very profound truth, “I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God:” The hardest truth for Christians to grasp and understanding is just how much our dependance is on God. The Psalmist David wrote these words, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalms 37:4, 5 Human nature teaches us that all things are within our reach if we earn them, fight for them, but God said He supplies all our needs in life. The Preacher wrote “no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.” The truth is, people by nature understand little, and even less than little about God. There is no love in the natural heart, but there is hatred, but people do not know that hatred is there because we are born in hatred. Hatred is all people know because we are controlled by sinfulness, everything about the natural man is sinful. Love is a gift from God, just like faith is a gift from God. As Christians we must consider these things in our hearts, we must read God’s word and pray that God will teach us and give us the strength to lean on Him, because through Him we can do all things if He so wills. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Php. 4:13 Albert Barnes wrote, “He could bear any trial, perform any duty, subdue any evil propensity of his nature, and meet all the temptations incident to any condition of prosperity or adversity.” Though Christ if it was the will of God. The Omniscient will of God is the key to our success in life, it could be that God’s plan for us is to have trials, suffer persecution, or to have success and succeed in life. Remember that the spiritual gifts of God are given in diverse ways as God chooses, therefore, one may succeed and another may fail, but it is all at God’s blessings. It is human nature to worry, but for a believer to worry shows a lack of faith in God’s Omniscient choosing for us, and His Omnipotent control over everything in our life. Either God controls everything in our life, or He controls nothing. We are neither on our own nor are we left alone, God is our strength and our buckler in life. Please listen closely to the Psalmist David in Psalms 18:2 - 3 “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” Then look to Job, he never failed to trust the Lord when he lost everything, while he may not have understood everything, he never blamed God not trusted God. We must remember that God has a reason and purpose in all things, even in our sacrifices. Listen to God, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Pro. 3:5 

“All things are of God.”

2 Corinthians 5:18 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”

What does God mean by “all things”? Here God is talking about us being “reconciled” therefore we must argue that that is the context here. But we must also agree that “all things are of God,” period. The word “reconciled” means - to change from enmity to friendship – (Vines). With this being said, we must conclude that everything involving our change or repentance from enmity to lovers of God must be of God, not a few, but all things. God said of our change, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12 – 13 The word “receive” is not one of decision or choice but of a gift received. This example is found in Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” the words “that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” is the very definition of what God is talking about in “all things are of God…in His reconciling us to Him”. God did this in Jesus Christ His Son called the Son of man, “who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ…” How did God accomplish such a task, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Jesus took our sins to the cross so God could accomplish the unthinkable task of changing us from enmity or hatred toward God to friends and lovers of God. People that believe in people changing themselves just do not understand that all things in salvation are of God, who gave it to us as a gift. As God put it, “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” If you add all things together and it does not equal “all things are of God” in salvation, then you need to study more. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (16) But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” 2 Timothy 2:15 – 16 It is our failing to “rightly dividing the word of truth.” That hinders us from understanding the works of God in our life. However, it is the works of God in our life, which is our everyday life that is our true blessing from God. The more we see the works of God in our life, the more we see God’s grace and blessings. What an unfortunate thing it is when Christians do not work enough to see those blessings of God. Jesus was once asked this especially important question, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” No one can do the works of salvation, only God can redeem a sinner. “Therefore we see this in Jesus’s answer to them, “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:28 - 29 A person’s salvation is the one thing in life that cannot be wrong, it must be correct of hell will be your eternal home. Works voids Jesus, it also voids God’s grace and Him accomplishing all things in your salvation.

The value of money.

“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:7 

Money is not evil, but God said that peoples love for it is evil. As Christians we must always remember that our life should be filled with pleasing God and not ourselves. And, we must have an understanding that our thirst for money is not pleasing to God. The most pleasing to God is to be content with what God gives us and not thriving to be rich and having much. No person brought anything into this world, we were all born naked. However, some were born into families that had much and never needed much. The life of a Christin is not what we have in life but thriving in the blessings that God has given to us. Life for a believer starts when God saves our soul and begins to bless us with so many blessing that we cannot count them. A Christians downfall is a misunderstanding of what God wants for us; He gives some riches and others He makes poor. Our faith and our way of life is not measured in dollars but in God’s blessings. If we allow ourselves to be concerned with money, then that desire will affect our relationship with God and become our evil in life. In a believer’s life money should have little value, because if we gain the entire world and lose our souls, then what have we gained? Mark 8:36. All we need in this life is what God blesses us with; therefore, contentment is necessary on our part. The Lord reminds us in Heb. 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” God’s blessings may include money, or it may not, the Lord may enrich one and not another, that is God’s choice and not our need to chase riches. God’s blessings are not gauged by riches in money but in God’s blessing that He has chosen for you. When money is a person’s blessing in life then it brings sorrow, pain, and misery. When people measure their life in dollars they are sinning against God, because some of the most blessed people on earth are poor. The Lord said, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil.” This is because their love for money separates them from God, it is a lust and what did God say about lust, “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:15. Human lust for money will cause a Christian to lose their faith in God because is causes people to do sinful things. God also said in James 4:2 “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.” If we need, we ask God, we do not forsake God and His commandments to gain money and then call that forsaking God a blessing from God. God will never have His children to disobey Him as a blessing to Him. Remember what God said, “ye have not, because ye ask not.” Did you ask God for a blessing, and the thing you think is a blessing is it sinful, because if it is, then it is not a blessing from God but of lust. Money is needed in life, but only as a blessing from God. We must learn to add all things and decide did God bless me with this or is it that for which I lust? The Lord said, “which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Erring from the faith will only bring sorrow and cause you to be weakened in faith. God reminds us, “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” Psalms 32:10 – 11. If Christians want to be upright in the heart and to shout for joy it is not found in money or worldly things, it is only found in trusting God, standing faithful, and being content with God’s blessings. Our walk in this world as believers is not to please ourselves and falsely call it blessings from God, but to ask of God and be content with His gifts, because His gifts will only make us wiser and richer in Him.

Satan can show up as a friend, beware!

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1

When you think of Satan how do you see him in your mind? A lot of people see Satan as an ugly cartoon type being, something evil looking like a dragon of sort and with a pitchfork. However, that is wrong, Satan is a spirit, a fallen angel, one that is pure evil. And He is a deceiver, God calls him an evil spirit. But Satan can very well befriend us, he can appear to us as a helper, one who cares, and one who wants to help, but he is nothing less that a deceiver. God said of Satan, “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.” John 8:44 He is not our friend; he is our archenemy who seeks to cause us to sin and fall out of fellowship with God. His greatest desire is to cause churches to fall away from being the Pillar and ground of Truth, to cause a church to fall just enough that Jesus removes our candlestick. Satan appeared to Eve because he was after Adam, however since Eve was a weaker vessel he betrayed her believing or even knowing that it would cause Adam to fall from fellowship with God. Paul wrote about this account in 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Satan and all his angels are liars, nothing but pure liars attempting to deceive everyone even Christians and churches. Paul said, “through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted” meaning by deception and trickery. Satan is a anti-God and everything godly and Christian, he hates us all and seeks only to destroy all that God will allow. God said of Satan,  “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Cor. 11:14 However, our watchful eyes must go farther than that because, “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Cor. 11:15. These people will come in as friend and betray you into following their thinking. These satanic deceivers are everywhere appearing as loving, kind, and helpful, in their attempt to deceive. The Lord warned us all that these people, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.”  2 Cor. 11:13. They can appear as Christians, Ministers of the gospel of Christ, Pastors of churches, and even entire churches. This why God warned us, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. Jesus warned us in Matt. 24:4 - 25 “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Therefore, we must understand that the burden falls on us to be watchful, to be sober minded, and to try the spirits that are around us. This is because they are not far from any of us, in fact wherever you live there are deceivers called churches full of lost people that call themselves Christians. How do we know, we try their spirit, and we find them preaching and believing lies about the bible. Paul said they preach another gospel, but there is not another gospel, “Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:7 - 9  They to are subtle, they have their PhD’s, they smile a lot, their very kind, they seem to be loving, they preach to make your ears itchy, they test your fleshly mind to deceive your spiritual heart. They teach works for salvation, also baptism for salvation, as many other things for salvation, they even speak of the true gospel but only weakly and just enough to deceive you. But the Lord warned us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1Pet. 5:8 We need to heed the warning of Jesus, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:41 We must remember how weak and frail we are because if we think to much of ourselves we could fall prey to Satan just as Eve did.