tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17552475473753600742024-03-13T13:07:47.291-07:00The Promises Of GodDavid J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-50486046022846343582024-03-13T09:58:00.000-07:002024-03-13T09:58:36.811-07:00God's Promise That His Word Will Never Change<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Certain portions of the Holy Bible have always been hard to understand. One of Jesus' very own apostles, Peter, had difficulty understanding Paul's writings:<br /><b><blockquote>2nd Peter 3:15-16, "And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."</blockquote></b>The Apostle Peter admitted that he had difficulty understanding the writings of Paul. Nothing has changed 2,000 years later, except that with the invention of the internet we now have an incredible <a href="https://mail.biblehub.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">access to information and study tools</a> that Christians even a hundred years ago could only have dreamed of having. We are so blessed!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Having said that, I humbly think that the common man can understand God's inspired Word, if he or she studies, just as Peter had to do. The false idea that we need a new Bible that reads like a newspaper or comic book that any lazy person can understand is not biblical. We are exhorted in the Bible in 2nd Timothy 2:15 to "study" to rightly divide the Word of Truth.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God authored the Bible in such a way that even unlearned men can read it and have their lives changed if they are humble and pure of heart, while highly educated scholars and learned men can read the Bible and remain unchanged because of their self-righteousness and pride that blinds them. Having a proper attitude toward God's Word is far more important than trying to water it down so that even Christ-rejecters can understand it. The Bible teaches in 1st Corinthians 2:14-16 that the natural (unsaved) man cannot understand the Scriptures. So, it is a folly to attempt to reduce the Bible to the level of hellbound infidels.<br /><br />Here is a link to a missionary in China, who uses the English King James Bible as his basis to <a href="https://wordproject.org/bibles/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">translate God's Word into dozens of other languages</a> for the common people. I find no fault in the inspired King James Bible!!!<br /><br />The Devil's modern Bible revisions may be easier to read, but since they are doctrinally corrupt the truth has been obliterated. The new bibles horribly change what it means to repent. They change God's simple plan of salvation, adding Lordship Salvation to faith, perverting the Gospel. The new Devil's bibles ruthlessly attack Jesus' deity, remove the Godhead (Triunity), and pervert the Scriptures.<br /><br />I thank God for the more difficult to understand King James Bible. I got saved at age 13. I had a hard time understanding some passages of Scripture, but I understand 95% of what I was reading. The <a href="https://youtu.be/az3iXhXglfY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gospel of John</a> (God's Gospel tract) is very easy to read and comprehend. The King James Bible reads at a 5th grade level. The Devil's New International Version (NIV) reads at a 7th grade level. We don't need a new Bible version. The King James is not a “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">version,</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> it is God's inspired Word, the Holy Bible!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgujrR4JBkxy9LzxdBLi_CgHKU2FU2uNp1SDtMZxtVjTm8vgnAmtCXTbpM-ztfLP18PS4-c21XR1W_jsxv2x7O4DFeTELFMcP6-gwALx0eTvgpEwCAoIc81jzj6Dwyb39mVMVJMMk1XnYMPro9fZtRLdzli1Fr1_X6nRoOil6mljrUOk3OBNR0gxWqoZoM/s571/bible_hasnt_changed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgujrR4JBkxy9LzxdBLi_CgHKU2FU2uNp1SDtMZxtVjTm8vgnAmtCXTbpM-ztfLP18PS4-c21XR1W_jsxv2x7O4DFeTELFMcP6-gwALx0eTvgpEwCAoIc81jzj6Dwyb39mVMVJMMk1XnYMPro9fZtRLdzli1Fr1_X6nRoOil6mljrUOk3OBNR0gxWqoZoM/w336-h400/bible_hasnt_changed.jpg" width="336" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-37574681520431019682024-02-19T12:40:00.000-08:002024-02-19T12:40:00.874-08:00God's Promise Of Peace To Those Who Trust In Him<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The inspired Holy Bible promises perfect peace to those who trust in the Lord. <b>Proverbs 3:5-7, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b> In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”</b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We are living in a wicked generation in America today. This is the confused gender-bending generation. This is the generation that doesn't look up anymore. That is, there is no fear of God today. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">Psalms 36:1, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> The fact that young people are committing smash and grab stealing crimes all across the country clearly evidence that they have no fear of God. The fact that the crime rate is skyrocketing nationwide plainly evidences that Americans no longer fear God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What saith the Scripture? </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Proverbs 16:6, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I love this Bible verse, which is actually another promise from God. The biblical way to purge a family, church, community or nation of evil (deliberate ongoing sin) is by showing mercy (the Hebrew meaning is: <i>kindness toward God</i>) and truth (or <i>trustworthiness</i>). The Bible is saying if we love God and regard His commandments, and are faithful to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13), then men will <i>turn </i>from committing evil.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We live in a very confused world today. The dating world is insane. We hear all kinds of heathen advice being offered freely on social media. Psalms 1:1 exhorts the Christian not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. Bad advice leads to bad decisions, which leads to a ruined life. As God's child you ought not take any advice from unsaved people, unless it is on how to grow a garden, repair a door, or fix your flat tire. Please do not take any advice on life from heathens, because they do not care about what God's thinks.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you want perfect peace, then trust in the Lord by living in the inspired King James Bible. Let God's commandments, and the godly principles taught in the Holy Scriptures, be your only guide in life's decisions, and then you can claim God's perfect peace.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Perhaps the best example I can give you is salvation. I am trusting in Jesus Christ alone for my eternal life, because of what He did through Calvary's cross to pay my debt of sin. I am not trying to turn from my sins to get to Heaven, nor do I try to turn from my sinful ways to know that I am saved, which would be works. Anyone who is trusting in Jesus PLUS turning from their sins is NOT saved. They are not saved because they are not wholly trusting in Jesus.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Thank you for reading my blog.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62j9AApbImsuC5KH96222XthAmQSZX1HV9COuXmmIY-1d7H-_fcM-3jBaY7u6TBg-GuZBVz2ibvIyWxUbF8z5j5ioxDz4xigOAm_aC9l5th0dOmBck8704ckVegV-XCdjeE6_BImV3_57I1Y8CpYzBwsk5laHlSC2vaFTlan-NuMsdAmD8CNbSG3Olmg/s559/rod_serling-church_cult.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62j9AApbImsuC5KH96222XthAmQSZX1HV9COuXmmIY-1d7H-_fcM-3jBaY7u6TBg-GuZBVz2ibvIyWxUbF8z5j5ioxDz4xigOAm_aC9l5th0dOmBck8704ckVegV-XCdjeE6_BImV3_57I1Y8CpYzBwsk5laHlSC2vaFTlan-NuMsdAmD8CNbSG3Olmg/w326-h400/rod_serling-church_cult.gif" width="326" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-20999186498820072842024-01-24T16:37:00.000-08:002024-01-25T14:55:16.630-08:00God Promise To Save Them That Believe<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>1st Corinthians 1:18-21, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. </b><b>For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.</b><b> Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?</b><b> For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching <u>to save them that believe</u>.”</b><br /><br />I cannot warn everyone enough about what is going on in nearly all churches today. The Gospel is being changed and corrupted to mean something different than what God intended. </span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><b>God's Simple Plan Of Salvation</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The inspired Holy Bible teaches that all humanity have sinned. No one is without sin except the perfect sinless Lamb of God, Jesus (Hebrews 4:15). I am a guilty sinner and so are you (Romans 3:10-23).</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There is a penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible warns about a second death in Hell, where all who humans die in their sins without Jesus as their personal Savior will suffer day and night forever (Revelation 14:11; 20:11-15; 21:8). </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That is the bad news.</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />The Good News (aka, Gospel) is that God loves mankind and sent His only begotten (biological) Son into the world to die on a cross to pay our debt of sin (John 3:16-18). Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. JESUS PAID IT ALL!!! Specifically, the Gospel (Good News) is the message that Jesus DIED on a cross, was BURIED, and then three days later He RESURRECTED from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God's simple plan of salvation is that He saves anyone who comes to God by faith as an admitted guilty sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, but then raised up physically three days later from the dead. It is that simple to get to Heaven when you die at the end of this life. Nothing more is required or permitted by God, lest the Gospel be corrupted. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Man's Perversion Of God's Plan Of Salvation</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Having shown you the true Gospel from the inspired King James Bible, now let me show you what is not the Gospel. There is a Satanic army today of false prophets (and you'll be shocked when I mention who they are) who have perverted the Gospel of free grace.</span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />Good works are not the payment for sin, the payment for sin is death. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work. If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from?<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Pacific Garden Mission Preaches Another Gospel</span></b><br />Let's start with Pacific Garden Mission's radio program since 1950, '<a href="https://stewart1611.blogspot.com/2022/12/pacific-garden-missions-deadly-false.html">UNSHACKLED</a>.' Let's compare two different plans of salvation—one from a recent UNSHACKLED episode (#4736) with what the Holy Bible teaches, to see if they agree. First, here is PGM's corrupt plan of salvation (which is really damnation). David Tripiciano prays this to God to be saved:</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote>“I want to start a new life with you. I repent of the sins I've committed again you. I'm really sorry for the way I've lived. Would you save me Lord and give me a new life. Would you take the rest of my life and use me for your plans? Use my gifts and talents for your work. Fill me with your Spirit Lord, come into my heart and life, Jesus.” SOURCE: <a href="https://unshackled.org/program/david-tripiciano-2/">Program #3746 - Aired in 2022, David Tripiciano</a> (time - 18:36)</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now what saith the Scripture? ...<br /><blockquote><b>1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”</b></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">UNSHACKLED doesn't even mention Jesus' death on the cross, burial or bodily resurrection. Like all accursed neo-evangelicals today, PGM is obsessed with <u>YOU</u> repenting of <u>YOUR</u> sins. May I say, the true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. Pacific Garden Mission (PGM) have been corrupted by Satan. They are pulling on the same rope as the Devil at UNSHACKLED!!! SHAME on the mission director for allowing this Satanic garbage to be preached on UNSHACKLED instead of the Gospel, damning men's souls to Hell!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dear reader, our text verse from <b>1st Corinthians 1:21b</b> says that God promises <b>“to save them that believe.”</b> God doesn't promise to save them that turn from their sinning. God doesn't promise to save them that get water baptized. God doesn't promise to save them that that surrender their life to follow Christ. God doesn't promise to save them that make Jesus the “Lord” of their life. God doesn't promise to save them that invite Jesus into their life. God doesn't promise to save them that live a lifestyle of repentance. God doesn't promise to save them that faithfully run the race until the end. God promises TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE!</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><b>Pensacola Christian College Preaches Another Gospel</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Apostle Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-9 that God's curse is upon anyone who preaches another gospel. There is only one Gospel, not two or three. According to Campus Church at PCC, faith is not enough to be saved, they also require you to experience some false form of repentance that involves, quote, “follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins.” Oh my! That is the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation!!! I was shocked when I read PCC's counterfeit plan of salvation. What I am about to show you is straight from Satan dear reader:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“REPENTANCE — Now is the time to <b><u>turn from your sin</u></b> and embrace God. <b>The act of turning away from sin is called 'repentance.' </b>This word implies an inward decision <b><u>to follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins</u>.</b> It means changing your mind about sin and seeing it as something that grieves God. The Bible says that God patiently waits for all people to make this decision.” [emphasis added]</span><br /><br />SOURCE: “John & Romans,” <a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/pcc_damnable_heresy.htm">Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College</a>, p. 60</blockquote>Do you still think I bumped my head? I've been <a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/evangelist_steve_pettit.htm">exposing the cult at Bob Jones University</a> (BJU) since 2014, and now I have been exposing the cult at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) since 2021. By God's grace, I will continue to expose these wicked organizations. To make matters even worse, on page 62 of the “John & Romans” booklet, Campus Church tells the reader that to be saved, you must make a mental check requiring the reader to agree to:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>“<u>I repent of my sins</u>.</b> I realize that sin is something that God hates and <b><u>I no longer want to hold onto sinful bad habits in my life</u>.”</b> [emphasis added]</span><br /><br />SOURCE: “John & Romans,” <a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/pcc_damnable_heresy.htm">Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College</a>, p. 62</blockquote>That is another gospel, not the free grace Gospel taught in the inspired Word of God. PCC are a deadly Lordship Salvation cult! I know that I am a born again child of God. I believe in a free grace Gospel, plus nothing. I gratefully owe that to God for leading me across the paths of some doctrinally sound preachers; namely:</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Books,%20Tracts%20&%20Preaching/Printed%20Books/Dr%20Jack%20Hyles/Salvation/simplicity_of_salvation.htm">Jack Hyles</a></span></li><li><a href="http://www.jesusisprecious.org/sermons/printed/curtis_hutson/determines_salvation.htm" style="font-family: helvetica;">Curtis Hutson</a></li><li><a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr_Max_Younce/salvationandthepublicinvitationweb.pdf" style="font-family: helvetica;">Max Younce</a></li><li><a href="http://www.freegraceresources.org/pebook.html" style="font-family: helvetica;">Ray Stanford</a></li><li><a href="https://getgodsgift.org/" style="font-family: helvetica;">Hank Lindstrom</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh1VU-_OF98&t=1s" style="font-family: helvetica;">Ralph Yankee Arnold</a></li><li><a href="http://www.jesusisprecious.org/books/harry_ironside/what_is_the_gospel.htm" style="font-family: helvetica;">Harry Ironside</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3A5mXtS9Lc" style="font-family: helvetica;">Thomas Cucuzza</a></li></ul></span><p></p><p></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">All of those soulwinning men of God are 100% correct on a free grace Gospel.<br /><br />In sharp contrast, I beseech you to RUN away from false prophets who corrupt the simplicity that is in Christ; namely: Jeff Redlin, Timothy Zacharias, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, John MacArthur, Gary Walton, Sam Horn, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Chuck Phelps, Pacific Garden Mission's Unshackled radio program, William Grady, Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, Jimmy Swaggart, Sam Gipp, Keith Gomez, William Lane Craig, Chip Ingram, Jack Chick, Adrian Rogers, John Hagee, Charles Stanley, Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, Rick Warren, et cetera. These are all wicked false prophets who pervert the Gospel. They all have blood on their hands and are hellbound infidels. I say this on the authority of God's Word.<br /><br />In <b>Acts 16:30-31</b> we read,<b> “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, <u>Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ</u>, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”</b> Paul and Silas told the Philippian jailer to BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ. They didn't tell him to turn from his sinful bad habits. They didn't tell him to obey God instead of his self-serving sins. PCC are spreading deadly lies, and God will punish them for it (Proverbs 30:5-6). Shame on PCC for perverting the Gospel. <a href="https://stewart1611.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-sword-of-lord-has-sadly-changed-for.html">Shame on the Sword Of The Lord</a> for promoting PCC for filthy lucre! RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!<br /><br />We are in deep doo doo in America! Our Bible colleges are toxic today. Tragically 90% of the churches hire graduates from the corrupt Bible colleges. The most dangerous place for a young person to be in America today is enrolled into some ungodly corrupt religious seminary. I'm talking about cesspools of iniquity like Bob Jones University. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm talking about cesspools of iniquity like Pensacola Christian College. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm talking about cesspools of iniquity like Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm talking about cesspools of iniquity like Maranatha Baptist University. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm talking about cesspools of iniquity like Moody Bible Institute.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /><br />God promises in the inspired Holy Bible TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE, <a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/sounds/nooo.mp3" target="_blank">plus nothing</a>.</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTYM9smwzSmiov_nZ08TTGc5D3jgoEXdidN2p3W_VMIjYFWwG2QxYSdV-eHEz4LOjsZAn-WFR3xm-2vPI_Dt02h29IFhsI_OwU0Zb_xTNqhaUOell9I2a6_oJ3WB8_M6wvRA5AkcMhf2RV1H2oeTA1AbZ0mET63F1aQvulzZaYhMvcCHUNQZ3ZiRAaX0/s680/yet_shall_he_live.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="680" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTYM9smwzSmiov_nZ08TTGc5D3jgoEXdidN2p3W_VMIjYFWwG2QxYSdV-eHEz4LOjsZAn-WFR3xm-2vPI_Dt02h29IFhsI_OwU0Zb_xTNqhaUOell9I2a6_oJ3WB8_M6wvRA5AkcMhf2RV1H2oeTA1AbZ0mET63F1aQvulzZaYhMvcCHUNQZ3ZiRAaX0/w400-h178/yet_shall_he_live.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-41553116126621376782023-12-29T17:16:00.000-08:002023-12-29T17:16:25.815-08:00God Promises To Give Strength To The Weary Saint<div><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Isaiah 40:28-31, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.</span></b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength</u>.</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint</u>.”</b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love this passage of Scripture! God never gets tired. Nothing ever occurs to Him. God doesn't need a secretary, schedule book or alarm clock. <b>Psalms 61:3, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> Our dear Savior is not an absent parent. If you are a born-again child of God, you have the Lord's promise that He will never leave you nor forsake you. <b>Hebrews 13:5, </b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: <u>for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The prophet Isaiah declared in </span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Isaiah 40:31, “</span></b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> This is a conditional promise. We must wait upon the Lord. The Hebrew word for </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">wait upon</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> is <i>qavah</i>, which means, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">to </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">expect.”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Pastor Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905) was a distinguished English Christian theologian, academic and churchman. In his <a href="https://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-31.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ellicott's Bible Commentary</a>, he exegetes Isaiah 40:31 as follows:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">(31) They that wait upon the Lord.—The waiting implies, of course, the expectant attitude of faith.<br /><br />Shall mount up with wings.—Better, shall lift up their wings, or, shall put forth wings' feathers, the last, like <a href="https://biblehub.com/psalms/103-5.htm">Psalm 103:5</a>, implying the belief that the eagle renewed its plumage in extreme old age. For the faithful there is no failure, and faith knows no weariness. </span></blockquote><blockquote>SOURCE: <a href="https://biblehub.com/isaiah/40-31.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bible Hub - Isaiah 40:31</a></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Much of the Christian life involves patiently trusting God to keep His promises, to do what He said He'd do. <b>Proverbs 3:5-7, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b> In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”</b></div><div><b style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We have all heard about the suffering of Job in the Old Testament. <b>James 5:11, </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"><u>Behold, we count them happy which endure</u>. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.</span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Please don't miss that phrase, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">Behold, we count them happy <u>which endure</u>.</span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> When we seem to have every reason to throw in the towel, give up and blame God for our troubles, burdens and losses; but instead we hang in there and trust God's great heart, wisdom and goodness, there is a special blessing to that believer.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Some of the happiest times in my life were when I was at the bottom, when I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, when all was wrong, and it seemed like God had totally abandoned me. I found happiness in having faith in God (Mark 11:22b). The three Hebrew youth Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Babylon, couldn't see the Son of God with them in the fiery furnace, but everyone else did. You likely won't see God in your trials and tribulations, but He is there nonetheless.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God was with Joseph in an Egyptian prison after his 10 half brothers betrayed him, when his feet hurt in iron fetters (shackles). <b>Psalms 105:17-19, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> The faith of Joseph was tested. Unshakeable faith comes from having your faith shaken. Faith is like film, it develops in the dark. The Lord promises in Isaiah 40:31 to strengthen us when we are weary, but only if we will trust and wait upon Him. No storm lasts forever! Without rainy and cloudy gloomy days, we couldn't truly enjoy the bright sunny days.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I learned a long time ago that it is impossible to live up on the mountaintop all the time. I need my unhappiness. You read right! I need my sadness, miseries and unhappiness, which helps me to enjoy God's blessings more and appreciate the better times when the storm passes. I stopped trying to be happy long ago. I just do day by day what I am supposed to do, and trust the Lord to guide, protect and provide for me. God promises to guide our paths in Proverbs 3:5-6, but only if we meet the condition to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. That means to live by the inspired Holy Bible. What saith the Scripture? I am always looking for Scriptural principles to apply to my daily life, and so should you if you are wise.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiG8svcP3vJN8c1dJZkITw4sgWS1hk8WrbKmQNXvhrGJzF7nnO7aWIINzBxMLgllmLd-FtCqVKfa5Yvvgjq57ha5ToKYPN5FHdN6fnr8c2BubiLG686lwtlChOzhU_FFUQ82IT7byB1cvQNkoIc59TG2hmBVyF1RQTRS96elH0SHgixBWCLLz-Jq-URs/s655/my_plan_versus_gods_plan-60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="506" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiG8svcP3vJN8c1dJZkITw4sgWS1hk8WrbKmQNXvhrGJzF7nnO7aWIINzBxMLgllmLd-FtCqVKfa5Yvvgjq57ha5ToKYPN5FHdN6fnr8c2BubiLG686lwtlChOzhU_FFUQ82IT7byB1cvQNkoIc59TG2hmBVyF1RQTRS96elH0SHgixBWCLLz-Jq-URs/w309-h400/my_plan_versus_gods_plan-60.jpg" width="309" /></a></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-33246277322482145712023-11-26T15:32:00.000-08:002023-11-26T15:33:40.828-08:00Only Those Who Have Faith Are Made Heirs With Christ<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Romans 4:13-17, “<u>For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith</u>. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This is such an important Bible truth to understand. If you understand what you just read, then you know that unsaved Jews today are NOT heirs of God's promise to bless the Jews. The promises of God have always followed a line of faith. <b>Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Romans 4:13-17, “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, <u>but through the righteousness of faith</u>.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> No unsaved Jew will ever enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. No unsaved Jew will ever escape the damnation of the fires of Hell. Jesus made it plain in John 3:3 that to get to Heaven a man must be born again, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, <u>Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God</u>.”</b> Many Jews today are arrogant, thinking that just because they are Jewish they are guaranteed eternal life, but it doesn't, not according to the Holy Bible. You must be born again!</span></div><div><div><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></b><blockquote><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Galatians 3:26-29, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u>For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus</u>.</span></b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise</u>.”</b></blockquote></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Repeatedly in the inspired Holy Bible, we read that <u>only</u> those Jews and Gentiles who have faith in Jesus Christ are counted as “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">heirs</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” in the promises of God. I wish I could talk some sense into the brains of all these Zionists today, who relentlessly support a bunch of heathen, Christ-rejecting, wicked Jews in Israel who spit on Jesus Christ. Since they don't have any faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they are not “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">heirs</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> with Christ of the promises of God. That is exactly what we read in </span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Galatians 3:29, “</span></b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">And <u>if ye be Christ's</u>, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”</b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Nearly all of the promises of God require that you put your faith in Jesus as the Christ, the only begotten Son of God (John 20:31).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9bZao5gEBHzLG5YidQZf452_hl2Ufji-jaiqk293qOiLPTnFxckoDgWBsV0wHADGIrgm3l4yYvFMoigAc1N4oQjT3MEj02OBquKrQqDQCeY2Mrif2imD0GgGbnHkTJZ8AMfb7COCoGCmNTqB_CMZHIRQx-YxhnKhLsIA2SprhY4k-n2mHIgumQbdEOQ/s895/received_not_achieved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9bZao5gEBHzLG5YidQZf452_hl2Ufji-jaiqk293qOiLPTnFxckoDgWBsV0wHADGIrgm3l4yYvFMoigAc1N4oQjT3MEj02OBquKrQqDQCeY2Mrif2imD0GgGbnHkTJZ8AMfb7COCoGCmNTqB_CMZHIRQx-YxhnKhLsIA2SprhY4k-n2mHIgumQbdEOQ/w321-h400/received_not_achieved.jpg" width="321" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-89685297509667377562023-10-23T19:52:00.003-07:002023-10-23T19:52:47.784-07:00God's Promise To Preserve His Inspired Words<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Psalms 12:6-7, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b><br />The following quotes are beautiful, honoring God's inspired Word. And may I say, today's modern Bible revisions are often NOT based any any legitimate ancient language; but rather, they are the mere rantings of scholarly madmen hellbent on making a buck from marketing their own copyrighted version . . .<br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all who oppose it.” —Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)<br /><br />“It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.” —Horace Greeley (1811-1872)<br /><br />“The existence of the Bible, as a book for the people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity.” —Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)<br /><br />“That book [King James Bible], sir, is the rock on which on republic rests.” —U.S. President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />“The Bible has been the Magna Carta of the poor and oppressed. The human race is not in a position to dispense with it.” —Thomas Huxley (1825-1895)<br /><br />“So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible every year.” —U.S. President John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)<br /><br />“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. ” —U.S. President George Washington (1732-1799)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />“The Bible, composes by many authors, over a period of many centuries, yet ONE BOOK, is, in itself, the outstanding Miracle of the Ages, bearing aloft its own evidence of its Superhuman Origin.” —Henry H. Halley (1874-1965)<br /><br />“The Old Testament is an account of a Nation. The New Testament is an account of a MAN, The Nation was founded and nurtured of God to bring the Man into the world.” —Dr. Henry H. Halley (1874-1965) <br /><br />“Bible reading is an education in itself.” —Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)<br /><br />“The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.” —Patrick Henry (1736-1799)<br /><br />“The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever growing influence of the Bible.” —U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward (1801-1872) <br /><br />“God Himself became a Man, to give mankind a concrete, definite, tangible idea of what kind of Person to think of when we think of God. God is like Jesus. Jesus was God incarnate in human form. His appearance on earth is the Central Event of all history. The Old Testament sets the stage for it. The New Testament describes it. As a man, He lived the most strangely Beautiful Life ever known. He was the Kindest, Tenderest, Gentlest, most Patient, most Sympathetic man that ever lived. He Loved people. He hated to see people in trouble. He loved to Forgive. He loved to Help. He wrought marvelous miracles to feed hungry people. For relieving the suffering He forgot to take food for Himself. Multitudes, weary, pain-ridden, and heart-sick, came to Him, and found healing and relief. It is said of Him, and of no other, that if all the deeds of Kindness that He did were written, the world would not contain the books. That is the kind of man Jesus was. That is the kind of Person God is. Then: He Died, on the Cross, to take away the Sin of the world, to become the Redeemer and Saviour of man. Then: He Rose from the Dead: is Alive Now: not merely an historical character, but a Living Person: the Most Important Fact of History, and Most Vital Force in the world today.” —Dr. Henry H. Halley (1874-1965)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEmZMJtfDBpyxvIsstK_z2OX1lvX_x0Pz9qx1WIzohAuRXfRuTPEsNzLxIlp77SjaaBSRs0Ny-JHDM0Ao4pek1yAxYzAm8bkN0topMwmwgah1ykdmnpIzOi6jMhj4Qcuhlhfa99Ij-BCdCGa9fe7X5Iv6BfgCpzjdKjbGgZ53X7l5e5agTansAm-VwEQ/s1469/love_the_king_james_bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1469" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEmZMJtfDBpyxvIsstK_z2OX1lvX_x0Pz9qx1WIzohAuRXfRuTPEsNzLxIlp77SjaaBSRs0Ny-JHDM0Ao4pek1yAxYzAm8bkN0topMwmwgah1ykdmnpIzOi6jMhj4Qcuhlhfa99Ij-BCdCGa9fe7X5Iv6BfgCpzjdKjbGgZ53X7l5e5agTansAm-VwEQ/w400-h260/love_the_king_james_bible.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-438945552402683162023-10-20T13:03:00.001-07:002023-10-20T13:04:28.623-07:00God's Promise That He Cares<div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>1st Peter 5:6-10, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: <u>Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you</u>. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As a Bible preacher, I receive many emails from hurting saints. Many of them tell me that God doesn't seem to answer any of their prayers. They are discouraged and frustrated. To make matters worse, quite a few of them tell me of terrible pastors who have mistreated them. Some tell me that local churches drove them out for telling the pastor that Lordship Salvation is a false doctrine, or that the modern Bible revisions are corrupt. That is so sad and tragic!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You'd think that if there was one place in the world where you could speak the truth, it would be in a local so-called “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Christian</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” church. Sad but true, most of today's churches are corrupt. This includes independent fundamental Baptist churches, most of which have adopted a wrong understanding of what it means to “repent”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> to be saved. Whereas biblical repentance is simply </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">a change of mind,</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> today's incompetent preachers have changed it to mean </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“turn from your sinful way.” If you add turning away from your sinful bad habits to God's simple plan of salvation, I can assure you with all biblical authority that you will spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell. The only way to be saved is to completely REST in Jesus' death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection three days later. These three things comprise “the gospel” according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-6.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God cares dear reader. He cares about the accuracy of the Gospel. God cares about the purity of the Holy Bible. God cares about right doctrine, which is truth (John 17:17). And God cares about you dear friend, more than you could ever imagine. When we pray and God doesn't seem to answer, we don't feel like God cares. I admit that I often feel the same way. So what do we do? Do we place God on trial like the heathen world does, blaming Him for the world's poverty, woes and tribulations? Or do we blindly trust the goodness of God in all situations, no matter how ugly things get? I choose the latter. <b>Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I oftentimes feel like God doesn't care, but I know according to the Holy Bible that He does. <b>1st Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; <u>for he careth for you</u>.”</b> If the Bible says that God cares, then I know that He does. I decided a very long time ago, that I believe the King James Bible is God's reliable and trustworthy inspired Word. I never second guess or question that belief, because I trust God's Word. No book authored by mankind even compares to the mystique, brilliance, majesty and supernatural nature of the Holy Bible. No book authored by man upholds righteousness, condemns sin, and provides a permanent remedy as a free “gift” from God, except the Bible.</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When you feel like God doesn't care dear reader, I encourage you to start counting your blessings; name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. God is always good. Don't ever question that truth. Everything God does is right. God is so good. <b>Psalms:145:9, “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.”</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPZRdRMCh9Yfugt3WwmlbrTFTZ0lJj_6Qh-5UaYzOcj-IUnqlqIEiaGkiOF19ThMyC2CpIOooF3jsVCufo1NCAjX1k_3RFwtSyxxXj-r5fPPozOgnYmSd82uKweTAcsBKCLzI-ahvbZHzMfVlX8K3HQlKxcBGHC6_dJeXeaxfXy5rZIRJOK9cpkzMLnk/s843/worrying.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="843" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPZRdRMCh9Yfugt3WwmlbrTFTZ0lJj_6Qh-5UaYzOcj-IUnqlqIEiaGkiOF19ThMyC2CpIOooF3jsVCufo1NCAjX1k_3RFwtSyxxXj-r5fPPozOgnYmSd82uKweTAcsBKCLzI-ahvbZHzMfVlX8K3HQlKxcBGHC6_dJeXeaxfXy5rZIRJOK9cpkzMLnk/w400-h400/worrying.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-38807341718797418882023-09-20T20:18:00.000-07:002023-09-20T20:18:01.483-07:00The Promise Of Jesus' Return<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, </span></b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“</b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air</u>: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Wherefore comfort one another with these words.</span></b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />Our text passage vividly describes the Pretribulation Rapture. Perhaps the greatest promise from God in the Bible, next to His promise <b>“TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE” (1st Corinthians 1:21b),</b> is the promise of Christ's return.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Pastor Jack Hyles used to explain it this way:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus came 2,000 years ago <u>TO</u> His own (John 1:11).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At the Pretribulation Rapture Jesus is coming <u>FOR</u> His own (1st Corinthians 15:51-58).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At Christ's Second Coming 7-years later, He is coming <u>WITH</u> His own (Jude 1:4).</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I humbly think the following Bible prophecy chart is accurate. ...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJ03Bp6lSY2apWPxttwn7yzN8JA56HteSNo4lyeZfpd7F2dYu2rcU6rtxuzWA3emU8urnX5uwRXItjkhK33sCaZtTbquBVouAyCGF12pEOQyECIYGtTEIExOEQ0nrHll2iYW39zOuEkbctMceu3Tk-mM8EVmMwJ3RN5ZX0cDM0tPGPa4u8emK2Ks2X6E/s854/bible_prophecy-smaller.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="854" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJ03Bp6lSY2apWPxttwn7yzN8JA56HteSNo4lyeZfpd7F2dYu2rcU6rtxuzWA3emU8urnX5uwRXItjkhK33sCaZtTbquBVouAyCGF12pEOQyECIYGtTEIExOEQ0nrHll2iYW39zOuEkbctMceu3Tk-mM8EVmMwJ3RN5ZX0cDM0tPGPa4u8emK2Ks2X6E/w400-h225/bible_prophecy-smaller.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am firmly convinced that if one takes the inspired King James Bible at face value, we can only conclude a Pretribulation Rapture.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Reading Into The Scripture What It Doesn't Say</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">First, let me say that I don't like the way that some preachers wrestle the Bible to fit their agenda. A perfect example of this is found in <b>Revelation 4:1, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, <u>Come up hither</u>, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”</b> I have heard numerous Baptist pastors, college Bible professors and evangelists claim that the phrase <b>“Come up hither”</b> refers to the Pretribulation Rapture. I have a big problem with that shoddy type of Bible interpretation, simply because the Word of God doesn't say that this is the Rapture. The invitation to come up hither in this passage is for the Apostle John alone. Dear reader, never assume (ass-u-me) what the Bible means. If we do, then we are no better than the pseudo-Christian cults (e.g., Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, et cetera).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another popular example is found in<b> 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-5, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ</b><b>, and by our gathering together unto him</b><b>, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come <u>a falling away first</u>, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”</b> Like many other Scripture passages, this is one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. In 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-7, there is no exegetical or theological matter that makes a Pretribulation Rapture impossible, or even improbable.</span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I have heard numerous believers attempt to use this passage from 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 to errantly claim that the Rapture will happen AFTER the Antichrist appears, but this would contradict numerous other Scripture passages, which clearly indicate that the Rapture must occur BEFORE the Tribulation begins. Jesus made it clear that NO ONE knows the time of His return. Certainly, this must include the Rapture, lest we know when He would return. Thus, only a Pretribulation Rapture maintains this element of secrecy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To be honest in Bible study, nobody can claim to be dogmatic on the intended meaning of </span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">2nd Thessalonians 2:1-2, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">, and by our gathering together unto him</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I read Pastor Oliver B. Greene's (1915-1976) commentary for this passage and I agree with him. Dr. Greene thinks that the phrase </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“b</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">y the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>” </b>refers to Jesus' Second Coming AFTER the 7-year Tribulation, while the next phrase </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“a</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">nd by our gathering together unto him</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">,</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">refers to the Rapture BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation period. Although we cannot verify that this is the intended meaning, Dr. Greene's interpretation agrees with the whole of Scripture.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">There's Nothing 'Comforting' For Saints About The Tribulation</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For example: The Apostle Paul plainly was teaching about the coming Rapture in </span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, </span></b><span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“</b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air</u>: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>Wherefore comfort one another with these words</u>.</span></b><span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now, Paul said in 1st Thessalonians 4:18 to <b>“comfort one another with these words.”</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> But what comfort would there be if saints living today knew that they would be going into the dire Tribulation period, when the sun and moon shall be darkened and billions of people upon the earth will be killed. In the book of Revelation 9:1-11, we read of terrifying creatures that will torment humanity with stings that will cause them excruciating physical pain for 5 months. The Bible says in Revelation 9:10 that these scorpion-like creatures will have the power to hurt men for 5 months. That is frightening, not comforting. What comfort would there be for the saints of Thessalonica, if Paul's intended meaning was for the Church to suffer through the horrors of the Tribulation?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In Revelation 16:3 says that an angel will afflict the sea and every living soul will die. Dear reader, remember that Bible prophecy is history written in advance. I agree with Pastor Max D. Younce that God created TIME, so that He could share with His friends (we the saints) what He is planning to do next on His prophetic calendar. Revelation 16:4-7 foretells that the third angel will pour out his vial of judgment upon the rivers and fountains, turning it all to blood. Is there any comfort in these words?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Revelation 16:8-9 foretell that the fifth angel will pout out his vial upon the sun, which will scorch men alive with an intolerable burning heat. Humanity will blaspheme God, still refusing to glorify the Lord as all men ought to do. Revelation 16:10-11 says that the sixth angel will pour out his vial of judgment upon the Beast and his followers who all have the Mark of the Beast (in their right hand or forehead). They will be afflicted with sores and pain so excruciating, that the Bible says in Revelation 16:10b-11a that <b>“his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">”</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Please understand that this is not </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">referring to salvation by good deeds. When the Ninevites turned from their evil way, the Bible says that GOD SAW THEIR WORKS (Jonah 3:10). The Ninevites (the capital city of Assyria) didn't get saved, they just repented of their sinning. That is, they changed their mind about their wicked lifestyles and decided to reform, for which God spared their nation imminent judgment and annihilation at the time. We know that they didn't get saved, because from Genesis 15:6 to Revelation 7:14 we are taught in the Bible that salvation is by God's grace, through faith alone, without works (cf. Acts 10:43).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Revelation 16:20 says, <b>“And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”</b> Wow, say goodbye to the island of Guam during the Great Tribulation! In Revelation 16:21 we are told that during the Great Tribulation that 75 pound (one talent in weight) hailstones will fall upon the earth. To clarify, the last 3 1/2 years of the 7-year Tribulation period (i.e., the 70th week of Daniel's 70 weeks of Bible prophecy) is known biblically as the, “Great Tribulation.” <b>Matthew 24:21, “For then shall be <u>great tribulation</u>, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How do we know that the Tribulation will last for 7-years? ...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b></b></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Daniel 9:27, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>And he shall confirm the covenant with many for <u>one week: and in the midst of the week</u> he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”</b></span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So, during Daniel's 70th week of prophecy, in the </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“midst” (middle) of the week, the Man of Sin (Antichrist, or “in place of Christ”) commits the Abomination of Desolation (cf. Matthew 24:15), stopping the Jews from worshipping their Jewish God and demanding that instead they worship him (Antichrist) as God (cf. 2nd Thessalonians 2:4).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And also, please read:</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b></b></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Daniel 12:11-12, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there <u>shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days</u>.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”</b></blockquote></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In the preceding passage we see that there will be 1,290 days (3 1/2 years) from the Abomination of Desolation in the “midst” of Daniel's 70th week of prophecy (i.e., the Tribulation). Since there is 3 1/2 years after the “midst,” then logically there must also be 3 1/2 before, which equals 7-years. This is where we get a 7-year Tribulation timeframe. Pastor Steven Anderson says that he rejects the word “Tribulation” to describe this time period, because he says it is not in the Bible. Well, he chooses to often use the word “Rapture,” which is also not found in the Holy Bible. And for that matter, neither are the words “Trinity” or “Bible” found in the Bible, but he uses them too. After the Church has been removed at the Rapture from the world, things will start to turn ugly quickly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dear reader, are any of these words “comforting”? Does not </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1st Thessalonians 4:18 command us as redeemed saints to </span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">“comfort one another with these words”?</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Yes, most definitely, the Scripture does! But what comfort is there if saints alive today must suffer through the Tribulation period? Kindly said, Pastor Steven Anderson is arguably the biggest denier today of a Pretribulation Rapture. Brother Anderson is also the biggest promoter today of postribulation Rapture, which is effectively a total denial of the Rapture altogether, since <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/prophecy/rapture_is_not_second_coming.htm" target="_blank">he teaches that Christ's Second Coming is the Rapture</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>No One Knows The Time Of Jesus' Return</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My biggest argument in support of a Pretribulation Rapture is the fact that Jesus repeatedly said that no man, nor even the angels in Heaven, know the timing of His return. ...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b></b></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Mark 13:32-37, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"><u>But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"> Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. <u>And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"><b>”</b></span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now, if the Rapture were to happen at any</span><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> later time </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">than the very beginning of the 7-year Tribulation period, then WE WOULD KNOW exactly when Jesus is coming back. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Respectfully, <a href="https://stewart1611.blogspot.com/2023/09/pastor-steven-anderson-is-wrong-about.html" target="_blank">Pastor Steven Anderson is the biggest denier of a Pretribulation Rapture</a>. Quite frankly, Brother Anderson is WRONG! I know he is wrong because the Bible plainly teaches that no one know WHEN Christ will return.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Whereas, Pastor Anderson claims that the Rapture will happen 75 DAYS after the Antichrist breaks the covenant with Israel, and professes to be the Messiah, God, demanding worship from the world, on penalty of death. The Bible calls this prophetic event the 'Abomination of Desolation' (or, the Abomination that Maketh Desolate - Matthew 25:15; Daniel 12:11). <b>Daniel 12:11, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, <u>there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> So, again, we learn here from Daniel 12:11 that from the event of the Abomination of Desolation until the end of the Great Tribulation (the last half of Daniel's 70th week of prophecy) will be 1,290 days (or, 3 1/2 years).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">Daniel 9:27, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week </b>[7 years]<b>: and <u>in the midst of the week</u> he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">”</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To recap my earlier point (because repetition is the key to learning), by doing some simple math we can logically conclude that if from the “midst” (middle) of Daniel's 70th week will be 1,290 days, then we can also know that there will be 1,290 days before the middle of the 70th week. This adds up to 2,580 days, or a 7-year Tribulation period.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> The preceding logic is how we can know that the Tribulation period will last for 7-years.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The preceding logic is also why we can safely deduce from these known facts, that the Rapture must happen BEFORE the Tribulation period, because any later time for the Rapture would allow us to track Christ's return to the very day!!! It disappoints me that Pastor Anderson actually SETS A DATE for Jesus' return, which is a big violation of the Scripture.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />In the following <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/pastor_andersons_rapture_after_75_days_heresy.jpg">chart from chapter 2</a> of Pastor Anderson's YouTube movie titled: '<a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/steve_anderson-revelation.htm">THE BOOK OF REVELATION</a>,' you can see in comment number 15 that he errantly teaches the Rapture will happen 75 DAYS after the Abomination of Desolation. This is DATE SETTING, a big no no for any preacher to do. Mark 13:32-37 plainly warns that NO MAN knows the time of Christ's return, not even the angels in Heaven.<br /><br />The inspired King James Bible, if you rightly divide the Word of Truth, teaches a Pretribulation Rapture. That is, the timing of the event of the Rapture will happen BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation period (which is the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible plainly teaches God's promise of the coming unpredictable Rapture:<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div><blockquote><b>1st Corinthians 15:51-58, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but <u>we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye</u>, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, <u>forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord</u>.”</b></blockquote></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I cherish verse 58, which promises that all my hard and sacrificial ministry labor won't be in vain. Instead of boating, traveling, snowmobiling, surfing, partying, playing in a band, fishing and living large; I have spent the past 21 years buckling down in intense labor to build my website ministry for Jesus Christ, and by His grace I have done just that. I admit that I have lived a pretty boring existence, a total homebody, lonely without a wife all these many years, but God is my best friend and ministry co-laborer. <b>1st Corinthians 3:9, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.</span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I now that it will be worth it all when I see Jesus. But for now I must suffer in bodily pain, loneliness and frustration, until my heavenly Father calls me home from my work. <b>Philippians 1:21, “</b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We Are Commanded To Look For Jesus Christ, Not The Antichrist</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Also, we're not supposed to be watching for signs of Christ's return; but rather, LOOKING FOR CHRIST HIMSELF!!! Respectfully, Pastor Steven Anderson is doctrinally wrong to teach that, “<a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/after_the_tribulation.htm" target="_blank">The Rapture simply cannot happen at any moment</a>.” According to Pastor Anderson THERE WILL BE SIGNS before Christ's return; namely, the appearing of the Man of Sin. This is how we know that 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 cannot mean that the Antichrist must appear before the Rapture cannot happen, because this would be a dead giveaway of Christ's imminent return.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Understanding 2nd Thessalonians Chapter Two</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I admit that trying to grasp the meaning of 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-7 is difficult as regards the timing of the Rapture. If taken by itself, one would naturally conclude that the Man of Sin must appear before the Rapture can happen. However, as I have shown you on a few different levels, such a claim would violate multiple other passages of Scripture. In this blog we've been addressing Paul's command in 1st Thessalonians 4:18b to<b> “<u>comfort one another</u> with these words.”</b> You absolutely cannot comfort a fellow shaken believer, who is worried that they may have missed the Rapture, by scaring them half to death with horrifying details of the Tribulation period.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Thus, in my humble opinion, the Apostle Paul was simply telling the saints at Thessalonica that they Christ's Second Coming cannot come until first the Man of Sin appears, and none of this can happen until first the Rapture happens. It is evident from 2nd Thessalonians 2:5 that Paul had orally taught them about the Rapture, Tribulation and Second Coming; but they either weren't paying close enough attention, were confused or had forgotten. <b>2nd Thessalonians 2:5, “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, <u>I told you these things</u>?”</b> Had they fully understood what Paul had told them, there wouldn't have been a need for Paul to further address these important issues in a second epistle. By the way, these are some of Paul's earliest epistles.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Pastor Curtis Hutson Taught A Pretribulation Rapture</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One of my favorite preachers, Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995), believed and taught a Pretribulation Rapture. Dr. Hutson rightly said: “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Although 2nd Thessalonians might seem clear to some, any honest Bible student would have to readily admit that this is a very vague passage. Since we don't know what Paul orally said to the Thessalonian believers previously, we simply cannot know exactly what Paul means in 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-7 as regards the timing of the Rapture. </span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">2nd Thessalonians 2:5, “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> We simply do not know what </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">these things</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> were. But I totally reject the plethora of bad theologians who assume (ass-u-me) that </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“a falling away” is definitely the Rapture. We simply cannot say with any certainty that this is the Rapture. I won't add to the Word of God where the Bible is silent, and neither should you (Proverbs 30:5-6).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />Obviously Brother Anderson and the Bible are in conflict. I believe that <a href="https://stewart1611.blogspot.com/2023/09/pastor-steven-anderson-is-wrong-about.html" target="_blank">Dr. Curtis Hutson did an excellent job explaining the matter</a>, and I agree with him concerning the Rapture, because he agrees with the Holy Bible. You must decide for yourself my fine non-feathered friend. You have just read the Scripture for yourself, which plainly teaches for us to LOOK FOR JESUS, not signs. Brother Anderson is telling us to look for signs, saying that Jesus' return must be preceded by signs. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Respectfully said, Pastor Steven Anderson is WRONG...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.” —<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTmZHDb_sP8&t=5224s">𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗟. 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻</a> (01:27:05 video)</span></blockquote></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The inspired King James Bible teaches that Jesus COULD come back TODAY!!! Jesus could return this very moment. ...<br /><blockquote>𝗧𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝟮:𝟭𝟯-𝟭𝟰, “𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 <u>𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁</u>; 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝘇𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.”</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Why would the Bible tell us to LOOK FOR JESUS if the Man of Sin (Antichrist) must appear first? Pastor Anderson errantly teaches that the Rapture will happen 75 DAYS after the biblical event called the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION in Matthew 24:15 </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">(cf. Daniel 9:27, 11:21, 12:11)</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">, when the Antichrist shall stand in the future temple in Jerusalem and profess to be God, committing blasphemy (2nd Thessalonians 2:4). At this time the False Prophet will demand that the world worship the image of the Beast, or be killed; every human being will be required to have a mark, or won't be able to buy or sell to survive (Revelation 13:15-18).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>The Forming New World Order Is Here To Stay</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Already, we are becoming a cashless society. I only use cash now less than 5% of the time, all other financial transactions are electronically processed with either credit cards, debit card or online banking. The Beast system is already in place. The world is just awaiting the Man of Sin himself (the False Messiah). The Bible promises that Jesus Christ will return. Consider <b>Acts 1:9-11, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"> And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b> Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven</u><b>.”</b> This cannot refer to the Rapture; but rather, Jesus' Second Coming after the Great Tribulation (cf. Matthew 24:29-51).</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Some preachers say that the apostles in their four gospels weren't referring to the Rapture, because it was still<b> “</b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">a mystery</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> until Paul revealed it in 1st Corinthians 15:51-58. However, did not Jesus provide vivid details of the Tribulation period, which had never been revealed before? Yes, I think He did. Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 (aka, The Olivet Discourse) contain new information about the Tribulation which were not known previously from the Old Testament. Jesus as God had knowledge of the future that no one else had. I will leave it up to you to decide dear reader, if The Olivet Discourage makes any mention of the Rapture. It would appear not, except that Christ said NO MAN knows the time of His return.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>The 45 Day Judgment Of The Nations</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As I have humbly mentioned numerous times, we KNOW that from the midst of the Tribulation to the return of Christ will be 1,290 days (3 1/2 years). The Judgment of the Nations will immediately follow, which is why the Bible says </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the <u>thousand three hundred and five and thirty days</u>” (</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Daniel 12:12</b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">). </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The extra 45 days is for the Judgment of the Nations, which will be a judgment of separating the tares (unsaved) from the wheat (saved). I do not think it will be a judgment of China, then Russia, then Ukraine; but rather, a judgment of the whole world who live in the nations.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjrnuYAptGfjccCuodxf5lBe7yQ1bNQiYgxhcsbeRrf69xX9rZJQOT3aXcf5zkYnYxtG1VkXpmfFasf0Kav_qWZvE2yWZpJxNs2-K6uq3ZolyFRPDUqXtNcsfSy7Kf2EL4sbYKGPOxpvUuBMALXDNACPnZGrYkrXb_BMsAuf0AD7UwCU24JM9QXFZDb0/s901/rapture_versus_second_coming.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjrnuYAptGfjccCuodxf5lBe7yQ1bNQiYgxhcsbeRrf69xX9rZJQOT3aXcf5zkYnYxtG1VkXpmfFasf0Kav_qWZvE2yWZpJxNs2-K6uq3ZolyFRPDUqXtNcsfSy7Kf2EL4sbYKGPOxpvUuBMALXDNACPnZGrYkrXb_BMsAuf0AD7UwCU24JM9QXFZDb0/w320-h400/rapture_versus_second_coming.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-60530266567644948412023-07-12T08:32:00.000-07:002023-09-11T00:21:56.377-07:00Eight Gospel Absurdities If A Born-Again Soul Ever Loses Salvation<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">John 10:26-29, “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”</b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One of my favorite historical preachers is Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980). I love Brother Rice, who was 31 years older than my hero of the Christian faith, Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001). God used these two dear great soulwinning men of God to lead millions of lost sinners to the saving knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Having said that, both of these preachers were flawed, just as I am flawed, and every other preacher who has ever lived was flawed. If you think there are any perfect preachers, I am worried about you dear friend. Only cults idolize imperfect men as being above error. Dr. John R. Rice didn't always choose his words wisely. For example: In his booklet titled, “Eight Gospel Absurdities,” on page 3 he uses the phrase “When one has truly repented of his sins.” You cannot find this phrase anywhere in the inspired King James Bible. Why use language and terms that the Bible does not? For that very reason I do not like theology. Theology uses a bunch of manmade terms and concepts in an attempt to dissect and explain God's Word. I prefer to let the Holy Bible speak for itself, rightly dividing the truth by<b> “</b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">comparing spiritual things with spiritual</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” (1st Corinthians 2:13b).</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Only the inspired Word of God is without error or corruption, which is why I make such a big fuss in my preaching in defense of the inspiration of the King James Bible. If we do not have a perfectly inspired Bible today, that is without error and corruption, then we do not have the truth and God lied to us in <b>Psalms 12:6-7, </b></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">The words of the LORD are <u>pure words</u>: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"> <u>Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> What did God promise to preserve forever? It was His <i>pure Words! </i>Sadly, every modern Bible revisions butchers' this Bible passage to remove God's promise. Instead of His pure words, <a href="http://www.soulwinning.info/bible/psalms_12_6-7_corrupted.htm" target="_blank">the modern revisions errantly say that God protects His saints</a>. The reason why should be obvious, because wicked men today no longer believe that we have a perfectly inspired Bible today. They had to remove this promise of God to justify publishing hundreds of conflicting Bible versions.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Having said that, with a copy of Dr. Rice's booklet </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Eight Gospel Absurdities” </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">in front of me as a guide, I am going to write a compendium focusing on the major points, for your edification dear reader. Dr. Rice wrote this little booklet in defense of the great Bible doctrine of Eternal Security, which is in fact the same doctrine as Eternal Life. Please do not make the common mistake of separating these two great doctrines, for they are one and the same! That is to say, the man who has Eternal Life also has Eternal Security. They are effectively the same thing! If saved, always saved; or as most Christians like to say: ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED (OSAS). </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you have Jesus as your personal Savior, then you have eternal life, because Jesus is Eternal Life the Bible says.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>1st John 5:20, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son <u>Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life</u>.”</b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Can a Child of God Lose His Salvation?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Helpful quotes from Dr. John R. Rice's booklet...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">“Eight Gospel Absurdities”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>If a Born-Again Soul Ever Loses Salvation</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">On pages 3, 4 and 5 Dr. Rice states:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Here are eight Gospel absurdities that would follow if a saved person should become lost or go to Hell. We entreat you to check them carefully, check up the Scriptures for yourself, and see how untrue to the Scripture is the doctrine that souls may be lost after they are saved, that born-again Christians, children of God, may lose salvation and go to Hell.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>1. Then Salvation Would Be of Works and Not of Grace </b></span></blockquote><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There is no doubt that many devout Christian people who believe that a child of God can become lost again mean to believe the Bible doctrine of salvation by grace. They will be shocked when I say that they are really teaching salvation by works and not of grace. But careful study will show that that is certainly true. If a saved person can be lost again, then it is because he failed in his works. If he does not become lost, then it is because of his good works. Thus all who are saved are really saved by their own works, if the Arminian doctrine is true.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...Those who oppose the plain Bible doctrine of eternal security by simple faith in Christ, that Christ keeps His own by grace when He saved them, very frankly admit that they believe all Christians are on probation, that they are not really saved yet in any real sense. And tens of thousands of such people regularly pray, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“And save us at last in Heaven,” because they do not believe in any real and definite and secure salvation here and now, obtained by the marvellous grace of God. Actually, they believe in salvation by works, not in salvation by grace.</span></blockquote><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Can a saved person ever be lost? That depends on who does the saving. If God does the saving, then of course if God fails the salvation is lost. If God is faithful and does what He promises, then one who trusts in Him will not become lost. But if man does his own saving by his good works, then when man quits working he is lost. And if he does “hold out faithful,” if he does “endure to the end,” and if he does “go through with God,” then of course his salvation is by human works and not by God's unmerited grace.</span></blockquote></div></div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 3, 4 and 5; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another Gospel absurdity if eternal life can ever be lost is...</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>II. The Doctrine of the Blood Atonement and Substitutionary Death of Christ Would Be Untrue If a Saved Person Loses His Salvation</b></span></blockquote><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible doctrine of the atonement is that the blood of Jesus Christ, shed when He was crucified, paid for the sins of the whole world. First Peter 1:19 tells us that we are redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Paul in Acts 20:28 commanded the elders at Ephesus to take heed “to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” The church, according to the Scripture, is bought with the blood of Christ. And speaking about Christians who sin, I John 2, 1,2 says, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There we have a clear Bible doctrine: Jesus died, and with His blood He made propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Anyone who will accept that payment finds his sins all atoned for, all paid for. God does not mean that just the sins up until the time of salvation are paid for, but all of the sins which one commits.</span> <span style="font-family: helvetica;">Christ died once and settled the sin question once and forever for those who believe. Hebrews 10:12-14 said about Jesus as our High Priest: </span></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One offering of Christ paid for all the sins of the past, all the sins of the present, all the sins of the future.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But this is not the teaching of those who believe that a saved person can be lost again. If a man is lost for lack of labor, lack of faithfulness after he is saved, then actually he goes to Hell to pay for his own sins. Surely it is clear that for a man to pay for his own sins is not the same as having them paid for by the Lord Jesus. If a Christian gets to Heaven only by living right, then he does not get there by the atoning blood of Christ. If he loses his salvation because of his sin, then of course he is not saved by the blood. If the blood cannot pay for sinners, it cannot pay for ANYBODY.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible doctrine of substitution is akin to the doctrine of blood atonement, By substitution we mean that Christ took the sinner's place. That is expressed in Isaiah 53:6: </span> </blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Christ on the cross was treated like a common, guilty, Hell-deserving criminal. He died as the most wicked sinner in the world. Actually He died just as you and I ought to die. He took the punishment and suffering we deserve.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But the doctrine of substitution also teaches that as Christ was counted a sinner for our sakes, so we may be counted righteous for His sake. He took our sins; we take His righteousness. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Since Christ died for us, we are already accounted to have died for our sins and to be freed from them. As He died, so are we counted to have died. As He now lives forever, so we are to live. It is one of the clearest doctrines of the Bible that Christ took the sinner's place in His death, and thereby atoned for all the sins of everyone who would believe in Him, and that now the believer in Christ is accounted righteous for Christ's sake. We have Christ's righteousness in the presence of God.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But this could not be true if one who is saved can become lost again. If a sin of mine can come up against me to damn my soul forever after I have already trusted in the blood of Christ, then it is quite evident that the blood did not really settle all my sins, that Christ did not really and literally take my place, and that people are not saved by the atoning blood and the substitutionary death of Christ. If the blood paid for sin, then they are ALL paid for. If Christ took my place and died for all my sins, past, present and future, then since I have trusted in Him I cannot be condemned and go to Hell for these sins. You can see, then, that if my continued salvation depends upon my good life, it does not depend upon the blood shed by the Lord Jesus and by His substitutionary death.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 6, 7; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I would like to clarify something that Dr. Rice keeps mentioning. The word “atonement” is an Old Testament word. In fact, the same Hebrew word used for “atonement” in the Old Testament is used for the “pitch” that Noah used to cover and seal the ark (Genesis 6:4). The word “atonement” is only mentioned once in the New Testament in <b>Romans 5:11, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> It is important to know that Jesus' blood does not merely cover our sins; but rather, His precious blood has forever washed our sins away (1st John 1:7). When the Bible says that we have received the atonement through Christ, it simply means that Christ's blood sacrifice was the ultimate payment, once and for all made, not merely with the blood of goats and bulls, but with the precious blood of the Lamb of God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In the Old Testament, the yearly sacrifices made by the high priest could never wash away the sins of the people. The Bible is very clear on this in<b> Hebrews 10:4, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>” </b>Every year the high priest would kill a male lamb without spot nor blemish (which symbolized the sinless Son of God), and then take that blood into the holy place to sprinkle on the mercy seat in the presence of God; but when Jesus entered by His own blood into the heavenly Tabernacle, to sprinkle His literal liquid blood upon the Mercy Seat, it was a one time event. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Hebrews 9:12, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood <u>he entered in once</u> into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Jesus' blood once and for all washed away our sins, making an eternal and permanent atonement. It is beyond the scope of this blog, but this is why the Roman Catholic crucifix and Mass are unbiblical. Jesus is not still on the cross. In the Catholic Mass (aka, Eucharist) they actually believe that the participants are eating Jesus' body, an exclusive Catholic false doctrine called: <i>Transubstantiation</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another Gospel absurdity if eternal life can ever be lost is...</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>III. If a Saved Person Can Lose Salvation, Then Saved Persons Are Not Justified, as the Bible Teaches.</b></span></blockquote></div></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible speaks often of justification. In Romans 3:9-18 we learn that there are none good, and none do good; that all are sinners alike. But Romans 3:24-28 tells us of sinners:</span></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">According to this Bible teaching on justification, men are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Justification is free; it does not cost anything.</span> </blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote>Because Christ died, we are told, God can save a sinner and still be just while He justifies one who trusts in Jesus (verse 26). This kind of justification forbids boasting. No one can depend on getting to Heaven by “holding out faithful” or by living a good life or by “going through with God.” And then verse 28 declares, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith <i>without</i> the deeds of the law.” People are saved and justified by faith, without doing the righteous things commanded in the Ten Commandments.</blockquote><blockquote>What does justification mean? It means not only that the sinner is forgiven, but more than that; it means that after the sinner is forgiven, he is restored to God's favor as if he were perfectly just, that is, as if he had never sinned. In other words, he is counted righteous or just, and is made just in God's sight. So God looks on a sinner not only as a forgiven sinner, but rather as a man with no sin ever charged against him. A justified person in God's sight is as if he had never sinned when it comes to the matter of getting to Heaven and having salvation. This justification is clearly given to all those who believe in Christ. </blockquote><blockquote>Remember, that the penitent publican prayed in the temple, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” then he, “went down to his house justified,” that is, counted no longer a sinner (Luke 18:13, 14). In Acts 13:38, 39 Paul and Barnabas preached, </blockquote><blockquote><i>“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”</i></blockquote><blockquote>We see that one is justified from <i>all things</i> as soon as he puts his trust in Christ. </blockquote><blockquote>...But if a saved person loses his salvation, it is clear that this whole doctrine of justification would be false. How could a man go to Hell who was perfectly just in God's sight? That is impossible! How could a man go to Hell without sin being imputed or charged up against him? That is impossible! So the doctrine that a saved person, one who is born again, a child of God, can fall away so far as to lose his salvation and be lost forever clearly contradicts the Bible doctrine of justification. Both cannot be true.</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 7, 8, 9 and 10; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another Gospel absurdity if eternal life can ever be lost is...</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>IV. If a Saved Person Ever Loses Salvation Then Christ's High-Priestly Intercessory Prayers Are of No Avail</b></span></blockquote></div></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible teaches us that Christ is now our High Priest. Hebrews 10:21, 22 tells us: </span> </blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And Hebrews 9:24 says,</span></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:”</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">These Scriptures make it clear that Christ's work for sinners was not done when He died. After we have put our trust in Christ, then Christ remains always at the right hand of God to take our part, to intercede for us, to represent us in Heaven.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Romans 5:9, 10 says,</span></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You see, we are already justified by the blood of Christ. The death of Christ took care of all of our sins. And now we are kept, not by <i>our own</i> lives, but “by his life.”</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A Christian should hold fast to his profession. Even when Satan traps him and he falls into sin, he should not throw away his hope. Why? Hebrews 4:14-16,</span></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” </span></i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus knows all our temptations. He is our High Priest, is now in the Heavens, taking our place. Oh, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“l</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">et us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”!</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...But if a saved person ever falls away and loses salvation and goes to Hell, then all the high-priestly prayers of Christ are of no avail; the prayer of Jesus in John, chapter 17, was not heard. It does no good that He ever lives to make intercession for us according to the will of God. It does no good that</span><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">—that is, I say, it does no good if a saved soul can be lost after he had been born again by faith in Christ.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you not see that the Bible doctrine of the high-priestly work of Christ is interceding for His own clearly contradicts the foolish thought that a child of God can be lost again? The two doctrines cannot go together.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 10, 11, 12 and 13; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote></div></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another Gospel absurdity if eternal life can ever be lost is...</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>V. If a Saved Person Can Be Lost Then God's Own Child Would Be in Hell</b></span></blockquote></div></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible doctrine of salvation as a new birth is very definite and clear. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” and “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,” and again, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:3, 5, 7). No one can ever be saved, said Jesus, without being born again.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This new birth was discussed in John 1:12, 13 as follows:</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>“</i></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”</i></span></blockquote></div></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...Now if a born-again person goes to Hell, God's nature goes to Hell in him, and then we would have people really born of God, still God's children, still with God's nature, in Hell! How absurd and impossible that is! But if a born-again child of God can lose salvation and be lost forever, that would be what would happen; God's own children, with God's nature within them, God's seed in them that could not sin, would be in Hell!</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You see that the doctrine of the new birth and the teaching that a child of God can lose salvation cannot be reconciled. The two doctrines do not fit together. One or the other is false.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 13 and 14; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another Gospel absurdity if eternal life can ever be lost is...</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>VI. If a Saved Person Can Ever Lose Salvation Then Many Promises of the Bible Do Not Mean What They Say or Are Untrue</b></span></blockquote></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible has so many promises so definite and clear that if they mean what they say, and if they are true, they prove a child of God can never lose salvation. Will you study some of these promises carefully, and answer in your own heart whether or not they mean what they say, and then whether or not they are true?</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1. John 5:24: </span> </blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Here we are told that one who hears the Word of Christ and depends on or trusts in the Father who sent Jesus to save sinners, already has everlasting life “and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” Notice we are not told that the believer in Christ will one day in Heaven have everlasting life. No, he has it already! The promise is as clear as can be that this one who has trusted in Christ shall never come into condemnation. He is already passed out of death into life. How could that be true if one loses his salvation? Anyone who had trusted in Christ and been born again, then, if he should be lost and go to Hell, would have a right to look God in the face and tell Him that His Word could not be trusted. Either God did not mean what He said or He did not keep His promises.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">2. John 10:27-29: </span> </blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“My sheep</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I and my Father are one.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></i></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Those who are really Christ's sheep hear His voice. He knows them and they follow Him. Christ's sheep do not follow Him perfectly, but there is something in the heart of every born again person that loves God and hates sin and wants to do right; something that follows Jesus. Now about these sheep Jesus says, “And I give unto them eternal life.” Christians do not buy life, they do not work for it, they are not on probation for it; Jesus simply, freely, gives His sheep eternal life! But is it life eternal that only lasts one year or ten years or ten minutes or until sin comes in? Certainly not! Eternal life lasts forever. </span></blockquote><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...Now if the Word of God is true, if Christ meant what He said, and if His words can be relied upon, then not a single sheep of His will ever be taken out of His hands by the Devil or sin.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Someone says, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Well, Brother Rice, maybe he can take himself out of the hands of Christ and God.” No; Jesus plainly said, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Neither shall <b>any</b> man pluck them out of my hand.” You cannot even pluck yourself out of the hand of Christ. And who ever heard of anyone who wanted to? I have known Christians to fall into terrible sin as Peter did, as Lot did, as David did,. But neither Peter, nor David, nor Lot, nor any weak and failing and sinning Christian I ever knew really wanted to be taken out of the hand of Christ and wanted his soul lost. That is a silly thought.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So you see that if a saved person ever goes to Hell it proves the promises of Christ and God in the Bible do not mean what they say, or they are not true,</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">3. Romans 8:33-39: </span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>“33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.</i></span><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> 34. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.</i><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?</i><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> 36. As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.</i><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> 37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.</i><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> 38. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,</i><i style="font-family: helvetica;"> 39. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”</i></blockquote><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Here God's Word plainly promises that God has justified His own elect and no one will be able to lay anything to their charge (verse 33). He says that no one can condemn a Christian since Christ has died for him and is even now living and at the right hand of God making intercession for us (verse 34).</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And then there is that marvellous promise of verses 39 and 39 that “neither death, nor life” [not anything living or dead]; that neither “angels, nor principalities, not powers [whether angels of God in Heaven or fallen angels and the principalities and powers of darkness], nor things present, nor things to come [not anything that now exists, not anything that ever will exist in the future], nor height, nor depth [not anything all the way up to Heaven, not anything all the way down to Hell], nor any other creature [not any other thing ever created], SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD, WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD”!</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That Scripture is clearly intended to give full assurance that nothing in all the universe of God—past, present or future—can separate one of God's own, His born-again ones, from His love. If that Scripture is true, if it means what it says, then no child of God can ever be lost. If that should happen it would prove that God's promises are not to be trusted, that the Bible is a lie. But that, we know, is not true. God forbid!</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...Do you know how absurd it is to think that a child of God can be lost, in view of the promises given? If a saved person ever loses his salvation these promises are untrue.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 15, 16, 17 and 18; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another Gospel absurdity if eternal life can ever be lost is...</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>VII. If a Saved Person Can Ever Be Lost, Can Lose His Salvation After Great Bible Promises, Then Christianity Is No Better Than the False Religions of the World</b></span></blockquote></div></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If salvation is by man's work instead of God's grace, then that is exactly what all the false religions teach.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If one is saved by living a good life, or partly saved by living a good life, instead of by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, that is exactly what all the false religions teach.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Our Catholic friends teach that salvation is through the church, observing the rites and following the rules of the church, doing good deeds. Remember that Catholics believe in the death of Christ. They believe that Jesus died, but they do not believe that His death settled salvation for believers. They put in works of righteousness for people to do in order to make sure of salvation. They believe that one who has been right with God may fall away and be lost. The modernists, wicked unbelievers in Christ and the Bible, say that “Salvation is by character.” Other people <i>say</i> that salvation is by blood, but actually they mean that it is not good for ten minutes unless you earn it, unless you live right, unless you hold out faithful. Actually they mean that a Christian is on probation and cannot be sure he is saved until he gets to Heaven! What is the difference between that doctrine that a child of God can be saved today and lost tomorrow, and the essential doctrines of Catholics or modernists?</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Search out the false religions of the world—the Mormon, the Mohammedan, or other heathen and pagan religions. They may believe in sacrifices, in certain rites and ceremonies; but they are all agreed on one thing—that is that whatever salvation there is to be obtained by living a good life, by one's own righteousness. Don't you see that to say that a child of God can be lost again is to say that his salvation depends upon his works and not upon the blood atonement, not upon the high priesthood of Christ? And to say that salvation depends in any wise upon a person's own righteousness and merits is to put Christianity in the class with all the heathen religions and all the false cults.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Heathen religions and false cults do not have a Saviour whose blood has forever finished the matter of salvation when shed on Calvary, finished it for all who put their trust in Him. They do not have any salvation wrought by the finished work of Christ.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Heathen religions and false cults do not know anything of justification—the doctrine that one's sins are all laid on Christ in such a fashion and His righteousness accredited to the sinner in such a way that the Christian cannot be charged with his sins to lose his soul. He can be chastened, he may lose his reward, but he cannot lose his soul. Heathen religions, modernism, Catholics, Mormons, and so-called Christian Scientists know nothing of this Bible doctrine of justification.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Heathen religions know nothing of the thought of a High Priest in Heaven who is ever there interceding for us, praying for His own, guaranteeing our safety and security.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">These doctrines, I say, are unknown to heathen religions. But when you believe in salvation by human works, or on a salvation that is even partly deserved by human merit, then you put Christianity down on the same low plane with all the false religions.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But how absurd, how impossible to count Christianity like these heathen and false religions! If a saved person can be lost, then the salvation of a Christian is just like the salvation of a heathen—depending upon his works. We know that that cannot be true.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 18, 19 and 20; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote></div></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And finally dear reader, here is the last Gospel absurdity if eternal life can ever be lost is...</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>VIII. If One Saved Soul is Ever Lost, Then All Saved People Will Go to Hell Alike, Since All Are Sinners Alike</b></span></blockquote></div></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To the human eye there seems to be a great difference in Christian people. One seems to be most devout and spiritually-minded and pure in heart. Another seems to be very worldly and careless and unworthy. I say it seems that there is a vast difference.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But actually there is no such difference as there seems to be. The trouble is that “man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). There is a difference in the outward appearance of Christians, but in the heart each one has the same two natures. The casual observer would think that Paul the apostle had no struggle over sin and temptation like other Christians do, but the seventh chapter of Romans tells us, “When I would do good, evil is present with me,” and again, “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (verses 21 and 25). Paul would appear to be the best man in all the New Testament, excepting Jesus Christ, but he plainly says, by divine inspiration, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; OF WHOM I AM CHIEF” (1 Tim. 1:15).</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So then if Paul was still the chief of sinners, then he would have been lost after salvation if anybody was lost.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It boils down to this. There cannot be any real salvation except on the basis of God's wonderful grace in saving sinners who do not deserve it, saving us on the basis that out faith is counted for righteousness, the basis that all of our sins are laid on Christ and paid for and forgiven forever.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If Christ does not keep, wholly by grace, those who are His own born-again ones when they do not deserve salvation; if He does not keep Christians who sin and fail, then He does not keep anybody.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...Now you can see why those who do not believe in the blessed security of born-again Christians use human arguments instead of the Scriptures. With good intentions they quote but misuse a few Scriptures, interpreting them contrary to the intended meaning of the Holy Spirit.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...They say again and again that for the Christian “life is probation,” though such a term is not even mentioned in the Bible.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">They often say that no one can say that he is already saved for sure, or that we won't know until we get to Heaven. But the Bible repeatedly teaches that one now, present tense, has eternal life or everlasting life when he believes in Christ, that he shall not come into condemnation, that he is already passed from death into life, that he shall never perish, that he is now the child of God, that he has now received the atonement, and so forth.</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">No matter how good these arguments sound, the simple truth is that they are used because men cannot prove by the Bible that a child of God can fall away and forever be lost. Hence they try to prove it by human reasoning. Which will you take, brother, sister—human reasoning, or the Word of God?</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">...I am not encouraging Christians to sin. The great love of a mother does not encourage her child to sin. Why should God's love encourage God's children to sin? God's love is more unchanging than a mother's love. A mother may punish her child and God punishes His child but He never breaks His promises and He never casts him out.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, <i>Eight Gospel Absurdities</i>, pp. 20, 21 and 22; ©</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1946, Sword of the Lord Publishers</span></blockquote></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That was so wonderful! I love and appreciate Dr. Rice's eloquent style of writing and biblical wisdom. Thank God for the great men of God who have gone before us—Dwight L. Moody, Alexander Marshall, Harry A. Ironside, John R. Rice, J. Frank Norris, Jack Hyles, Lee Roberson, Lester Roloff, Curtis Hutson and so many others who faithfully taught the Word of God and led countless souls to Christ with the Gospel of free grace. It is our job, my job, to pick up the mantle to preach THE TRUTH to this generation. By God's grace I will continue to do so. I typed out key portions of Dr. Rice's booklet, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Eight Gospel Absurdities,”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">for your edification. I encourage you to visit the <a href="https://swordbooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sword of the Lord's</a> bookstore and <a href="https://swordbooks.com/collections/booklets" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">purchase many of the affordable helpful booklets</a> by Dr. Rice, Curtis Hutson and other Spirit-led soulwinning saints. They are worth more than gold!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We have learned in this blog, featuring the appreciative Bible knowledge of John R. Rice, that eternal life cannot be forfeited for any reason. How could we ever lose that which was not ours to give in the first place? As Jonah pondered in the whale's belly in <b>Jonah 2:9, “Salvation is of the LORD.”</b> Salvation is not of man. We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOSUNESS. <b>Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and <u>his righteousness</u>; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Philippians 3:9, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, <u>the righteousness which is of God by faith</u>:”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I love that Bible verse! Dear friend, getting saved has nothing to do with your goodness, your performance or your eagerness to stop living in sin; it has everything to do with God's imputed (credited to you) righteousness, which is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. As Dr. Rice so eloquently stated earlier—“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">He took our sins; we take His righteousness.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” Yes, that is a beautiful truth!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You will often run across the acronym on religious social media—</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“OSAS</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” (Once Saved, Always Saved). Now you'll know what it means. This is 100% biblical. I prefer to say, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“If saved, always saved.” Many churchgoers who profess to be saved are not saved at all. You'd be shocked, as I was, how many faithful Baptists have never been born-again.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">While attending the shameful Harvest Baptist Church on Guam in 2014 for a year, I witnessed to numerous church and staff members, and found that most of them were not saved. That is tragic and is the fault of their incompetent pastor, Marty Herron (an unsaved neo-evangelical who idolizes Calvinist heretic, Dr. John MacArthur).</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One staff member, Jason, who is one of Harvest's school teachers, said that he thinks “more” is required than faith in the Gospel to be saved. Sadly, Jason also thinks that you must surrender control of your life over to Christ, turn away from your sinful ways, and make Jesus the “Lord” of your life to get to Heaven. Jason is woefully in error concerning the Scriptures! In fact, faith is the only righteousness thing that I can do! Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. If saved, always saved.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGrUBgxnSaRhs5H-s_FjnOreO42NYHOt7JX_KvTm-cNQzQf3F2YlD_v1CNbAiY5NpCBjs-QZVOCfzj8XCnKHDu2bklFGUvqHCyK4zam29axIXT2hMAscfVxo7Iq37kMGCGUOaav6UaOsDPx5CdXVO8ampe5wt6nbNsEupVj0fsClhfWvIdUykdfWCFw/s674/hank_lindstrom-eternal_security.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="674" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGrUBgxnSaRhs5H-s_FjnOreO42NYHOt7JX_KvTm-cNQzQf3F2YlD_v1CNbAiY5NpCBjs-QZVOCfzj8XCnKHDu2bklFGUvqHCyK4zam29axIXT2hMAscfVxo7Iq37kMGCGUOaav6UaOsDPx5CdXVO8ampe5wt6nbNsEupVj0fsClhfWvIdUykdfWCFw/w320-h194/hank_lindstrom-eternal_security.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEdRrfkgJg5b-0mtOH38I0lmIWKFiNuHVtMiBXlHFFxPZcIAZYpZ02ixeCDxSLP94TuRDYNp6JJwGRrIDw1rPNt7g1ZSZTu5iQ6VOXX-1Em4WuQWxGKXeB5nVQJ_2ME8bffiIzUxnF6PVe2MX9dtZHoAdxZVRJAMoKC7plMymh2J9sYZYhbfpAA8pMA/s300/eternal_life_is_eternal_security.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="300" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEdRrfkgJg5b-0mtOH38I0lmIWKFiNuHVtMiBXlHFFxPZcIAZYpZ02ixeCDxSLP94TuRDYNp6JJwGRrIDw1rPNt7g1ZSZTu5iQ6VOXX-1Em4WuQWxGKXeB5nVQJ_2ME8bffiIzUxnF6PVe2MX9dtZHoAdxZVRJAMoKC7plMymh2J9sYZYhbfpAA8pMA/w320-h319/eternal_life_is_eternal_security.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-45774911137569709592023-06-15T20:30:00.000-07:002023-09-11T00:21:37.091-07:00God's Promise Of No Thieves In Heaven<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Matthew 6:19-20, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”</b></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />I bought a house in west Pensacola in December of 2022. So far I regret buying the home, because I have been robbed 3 times in just 3 months. The thief (or thieves) stole $1,500 from me so far. The most recent robbery was on May 5th, when a thief broke into my car and stole $200 worth of radios, all my audio cables, my King James Bible that I take to church on Sunday, my $600 Olympus TG-6 camera with the special case I ordered for it, $50 in cash, and the Gospels of John with $5 bills inside that I give to the poor and homeless.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Little do though punk thieves know that when they stole from me, they robbed the Lord Jesus Christ. <b>Matthew 25:40-41, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"> Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> I hate a thief!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I drove by a homeless man the other day, but didn't have the $5 or the Gospel of John to give to him, because some ungodly thief stole it from my car during the darkness of night. I have since installed 8 security cameras, but the 8 camera COBRA system from Harbor Freight is only 1920 x 1080 resolution, which cannot show the identity of a thief beyond 15 feet away. I need a 4K system (3840 x 2160), which costs about $1,500. I spent $400 for my present security camera system. The problem now is that my wires in the house are all BNC type of connectors, but the 4K systems all use RJ45 ethernet cables, which I do not have installed. The former home owner already had the BNC cables installed, which made it easy for me to replace the security system. The former owner didn't leave me a remote control for their DVR (Digital Video Recorder), so it is garbage to me. I am so frustrated.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Thieves are smart. I caught two young punks at 1 am and 3 am on my security cameras, who stopped to look at my security camera, to see if the red lights were on (showing it is active). They look to be in their late teens or early 20's, Hispanic. They were casing out my home to see if they can steal some more. Since I don't have a 4K camera yet, it is worthless to identify the potential thieves. I pray that God would help me catch the little bastard... lol. I also prayed that the thief who stole my Bible will read it and get saved.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Bible says that when someone steals from you, they are taking away some of your life. <b>Proverbs 1:19, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; <u>which taketh away the life of the owners thereof</u>.</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> When you go to work, you are sacrificing part of your life (your time). You exchange that time for money (a paycheck). The things that you purchase with the money you earn, represents the time (part of your life) that you sacrificed for it. So when a dirty thief steals what you have earned, even if it is disability retirement money that you labored your whole life to qualify for, that thief is taking away your life!!! God will hold every thief accountable.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">These past few months, the biggest comfort that I have had is just knowing that God promises in His Word to reward me with treasures that will be untouchable by thieves, moth or rust. There will be no thieves in Heaven, God promises it so! </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"><b>Matthew 6:19-20, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"> <u>But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal</u>:”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"> What a precious promise from our great and faithful Creator.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I believe that the thief, or thieves, who robbed me are young Hispanic men in their late teens or early 20's. I am fully convinced that if they live to be 50-years-old, someday decades from now they will begin to feel sorrow and regret for the evil deeds they have done. That is why when the wicked self-righteous Pharisees, in John chapter 8 who dragged the woman they allegedly caught IN THE VERY ACT of adultery before Jesus, He wrote something on the ground, and the Bible says they departed, from the eldest to the youngest. Why did the older people leave first? It is because as we grow older as human beings, we learn and discern more than we did in our ignorant youth. There's just something about growing up as an adult, that convicts us more as we grow older.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">They even stole my King James Bible, which contained 2 years worth of sermon notes that I cannot replace. I lost all that dear truth! I thank God that they stole from me, and not me them. I fear God, but obviously the thief does not. One day that thief WILL FEAR GOD. Stealing is never a victimless crime! The person who has been robbed is very much a VICTIM!!!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I rejoice in my heart of hearts to know that God understands what it feels like to be robbed. In fact, that is the very reason why God mentioned laying up treasures in Heaven, where thieves cannot break thru and steal. Nearly everybody has been robbed at some time in life. You cannot do evil and get away with it (Ecclesiastes 12:14). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love something that Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001) wisely said:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">“If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, </span><a href="http://www.soulwinning.info/sermons/hp081003.mp3" style="background-color: white; color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">"</a><a href="http://www.soulwinning.info/sermons/hp081003.mp3" style="background-color: white; color: #cc6611;">Unjust In The Least</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">.”</span></blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I hope the thieves don't come back. I am worried that they'll break into my house next, while I am away at church or buying groceries, and they'll take my ministry laptop. That would set me back for weeks, if not months. All I can do is purchase a better 4K security camera system, and hope I am fortunate enough not to be robbed a fourth time. I still feel sick that the thieves have stolen $1,500 of stuff so far, that I worked hard to earn. They have stolen from God my Savior, Maker and Lord. I pray for God to avenge me of the evildoers, and He promises to avenge me (Romans 12:19-21). If the thieves steal everything I own, they cannot touch my many rewards waiting for me in eternity. God is so good! Jesus is precious!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZV_ZFpAokUI6NgbYuW4_5ofwd5tWgwNN17gvceVnh3Je2KbpQWsRUVWKqbPdNaUztPz6fKW_de8IdMqrkqd1wmGqNpdEC_s0oYsnDl859IdfdlACmfgVYy__R4hVX5b_ux8AAcXbYkS42fTQkhBcqCG34fyWIYDCgZ-T19LhVBbOgI2RikHj_y0D4/s640/ungodly_rotten_thieves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZV_ZFpAokUI6NgbYuW4_5ofwd5tWgwNN17gvceVnh3Je2KbpQWsRUVWKqbPdNaUztPz6fKW_de8IdMqrkqd1wmGqNpdEC_s0oYsnDl859IdfdlACmfgVYy__R4hVX5b_ux8AAcXbYkS42fTQkhBcqCG34fyWIYDCgZ-T19LhVBbOgI2RikHj_y0D4/w400-h300/ungodly_rotten_thieves.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-66367162066713917702023-05-10T10:18:00.000-07:002023-09-11T00:21:17.792-07:00Invest Today For A Happier Tomorrow In Heaven<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Matthew 6:19-21, </b></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“</b></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b> <u>But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven</u>, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”</b></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />I often am reminded of this awesome Scripture passage. Dear friend, this earthly life is as a vapour the Holy Bible says in James. I tell people that life is short, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time. I thank God with all my heart, mind and soul that I am a redeemed child of God. I thank God for the precious blood of Jesus that washed all my sins away when I got saved at age 13 in 1980. Oh, it is wonderful to be a Christian! ...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qXCGmG0I_pM" width="320" youtube-src-id="qXCGmG0I_pM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, it is wonderful to be a Christian!</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus is precious!!! I do not claim to be a good Christian. I want to be, but I am just an imperfect redeemed child of God. THANK GOD FOR JESUS!!! I am so grateful that Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins, and that He was buried but bodily resurrected from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you are a born again child of God, I encourage you to get busy serving God, if not doing so already. Jesus admonished us in our text passage from Matthew 6:19-20 about not wasting our efforts to lay up treasures here on earth, where thieves <u>will</u> break through and steal. If common criminals don't break into your home and steal your possessions; then white collar criminals (lawyers, politicians, financiers, realtors and judges) will steal whatever you have saved in your bank account, 401K retirement, savings, your home or other assets they can take. Sadly, we live in a predatory culture of greed in America!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">About 25 years ago I was heavily invested into the Stock Market, between 1995 and 2000. In one year alone I made 130 options trades at Charles Schwab. Their company made over $5,000 that year from me just on commissions. I bought all of the books from Investor's Business Daily, which are fascinating in my humble opinion. An option allows you to control a lot of shares of stock with only a little amount of money. I liked options trading because if things went south, you couldn't lose more than the amount of money that you invested.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I followed Intel's stock daily. The stock did what's known as a “Dead Cat Bounce.” That is, Intel's stock had dropped ridiculously low, and I knew it wouldn't stay down just on market volatility, so I purchased quite a few</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> long term call options (3 months out) on Intel's stock.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> The stock shot up and then split, doubling my call options. The stock ran up again, and split again. Literally, I turned a $10,000 investment into $140,000 in just one month! Those were the insane “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">.com</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> times </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">of Irrational Exuberance, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">which Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan correctly called them. I didn't know what I was doing really. I wasn't trying to get rich, I just hated my job with a passion. I hated working with ungodly sinners (adulterers, homosexuals, blasphemers, drug addicts, thieves, thugs and perverts). I hated my job!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I foolishly didn't sell my call options when I should have, because I got greedy, and they expired worthless. When investing, you learn about something called “Risk Threshold.” This is the amount of emotional stress you can handle, regarding how much risk you are willing to take on. Two big emotions come to play when you invest, which are fear and greed. Will you sell your position in the market too soon because of fear, and miss out on a big increase a week later in the stock. That happened to me. I had a large stock position in American Online, but the stock dropped from $37 to $35 and I panicked in fear and sold out. In the weeks to follow the stock ran up over $100, had a stock split, and then ran up again over $100. I would have made a ton of money had I just not sold my amount of stock shares. Fear worked on me. That is what I mean by “Risk Threshold.”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I used to wake up, having to go to work that night. I worked the ungodly graveyard shift for 7 years between 1993 and 2000. That was one of the worst decisions I ever made, to work midnights. Please don't ever choose to wok those hours if you have a choice. And if you are now working those hours, for the sake of your family please get off that shift. Working the graveyard shift is detrimental to any family man. It was 7 years of hellish torture.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Anyway, I used to wake up and check my stocks. If they were up in price I was happy and fell off to sleep. If they were losing price, I worried and couldn't sleep. Let me tell you, I wouldn't go through that again, even if I stood to gain millions of dollars. I mean that! Finally, in the year 2000, Bill Clinton was voted out of office and George W. Bush took his place. The Stock Market plunged with the change of U.S. Presidents, and never returned until 8 years later when Bush left office. Go figure! In 2000 I lost everything. When all was said and done, over the 5-years that I tried my hand at playing the Stock Market, I had lost $50,000 in cash. That was every penny of working 6 nights a week for 5 years, plus a whole lot more of working weeknights as well. From that day until now in 2023, I have never bought another stock. When the .com era ended, so did my interest in the Stock Market.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Also, I spoke with my manager and put in a schedule request to leave midnight shift and work afternoons instead. That was one of the best decisions I ever made. Once I started working afternoons, and sleeping at night as God intended, I got my life back! I felt like a million bucks! I never signed up for overtime again, not once. I abandoned the hope of becoming financially independent.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The crazy thing was that I had invested 8 years of my life to attend Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993) to become a pastor. I graduates on the Dean's List in 1993. Truthfully, I just didn't know how to make it happen, that is, to become a pastor of a church. I learned that I am a follower and not a leader by nature. I began my website ministry in 2002, and have been investing in eternal rewards ever since, laying up treasures in the Kingdom of God. The $50,000 that I lost playing the Stock Market was worth losing, because it taught me the value of a dollar. A dollar saved is a dollar earned!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I learned the hard way between 1995 and 2000 that the school of Wall Street charges a high tuition. That is to say, I lost a lot of money learning some hard lessons. I do not recommend for anyone to play the Stock Market. Day Trading is nothing short of gambling in Las Vegas. If you want to invest, I recommend <i>The S& P 500</i> (an unmanaged mutual fund of the 500 top U.S. corporations), which historically out performs ALL managed stock portfolios in the long run (and you can double your money every 8 years). It is much safer to invest your hard earned money in 500 companies instead of just one, like I did in Intel. And if you're a paranoid worrisome type of person, then you want to invest in a 45-years CD (certificate of deposit). Of course, you will receive less interest. As a general rule, the greater risk that you assume, the greater potential gains or losses.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There is even something called the “Futures Market,” which is absolutely fascinating. I bought all of Ken Roberts books. But with <i>Futures contracts</i> you can lose MUCH more than you initially invested, be sued in court to pay up, and a bunch of nasty bad things can happen to you. Futures contracts are for farmers, to protect their income if the crop fails. Futures were invented by speculators, as a means of guaranteeing farmers a certain amount of income annually, but if the crop is a bumper crop over expectations, then the speculator gets all that extra profit, since he took on all the risk.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you are thinking of investing in the Stock Market, I kindly suggest before you do that you read a very intriguing book (if you can find a copy) by a man named Richard Ney, called: '<a href="https://www.ebooknetworking.net/ebooks/the-wall-street-jungle-by-richard-ney.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Wall Street Jungle</a>.' Richard Ney exposes the lie of Wall Street, documenting how insiders rip the public off, and cheat people out of their money. Yes, dear reader, the Stock Market is rigged to take away money from 90% of the public who invests. “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The trend is your friend</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” they say on Wall Street. That is, you should never invest against moving averages (3-month and 6-month averages usually), unless you really know what you are doing, because 90% of all stocks follow their trends.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I have shared all of the preceding personal information with you dear reader, to say that in my humble opinion it was all in vain. There are some who have done very well in the Stock Market, and I am happy for them. However, the emotional trauma that I incurred daily as a result of my experiences with the Stick Market, left me broken and tired, dreading the whole ordeal. I would never go through that again. When it comes to the Stock Market, NO ONE wins all the time. It all boils down to getting good enough (if you think you can), so that you win more than you lose. That is the key, to win more than you lose. And don't forget that you have to pay Uncle Sam taxes on all that cheddar, if you strike it big, and the more you make, the more THEY TAKE!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It was all that loss, aggravation and lessons hard learned, that really opened my eyes to the awesome investment opportunity for believers concerning laying up treasures in Heaven. Dear friend, God doesn't make anyone pay taxes in Heaven! Heaven's Stock Market isn't rigged!!! Of course, there is no Stock Market in Heaven. Thank God!!! But even better, God is the one who will distributing rewards to those believers who serve Him here on earth now (1st Corinthians 3:8-9). God is so good!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There are umpteen ways to lay up treasures in Heaven. In fact, anything and everything that we do for the cause of Christ—helping the poor, serving in our local church voluntarily, praying and fasting, praying for each other, laboring for a ministry, banking cookies ladies for the church, giving money for the cause of Christ, et cetera, will be rewarded. What saith the Scripture?<b> Mark 9:41, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>” </b>Wow! God is so ethical (doing the right thing), that He is going to reward even those saints who help other saints who are serving Jesus. So if you share my ministry on social media, God will reward you for that in eternity, because I am serving Jesus Christ. By sharing the sermons of faithful men of God, I am earning rewards in Heaven, because they served Christ.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I hope I am encouraging you dear friend to get busy doing something for Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are not learned enough in the Word of God to write articles, or contend for the faith, but you can at least share the writings, sermons and blogs of doctrinally sound preachers on social media.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But I must warn you, if you ignorantly promote the junk theology of infidels like John MacArthur, Ray Comfort, Paul Washer, Steve Pettit, Marty Herron, John Piper, Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Joel Osteen, Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, Kirk Cameron, William Lane Craig, Chip Ingram, Rick Warren or other greedy religious con artists, then you won't receive anything from God. God will only reward you for promoting <a href="http://www.jesusisprecious.org/books/harry_ironside/what_is_the_gospel.htm" target="_blank">a free grace Gospel</a> and the inspired King James Bible!</span></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-87701286264435882362023-04-01T17:00:00.003-07:002023-04-02T14:56:39.082-07:00When We See Jesus, We Shall Know As We Are Known<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>1st Corinthians 13:12, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; <u>but then shall I know even as also I am known</u>.”</b></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love this Bible passage. There's not a child of God throughout history who didn't wonder, have questions and desire to know more from God about why things are the way they are. I sure have a lot of questions for the Lord, respectfully. But the Bible teaches, if I understand this Scripture passage correctly, that we won't need to ask the Lord a bunch of questions, because we will know Jesus, just as we are known by Him. That is, we will be given by God a perfect (complete) knowledge of all things.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When God made Adam, He gave Adam knowledge. The Lord was curious the Bible says, to see what Adam would name all the animals. Wow! I think that is very interesting. And by the way, we still call animals today by those very same names which Adam named them. ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><blockquote>Genesis 2:19, “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: <u>and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof</u>.”</blockquote></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I humbly believe that when we see Jesus at the Rapture, and receive our immortal bodies, that He will give us a perfect knowledge. I don't think we are going to need to go ask Moses, Noah, David and the archangel Gabriel a million questions. Can you imagine? There would be lines a hundred miles long of saints with never-ending questions. Of course, this is only speculation on my part. We do not know for certain how all things will play out in eternity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As a preacher with a website ministry, I receive many emails. I love helping people and corresponding with others, the more the better. In my ministry work I hear about many heart breaking stories. A lot of saints are discouraged nowadays because of the ungodly mess that our country is in. I found the following picture recently and I really like it, because it is so true...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bdtcj_clRyLyyEws5EMwNKZx202OH830NRUxu1BTFTn266EXs_D_mgc3y7u0HYCKL0Y4aBP-Fw9MavJVUEMT2ZWgPnnFnjlXWJHSkGX8pC-b89HGHIBSQI8v5T1DYSlRhhU86ux5UKllqKsPotp_KftCUQuWf-lmrNJh84_J2i9RP1Pf4-NIlJiQ/s932/my_plan_versus_gods_plan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bdtcj_clRyLyyEws5EMwNKZx202OH830NRUxu1BTFTn266EXs_D_mgc3y7u0HYCKL0Y4aBP-Fw9MavJVUEMT2ZWgPnnFnjlXWJHSkGX8pC-b89HGHIBSQI8v5T1DYSlRhhU86ux5UKllqKsPotp_KftCUQuWf-lmrNJh84_J2i9RP1Pf4-NIlJiQ/w309-h400/my_plan_versus_gods_plan.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So oftentimes in life things don't go as we planned. That has certainly been true in my lifetime. Life is what happens to us while we're making big plans! ...<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><b>1st Peter 1:6-9, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: <u>That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold</u> that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”</b></blockquote></div>The preceding passage of Scripture is astounding! The inspired Holy Bible teaches that our troubles, burdens and heartaches are worth more than gold. Wow! I just checked and today's gold price is: <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/gold-price?op=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">$1,969.46</a>. The Bible says that our problems, trials and headaches in life are worth more than gold! But dear reader, how many believers think that way? How many of us as God's children value life's difficulties as being valuable? I admit that I usually don't think that way at first, until I process what has happened, and then I reflect Scripturally over the matter.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As I grow older, I am learning to bring my thinking into alignment (agreement) with the Word of God sooner than later, which means that I can find peace of mind sooner than later. This is what Solomon means in <b>Proverbs 3:5-6, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths</u>.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I often don't understand why things are the way they are, and I'm sure you often feel the same way too. But dear friend, God does understand all things! Even though we cannot see our hand in front of our face sometimes, God knows exactly what will happen tomorrow. Trust the One who sees tomorrow!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I decided long ago that I am going to be like Job, who after losing everything he held near and dear in his life, exclaimed in </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Job 13:15, “</b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u>Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him</u>: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.</span></b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> Job lost nearly everything! Interestingly, it was God and not Satan who began the wager. In Job chapter one we read that God challenged Job to a gentlemen's bet. ...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b>Job 1:6-12, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. <u>And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand</u>. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”</b></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I won't go into the full story, but just the highlights. God gave Satan permission to torment Job. We learn several important Scriptural lessons in this tremendous story:</span></div><div><ol><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God has placed a protective hedge around every born again believer (Job 1:10)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Satan can instigate evil thugs to murder people (Job 1:15)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Satan can cause lightning to strike and cause fire (Job 1:16)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Satan can instigate theft, crime and devastating financial loss (Job 1:17)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Satan can control weather (he killed Job's 10 children with a tornado, Job 1:19)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Satan can afflict a person's health (he smote Job with boils) if God permits (Job 2:7)</span></li></ol></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dear friend, please don't ever place God on trial. I remember a true story a few decades ago. A young couple went off to Bible college. After about one year, the husband was suddenly killed in a horrible tragic car accident. That young man's wife became bitter against God. Her life was turned upside down, <a href="https://youtu.be/qdOBjf33K5I" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">like the Poseidon ship</a>. She quit church and told everyone she was now an atheist. Oh, listen dear reader, God loves you! I cannot tell you why things happen as they do. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? The truth is that we are all guilty sinners in God's sight. There Bible says that there are none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). We live in a fallen world because of sin, which began with Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden (Romans 5:12).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Everything that God does is right! I don't care what may come your way, you just decide once and for all right now that everything God does is right. I made that important decision many years ago. I refuse to question God. Please don't question God. The most dangerous question you will ever ask God is: “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">WHY?</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” We won't know the answers to these questions until we see Christ someday, and then we shall know Him, even as we are known. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>1st Corinthians 13:12, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> What a precious promise from God!</span></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-1190396292579535432023-03-21T20:48:00.005-07:002023-03-21T20:48:55.954-07:00Jesus Christ's Grace Is Sufficient<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">2nd Corinthians 12:9-10, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“And he said unto me, <u>My grace is sufficient for thee</u>: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> 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.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />We have a wonderful PROMISE from God in the Bible that His grace will always be enough to match our burdens, hardships and suffering in life. As a Bible preacher with a social media ministry (since April of 2002), I have received tens of thousands of emails over the past 21 years. I love helping people. God knows that I am not a respecter of persons, I treat everyone the same. It matters not if you are a successful pastor, or a poor person living in Africa, I view everybody as someone for whom Jesus Christ died.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Our dear risen Savior told the Apostle Paul that His grace is all we need. Christ is all I need! The Lord wants us to know that His strength is perfected through our weakness. This is totally contrary to the heathen world's way of thinking. The theme song of the 1976 movie, Rocky: “<a href="https://youtu.be/gW9NiDKK-9o">Gonna Fly Now</a>” contains the lyrics, “Getting strong now.” That's fine for Rocky, but in the spiritual realm we win by Jesus' strength through human weakness, not our human strength. The famous soulwinning preacher, Dwight Lyman Moody </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">(1837-1899) </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">said:</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“God had no children too weak, but many too strong to make use of.” —Pastor Dwight Moody</span></blockquote></span><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">2nd Corinthians 12:9-10, </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: <u>for when I am weak, then am I strong</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Pastor Moody rightly understood that it is not our human strength that accomplishes the work of God; but rather, Christ's strength which is attained through childlike faith in God.<b> Matthew 17:20, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, <u>If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed</u>, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> Faith can move mountains! ...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” <span style="text-align: left;">—Pastor </span><span style="text-align: left;">Dwight Moody</span></blockquote></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dear reader, you will never know that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have left. Unshakable faith comes from having our faith shaken. Faith is like film, it develops in the dark. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Charismatic lying health, wealth and prosperity movement has corrupted American's thinking. It is because of ungodly Charismatic false prophets like Pat Robertson and his 'The 700 Club' clown circus, that millions of Americans now foolishly associate financial prosperity with being right with God, but this is a deception of the Devil. ...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b></b></span><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1st Timothy 6:5-12, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u>Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> But godliness with contentment is great gain. 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. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">BEWARE of Satan's Charismatics; namely, Benny Hinn, Peter Popoff, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Jimmy Swaggart, Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Kerney Thomas, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), Paula White, Paul and Jan Crouch, Robert Tilton, Bill Hamon, Oral Roberts, Joyce Meyer, Joseph Prince, Beth Moore, Jim Bakker, Mike Murdock and countless other damnable false prophets (Matthew 7:13-15).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">By the way, GodTube banned my Jesus-is-Savior.com ministry. What wicked apostasy! GodTube is okay with hellbound Lordship Salvation occultists like Ray Comfort, John Piper, Kirk Cameron and John MacArthur, but they rejected me as a Bible preacher because I am a truth-teller. SHAME on GodTube!!! The time of reckoning is soon coming for all humanity, when every human being will stand before God and be held accountable for every word (Matthew 12:36), every thought (Proverbs 24:12) and every deed (Ecclesiastes 12:14). </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If it weren't for God's mercy we'd all immediately plunge into the fires, torments and depths of Hell below. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Lamentations 3:22, </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">“</span><span style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.</span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> We are all so blessed by God our Creator.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God's wondrous grace is sufficient for you and me dear reader. Someone has rightly said that G.R.A.C.E. can be expressed in acrostic form as <b><u>G</u></b>OD'S <b><u>R</u></b>ICHES <b><u>A</u></b>T <b><u>C</u></b>HRIST'S <b><u>E</u></b>XPENSE. I like that. And also, G.O.S.S.I.P. can be acrostically expressed as: <b><u>G</u></b>OING <b><u>O</u></b>VER <b><u>S</u></b>OMEONE <u><b>S</b></u>INS <b><u>I</u></b>N <u><b>P</b></u>ULIC. That is so true!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Some critic's of a free grace Gospel wrongly accuse us of preaching “Greasy Grace” or “Cheap Grace.” Dear friend, God's grace is not cheap, it is totally free. As we know, there are no free meals in life. That is, everything must be paid for by someone. Bleeding heart Democrats are often accused of giving away a bunch of freebies to the poor, but dear friend, none of those social giveaway programs are “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">free.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” Someone has to pay for all that! Yes, you and I as taxpayers have to fund the Democrat's reckless philandering. Likewise, God's gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life cost the broken body and shed blood of His only begotten Son.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And by the way, while I'm on the subject of the blood of Jesus, I'm sure you've heard some preachers use the phrase: “Jesus' spilt His blood on Calvary's cross.” No dear reader, to “spill” something implies that it was an accident. Jesus did not spill His blood, He knowingly and intentionally shed His blood on Calvary's cross, to pay down our massive debt of sins, because He loves us. <b>Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” </b>Knowing how rotten and wicked you and I would be, Jesus gladly laid down His life to pay for our sins, so that we could live with Him in eternity.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Look what the Bible says in <b>Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; <u>who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross</u>, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> Jesus had JOY the Bible says, knowing what it meant by sacrificing Himself as a Lamb on the cross for everyone's sins. <b>John 1:29, </b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We serve such a wonderful and faithful Savior, Lord and God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Salvation = Jesus died on your behalf</div><div>Service = Holy Spirit works on your behalf</div><div>Keywords: on your behalf.</div><div>The flesh profits nothing</div><div>All by faith alone ❤️ amen</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">Literally, <b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“My grace is sufficient for thee</span>” (</b><b style="text-align: justify;">2nd Corinthians 12:9b)</b><span style="text-align: justify;">, means that you and I can make it day-by-day through life. And that is a very important truth to learn friend—that we must take life in 24 hour segments, which is how God distributes it. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever wondered why God made a day 24 hours long? There are 86,400 seconds in one day. There are 10,080 minutes in one week. Interestingly, the human heart on average beats once a second. Wow! Yes, our heart beats approximately 86,000 beats a day! Oh reader, have you thanked God with just one of those seconds today?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">During my first year as a student at Hyles-Anderson College (HAC) in 1985-1986, I became discouraged one day. I opened my inspired King James Bible randomly to <b>Hebrews 4:13-16, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. <u>Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need</u>.”</b> Oh how the Holy Spirit comforted my aching heart that day in 1986. Unto this day I still feel peace and joy in my soul when I read this Scripture passage. What a precious PROMISE from God!!!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As we just read in Hebrews 4:14, Jesus is our heavenly High Priest. Christ died on the cross as our sacrificial LAMB, but He raised up three days later as our HIGH PRIEST. <b>Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, <u>who also maketh intercession for us</u>.” </b>Jesus is in Heaven now, seated on the right-hand of the Father, interceding for every saint. ...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><b>1st Timothy 2:3-6, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; <u>Who will have all men to be saved</u>, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth</b><b>. For there is one God, and <u>one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus</u>; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”</b></blockquote></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">I love this truth-packed passage of Scripture! The phrase in verse 4,<b> “Who will have all men to be saved,”</b> refutes the Calvinist heresy of Limited Atonement (the heresy that Christ only died for the saints, not all humanity). If God wants<b> “all men”</b> to be saved, then logically ALL MEN CAN BE SAVED!!! The <b>“knowledge of the truth”</b> is THE GOSPEL.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Since God is 100% holy, but humanity is 100% sinful, we cannot fellowship together. That is why the Godhead needed to become incarnate (i.e., become flesh), in the form of the only begotten Son of God. ...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><blockquote>John 1:1-3 and 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ...<u>And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us</u>, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”</blockquote></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate. Dr. John R. Rice calls Jesus and the Holy Bible “twins.” Jesus is the Living Word, and the Holy Bible is the Written Word. <b>John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”</b> This is a good verse to evidence that our beloved King James Bible today is still inspired, for if it is not then the words cannot be Spirit and life as Jesus said. The Bible is a Living Book!!! Napoleon understood this fact...</div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>“The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all who oppose it.” —Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)</blockquote></span>I hope the truths I have shared with you in this blog are edifying friend. The Bible says that as humans we all share the same temptations (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2010:13&version=KJV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1st Corinthians 10:13</a>) and same afflictions (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+5%3A8-9&version=KJV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1st Peter 5:8-9</a>). More times than I can remember in life, I felt like I couldn't face another day. I felt like dying, dreading to face today, let alone tomorrow. Life has a way of knocking you to your knees, and it will keep you there if you let it. The world doesn't care about you. Nobody is coming to rescue you (and if someone does you should love them with all your lucky stars).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When I was at the lowest point in my life, nobody cared about me! <b>Psalms:142:4, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Of the churches I attended, nobody befriended me at the Bayview Baptist Church on Guam, so I left; and the ungodly senior pastor at the Agana Heights Baptist Church on Guam mistreated me on purpose so that I would leave and never return, and so I did. I handed him my phone number and home address, but he never contacted me. And then I was forced out of the ungodly Harvest Baptist Church on Guam by their wicked senior pastor, Marty Herron. They all threw me under the bus and left me for dead! God will be their Judge!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dear reader, I have been to the bottom of life. My former wife cruelly abandoned and divorced me in 2006. We've never as much as held hands since. I cannot put into words the inexplicable emotional pain of soul and overwhelming trauma that I endured during and after the divorce, and the hell on earth that ensued for the next several years. You wouldn't believe the things that I have suffered through, which I don't even want to talk or write about. I have been in painful loneliness all these many years since 2006, without a wife or girlfriend.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I lost my home in the divorce, and my retirement at work, and my pets and possessions. If you've never been the victim of betrayal from a divorce, you cannot possible even imagine what it feels like. If you have seen a friend or family member suffer through a divorce, you still haven't a clue. It's like seeing someone get hit by a speeding truck, versus you personally getting hit by a truck and then left on the road dying as roadkill.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And then when I moved from Guam to Pensacola in 2021, I poured out my broken and hurting heart with senior pastor Jeff Redlin at Pensacola Christian College's (PCC) Campus Church. To my shock and horror, Pastor Redlin belittled me as a divorced person, caring not that I told him I am very lonely, and he was insensitive and cruel when I mentioned that I hoped to find a wife. The problem is that Jeff Redlin (and all of PCC leadership) have never suffered through the inexplicable pain of betrayal, abandonment and divorce, so they couldn't care less. There is no sympathy or empathy in the PCC camp, only self-righteous religious hypocrites who fall all over each other with self praises and glorification. There is no love or compassion at PCC, only a cult system that always comes first, but individual people don't matter at all.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I felt like taking my own life in 2021 (after all the suffering that I've been through), because of Pastor Jeff Redlin's cruel hatred, insensitive rude remarks, woeful lack of consideration or love, and that he has literally banned me in writing from even attending Campus Church. It hurts much more when professed men of God, self-ordained pastors, crap on hurting people like Redlin has done to me again and again. I pray for God to avenge me of his hatred. If I had my way, Jeff Redlin would be stripped of everything near and dear to him, which misfortune has happened to me, and only then would he know and understand what I have been through. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Instead, he is cocky, arrogant, filled with hubris and self-righteous hypocrisy, having no regard for his Christian brother in need. The PCC camp are pulling on the same rope as the Devil, by throwing divorced and hurting sinners under the bus, and leaving them there. I only shared these painful things in my life with you, so you can see that I need God's sufficient grace to keep my sanity day-by-day. If I didn't claim God's PROMISE of sufficient grace (the same free sufficient grace that saved me at age 13 in 1980), I wouldn't have made it this far.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If it were not for God's blessed indwelling Holy Spirit, and the grace He has bestowed upon me in my life and soul over the years, I would have taken my own life, or started drinking booze and become a drunk, or sought relief in others sinful vices. If it weren't for God's sufficient grace, I would have quit church and never donned the doorsteps of any church again, because of ungodly abusive religious leaders like Marty Herron, Jeff Redlin and Sean Quinlan (the shameful pastor of the Lighthouse Baptist Church on Guam who belittled me for exposing the Devil's bibles, and the Lordship Salvation preaching Calvinist Bob Jones University camp).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>“The world will go to Hell unless somebody is authoritative!”</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">—Pastor Jack Hyles, “<a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/sermons/hp072003.mp3">I Shall Not Be Moved</a>”</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I heard Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) say in a sermon toward the end of his life, that as he grows older he runs to the inspired Holy Bible like a starving man. I couldn't agree more with Brother Hyles!!! Dear reader, Jesus Christ is the answer to ALL our problems!!! I challenge you to not just read the Bible, but LIVE IT! As you read, hear and study the Bible, ask God to give you the wisdom to see how you can apply the Scriptures to your life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Without faith the Bible won't work for you or anybody else. Why is it that two men can read and study the same inspired King James Bible, but only one believes, while the other disbelieves. To him that believes no explanation is necessary, but to him that believes not no explanation is possible. Faith is the candle that lights our way in this dreary dark world of sin. <b>Mark 11:22, “And Jesus answering saith unto them, <u>Have faith in God</u>.”</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: left;"> </div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOkLX3AM-5Ql9p_-cLwTnnza_N7h5--afNMeXcCefW8Afx4snAHsU-rfO5pkrBAuZ2gEGER-io6FKpDcvXjceeKD2vB_1mYjfAqb_ewQT-LAZvQ_9Ryw9b_lQ9ZUCroyCuDNSU2-uzKul6-xHwB7fv0D6kSNtM3XMZcF3q89crxeCIyT1whJ7RlQr/s752/dont_worry_instead_pray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOkLX3AM-5Ql9p_-cLwTnnza_N7h5--afNMeXcCefW8Afx4snAHsU-rfO5pkrBAuZ2gEGER-io6FKpDcvXjceeKD2vB_1mYjfAqb_ewQT-LAZvQ_9Ryw9b_lQ9ZUCroyCuDNSU2-uzKul6-xHwB7fv0D6kSNtM3XMZcF3q89crxeCIyT1whJ7RlQr/w300-h400/dont_worry_instead_pray.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_NeqcwAlF9tBGw4lCwUn9T-JRIXJMuDteEn4a_2LBYSv-X6dE9Z0Cy2irzcJw1wbZwJcxGBItDGg9iW1YUcYkFTApYOx4ZXE1OUaGpo2fpe2ObiW4pqDrEi1uYEf0vnbua1nD9iNo0T-1-Ys4HtksAWit__7P_Ji6-B6l0l_kF5-3ePrtbbDwee8/s564/my_grace_is_sufficient.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="564" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_NeqcwAlF9tBGw4lCwUn9T-JRIXJMuDteEn4a_2LBYSv-X6dE9Z0Cy2irzcJw1wbZwJcxGBItDGg9iW1YUcYkFTApYOx4ZXE1OUaGpo2fpe2ObiW4pqDrEi1uYEf0vnbua1nD9iNo0T-1-Ys4HtksAWit__7P_Ji6-B6l0l_kF5-3ePrtbbDwee8/s320/my_grace_is_sufficient.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSOUw37HQsGgZKvT9_KPHcc2K6ibljPJn9QRzV-3dULMtcbSw94XJXyRwZQWjVAdZdt9xvY2DUzOGmgQAnmt1-voTMbzs-HeYqYWxVnrPDGdHm_EZJhvPkuq8rkSXsrnMHBjL6d72_d8lMQ2WI4lRwU-K_EipS3zIpPBz8kJEA6oPcD2vw9qkSu-9/s679/safety_is_of_the_lord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="679" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSOUw37HQsGgZKvT9_KPHcc2K6ibljPJn9QRzV-3dULMtcbSw94XJXyRwZQWjVAdZdt9xvY2DUzOGmgQAnmt1-voTMbzs-HeYqYWxVnrPDGdHm_EZJhvPkuq8rkSXsrnMHBjL6d72_d8lMQ2WI4lRwU-K_EipS3zIpPBz8kJEA6oPcD2vw9qkSu-9/w400-h113/safety_is_of_the_lord.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-51825807463479818492023-03-04T15:17:00.005-08:002023-03-04T15:19:44.591-08:00Jesus Is Still Working On Me<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="font-weight: bold;">Philippians 1:6-7, “Being confident of this very thing, that <u>he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ</u>:<b> Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”</b></div></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://www.soulwinning.info/articles/peter-walking_on_water.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />What a short, simple, yet incredibly powerful truth in Matthew 14:30 that perfectly summarizes the Christian life. There is no secret to living the Christian life. The Bible plainly teaches that we live by faith, the same exact way that we are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have Christ's promise that He will always be with us, and never forsake us. <b>Hebrews 13:5-6, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, <u>I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee</u>. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” </b>We all feel down at times, but dear reader, BE OF GOOD CHEER, for Jesus is risen from the dead!!!<br /><br />The Holy Spirit reminded me today about Peter, who obeyed the Lord and had the courage to literally get out of a perfectly good boat and walk on water. That took a lot of faith. Peter did walk on the water, not sinking an inch. But when Peter took His eyes off Jesus and began to focus on the stormy sea of Galilee and the rushing winds, he sunk. It's not a mere coincidence that God put this incredible event in the inspired Scriptures for us to read. God wants every Christian to learn the importance of keeping our mind and heart focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ. KEEP YOUR EYES UPON JESUS! If there is a secret to living the Christian life, it is to continually stay focused on Jesus.<br /><br />When Peter began to sink into the murky depths of the raging sea, he cried out in desperation, <b>“Lord, save me!” </b>The story of Peter walking on the water, sinking, and then crying out to the Lord to be saved is a beautiful truth that even a young child can completely grasp... KEEP YOUR EYES UPON JESUS!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>We Are Saved and Live the Christian Life by Christ's Righteousness</b></span><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Peter was already saved in Matthew 14:30. So as a Christian Peter walked on the water by Christ's strength, not his own. As Christians we have nothing to offer God that can please Him, except our faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So often when a person comes to Christ and gets saved, they then go down a wrong path of self-righteousness as a believer. That is to say, they know that they were saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; but they now have the wrong mindset that God is somehow pleased by their own efforts. The truth is that no matter how hard we may try as Christians to live for God, we will fail every day, one way or another, whether in deed or thought. If our best efforts couldn't impress God to get saved, then why should our best impress God now that we are saved? Isaiah 64:6 teaches that even our best self-righteousness is as filth in God's eyes. The same holds true even if a person has been saved for 50-years.<br /><br />The ONLY thing that has ever pleased God the Father is the righteousness of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, which is <a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/bd/imputation.htm">imputed</a> (attributed) to every believer the moment they believe the gospel (death, burial and resurrection) of Jesus Christ and are saved. This is why we are taught in the Bible that Christ lives through us as Christian believers. ...<br /><b><blockquote>Galatians 2:20-21, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless <u>I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me</u>: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”</blockquote></b>I love this Bible verse... CHRIST LIVETH IN ME!!! Romans 8:9 teaches that a person is not saved who doesn't have the Spirit of Christ (i.e., the Holy Spirit). We are saved by <a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/articles/true_righteousness.htm">Christ's righteousness</a> and we continue to live the Christian life by Christ's righteousness. You cannot impress God any more in your own strength as a believer, than you could as an unsaved person who tries to impress God with keeping the Law. The Lord is our strength as His children. I cannot live the Christian life any more than I could save myself from sin and Hell. I live in Christ's righteousness, that is, Christ saved me and lives through me as I yield to the Spirit's leading by the Word of God!<br /><br />That's not to say that being born-again is a process. The new birth is instant, immediate and undoable. Yet, <a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Books,%20Tracts%20&%20Preaching/Printed%20Books/Dr%20Jack%20Hyles/Salvation/salvation-index.htm">salvation is more than being saved</a>. Indeed, the salvation of a believer begins the day we are saved and continues to conform us into the image of God's Son each and every day. Through the hardships, sufferings and afflictions of this life we are changed into the image of Christ. Romans 12:2 tells us, “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”<br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The Bible Never Tells Us to Seek God's Hidden Will</span></b><br />The Holy Bible never tells us to SEEK God's will; but rather, TO SEEK GOD Himself! The Bible never tells us to seek the will of God; but rather, to obey the revealed will of God in His Word, and then God will direct our paths. Proverbs 3:5-7, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” So don't worry over what God's secret (or hidden) will is for your life. God has PROMISED to direct our steps if we'll acknowledge God in all our ways. We do this by studying the Bible to know how God wants us to live. Jesus commanded in John 5:39 to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!!!<br /><br />If we do that which we know in the Bible, then God has PROMISED to guide our ways. Romans 8:28 says, “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.” Our hope as believers is that Jesus Christ has raised up from the dead and is alive forevermore (John 16:33). Christ is our hope! Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” We don't hope in the sense of optimism as do Muslims and the Amish (who do their best and hope it works out in eternity); but rather, we have a blessed hope in full confidence based upon the PROMISES of God.<br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />To Understand the Times in Which We Live, Keep Your Eyes On Jesus</span></b><br />There are many people who attempt to figure out what's really going on in the world, but they are going in circles,<b> “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2nd Timothy 3:7). </b>Without the Word of God you'll never understand the truth, the world nor anything concerning spiritual things.<br /><br />Did you know that one-third of the Bible is composed of prophecy! It's true! We learn in <b>Revelation 19:13</b> that<b> “JESUS IS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY!” </b>...<br /><br /><b>Revelation 19:10, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”</b><br /><br />In fact, Jesus is the spirit behind all of the Scriptures! That is, all of the Bible centers around Jesus Christ!!! When you read and study the Bible, always look for Jesus in the passage context (how it relates to Him) for the truth.<br /><br />Kindly said, unbelieving religious Jews have interpreted the Bible all wrong for thousands of years, rejecting the cornerstone of their Messiah. <b>1st Peter 2:7, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.” </b>Some people only read the Bible to fit their religious agenda, but without the Messiah they are barking up an empty tree. Others search the Bible for hidden numeric codes, which is a waste of time. The Bible says in Hebrews 1:2 that God speaks to us in these last days through His Son. <b>John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” </b>Always look for Jesus in the Scriptures, for His name is THE WORD OF GOD (Revelation 19:13; John 1:1-3,14). Jesus is the living Word, and the Bible is the written Word. KEEP YOUR EYES UPON JESUS!!!<br /><br />The heart of the Bible is the blood of the Lamb of God, Who was slain for the sins of the world (John 1:29). The way to make it through the Christian life is to keep our eyes on Jesus. If we take our eyes off the Lord and focus on the problems of this world, then we will begin to sink into an ocean of doubt and despair. When we find ourselves sinking low, we need to cry out to the Lord, putting our eyes back on Jesus and trusting Him at His Word. KEEP YOUR EYES UPON JESUS!!!<br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In youth I'm too happy to think, I've got plenty of time left.<br />In manhood I'm too busy to think, I'm trying to make a lot of money.<br />In the prime of life I'm too anxious to think, worry has taken over.<br />When I start getting old, I'm too old to think—life's wasted, heart's got harder.<br />Dying in bed—I'm too sick to think, I'm weak and suffering.<br />Death is too late to think—time's over and opportunity is lost.<br />In eternity—forever to think, I'm in Hell now with no mercy, and lost forever.<br /><br />“Too long I've laid me down to sleep, and prayed the Lord my soul to keep.<br />I should awake before I die, and realize time is passing by;<br />And rise and go and tell the lost, despite my plans despite the cost.<br />Too long I've laid me down to sleep, while multitudes about me weep;<br />And other cries of dark despair, for no one ever seems to care.<br />My life is short, and soon I'll stand, with sinner's bloods upon my hand;<br />Unless I wake before I die, and realize time is passing me by.”<br /><br />“The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power,<br /> to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour;<br />To lose one's wealth is sad indeed, to lose one's health is more,<br />to lose your soul is such a loss, that no one can restore.”</span></blockquote></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-35255219177183691602023-02-08T08:28:00.006-08:002023-02-08T08:28:58.579-08:00Proofs Of The Promise Of Jesus' Bodily Resurrection<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>John 2:19, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Acts 1:3, “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, </b><b style="font-family: helvetica;">being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”</b></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /> The foundational doctrine upon which Christianity is based is the physical bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even the unsaved heathen world believes that a man named Jesus once lived and died on a cross, but very few people believe that He bodily raised up from the dead three days later.<br /><br />Evidences of Christ's physical resurrection from the dead: </span><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Was Seen By Over 500 Witnesses At Once In His Resurrected Body (1st Corinthians 15:6)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Physically Appeared And Met With His Disciples In His Resurrected Body (John 20:19-26)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Physically Ate Food And Drank With His Disciples In His Resurrected Body (Luke 24:42-43)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Told Mary Not To Physically Touch His Body After His Resurrection (John 20:17)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Told His Disciple Thomas To Physically Touch His Scars And Thrust His Side (John 20:27-28)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Walked With And Expounded The Two Disciples On The Road To Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Physically Ascended Into The Clouds In His Resurrected Body (Acts 1:9; Luke 24:51)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Appeared Physically To The Apostle John In The Book Of Revelation (Revelation 1:13-18)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus Is Physically Seated On The Right-Hand Of The Father In Heaven (Colossians 3:1)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We Will Physically Meet The Lord In The Air At The Rapture (1st Thessalonians 4:17)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Every Eye Will Physically See Jesus Bodily At His Second Coming (Revelation 1:7)</span></li></ol><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am sure there are more, but these are the evidences off the top of my head that I could think of, thus proving that Jesus Christ raised up from the dead as He foretold. Many religious groups deny Christ's physical resurrection.<br /><br />For example: The deadly cult of the Jehovah's Witness teach that Jesus only raised up in spirit, but not bodily. For this reason, and many more, the Jehovah's Witnesses are a Satanic cult, which should be avoided at all cost. I am saddened and marvel how anybody could ever be sucked into such a bizarre, unbiblical and doctrinally offensive cult. But then I remember that to the unsaved person—who doesn't have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to teach and guide them (John 16:13)—the secularized teachings of a group like the JW's makes perfect sense to their human rational.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For example: JW's contend that it doesn't make sense why God would divide Himself into three persons, so they deny the fundamental Bible doctrine of <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/fundamentals/godhead.htm">THE GODHEAD</a> (the triune nature of God). The Trinity may not make good math, but it makes good Bible! <b>Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Truths/immortality.htm">Jesus' Bodily Resurrection Teaches Immortality For The Whole Man In Both Body And Soul!!!</a><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Beware of the Heresy of Modalism</span></b><br /><br />Also, there is another deadly group creeping a heresy into many churches today called “<a corner="" doctrines="" href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer" s="" trinity.htm="">MODALISM</a>.” According to Modalism, Jesus does not have a body in Heaven. Modalism denies Jesus' bodily resurrection! We know Modalism is false, because the Bible plainly teaches that Jesus DOES have a body, and sits on a literal physical throne in Heaven, on the right-hand of the Father. <b>Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”</b> Jesus has a physical body up in Heaven, as do all the angels.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In every case in the Bible where angels appeared, they had physical bodies. When the angels met with Lot, they ate the feast that Lot prepared for them (Genesis 19:3). Heaven is a literal physical place. The angels are real, with bodies, and they eat in Heaven. Jesus has a physical body in Heaven, and He eats. The Lord promised His disciples though, that He would not drink of the vine again, until the Kingdom of God is come. <b>Luke 22:18, “For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.”</b> Heaven is a real place!<br /><br />Kindly, it surprised me when I learned in 2018 that <a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Doctrines/denying_godhead.htm">missionary Garrett Kirchway</a>—a former staff member at the Faithful Word Baptist Church, where God is doing a mighty work through Pastor Steven Anderson—that Kirchway denies the Trinity! Brother Anderson has rolled out the welcome mat for those who repent of their heresy and follow the Words of God:<br /><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">“Anybody, who's been thrown out of the church, can come back whenever they want, to get right with God, renounce heresy, and embrace the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity.” —Pastor Steven Anderson, a helpful quote from the excellent sermon titled, “<a href="https://youtu.be/dlVM1KoPK8E">Unbiblical Reasons: Why We Accept People Who Are Thrown Out</a>.”</blockquote>Amen! The apostle Paul warned in<b> Acts 20:29, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”</b> Wolves have always crept into the churches. Shockingly, they're coming from places like <a href="http://www.jesusisprecious.org/bible/bju_position.htm">Bob Jones University</a>, whose graduates are <a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/bju_betrays_bible.htm">promoting dozens of different corrupt Bible versions</a>, and are promoting the ungodly heresy of Lordship Salvation (which <a href="http://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/lordship_salvation/macarthurs_hard_gospel.htm">BJU alumni John MacArthur teaches</a>). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Beware of BJU and their wolf graduates in sheep's clothing! Just because someone has a degree from a Bible college does NOT mean you can trust them! I am so sick of this Lordship Salvation mess! So was Pastor Jack Hyles! <a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr_Jack_Hyles/sick_of_lordship_salvation_mess.mp3">I'm Sick Of This Lordship Salvation Mess!</a> (MP3, Dr. Hyles rips against <a href="http://www.jesusisprecious.org/books/jack_hyles/salvation/lordship_salvation.htm">Lordship Salvation lie!</a>). Thank God for faithful preachers like Dr. Jack Hyles!<br /><br />I am certainly that Garrett Kirchway is 100% sincere in his belief that Jesus has no body in Heaven today, and that there is only God the Father sitting on His throne. But Garrett is very wrong! And may I say—wolves don't know that they are wolves! I also believe that Garrett was hurt when all this happened. As fast as he knew what hit him, he was on the outside of Faithful Word Baptist Church looking in.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mr. Garrett refused to repent of his heretical position denying the Godhead. As far as I know he is totally finished in the ministry, and should be if he denies the Trinity. You're not serving God or people by teaching false doctrine! Jesus Christ raised up physically, appeared to over 500 saints and His disciples physically, ascended into Heaven physically, exists in Heaven physically today, He is coming back for the saints at the Rapture physically, and seven years later Christ will appear physically for all the world to see.<br /><br />Kindly, I know for a fact that Garrett is not born-again, because NO ONE who denies the Trinity is saved. Do you have to believe in the Trinity to be saved? No, but if at some point down the road someone takes a Holy Bible and teaches it to you, or you read it for yourself in the Scriptures, but you refuse to accept the plain sound teaching of the Word of God on the Godhead, it is solid proof that you have never been born-again. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and heed His words. <b>John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:5, “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”</b> I hear His Words, do you dear reader? HEAR YE HIM!<br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Beware of Wolves Creeping Into the Church<br /></span></b><br /><b>Galatians 2:4, “And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.”</b><br /><br />Our text verse from Galatians 2:4 plainly evidences that Satan continually tries to infiltrate, corrupt and conquer the churches. Although the Devil can never defeat THE CHURCH, he is highly successful at destroying local churches, by sneaking into them and secretly bringing in DAMNABLE HERESY. <b>2nd Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”</b> As you just read, the Devil sneaks DAMNABLE HERESIES into the churches.<br /><br />The verse that I just quoted to you from Galatians 2:4 plainly evidences that Satan continually tries to infiltrate, corrupt and conquer the churches. Although the Devil can never defeat THE CHURCH, he is highly successful at destroying local churches, by sneaking into them and secretly bringing in DAMNABLE HERESY.<b> 2nd Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”</b> As you just read, the Devil sneaks DAMNABLE HERESIES into the churches.<br /><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">One third of clergy do not believe in the Resurrection</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent | July 31, 2002</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A third of Church of England clergy doubt or disbelieve in the physical Resurrection and only half are convinced of the truth of the Virgin birth, according to a new survey. The poll of nearly 2,000 of the Church's 10,000 clergy also found that only half believe that faith in Christ is the only route to salvation. ...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">SOURCE: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1403106/One-third-of-clergy-do-not-believe-in-the-Resurrection.html">One Third of clergy do not believe in the Resurrection</a></div></blockquote>God never intended for the clergy to become a mere occupation, where unbiblical women preachers, and unqualified unsaved men could usurp leadership roles in people's lives in the churches. The foundational truth upon which Christianity is based is the physical bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Run away from anyone who denies this great truth! <b>John 21:14, “This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.” </b><b>John 20:30, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.”</b> Jesus is precious!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiO4RYZDJk-DIPVhd_vw0vj7oSzZocqX8evGuJr7_ne5WpAYyAN003F5hbrH76qFEhpB0mOIuOAhyCf994ZrknOXy4V0VnBs5Iq2L1h8mLKa6Tbg7mJvbRNf1wNb2L-0Js4AYD7Ys1b-_qpkvE5EvfMF9ve96a_74bMyAog4w81yPqoD94hD9mCNh/s644/jesus_christ_is_risen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="644" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiO4RYZDJk-DIPVhd_vw0vj7oSzZocqX8evGuJr7_ne5WpAYyAN003F5hbrH76qFEhpB0mOIuOAhyCf994ZrknOXy4V0VnBs5Iq2L1h8mLKa6Tbg7mJvbRNf1wNb2L-0Js4AYD7Ys1b-_qpkvE5EvfMF9ve96a_74bMyAog4w81yPqoD94hD9mCNh/w400-h303/jesus_christ_is_risen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-56437450070474097252023-02-02T16:28:00.003-08:002023-02-02T16:28:21.305-08:00The Deep Things Of God<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">1st Corinthians 2:10, </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, <u>THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD</u>.”</b></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />1st Corinthians 2:9 is quoted from Isaiah 64:6 in the Old Testament. The Bible teaches that God has things in store for every believer that eyes cannot see, nor can the ears hear. 1st Corinthians 2:10 tells us that these things are THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD, which are revealed unto us by the Holy Spirit of God.<br /><br />The phrase “deep things” comes from the Greek word bathos and means “profundity,” that is, figuratively, “mystery.” The Bible is saying that God's Spirit reveals truths that are impossible for the carnal person to grasp and understand. God's Spirit gives wisdom, depth of understanding, and spiritual insight that cannot be obtained anywhere else. If a sinner rejects Jesus as the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, then they have also rejected the Holy Spirit and the deep things of God cannot be revealed unto them.<br /><br />This is why unsaved people have all the wrong priorities and place so much emphasis upon shallow and meaningless things. Many people are infatuated with buying and owning gold, thinking that they are wise to invest in a precious metal (and it is from a carnal point of view). But the Bible says gold will one day perish and <b>“That THE TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How many people recognize that all of the problems, sufferings, and hardships in this life are of more value than gold? Incredibly few I assure you. It puts a whole new perspective on things as a Christian if you fully grasp THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD. As much as I hate to say it... PRAISE GOD FOR ALL OF MY HEALTH PROBLEMS! They keep me praying... <b>“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray” (James 5:13).</b><br /><br />You can read all the books on earth, including the Bible; but you'll never discover the mysteries of God—yeah, THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD—without the presence of the Author to teach you. God is the Author, the Penman. When people attempt to learn the Bible without the presence of the Author, false religious cults are formed.<br /><br />The first step to understanding THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD is to receive Jesus Christ. <b>John 1:12, “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.” </b>Ye must be born-again (John 3:5). No unsaved person will ever truly be able to grasp the richness, depth, and profoundness of God's truths.<br /><br /><b>Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” </b>What a precious PROMISE from God. The Lord will show us great and mighty things the Bible promises, if we'll call unto Him. The Bible has a built in dictionary that explains itself. This is the safest way to interpret the Bible.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We learn what God means in Jeremiah 33:3 in<b> Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”</b> God rewards those who seek Him by revealing unto them profound truths that carnally-minded men cannot possibly grasp and understand, no matter how much they may desire or try to obtain. 2nd Timothy 3:7 affirms this truth, for these type of people are <b>“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”</b><br /><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b>“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” —Isaiah 64:4</b></blockquote>So many wonderful and practical Scriptures come to mind. I love what Jacob said to the Lord in <b>Genesis 32:10, “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.” </b>Those are my feelings precisely. I am not worthy of all that God has done for me, nor will I ever be. It is only because of God's grace that I am able to live the Christian life and face the dawn of each and every new day.<br /><br />That is why we will cast our crowns at Jesus' feet at the Judgment Seat of Christ, that is, because 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. It is only by God's grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that we are able to serve God as the Bible teaches. <b>Philippians 2:13, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” </b>Amen.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUxV-opJt0XBZND3wWSTH5naOO4erFOLUfdyaZFuJmfpde50WK2DXdQu0x_ZVLPUPMZzZ7SREf7k0rR7FUiqwS_eHeHwhsqbnXeN8-3kZEO8aq3V8M2nZKn273KTmwuOpf-C_TeyDWfjGG2SnEtsqGPYd2RD17BTHDHAjnSRF7q8_uDxxOVjo2Gdz/s679/interesting_cats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="679" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUxV-opJt0XBZND3wWSTH5naOO4erFOLUfdyaZFuJmfpde50WK2DXdQu0x_ZVLPUPMZzZ7SREf7k0rR7FUiqwS_eHeHwhsqbnXeN8-3kZEO8aq3V8M2nZKn273KTmwuOpf-C_TeyDWfjGG2SnEtsqGPYd2RD17BTHDHAjnSRF7q8_uDxxOVjo2Gdz/s320/interesting_cats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfuUjycbFOM7S8a5Gt-dfjrSDklW3tdFTmH6kFWVsWE5mGva-Rd3nW5O3PZSaWyaHZWQLcIJMooCWBIEbo3mwdZLTadWfbIjn-EjwX1gCCYrUam28h0lByQNtlz8V3Uv0nJyR8Oox4_Erc1L-1dKyfSHxqjFzAAASSJKw34jnASvJnMkX_pzl9Afa/s678/jesus_blood_applied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="678" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfuUjycbFOM7S8a5Gt-dfjrSDklW3tdFTmH6kFWVsWE5mGva-Rd3nW5O3PZSaWyaHZWQLcIJMooCWBIEbo3mwdZLTadWfbIjn-EjwX1gCCYrUam28h0lByQNtlz8V3Uv0nJyR8Oox4_Erc1L-1dKyfSHxqjFzAAASSJKw34jnASvJnMkX_pzl9Afa/s320/jesus_blood_applied.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1nLY5rdA8oCgsXHo1DI9-fcImORQ1LS03_McZxvHVOC_9fItnCs6tFkd_m47Sg_yX5bAlBCwn7ktIrIDWZGIEtrSOr3CKUpiahUg74bQRslEk60hrqvlpgCTWAN2XgHwEr7pRft-RMpdMZxtVPfhRIDpI9hZ-V4B7IZTcb3rkPC_-q4lG4-Gpe7Z/s644/jesus_christ_is_risen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="644" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1nLY5rdA8oCgsXHo1DI9-fcImORQ1LS03_McZxvHVOC_9fItnCs6tFkd_m47Sg_yX5bAlBCwn7ktIrIDWZGIEtrSOr3CKUpiahUg74bQRslEk60hrqvlpgCTWAN2XgHwEr7pRft-RMpdMZxtVPfhRIDpI9hZ-V4B7IZTcb3rkPC_-q4lG4-Gpe7Z/s320/jesus_christ_is_risen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-28931888998348484622023-01-19T15:07:00.002-08:002023-01-19T15:07:22.312-08:00God Promises To Punish Those Who Bid Godspeed To False Prophets<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Galatians 6:7-9, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. </b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The wonderful Epistle of Galatians is about a group of churches in the providence of Galatia, who had wickedly succumbed to infiltration by a cult of Lordship Salvation perverts. These perverts of the faith taught that partial faith in Christ plus WORKS are required to get to Heaven. The Apostle Paul faithfully rebuked the Galatian churches, plainly calling them “fools.” <b>Galatians 3:1-3, “<u>O foolish Galatians</u>, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey <u>the truth</u>, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;"> This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b> Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”</b> THE TRUTH is <i>The Gospel</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You'd think after 2,000 years of history, that churches and Bible colleges today would be much more wiser. Sadly, the same fools exist today. It is in our flawed human nature to make the same blunders again and again. It was Albert Einstein who rightly said that the very definition of insanity as making the same mistakes and expecting different results! That is what we see in 90% of Baptist churches today, fools making the same mistake of adding WORKS to God's saving grace. I love this simple truthful image...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kBBiqTtCHs8WRqGkd_R7nGCa5Ljux9GmFXuid7YAvpee66zqOcg2alUqdxUrAX_BTlJbZrTp4JL2GO-3re0yEo_g6e9gyeTgTSBweU_9LQyWFSKQd0ZtJwsRdfOKSKgamduFifnqPjQpnZSFuHtvBvXQgoEcoHF6B6wy2oxhw76xYKR-3TIwnU3B/s494/the_law_demands_righteousness3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="494" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kBBiqTtCHs8WRqGkd_R7nGCa5Ljux9GmFXuid7YAvpee66zqOcg2alUqdxUrAX_BTlJbZrTp4JL2GO-3re0yEo_g6e9gyeTgTSBweU_9LQyWFSKQd0ZtJwsRdfOKSKgamduFifnqPjQpnZSFuHtvBvXQgoEcoHF6B6wy2oxhw76xYKR-3TIwnU3B/w400-h353/the_law_demands_righteousness3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>Beware of any pastor who requires you to give up something to be saved</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">RUN from any corrupt pastor who requires YOU to <a href="https://youtu.be/F6V2dcmjJgU" target="_blank">turn from your sinful ways to be saved</a>. RUN from any accursed pastor who requires YOU to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to get to Heaven. RUN from any hellbound false prophet who requires YOU to get water baptized to be saved. RUN from any lying fool who requires YOU to surrender control of YOUR life over to Christ as 'Lord' to get to Heaven. I'm warning you about Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, Gary Walton, Mike Murdock, Beth Moore, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, William Lane Craig, Todd Friel, Leroy Surface, John F. MacArthur, Steve Pettit, Church Phelps, Marty Herron, Jared Baldwin, Joe Hensen, Paul Washer, John Piper, Sam Adams, John Hagee, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Adrian Rogers, Paris Reidhead, Charles G. Finney—all meddlers with the free grace Gospel, damnable heretics and sinister ministers of unrighteousness (2nd Corinthians 11:13-15). RUN from these IMPOSTERS of the Christian faith!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And may I kindly say, RUN from the wicked reprobates that wickedly bid Godspeed to these infidels of the faith; namely, Jeff Redlin, Jason Young, Timothy Zacharias, Kenn Winn, Brendan Stephens, Joshua Burdick and Chuck Gourley). These ungodly charlatans of the Christian faith are a bunch of yuppie types, academics, who woefully lack God's love and compassion for individual people. These are phonies in Christendom, infidels who play church to get people's money to support their income, but at the end of the day they ostracize anyone (including me since August of 2022) who dares to question their cult system at PCC (as I rightly did). Jeff Redlin is the worst offender, a religious Pharisee who writes off anyone who challenges his cult kingdom throne at Campus Church. Sickeningly, Pastor Redlin gets paid well over $100,000 a year! The PCC camp are no better than Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, Joel Osteen and other shameful religious con artists who prey upon naïve people (Romans 16:17-18).<br /><br />I cannot warn you enough to avoid the PCC camp!!! I made this needful video to expose the PCC cult that throws people under the bus, as they did me...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LVsCyJvLn2A" width="320" youtube-src-id="LVsCyJvLn2A"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pensacola Christian College Cult Exposed</span></b></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I don't claim to be a good Christian. I am just a redeemed struggling sinner saved by God's grace. One of the hardest things that I've had to deal with in my Christian life, is ungodly horrible pastors in neo-evangelical churches (like Harvest Baptist Church on Guam and Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College), who couldn't care less about right doctrine, the accuracy of the Gospel, the purity of the Holy Bible, or how they treat hurting people. I can clearly see why so many people are leaving and avoiding the churches today, because of abusive pastors whop scattered the sheep and do more harm than good. It is religious fools like Pastors' Jeff Redlin, Timothy Zacharias, Gary Walton and Marty Herron who are ruining our churches and country today. These evildoers all belong in prison for ruining people's lives!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dear reader, I refuse to place God on trial because of what wicked pastors do to hurt others. God is not to blame for the stiffnecked arrogance, ongoing abuse, sexual assaults, cult behavior, unwillingness to forgive, and huge ungodly egos at Pensacola Christian College (PCC). I am living proof of the abuse at PCC. As of August 2, 2022 I have been forbidden in writing from attending Campus Church, because I expressed my negative opinion of Campus Church and PCC on social media. What kind of church bans people from attending a church, merely because that person expressed their truthful opinion about abuse within PCC? That is a cult, not a New Testament church. Pensacola Christian College is a dangerous CULT!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Behind all the phony singing and sycophantic music at PCC, is a cold-hearted cult system that throws under the bus anybody who dares to challenge their authoritarian cult. I am living proof of that, as is Samantha Field and hundreds more victims who dared to speak up. At PCC you are required to SHUT UP, but God wants us to SPEAK UP. If you fail to go along and follow the cult's strict rules at PCC, not dotting your i's and crossing your t's just right, you will be ostracized and thrown under the bus before you know it. God's curse is upon the PCC camp for them wickedly bidding Godspeed to infidels like ken Ham and Dr. Steve Pettit at Bob Jones University. Making money is all that matters to PCC, not contending for the Christian faith.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Speaking under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul warned that those who bid Godspeed to false teachers, and follow their perverse teachings, will not be guiltless. <b>Galatians 6:7-9, “<u>Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap</u>. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”</b> Lordship Salvation sows to the flesh, not the Spirit. Those who trust in Lordship Salvation shall only reap corruption to the flesh, and the second death in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15).</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Those fools who sow (trust) turning away from sinful ways to be saved, will reap corruption to the flesh. There are not two Gospels, there is only one (Galatians 1:6). Our rotten churches and Bible colleges have tolerated heresy and heretics for so long, that no one exposes the cults anymore. Pensacola Christian College just wants to make money, play church, go through all their external motions, while at the core not obeying God's command to</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b> “rebuke them sharply</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>” </b>who preach a counterfeit gospel (such as the Calvinist garbage being taught at Bob Jones University and the corrupt Harvest Baptist Church on Guam).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sadly, it is a laughing matter to PCC leadership, but their woeful day of reckoning is soon coming. God will not be mocked. What PCC has sown they shall also reap!!! Woe unto Pensacola Christian College and their apostate Campus Church. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Galatians 1:8, “ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach <u>any other gospel</u> unto you than that which we have preached unto you, <u>let him be accursed</u>.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> It is no trifle matter to bid Godspeed to false prophets like Ken Ham, who says that faith is NOT enough to get to Heaven. Ken Ham says you must also turn away from your sinful ways, which is another gospel that cannot produce the new birth by the Holy Spirit of God (John 1:12-13).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Incompetent<b> </b>PCC leadership has blood on there hands. PCC leadership is guilty for bidding Godspeed to false prophet Ken Ham, and the heretics in the Bob Jones camp who preach the Devil's lies of Lordship Salvation and misunderstood repentance. To God be the glory. God knows that I have TOLD THE TRUTH.<b> Romans 3:4, </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, <u>That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged</u>.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> God knows that I have told THE TRUTH. Therefore, I know that God is on my side. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Psalms 118:6, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”</b></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-22966924337597329832022-12-16T07:20:00.004-08:002022-12-26T12:25:47.690-08:00God's Promise Of Eternal Life Before The World Began<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”</b></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />The Apostle Paul (writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) makes an amazing statement in <b>Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”</b> Before God ever spoke the universe into existence, he had already promised eternal life. Before God ever created the first human being, Christ has already been slain in the eternal mind of God.<b> Revelation 13:8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."</b> Notice the words, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." In God's mind, Jesus had been crucified before the world began, which is why God was able to promise eternal life BEFORE the world began.<br /><br />God in His foreknowledge knew that mankind would choose to go into sin. God created Adam and Eve, knowing fully that they would rebel against His Word. Yet, God loved humanity and made a way of escape before man was even created. Before the first man was ever formed from the dust of the earth, God had already PROMISED eternal life to mankind. Thus, God made a provision, the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus, to take away the sins of mankind.<br /><br />We must realize that God does not live in the limitation of time as does humanity. God lives in eternity, where there is no past, present, nor future. This is why the Bible tells us in <b>2nd Peter 3:8, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." </b>Whereas mankind is forced to wait and wonder and hope due to the uncertainty of our future; God KNOWS exactly what the future holds, because it is not the future to Him. This is why it is important as Christians that we pray and trust upon the Lord, because He knows the way.<br /><br />Notice in Titus 1:2 the words "hope of eternal life." The word "hope" here does not speak in the sense of uncertainty; but rather, in the sense of expectation. Thus, we don't hope that God will give to us eternal life; but rather, we HAVE A HOPE that God has given to us eternal life. We already have it! Every believer has the blessed assurance of sweet salvation and eternal life. When we pass away from this earthly life as believers, our spirit which is already alive forevermore will simply enter into eternity to be with the Lord. <b>2nd Corinthians 5:8, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."</b><br /><br />The Bible does not teach soul sleep. This is clearly taught in <b>Acts 7:54-59, "When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Carefully notice that as Stephen was being martyred, he looked up into Heaven and saw Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father. Jesus was welcoming Stephen home, giving him a standing ovation. The Bible says that Stephen said,<b> "I see the heavens opened."</b> How much clearer could the Bible be, that departed loved ones who have been saved go to Heaven to be with the Lord? Amen! Stephen saw the Heavens opened and his wonderful and precious Lord waiting to receive him home into glory.<br /><br />The Bible tells us that eternal life is A PROMISE to the believer! If salvation were by works of self-righteousness, then eternal life would merely be a reward. But salvation is not a reward, it is a free gift from God. If salvation were by religious affiliation, then it would be a privilege. But salvation is not a privilege, it is a free gift from God. If salvation were by nationality, then it would be inherited. But salvation is not an inheritance, it is a free gift from God. <b>Ephesians 2:8,9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."</b><br /><br />Those who teach that salvation can be lost attempt to nullify and cast doubt upon the PROMISE of God to give eternal life to him that believeth. <b>John 3:36a, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." </b>This is God's promise to mankind. God's Law indicts all humanity as guilty sinners. <b>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."</b> Notice the words,<b> "all the world may become guilty before God."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We are all guilty sinners. God the Father is the Prosecutor, whose holiness demands justice and punishment for sin. Jesus Christ came to the Father as our Attorney and offered a plea agreement on our behalf, that we might be pardoned for our crimes against God. Jesus, the holy Lamb of God Who knew no sin, became as sin, that we who knew no righteousness could be made the righteousness of God in Christ. <b>2nd Corinthians 5:21, "For He </b>[God the Father]<b> hath made Him </b>[God the Son]<b> to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." </b>If the proponents of the heresy that salvation can be lost would only accept this Biblical truth, they would cease from attacking the PROMISE of God to save those who simply believe. We are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, i.e., the righteousness of God which is through faith in Christ Jesus crucified.<br /><br />Before God ever created the world, He had already made a promise to mankind. That promise was eternal life according to <b>Titus 1:2b</b>, which also states that God<b> “CANNOT LIE.”</b> To say that salvation can be lost renders a believer hopeless, living in constant fear and doubt, wondering if they've sinned too much and have lost their salvation. How tragic! How unbiblical! The very fact that the Bible proclaims the PROMISE of eternal life, is clear evidence that God wants the believer's heart to be comforted and settled concerning salvation. If salvation can be lost, then there is little comfort or assurance of salvation. God wants each believer to have the peaceful assurance of salvation because of what Jesus did for us, and not because of what we're doing for Him.<br /><br />Let's break down Titus 1:2 to disprove the notion that salvation can be lost: </span><div><div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God has provided <b>ETERNAL LIFE</b> to mankind through the</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> redemptive work of Christ. But God wanted us to have more assurance than that, so He...</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Made us a <b>PROMISE</b> that He'd give to us eternal life through His Son. But God goes further than that to comfort us in our salvation, He...</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Tells us that He made this promise</span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"> BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Even still, God goes further and wants us to be completely comforted in our salvation by telling us... </span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">GOD CANNOT LIE</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">.</span></li></ol></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So we see that God not only has provided eternal life to mankind through the blood sacrifice of His dear Son, Jesus, but has also committed Himself to us in the form of a promise, that He made before we were ever created, and God reminds us that it is IMPOSSIBLE for Him to lie about anything. God went out of His way in Titus 1:2 to comfort our hearts concerning eternal life.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If I may paraphrase a bit, God is saying to us, "Look, I have a plan to redeem you, and by the way, you can hold me to this because I'm making a promise, and by the way, I made this promise before the universe was ever created, and if that's not enough, I absolutely cannot lie. So you can rest assure in your faith in Jesus as the Christ." This is our blessed hope of salvation. We can depend on Jesus that He won't disappoint us for our faith in Him. What a great and precious Savior!!!</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhaRi8vsJlqIl8y-2kC_iJ6t9-p9al39eyZeMt2iDBIXJ6sZ-lsoLyRVwzGnmKmS1aRXOEz3rGHYfI8ssZjJDZlXaXPawO6LiXAALsDYTFTVffAWpFAAbIHSerbrkjwyKQ2k4zp0Rpnbf2UHqN5YDrPG_0rB45mcsrhUezT367PDELK4Kx3Uicnvy/s320/king_james_version.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhaRi8vsJlqIl8y-2kC_iJ6t9-p9al39eyZeMt2iDBIXJ6sZ-lsoLyRVwzGnmKmS1aRXOEz3rGHYfI8ssZjJDZlXaXPawO6LiXAALsDYTFTVffAWpFAAbIHSerbrkjwyKQ2k4zp0Rpnbf2UHqN5YDrPG_0rB45mcsrhUezT367PDELK4Kx3Uicnvy/w400-h300/king_james_version.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2mRQUW2p3b6a9dXoGKytCGWQfWa0czOu4efiyzHpMdtwmE8Fh9d1NkV1cf_adu_d_tu6PRN7849Jw5N0TJs3-lgM_UGFdzrbyVzXiktGFWHpBi7tSV0SQAsxp6soGTc90ehRjJzHeeSGU5gD7e85ECN3JN9aQcsUBCWJcxQh7dGD1b-Sy9drezVJ/s843/matthew_6-33.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="843" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2mRQUW2p3b6a9dXoGKytCGWQfWa0czOu4efiyzHpMdtwmE8Fh9d1NkV1cf_adu_d_tu6PRN7849Jw5N0TJs3-lgM_UGFdzrbyVzXiktGFWHpBi7tSV0SQAsxp6soGTc90ehRjJzHeeSGU5gD7e85ECN3JN9aQcsUBCWJcxQh7dGD1b-Sy9drezVJ/w400-h369/matthew_6-33.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-24671021979237135562022-11-14T13:46:00.000-08:002022-12-16T07:20:37.575-08:00Debt Leveraging For An Eternal Lifestyle<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”</b></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />Our text verse from Matthew 13:44 is an incredible Scripture. Jesus plainly teaches that He is likening this story to Heaven. Jesus tells the story about a man who finds a treasure in a field. The man realizes that he has found something so great that he joyously goes and sells all his earthly possessions in order to purchase this land so he can obtain the hidden treasure. This story is comparable to Heaven Jesus said, the motherload of all treasures.<br /><br />This wise man went and sold all his earthly possessions in order to leverage his debt (spending power), so that he could buy this field and all that is hidden in it. My friend, Heaven is a real place. Jesus in this small passage of Scripture is teaching that we ought to do the same as this worldly wise man, by using all of our earthly money, resources and things for Jesus' sake and the gospels. Life is so short that it will literally all be over just in a matter of heartbeats. Your life and mine are counting down quickly.<br /><br />This does not mean that you ought to give all your money to your church; but rather, it means to use all that God has given to you for His glory, pleasure and purpose. There are thousands of ways to honor God with our substance. It pleases God when we by faith obey Him, taking heed according to His Word, that is, the holy Bible. <b>Psalms 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”</b> The day you got saved, everything you own became the Lord's, because He watches over your soul day and night as His child.<br /><br />Whatever golden opportunities that we may presently have to glorify God by reaching the lost for Christ with the gospel, praying and fasting, supporting missionary work, giving financially to the work of God, contending for the Christian faith, taking a stand for God, helping the poor and needy, visiting the captives in prison, lifting up the fallen, restoring the weak and living for OTHERS are quickly fading away. Time is of the essence!<br /><br />So oftentimes people go into massive financial debt to buy a home, a business, a boat, a car (or all of the above). They use what is called “debt-leveraging,” which means in simple terms, “borrowing to invest more.” You are leveraging your assets to enable you to make a greater investment in something else. In the case of our text Scripture, this man sold everything he owned, leveraging all his worldly wealth in order that he could buy this property with the hidden treasure that he had found.<br /><br />Here again, Jesus teaches what the Kingdom of Heaven is like:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><blockquote>Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”</blockquote></b></div>This merchant (buyer and seller) of pearls went and sold all his pearls so that he could purchase the mother-of-all-pearls which he had just found. The Lord is likening (comparing) this merchant's decision to go-for-broke to investing in Heaven. Most people (saved and unsaved alike) spend their entire lives leveraging their earthly assets to buy temporal things here on earth. Remember, you can't take any of it with you! You were born into the world with nothing, and you'll die and leave this world with nothing. <b>Proverbs 27:20, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”</b><br /><br />With these important truths in mind, it ought to become very clear to the reader that this earthly life isn't worth investing in. Life is like a car, that is, it's a depreciating asset from the moment that you drive it off the parking lot where you bought it. Albeit, Heaven is an eternal investment, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and neither do thieves break through and steal. This is what the Lord taught and promised in Matthew 6:19-20. We have but one life to live. Will you live it for Jesus?<br /><br />Don't lay up treasures and go into financial debt here on earth so that you can enjoy a better temporary lifestyle here on earth; but rather, lay up for your self eternal treasures in Heaven that will never erode away, nor can they be taken away from you for any reason. We leverage our debt for an eternal lifestyle through prayers, fastings, sharing the gospel (soul-winning) and all that we do in Jesus' precious name for His' sake and the gospel's.<br /><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Elliot">Jim Elliot</a> (1927-1956), the martyred American missionary to Ecuador in 1956 said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.” Elliot was one of five missionaries who went in an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador, but were instead brutally murdered by ten Huaorani soldiers and their dead bodies dumped into the local river. They died for their Christian faith. In America, we think persecution is someone laughing at a religious bumper sticker on our car. Around the world today in 2014, Christians are still being persecuted, prosecuted and martyred for their faith.<br /><br />The way that we view this temporal earthly life now, will determine our eternal lifestyle for ever. <b>Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” </b>Jesus told us to lay up treasures in Heaven. Our lifestyle in eternity as believers will be determined by our life now here on earth. Otherwise, what would be the use of laying up heavenly treasures? <b>Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”</b> If some believers will shine in eternity, then others won't. If some have laid up treasures, then the plain implication is that others haven't. Will you be one of the haves or have nots in eternity?<br /><br />Heaven is the mother load of all treasures and we as believers ought to be leveraging our debt by using everything that we own, our talents, our resources and influence to further the Kingdom of God. 'Tis only one life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last. If we're all going to have the same exact rewards in Heaven, then what's the use of Scriptures like <b>1st Corinthians 3:8, “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”</b> Clearly, God rewards the water boy on the spiritual playing field as much as the key players. God rewards the praying man as much as the preaching man, for time spent. God rewards labour and not talent.<br /><br />Everyone can serve God. Even the person locked behind bars or crippled in a wheelchair can fervently labour in prayer as taught in <b>Colossians 4:12, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” </b>Prayer is work!<br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />You Can't Take It With You!</span></b><br /><br />If we truly comprehended by faith the realities of the Kingdom Of God, then we would joyously use the money and things that we have in this temporary world for God's glory. Clearly, wise stewardship of all that God has given to us is expected. Literally, we are stewards who have been entrusted with God's money. If you are saved, then everything that you own is the Lord's. So if someone steals your things, they have stolen from the Lord, because you and everything that you own are His. Literally, God asks us to give back some of what HE GAVE TO US, and then He rewards us for it. What a great deal! What a fantastic deal!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/sermons/audio/jeff_owens/you_cant_take_it_with_you.mp3"><b><span style="font-size: large;">You Can't Take It With You!</span></b></a><br />(a life-changing MP3 sermon by Pastor Jeff Owens)</div><br />We cannot take anything with us when we die, but we CAN send it ahead. That is, it's not what we leave behind that matters; but rather, what will be waiting for us when we get to Heaven. Although Dr. John MacArthur is a liberal who <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/denying_blood/john_macarthurs_words.htm">denies that Jesus' blood is sprinkled on the heavenly Mercy Seat</a>, and he <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/lordship_salvation/making_salvation_hard.htm">teaches a Calvinistic works-based</a> false plan of salvation, still he makes the following awesome quote concerning the mammon of unrighteousness (Luke 16:8-9), with which I agree 100% . . .<br /><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">“Believers are to use their master's money (we are stewards) in a way that will accrue fruits for eternity, by investing in the kingdom gospel that brings sinners to salvation, so that when they arrive in Heaven (an everlasting home) those sinners will be there to welcome them.” —Pastor John MacArthur</blockquote>The people whom we lead to the Lord here on earth today, will be there to welcome and receive us into everlasting habitations tomorrow when we die, to enjoy our peaceful and happy home in Heaven forever with Jesus. What a time that will be!!! The story of the wise, but shady, servant who made friends of the mammon of unrighteousness for his own personal gain, is an example which the Lord uses to encourage us to do the same, but by DEBT-LEVERAGING EVERYTHING WE OWN FOR AN ETERNAL LIFESTYLE. Amen!<br /><br /><a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/missions/all_things_are_dung.htm">WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR GOD TODAY?</a> WE'LL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET BUSY FOR GOD!!! You can't take money to Heaven with you, but you can take souls, people. You know, you've never seen a U-Haul trailer hooked-up to the back of a hearse. You can't take it with you!<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">God Uses Money And Things To Test Our Affections</span></b><br /><br />God uses money and things to test our affections. <b>Colossians 3:1-3, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”<br /></b><br />The ungodly world only thinks in terms of dollars and cents. Everything is about money to them. <b>Ephesians 4:17, “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind... Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”</b> The heathen world will do anything for money. They are past (beyond) any feelings of guilt for being unethical, greedy and hurtful toward others by the way they make money.<br /><br />My friend, Heaven is a grand treasure, much more valuable than a giant precious pearl, and far more valuable and enduring than any earthly treasure that can only be enjoyed for a short time. Won't you invest with me in eternal things? There are so many things that you can do to invest in Heaven.<b> Mark 9:41, “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” </b>Even the Christian who buys coffee and refreshments for church gatherings, they will be rewarded by God in Heaven. You're doing something for the Lord. That's what Jesus just said. Mark 9:41 says that giving even a cup of water in a disciple's name will not go unrewarded. So even the things that we do to help OTHERS who are serving Christ will be fully rewarded in eternity.<br /><br />If you see someone who needs medical attention, but they cannot afford insurance, perhaps you can pay to get them care. Dr. Jack Hyles once met with a couple and the wife kept holding her hand by her mouth to hide her rotten teeth. Brother Hyles paid to have her teeth repaired. That's Christianity! <b>Philippians 2:4, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”</b> If you want to think like Jesus, then always consider the needs of OTHERS and live to fill them, especially their eternal need for hearing the gospel. We draw people into the Church with Christ's LOVE, and then we attach them to the TRUTH. Isn't that beautiful!<br /><br />Again, Mark 9:41 says that giving even a cup of water in a disciple's name will not go unrewarded. So even the things that we do to help OTHERS who are serving Christ will be fully rewarded in eternity. The eyes of the Lord behold the evil and the good, and no deed is ever overlooked, whether it be good or evil. My friend, let's get busy for Jesus Christ by looking for every possible opportunity to express God's love for our neighbours, co-workers, loved ones, friends and strangers alike, that we may exemplify our precious Lord “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">A Tremendous Biblical Principal To Learn</span></b><br /><br />Remember also that God only rewards us when we give to the poor who cannot return the favor. <b>Luke 14:12, “Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”</b> Please don't miss this important truth about giving.<br /><br /><b>Matthew 5:46, “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?”</b> If you buy things for people who can buy things to reciprocate your generosity, then the reward is negated. Ah, but when you give to those who cannot return your benevolence, then great is your reward in Heaven. This is exactly what the Bible teaches. If someone gives back the favor, you've lost that reward. This is why we are taught by Jesus Christ Himself in <b>Acts 20:35</b> that <b>“IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.”</b> Amen and amen! Jesus said to invite the blind, the deaf, the maimed (disabled), the mentally and physically challenged, the homeless, the poor and needy, the nobodies of society. Amen!!!<br /><br />So many foolish religious people errantly think that God is going to one day reward them for sending money to idiots like Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes or Joel Osteen—all shady ministers who profit hundreds-of-millions of dollars from the ministry. The word “minister” means servant. Jesus said that the greatest among you is supposed to be a servant. These televangelist thieves and greedy dogs exploit the Bible to make billions of dollars accumulatively from dumbed-down Americans. They scratch people's itching ears, telling the masses whatever makes them feel good about themselves and keeps them coming back for more.<br /><br />But you'll never hear them crying aloud against sin (Isaiah 58:1), sounding the alarm bells of judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Romans 1:32; Hebrews 9:27) and warning sinners of the eternal damnation (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 21:8; John 3:36) to come in the Lake of Fire for ever and ever (Revelation 20-11-15). Today's apostate televangelists will make you feel good all the way into the fires of Hell forever and ever. By the way, that's a demon's favorite activity, that is, making religious people feel comfortable without being born-again by the Spirit of God. They have churchianity without Christianity.<br /><br />So the Biblical formula to earn rewards in Heaven is to give here on earth to those who cannot recompense us; namely, the poor, the imprisoned, the homeless, the maimed, et cetera. <b>Matthew 19:21, “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”</b> <b>Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”</b><br /><br />Whereas it is normal for unregenerated, unsaved, heathen, people to steal in their greed, selfishness and dishonesty; the holy Bible teaches that as a Christian we ought to labour to spend our hard-earned money so that we may give to OTHERS who have needs. This is a Christlike attitude toward money. The world says to steal and horde for one's self; but the Bible says to earn and give away to OTHERS. <b>Ephesians 4:28, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”</b><br /><br />If the worldly wise man in our text verse was willing to leverage everything he owned to buy a field with earthly treasure; then how much more ought we be willing as children of God to leverage everything that we own in this world for the furtherance of the gospel, and to glorify the precious name of Jesus Christ by living for the needs of OTHERS. I'll close by repeating the famous quote from martyred missionary, Jim Elliot, who said: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/missions/world_at_our_doorstep.htm"><img height="125" src="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/missions/world_map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/missions/world_at_our_doorstep.htm"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The World At Our Doorstep!</span></b></a></div><br />Every New Testament Church should support missionaries. Since churches are composed of individual born-again believers, then every individual Christian ought to support missionaries as well. We ought to have a GLOBAL, REGIONAL (Acts 13:4; 2nd Corinthians 8:5) and LOCAL vision. <b>Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”</b></span>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-52621543771418412772022-10-20T18:25:00.001-07:002022-10-20T18:25:12.426-07:00Jesus' Promise Of Saints Doing Greater Works<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">John 14:12,13, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."</b></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/dr_jack_hyles.jpg" width="251" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)</span></b></span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>The following is chapter 31, "Prayer and Greater Works Than Jesus Did," from Dr. Jack Hyles' excellent book titled: "</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Exploring Prayer With Jack Hyles"...</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote>I have often used the first part of <i>John 14:12</i>; that is, <i>"the works that I do shall ye do also."</i> I have often tried to avoid the last part. I find it easy to shrink from it. I find myself not wanting to use such a term as doing <i>"greater works" </i>than Jesus did.<br /><br />I remember when I first pastored a church that was larger than my home church in Dallas, Texas, I felt a twinge of guilt and even sadness and perhaps loneliness as I realized that I was pastoring a church larger than the church in which I grew up. Multiply that by ten million and you will see my feelings concerning the statement, "greater works than these shall ye do." I find myself not wanting to do greater works than Jesus, but it is in the Bible, and I must face it. I must confess that I never understood that verse completely until recently when I was on an airplane. I had no commentary; I had no books with me except the Bible/ I was reading this passage. Suddenly it hit me! I shouted, "I know what that means! Praise the Lord!"<br /><br />The fellow beside me said, "What did you say?"<br /><br />I said, "Praise the Lord! Glory to God! I think I just found the meaning of John 14:12."<br /><br />With a puzzled look on his face he scratched his head and went back to his reading.<br /><br />Now let us examine the petals of this lovely orchid.<br /><br /><b>1. Jesus said that the Christian could do the works that He did. </b>What works did He do. <i>Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." I Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."</i> It is easy to see that Jesus sought the lost and came to save sinners. These are His works. The Bible says that we are to do those same works.<br /><br /><b>2. Who can do the works that Jesus did?</b> Notice in <i>John 14:12 the words, "He that believeth on Me." </i>This means the 60-year old that believeth on Him and the 6-year-old that believeth on Him. This means the adult that believeth on Him and the teenager that believeth on Him. This means the learned that believeth on Him and the unlearned that believeth on Him. This means the one who has been to Bible college who believeth on Him and the one who has never been to Bible college that believeth on Him. Every single believer is supposed to do the work that Jesus did, and we must be reminded that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That means that every Christian is to be a soul winner. Each Christian can be a soul winner and should be a soul winner, and if he is right with God, he is a soul winner. Soul winning is not a command given to the preacher behind the pulpit, but it is given to the layman in the pew, and to the Christian who is not in the pew but should be.<br /><br /><b>3. Notice a second promise: "Greater works than these." </b>Also notice why we can do<i> "greater works than these."</i> The answer is simple—<i>"because I go unto My Father."</i> It took me years to see this, and then one day, as I mentioned, on the airplane it dawned on me. Here are two promises and two conditions. The first promise is, <i>"The works that I do shall ye do also." </i>This is for those who believe on Jesus. This is for every Christian. However, there is something else available. <i>"Greater works than these." </i>We do the works that Jesus did because we believe on Him, but we can do greater works because He went to His Father.<br /><br />He went away so the Comforter could come, and through the power of the Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit, we may do greater works than these. Notice the first promise is, <i>"the works that I do shall ye do."</i> This is for all believers. The second promise is, <i>"greater works than these shall ye do."</i> This is for those who have the power of the Holy Spirit upon their lives, or shall we say, those who are Spirit-filled. Praise the Lord! Glory to God! Hallelujah! Bless His holy name! As a believer in Christ I can do the works that He did, but because He went to the Father and sent His holy Spirit, now in the energy of the Spirit-filled life I can do greater works than these.<br /><br /><b>4. Prayer is also a part of that greater works than these.</b> <i>John 14:13, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."</i> Notice the word "and." This connects it with the previous promise. It is talking about prayer. God is saying that if we live the Spirit-filled life and the prayer life, our works can be multiplied into the area of "great works."<br /><br />In conclusion, there are three conditions to these greater works:</blockquote></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote>(1) work,</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote>(2) Spirit-fulness, and </blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote>(3) prayer.</blockquote></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote>'Tis sad but true, some do only one of the three. Some work, but they do it in their own energy and do not live the prayer life. Some seek the fulness of the Holy Spirit but do not work and do not pray. Some believe they have been given the ministry of prayer only, but they know nothing about the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, nor do the work.<br /><br />Then there are some who do two of the three. They might seek the power of the Holy Spirit and pray but refuse to work. They might pray and work but not receive the power of the Holy Spirit. All three are necessary for a person to do greater works than these. Ah, what blessedness is found in these truths simply because I believe and I can do the same works that Jesus did! Did not the woman at the well upon her faith in Christ flee to the city to tell others about the Saviour? She was doing the same work that Jesus had just done with her, but there is more. There is the promise of greater works, and this promise hinges on three conditions—work, Spirit-fulness and prayer. My soul, my soul, my soul, what keeps us from shouting! What keeps us from running to the field to work, running to the closet to pray and falling on our faces to plead for and claim the fulness of the Holy Spirit!<br /><br /><a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/prayer/30.htm" style="font-weight: bold;">PREVIOUS</a><b> </b>|<b> </b><a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/prayer/32.htm" style="font-weight: bold;">NEXT</a> |<b> <a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/prayer/toc.htm">TABLE OF CONTENTS</a></b></blockquote><a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/prayer/toc.htm"></a></span></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-28897161705793029672022-09-30T13:49:00.021-07:002022-09-30T13:49:00.179-07:00I Am Happy In The Lord Because Of His Promises<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1st Peter 1:3-9, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of <u>Jesus Christ:</u></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u> Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:</u></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u> Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls</u>.”</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I continually rejoice as a redeemed child of God, with unspeakable joy in knowing that my name is written in Heaven. Where is my name written in Heaven? Why of course, it is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Jesus is the Lamb of God. <b>John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Not only is my name written in the Lamb's (Jesus') Book of Life, but my name</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Revelation 17:8, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, <u>whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world</u>, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></blockquote></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div><b><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; <u>but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven</u>.”</blockquote></b></div><div>As redeemed adopted children of God, we continually rejoice with UNSPEAKBEL JOY. That is inexplicable joy that we cannot express in words.</div><div><br /></div><div>If I seek happiness from circumstances without, then I cannot be happy unless the circumstances of my life are right. My former wife divorced me in 2006. I have painfully lived alone since. I am very lonely all the time, but God's Holy Spirit comforts me and helps me keep going from day to day. I had a root canal done in my upper left molar in February 2022. The procedure didn't go well. The tooth was saved, and an x-ray and 3D scan shows that everything is okay. The tooth is not cracked. It has healed well. Unfortunately, the tooth still hurts mildly and feels really weird all the time, especially at night. The endodontist said it is my ligament that connects the tooth to the jaw bone. He said my only options are to have to tooth extracted (pulled out), or just live with it. I have chosen to live with it, but I am not happy about it. I lost my home in the divorce and have bene renting since. I may never own a home on earth again, which makes me feel sad.</div><div><br /></div><div>But dear reader, my happiness comes from within, because of my joy that I am a child of God. I am not happy very often from without. I read online that only 12% of men who are aged 50 said they are happy. That means 88% are unhappy. That is because they seek happiness from outward stimuli. I'm not happy being in horrible bodily pain. I suffer in chronic neck pain all the time. I suffer from neuropathic burning in my body's nerves, because of my spinal cord injury. Happiness is what “happens” to you. I have been hurt, cheated, betrayed and defrauded by countless people throughout my life. I am not happy about that. My former wife divorced me in 2006 almost 17 years ago. I am not happy about that. I live alone and am lonely. My faith in God sustains me, but I admit that I am rarely a happy person.</div><div><br /></div><div>Having said that, I feel happy when I seek contentment from within, knowing that I am on the winning side in Christ Jesus. My website ministry makes me happy. I have joy contending for the faith, because I know it pleases God (Jude 1:3; Titus 1:9-14). I am not a miserable person. I feel happy in my soul, even though my life is not happy without being alone. Joy comes from within. I have peace and joy like a river flowing in my soul, because of God's indwelling Holy Spirit. The very presence of God's blessed Holy Spirit in me is my happiness and joy!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>JESUS IS MY JOY!!! The precious Lord Jesus Christ is my light, my peace, my joy, my strength and my salvation:</div><div><b></b><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b>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.</b><b> <u>But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. </u></b><b><u> And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water</u>, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”</b></blockquote><p>The man whose Bible is falling apart is not!</p><p>If you know that you've been born-again by the Holy Spirit of God into the Kingdom of God, then you ought to be exceedingly joyful. My happiness comes from within, from my joy.</p></div><div><b><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">1st Peter 1:8-9, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, <u>ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory</u>: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”</blockquote></b></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I receive many emails from web visitors who are utterly miserable. I always keep emails confidential. I tell people to start listening to Bible preaching every day. Get into the Word of God. I like to listen to Alexander Scourby on YouTube read the King James Bible. It is all free. You can hear the entire King James Bible in just 75 hours. <a href="https://youtu.be/lMLCM9ULM14" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You can hear the whole book of Proverbs in 1:28 hours</a>. We are need truth every day! God's Word is truth (John 17:17).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The many promises of God in His inspired Word make me happy in my bones. This old world of sin will soon pass away. Today's fashions will fade as the next generation comes onto the scene, just as yesterday's fashions have all faded away. In 1950 Hollywood actor Jackie Gleason was known as 'The Great One' around the world, but his name is now all but forgotten by the world (1st John 2:15-17). As believers we are pilgrims passing through here on earth, not settlers. Our permanent home is waiting for us in Heaven (John 14:1-3).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am listening to this great sermon right now by Pastor Yankee Arnold, which makes me happy to hear. THE TRUTH makes me happy!!! ...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7bM2uc5p5Mo" width="320" youtube-src-id="7bM2uc5p5Mo"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">SALVATION versus SERVICE</b><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">(Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold)</span></span></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-78790608541152268692022-09-16T16:44:00.001-07:002022-09-16T16:44:04.051-07:00God's Promise Of The Seal Of The Holy Spirit<span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ephesians 1:12-14, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.</b><b> In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,</b><b> Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”</b></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/dr_jack_hyles.jpg" /></div></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Before an animal could be declare fit for sacrifice or for food, he had to be examined. This was required to receive the seal of approval. If, for example, the animal was to be offered for a sacrifice, he was examined and approved by the priest. If he was without blemish and qualified for sacrifice, a seal or branding was placed on him to signify his acceptance.<br /><br />Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice. This is why He is called the LAMB OF GOD. <b>John 1:29, "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the LAMB OF GOD, Which taketh away the sins of the world." </b>These were the words of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who introduced Him first as God's sacrifice. There are many passages which point to Jesus as the LAMB OF GOD. <b>Revelation 7:14, "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the LAMB."</b> <b>Revelation 13:8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the LAMB slain form the foundation of the world." Revelation 19:7, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him; for the marriage of the LAMB is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." Revelation 21:9, 14, 27, "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the LAMB's wife. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of he LAMB. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the LAMB's book of life."</b><br /><br />Since Jesus was the Lamb of God, meaning that He was the complete, perfect sacrifice, He too must be examined and approved by God the Father. When man sinned, he was separated from God. God wanted that fellowship restored, but He could not do so unless His justice was satisfied. God's mercy said that He wanted to forgive man, but God's justice said that man could not be forgiven unless a suitable sacrifice was found. Christ offered Himself as that sacrifice, which means that the sacrifice of Christ as the as the Lamb of God was the only way that God could be merciful and just. It was the only way that God, within His righteousness, holiness and justice could receive man back to Himself. Since God wanted man's fellowship more than man wants God's fellowship, then Christ first died FOR GOD. It is often said that Christ died for us, but the main thing was that Christ died FOR GOD in order that God could accept us back, for Christ and Christ alone satisfied the righteous and holy demands of God!<br /><br />God approved His Son for sacrifice. That approval must be followed by a seal. That seal was the Holy Spirit. <b>John 6:27, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed."</b><br /><br />God announced His approval in <b>Matthew 3:17, "And lo a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." </b>It is interesting that at the same time that God announced His approval, the Holy Spirit was upon Jesus.<b> Matthew 3:16, "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him."</b> This simply fulfills the type that the sacrifice must be examined, approved and sealed. God accepted Christ as the perfect sacrifice. He declared His approval when He said, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." At the same time the Holy Spirit was upon Jesus in the form of a dove sealing Him as the only acceptable sacrifice for the sins of man.<br /><br />It must be remembered that the lamb was approved by the priest for sacrifice AND for food. Ah, what a beautiful picture! Not only is Jesus the sacrifice that God accepts and upon Whom God has placed His approval and His seal, that is the Holy Spirit; but Jesus is acceptable by God as a feast! We feast on Him. Notice <b>John 6:27, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed."</b> Notice especially the stress on "meat that perisheth." This meat that perished had to be approved and sealed by the priest. This meat that does not perish, even our Saviour, was approved by God and sealed by the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />When the Passover lamb was slain, he was approved. He was examined for four days, from the tenth day of the first month to the fourteenth day of the first month, after which he was offered. Then for seven days after he was killed, the families feasted upon the sacrificed lambs. Hence, the lamb was approved for sacrifice and for food. Praise the Lord, our Saviour is the only acceptable sacrifice approved by God and sealed by the Holy Spirit. He also is the only approved One on Which we can feed in order that wed might grow in grace.<br /><br />We shall see that there is another sacrifice that has been approved by God and sealed by the Holy Spirit. When a person comes to Christ, he is accepted by the Father in Christ. His faith is counted for righteousness. <b>Romans 4:5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." </b>God then sees the believer clothed in the righteousness of Christ, declares him blameless, without blemish. This is the doctrine of justification. God declared the believer as righteous as Jesus Christ, for He sees him clothed in Christ's righteousness, and his standing before God is just as if he had never sinned. This does not mean that the believer lives a life above sin; it means that he stands before God blameless because he has had the righteousness of Christ imputed to him in response to his faith in the finished work of Calvary.<br /><br />This makes the believer fit for sacrifice, for he has been accepted. The believer's sacrifice, however, is not that of offering himself to die as did his Saviour, but rather offering himself to live for his Saviour! This is called a LIVING SACRIFICE. <b>Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." </b>No one is fit to become this sacrifice until he has first become inspected and examined. This examination is done after the believer has put on Christ and is wearing His imputed righteousness. He immediately receives the seal, which is the Holy Spirit. <b>Ephesians 1:13, "In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." II Corinthians 1:21, "Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God."</b> Now that the believer has been examined and declared righteous, he is fit for sacrifice, and God will accept his living sacrifice as holy and acceptable by God. The Holy Spirit is this seal, and as such, is called the earnest of our salvation.<b> Ephesians 1:14, "Which is the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory."</b> This word "earnest" means that the Holy Spirit seals us and becomes the downpayment for our salvation. When a downpayment is made, it is forfeited if the payment is not made in full, so when God allowed the Holy Spirit to seal us and become the earnest (downpayment) for our salvation, He was risking the unity of the Godhead on the security that the believer has in Christ. If one justified person could lose his salvation, then the Godhead would lose His unity.<br /><br />This seal of the Holy Spirit is for eternity. It remaineth even in the end time. <b>Revelation 9:4, "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads." </b>The only ones that will be preserved will be those who have the seal.<br /><br />In some amusement parks when a person pays for his ticket, he receives a mark on his hand that is not visible unless it is placed under the right light. He wears this mark. When he presents himself for a ride or other entertainment, this mark, invisible unless it is under the light, is presented, which means the price has been paid for his admission. Thanks be to God, even when Jesus comes again, we will be sealed by Him. Though that seal is unseen by man, the seal (the Holy Spirit) is seen in the light of eternity, and we are declared as His! The seal of eternal divine ownership shall be worn by the believer for eternity! Hallelujah!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/meet_the_holy_spirit/28.htm">PREVIOUS</a> | <a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/meet_the_holy_spirit/30.htm">CHAPTER THIRTY</a> </span><span style="font-size: large;">| </span><a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/books/jack_hyles/meet_the_holy_spirit/toc.htm" style="font-size: large;">TABLE OF CONTENTS</a></div></span></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-7689665612511775022022-07-17T18:12:00.010-07:002022-07-17T18:12:00.180-07:00We Groan In This Earthly Body With Our Burdens<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">2nd Corinthians 5:4-10, “<u>For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened</u>: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (<u>For we walk by faith, not by sight</u>:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 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.”</b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am often reminded of the simple yet profound small phrase in<b> 2nd Corinthians 5:7, </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">(<u>For we walk by faith, not by sight</u>:)</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> What a beautiful truth! I don't know about you, but there have been umpteen times in my life when I just didn't feel like praying anymore. In my utter frustration I said: </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">God, I'm done praying! Why should I keep praying when you never answer my prayers?</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">” What I was doing is walking BY SIGHT, when I should have been walking BY FAITH. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One of my favorite Gospel preachers is Evangelist Lester Roloff (1914-1982), </span><a href="https://www.soulwinning.info/sermons/bro_roloff/job.htm" style="font-family: helvetica;" target="_blank">who said</a><span style="font-family: helvetica;">: “You're going to have to learn to "faith" Him when you can't feel Him.” Amen!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Apostle Paul said in our text passage that we all GROAN IN THIS TABERNACLE. Paul is speaking about our human body, which he likens to a tabernacle (a temporary tent). The apostle says that as believers we look forward to the future with confidence, KNOWING that once our earthly body is no longer able to house our soul and spirit, we will BE WITH THE DEAR LORD. Halleluiah! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Therefore, Paul says that we labor to PLEASE THE LORD, knowing that we we someday stand at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (2nd Corinthians 5:10-11). Oh how we have such a great responsibility as God's children to serve Him. It is not required to get to Heaven, but serving God is our reasonable service.<b> Romans 12:1, “</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, <u>which is your reasonable service</u>.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>” </b>What saith the Scripture? </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>1st Corinthians 6:20, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you groan dear reader? Sure you do, and so do I. As a pastor I receive countless emails from hurting people. One dear lady recently told me that her adult daughter is talking about suicide. Another dear man just found out that a MRI brain scan came back positive (i.e., negative results). He asked me to pray for him, and I am doing just that! All we have is each other. If we don't pray for each other, then who will? We need each other's prayers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Americans are confused like never before. They are tired. People are weary with all the insane gender-bending garbage, feminism, homosexuality, gender reassignment surgery for children, et cetera. These demonic agendas are being forced on young people by ungodly liberals lurking in social media, the entertainment industry and in the Devil's public schools. This country needs a revival toward the holy God of the inspired King James Bible. We need Bible-preaching like never before!!! The weak-kneed, shallow, neo-evangelical, wimpy, watered-down, theologically deficient and lame sermons being given in mega-churches today are impotent, woefully lacking the power of God's Holy Spirit to change lives. There is no Holy Spirit conviction anymore in churches, because there is no preaching against sin.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr_Harry_Ironside/Except_Ye_Repent/16.htm" target="_blank">The Preaching That Produces Repentance</a></span></b></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;">(chapter 16 from the classic book by Pastor Harry A. Ironside, "<a href="https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr_Harry_Ironside/Except_Ye_Repent/toc.htm" target="_blank">Except Ye Repent</a>")</div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We all have burdens that make us GROAN! I sure do. I was severely rear-ended by a church bus (of all things...lol) in 1992, which messed up my neck for life. I suffered severe whiplash that over time caused my neck to develop Cervical Degenerative Disk Disease by 2004. I then fell at work, which worsened my injury, causing sharp radiating pain down my arms and legs (mostly my right side). I reluctantly underwent two neck surgeries in 2009 and again in 2010, the second of which made me 100% worse. Unfortunately, my agonizing chronic neck pain is HEAR TO STAY. You better believe that I GROAN!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To make matters much worse, the cruel U.S. government is so incompetent, that they cannot figure out a way to get the much needed prescription pain medications, to those who genuinely need it (like me). So I needlessly suffer 24/7 from horribly neck pain, in the bony area of the back of my neck, which feels just like a horrible, bone-gnawing, toothache all the time. It prevents me from carrying on normal conversations with people. I often have to apologize for not being able to listen without putting my head down, squinting my eyes in response to the acute stuff tension and pain in my neck. It feels like a gold ball in my neck, pressing on my spinal cord. The doctors whom I have consulted about this diagnosed me with a pinched spinal cord (stenosis and radiculitis). Consequently, I have neuropathic nerve burning, especially in my arms and upper body, which makes me GROAN!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But praise the Lord, God is always good. I thank God that I can walk, drive and take care of myself, because a lot of disabled people can't. Whenever I get discouraged, I am reminded of this poor girl, <a href="https://youtu.be/fFua9-Rc4pw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Katie Stubblefield, who attempted suicide at age 17</a>, but blew her face off instead. She was a very gorgeous young woman, but another female student in high school hurt her feelings deeply. Like me and a lot of people, Katie is intensely passionate about her feelings, so she over-reacted (I've done that more times than I can remember). That is why I will NEVER own a gun. No way Jose!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That is also why I have never started drinking booze. It will NEVER happen. You cannot become a drunk if you don't take the first drink. Amen and amen! I wish Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D) would stop teaching young people not to drink and drive. That is a very wrong message! If you drink booze, at some point you WILL drive! A much better message is that: <i>You cannot become an alcoholic, if you don't take the first sip of beer!</i> There is no need or reason to drink alcohol, except that people like to get buzzed and drunk. Alcohol has been a menace to every society since the begging of human civilization.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I often claim the PROMISE of God in the following Scripture passage:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b>Philippians 3:17-21, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: <u>Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself</u>.”</b></blockquote></div></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love that PROMISE! Jesus, who raised the dead back to life, will someday give IMMORTALITY to every believer. I can't wait! KNOWING this truth comforts me greatly as I GROAN in my bodily pain, discomfort and suffering. God will someday rectify all wrongs! </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So when you GROAN dear child of God, as we all do, hurting emotionally and physically in your body and soul, KNOW that this suffering is only temporal. What saith the Scripture? </span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Romans 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.”</b><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now, dear friend, if you have never been born-again by placing your childlike trust in the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen from the dead the third day, then you desperately need to get saved right now. You need to settle the matter of your eternal destiny right now, while you still can.<b> Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> Today might be your last day on earth.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To be saved, you must know some facts. First, you must know that you are a guilty sinner (Romans 3:19-20). There is a penalty for our sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). This includes a second death, burning in the fires of Hell for all eternal without hope, rest or end (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8). But the GOOD NEWS (or, GOSPEL) is that God sent His only begotten (biological) Son, Jesus, into the world to die on a cross to pay for our sins (John 3:16). Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, in whom anyone who places their trust (total confidence) is saved (John 20:31). What saith the Scripture? ...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b></b></span><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Moreover, brethren, <u>I declare unto you the gospel</u> which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> <u>By which also ye are saved</u>, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There we have it, THE GOSPEL:</span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus DIED on the cross for our sins.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">He was BURIED.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Christ resurrected physically from the dead three days later.</span></li></ol></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you'll simply BELIEVE this Good news, making it your own by faith in it, you will be immediately, irrevocably and forever born-again by God's Holy Spirit. <b>Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>And they said, <u>Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved</u>, and thy house.</b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>”</b> Paul and Silas extended the invitation to the Roman jailer's entire family. God desires to save all men (2nd Peter 3:9), but will </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">only </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-weight: bold;">SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>” (1st Corinthians 1:21b).</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Simply BELIEVE the Gospel friend and God will save you. Just receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He died in your place and raised up three days later from the dead, by faith taking God at His Word as recorded in the Holy Bible, and He will save you now. Thank you for reading my blog.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDLjA_fjw4mQ1Kto9upHifkmgVT7blRhmAFgyOyTrMy8_Rqbw6jbrpe9H_4x1yiUgcoRg9QYGtBzIZ0-jHcQD5K4xQJoy_9b5LfiHa4YIFvzg1Fk4J3jqegPUZsO_uS6NGE4ujvzY1AIrlb4y7XFNLJRIvj4-XqBumYpbxW8TJmxJggGyYPCGXtx-/s436/hell_horror_forever.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="436" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDLjA_fjw4mQ1Kto9upHifkmgVT7blRhmAFgyOyTrMy8_Rqbw6jbrpe9H_4x1yiUgcoRg9QYGtBzIZ0-jHcQD5K4xQJoy_9b5LfiHa4YIFvzg1Fk4J3jqegPUZsO_uS6NGE4ujvzY1AIrlb4y7XFNLJRIvj4-XqBumYpbxW8TJmxJggGyYPCGXtx-/w400-h320/hell_horror_forever.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-21443106439103090442022-07-15T13:49:00.000-07:002022-07-15T13:49:22.573-07:00God's Promise Of Eternal Life By Faith Alone<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;">1st John 3:8-9, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. <u>Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God</u>.”</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></b></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, <u>that grace may abound</u>?”</b></div></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />Dear reader, the reason WHY we cannot sin as God's redeemed children is simply because there is no law to sin against anymore!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b>Romans 3:19-26, “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. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. <u>But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe</u>: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”</b></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We are not saved by fulfilling the righteous of the law (which no one has has achieved); but rather, we are saved by the imputed righteousness of God, which is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. God's righteousness is given to ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE!!! <b>Romans 3:22, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon <u>all them that believe</u>: for there is no difference:” </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Amen and amen. Whether Jew or Gentile, God saves (by His own righteousness) ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So when we choose to sin as believers, no sin is counted (imputed) against us by God. <b>Romans 4:6-7, “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. </b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin</u>.</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> When a child of God sins, even the most heinous and offensive crimes against another human being, God's grace abounds, so that no sin is ever imputed to that person.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am aware of a handful of Christians who are either serving life sentences in prison for committing unthinking crimes, or they are serving decades behind bars in a correction center for their crimes, or have already served much time incarcerated for their crimes. They all have a felony criminal record here on earth. But I tell you upon the authority of the inspired Word of God, that if they are truly saved they have NO RECORD in Heaven!!! Despite being despised by humans upon the earth for the rest of their natural lives, in God's sight they are as sinless, perfect and pure as wool, having no sins counted (imputed) to them in Heaven.<b> Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”</b></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">No convicted criminal here on earth has a rap sheet up in Heaven. <b>Psalms 103:12, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;"><u>As far as the east is from the west</u>, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”</b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Do you know why the Bible says </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“east is from the west” and not “north is from the south”? It is wonderfully because east and west never meet! You can travel the direction east for eternity, but you will never find west. Likewise, you can walk, bike, swim and fly west forever, but you will never find east. But you can only travel as far as the north pole until you will be going south. And you can only make it down to the continent of Antarctica before at some point you'll be heading up north again. I LOVE THAT TRUTH!!! What our great forgiving God is saying is that once He pardons our sins by faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, they are gone, gone, gone forever!!! <b>Micah 7:18, “</b></span><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.”</b></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><div></div><blockquote><div>Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!</div><div>Now ransomed from sin and a new work begun</div><div>Sing praise to the Father and praise to the Son</div><div>Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!</div><div>Glory, I’m saved! Glory, I’m saved!</div><div>My sins are all pardoned, my guilt is all gone!</div><div>Glory, I’m saved! . . .</div></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So let's look at our text passage of Scripture again:</span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><b>1st John 3:8-9, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. <u>Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God</u>.”</b></blockquote></span><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">No child of God can sin, because there is no law to sin against anymore. The moment that we accepted Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior (which I did at age 13 in 1980, in Chicago at an old-fashioned Baptist church, on a beautiful sunny summer morning), God forever removed us from under the power and curse of the Old Testament law. We were then, now and forever under GOD'S SAVING GRACE!!! So it is true that when we sin as saints (and we do each day), we FALL IN GRACE, but never FALL FROM GRACE.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The only way to fall “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">from grace</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> is to trust in the Devil's heresies of Lordship Salvation (which is Calvinism), or think that you must forsake sinful behavior to be saved (which is trying to be justified by keeping the Old Testament law), or trusting in some other forms of partial faith in Christ plus works.<b> Galatians 5:4, </b></span><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span></b></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I read some helpful words recently, in one of my favorite books authored by Evangelist Michael P. Bowen, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> on pages 51-52:</span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">A surefire way to success in the Christian business is to present a false plan of salvation that sounds like the real thing. Satan will then bless the ministry financially so that masses of people will buy into the lie that he, the father of lies himself, has been propagating ever since he brainwashed Cain with murderous jealousy toward Abel over God’s denial of his harvested offering and His acceptance of his brother’s animal offering. It does not matter how successful a false ministry may become over time because that success is not a measure of God’s blessings upon that ministry. For instance, let us examine Jesus’ temptation while fasting at the beginning of His ministry. Satan tempted Christ to show off His power by throwing Himself from a high place knowing all along that He would not sustain injuries from that fall. Satan also tried to make Christ turn stones into bread. And Satan also offered to give Christ ruling power over earthly kingdoms. You see, Satan had the power to give Christ all the kingdoms and wealth of the world if He would just bow down and worship him. In a similar manner, Satan has the power to bless financially all the ministries that promote false plans of salvation for the sole purpose of making people think they are saved by living the Christian Lifestyle without ever actually being born again in the first place. It is a most cruel form of deception from which few are ever rescued, no matter how many times they hear the true plan of salvation after they have been indoctrinated by this satanic deception; likewise, those who trust in CBN’s plan of salvation, rather than in Christ’s plan of salvation, are at a tremendous disadvantage and are apt never to pay attention to what the Lord Himself says about being born again because they have been convinced by satanic deception, i.e., the “genuine warmth and compassion of the voices and the faces to which they are drawn” that, in reality, only draws them away from Christ’s simple, solitary requirement of “belief in Him alone,” and toward the false path of instructing them to commit their lives to Christ in discipleship “in addition to” partial faith in what Jesus did for them at the cross, despite the fact that Robertson contradicts himself with his own words initially when he says outright that our own efforts do not count toward this gift of salvation; yet, because he employs a bait-and-switch technique that first says “no works” and then subtly “adds works” later in his fourstep process, thereby canceling Christ’s grace with the corruption of human works, Robertson’s gospel is not the true gospel of the bible. It is a counterfeit gospel; it will never save those who place their trust in it. </blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><b>“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” (Revelation 20:11-15).</b></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">That is the sad reality of adding human works to God’s grace, yet, of course, you are free to choose this day whom you will believe.</blockquote><p></p><blockquote>SOURCE: <span style="font-family: helvetica;">Evangelist Michael P. Bowen, “<a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/i_never_knew_you.pdf" target="_blank">I NEVER KNEW YOU</a>,”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> pp. 51-52</span> </blockquote><p></p></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I couldn't have said it any better myself. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. There is a fine line between faith and foolishness. The woeful danger of embellishing THE GOSPEL with extra add-ons (e.g., turn from your sin, invite Christ into your life, make Jesus the supreme “</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Lord</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">”</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> of your life, surrender control of your life to Christ, follow Jesus, invite Jesus into your heart, repent of your sins, count the cost and pay the price, live a lifestyle of repentance, forsake the old sinful ways, persevere in holiness, run the Christian race faithfully to the end of life, publicly confess Christ, get water baptized, et cetera) is that the Devil knows you CANNOT GET BORN-AGAIN by doing any or all of those things!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What is THE GOSPEL taught in the Holy Bible? I'm glad that you asked by dear friend...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1st Corinthians 15:1-6, “Moreover, brethren, <u>I declare unto you the gospel</u> which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;</b><b> By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.</b><b> For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, <u>how that Christ died for our sins</u> according to the scriptures;</b><b> And that <u>he was buried</u>, and that <u>he rose again the third day</u> according to the scriptures:</b><b> And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:</b><b> After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”</b></div></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There you have it, right from the inspired King James Bible:</span></div><div><ol><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jesus DIED on the cross for our sins.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">He was BURIED.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Christ physically RESURRECTED three days later.</span></li></ol></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Anyone who comes to God as a confessed guilty sinner (i.e., seeing his need for redemption), and places childlike faith (trust, confidence) in Jesus (the only begotten Son of God, the Christ) is saved. It is that simple. <b>John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”</b> If you are born-again, then you CAN sin with impunity (i.e., live like the Devil without jeopardizing your position in Christ as God's adopted child) as far as eternal life is concerned, because you've been born of God. <b>Romans 5:20-21, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDlCGn8yncodFaK0mSH9Wc8R3Ra0P_FLNiDc356TAPXaL_SZ41KCtJnEkS4pwrxz2VO_NSZvc9xOIDRLcgyb4FNQ2DiHKB3aTJLxrqXdukLSj4PMBAubheDDAy7vGi6FCjNJGWGx5-hZiVnOkkZd93G2NVFUTJ9MZaKYrYKX_1cFvj3Zgeayf7MZh/s960/the_gospel_is.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="685" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDlCGn8yncodFaK0mSH9Wc8R3Ra0P_FLNiDc356TAPXaL_SZ41KCtJnEkS4pwrxz2VO_NSZvc9xOIDRLcgyb4FNQ2DiHKB3aTJLxrqXdukLSj4PMBAubheDDAy7vGi6FCjNJGWGx5-hZiVnOkkZd93G2NVFUTJ9MZaKYrYKX_1cFvj3Zgeayf7MZh/w285-h400/the_gospel_is.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3JCDNw01L1IEVVH7YE3r3SpMGSV5ZlzdsLr08o4thJGejYts6SkYWhOp0SQEJeXxF6s7RjHVqxPZdG_UevH7Sc6Fbvl3ictHH8n8SuaMwZQEJ221aw_pSKjuTsgpV98YyyDg32hqqX9rodIxXegqb85S4b_5cUb9ctriwlgvcZvMrRucd4BDwHsg/s843/the_thief_on_the_cross_could_look.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="843" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3JCDNw01L1IEVVH7YE3r3SpMGSV5ZlzdsLr08o4thJGejYts6SkYWhOp0SQEJeXxF6s7RjHVqxPZdG_UevH7Sc6Fbvl3ictHH8n8SuaMwZQEJ221aw_pSKjuTsgpV98YyyDg32hqqX9rodIxXegqb85S4b_5cUb9ctriwlgvcZvMrRucd4BDwHsg/s320/the_thief_on_the_cross_could_look.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755247547375360074.post-19321740477245102452022-07-01T07:48:00.002-07:002022-07-01T07:48:09.635-07:00Abiding In The Promises Of God<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>2nd Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”</b></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />The Word of God is a book filled with PROMISES from God. As Christian believers, life doesn't become any easier for us, but it is better because we can go to the blessed holy Scriptures and claim the PROMISES of God day-by-day and moment-by-moment. Literally, the Bible contains THOUSANDS of PROMISES from God.<br /><br />In his classic 1962 book titled “All The Promises Of God,” Dr. Herbert Lockyer (1886-1984) says that Professor Everett R. Storm concluded that the Holy Bible contains <a corner="" href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer" promises.htm="" s="">7,487 PROMISES</a> made by God to man:<br /><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">The word “promise” appears more than 100 times in sacred scripture. One thousand promises are listed in “What the Bible Says about Praise and Promise.” Thousands more are listed in Samuel Clarke's two-hundred-year-old classic, “Precious Bible Promises.” Some have suggested that there may be as many as 30,000 promises contained in Scripture. Herbert Lockyer, in his volume “All the Promises of the Bible,” tells the story of Everett R. Storms, a schoolteacher in Canada, who made a detailed study of promises.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to “Time,” Storms, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, reckoned the figure of 30,000 to be too high (since it is roughly the number of verses making up the Bible: 31,173). During his twenty-seventh reading of the Bible, a task which took him a year and a half, Storms came up with a grand total of 8,810 promises (7,487 of them being promises made by God to humankind).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">SOURCE: Knowles, Victor (1998); "<a href="http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1769&context=leaven">Promise and Fulfillment: Believing the Promises of God</a>"; “Leaven: A Journal Of Christian Ministry” (Volume 6, Issue 3, Article 4)</div></blockquote>My friend, when life gets difficult, and bad things happen, and you feel like you cannot face another day, and you cannot see your hand in front of your face, and it seems that all hope is gone—CLAIM THE PROMISES OF GOD!!!<br /><br />For example: When I am in physical pain and suffering, wishing that this earthly life would hurry up, or the Lord would return today, I am reminded of God's PROMISE of a new body in <b>Philippians 3:21, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”</b> What a beautiful PROMISE!!!<br /><br />When someone hurts my feelings and ruins my day, I am reminded of the Lord's PROMISE that the day will come when no one will ever rob my joy away again in <b>John 16:22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.”</b></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And then I am reminded of the Lord's encouraging words and PROMISE in <b>John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” </b>Because Jesus has overcome sin and death through the cross of Calvary, and His glorious bodily resurrection, we as believers can rejoice in knowing that God has already made all things right. I have eternal life NOW. I am already a citizen of Heaven and a member of God's family, presently. I don't hope, I HAVE A HOPE!!!<br /><br />When someone cheats me, or does evil against me, I remember God's PROMISE to avenge me in <b>Romans 12:18-21, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”</b> Romans 12:19 reminds us of a PROMISE God made back in the Old Testament in <b>Deuteronomy 32:35, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.”</b> As the rainbow signifies each time we see one: GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES!!!<br /><br />I am commanded not to seek revenge nor harm those who wrong me, because God will deal with them accordingly. This doesn't mean that we ought not have criminals prosecuted, God forbid, lest they go hurt someone else. In matters of civil court, the Bible commands us not to sue our Christian brethren (1st Corinthians 6:6-7). Some believers think that the Bible is teaching for us as Christians to resolve felony criminal matters outside of the law, but this often brings reproach upon the name of the Christ and the church, making it look like church leaders tried to cover-up and protect the guilty. I believe that 1st Corinthians 6:6-7 is speaking of civil matters involving money, agreements and property, et cetera; which if either party were a good Christian, the matter could reasonably be resolved outside of court. Although our court system in America is one of the most unfair, unjust, hypocritical, bribable and merciless in history, we as Christians are still subject unto the higher powers which ultimately are ordained by God (Romans 13:1-3).<br /><br />As quoted earlier, I believe God's PROMISE in Romans 12:19 refers to when the law fails, and there are situations outside of the law where we can do nothing, or being cheated by a Christian brother, or even something as seemingly trifle as people deliberately wounding our feelings (people can be very cruel), when we ought to trust God's PROMISE that He will hold all men and women accountable for their deeds (Ecclesiastes 12:14), their words (Matthew 12:36), and their very thoughts and intentions (Proverbs 24:12). No one is going to get away with anything wrong, evil or hurtful (Romans 14:10-12). 1st Thessalonians 4:6 PROMISES that God will avenge a defrauded brother or sister. Hebrews 4:13 teaches that all things are naked and open before the eyes of God, our Judge. When we all die, we will fall into God's hands (Hebrews 10:31).<br /><br />Another wonderful PROMISE from God to every believer is found in <b>John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”</b> Everybody needs to have their own space, a place to call “home,” where they can be alone and enjoy their life. The Lord Jesus PROMISED that He would go and prepare a place for each and every Christian believer, so that where He is, we may be also. I love that PROMISE from God. I want to live where Jesus lives. I want a home in gloryland where the saints abide. Amen!<br /><br />We often hear preachers saying that the Holy Bible has all the answers, but many people don't understand how that works. They don't see the connection between their daily problems and the Word of God. Well, I am telling you now what that connection is... IT IS THE PROMISES OF GOD!!! Whatever your need may be, there is a PROMISE from God that you can claim to give you the COMFORT and HOPE promised in Romans 15:4. All of the Old Testament biographies of the saints were given to us, according to Romans 15:4, to give us COMFORT and HOPE. <b>Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”</b><br /><br />We have the benefit of examining the lives of Old Testament saints—seeing their problems, struggles and life's woes—but we have the privilege of seeing their future, where it all ended, and how it all worked out for eternal good at the end. God was faithful to everyone of them! No Christian who feared the Lord lost out when it was over. Even wicked Solomon, who built high places for his several hundred heathen wives to abort their children to Moloch, still went to Heaven. Wicked Samson chased unholy skirts, having sex with harlots (Judges 16:1). </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Samson ended up literally blinded, as a slave in the house of the Philistines, being mocked for sport. Samson commit suicide and took a couple thousand Philistines with him into death. Yet, Samson was a just man, washed in the sin-cleansing blood of Jesus, who is now enjoying the splendors of Heaven. Surely, the tears will flow at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and rewards will be lost (1st Corinthians 3:15; 2nd Corinthians 5:9-11), but no Christian is in danger of hell-fire.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />I was thinking today how foolish the unbelieving world is. George Carlin (1937-2008) is the atheist's hero. I heard former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura (real name: James Janos) say, “My religion is the religion of George Carlin.” That is so sad and tragic. Mr. Carlin was a fool, who rejected the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and is doomed to eternal damnation in the fires of Hell beneath. Atheists are lazy, they like to piggy-back on the blasphemy and rants of famous atheists who make their best attempt to destroy God in their own minds. <b>Romans 1:28, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”</b> In eternity, professed atheists are going to feel like jackasses, when they realize that they followed a fool like George Carlin to his everlasting fiery damnation. We are all born into this world as INDIVIDUALS, and we will die as INDIVIDUALS, and we will stand before God in judgment as an INDIVIDUAL (Romans 14:10-12).<br /><br />Oh my friend, here is a PROMISE for you.<b> Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” </b>Before God ever spoke the universe into existence, and before God ever formed the first man, He knew mankind would fall into sin, and He lovingly and mercifully made plans to redeem mankind, securing the PROMISE of eternal life. R<b>evelation 13:8, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”</b> Whereas man lives within the creation of time, God dwells in eternity, which transcends time and space. Thankfully, God doesn't expect us to understand how things work, He just asks us to trust Him, BELIEVING on the name of Jesus Christ to be saved. <b>John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”</b><br /><br />A fairly recent religious film (2006) titled “Facing The Giants,” propagates a health, wealth and prosperity message. Although the film is well made, I didn't like it because of the false notion it sends to people that if you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, everything in your life will begin to flourish. At the beginning of the movie, the main character (Grant Taylor, a husband and coach) is in financial struggles. His wife (Brooke Taylor) cannot get pregnant, and a doctor's visit reveals that he is physically unable to conceive. The film shows the couple struggling with everyday problems; such as the kitchen sink won't drain, and they are broke. The coach's team consistently loses every game they play. The film portrays Grant Taylor (played by Alex Kendrick) as a loser.<br /><br />But then, Grant surrenders his life to Jesus in the film, and all of a sudden his wife is pregnant, and someone gives him a brand new Ford F-130 pickup truck, his team becomes the state champions and Grant receives a $6,000 a year raise and promotion. Hooray, Jesus made me rich, prosperous and healthy!!! Oh yeah, I want to become a Christian too, money, money, money!!! yeah, isn't it great to be a Christian and everything will be great for ever again. Yeah!!! What crap!!! This is nothing but the health, wealth and prosperity BULL CRAP of <a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/700_club.htm">The 700 Club</a> with evil charlatans Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson and Terry Meeuwsen. The 700 Club has been promoting the Charismatic Movement since 1966. Pat Robertson has an estimated net worth of approximately $200,000,000 and some say much higher!!! Man of God? Jesus warned that NO MAN can serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13).<br /><br />Beware of the demonic Charismatic Movement—who falsely claim the power to heal the sick, deceitfully promise to bring wealth to those who give them “seed” money, falsely guarantee to bring prosperity to those who support them, and wickedly bilk elderly widows out of all their money. Benny Hinn's $100,000,000 income a year is blood money!!! Hinn's personal net worth is an estimated $42,000,000!!! The Bible teaches that as believers we live BY FAITH, not BY SIGHT.<b> 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” </b>The give-to-get philosophy is living by sight, and it is carnal. Living-by-faith means giving to the work of the Lord, without expecting anything in return.<br /><br />The Lord has PROMISED to return whatever we invest in the Kingdom of God an hundredfold, both in this life and the next; He never promised health, wealth and prosperity, but the family of God (Mark 10:30). An hundredfold is 100 times what we invest, so if you give $100 God PROMISES to return $10,000. But I find nothing in the Scriptures which promises financial prosperity in this earthly life. I know that God will reward every good deed that we do as born-again believers (2nd Corinthians 5:10). Jesus PROMISED to reward even a cup of water given to a disciple in Jesus' name. <b>Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”</b><br /><br />By God's grace and Holy Spirit power, there are literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people around the world who've been saved through the influence of my online labors since 2002. Christians cannot save anybody, but the Lord works through believers (in a ministry of reconciliation) as His children to reach others with the Gospel message. My greatest reward are those souls who've been saved and challenged to serve the Lord through my influence for Christ. Whatever good this ministry has accomplished, I attribute to God's Holy Spirit working through me as His child and humble servant. I am here to spend and be spent for you. <b>2nd Corinthians 12:15, “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”</b><br /> <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Foolishness Of Investing In This Temporary Life</span></b><br /><br />I'm tired of hearing people on the radio talk about the importance of laying up earthly treasures for retirement, without ever addressing the reality that death could come at any moment. People ought to be concerned about the fate of their soul, and not obsessed with buying gold and silver for the future. Aren't people so foolish? There's nothing in this world that you can take with you into eternity, except the lives who were impacted by your labors, prayers, witnessing and influence for Jesus Christ. ...<br /><blockquote>“Only one life, ’twill soon be past,<br />Only what’s done for Christ will last.<br />And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,<br />If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”<br />—Charles T. Studd (1860-1931)</blockquote>The average person in America is boggled down with materialism. The heathen world lives for personal success, prosperity and trying to get ahead of their neighbour. Nearly everyone desires financial security and the freedom to live their life free of obligation to a job or schedule. This is why youth go to college, so they can secure a stable career, and retire with amassed wealth, to enjoy their retirement and have the freedom to travel and do all the things they've always wanted to do. I hear advertisement on the radio, luring people to invest every penny possible for retirement, not even considering that our very breath is in God's hands. <b>Daniel 5:23b, “...the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.” </b>At some point in life, every reasonable person eventually realizes the foolishness and vanity of living for this world's good, pleasures and wealth.<br /><br />In reality, there are hundreds of bad things that can happen (and usually do) which devour your wealth, health and retirement. When the dwindling steel industry collapsed (due to the evils of deindustrialization in America), even the institutions which were created to protect the retirements of the workers went belly-up, and they lost everything!!! The steel workers lost their medical insurance and the money which they had laboured day and night to earn for 40-50 years. No one went to prison, but many crooks should have. God will make them pay dearly!!! The point here is simple, Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19-20 not to laying up treasures in this world where thieves break through and steal (the biggest thieves wear white collars and sit behind desks).<br /><br />Jesus said in Matthew 6 that we ought to lay up treasures in Heaven through laboring in prayer in their closet, fasting in secret, and giving alms (help) to the poor. Christians can earn heavenly rewards by helping the Church, contending for the faith, giving alms to the poor, supporting missionaries, doing good works in Jesus' name, helping the afflicted, encouraging your pastor, visiting the imprisoned, and soul-winning by proclaiming the Gospel. Anything good that you do as a born-again Christian for Jesus Christ, and to further the fulfillment of The Great Commission, will be rewarded. God's heart's desire is to see souls saved, that His house may be filled. Any work for God that leaves off proclaiming the Gospel is a waste of time, all done in vain.<br /> <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">God Does Not Reward Lukewarm Complacency</span></b><br /><br />I know that God is disgusted with the thousands of popular Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) entertainers who never preach the Gospel, and cater to unsaved Roman Catholics, going along to get along, just making money in Jesus' name. God hates that kind of exploitation of Christianity. In the United States, Christianity has been reduced to a mere business. It's all about money today in America. No wonder the Holy Bible warned that the love of money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10). The love of money is behind the plethora of counterfeit modern Bible versions, which are straight out of the pits of Hell.<br /><br />Revelation 3:15-16 says that God vomits out LUKEWARM believers, and most pastors are as lukewarm as can be. If your church uses multiple Bible versions, your group is LUKEWARM. I mean, does not your pastor(s) have enough spiritual discernment to identify which Bible is really God's Word? It couldn't be more plain that only the King James Bible faithfully upholds and promotes <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/bible/easy_to_read_lie.htm">the deity of Christ, the Godhead and the preeminence of Christ</a>.<br /><br />God will reward those faithful believers who fight against the intentional corrupting of the Word of God. And those shameful pastors, the dirty rascals that they are, who refuse to take a Biblical stand against the new counterfeit Bible versions, will suffer great loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ, if they are even saved. All of the <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/bible/erv/corrupts_salvation.htm">new satanic Bible versions redefine what it means to “repent,”</a> turning “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4) into a manmade religion that requires persevering in holy living to be saved. This heresy is known as “Lordship Salvation,” and it is a deadly false plan of salvation rooted in human effort (works).<br /><br />Most of the religious work done today is done in the flesh, not by the influence and power of the Holy Spirit of God. <b>Psalms 127:1, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”</b> I've attended independent Baptist churches where not one mention was made of the Holy Spirit, nor His power, nor the need for His power. I remember sitting there in the pew and thinking to myself, when are they going to get God involved with this? My friend, Jesus aid without Him we can do NOTHING (John 15:5). That is, nothing for God of eternal value.<br /> <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">You Cannot Develop A Heart For God Without Developing A Heart For The Truth</span></b><br /><br />In 2013-2014, I attended an independent Baptist church affiliated with Bob Jones University (BJU) for a whole year, and not one mention was ever made of the Holy Spirit or the need for the power of the Holy Spirit. To no surprise, the apostate church uses multiple Bible versions and teaches the heresy of Lordship Salvation. With each passing month at the church, I was dismayed, disturbed and broken-hearted. Finally, when I started sharing the truth on CD sermons and passing out books at my expense to other church members, it led to an unpleasant confrontation with the church's pastors and I was told to cease and desist or leave. As a faithful Christian and preacher who upholds THE TRUTH, I had no choice but to leave in tears because of their wickedness and apostasy.<br /><br />Hypocritically, the Baptist church boasts that the purpose of their ministry is to “help people develop a heart for God,” but they do not have a heart for THE TRUTH. The Bible says that Jesus came into the world to bear witness unto “THE TRUTH,” not to help people develop a heart for God.<b> John 18:37, “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of <u>the truth</u> heareth my voice.” </b>The King James Bible is THE TRUTH. The simplicity that is in Christ for salvation is THE TRUTH. Lordship Salvation is a DAMNED LIE! The hundreds of modern Bible versions are a DAMNED LIE!<br /><br />Jesus said in John 4:24 to the Samaritan woman that God can only be worshipped in spirit and IN TRUTH. It is tragic that many pastors today don't care about THE TRUTH, although they are in denial and think that they do. If they cared about THE TRUTH, then they'd stop the nonsense of searching through umpteen different Bible versions, and use only the trustworthy King James Bible (KJB). Only the KJB uplifts the deity of Christ, the Godhead and the preeminence of Jesus Christ. All of the modern Bible versions are diluted!<br /> <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Great Peace Comes From Resting In The Promises Of God</span></b><br /><br />You can find solace in the PROMISES of God. <b>2nd Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” </b>Man's word means NOTHING. This world is full of wicked sinners. We are all sinners. Many sinners enjoying condemning other sinners, but God will judge us all as SINNERS, and God's harshest judgment is reserved for those sinners who condemns other sinners (Matthew 7:1-5)!!! Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemn)!<br /><br />Here is a wonderful passage of Scripture, which PROMISES that our eternal weight of glory will far exceed our present light afflictions:<br /><b><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">2nd Corinthians 4:16-18, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”</blockquote></b>Life is a gift from God, which most people squander:<br /><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power,</div><div style="text-align: justify;">to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To lose one's wealth is sad indeed, to lose one's health is more,</div><div style="text-align: justify;">to lose your soul is such a loss, that no one can restore.</div></blockquote>Another of my favorite PROMISES from God is found in <b>Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” </b>The Bible teaches us to pray about everything, and worry about nothing, claiming God's PROMISE that once we've prayed, that He will attend to our request(s) and we may rest in peace from that point on. That's exactly what Philippians 4:6-7 teach us. Once we've prayed, making our request(s) known unto God, we are commanded to rest in THE PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, knowing that God is the keeper of our soul in Christ Jesus our Savior. If we choose to worry, that is our decision:<br /><blockquote>Oh, what peace we often forfeit,<br />oh what needless pain we bear;<br />all because we do not carry,<br />everything to God in prayer.</blockquote>Trusting, claiming and abiding (living) in the PROMISES of God is solely a matter of faith for the believer. Do you believe that the Bible is God's holy and inspired Words? Do you believe that God authored the Bible? Do you believe that there is a real, all powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), all-present (omnipresent), and all-loving (omnibenevolent) God in Heaven, Who created you, and loves you, and cares about you? If you don't believe that God authored the Holy Bible, then you're not going to place any credibility nor credence upon its veracity and reliability.<br /><br />I believe 100% that the King James Bible is God's preserved and inspired words for this generation. I find no error, nor fault in the King James Bible. I don't think it needs any improvement, nor do I think its 54 translators could have done a better job. I do not believe in double inspiration, that is, I do not believe that God gave any new revelations to the King James Bible translators. I do believe that God oversaw the work, and that the Holy Spirit made sure that when completed, the King James Bible was exactly what God intended for us to have in 2015. I do not believe that there will ever be another translation of the Holy Bible into the English language, simply because today's inferior language could not facilitate a proper translation.<br /><br />As a born-again Christian, I find great peace in the comforting Words of God, particularly in the PROMISES OF GOD. What a wonderful truth that the Bible contains 7,487 PROMISES from God to man. Our text verses from 1st Peter 1:2-4 teaches that the power of God resides in the PROMISES of God, because the Lord always keeps His promises, and you can take that to the bank. Only a fool bases his life and eternal destiny upon speculation, human reasoning, fables, manmade tradition and religion. What you had better do is <b>“SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES”</b> as Jesus commanded in John 5:39, discovering and claiming the PROMISES OF GOD in the King James Bible, and then you'll KNOW that you're not living your life in vain, having a foundation that is sure in Jesus Christ, and a hope of eternal life and heavenly rewards that man cannot take away, nor can time destroy as the world fades away.<br /><br />This temporal earthly life will come to an end, guaranteed. Everything that you see around you will eventually return to the dust from which it came. Ah, but the PROMISES of God transcend this earthly life, lasting forever. When you're dead and gone, the PROMISES of God will still stand true; and if you die in the Lord (Revelation 14:13), you will spend eternity enjoying all the blessings of God (Romans 8:32).<br /> <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">God Promised To Save Them That Believe The Gospel</span></b><br /><br /><b>1st Corinthians 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”</b> I fear for those who die in their sins (John 8:24), who die without <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/books/jack_hyles/salvation/imputation_at_salvation.htm">God's imputed righteousness</a>, which comes only through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:3-4; 2nd Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9; Romans 4:5-6). I hear fools teaching the heresy of Lordship Salvation, which says that a person cannot merely trust Christ as one's Savior and write their name in the back of their Bible, assuming that they are eternally secure without first proving their sincerity through living a life of holiness and surrender to Christ's lordship. That is a false plan of salvation, which sadly Pacific Garden Mission's Unshackled radio program series has been propagating.<br /><br />My friend, salvation is a supernatural miracle of God in response to a person's faith in the Gospel (Romans 1:16; John 1:12-13). Yes, you can simply acknowledge your guilt of sin in the eyes of a holy God (Romans 3:19), and BELIEVE the Gospel to be saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-4), without any obligation to change your behavior, surrender to Christ, confess Christ publicly, forsake the world, commit to follow Jesus, or cease from sinful bad habits. These are all human effort (works), which are not allowed nor tolerated by God in His simple plan of salvation. Jesus paid it all with His precious blood. Man has no part in God's salvation, except to completely rest in Christ Jesus (Hebrews 4:10-11). Yes, you can write in your Bible's insert your name, date, time and place that you were born-again, spiritually reborn into God's Kingdom. Salvation is a new birth, which happens in an instant in time, just as one's first physical birth into this world.<br /><br />Heretical <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/wolves/paul_washer.htm">Evangelist Paul Washer condemns</a> the practice of writing one's name, date, time and place in one's Bible. Mr. Washer says that a life of works must legitimize one's faith to be valid. This is part of the <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/lordship_salvation/southwestern_baptist_theological_seminary.htm">demonic doctrines of Calvinism</a>. False prophets speak with a forked-tongue. They say that salvation is the gift of God, and cannot be earned by works; yet at the same time they say that if a person does not desire to depart from sinful ways and follow Christ, they are not saved. Romans 11:6 says that salvation is either by works or grace, but it cannot be both. It is heresy to mandate a changed life to be saved. Proponents of Lordship Salvation have it all backwards. God saves those who simply BELIEVE the Gospel, who trust upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He died on the cross for their sins, was buried, and resurrected the third day. That's the Gospel.<br /><br />As far as a changed life goes, that's <a href="https://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/lordship_salvation/lordship.htm#gift">an entirely different matter of Discipleship</a>. New believers need to be properly mentored, which is part of The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). If preachers would preach against sin as they ought, Christians would live holier lives. Instead, the Devil has duped many preachers into perverting the Gospel, forcing people to forsake sinful behavior as part of being saved. This is a false plan of salvation, which converts men to religion, but does not produce the new birth by the Holy Spirit of God. Many moral churchgoers are going to be cast into the Lake of Fire. <b>Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”</b><br /><br />I KNOW, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that I am saved and on my way to Heaven, eternally secure, because of the PROMISE of God to save them that believe. Salvation is not a matter of my goodness, nor my faithfulness to God; but rather, it is based upon God's goodness, and God's faithfulness to keep His PROMISES!!! Amen, hallelujah, glory to God!!! Thank you Lord Jesus for dying for my sins on the cross, and paying my insurmountable debt of sin that you did not owe. I challenge you, whoever you are, to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES for the PROMISES of God, for in them rest the power of God, because God keeps His PROMISES!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-TfV25WliIYLbZB58IH7CJJe51rN1aSKd5rhYaqO9KFplcody-ZeJPsXoycNLvZx_tBjSMjaM3163ALZOEuSeioMU82n_Nz854fK8vv_D5p73sVtZfif0f3X7m6HNyAnGLGf-lJkVQ9ZONlufZoGGciDXo4DmbZPjfg8_pBnXx11s4XkjHBLpRQ0/s320/king_james_version.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-TfV25WliIYLbZB58IH7CJJe51rN1aSKd5rhYaqO9KFplcody-ZeJPsXoycNLvZx_tBjSMjaM3163ALZOEuSeioMU82n_Nz854fK8vv_D5p73sVtZfif0f3X7m6HNyAnGLGf-lJkVQ9ZONlufZoGGciDXo4DmbZPjfg8_pBnXx11s4XkjHBLpRQ0/w400-h300/king_james_version.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>David J. Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07682412548126403579noreply@blogger.com0