The Mysterious 144,000

November 20, 2013

I recently discovered an interesting sequence in the book of Revelation. It revolves around the mysterious 144,000 mentioned in Revelation chapters 7 and 14. First just a few side notes on chapter 7:

In the midst of this are the 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 vials. In each of these 3 groups there are 6 presentations followed by a gap or interlude before the 7th presentation. It also seems as though the 7th presentation of each group begets the next group. Jesus initiates the opening of the seals and then the 7th seal launches the trumpets and then the 7th trumpet launches the vials.

The interlude between the 6th and 7th seals starts with 4 angels that stop the wind from blowing over the entire earth, which I see as a type of spiritual drought and as others say a holding back on God’s wrath (grace). Another angel ***rises up*** from the east saying to the 4 - wait, don’t hurt the earth yet until we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads. So there is obviously some sealing taking place before the 7th seal is fully opened. Then we see the naming off of the 144,000 that are of the lineage of the 12 tribes of Israel. Here are the names of those tribes in the order that they are written in chapter 7 along with the English translation of the Hebrew names:

Judah = praise

Reuben = behold (see) a son

Gad = a troop (to crowd upon; attack)

Asher = blessed (happy)

Naphtali = (my) wrestling

Manasseh = forgetting

Simeon = hearkening (hearing)

Levi = joined to

Issachar = reward (there is a recompense)

Zebulun = a habitation

Joseph = let him add (Jehovah has added)

Benjamin = son of the right hand

Here’s what came from this sequence of names as they are joined together:

(Praise the Lord), (See the lineage of sons and daughters), (an army pressing in and attacking), (blessed and rejoicing are they), (as they wrestle the adversaries and overcome them), (forgetting their old lives and the old nature), (hearing God’s words of a new and living way), (joined to Him in knowing) (that He will reward us and there will be a full recompense on iniquity), (and there will be an eternal habitation), (for God the Father has given us), (the Son of God at His right hand)

Revelation 14 begins as we see these people before the throne of God. They are described as they were as they ended their lives on earth – they were undefiled with women, they followed the Lamb wherever He went, they were redeemed from among men (being the first fruits to the Father and the Son), and no guile was found in their mouths. Sounds like these are some pretty cleaned up folks - having been made ready to do something.

Then we read of an angel having the everlasting gospel to preach to the entire world. The emphasis of this gospel comes with 3 final presentations in verses 7-10:1.) FEAR GOD AND GIVE GLORY TO HIM AND WORSHIP HIM – because the HOUR of his judgment is here.2.) That great city of Babylon is fallen, is fallen because SHE made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of HER fornication 3.) If anyone worships the beast (1), and worships his image (2), and receives his mark or seal (the mark of his name in verse 11) in his forehead or in his hand (3) – 3 things – the same shall drink the payback of the whore’s wine, which is the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured out in full measure.

Verses 12 and 13: This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead (to this life) who die in the Lord from this point on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

This is the time of the harvest as the line of demarcation is drawn – there are only 2 sides to choose now, and you know that as long as the gospel is being preached – people will be able to repent and be saved!

May the Lord bless us and continue to show us favor and give us grace as this time rapidly approaches.

The Power of God's Words

February 10th, 2013

Here is a most interesting lesson on the Hebrew language.

I emailed this to many people and posted it on our ministry's Facebook page and have received positive feedback, which I thought was normal, as in my humble opinion I thought that this was a fascinating lecture.

I know how much we tend to want more after a message like this (at least I do).  I watched another by this rabbi called The Mysticism of the Garden of Eden.  Definitely have to put your thinking cap on for that one – but what I learned was what this man actually believes about Satan.  I don’t know if it’s typical ‘rabbinical’ teaching, and if they are anything like today's ‘Christianity’ then there may be many, many takes, but he believes that Satan is not a fallen angel (he believes that there are no fallen angels) but that Satan is actually God’s ‘tempting’ angel.  That's just Satan's job - to tempt humans.  It reminds me of Christians that are missing doctrinal truths.  Take for example Genesis 6.  There are those that teach that the ‘sons of god’ where simply the sons of Seth.  There are many ways to refute that but one of the simplest is – why would God destroy the world just because the sons of Seth had sex with the daughters of men?  The reason is because of the fact that what happened when fallen angels left there assigned positions and engaged in mixing themselves with the seed of men (see Daniel 2:43, Jude and 2nd Peter), was so off the charts damaging and enraged God so much He decided to destroy everything.  And remember, Jesus says that the end of time will be like the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

Anyway, I'd like to ask Mordechai, if we are consult God's Word on everything then how can the satan not be fallen according to God’s very Word in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28?  I mean, if he is just a tempter angel then why did God have to put curses on everything and then we end up in this human tragedy that we call today's world?  This video has prompted me in a different way to pray for the Israelites that know God's Word as well as Christians that we do not see eye to eye with.  Another notion is, what would happen if this guy really got a revelation of Jesus Christ and got filled with the Holy Ghost…you talk about some dynamite!  We’ll just endeavor for that and keep them in prayer – but when that veil lifts – look out – that would be something to behold!



Let us press on to the business at hand: to destroy Satan's works!


Be blessed.

God is Pro-Choice

January 22, 2013

 

The Lord God has simply stated that we as individuals have two courses of action to take in life as dictated in the Bible.  These two choices can be encapsulated into a few different terms such as life and death, blessings and curses, truth and lies, but ultimately they lead to the same place when an individual life ends – which is dictated by God – life and death.  Many will bristle at the word ‘dictated’ but this is just the way it is – God is the eternal Creator of ALL things, and therefore, what he dictates goes.  Of course, the brainwashing instilled by the world systems has programmed people to be against ‘dictators’.  We are reminded of the likes of King George, Hitler, Stalin, Mao etc., and so people automatically reject the notion of a king or a dictator and you can’t really blame them to a point because frankly – most if not all for the last 2,000+ years have been evil.  Even now you have one of the newly anointed conservative young gun ‘hopefuls’, Rand Paul, talking about how this ‘king complex’ must be stopped.  But if you just stop for minute and think – where is all the ‘good’ in so-called democracies or republics around the globe?  Recently, they deposed the alleged democratic president of Egypt with yet another regime that is definitely no better and probably worse.  How does that make sense?  Surly, if we are ‘evolving’ as a race of people things would be getting better, yet they are not.  No matter who is in charge, whether it be conservative or liberal (the only real so-called ‘choices’ people are given), things are progressively getting worse. If you can’t see it then you are being blinded by your own mind or those that are manipulating it.  Governments on earth have gone through regime change after regime change and the only things that have gotten ‘better’ are the devices and methods for keeping people bound and chained – namely entertainment/pleasure and technology.  And in this case ‘better’ is actually worse – but who can see it?  We’ve been so duped that these advances are effectively overshadowing the grim underbelly. 

The grim underbelly:

• Massive increase in sickness and disease
• Massive increase in mental illness and insanity
• Massive increase of use of prescription pharmaceuticals and other legal and illegal drugs.
• Massive increase of obesity and gluttony
• Massive increase of violence in video games/music/movies/TV which spills into society
• Massive increase of crime, especially murders (abortions at the top of that list) and murder/suicides
• Massive increase in prison population
• Massive increase in poverty, inflation, debt and economic struggles
• Massive increase and acceptance of homosexuality and other sexual perversions.

Don’t like to hear about the grim underbelly?  Well, it’s here and it’s real.  Don’t try to sugarcoat it with some fantasy about how most people are basically ‘good’ and there is ‘hope’ in men and women coming together in some universal conscious awareness that will culminate in Nirvana.  If you are believing in that then let me tell you (in case nobody else does) – you are being deceived!

Ultimately, there are only two choices in LIFE – and – DEATH.  These choices are predicated on one absolute and that is God’s Word.  In his inaugural speech yesterday (January 21st, 2013), Barack Obama stated: “We cannot mistake absolutism for principle…”  That statement of belief will be a fatal mistake.  The word ‘principle’ means code, belief, attitude, opinion, value, standard or norm. It wouldn’t have mattered if it was Mitt Romney standing there or anyone else – they would have been saying essentially the exact same thing.  This Obama speak revoIves around ‘situational ethics’ rather than absolute truth.  They talk about a Creator that endows people this so-called ‘right to life’ yet a baby’s life can be snuffed out before he or she is even born to pursue the liberty and happiness – and this is right out of your Declaration of Independence that so many like to quote – including Barack Obama.  Here it is so you can read it for yourself:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by theirCreator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

It’s amazing that people will go on about a Creator and a God and hold to some personal belief about some Supreme Being without ever considering how this Being would communicate to his people in a practical and tangible way.  Instead, people fashion their own impressions based on their own inputs which come from any and all kinds of inspirations.  Then the kicker is that in these people’s minds anyone who speaks in terms of the standard of the Bible is a cultist.  Most people at some time in their lives will gravitate toward religion of some kind and for the most part it will leave them discouraged, frustrated and empty.  This is because there are two missing ingredients: 1.) Absolute TRUTH, and 2.) A humility that enables a person to see themselves as a puny microbe in this vast universe which will then enable them to submit to the absolute truth.  So without those two factors, you end up with all these doctrines and dogmas being talked about and debated but they are all over the map without an absolute.  Some are more well-meaning than others but are thwarted by a double mindedness that comes from…get ready – here comes the dreaded ‘S’ word that everyone cringes at – SIN.  You see, situational ethics or non-absolutism allows for sin, which is exemplified by putting SELF first.  It will allow for a woman to make the choice to have an abortion because her self-life is being infringed upon.  It’s not acceptable to have the woman make a CHOICE to NOT engage in the activity that gets her pregnant in the first place, so they promote a promiscuous lifestyle and then just say – go have an abortion if you get pregnant.  This way you can go on with your life without the responsibility of caring for this new life.  It’s sad when young women goo-goo over other’s babies but have or will have terminated a life that was growing in them and have no remorse.  Thankfully for those that have committed this sin there is a plan of redemption actively in place and you can be forgiven and freed from the guilt and shame (of any sins confessed).  BUT - this can only be accomplished in one ABSOLUTE way – repenting and turning to the Truth.  It is a spiritual undertaking but for those that are sincere about their convictions the Lord is faithful to bring you to place where you can learn and grow and mature in a personal relationship with Him – and that can only be done by him revealing himself to you through his Holy Spirit and through the words in the Bible.  Initially, it is somewhat easy but there is a hard part.  The hard part is Satan.  Satan is the one that most are referring to (knowingly or ignorantly) when they talk about this Creator or God that I mentioned before.  Satan is the one that has this world saturated with confusion and chaos, hatred and bloodshed. Satan is the one that has it in for you and will attempt to make your life miserable if you choose to turn your life around and walk away from your former lifestyles.  This can be intimidating and churches don't really prepare people for the warfare.  They just talk about how glorious life will be but it is in fact a war. God says do it anyway, don't be afraid - just trust in Me.  You're better off knowing this going in else you'll be more apt to give up when things get tough.

It would seem elementary for anyone that claims to believe in an all-good God to also believe that there is an all-evil entity as well - even just given a glance at the news headlines.  It would be foolish not to because then you have no way to explain the condition of a depraved and dying world unless your all-good God was a sadist or a masochist – or Satan.  The gospel tells us that Satan is the god of this world.  He has a kingdom and he is vying to wrestle away from God Almighty the dominions of the heavens and the earth which God possess and has bequeathed to us.  We must choose which path to go and there are only two paths.  The path to righteousness and holiness is narrow and straight and it only goes in one direction (to the Father).  The path to unrighteousness and unholiness is broad and will have many branches and ways that seemingly lead to the greater good.  The narrow and absolute choice is the choice that involves accepting the Bible as God’s truth and making a conscious effort to abide by what he has written in it, which is ultimately for our own good and which is all that He really wants for us - goodness.  It does not matter in the least if a person does not believe it.  It does not matter if you say that the Bible is mythology or man made – it will not make God unreal, it will not make him go away, and it will not keep him from doing the things that he has promised to do.

Today, Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013, is the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to ban most states laws restricting abortions, known as Roe v. Wade.  For forty years in America, abortion clinics have been sucking the life out of women’s wombs to the tune of over 50 million lives lost.  Worldwide since 1980 the number is over 1.2 billion.  God is pro-choice.  He says to choose life.  This statement is not just about killing babies.  By the way, the slam-dunk statement against those that say ‘well we believe, because science says, that life does not begin at conception but at physical birth’.  The FACT of the matter is – if anything is growing – that alone proves that there is life.  A human begins to grow the instant that life is conceived in the womb.  The point of God’s desire for us to choose life is so that we can enter into eternity with Him.  We only have this one lifetime to get this right.  God the Father says choose life.  If we do not then by default we choose death.  He says if we adhere to His word then we will be blessed in many, many ways both physically and spiritually.  He also says that if we do not – and we will then by default follow after other gods to the point where we can become gods in our own mind, which is exactly the lie that Satan told the woman in the Garden of Eden.  In these times, God is speaking to and through His chosen men and women.  He is begging us to turn fully toward him because the nation/world that turns against Him will be turned into HELL.  If you do not believe that you will be in for a very rude and a very terrifying awakening. 

If you are reading this sentence and are not yet walking according to the path dictated by Jesus Christ we are praying for you to join God’s family.  You see, Jesus is a king.  We were not designed for a democracy or a republic; we were designed for a kingdom and Jesus is the only Good King!  The world has nothing to offer but temporary pleasures.  Please don’t drink down the words that will have you thinking you know God without ever consulting his Word and getting to know him.  How can you get to know a person unless you spend time with that person?  God will talk to you, but He has only given us one avenue to communicate with Him.  The world will have you thinking that there are many ways to God, but He is very particular and jealous and He wants us to be the same – and He is right!  Choose Eternal Life!

Waiting for God

December 25th, 2012

“And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.” – Genesis 16:2

When Abraham listened to the voice of his wife rather than the voice of the Lord he ended up with Ishmael via a slave girl (essentially a bastard).  Now before anyone flies off the handle, please understand that a born again Christian man should be able to listen to the voice of his born again Christian wife.  Her job is to compliment and help her husband so obviously we should see our wives a blessing and one also hearing from the Lord.  In fact in the bible wisdom is depicted as a ‘she’.  Anyway, back to Abraham… At the beginning of Genesis 15 the Lord spoke His promise to Abraham of his coming lineage:

“And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.“  – Genesis 15: 2-16

Then Abraham asked the Lord how he would know that he (Abraham) would inherit the promise and the Lord responded by commanding him to present a sacrifice (Genesis 15: 8-11).  But then the Lord brought some bad news/good news, in the form of another promise made in Genesis 15: 12-14:

“And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

So God is saying to faithful Abraham that his promised divine seed would become a stranger in a land that was not their own and that they would be enslaved for 400 years – a prophecy of the captivity in Egypt under the rule of the Pharaoh(s).  This can also be seen as a type of what has happened to the human soul.  We have all been captivated by the world and our souls have been vexed by the powers of darkness and we have thus become enslaved to Pharaoh (Satan), the world and our fleshly desires.  But God is faithful to deliver us – yet deliverance from the world does not happen all at once nor is it easy – it takes time and it is hard (see Exodus 23: 20-33).  This is totally contrary to the ‘word of faith’ proclaimers that confidently state that ‘Satan is under our feet’ yet that ‘church’ is blind, deaf and in prison – thinking they are free and serving the Lord!

God said in Genesis 15:14 that he would judge the Egyptians that His people had been subject to and then His people would come out with great substance (a type of the church at the day of Pentecost)…But then He says in verses 16 and 17:

“But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.   And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces”.

Since the days of Pentecost have passed, the church has been being filled with the iniquity of the Amorites.  Jesus said in Matthew 23:32: “Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.” but read the whole chapter to get the full context and impact of what the Lord is saying to his people.  But then the last generation of this captivity shall repent as we enter into the days He describes next in Matthew 24 – the end of the age.  The world is now a very dark place and will become even darker very quickly and there will soon be a fiery furnace awaiting those that are that burning lamp who have agreed with God by walking going through [with] that sacrifice that He has required (Genesis 15:17).  The servant is not above the master – Jesus was our forerunner and we must meet him in the middle and do as He says and as He does.  

 In the here and now, the real church of Jesus Christ is reflective of tiny Israel that we see on a current world map. And of course the world scoffs at God’s Word and still to this day tries to reduce and ultimately eliminate Israel.  They are contrary to the Most High God who has said that He has given the land that far exceeds those current borders (Genesis 15: 18).  And in further contrast, the world sees this large, mega-giant Christianity with billions of ‘members’ being led by an abomination known as Roman Catholicism which now effectively states that the Israelis are no longer God's chosen people but it is now the [Catholic] Church) (see also a form of godliness in 2^nd Timothy 3).  That which the world decrees is all but lies.  However and thankfully, that is not the real church.  This is why we pray that people still ensnared in this entire system (all denominations) can see!  The real church is still scattered about being formed into a presentable offering that God will then ignite to go into the entire world to proclaim the gospel as a witness to Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost and then the end shall come.

The church has for all intents and purposes for the last 17 or 18 hundred or so years been presenting Ishmael to the world instead of Isaac.  Jesus’ said in His last statement to His disciples before He ascended to heaven in Luke 24:49:

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued (clothed) with power from on high”

The church just prior to Pentecost was obedient to that command and the results of the promise were realized.  But over time, Satan, the world and the flesh have compromised the mission.  We find that between the end of Genesis 16 and the beginning of Genesis 17 that it appears that 33 years passed before the Lord spoke to Abraham again.  And then, prior to Him speaking specifically to the birth of Isaac by a barren Sarah he initiated another convent with Abraham.  This was the covenant of the circumcision of the flesh of the foreskin (Genesis 17: 9-14).  He states that without this circumcision, that soul will be cut off from God’s true people – because he would have broken God’s covenant (i.e., been disobedient).  It’s no wonder that God chose this type of covenant to show us exactly what it takes to inherit the promised land – especially to men – which God requires to lead His church.  The cutting of the penis?!?  Lord – isn’t there another way?  It’s no wonder that Abraham fell on his face and laughed when God told him all of this (Genesis 17:17).  This is also another way to show us that being delivered from Satan, the world and the flesh is not an easy and painless endeavor but we must proceed in faith daily believing it just the way His voice has spoken it to us else we hear in error: “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” – Luke 8:18.  The circumcision on the eighth day is also reflective of a daily sacrifice required as depicted by the eight pieces offered by Abraham per God’s command.

To summarize, the church has since gone out to the reach the world (Gentiles) without being filled with the Holy Ghost.  All the missionaries have done is feed people some, in most cases, very unappetizing food, while most just fly back to their mansions and continue on with their daily talk shows, leaving the starving and fly infested children there with their buckets of goop and some tracts or bibles that they have no understanding of.  The contingent left behind by the missionaries in these places is then set about with the task of making clones of those that have volunteered to join the cause – so you end up with more Baptists, Methodists, Buddhists, and Pentecostals etc – still no power.  You have street preachers going out to the city street corners with signs and tee-shirts quoting bible scriptures and yelling at people with mega-phones while they engage in conversations debates with people that are demonized and ending up being made to look like complete fools to the people walking by and watching on the YouTube…still no power.  All because they have not really hearkened to the voice of the Lord to ‘tarry within the confines of the church until they are cleaned and filled with the Holy Ghost’.  Another way to put it is as Jesus said to Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” – Luke 22:32.  He requires for us to be made clean before we go out.  He is saying to stay put in the church and let iron sharpen iron before we go out there (WITHOUT ANY POWER) and be made a fool out of – which bears repeating – is exactly what the church heretofore for the most part has been doing.  In other words – it has been a work of the flesh and it will only sow to the flesh – it will only produce Ishmael – a bastard – unless we are truly hearing from God and then being obedient to what He has said.  This is why he gives us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4: 11-12) to work on and perfect the body of Christ so that they would then be equipped to go out and handle the devil effectively – to do the same purpose for which the Lord came – to destroy the works of Satan.  Now at this point I would clarify something.  I’m not saying that everything that the church has been doing for the last 18 centuries has been total vanity.  Many people have been turned to Jesus Christ and been given the opportunity for salvation.  What I am saying is that the time is now for the church to see the landscape for what it really is and when that appropriate number huddles up in that upper room again and stays there until the Holy Ghost comes again like the sound of a mighty, mighty rushing wind - game changer!!!  Satan you have a problem!

That is this reporter’s view and to quote Walter Cronkite “and that’s the way it is, Tuesday, December 25, 2012”.  Another reporter colleague of mine and sister in Christ has also posted an article on this ‘Christmas’ day 2012.  I can’t think of a better time to speak out and come against the devil than when he’s right in your face like he now with his phony ‘Christmas spirit’.  This is the way it is and we pray for all of God’s people to turn and come out of this evil world and not look back.

What Do You Mean There’s No Santa?

One thing that stood out for me what this caption under a picture of Satan Santa:

“Children will remember what we have told them about Jesus upon realizing that Santa is not real...and it will cause them to wonder if belief in Jesus is just as much a myth as Santa.”.  This is a master stroke of genius on the part of Satan.  He purposely makes a correlation between that which he knows will inevitably be exposed as a lie to the children (Santa Claus) and Christmas which he has masterfully tied lied to the birth of Jesus.  This will most certainly tie together the lie of Santa Claus and Christmas with Jesus Christ and therefore Jesus will then also be in doubt.  To that end Christmas itself is entirely a lie from Satan.  There is such thing as Merry CHRISTmas.  There is no Christian ‘reason for the season’.  Jesus wasn’t even born in December.  It’s all just a big fat devil lie and multitudes have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.  Jesus Christ does not mix in with that which is from man or Satan.  We must conform to Him and that can only happen if we are circumcised from this world.

Here is a good audio message also titled 'Waiting for God'

“Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed. The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.”

Psalm 132:9-16

True Grace

All,

At dinner recently with family the topic of the teachings of Joseph Prince came up.  First of all, I know the initial knee-jerk response from some will be – ‘here goes Tom again, criticizing some preacher because he doesn’t measure up to Tom’s standard’.  I truly hope Christians move past these knee-jerk responses and learn to measure/weigh everything according to God’s Word alone – not any man’s standard.  If I or any preacher is pointing to Jesus (the Bible) alone, then what’s the problem? – unless somebody doesn’t like Jesus and His standards – which are actually quite high.  Scripture more than backs up the fact that many Christians today are teaching what is sometimes called ‘cheap grace’.  One guy defined it as:

“The preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

The teachings of multitudes of ministries are now stating that ‘no perfect people are allowed’ in our church (Google that and see how many show up).  Many say ‘just come as you are’ but how very few correctly append to that ‘…but you can’t stay that way – you have to change’.  This is the message of the gospel – we have to change.  We just can’t cop out to some easy as pie, life is good, Jesus did it all for me on the cross type of existence – WE HAVE TO FIGHT A WARFARE TO BE MADE FREE!!!  Is it any wonder why He says in Isaiah 30 “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:” and in 2^nd Timothy 4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”? 

In contrast, the Bible clearly teaches us in Titus 2:11-12, that God’s grace has appeared (in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and through the five-fold ministry gifts that He gave us as defined in Ephesians 4:11-12) to bring us salvation and INSTRUCTING us to DENY ungodliness, to DENY carnal desires, to LIVE discreetly, to LIVE righteously, to LIVE godly – even in this wicked and perverted world.  This is how we can actually ‘do’ the Word of God and not just be ‘hearers’.  Hearers of the Word just HEAR that Jesus forgives us of our sins by His blood but DOERS actually APPLY the blood to their lives by OBEYING what He says in scripture – and changing nature.  Many say that there is no ‘work’ involved – that is a lie.  So the ‘excuses’ become such like – well David fornicated and he was a man after God’s own heart.  But David is not the standard.  Is David the author and finisher of your faith?  Elijah, wallowed in self-pity under a juniper tree – so does that mean it’s okay for us to do it?  Elijah is not the standard.  Is Elijah the author and finisher of your faith?  The church of Corinth was in the grasp of perversion – the church of Corinth is not the standard.  Peter denied Christ – Peter is not the standard.  Jesus is the standard and his friend John told us that we can walk even as He (Jesus) walked – and God is no liar!  They say that a sinner is a saint that falls down but scripture says that “Jesus is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).

We have been so brainwashed/indoctrinated by the world’s Greco/Roman philosophies which teach us to elevate and exalt people based on numbers of followers, eloquence or charisma, or most of all – how much they ‘know’.  This is especially dangerous in Christianity because many, many preachers and teachers (both true and false), know a lot of scriptures and they know a lot about the Hebrew and the Greek translations so therefore we tend to gravitate toward what they are saying because of a blinded persuasiveness rather than the individuals searching the matter out for ourselves – and to use our own noggins and to actually THINK for ourselves – and most importantly – to consult the Word of God and the Holy Spirit and compare what is being said to HIM for verification!

Below is a link to a message titled ‘The True Grace of God’, and I do hope you will take the time to listen.  But why is it that so many times our first reactions to a gospel messenger that we have not heard before tend to be along the lines of things like this:

•          Who is this guy?
•          What church or denomination does he belong too?
•          How big is his church or congregation/how many followers are there/how many YouTube views does he have?
•          What is he: a Pastor, an Apostle, a Bishop, a Minister, an Elder, or just a Brother or a Sister – what’s his Title?  Aside: (Even though Jesus clearly teaches us to call no man father, master, teacher, Rabbi etc., we keep on keepin’ on, wanting to give a person preeminence, which falls right into the trap of that Greek mindset – to elevate a man – I don’t care what anyone says, it is a subtle part of the Nicolaitane doctrine.  The worse-case scenario is calling someone Reverend – Psalm 111:9 says: “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant forever: holy and reverend is his name”.  That ought to end the entitlements right there eh?  Call me legalistic if you want to but don’t take my word for it – if you find out otherwise in the new covenant – please let me know – but it seems to me that our fore-fathers the apostles were on a first name basis with one another.  Please hear me - my aim is freedom from every demonic yoke – I want to be free – I want you to be free.  The spirit of the Lord is a liberator – and man, if religion hasn’t put on us the biggest yokes of all I don’t know what does)
•          Where did he go to school – i.e. how many Masonic ‘degrees’ does he have?
•          And probably the worst of all - who did he come up under? (TODO: insert puke face emoticon here).

I suppose the answer is in part because there are now so many voices in Christianity today and people are in a sense becoming weary (or leery) of just hearing another sermon without seeing demonstrated power!  That will be changing soon because if you can see how the moral decay and corruption of society, culture and world systems is on the rapid increase then know without a shadow of a doubt – that Almighty God will respond.  In the meantime, we are left with the quite simple fact that the Lord knows those that are His and His sheep know His voice.  All we can to is continue to tell it and pray for the ever present famine of hearing the Word of God to end so that souls can be snatched from the clutches of Satan.

I for one, want to be free from any preconceived notions, or prejudices (pre-judgments)  about anyone.  It is true that you cannot judge a book by its cover – you have to open the book and start to read it.  The Holy Spirit has quickened the Word with safeguards that are build right into the scriptures which, when properly discerned (rightly divided), will reveal God’s nature (or character) and that nature will continue to transform us (as we continue to allow him to).  Therefore, when you see someone that has effeminate character traits (like Joseph Prince or T.D. Jakes or Paul Crouch or Marcus Lamb to name but a few), you will know that scripture says that the effeminate (and he must obviously be talking about men) cannot inherit the kingdom of God – so logically, if the effeminate cannot inherit the kingdom – how is it possible for the effeminate to represent the kingdom of God?  And if you can’t see the effeminacy in most Christian presentations then you probably stopped reading this already.  In Matthew 11:7-12, Jesus  pointed to the ones that were living large in king’s palaces wearing soft clothes or skinny jeans or Beatle haircuts or tattoos or body piercings – OK he didn’t specifically say skinny jeans, Beatle haircuts, tattoos or piercings, but these things are revealed by the SPIRIT and they do not have to be contained in the actual LETTER – they are simply NOT reflections of the NATURE of God!  So the thing is – warn the righteous, warn the wicked and pray for people to turn to the truth before it is too late.  When we are truly contrite and broken, then when or if we do sin, even in thought let alone deed, we will be quickly convicted by the Holy Ghost and as our hearts are not hardened we will then quickly repent.  One thing that I noticed in this True Grace message that I refer was that the speaker had others reading from scripture which made it hard to hear because the readers were not in close range of the microphone.  Of course, my initial knee-jerk (emphasis on the word ‘jerk’) response was – ‘why is this guy not reading it himself – doesn’t he know that it’s harder for us to hear?’  I discovered the Holy Spirit saying – pick up your Bible and read it for yourself!!!

I pray that we all can begin to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh as in the past – let God be true and every man a liar.  It does not matter WHO brings the message – the question has to be asked: is it TRUE?  The only way for Christians to come to this place of unity – one faith, one mind, one accord – is for us to forsake everything in this life and be truly be repentant and contrite in order to truly be born again in Christ.  Proverbs 28:5 says that Evil men do not understand judgment – but those who seek the Lord understand all things.  We can marry that old testament verse to the new testament in 1^st Corinthians 2:14-16 which says that the natural man (the Evil man) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him – and he cannot know them, because they spiritually discerned.  But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man (let God be true and every man a liar).  For who has known the mind of the Lord the he may instruct him? – but we have the mind of Christ.  At its core, cheap, false, vain and licentious grace teaches ‘you can’t judge’.  Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?

Again I say what scripture says in plain language – how can two walk together unless they are agreed?  The only way for people to be ‘convinced’ of the absolute gospel truth is for them to be ‘convicted’ – that is the Holy Spirits objective – but only as the vessels are willing to yield to him.

The True Grace of God - Alan Martin

1^st Peter 5:12

Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!

Titus 2: 11-12

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present evil age.

2^nd Corinthians 6:1

We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

Jude 4:

For certain men have crept in unnoticed (unaware, in a stealth manner), those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness (a license to sin) and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.