Psalm 11:5 KJV “The Lord trieth the righteous: but THE WICKED and him that loveth violence HIS SOUL HATETH.”

You and I have been told, “God hates the sin not the sinner.” That is a lie from the Devil. The verse above makes it very clear just how deeply God hates wicked people; “HIS SOUL HATETH,” them the Bible says. That’s deep! God hates the wicked with His innermost being; His soul!

Again God’s hatred is not just for the sin but also for the willful sinner. No wonder those who deliberately keep on sinning have no forgiveness:

Hebrews 10:26-27 NLT “Dear friends, IF WE DELIBERATELY CONTINUE SINNING after we have received knowledge of the truth, THERE IS NO LONGER ANY SACRIFICE that will cover these sins. [27] There is only THE TERRIBLE EXPECTATION OF GOD’S JUDGMENT and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.”

Notice in the passage above if we continue sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, we’re done. Jesus’ sacrifice doesn’t cover these kinds of sins or the sinner. The only thing we can expect is God’s fiery Judgment. Because we are God’s enemies. And you’re listening to these fake preachers that are telling everyone, “God loves everybody?” “He’s not angry with you because of your sins?” When God Himself says, ‘I HATE THE WICKED? AND THOSE WHO LOVE VIOLENCE?’ Hmmmmmm.

“PEACE, PEACE,” WHEN THERE IS NONE

Jeremiah 6:14 NIV “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.”

God told Jeremiah (His true prophet) that the priest and prophets were lying to people by telling them sweet religious phrases like, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace. The nation was steeped in sin. The worse sins! These fake prophets were hurting the people by dressing up their wound instead of exposing it. They treated the people’s sins against the Lord like they were not serious. The Israelites were doing everything from murder, to adultery, to witchcraft, making their own children pass through the fire as human sacrifices to the false god Baal! They literally burned their children alive to a false deity as a burnt offering! (Jeremiah 19:5) And all these false priest and prophets had to say to the people were nice words of blessings and peace? 😣😤

The same goes on today. Instead of saying, “Peace, peace,” they say things like “Blessed, blessed.” “You’re blessed.” “I’m blessed.” “I’m blessed and highly favored.” “Praise the Lord.” “He’s my Jehovah Jireh.” “The Lord’s favor is with you,” “My God from Zion.” etcetera, you get the point. All of these sweet sounding cliches and blessings people heap on themselves and others are masking serious problems. The same ones Israel had. People believe the more holy they act the more they can hide their sins. And these fake preachers, false apostles, fake prophets and prophetesses are dressing up the wounds of the people like it’s not serious.

Jehu was not that kind of guy. He didn’t play with God or with unrepentant sinners. Listen to how he responded when he was addressed with this fake, “Peace, peace,” mess:

2 Kings 9:22 KJV “And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?”

Jehu didn’t play the fake religion game. He didn’t lavish on people phony praise and cliches. He rebuked and exposed evil. He knew there could be no fake peace with unrepentant sinners who were practicing witchcraft. May we follow his example.

Romans 16:17-18 NIV “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to WATCH OUT for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. KEEP AWAY FROM THEM. [18] For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. BY SMOOTH TALK and FLATTERY they DECEIVE THE MINDS OF NAIVE PEOPLE.”

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1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

The Devil is working very hard to entrap the children of God. One of his ways of doing this is through trojan horse friends. There are people who’s job is to get as close as they can to the Christian, pretend to be their friend, then set them up for the fall. We will discuss how to recognize these people and how God says to handle it.

FLATTERY

Proverbs 29:5 NIV “Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet.”

The world says, “Flattery will get you everywhere.” God says, “Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet.” Who do you believe, God or the world? When a person is always heaping compliments and praise upon you they are setting you up for the fall. They are hiding their true identity from you and you are their prey. You are the object of their evil designs. God says this, not me. I just happen to agree with Him. You don’t have to know which trap is being laid for you, just know that you’re being trapped when you’re being flattered. When this happens your red light (not yellow light) should always come on.

There are those who will overly pretend to admire your love for Jesus Christ; your Christian stance, yet they don’t exhibit the same love or take the same stance as Christians themselves. How can this be? How can they admire you so much and they aren’t Christians? Isn’t this just phony flattery? Jesus said:

Matthew 12:30 NIV “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Jesus said those who are not on his side are against Him. They’re on the other side. Believe Him! Again, they will overly pretend to agree with what you are saying, what you are preaching, how you live, etcetera, and don’t believe in none of these things themselves. Don’t ignore it when you hear the contradictions in their speech. Don’t ignore it when you see the contradictions in their behavior. They are setting you up for the fall. They are against Jesus. They are His enemies and they hate Him and you! They believe that by telling you how good you are (flattery), how well you know the Bible (flattery), how blessed you are (flattery), by praising you for how well you can preach the word unlike the other religious people out here (flattery), etcetera, all this is supposed to make you fond of them. If you are a shallow person all this false praise will work on you. And you will be trapped without ever seeing it coming:

John 12:43 KJV “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

But if you are spiritual and have discernment the moment someone starts flattering you and blowing you up your red light will come on; you will be alerted by the Holy Spirit, and mark that individual. Be careful. Be very careful.

“I’M A CHRISTIAN TOO”

Romans 16:17-18 KJV “Now I beseech you, brethren, MARK THEM which CAUSE DIVISIONS and offences CONTRARY TO THE DOCTRINE which ye have learned; and AVOID THEM. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and BY GOOD WORDS AND FAIR SPEECHES DECEIVE THE HEARTS OF THE SIMPLE.”

God says to mark people who cause divisions; schisms, discord, heresies, foolish arguments, etcetera that go against the true doctrine of Christ. AVOID THEM GOD SAYS!!! God didn’t say hang around them and engage in foolish religious debates. He said emphatically to AVOID THEM. People who love to be right over and above what God’s word says are not serving our Lord but their own lusts. They have a hidden, secret agenda. They have been planted by Satan to trap you. God says they, “BY GOOD WORDS AND FAIR SPEECHES DECEIVE THE HEARTS OF THE SIMPLE.” They will flatter you to death! Literally! If you are simple. They will tell you feel good messages over and over like, “God loves you. He loves everybody. It doesn’t matter what you do or how you live.” “You are God’s child.” “We’re all God’s children.” But they will never tell you about your sins and the need to repent. But are these fluffy feel good phrases really what God says?

Psalm 11:5 “The LORD tests the righteous, but HIS SOUL HATES THE WICKED and the one who loves violence.”

1 John 3:10 KJV “In this the CHILDREN OF GOD are manifest, and the CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

These are just two of many scriptures where God makes it very clear that, “HIS SOUL HATES THE WICKED,” and there are, “CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL,” on earth too. Anyone who says different and claims to be a believer, Christian, Pastor, elder, prophet, etcetera, is full of it. They are Trojan Horses and God says to avoid these people.

Interesting how some of these fakers act so pious and religious. Every word coming out of their mouths seem to be, “blessed,” and they use other religious phrases and cliches. They’re so blessed all the time. No, they’re so cursed! They are actors: hypocrites.

“I’M A PROPHET” TRICK

Then there are those who like to trick you through wearing religious titles. I had a guy recently try to befriend me. The other day he told me, “I’m a prophet. God uses me in the prophetic.” Immediately my red light came on. Why? Because someone was trying so hard through, “good words and fair speeches,” (Romans 16:18 KJV) to deceive me. He was trying to convince me of how godly and divinely inspired he is, instead of just being godly. Even during our conversations he would suddenly cut me off, close his eyes and say, “God just told me such and such.” He did this a few times. Or he would say, “I just heard in my spirit,” such and such and such. Yes, he would suddenly do this while we were talking. God stops him (according to him), puts him in a brief trance, and always tells him something VERY FLATTERING about me to say to me. Hmmmmmm. I’ve seen psychics and others in the occult do this but never a prophet of God. Hmmmmmm. And I’ve never read anywhere in the Bible that this is the practice of a prophet from God. I spoke to another guy who said he does the same thing to him while they’re speaking. And the man who said he is a prophet claims to be literally hearing the voice of God when he does this. It’s just like watching a channeler; a witch who says they’re communicating with the dead or spirits on the other side, or in another realm. Hmmmmmm. And this guy is a prophet? The man acts more like a witch, not a prophet. Now I’m thoroughly convinced that’s exactly what he is.

Jesus never went around saying, “I’m a prophet.” And he was The Greatest Prophet of all! Jesus’ apostles didn’t throw around religious titles. And they were indeed apostles. (Ephesians 4:11-12) They just did their jobs. But they did not glory in and wear religious titles in obedience to what Christ said in Matthew chapter 23. (Matthew 23:7-12) So what makes these scoundrels today think they can put titles on themselves, and demand that you recognize and call them by their titles? The answer is they are deceived and have fallen into the same pride as Satan the Devil.

A few days later I saw the guy who told me, “I’m a prophet,” and shared some passages with him including this one below:

Matthew 23:7-12 NIV “They love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. [8] “But YOU ARE NOT TO BE CALLED ‘RABBI,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] And DO NOT CALL ANYONE ON EARTH ‘FATHER,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. [10] NOR ARE YOU TO BE CALLED INSTRUCTORS, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. [11] The greatest among you will be your servant. [12] For THOSE WHO EXALT THEMSELVES WILL BE HUMBLED, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

It is clear here that Jesus is saying not to wear religious titles. Not to exalt ourselves. That all of us are brothers and sisters. None of us are above the other. Hypocrites exalt themselves. They demand to be called by religious titles. Hypocrites love the praise that comes from men more than the praise that comes from God. They are drawing people to themselves and away from God.

After I showed the guy the passage above he seemed to have a problem with it. He also disagreed with other things the Bible said. I decided to let what we discussed marinade a bit. A few days later I saw him, and the guy was still stuck on his titles, and the other things that he felt was ok to do that God’s word says is wrong. In fact he even tried to give me a religious title and I told him twice not to do it and why. This guy was trying to trap me through FLATTERY from the very beginning. Thank God it didn’t work.

Now there is only one thing left to do with this guy: that is do what God says, “AVOID THEM/HIM!!!” I didn’t have the opportunity to speak with him thoroughly when I saw him last and saw he hadn’t accepted what the scriptures said about these things. But I am looking forward to speaking with him again and letting him know that I will have nothing further to do with him; how displeased God is with him calling himself a prophet but he doesn’t obey God’s word, how this brings God’s fiery judgment, and how he needs to repent or else, and that’s it.

Beware of Trojan Horse Friends. They lead you astray and lead only to your downfall. Cut them off! Do what God commands: “AVOID THEM!!!” Keep them far away from you. Don’t care more about other people’s feelings than you do about your own soul. And don’t care more about other people’s feelings than you do about the feelings of Almighty God.

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Matthew 24:10-11 NIV “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, [11] and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”

What time was Jesus talking about in the verse above when He said, “AT THAT TIME MANY WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE FAITH?” The time you and I are now living in; the last days, right before Christ returns. Need evidence we are living in, “THAT TIME?” Just read the 24th chapter of Matthew. In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus answers a question posed by his disciples: “Tell us, what will be the sign of your coming, and the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3) Jesus listed various things that would signal His return. Among them is, “MANY,” or most, would TURN AWAY FROM THE FAITH, not come to it. Isn’t that what we are witnessing today? “MANY,” disowning faith in God and Jesus Christ? Jesus also said that, “MANY,” or most FALSE PROPHETS would be on the scene right before His coming, and they would mislead many. Isn’t that too what we are seeing today? Based on just these two things Jesus said would mark the last days of this world, wouldn’t it be difficult to find a true church?

THE GREAT FALLING AWAY

As we mentioned earlier Jesus prophesied that right before His return MANY would, “TURN AWAY FROM THE FAITH, and WILL BETRAY AND HATE EACH OTHER.” This matches up perfectly with what’s spoken about in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 KJV “Now we beseech you, brethren, by THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and by our gathering together unto him, [2] 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. [3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for THAT DAY SHALL NOT COME, except THERE COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

Did you hear what the Holy Spirit said? ‘The day of Christ’s coming will not come, unless there FIRST come a FALLING AWAY.’ This is exactly what Jesus Himself uttered in Matthew 24. This time period of great rebellion against God is spoken of in many other places throughout the Bible:

2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV “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; [4] And THEY SHALL TURN AWAY their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

There it is again: God has for some time been saying that a time will come when people will no longer put up with true, sound doctrine or teaching about the faith. But will gather to themselves teachers that tell them what their itching ears want to hear. “And THEY SHALL TURN AWAY their ears from the truth.” Are you seeing from God’s written word why it’s so hard to find a good church today? Even a good person for that matter? The state of affairs we live in right now was prophesied by God long ago.

GOOD NEWS

The good news is Jesus says this time period of extreme rebellion and falling away from the faith signals His speedy return. This is good news to those who follow Jesus Christ whether they’ve found a good church or not. Just because we haven’t found a good fellowship doesn’t mean we don’t have fellowship with Jesus Christ. In fact there are, “MANY,” who think they’ve found the right church but don’t have a right relationship with God. They are misled by the false prophets and prophetesses that lead their churches. Jesus said this would mark our time. Too often people seek a good fellowship or church first, instead of seeking a good fellowship or relationship with God first. They are doing it backwards. They are depending on men to get them to God, instead of looking to Jesus Christ the only true way to God:

John 14:6 NIV “Jesus answered, “I AM THE WAY and the truth and the life. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.”

Jesus says He is the only way to God. He never said your religious denomination or special group is the way to Him. And yes, we are told in the scriptures not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together. (Hebrews 10:24-25) But that passage did not say to meet with a bunch of religious fakers just so you can boast, “I obey God, I go to church.” And by the way, who is the, “Ourselves,” we are commanded to gather together with in Hebrews 10:24-25? True believers. Not fake Christians. The Holy Spirit would never command us to gather with phonies. In fact there are many scripture passages where He tell us the very opposite:

Romans 16:17-18 NIV “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. KEEP AWAY FROM THEM. [18] For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 NIV “But now I am writing to you that YOU MUST NOT ASSOCIATE WITH anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. [12] What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? [13] God will judge those outside. “EXPEL THE WICKED PERSON FROM AMONG YOU.”’

2 Timothy 3:5 NIV “Having a form of godliness but denying its power. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH SUCH PEOPLE.”

2 John 1:7-11 NLT “I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. [8] Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. [9] Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. [10] IF ANYONE COMES TO YOUR MEETING AND DOES NOT TEACH THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIST, DON’T INVITE THAT PERSON INTO YOUR HOME or give any kind of encouragement. [11] Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.”

Yes, we are commanded to meet with real believers (not fakers) where the true doctrine of Jesus Christ is being taught. If you find it very difficult to find this kind of fellowship in these last days I hope this article is providing some insight as to why. God Himself said:

Matthew 24:10-11 NIV “AT THAT TIME [the last days] MANY WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE FAITH and will betray and hate each other, [11] and MANY FALSE PROPHETS WILL appear and DECEIVE MANY PEOPLE.”

A TIME ORDAINED BY GOD

Today we are in a different time period ordained by God. This period is not the same as when the early church was experiencing all kinds of growth. No, our master Himself told us in the end time MANY WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE FAITH, not come to it. Believe His word. We cannot make things the way we want them to be. We cannot make this or that church fellowship (the people who meet there) what we want them to be. We must accept what is and what God has ordained:

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 NIV “Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? [14] When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.”

If you find a group of believers to meet with on a regular basis who are truly teaching God’s word that’s great. By all means continue to meet with them. These are the ones you are not to forsake gathering together with. But if you haven’t found such a fellowship like that yet don’t fret. Hopefully this article has helped you see why these believers are so hard to find. Rejoice that you have Jesus Christ who is the truth, the way, and the life. (John 14:6) Remember, no one can get to God except through Him alone, not some so-called right church group. And if you know just one other true brother or sister in the faith let these words of Jesus comfort you:

Matthew 18:19-20 NLT “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. [20] For WHERE TWO OR THREE GATHER together as my followers, I AM THERE among them.”

Jesus said where just 2 or 3 of His followers gather together (have church) He is there among them. Do we believe Him? Or do we have to meet with 200, or 3,000 in a megachurch in order to feel like we’re worshipping God? The number of people we meet with is not what Jesus says constitutes Him being there. It can be just 2 or 3 He said. And if Jesus is not present in your meeting, are you really having church? Remember, Jesus said, “Where two or three gather together AS MY FOLLOWERS, I am there among them.” Want Jesus in your church meeting? Meet with people who follow Him.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Sometimes we can’t find a good church because we are looking in all the wrong places. We may already have a good church and not even know it. If we know just one or a few real believers we can meet with them regularly. Do not forsake gathering together with them as God commands. In the early days of the church our brothers and sisters met everywhere and often met in each other’s houses:

Romans 16:3-5 NIV “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. [4] They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. [5] Greet also THE CHURCH THAT MEETS AT THEIR HOUSE. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.”

1 Corinthians 16:19 NIV “The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does THE CHURCH THAT MEETS AT THEIR HOUSE.”

Colossians 4:15 KJV “Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and THE CHURCH WHICH IS IN HIS HOUSE.”

It is clear form the above passages that the, “church,” met in each other’s homes. This shows that the church is not a building but rather the believers themselves. People meet in houses, physical buildings don’t meet in physical buildings. The church is not a physical building structure as some like to think it is. The church is you: every believer in Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:5 NLT “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.”

Don’t let anyone deceive you by causing you to feel guilty because you don’t go to their fake church. You are God’s building, His spiritual temple, His church. And when we do find others we can fellowship with it doesn’t matter where we do it or how many of us meet. It can be just 2 or 3 as Jesus said. As long as we are followers of Jesus Christ that’s all that counts. And Jesus Himself is right there in our midst.

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Hebrews 6:13-14 NLT “For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: [14] “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”

God told Abraham he would multiply his descendants so much that no one can count them.

Genesis 15:5 KJV “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.”

What God told Abraham is very significant. We will see why later in this article. I hope it puts a warm feeling in your heart and a smile on your face when you see that as a believer in Jesus Christ this applies to you.

Abraham was an old man. His wife Sarah was old and barren. But when God promises you something your circumstances do not matter. Though Abraham and his wife Sarah were childless and well beyond childbearing years they did have a son named Isaac. He was a miracle baby. Isaac also later bore children who also bore children who also had children etcetera. These descendants all became known as the great nation of Israel. There was so many of them they were compared to the sands on a seashore. (1 Kings 4:20) But when God told Abraham that he would multiply his seed or offspring he was talking about something much more than this. Learning about and knowing this hidden mystery is super encouraging to all who believe in Jesus Christ today. What we’re about to discuss may affect you in ways you’ve never considered before. Lets see.

WHO REALLY ARE ABRAHAM’S DESCENDANTS?

Galatians 3:29 NIV “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Did you hear that? If you belong to Jesus Christ YOU ARE ABRAHAM’S SEED or descendants God says! And are heirs according to God’s promise. But wait a minute, “I thought that only Jews were the true descendants of Abraham since Abraham was a Jew?” This is what many say. But lets listen to what God’s word says:

Romans 2:28-29 KJV “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

Whoa! God says being a jew outwardly does not make you a jew. But being one INWARDLY does. And this is an operation done on a person’s heart, not the flesh. This is done in the spirit. Wow! No wonder this is a great mystery. Because being a true jew has nothing to do with the obvious: your physical lineage. It is accomplished by God’s Holy Spirit, through belief in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:7-9 ESV “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “IN YOU SHALL ALL THE NATIONS BE BLESSED.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

There it is again: ANYONE, whether jew or Gentile who has the faith (in Jesus Christ) are the real true sons and daughters of Abraham.

Now that we’ve established who Abraham’s descendants really are why is this so encouraging? First of all we know that God is not a racist who blesses only one group of people like some say He is. ANYONE can be saved. But it gets even better than that.

WHERE ARE WE IN HISTORY

Remember the promise God made to Abraham, “I will multiply your descendants BEYOND NUMBER,” and, “In you shall ALL THE NATIONS be blessed,” as we fast forward to the future and read Revelation chapter 7:

Revelation 7:9-12 KJV “After this I beheld, and, lo, A GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER, OF ALL NATIONS [sounds familiar?], and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; [10] And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. [11] And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, [12] Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”

Look at this great multitude that NO ONE CAN COUNT, FROM ALL NATIONS, with all the other spirit beings praising God in heaven! This is what God was mainly talking about when he told Abraham long ago, “I will multiply your descendants BEYOND NUMBER,” and, “In you shall ALL THE NATIONS be blessed.” All these people in Revelation 7 are in heaven and victorious. Their sins are forgiven. They have conquered Satan and his beasts. They are Abraham’s true descendants!

It doesn’t matter if a person is a Jew, an African, an American, an African American, Latino, British, Indian, Russian, Asian, etcetera. As long as they have faith in Jesus Christ they are Abraham’s true seed. THIS IS THE GREAT MYSTERY: “CHRIST IN YOU.” And this is accomplished by God’s spirit. It has nothing to do with the flesh, or what’s on the outside. What a great mystery indeed!

Colossians 1:26-27 KJV “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: [27] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory.”

“WHO ARE THEY AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?”

Revelation 7:13-15 KJV “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? [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. [15] Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”

One of the elder spirits asked John in the vision, ‘Who are these and where did they come?’ referring to those before God’s throne which no man could count from all the nations. John didn’t know. Then the spirit told him, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” In places like Matthew 24, Mark chapter 13, and Luke 21, Jesus spoke of a time of tribulation or great suffering that would come on the earth before his return. These victorious descendants of Abraham are those who endured and came out of that tribulation. If you read Matthew 24, Mark 13, or Luke 21, you will undoubtedly see that we are presently in the time Jesus spoke about and His return is near. Hence these glorious ones we see in Revelation 7 before the throne of God are you and me if we endure and keep our faith to the end. We will have the magnificent privilege of serving God IN HEAVEN FOREVER, and living with Him. 😉

WHY IS THIS SUPER ENCOURAGING?

Remember guys, these who came out of great tribulation in the end times are, “A GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN CAN NUMBER?” This means there are way more of us out there than we realize. Yes! We are not alone. Only a few will be saved Jesus said (Matthew 7:13-14) in comparison to everyone who has ever lived, but He also tells us there will be a great throng praising God before his throne in heaven who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb, people that came out of that end time period called, “Great tribulation.” We are not as much the minority as we sometimes think based on God’s word in Revelation chapter 7. There are way more of us out there than the media would also have us believe. But remember who runs the media.

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Isiah 28:16 ISV “Therefore this is what the LORD God says: “‘Look! I am laying a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.'”

Acting hastily or panicking comes from worry. The person who believes in the precious stone Jesus Christ will not worry. They will wait on the Lord. They will cast their burdens and cares on him knowing he can handle them. When we act out of desperation we are not believing in Jesus Christ. And desperate decisions will always lead to trouble.

Believing in Jesus the Chief cornerstone means we obey his commands. Listen to what Jesus commands about worry:

Matthew 6:25-34 KJV “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? [26] Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? [27] Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? [28] And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: [29] And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? [31] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? [32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. [33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

WOW!!! There’s the antidote for worry: ‘seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.’ Jesus promises if we do this everything we need WILL BE GIVEN TO US. Do we believe Him? Will we seek what God wants above what we want or need?

PRAYER WARRIORS OR PRAYER WORRIERS?

I know of people who hide they’re worry by calling themselves, “Prayer Warriors.” They fast and pray publicly. They even pray in tongues for long periods of time publicly. Yet when they come out of these prayer sessions they are still filled with worry. Instead of being prayer warriors they are really PRAYER WORRIERS. And they are going against everything Jesus says.

PRAYING

Matthew 6:5-7 KJV “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are : for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. [6] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. [7] But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

FASTING

Matthew 6:16-18 NIV “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. [17] But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, [18] so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

1 Corinthians 14:27-28 KJV “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. [28] But IF THERE BE NO INTERPRETER, LET HIM KEEP SILENCE in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.”

1 Corinthians 14:6-9 NLT “Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful. [7] Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody. [8] And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle? [9] It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.”

1 Corinthians 14:23 KJV “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?”

Some think that because of how hard they pray, or that they’ve fasted, or prayed in tongues, etcetera, they can force God’s hand to do exactly what they want. For example, they may have a son, a daughter, or a spouse who they say has strayed from the faith or doesn’t attend church anymore. They believe that by praying and fasting all the time their loved ones will repent. Many aren’t aware that this is not spiritual prayer warfare but is spiritual prayer witchcraft! Yes. Witches do things like these. Witches and wizards believe that by doing certain rituals (even prayers) they can control future events and the fates of others. Those who think like this and call themselves, “prayer warriors,” should become students of God’s word. If they were they would not worry about things so much. They wouldn’t be so obsessed with the lives of others either. These people are really control freaks. God makes it very clear in His word that no amount of rituals, prayers, and fastings can force His hand when it comes to how He deals with us and others:

Ezekiel 18:20 KJV “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”

Psalm 49:7 ISV “No man can redeem the life of another, nor can he give to God a sufficient payment for him.”

If we accept what God says in the verses above we will know that no amount of prayer and fasting can force His hand to make someone else repent or do whatever we want them to do. God allows all of us to make our own choice.

Joshua 24:14-15 KJV “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. [15] And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Each one of us are rewarded according to our own iniquity or righteousness God says. People have been falsely taught that they’re intercessory prayers, they’re fasting, their faithful deeds, speaking in tongues, etcetera, are a COVERING for the people they earnestly pray for. They have been tricked into trying to do the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. He is our COVERING! His death and shed blood is the only thing that COVERS us and our sins. He is our high priest and intercessor who intercedes for us before God and for the sins of all mankind. Forgiveness of sins is granted only to those who believe in Jesus and what He did for them when he shed His righteous blood.

John 3:16 NIV “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER BELIEVES in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The one that BELIEVES in Jesus will not perish but has eternal life. The scriptures do not say the one who is, “COVERED,” by the prayers and fasting or speaking in tongues of his/her grandmother has eternal life. It didn’t say the one who is, “COVERED,” by the prayers and fasting of their mother or father or brother or sister will not perish. Only those who believe in Jesus the Messiah for themselves will not perish but be saved.

Make no mistake; we should all pray for one another always the Bible says. (Ephesians 6:18) These prayers are very powerful and very effective. (James 5:16-18) But don’t get it twisted either, God never said that intercessory prayers and fasting takes the place of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He never said that our righteousness, our prayers, are a, “COVERING,” or can REDEEM another. This is false teaching. In fact He says the very opposite, “No man can redeem the life of another!” (Psalm 49:7 ISV) What Jesus did on THE CROSS IS THE TRUE COVERING, the only sacrifice for our sins. To practice fasting and praying or speaking in tongues to do this is practicing witchcraft! It is heresy! And many need to repent from it.

Each individual must accept JESUS THE TRUE COVERING for his/her sins in order to be saved. Accepting this truth keeps us from excessively worrying about the salvation of others. Some of our true brethren have fallen down or backslidden. But they will get back up again. But some who have fallen away never belonged to us in the first place:

1 John 2:19 KJV “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”

The truth conquers worry. The truth sets us free. Let’s always pray for one another. God commands this. (Ephesians 6:18) But lets not obsessively worry about each other, or anything. Worry is not God’s will. Worry says we are not trusting God. And lastly Jesus told us that worry can not change anything. (Matthew 6:27)

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Numbers 23:13-26 KJV “And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. [14] And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. [15] And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. [16] And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. [17] And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken? [18] And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: [19] God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? [20] Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. [21] He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. [22] God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. [23] SURELY THERE IS NO ENCHANTMENT AGAINST JACOB, NEITHER IS THERE ANY DIVINATION AGAINST ISRAEL: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! [24] Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. [25] And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. [26] But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?”

Luke 6:46 NIV “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

If I had a dollar for every person I meet who says they’re a Christian but do not study the Bible, I’d have a whole year’s wages.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

There’s a simple command from God: “Study.” This is one reason why people who claim to know Jesus don’t know Him at all, they do not study His words. All of Jesus words are found in the Bible from the first book of Genesis to the last book called Revelation. Jesus is indeed THE LIVING WORD OF GOD. (John 1:1-2,14)

John 1:14 KJV “And THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

When we say that Jesus is our Lord; our king, and we don’t care to follow His commands, we are liars! It’s one thing to get off course, humbly recognize it, confess our sin, and repent. It’s entirely another thing to be off course (or you never were on course in the first place), and go around saying, “I love the Lord,” “I’m a Christian,” “I’m serious about my relationship with God,” “God’s on my side,” “God knows my heart,” “God is my Father,” etcetera, and you don’t even study God’s word the Bible. ANYONE who does this is DECEIVED!!! How do you know what your, “Father,” is saying to you if you’re not even listening to His words? Oh, I forgot, ‘God knows your heart.’ You’re right, he does know it. Listen to what he says about the human heart:

Jeremiah 17:9 KJV “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Yes, God knows your and my heart alright! He knows how deceitful and desperately wicked it is, ABOVE ALL THINGS! Do you and I know this? Do we know how much our hearts are deceiving us when we don’t study God’s word? People who have been fooled into thinking they have a good relationship with God but won’t study His words are trusting in themselves; their hearts, their feelings and emotions. No wonder the Bible says the person who trusts in himself (in his own heart) is a fool.

Proverbs 28:26 KJV “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”

HERE’S A SECRET

Let me share a secret with you, a secret that God shared with me: people who have chosen to live for sin can’t stand the Bible (Jesus the living word of God) because it condemns them and their wicked behavior. Who wants to keep reading a book that explains God’s fiery judgment upon them for rejecting Him? On the other hand, the person who has truly dedicated himself/herself to the Father, the person who has truly made Jesus their LORD, loves studying God’s word. Instead of the word condemning them it encourages them. The word gives them comfort. God’s word speaks peace and blessings to those who are dedicated to Him. Jesus Himself said it better this way:

John 3:19-21 KJV “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. [21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Jesus is the living word of God! He is the light of the world. Children of darkness hate the light. This is why people who are sold out to darkness and sin cannot study the Bible, properly understand it, or correctly explain it. The Bible and Jesus are one and the same; the true light of this world! God’s living word (Jesus) reproves and exposes all sin and evil in the hopes of getting people to repent and be saved. Those who love sin can’t stand being reproved.

ANOTHER SPECIAL GROUP

Then there’s another special group; people who read the Bible til they’re blue in the face but can’t understand it. (2 Timothy 3:7-8) Because they too love darkness they are misled by Satan into believing they do have proper understanding. They think they have cracked all the secret codes in the Bible. They attempt to explain all the deep secrets and prophesies, but don’t have a clue of what they are talking about. Their knowledge is for show. They love getting into debates about scripture and things of God. They also use God’s word to control people. They are false prophets, witches, and wizards, just like Jannes and Jambres who opposed Moses. They are always learning but never coming to an accurate knowledge of the truth. And some of us listen to them regularly on TV, on radio podcasts, through other forms of social media, we read their books, etcetera. But of course we do. We have to! We’re too lazy to obey Jesus command to pick up the word of God and study it for ourselves. So we have to let someone else tell us what it means, and are cursed because of our disobedience. Yes, God let’s us come under a curse by getting hoodwinked through these false prophets and magicians. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12) We and they are headed straight to hell (If we do not repent).

Matthew 15:14 NIV “Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

There’s another command from our, “LORD,” Jesus. He says to leave the false prophets; the blind guides, the fake religious leaders. And he guarantees us that when we follow a blind guide BOTH OF US WILL FALL INTO THE PIT!!! Not just the blind guide. Will we obey LORD Jesus? Is he really our Lord? Or will we stay in that false church and keep listening to those blind guides because that’s where our family and friends are? Or that’s where our business relationships are? Hmmmmm. Is Jesus really your Lord?

BE A BEREAN

Acts 17:11 KJV “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

These folks who lived in Berea were noble God said. Why? Because they readily received the message about Jesus preached by the apostle Paul? NO! Because THEY PICKED UP THEIR SCRIPTURES D A I L Y to see if what Paul said was true or not! They used the scriptures as their reference point (not pastor Paul’s words). The Bereans didn’t do what many do today; “MY PASTOR SAID such and such and such ….”

Just so happens what Paul preached matched the scriptures verbatim. But how would the Bereans know this if they never studied the scriptures for themselves? Do you and I use the Bible as our reference point for EVERYTHING people say about God? If we do we are wise and noble too. But if we eat up like spaghetti what people tell us about God and don’t check the Bible to see if it’s true we are being foolish. Some of us are being plain stupid because we know better. We’re just too lazy to study the scriptures for ourselves. And some of us are just plain phony if we say we are believers but don’t study God’s word. We hate God and we know it. But we want others around us to think we are Christians. If we are guilty of any of these we need to repent before it is too late!

I’ll share another secret with you God shared with me: many who claim to be Christians have never been born again in the first place. They will tell you the reason they don’t read the Bible is because they’ve backslidden. But that’s a lie. Many of them have never front-slidden. They’ve never received Jesus Christ in their life. It’s been all a show for them. They’ve never had a hunger for God’s word. They’ve never studied His words on a regular basis or tried to obey His commandments. And these wicked people call themselves Christians.

You cannot obey God’s greatest commandment to love–let alone love your enemies–and not be a student of God’s word. This is hard even for those who study the Bible everyday. You cannot forgive others. You will not be able to follow Jesus commands about lust, idolatry, greed, etcetera, and not be a student of Christ. You don’t have what it takes to do so; God’s word is not stored in your heart:

Psalm 119:11 KJV “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Until we make an honest commitment to God; to live for Him, we will not study His words. Hence we will never have the power it takes to obey Him. Guys if this is you please repent. Please commit your life to God and let Him renew your mind and give you a new spirit. Pray to Him like David did:

Psalm 51:9-10 KJV “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. [10] Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

God will respond:

Ezekiel 11:19 NIV “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”

Don’t be one of the folks in the next verse below. When Jesus returns they will be utterly shocked. Why? Because they thought they had a relationship with God only to find out they were living in lah lah land the whole time. They played with God so much throughout life that He cursed them, causing them to believe their lie:

Matthew 7:21-23 NIV “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ [23] Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

Luke 6:46 NIV “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

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Luke 16:19-23 KJV “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: [20] And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, [21] And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. [22] And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; [23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

Lazarus THE BEGGAR WENT TO HEAVEN! So what’s more important, how much money we have in this life or how much love for God we have? Lazarus didn’t die broke. He died rich! This man and other extremely poor folks like him lives in heaven with God in eternal glory; eternal riches, forever!

I’ve heard many preachers say if you’re struggling financially, or if you’re poor, God isn’t with you, he’s not blessing you. And you must be living in sin. So why did Lazarus the beggar (the poorest of the poor) go to heaven? Because these preachers are liars, and God’s gift of eternal life is not dependant on one’s social status. In fact the Bible says that most of God’s chosen ones are among the poor.

James 2:5 NET “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?”

Ahh, did you catch that? It’s the poor that God has chosen. They are the heirs of the kingdom. A kingdom He has, “PROMISED TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM!” That’s who goes to heaven: THOSE WHO LOVE GOD! Money or lack of it has nothing to do with it. Yeah, there were and are a few rich people throughout history who have been lovers of God. But the scriptures say it’s primarily the poor and downtrodden that God has chosen:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 HCSB “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

God tells us to consider our calling: not many of us were wise, powerful, of noble birth, or rich when God called us. But God chose what is lowly and weak in the eyes of the world to put the lofty and strong things of the world to shame. God’s choosing has nothing to do with money. This is why even a beggar like Lazarus can go to heaven. If you are struggling with this truth pray to God for understanding. Don’t be infected by the world’s thinking that money is everything. There are people who think without money they and others are nothing. And some even feel that money can buy them heaven! This is crazy. LAZARUS THE BEGGAR going to heaven disproves these Satanic lies. Remember, the rich man went to hell.

CHOSEN BEFORE WE WERE BORN

Jeremiah 1:5 KJV “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

Galatians 1:15-16 KJV “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, [16] To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.”

Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. [5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

Ephesians 2:10 KJV “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Don’t you see from the scriptures before we were born, before the world was even made, God chose us? None of us owned a dime when God chose us. We weren’t even here yet. Our calling has nothing to do with money or lack of it. So stop listening to these false preachers that make you feel bad for not being a big shot in this world. And those who make you feel like you’re better than others because you have more money. LAZARUS THE POOR POOR BEGGAR WENT TO HEAVEN!!! He didn’t have no money! That’s right, “NO MONEY!” And God saved him. Why? Because Lazarus was rich with love for God. And you can go to heaven too regardless of your social status. Faith and love for God is all you need.

John 3:16 KJV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM [anyone] should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

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Romans 12:2 KJV “And 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.”

Romans 8:29 NIV “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

“All you gotta do is conform and your life will be easy.” These are the words the serpent whispers in our ears. He wants us to conform to this world. Are we listening to him? Truth be told no one’s life is easy. Everything about this wicked world is a show. Yeah, they look good in their fine clothes, material possessions, big houses, etcetera. But it’s only one big show!

God says the wicked are on slippery ground. Their footing is not stable as it seems. (Psalm 73:18-20) They fall into many pains and horrors the righteous are spared from. What good is it to have everything you desire but want to kill yourself? What good is it to be so popular but be controlled by drugs, alcohol, other people, and evil spirits? The richest people of the world are among the most miserable people in the world. On the outside their show looks good, but on the inside; behind the scenes, these actors know their true misery. Some have shared their horror stories. And others we hear about them after it’s too late (they’re deceased).

There’s a price to pay for rejecting God and worshipping success instead. You will literally go crazy. After achieving everything you thought would make you happy you find out it only brings more pain. You can’t make enough money to avoid pain, no one can. Satan’s world is filled with suffering. No matter how hard you try you can’t permanently turn off your emotions. No amount of money can do that. And despite what we poor folks wonna believe about those with money, some rich people have admitted the more money they make the more problems they have.

1 Timothy 6:9-10 “Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.”

If you want to be a big shot in this world you’re up against a lot of heartache and pain God says. Some say they’re willing to pay that price. And many who have already paid the price have gotten into traps they wish they could now get out of. The Bible says they have, “STABBED THEMSELVES WITH MANY PAINS.” Yes, self-mutilation is exactly what people who worship money do to themselves. “But look at how neat their clothes are,” some say. “Look at how nice she looks.” “Look at his big house.” But God says, “LOOK AT THEIR PAIN!!!” God Himself says they have a lot of pain and are plunged into ruin and destruction. They have been caught in traps! Don’t be fooled by their outward appearances.

The thing about a trap is you often don’t know you’re in one until the trap is sprung. All seems well in the beginning until BOOM; you find out you’ve gotten into something you can’t quite get out of. Now is the pain. All because of the love of money. All because you thought that reaching for money instead of reaching for God would make you happy, would make your life easier. You’ve fallen for Satan’s trap.

IS THERE A WAY OUT?

The truth is we can get out of any trap if we exercise faith in God through Jesus Christ. Satan really plays a mind game on his underlings. For example, he’ll give some of them fame and fortune but they must sell their souls to him usually in some sick ritual. In addition to this he uses fear tactics to frighten them from ever leaving his service. At the same time he teaches these people to hate Jesus Christ. Why such an aversion for Jesus Christ? Because Satan knows that Jesus is the one person who can deliver these people from his grip. So he’ll do everything in his power to paint Jesus as wack while intimidating and manipulating his victims. People who serve Satan have a whole lot of fear.

John 14:6 KJV “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

John 8:32 NLT “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus is the way to God, and the truth. He’s the one and only way to the one and only person who can protect people from Satan the Devil: that’s God! There is no other way. The truth God reveals through His son Jesus Christ sets people free. There is no other freedom. The Devil knows this. If Jesus Christ is just another ficticious person like Santa Claus or Humpty Dumpty why is there so much hatred generated towards Him? Think about it! Because He is not another fable. He is the Devil’s arch enemy that sets people free. And Satan does not want people to go free. He wants to keep them in spiritual prison. Hence the hateful propaganda against Jesus.

I invite you to do your own investigation of Jesus Christ. And here’s a suggestion that will make this easy for you: pick up the Bible and start reading the book of Matthew. If your interest is still peaked read the next book of Mark, then Luke, then John. These books are four records of Jesus’ life on earth, what he taught, what he stood for, etcetera. If you’re not impressed with him at least you can say you investigated Jesus for yourself. But what if after investigating Jesus you find out that He really is the Christ; the Messiah, the son of the living God? Can you afford not to research this person for yourself? What do you have to lose? Don’t listen to what anyone says, use your own mind, go ahead and make your own search.

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John 15:3 KJV “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

“NOW YOU ARE CLEAN THROUGH THE WORD,” is what Jesus told his disciples and tells us today. Disciples of Christ follow Him. It is trust in His words; unshakable faith in everything He says that makes us clean. Jesus’ words clean us just as His blood cleanses us.

Before coming to Christ we were slaves to all kinds of wicked passions. There are many evil things we stopped doing that displeased God and that’s a good thing. But some think that because they’ve stopped doing this or stopped doing that they’re now clean. But when we examine Jesus’ words at John 15:3 Jesus was talking to imperfect disciples just like us when he said, “NOW ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” (KJV) One of these disciples for fear of what would happen to him for being associated with Jesus denied ever knowing Jesus 3 times. And that same night when Jesus was arrested all of the disciples deserted Him. These same disciples were also caught pridefully bickering about which of them was the greatest. They also had sectarian views. They saw someone healing in the name of Jesus and tried to force him to stop because he didn’t belong to their group. Jesus told them they were wrong for this. And on another occasion when a crowd didn’t want to listen to Jesus’ words two of His disciples asked Him, “Lord do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn them up?” Jesus rebuked them for that as well. (Luke 9:46-56) Are you getting the point? These disciples were human beings just like us who thought they knew what they were doing and had much to learn. Yet Jesus said they were already clean because of THE WORD he had spoken to them? This proves that GOD’S WORD CLEANSES US! And it disproves that never messing up, never sinning, and never making mistakes is what makes us clean.

This should give us much encouragement. How often do we see ourselves in the true light of God’s word? How often do we see this perfect Holy God in the face of Jesus Christ? How often do we see we fall way short of His glory? THANK GOD salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ and not by our own works!!!

Romans 3:23-24 NIV “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.”

WHAT A GIFT FROM GOD!!! You and I can’t do enough good to earn salvation. That doesn’t mean we should throw off all restraint and live for evil. It’s just a fact that God wants us to know so that we do not become deceived and puffed up with pride because of how good we think we are. We’re saved by God’s graciousness FIRST. It all starts with Him. Then through faith; when we believe Him, that’s how we participate. God even gives us the faith in order to believe in Him. So this is all about Him not us! And this is why no one can boast.

You are NOW CLEAN because God makes you clean through the washing of His word and the blood of Jesus Christ, plain and simple. If you and I put faith in His words we are cleansed by them. I’m so glad this process doesn’t start or end with us. Being clean then would be impossible. This is encouragement for us to keep on seeking God regardless of our faults and shortcomings. Though we live to please our heavenly Father we can rest assured that when we fall short He’s always there to forgive us. All we have to do is confess our sins to Him and repent. WE ARE CLEAN BY GOD’S WORD AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!!! YAY!!! NOT BY OUR SO-CALLED PERFECT GOOD BEHAVIOR. Bathe in God’s words by studying them daily. And always seek to apply them.

Pleasing God is our goal
But our good works don’t save our soul

1 John 1:7-9 NLT “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. [9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

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