R.D SOUZA Saved by faith

Its harder to saved people who think they know or who think they have power

Acts 17:4-5

4And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of
the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them
certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set
all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought
to bring them out to the people.

In Acts 17 we read Paul went to Thessalonica and spend 3 weeks reasoning
on scriptures with people in the synagogue of the Jews. It is written
Paul manages to convince many Greeks and even the women (including
Jewish and Greek), but among the Jewish men Paul does not have much success.

We read these Jewish men did not only reject Paul's explanation of
scriptures but in fact went to the extent of provoking violence against
Paul and the people connected with him. They did not find Paul so they
caught Jason the person in whose house Paul resided and took him unto
the city council. They try to create trouble by misinterpreting Paul's
words and accused Paul and his group of inciting dissidence against the
Roman rule by calming Jesus as an earthly ruler.

I have shared my testimony before; before I came into the Lord I was a
person full of worldly knowledge, relying greatly on science and logic.
It was only when God proved to me my logic and scientific knowledge was
very limited before Him and what I knew was zero that is when I really
acknowledged Him as God. Before even though I was born in a 'Christian&# 39;
(Catholic) family and though I verbal called Him God yet I had not given
Him the God status. The same I did with Jesus; I believed He existed but
He was more a historical and theological person for me. It was only when
I gave God His position in my life, than did Jesus become a living
person to me, a person whom I would communicate day in and out. After
Jesus came in my life came the most beautiful person the Holy Spirit. It
was the Holy Spirit who turned (and is still doing it) my life inside
out and upside down. I could no longer live the person I was and the
whole world changed for me. People who did not matter to me started
mattering, and also the meaning of the word love completely changed. All
this happened by God healing a 70+years old Muslim unbeliever having
cancer in the backbone, who did not know I was praying for him and whom
the doctors were administering morphine as pain killer and that too did
not calm his pain but in fact made him a drug addict. He would often get
cold turkey symptoms. His healing was not a gradual healing but an
instant healing like a dead coming to life and running around. It was
like Lazarus coming back to life, for this man who suffered many years
due to cancer and was bed ridden for many years and was left to die got
up that day and even went to visit his bank and to the market.

Also my baptism of the Holy Spirit happened only when I was in in a
state of helplessness like the Apostles in the upper room.

Today's message confirms unless we set aside our limited worldly
knowledge and unless we come in a helpless state to God, we will never
know Him and have Him in our lives. The Greek realized their limited
knowledge and the women due to their helplessness compared to man were
more receptive to God's Word.

To all those who want to see the glory of the God in their lives the
Lord is asking them to not be like those Jewish men who relied on their
limited understanding but be like the Greek men and the women. Let us
put aside our limited understanding before God and let us approach Him
with helplessness, not relying on our strength and ability.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You made man but the fruit of doubt which man ate in the Garden of
Eden has filled man with knowledge that is corrupted. Man lost the Truth
and thus is limited in his understanding. Lord, we pray we do not rely
on this corrupted and limited knowledge. We also pray we be like the
women who rely on You for strength and protection. We pray also today
for all mothers since it is mother's day. Lord, we pray that the special
place You placed them in the family to nurture and love, that they be
filled with compassion, patience and slow to anger. That time and world
does not change them but You, your Truth and Spirit keep them. Bless
them Lord...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Acts 17:1-10

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came
to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days
reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

3Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen
again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of
the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them
certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set
all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought
to bring them out to the people.

6And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto
the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside
down are come hither also;

7Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of
Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

8And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they
heard these things.

9And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let
them go.

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
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God is Fearsome, Terrible and yet Good

Nahum 1:6 - Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in
the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the
rocks are thrown down by him.

Seven times it is written Lord is Good in the Old Testament, 4 times in
Psalms, twice by Jeremiah and last by Nahum. Psalmist like David did not
have a smooth and joyful life; he suffered great hardship especially in
his early stage of mission in the Lord. Even later after he became king
he did have his ups and downs, yet he stated Lord is Good.

Similarly with Jeremiah, he was one of the most hated Prophets. Every
time he opened his mouth in the name of Lord he would cause problems for
the people. They tried to put him away and almost kill him yet we see
Jeremiah said the Lord is Good.

Lastly we see in the Old Testament Nahum states that the Lord is Good
(Nahum 1:7), but just before and after that verse we see in verses 1-6
and 8-11 he gives another picture of the Lord. Nahum shows God as a
terrible being who is jealous and an avenging being. His anger is
frightful; He does not spare the guilty and utterly consumes them.

Today's message tells us who can stand the indignation of the Lord? Who
can abide in the fierceness of His anger?

If we look at all these people even though they went thought great
difficulty in life yet they proclaimed the Lord is Good, for they did
experience the Lord and the one reason they did that was because they
took refuge in Him even in those tough times.

People fear Satan and evil, they do not realize more than Satan we need
to fear God. The Lord's anger cannot be compared. But for those who take
refuge in Him this same fearsome and terrible God becomes a loving Father.

We have a choice to choose how we want our relationship with God; we can
live our lives gratifying the desires of the flesh and then see the
terrible side of God or take refuge in Christ and see the loving
Fatherly side of God.

God does not say we need to be perfect to see His good side. He just
says we need to take refuge in Him, it is He who will make us perfect.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You said fear not those who can harm your body but fear the one
who can harm the spirit. You Lord are the one who gave us life and You
alone have the power to take it away. Lord, help us no to fear the first
death wherein our spirit leaves the body, but let us fear the second
death wherein we really die. Lord, You came as man and became our
sacrifice so that those who believe in You and take refuge in You will
not die the second death and will have life in abundance. Help us Lord
to take refuge in You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Psalms 34:8O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man
that trusteth in him.

Psalms 100:5For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his
truth endureth to all generations.

Psalms 135:3Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his
name; for it is pleasant.

Psalms 145:9The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all
his works.

Jeremiah 33:11The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of
the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall
say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy
endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise
into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of
the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

Lamentations 3:25The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the
soul that seeketh him.

Nahum 1:7The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he
knoweth them that trust in him.

Nahum 1:1-11

1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is
furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he
reserveth wrath for his enemies.

3The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all
acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the
storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

4He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers:
Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.

5The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned
at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.

6Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the
fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks
are thrown down by him.

7The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth
them that trust in him.

8But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place
thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

9 What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end:
affliction shall not rise up the second time.

10For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are
drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.

11There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a
wicked counsellor.

Matthew 10:28 - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell.

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Times when Jesus wept

Luke 19:41-44

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the
things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a
trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee;
and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou
knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Weeping is the external manifestation of the overwhelming of sadness that
is inside. The Bible records 3 times when Jesus wept. Most people do not
have an understanding of why Jesus wept and I too was among them until of
late when the Lord revealed this to me (I am going in the reverse order).

In the Garden of Gethsemane we find Jesus was most sorrowful. The Bible
describes His sorrow and His sweating as blood. It was not that they were
thick as blood, for sweat does not thicken; it was to describe the flow of
sweat. When a person gets a deep cut we see blood gushes out the same way
in the garden the sweat of Jesus gushed out as He was under a shower. He
cried and sweat in great grief. It is only when we understand the reason He
cried we will understand the way He cried.

Jesus cried because of the cup. He did not cry because He would suffer and
was scared, He knew long before of His suffering and spoke of it many a
times, for it is written in great depth in scriptures about the suffering
He would go through. He cried for one reason and the reason was the cup, it
contained the wrath of God it meant that He would be forsaken by His Father
since He would take the sins of the people on Him. Jesus could take
anything but to be far from His Father was unthinkable for Him that's why
He cried with fear and sweating.

The second incident that Jesus cried was when He visited the grave of
Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha. People like the Jews there thought
Jesus cried because He was very close to Lazarus. If one looks closer at
scriptures, Jesus knew of Lazarus' death days back. He told His disciples
about it; forget of Jesus being moved emotionally He did not move
physically. Jesus was aware He would bring Lazarus to life again that is
why He waited for 3 days and reached there only on the fourth day.

The reason He cried was due to what He saw when He reached there. He did
not weep for the dead Lazarus but for the people alive, who were
spiritually dead. When He came He saw the women crying aloud. These women
were not relatives or people who knew Lazarus. They were hired, they were
professional weepers. Think of it, at your birthday party would you hire
people to clap? It only takes an insane person to do that. But for the dead
they thought it good to show mourning and weeping to show people the love
they had for the dead so they hired professional mourners.

The second thing that disturbed Him was when Jesus saw the little faith of
Mary. Mary thought it was too late for Jesus to bring Lazarus all because
she believed in the beliefs of the Egyptians traditional belief of
afterlife. The Egyptians though when a person died 3 days the soul would be
on earth and would roam the earth and then the soul would cross the river
of death. According to their belief if a person was to be brought to life
it had to be done in the 3days and after 3 days it would be impossible to
bring a person to life. The Egyptians would put 2 coins on the eyes of the
body when they embalmed the person these coins were for the boatman who
would take the person across the river.

The third thing that the funeral that disturbed Jesus (it was the last
straw), was the things that they did to Lazarus. One should know embalming
the body was the traditions of Egyptians and the Jews took this as part of
their tradition after their stint in Egypt. The Egyptians believed the
natural body was part of the life after death therefore preserved it. We as
Christians need to note the promise of resurrection in the physical body
was given only to Jesus alone (via David) for Jesus alone was without
blemish in His natural earthly life. Every one of us resurrect only in
spirit and not in our natural body.

Jesus was aware of how this belief had a strong hold on the Jews and
therefore waited 3 days before He visited Lazarus. He knew if He bought
Lazarus back to life just after his death it would not have had much effect
on the people, like all those other dead people He bought to life. That is
why even though Jesus said this sickness (death) is not unto death yet he
waited. Jesus’ bringing Lazarus back to life after 3 days really shocked
the people because it crushed their pagan belief. The caused even the Jew
Priest to see an end to everything.

Jesus cried at that time because He saw the faithlessness of the people
close to Him. People whom He taught whole heartedly, people He considered
close.

The third time Jesus cried was before entering Jerusalem city during His
last visit to the city. He spoke of a time when this city would be utterly
destroyed by its enemies. He said its enemies would surround it from all
sides and consume its people including its children. Again here too people
think Jesus cried because of what would happen in 70AD.

In 70AD we did see the Romans surround Jerusalem and utterly destroyed the
city not leaving a structure in its place. They killed all the Jews there
including the children by hanging them on wooden stakes. It is written by
historians that they ran out of wood because of the numbers of people they
killed that day. Only those who were aware of the warning given in the
Bible climbed the roofs of their houses and jumping from roof to roof
escaped to the mountains just in time to be saved.

We need to note Jesus spoke of this when He was addressing a question
concerning the last days when the end would come.

We need to understand what happened in 70AD is a shadow of what is yet to
come and would happen before the end comes. In the end it is written Satan
(the dragon) would be set free from Hell at the end of his thousand years
are over. He along with his army would attack all the believers and utterly
destroy them. Like during 70AD only those who were aware beforehand and did
as instructions were saved so also in that time only those who have the
understanding of the warning and prepare beforehand would be saved from
this.

Like the people climbed the roof and escaped so also these people would
escape. There would be no earthly mountain to which they would escape but
to a spiritual mountain to which they would escape. The Bible says they
would rapture to escape these terrible times.

The weeping of Jesus gives an idea of what will happen to this Jerusalem
with is people of God. And the reason they go through this is because they
do abide by the warning given.

Today we see almost every Christian talking of the rapture but sadly they
do not know when and why. Many think tomorrow they would rapture and the
end would come. They forget until all prophecies are fulfilled the end
would not come. They also forget Jesus said until the Gospel is preached to
every soul on earth the end would not come.

In India which is a developing country and satisfactorily having a decent
communication network, yet we have many villages where people do not know
about Jesus leaving aside what He did; I can imagine the state in counties
that are under developed.

Today's message reminds us we will suffer if we lack knowledge and
understanding of scriptures. Let us not take them likely but study them
thoroughly and abide by them.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord Jesus the things that make You very sad is our faithlessness, our lack
of importance to study your Word and being far from You due to our sinful
nature. You yourself as man wept before You were forsaken by the Father.
You cried when You saw the faithlessness of those whom You taught with all
your heart. Today it is your Spirit who teaches us, we can imagine how it
hurts You when we show lack of faith and immerged in vain traditions of
men. Lord, we pray You prepare your people before the end come, such that
they abide and be saved...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Luke 22:41-44

41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down,
and prayed,

42 Saying, Father, if you be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.

43 And there appeared an angel to him from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it
were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Matthew 26:36-39

36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith
unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray.

37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be
sorrowful and sore troubled.

38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death: abide ye here, and watch with me.

39 And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying,
My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless,
not as I will, but as thou wilt.

John 11:1-48

Luke 22:17-28

17 And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

19 In your patience possess you your souls.

20 And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that
the desolation thereof is near.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them
which are in the middle of it depart out; and let not them that are in the
countries enter thereinto.

22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written
may be fulfilled.

23 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in
those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath on
this people.

24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away
captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;
and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
waves roaring;

26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things
which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up
your heads; for your redemption draws near.

Matthew 24:15-22

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him
understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of
his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the
sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Daniel 9:26-27

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not
for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto
the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the
midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,
and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even
until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the
desolate.

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Give unto God for your benefit

Acts 5:4 - Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold,
was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine
heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

God alone is our provider. People above us in our work are just vessels so
also when we work we become vessels through whom God provides us and our
families; we or the people we work for are not our providers, God alone is.
When we do not provide for ourselves and everything we have comes from God
then why does God want us to give unto Him?

We as Christians are called to be led by the spirit and not by our flesh.
We are called to overcome the flesh which is the carnal nature / sin nature
that leads us to sin.

Jesus became a sacrifice for us and took away our sins as we believe in His
sacrifice, but He did not take away the sin nature. To deal with the sin
nature He gave us His Spirit and it is by the Spirit of God working in us
we overcome the sin nature.

When Lucifer fell and became evil the first thing that bought him down was
greed. It is written he decorated himself with precious gems. We need to
understand Heaven is a spiritual place and not an earthly place to have
earthly gems, so also Lucifer was not a man of flesh but a Cherub who is a
spirit being far more complex and powerful than an Angel. We also need to
note everything in Heaven is good even the so called gems symbolize good
precious things. So when greed led Lucifer to have good things without
reason of use, these good things started to have a bad effect on him and
greed took birth.

Everything in this world is good and that is what God said in the start
after He created it. But we should know when and how and how much of these
good things to use. When we desire to hold on to things even though we do
not have need for it that is when greed starts to work on us.

God gave us the statute of tithing to help us overcome this greed nature.
Most people think they do a favour to God and His people when they tithe,
they do not realize they are doing themselves a favour when they tithe.

We people need to realize tithing is just a step to giving unto the Lord.
Most of the people in the early Church were Jews and as Jews they
religiously tithed. So tithing was never an issue for them but as
Christians after receiving the Holy Spirit they grew in the Holy Spirit,
and the Holy Spirit led them from tithing unto giving.

We read in the chapter before (4) from verse 32 onwards, each Believer gave
everything that was extra. Each one was led by the Lord to decide how much
was needed by them and their families. We also see some who had dedicated
their lives fully unto the Lord's work gave everything. That did not mean
they did a greater giving than the others. Each one gave as they were led
by the Lord, none gave more or else (even though what they gave differed),
they all gave abiding to the Lord (Holy Spirit); therefore even though some
gave more or less yet all gave equally according to what the Lord gave them.

We read Annanias and Sapphira were led by the Lord to give a certain part
of their holding but they did not fully give. They held back a part of that
extra which they were supposed to give. Peter was made aware by the Holy
Spirit of the deed of Annanias and Sapphira. That is why Peter tells them,
were not these things theirs before they decided to give and when they
decided to abide to giving unto the Lord, he asked them why did the hold
back part of what they were instructed to give? Had they not given then
they would have been in a better position but when said yes to give and did
not do it fully they were mocking God as to be a man who could be cheated
even though they saw the glory of God among the people. That is why this
deed of theirs angered God so much that judgment came instantly on them and
they both died. When God's glory is greater, God's judgment is also harsher.

The one teaching Jesus gave that caused the most ruffles amongst His own
disciples was the fact that it was almost impossible for a rich man to go
to Heaven. No other teaching caused so much reaction on the disciples like
this one did. Even when He said one would have to eat His flesh to have
eternal life the disciples did not react much, the Jews did.

When Jesus said it is impossible for rich to enter Heaven it does not mean
Christians from poor countries will have better chances to go to Heaven and
people from countries would not.

We read in Acts they all did not give a fixed amount, but each gave
according to what the Lord led them to give. Nor did all keep a fixed value
of things, each one was led to keep what they needed and the extra they
sold and gave unto the Lord. One may not be rich and still be rich by their
greed and desires. Money is not evil but greed for money is. Having money
for your need is not evil but having more than what one needs is greed and
evil. We cannot stay we are stocking for a rainy day, there is a limit to
that stocking and beyond that it shows lack of trust in God.

I am sure today if someone teaches on giving unto the Lord, most of his
church would be empty. People struggle to tithe; giving unto the Lord is a
too far a thing for them to even imagine.

Let us realize when we give unto the Lord, God is not benefited in any way.
The most benefited person is we, ourselves. We all are not called to give
everything, we should be led by the Lord as to know how much we need and
what is that extra we need to give.

I have seen Preachers misuse Luke 6:38 for tithing, if they read 2 lines
above they will realize Jesus was talking not of tithing but showing mercy
unto others. Jesus says in those scriptures the mercy we give unto others,
a far greater mercy, pressed down, running over, shaken together will be
given unto us.

In Malachi God challenges man to tithe and He assures us, when we do that
our vessels / store house will never be wanting, they will in fact
overflow. Note one thing He does not says He will expand the vessels to
hold more, No. What we need He will provide and He will give us extra when
should overflow unto others. But we Christians all the time try to expand
our vessels, enlarge our desires more and more, try to hold as much we can
and that is when we become rich and loose the chance to go to Heaven. We
land up with being blessed here on earth but forsake our chance to go to
Heaven.

Let us remember greed is the most difficult worm of Satan to overcome. God
does not ask us to immediately overcome it. He understands our weakness
thus tells us to start by giving 10percent of our income unto His cause
(work of His Kingdom). As we become honest to Him in this small thing and
grow in His Spirit, we learn to have better relationship with Him and then
He teaches to give unto Him and overcome greed.

I would like to again remind, when we give more than others that does not
make us better than others or holier. It is the Lord who give and He who
asks of us, we just abide. So none of us become greater or smaller by what
we give for all are equal when we abide by the Lord. It is the Lord who
enables us to do little or greater for His Kingdom.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You called us to overcome the darkness that Satan and his angels
spread when they went against your desires. Lord, You know how difficult it
is for man to overcome greed that is why You set stages for man to overcome
unlike for other things. When Abraham tithed even though he gave 10 percent
to Melchizedek, yet he did not take more than what his people consumed. He
gave away everything else. Lord, our spirit is strong but our flesh is
weak. We pray Lord we be honest in our giving and we grow to overcome our
flesh...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Acts 4:33-37; 5:1-11

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were
possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the
things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made
unto every man according as he had need.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being
interpreted, The son of consolation, ) a Levite, and of the country of
Cyprus,

37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the
apostles' feet.

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a
possession,

2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and
brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the
Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and
great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried
him.

7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not
knowing what was done, came in.

8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so
much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to
tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried
thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost:
and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth,
buried her by her husband.

11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard
these things.

Genesis 14:14-24

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth
his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued
as far as Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and
smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of
Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother
Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the
slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the vale of
Shaveh (the same is the King's Vale).

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was
priest of God Most High.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
possessor of heaven and earth:

20 and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy
hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take
the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand unto
Jehovah, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,

23 that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is
thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the
men that went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Malachi 3:8-10

8 Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with the curse; for ye rob me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food
in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will
not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it.

Luke 6:36-38

36 Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

37 And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye
shall not be condemned: release, and ye shall be released:

38 give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with
what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.

Matthew 19:23-26

23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich
man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who
then can be saved?

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible;
but with God all things are possible.

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Disagreement between Men of God

Acts 15:36-40

36And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit
our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord,
and see how they do.

37And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

38But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from
them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.

39And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed
asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto
Cyprus;

40And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren
unto the grace of God.

Paul is always projected as a great example of being a good Christian.
He is always projected as a person full of compassion, love, mercy,
patience, knowledge among other things, but like in today's message we
see Paul has a very serious argument with Barnabas and it get so serious
that they decide to go different ways.

We need to remember Barnabas was the man who helped build Paul in his
initial days he was a mentor for Paul. Barnabas was the one who stuck
with him when the other Apostles were afraid of Paul. He accompanied
Paul to Jerusalem and broke the ice between the other Apostles and Paul.
So should not have Paul been grateful to Barnabas? Barnabas was an
Apostle before Paul so being first shouldn' t have Paul listened to him?

A tiff with Barnabas is not the only incident recorded in the NT. Paul
also had tiffs with Peter on at least 2 occasions which caused Paul to
openly in public rebuke Peter and also the tiff of Paul with the Church
of Corinthian. The last one worked on Paul so much so that he was nearly
on the verge of death. A man who could bring dead people to life by just
holding them was himself helpless.

In Acts 19 Paul spent 3 months arguing with the Jews every Sabbath in
the Synagogues.

If Paul was alive today some people could have accused him of being
quarreler, especially with Pastors it is a taboo to go against one's
mentor, but that is not what we see Paul as. When we look at all what
Paul did, he worked for unification and goodness of the people and the
Kingdom of God. But this aspect which is highlighted of Paul cannot be
ignored and we need to understand why Paul did these things.

In today's message we see the cause of discontent between Paul and
Barnabas was John who was called Mark. This Mark is the one who was
assigned by the Apostles to record the teachings of Jesus (Gospel of Mark).

When we compare the Gospel of Mark to Matthew and Luke we see is very
short (Mark wrote up to 16:8 and verses 9-20 were added by someone
else). Even the few points / incidents recorded by Mark are very brief
and do not give a proper dimension of the event. It is only when we
compared the same event in the other Gospels we get a clear understanding.

Paul had no problem with the quality of work of Mark but there was one
point Paul could not digest of Mark. According to Paul the Gospel of
Mark was incomplete for Mark had not recorded the witnessing of the
resurrection of Jesus. Mark stopped with the body of Jesus being put in
the tomb and on the third day the body being missing even though it was
well guarded.

We need to understand the one thing that Christianity is based on is the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. If one takes away the resurrection, there
is no Christianity. That is the reason Mohammad tried his best to
deceive people to believe Jesus did not die just to disapprove Jesus'
resurrection. In the one/two ayah or scripture in the Quran against
Jesus' resurrection, his lie stands exposed. In it he records the Jews
as saying, they neither killed the Apostle of Allah (Allah referring to
God and the Apostle of God referring to Jesus Christ) nor did they
crucify him.

First thing one should realize the Jews hated Jesus and they consider
Him as a false Prophet. They believe He is now in hell suffering for His
heresy. So there is no way any true Jew will call Jesus an Apostle of
God or Messenger of God. It shows how Mohammad made-up his stories to
deceive people into accepting him and the true representative of God. He
did that even to the other pagans by accepting / acknowledging their 3
goddesses till they accepted him in their midst (at that time he did not
have a strong army to fight them and take them by force). Later he
claims Satan temped him to say the words and they are called the Satanic
verses and have been edited out of the new Qurans.

We Christians need to realize the importance of Jesus' resurrection like
Paul did and thus he did not compromise with Barnabas who was supporting
Mark. Paul wanted Mark to complete the Gospel and no leave it half way.
Even with Peter the incidents where Paul rebuked Peter were on serious
points where Peter was misleading people.

Both Barnabas and Peter were giving importance to relationship and were
compromising with Holy things of God for the things of man. They did not
fear God but feared disappointing man. Paul loved man but when men
having knowledge of God yet went against God then Paul did not spare
them. At one place Paul says he handed over unto Satan some believers
who were blaspheming God. He meant he disconnected his relationship with
them and thus took out the hedge of protection that was on him and
extended unto them by considering them brethren. Being out of God's
protection they would get sense through the things they would experience
and thus repent.

At times when people who go against the Holy things of God and lead
people away from God, we need to put our foot down and take up the
matter with them. We need not confront everyone in the open but should
try our best to handle the matter as discreetly as possible. But if need
be we should not fear to bring it out in the open.

We need to also note even though Paul had a tiff with Barnabas or Peter,
Paul did not let that affect his relationship with them. Paul desired to
send the message down the line but he also made up in his relationship
with them. We see Peter crediting Paul for greater understanding of
scriptures than himself. We also see Barnabas and Mark being back into
Paul's team.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray that your people know the purpose of being Christian. That
they know it is not about them but about You, that without You there is
no us. Lord, we pray people do not compromise You and the Truth for
relationships. That they love one another but above all love You. That
even if they have disagreement, the disagreement be focused on the issue
and on the persons. That oneness remains both in You and among your
people...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen...

[Reference Scriptures]

Acts 9:26-27

26And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the
disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was
a disciple.

27But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared
unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to
him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

Galatians - 2:11-16

11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face,
because he was to be blamed.

12For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles:
but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them
which were of the circumcision.

13And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that
Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

14But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth
of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew,
livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why
compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

15We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

16Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by
the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that
we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of
the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Acts 19:8 - And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the
space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning
the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 4:11 - Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with
thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

1 Timothy 1:20Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered
unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

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Are Christians called to do social service to enter Heaven?

Matthew 25:42, 43 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in:
naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Today's scripture is of very prime importance, for in the scripture we see
certain conditions are given as necessary to receive eternal life.

If we look at recording of the Apostles in the book of Acts we see the
Apostles did not concentrate on these factors. In Acts 6 a situation arises
wherein the widows of the Greek and Hebrew were not attended to (given
daily meals) equally so the matter is taken to the Apostles. And we read
the Apostles did not jump into it. They said they had more important matter
to do then to feed people. Were they not aware that if they rejected the
hungry they would not enter Heaven? Also note in Acts the widows were from
within the disciples who accepted Jesus Christ. Why did the Apostles not
feed the hungry widows of those who were Jews or of other religions?

When we say ‘saved’ there are 2 factors to it. One is saved from hell and
other ‘saved’ means receiving eternal life, meaning saved from death. A
person is saved from hell by repentance towards God and faith in Jesus
Christ. That means anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is saved from hell,
which is the grace (the required mercy) we receive through faith in Jesus
Christ. But that does not means by just believing we go to Heaven to have
eternal life (since the Tree of Life that enables us to have eternal life
is in Heaven - it is not an actual tree but symbolic to an earthly tree).

To have eternal life Jesus gives various conditions some of them are we
need to be born-again, we need to be baptized in water (Jesus Christ) and
in the Holy Spirit, eat His flesh and drink His blood, overcometh and
becoming Sons of God.

If we look at all these conditions we see they all have to do with the Word
of God and Spirit of the Lord. When we are baptised in the Holy Spirit -
the Spirit of Truth reveals the Word to us and teaches us all things. This
teaching is not just knowledge, for the Spirit helps us walk according to
the Word and thus overcome our sin nature. The word flesh in Hebrew comes
from the root word that means message or tithing and blood symbolizes
righteousness. That is why Jesus said only when we be His disciples (walk
in His righteousness) knowing the Truth, the Truth will set us free.

We need to understand our good works do not get us a ticket to Heaven.
Righteousness means being right in the sight of God and sin sets us in the
opposite direction of righteousness. That is why God says the righteousness
of man is like rags before God. But a man knowing the truth will
automatically walk in righteousness for the truth is in him.

Even after baptism in the Holy Spirit we still sin for our past sins are
taken away but the sin nature that leads us to sin is still in us. The Holy
Spirit helps us overcome this sin nature. That does not mean one day we
will not sin. Paul says anyone who says he does not sin is a liar. This
Paul wrote nearly 2000 years back and is valid even today.

The Word of God says as we keep growing in understanding of scriptures one
day the complete Truth / knowledge of the Word will be known to man and
that day God says it is sufficient and says come up. In the Garden of Eden
Adam and Eve sinned and lost Truth by eating the fruit of doubt (Good and
Bad) and Righteousness because they sinned by disobeying God. Through Jesus
Christ we receive these 2 back again.

The Spirit of God made available by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ helps us
know the Truth and on Judgement Day the Righteousness of the Son (Blood)
covers us (replaces our unrighteousness) and thus enables us to enter
Heaven.

Keep this in mind we need to understand today's message. The message talks
of certain conditions.

Feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty.

Give shelter to those without.

Cover those naked.

Look after those in prison.

If we look at the works of the Apostles, they in reality did all these,
concentrating on them alone even though they seem to have not done them in
the natural.

Jesus came to give us not any earthly land or kingdom which is temporary
(for at the end this earth is destroyed). Jesus came to give is an eternal
Kingdom that is forever, that is why He said I am going to the Father to
prepare a place for us.

When Jesus spoke of giving us Living Water or Bread that gives eternal
life, they were not natural bread or natural water.

If we look at the instructions God gave the Israelites in the book of
Moses. He commanded them to be good and merciful to the strangers that
dwell amongst them, but to their own they needed to do all that they could.
We are called to help all who are in trouble and be good to them even our
enemies but to our brethren / neighbours we need to love them as we love
ourselves, like Jesus loved us.

In short feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give shelter and
clothe the naked in today’s message is more to do with spiritual things and
less natural things. It is all about taking the Cross (Cause / Burden) of
Jesus Christ. Unless we do not do the things we are commissioned to do as
Christians we cannot be sure to go to Heaven.

We as Christians should be doing social service to show the merciful nature
of God in us but that is not the mission of a Christian. The mission of a
Christian is to bring the lost sheep to God, to share Jesus and build
people in the Lord. It is about saving souls of those who are children of
God. We are one family in God and if we do not show love to another family
member how can we claim to be family?

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You said those who are yours will hear your Voice and come to You.
Lord, we as your disciples are called to be carriers of your Voice (Gospel)
to all who have your seed of faith in them. We are called to help in
protecting this seed as it becomes a plant and called to help make the
plant into a great tree that bears fruit. At the end we are called to bear
Fruit of the Holy Spirit and help others also. Lord we pray your people
walk not an earthly path by earthly understanding but the Way which is
You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Prayer Starter]

Matthew 25:40-46

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not:
sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and
did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as
ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal.

1 Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and
though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing.

Acts 6:1-3

1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied,
there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their
widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and
said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve
tables.

3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report,
full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that,
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his
poverty might be rich.

James 2:2-9

2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly
apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto
him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there,
or sit here under my footstool:

4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil
thoughts?

5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world
rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that
love him?

6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you
before the judgment seats?

7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of
the law as transgressors.

John 5:26-32

26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself;

27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is
the Son of man.

28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice,

29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment
is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which
hath sent me.

31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the
witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

John 12:48 - He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one
that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in
the last day.

John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not:
for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man
eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his
word is not in us.

1 John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is
a liar, and the truth is not in him.

2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

John 14:2-3

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive
you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

--

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God desires to save

Jonah 1:1,2 - Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of
Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against
it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

We read in the book of Jonah how the Lord sends Jonah to give the people
of Nineveh the message of repentance and how they receive it and are
saved. We also read how Jonah who did not desire them to be saved but
desired they be punished for they were the most brutal lot of people at
that time. Then Jonah is taken there against his wish but later
half-heartedly does the job of telling them the warning hoping they
would not listen but when they listen to his message and repent, Jonah
is disappointed.

We see the Lord sends Jonah on the mission to save the people of Nineveh
and we read the Lord had given them a period of 40 days to change.

Let us note what were they people of Nineveh being saved from?

Today's message says the deeds of the people of Nineveh had come before
the Lord and the anger of God was going to come on these people but
before the anger of God falls on the people God desired to give them
another chance so send His messenger Jonah to them.

We all need to note God desires to save people however bad or evil they
may seem to the world, yet God does not close the door and tries one
more time. But we also need to note God does not wait forever or goes on
and on tolerating our evil forever. He sets a time for each one of us
and the time is not the same for all. The time is according to our
hearts. In that period of time if we fail to turn back or repent from
our ways we had it.

Most people think of God as a punching bag, whom they can go on hurting
again and again endlessly. They forget God describes Himself as slow to
anger. Slow does not mean never angry. It means God waits patiently and
for a stipulated period of time and when the time ends He acts on his anger.

Christians do not realize Jesus came not to save us from Satan but from
God Himself. God has given mankind a stipulated time to change and come
back to Him before He enacts on His anger and consumes all. Satan took
us from God and wants to make sure we are consumed by God's wrath
because he knows he will be consumed when his period ends. He does not
desire we be blessed in the Lord with the things he and his lot lost.

We should realize even though we proclaim 'God is Good' yet the one
being we all need to fear is God and no one else. We do not need to fear
Satan or anyone else for they are nothing before the anger of God. The
Bible says resist Satan and his ways but does not say fear him. As much
God loves us that much He also hates evil. He gave His only Son to
suffer for us and to save us. He risked His all for us. Then imagine how
terrible would His anger be?

To those who repent from their evil ways and believe in Jesus, to them
He time and again says 'do not fear'. He does that because in the Garden
of Gethsemane Jesus drank the cup of the wrath of God on our behalf. He
was forsaken by His Father because of us. He went to Hell because of our
sins which were on Him even though He never sinned. It was only because
Hell could not keep a righteous person that He rose again (came up -
since Hell is spiritually below, not physically). And we who are in Him
(who are called righteous not by our doing but by His doings), are also
saved from Hell because of Him.

Let us not take Jesus or God for granted. We are given a period of time
like the people of Nineveh. Let us repent from our evil ways and turn
back to God before the anger of God falls on us.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord we pray You save your people from You. That they do not receive of
your wrath. That they repent from their evil ways and come to You. That
they realize their time is not forever. You are slow to anger but keep
record of our every doing when we are not in Christ. We pray they turn
away from their evil and take refuge in Christ and be saved...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Matthew 8:28-29

28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the
Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the
tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Exodus 34:6-7

6And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD
God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering [slow to anger], and abundant
in goodness and truth,

7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children' s children, unto
the third and to the fourth generation.
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Providing things good in the sight of God and also man

2 Corinthians 8:21 - Providing for honest things, not only in the sight
of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

One of the greatest reasons why our Church suffers is because people do
not grow more than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord also says, "my
people are destroyed due to lack of knowledge" .

Last Sunday I was teaching on Acts 20 at my Bible class and that chapter
gives a very beautiful picture to understand today's message.

Gospel means Good News and here in this chapter the Gospel is very
simply defined as 'repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus
Christ'. It means to believe in the salvation made available through
Jesus Christ, but to know the value of this salvation we need to first
know who we are (sinners) and that God hates sin and thus as sinners we
are punished and will perish.

To give the Gospel one needs anything from a few minutes to a few hours,
max a few days. But here we read Paul spent almost 3 years in Asia (a
region in ancient Europe & East Europe). These 3 years surely Paul was
not teaching them just the Gospel. We read later Paul was worried
knowing that on his leaving some people he calls 'savage wolves' would
come to deceive them with perverse teachings so as to draw them away
from the Truth and thus cause them to perish. He says not only people
from outside but people from within them will deceive them with things
of the flesh. But Paul says he was satisfied for these 3 years he did
teach them with great pain on how to discern the good from the bad and
right from the wrong.

We also read Paul did not teach them everything but all that was
necessary for he later says if they fall even after this, their blood
would not be on his hands for all that was necessary was taught to them.

In our Churches we are all given the Gospel of Jesus Christ but very few
Churches teach its congregation to discern. They are not taught to
discern right from wrong and good from bad. It is when people are taught
to discern and when they exercise discernment that they grow and mature
as Christians.

When you hear great famous preachers preaching, one who has good
knowledge and understanding of scriptures see them get away with murder
in broad day light. The crowd is so mesmerised with the show put around
these preachers or people are blinded with one point how to receive
their blessing or their healing that they do not see anything else. They
follow the preacher like cattle.

Most preachers bring people to God but do not strengthen them sufficient
that they remain in God. What is worse, the preachers themselves are not
spiritually strong enough to remain in God that is why sometimes we see
even great preachers fall to deceit of other religions, or the most
common one they fall for is the things of the flesh. They become famous
more because of their gifts not because of their spiritual maturity or
understanding of Heavenly things.

We who are ministering to others are not called to hit people with the
Bible, nor called to just give track sheets, a flyer of the Good News.
We are called not only to bring people to God by giving the Gospel but
also build them such that they remain in God. To do the later we need to
make sure after they accept the Gospel, they are baptized in the Holy
Spirit and the foundation of the Word of God and basic understanding of
the Kingdom of God is clear.

Whatever we teach should be good not only to man but also according to God.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray those who have taken up your burden to give your salvation
unto man do not stop at just giving the Gospel, that they baptize them
in the Father (baptism of repentance), in the Son (baptism of faith) and
the Holy Spirit (baptism of the Holy Spirit) and then teach them. Your
burden is heavy for them because they do not follow your guidelines or
your Spirit. Lord, we pray your Church grows strong in knowledge and
understanding and learns to discern...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

2 Corinthians 8:16-21

16 But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart
of Titus for you.

17For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his
own accord he went unto you.

18And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel
throughout all the churches;

19And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel
with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the
same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind:

20Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is
administered by us:

21Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but
also in the sight of men.

Matthew 28:19 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Acts 20:18-21, 26-32

18And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the
first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you
at all seasons,

19Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and
temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:

20And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have
shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,

21Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

26Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood
of all men.

27For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

28Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood.

29For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter
in among you, not sparing the flock.

30Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to
draw away disciples after them.

31Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I
ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

32And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace,
which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all
them which are sanctified.

Hosea 4:6a - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou
hast rejected knowledge,

Hebrews 5:14 - But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern
both good and evil.
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Gaze at this 'king of peace' on his throne

Songs of Solomon 3:11 - Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold
king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day
of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

To understand today's verse we need to go to a few verses before.
Songs of Solomon 3:7-10
7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon' s; threescore valiant men are about
it, of the valiant of Israel.
8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword
upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold,
the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love,
for the daughters of Jerusalem.

Points to note
Behold his bed
The sixty men around him hold swords upon their thigh
They guard him because of things of the dark
His chariot is made of wood of Lebanon
Pillars are of silver while the bottom is of gold
The covering is of purple
The midst there of paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem

The last point 'paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem' shows
that these verses is not describing anything natural or the King Solomon
but something symbolic that is spiritual like the whole book Songs of
Solomon is.

Like I pointed out Jerusalem and Zion were referring to the same natural
place. When David called Jerusalem as Zion (meaning fortified city)
there was no physical wall around it therefore it is not referring to
natural people but spiritual people.

These scriptures therefore are more solid food and less spiritual milk.
To decode it one need to have a firm understanding of spiritual things.

I will list the symbolic meanings of the words and then put them together.

Solomon - means peace
Bed - where one lies
Sixty - comes from the word six which is 1 less than the number 7 which
symbolizes fullness of the Spirit which is also to do with callings.
Note Satan is symbolized as 666 to show the position he held before in
Heaven and what he is. If we look at the sacrifice in the book of Moses
the number sixty was not used for the things holy for the number six was
a number symbolizing bondage or hold, while seven being freedom or release.
Sword - symbolizes spiritual words
Thigh - symbolizes prophesy / prophet
Thing of dark - mystical evil things that are against God's plans
Chariot - symbolizes progress
Wood of Lebanon - Lebanon means righteousness and wood symbolizes
something of the flesh therefore means earthly righteousness
Pillars - symbolizes promises
Silver - symbolizes worldly riches
Gold - symbolizes spiritual ruches
Purple - symbolizes royalty, it was used in the Tabernacle and the robes
of the Priest. King Nero during his time ordered no person to wear the
colour purple and the penalty was death.
Zion - symbolizes people of authority / people mature in spirit
Mother - symbolizes mankind / human

If we look at the life of King Solomon he landed worshipping 2 gods and
the traditions of the Ammonites [meaning tribal - symbolizing world
unknowledgeable people], while he worshipped the Lord God.

1 Kings 11:5 - For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Zidonians, and after Milcom [the great king] the abomination of the
Ammonites.

King Solomon due to his lust of the flesh worshipped Ashtoreth the
goddess of fertility, Milcom the king and also did the
abominations/ traditions of the people. From yesterday' s message we
learned this false Church who shows as a body of peace also worships the
same 2 gods and does the traditions of the people while they also
worship God. But God is secondary to their 2 gods (goddess Ashtoreth /
Mary and the King / Pope).

The Lord in today's message is telling those who are spiritually
maturing to see this so called representative of peace and introspect
the things concerning this church especially the crown which humans have
put on this Church and the day when it glorified itself.

These two factors should tell you a lot of this church.

The Pope has a triple crown. This crown which is put on the Pope is not
just a crown of an earthly king, since on the crown are written the
words "King of kings and lord of lords". The three layers define the
Pope are king and lord over Heaven, Earth and the lower Earth. The Pope
is not just king but also a god and has power that of God (I have listed
below transcripts from official documents of the Catholic Church).

The title is also shared by Mary who is Queen of Heaven, Queen of all
saints and Queen of Hell (according to the records of St. Alphonsus de
Liguorishe, Mary overcame the evil spirit and thus rules over them as
Queen and this is believed by the Catholic Church).

The other point that the Lord wants us to observe is the coming in glory
of this church. The Church calms it existed from the beginning and
founded by the Apostles especially Peter. When we read the book of Acts
which records about 60 to 80 years of Church history we do not see
anything about the Catholic Church here. We do not see a formal Church
operating from Rome but small house churches. We also do not have any
record in the Bible of Peter visiting the Church of Rome, we see Paul
being the one administering this Church. Nearly about 200 years after
Christ the Romans persecuted and even killed the Christians and this
changed only when Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity. It was
around 300AD that this Church of Rome was glorified and made into an
institute by the backing of Constantine and thus came the concept of
"Pontifex Maximus" or "Supreme Pontiff" now known as Pope (name for the
Bishop of Rome).

The Popes later were given titles of king / emperor and even though they
were just titles yet the Popes enjoyed great power over the kingdoms and
the kings. On 25th Dec 800AD Charles I / Charlemagne was made Emperor
and founder of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III. The Vatican /
Church of Rome was the cause of elimination of 3 European kingdoms (as
noted in Daniel 7:8).

Power has driven this church like a wild animal. There were many times
in Catholic Church history when there were more than 1 Popes. At one
time there was a record 3 Popes running parallel Catholic Churches (no
idea who took actually over from the Catholic Peter). Family members
would get into fights with the other Popes. At one incident the family
members of one Pope tore out the tongue and poked the eyes of the other
Pope and left him to bleed to death (fortunately he lived and ruled).

When one gets into these two aspects of the Church one would see the
true face of this Church.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, your people have been deceived through the ages in your name. Your
Word was kept away from the people so that Truth is also kept away from
them and they are under the bondage of lies and deceit. Lord, we pray by
your Word and Spirit people will know the Truth and come out from this
strange woman and be saved from being party to her punishment.. .

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus de Liguori pg43
"My children," Mary seems to say, "when the enemy assails you, fly to
Me; cast your eyes on Me, and be of good heart; For as I am your
defender, victory is assured to you." So that recourse to Mary is a most
secure means to conquer all the assaults of hell; for She, says St.
Bernardine of Sienna, is even the Queen of hell and sovereign mistress
of the devils: since She it is who tames and crushes them. He thus
expresses his thought: "The Most Blessed Virgin rules over the infernal
regions. She is therefore called the ruling mistress of the devils,
because She brings them into subjection."

Source: Lucius Ferraris, "Papa," art. 2, in his Prompta Bibliotheca
Canonica, Juridica, Moralis, Theologica, Ascetica, Polemica, Rubristica,
Historica. ("Handy Library" ), Vol. 5, published in Petit-Montrouge
(Paris) by J. P. Migne, 1858 edition, column 1823, Latin.
#1. "The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not mere
man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God."
(#1. "Papa tantae est dignitatis et cesitudinis, ut non sit simplex
homo, sed quasi Deus, et Dei vicarius." )

#13. "Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven
and of earth and of the lower regions."
(#13. Hinc Papa triplici corona coronatur tanquam rex coeli, terre et
infernoram." )

#18. "As to papal authority, the Pope is as it were God on earth, Sole
sovereign of all the faithful of Christ, chief king of kings, having a
plentitude of unbroken power, entrusted by the omnipotent God to govern
the earthly and heavenly kingdoms."
(#18. "Deveniendo ad Papae auctoritatem, Papa est quasi Deus in terra
unicaus Christifidelium princeps, regum omnium rex maximus, plenitudinem
potestatis continens, cui terreni simul, ac coelestis imperii
gubernacula ab omnipotenti Deo credita sunt.")

#30. "The Pope is of so great authority and power, that he is able to
modify, declare, or interpret even divine laws."
(#30. "Papa tantae est auctoritatis et potestatis, ut possit quoque
leges divinas modificare, declarare, vel interpretari, ad num.")

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Bringing Dagon down
1 Samuel 5:3 - And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow,
behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of
the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

Dagon was the principle god of the Philistines. It had top half the body
of a man (a king) and the lower half the body of a fish. The word dag
means fish. This god was a god of the seas. There were and are various
versions or forms of Dagon. The Syrians had a female version of Dagon
with the upper half body of a female. Similarly the Greeks and others
had similar avatars of this amphibious god. Even the Hindus have an god
equivalent of Dagon. Vishnu's first incarnation was Matsya the fish and
they have a picture of Vishnu and the lower part the fish Matsya, same
as Dagon.

Like Ashtoreth this god has also been part, parcel tagging alone with
the Israelites / Jews throughout Biblical records.

The Temple Samson bought down was of Dagon. When Jonah went to Nineveh,
when he came out of the fish's mouth they thought him to be Dagon
therefore did not harm him and immediately abided to what he said since
they were worshippers of Dagon. For them it was their god telling them
about a God greater than him, they thus repented from their evil ways.
They were among the most brutal races in Biblical history. They would
skin people alive and perform child sacrifice for their god Dagon.

This god is the god or ruler of the seas and in the Bible 'sea'
symbolizes people. Stephen accused the Jews of worshipping Moloch and
Remphan. Moloch means king and Remphan means star, the Old Testament
does not record the Israelites worshipping these gods in the desert or
otherwise yet Stephen accuses them of doing so.

Stephen was not wrong. They were symbolic worshiping these gods and not
them as an idol but by the things they did. Other than the god of
fertility (they did this by a calf this was equivalent to star /
Remphan) they also worshipped Moses as their god (Moloch). That is why
they killed Stephen after they accused him of blasphemy against Moses
and then God. Moses was before God for them and blasphemy can be done
only God and against a human. So by their accusing blasphemy against
Moses they proved they worshipped Moses. That is why even thou they
never understood the words of Moses yet they followed it to the letter,
blindly. That is also why God hid the body of Moses when Moses died.

In the book of Revelation (chp 17 & 18) we see the Mystery Babylon, The
Mother of Harlots rules over all the nations and the leaders of the
nations are subjected to her. Later the Lord causes her to be bought down.

In today's message we read the first time the god Dagon fell before the
Ark the people picked it up and made it stand again. The second time
Dagon did not just fall but it was beheaded.

The Lord is telling us the Mystery Babylon when it fell in 1500AD it
stood up again and continued its whoredom with the things precious to
God. This time again this Babylon will fall and this time it will not be
able to stand again for first its head would be separated from its body.

Today we read the leader of this false church is being loved by all and
the Times magazine had its cover picture of him as a person loved by the
nations. If people understand Catholicism they will know it stand on 3
pillars, one is scriptures and the other two are traditions and church
authority. The latter is over the prior. Traditions overrule scriptures;
that is why we find the loaf of bread which Jesus broke was replaced
with wafer in 1200AD, was called Eucharist and this was made a
tradition. Why did they want to replace bread with wafer and make it a
tradition and then clam it came from the Apostles is a mystery. We also
see the Pope has authority to change scriptures and also make, remove or
change traditions. We see they changed the Ten Commandments erasing the
second and splitting the last into two. We also read of how the Popes
are adding, removing and changing traditions.

What we see this Pope is doing now is unthinkable by traditional
orthodox Catholics. This Pope is shuffling the authority and making
changes in the rights of the Cardinals; the power house of the Catholic
Church and no one messes with them and remains. We have seen before
Popes who tried that were killed or over thrown. These were done in the
dark ages when people would kill and get away, but in this modern age
one cannot think of doing such a thing and that too to a spiritual
leader and getting away with it.

So we will soon see something great like a volcano coming out this deep
bubbling mountain. And that eruption will cause this Mystery Babylon to
fall once again and this time the head will be knocked out.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord we are during the greatest time when the Mystery Babylon will fall
and the blood of the martyrs revenged. We are at the time when all the
denominations will come together and come together with one mind and one
understanding let by one Shepherd and that Shepherd is not a man but
You. Lord we pray You be gloried and claim the harvest that comes due to
the fall of this false Church...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

1 Samuel 5:2-7

2When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the
house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

3And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was
fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they
took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

4And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was
fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the
head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the
threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

5Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's
house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he
destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts
thereof.

7And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of
the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us,
and upon Dagon our god.

Acts 7:39-43

39To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in
their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

40Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this
Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is
become of him.

41And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the
idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as
it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye
offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in
the wilderness?

43Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god
Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you
away beyond Babylon.

Acts 7:11 - Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

Revelation 18:1-8

1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven,
having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is
fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold
of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the
merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies.

4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues.

5For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities.

6Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double
according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

7How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much
torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen,
and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

8Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and
famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the
Lord God who judgeth her.

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The Reformation

2 Chronicles 15: 16,17 - And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa
the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol
in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at
the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away out of Israel:
nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

In the Old Testament we see waves of reformation happening not once,
twice but thrice before Jesus came and by His Spirit caused the greatest
reformation.

In the books of Kings and Chronicles we read of people like Aza,
Hezekiah and Josiah who repented the way of the spiritual life of the
Israelite people and the things they did with regards to worship. They
found people were worshiping other things while they were also
worshipping God. They had contaminated their belief with the beliefs
from other religions and thus imported gods and practices into their
worship towards Jehovah.

In today's message we read of Asa the young king who was the first
reformist and the thing he did. We see one thing common through all the
reformists that they all rooted themselves to the Law and Commandment of
God. Thy all solely depended on scriptures and it was the holy
scriptures and their relationship with God that cause them to see the
mockery people were doing towards God and in His name.

The people during their time and also during the time of Jesus were not
totally against God they all called themselves worshippers of God but
they were doing something else while they were worshipped God. During
the times of the 3 kings we see two common things one was a goddess that
was worshipped along with Jehovah and second they worshipped in high
places. Worshipping in high places did not specifically means God did
not want them to build a place of worship on a hill or mountain but
symbolically meant their worship was more a blasphemy and less an
acknowledgment, praise or thanksgiving to God. In their so called
worship they were mocking the things holy unto God.

During the time of Jesus they did not have the goddess factor but the
worship in high place was there and these they called traditions. Jesus
became their enemy because He spoke against and even broke their
religious traditions. The bases on which Jesus like the other 3 kings
founded their fight against the so called worshippers of God were the
Holy Scriptures.

Unlike the 3 kings who did good in the eyes of God yet they compromised
at some place and thus continued things like worshipping God in high
places among the people of God. Josiah stood tall among the 3 and other
than stopping the people from worshipping the goddess he also stopped
them from worshipping the dead.

During 1500AD we saw another reformation that took place. At that time
too the people who gave importance to scriptures saw the Christians
worshipping the goddess Ashtoreth the Queen of Heaven in the name of
Mary the mother of Jesus and also worshipping the dead. This caused the
Jewish disciples who followed Jesus, led by the Spirit of Lord to
separate themselves and caused them to be recognised as Christians and
not Jews.

Like the reformation which happened during the time of the kings so also
what happened around 1500AD was not a complete reformation. Many of the
worships in high places were compromised and these practices are seen
even today among Believers.

We need a reformation like that which Jesus led His disciples to. He
built them in knowledge of scriptures and got them later to separate
themselves spiritually from the beliefs and practices of the Jews. They
did not call themselves by a name but the people gave them names for
they found them different from the rest of the Jews and other people. We
too do not need to break away from so called Christian by forming
another group or Church. We need to be like the disciples, they by their
belief, way of life and the power of God working through them made the
people to see them different from the main stream believers.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, your people do not need another religion or denomination they need
You, your Word and your Spirit. Time and again your people have been
deceived to do the same spiritual fornication. They are made to
spiritually prostitute themselves by their worship of the strange woman
goddess Ashtoreth the Queen of Heaven in her different forms. They are
made to worship the dead and blasphemy You in their practices called
worship by them. They time and again have shown the stiff neck, fleshy
nature and hatred against the things of your Kingdom. They prefer things
of darkness and reject the things of Light. Lord we pray a spiritual
reformation that the world will see You in them and know You through them...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Proverbs 2:1-22

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to
understanding;

3Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding;

4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

5Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge
of God.

6For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding.

7He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them
that walk uprightly.

8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

9Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity;
yea, every good path.

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto
thy soul;

11Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that
speaketh froward things;

13Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

16To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which
flattereth with her words;

17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of
her God.

18For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

19None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the
paths of life.

20That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of
the righteous.

21For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain
in it.

22But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors
shall be rooted out of it.

Proverbs 5:1-13

1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

2That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

3For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is
smoother than oil:

4But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

5Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

6Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable,
that thou canst not know them.

7Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of
my mouth.

8Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

9Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

10Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the
house of a stranger;

11And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

13And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to
them that instructed me!
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It is not about us or how powerful God is, it is about His Word

Jeremiah 36:26 - But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and
Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch
the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.

In today’s message we read when the king tried to harm Jeremiah and Baruch
and the Lord hides them. We also read similar situations in the Gospels
when Jews were about to harm Jesus, He escapes through the crowd unharmed
or hides from the crowd.

When we look at the great miracles in the Bible where God levelled armies
and cities one may ask why did the Almighty want to hide anyone? Why did He
not show His might and destroy the enemy and show how great He is. Jesus
had authority He could cause fire from Heaven to fall on those who came to
attack Him and consume them all like it happened with Sodom and Gomorra, or
even get them diseased of bitten by snakes coming out of the ground like it
happened with the Israelites, or even an Angle killing them all like it
happened at the time of David. But He did not, He preferred hiding or
escaping.

The God we worship is an Omnipotent God and man is not even dust before
Him. It would not take a second for God to crush evil man and show how
powerful He is but He does not. God does hate evil and cannot stand evil
yet He tolerates evil man. Why does God do that?

We can understand this from the turn of events in today’s message. We read
when prophets like Jeremiah spoke the Word from the Lord people like Baruch
would note them down either immediately or later. Rarely did the Prophet or
Man of God himself write (Moses did most of the time). The original scroll
was later copied manually letter to letter and that is how others would get
a copy of it. For this job too there were people trained. Today we have
many copies of these manuscripts (manual copies of the scriptures) and
therefore a confirmation of the text in the Bible. These texts are so
accurately written and the mistakes that exist between them are mostly
spelling mistake.

The king was very angry when he read a scroll of Jeremiah which was the
original and only scroll (a part and not the whole book of Jeremiah). The
king did not like what was written in the scroll and cut the scroll and
burned it. The king did not fear that the text on the scroll was from the
Lord and that he was going not against Jeremiah but against God.

We see later the Lord again tells Jeremiah to note down the same words
which were in the previous scroll and then adds to the text what the Lord
would do to the king and his generation. God did not say okay the king
destroyed it so let bygones be bygone, we will write something new. Instead
God had the same identical text, word to word rewritten. He did add but did
not remove or replace.

We need to understand the whole of the Bible is inspired by God and is for
the benefit of man to understand the salvation of man in Jesus Christ. It
is to confirm, correct and reinforce one in his or her faith in Jesus
Christ. Paul in his second letter to Timothy states all scriptures, not the
New Testament only or the Gospels only but includes the Old Testament also
(by that time the whole New Testament was not ready but the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark and Luke were but John may have not been complete).

If we look at scriptures books like Kings, Chronicles, Proverbs give us an
understanding of scriptures or are records of the events confirming the
prophesies or how God worked among the people. The Bible (books) is a
collection of Prophetic Word, teachings and records / testimonies.

When Paul taught the people about Jesus the people of Berea confirmed what
Paul taught by looking up the scriptures (Old Testament). Jesus also spoke
that Moses and the Prophets wrote about Him and He fulfilled all that is
written by them. Acts like Chronicles and Kings are recordings, the
Epistles so also the book of Revelation give an understanding of the Word
fulfilled in Jesus and which was already given. If one checks the book of
Revelation every scripture would have a cross reference to either Moses or
the Prophets or the Words of Jesus.

In the Quran we find Allah is unlike God. When there is a problem with any
scripture Muhammad is instructed to replace it with another scripture. This
scripture is not the same but a different scripture. We see this Allah
behaves like a man who makes mistakes or lack understanding or is not
omnipresent (in time and space) and is not omnipotent. That is why the
Muslims claim that the Torah, Psalms and Gospel are God’s Word but yet are
insufficient, incomplete or corrupted. When we look at God in the Bible He
did not say He made a mistake in what He said in the Books of Moses or
Psalms or the Prophets, but rather confirms them through Jesus. We see the
Word is one and complete.

I wrote in my previous message the Angels called the Word of God as Word of
Life. We need to understand the purpose of the Word. It is given by God for
the salvation of mankind. It is to give life to man not just temporary
natural life but eternal spiritual life also. God tolerates things and is
slow to anger so that His Word completes what it is sent to and returns to
Him fulfilled, doing its job.

In the Kingdom of God it is not about you or me. It is not about how many
miracles we perform or how many healing we do or how many problems we
solve. It is not about showing how great God is or how powerful He is. It
is not about sell Christianity or making God or Jesus Christ famous like a
brand name. The Word of God is given for the salvation of man; therefore
the Kingdom of God is all about saving mankind. It is about getting
prophesies fulfilled and the people which the Word has been sent to save,
getting them saved. It is all about the Word. It is the fulfilled Word that
will bring glory to God and to us in God.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray your people understand the purpose of your Word. That they
know the life it can bring to them. Lord, we pray people do not do things
according to their understanding but fulfil the Word as Jesus Christ did as
man on earth...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

2 Timothy 3:15-16

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Isaiah 45:23 - I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in
righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.

Isaiah 55:11 - So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Quran Su 16:101 - when we substitute one revelation for another,-- and
Allah knows best what he reveals in stages,-- they say, "thou art but a
forger" : but most of them understand not.

Quran Su 2:106 - none of our revelations do we abrogate or cause to be
forgotten, but we substitute something better or similar: knowest thou not
that Allah hath power over all things?
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The Word of God
Luke 20:14 - But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among
themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the
inheritance may be ours.

In Luke 20 Jesus gave the Jews who questioned His authority the parable
of the vine grows (v9-v16). In the parable a man gives his vineyard to
the tillers and goes on a long journey. At the season he sends his
servant to get the yield of the land and the tillers assault the servant
and send him back empty handed. The master then sends another servant
and that servant too is treated shamefully and sent back empty handed.
Then again the master sends a third servant and that servant too is
wounded and driven away. The fourth time the master sends not his
servant but his son thinking they will respect him. But the tillers this
time just wound the son but killed him hoping they would inherit the
vineyard. Then Jesus asks the Jews would not the master when he comes
destroy the tillers of the vineyard and give the vineyard to others?

I was meditating on this parable and have heard others preach on it and
they implied the vineyard as the Kingdom of God, but in my heart I did
not accept this understanding. Important aspects we need to note is the
master sends 3 servants before he sent his son and then after taking the
vineyard from the tillers he gives the vineyard to others.

When we look at the Bible we see this parable come true with the Word of
God. If we look at the Old Testament it is largely divided into 3 parts
Moses (Pentateuch) , David (Psalms) and the Prophets (books of the
Prophets), then came Jesus (Gospels) NT before the Word was taken from
the Jews and given to the Gentiles.

The Word of God was given unto the Jews (the children of Abraham). Frist
came the servant Moses and the Jews made the Law given through Moses in
to traditions of man and was called the Law of Moses. They did not keep
the Law of God but kept the Law of Moses which was nothing but
traditions of man. They did the same with the book of Psalms and the
books of the Prophets. These books too they did not understand nor live
it in their lives.

Later the Lord sent His Son who was the perfect manifestation of the
Word in the flesh. Him these Jews did not accept but killed Him. The
Jews always believed that God was their property and the Word of God was
given unto them alone. No one other than a Jew would have rights to
scriptures or the Word of God.

Jesus then says those who go against the Word will be broken into pieces
and against whom the Word goes would be made dust.

Jesus was the Word manifested in the flesh. His Word was rejected and
today His Word has become the corner stone for mankind. Any person who
is part of the Kingdom of God has only one corner stone to which he or
she has to align their lives and that stone is the Word of God and we
can see this Word as a living example in Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew words translated as word and connected to God are the words
'dabar&# 39;, 'imrah&# 39;, 'emer' and 'peh' . Each one gives different rendering
to the aspect of the communication. One means talk, promise, command
another broadcast (comes from the root meaning to scatter to all
corners) like an announcement, proclamation and another expression or
thoughts. When the Angels referred to the Word of God they called it the
Words of Life (Acts 5:20). In the book of Moses it is also called the
Book of Covenant / Law and in the book of Prophets it is called just
Book or Instructions.

When Jesus said eat my flesh, He did not refer to His human flesh. It is
only by our understanding of the Hebrew word 'basar&# 39; which means flesh
and its root meaning which is tithing or preaching then we will know
what Jesus meant. We may break bread physically in remembrance of Jesus
Christ, but unless we do not eat (make part of us) His message we will
not have life in us.

It is only when we understand the Hebrew words used, understand the
books in the Bible and why man is different from other creatures, how
the image of God is in us and the difference of the Word of God is in us
and in the man Jesus Christ then only we will know how Jesus is a
perfect manifestation of the Word. Then only will we have the real
understanding of John 1:1-5.

The Word of God is also referred to as Manna (meaning what it is). The
Jews never understood the Word of God but were possessive of it and
since they had no understanding of it they abused the Word and did
traditions in the name of keeping the Word.

When God gave them Manna to eat, unless the Manna was processed they
were not to eat it. The communication given by the Lord needs to be
processed in us and only when it is processed in us will it becomes a
source of life. Jesus called the processed Word of God in us as Rivers
of Living Water.

The Bible is like Manna many read it but do not understand it. When I
started reading it, it was like a history book for me. It was only when
I was baptized in the Holy Spirit the words of the Bible became Life in
me and the Word became a Living Word. It is the Holy Spirit Who helps us
process the Word and He brings us to the true understanding of the Word
of God and makes it Word of Life in us.

Let us not be like the Jews hardening our hearts and not giving the
yield of the Word. By our believing in Jesus Christ we are given the
Holy Spirit. Let us let the Holy Spirit work in us and process the Word
in us such that out of our bellies flow Rivers of Living Water that
gives life unto others also.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray people do not eat Manna as the Jews ate the seeds that
fell from the sky. Lord, we pray your people know the value of your Word
and how it can transform us and bring live in us. That they know your
Word is Life...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Luke 20:9-16

Acts 5:20 - Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the
words of this life.

John 4:10 - Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift
of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou
wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

John 7:38 - He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of
his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Matthew 7:13-14

13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it.

John 6:58 - This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your
fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall
live for ever.

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.

2The same was in the beginning with God.

3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made.

4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 6:51 - I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any
man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will
give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

John 6:53 - Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have
no life in you.

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The Lord roars out of Zion
Joel 3:16 - The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice
from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD
will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
It sometime pains me when I see people follow the Bible without
understanding. Some days back I had a heated argument with a brother who
insisted the Gospel should be simple and we should not complicate it by
getting into deep study of it.
People do not know the difference between Gospel and Word of God. The
Gospel is indeed very simple but the Word of God isn't. Jesus instructed
us to go to the whole world and preach the Gospel and those who accept
the Gospel, to baptise them and those who are baptize to them we teach
the Word of God.
One needs to understand no one can understand the Word of God without
being baptized. This baptism does not mean only baptism in Jesus Christ
means both baptism of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Without
believing in Jesus we cannot receive the Holy Spirit and without our
baptism in Holy Spirit we will not be able to understand the Word of
God. Initially we may need a person to guide them in the foundation and
the ways in which to study the Word since we start to learn to
communicate with the Holy Spirit but then it ultimately is the Holy
Spirit and no one else who can teach us the correct way to understand
scripture.
Jesus taught His disciples; even though there is no human teacher better
than Jesus yet the disciples could not understand Him. They came to
really understand Him only when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Giving the Gospel is feeding the lambs (we), when we gets baptised in
the Holy Spirit is the time we start to mature in Christ and that time
the sheep (we) needs tending and then later comes feeding the sheep.
(John 21:15-17)
Baptism also does not mean we receive the full Holy Spirit. Other than
Christ none of us have the complete of the Holy Spirit. Bible states the
7 Spirits and what we all receive when believe in Jesus Christ, is the
promise of the Holy Spirit. It is only when we claim the promise by
surrendering to the Holy Spirit we are baptised in the Holy Spirit and
we receive a token of the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of Truth starts
working in us and opening scriptures to our understanding. It is then we
start to grow in the Holy Spirit and start to get more of the Spirit of
Truth and also the other Spirits.
We see many Christians foolishly project Jesus Christ as lion and some
go to the extent to claim He would come as an actual lion to rule the
world. It sometimes sounds Christian have started become like some of
the oriental religions which believe in animal spirits.
Let us look at today's scripture it talks of the Lord will roar from
Zion but His voice will be heard from Jerusalem. We have many scriptures
(like the very next) which also show Zion is a mountain.
If one looks up the Bible Zion was the name David gave to Jerusalem when
he invaded it. Zion means fortified city and the interesting part is at
that time Jerusalem did not have the wall around it. It was later
Solomon build the wall around Jerusalem. For David the city was already
walled for the Lord was the wall of the city. Solomon was bless with
wisdom but yet lacked understanding of spiritual things which David
possessed.
Similarly Jesus Christ s / Lord is called the Lion of Judah not because
the lion is a fearless creature. I tell people think such things how
lions fears hyenas and wild dogs or even wild buffaloes. It is only when
we understand the symbolism of the Lion we understand why the Lord is
called Lion of Judah.
Lion symbolizes Righteousness and the Lord Jesus Christ is the
Righteousness of the His people who come to Him. However good we may be
still we all lack before God and our righteousness is like rags before
Him yet we are all saved and by faith called righteous because after
judgement where Jesus checks if the Truth is in us, He will cover us
with His Righteousness. That means it will no longer be our works or
doing that saves us but what Christ did that saves us. We receive the
Truth by the working of the Holy Spirit and Righteousness (which is also
symbolized by Blood) from the Son. Righteousness and Truth are the
Fruits of the Holy Spirit which Adam and Eve lost in the Garden of Eden
and due to which they (all of us who were in them) became corrupt and
were hence thrown out. It is by our receiving these lost Fruits of the
Holy Spirit that we are able to return to the Garden of Eden / Paradise.
Zion, Jerusalem, Judah, Israel, Samaria, Egypt etc. are symbolic
representations of the various spiritual stages we go through. We grow
from hope to faith and from faith to authority. Jesus came to give
authority to those who hope in Him and have faith in Him. Authority is
the fullness of faith, for it does not mean just having faith but means
exercising it.
Zion is the city where the people of God who have authority dwell. It is
the city where people who are of fullness of faith dwell. From these
people the Lord says He will roar. The word translated as roar
symbolizes conquer. This world will become the Lord's when we come in
fullness of faith and become people of authority.
Let us glorify God and bring His Kingdom in glory here on earth by
building each other in faith so that one day some among us will have
authority in God. That the Lord will roar through them and the world
will tremble before Him.
[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You came as man and died as a sacrifice to wash away our sins
although knowing that we would still continue to sin for the sin nature
is still in us. But your sacrifice was not in vain. By your sacrifice
You made available to us your Holy Spirit. It is by the working of the
Holy Spirit we overcome the sin nature and grow in Him and become Sons
(Princes) of God having authority in You our King. Lord, help all those
who believe in You and are not baptized in the Holy Spirit to be
baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. We pray Lord your Spirit works in
them and help them grow in You. That they may one day grow to have
authority in You...
This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.
[Reference Scriptures]
2 Samuel 5:7 - Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same
is the city of David.
1 Chronicles 11:5 - And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou
shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which
is the city of David.
Joel 3:17-21
17So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy
mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers
pass through her any more.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop
down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of
Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the
house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
19Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness,
for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed
innocent blood in their land.
20But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to
generation.
21For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD
dwelleth in Zion.
Mark 16:15-16
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel
to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.
Matthew 28:18-20
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me
in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Galatians 3:14 - That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith.
Colossians 1:19 - For it pleased the Father that in him should all
fulness dwell;
Ephesians 1:13 - In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
John 21:15-17
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord;
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed <1006> my lambs.
16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He
saith unto him, Feed [tend] <4165> my sheep.
17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou
me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest
that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed <1006> my sheep.
John 14:16-17
16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever;
17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you.
1 John 2:27 - But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in
you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing
teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Ephesians 3:5 - Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of
men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit;
1 Corinthians 13:9-10
9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part
shall be done away.
John 16:13-15
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into
all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall
hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it
unto you.
15All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he
shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
John 1:12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Galatians 5:22-23
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Ephesians 5:9 - (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness
[Holiness which we get from the Father] and righteousness [from the Son]
and truth [from the Holy Spirit];
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Fasting
Isaiah 58: 5-7

5Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his
soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth
and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day
to the LORD?

6Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of
wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye break every yoke?

7 - Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the
poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that
thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Many people have a very wrong idea of fasting. They, like the Muslims
think of it like a penance and they will impress God with it. The day
they fast they think their prayers are confirmed.

In Isaiah 58 the Lord exposes the wrong thoughts in the minds of people
with regards to fasting...

1) They feel God sees them or take greater notice of them when they fast
(v3)

2) They feel fasting makes them humble before God (v3)

3) They feel the fast confirms their prayers and gets them their
blessings (v3)

4) They feel all the efforts they put will be paid (v3)

This is what many preachers preach of fasting even today. That is why
fasting does little change to people since they do not know the purpose
of fasting. Fasting has great power and that power works not on God but
on the person fasting, it causes the person to change from inside.

The Lord in verses 5,6 and 7 tells us its purpose and way to fasting:-

1) "A day for a man to afflict [be occupied with] his soul" - fasting
requires us to be occupied with our inner man. It means to give
attention to what we are inside.

2) "to bow down his head as a bulrush [insignificant] " - means to humble
himself and know who he is and how insignificant he is without God
choosing him. In the Bible Lord calls man a worm, a mere insect yet He
chose this lowly being to be a part of Him and to be glorifies in Him.

3) "and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him" - means to repent, to
reassess one's way of life and correct the wrong doings in one's life.
It requires one to know how our sins and sinful ways would lead us to
vanity and destruction.

4) "to loose the bands of wickedness," - requires us to change our
wicked ways and give them up. Fasting should change us from within. It
is actually not the fast but the building of our determination to change
during fasting (period of reassessment) that changes us.

5) "to undo the heavy burdens, " - The Hebrew word translated as burden
means bands or yoke or (mental or spiritual) slavery. It also means a
bundle of hyssops. Incidentally hyssop symbolizes faith but a bundle of
here hyssop does not mean greater faith but means ungodly beliefs. Faith
is singular for it means believing in God and His Word which never
changes; therefore believing in anything that is changing while
believing in the unchangeable is disbelief or bundle of hyssops. We are
burden because we have ungodly beliefs in other words faithlessness in
us and faithlessness causes worries. During fasting we are to cast away
our ungodly beliefs or worldly thoughts and solely trust God. Jesus said
"come to me all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". Before
saying this Jesus told them who He is and what His authority is. He is
telling us we have many beliefs and worries and works because we do not
know Him and His authority. He asked us to give up on the worldly
thinking and take up our mission in Him and He says it is light. Not
that the mission is light (in fact it is just humanly impossible) but
becomes light because He has given us a Helper.

6) "and to let the oppressed [brokenness] go free, - it requires us to
overcome worldly sorrow and incompleteness. The Hebrew word translated
as free literately symbolizes someone been set free of ones taxes, that
is the kind of release we should have.

7) "and that ye break every yoke [pole or bar of yoke]" - we have seen
movies where a captive has a long rod or pole put on his shoulders with
his two hands tied around it at either ends. It is to bind the hands of
the person. Hands symbolize work or deeds. The Lord is saying our fast
should free us from the yoke of our works. Works can be a bondage for us
if we believe in our works. It does not mean we do not need to do good
works, but it says we should never think our works saves us. Good works
are required of us bit do not save us. That is why in verse 7 we see an
example of the things we are required to do as we fast. That does not
mean only during fasting. It means fasting should be like an ignition
for us to do good works while keeping in mind it is required of us but
does not save us. Wrong works or evil works can un-save us but good
works do not save us.

When we see these points put by the Lord in Isaiah 58 we see fasting is
less towards God and more towards ourselves. Fasting is what sets us on
track and clears the wrong things in us. Fasting helps us build
ourselves in the Lord, it helps us build faith and helps us separate
ourselves from worldly things. True fasting change us. During fasting
one does not necessarily require to refrain from food and water only;
during fasting one can refrain from anything that gets one to do the
things listed above. Daniel fasted even though he ate and drank but that
fast transformed him.

Without doing the above points, fasting can do the opposite effects on
us. It can make us self-righteous, proud before God; it can also make us
think great in the works of the flesh.

[Prayer Started]

Lord, we pray You teach us and guide us to fast correctly. Help us not
be self-righteous and depend on the works of our hands. Help us to be
transformed from inside...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Matthew 11:27-30

27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the
Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son,
and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.

29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

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The Righteous shall possess the Land

Obadiah 1:19 - And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau;
and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields
of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

Abraham was promised the land from the river of Egypt unto the river
Euphrates. The land of the various tribes like the Hittites, Amorites,
Canaanites etc. and we see Abraham got none of that, even today the Jews
have not had that land during any period in the pass. They are still
struggling and lost millions of lives fighting for the earthly land. Yet
we see Abraham was satisfied in the Lord and did not pursue any land.

Jews and even many Christians still hope that one day the Jews will have
the promise fulfilled and they will get the land earmarked in Genesis
15:18-21. I have last time pointed out that the Lord stated this land to
be a land where milk and honey flows! Does it sound like a fairy-tale
land; does a land give milk and honey? Abraham took along with him to
the land the cattle that produced the milk. His cattle were not starving
before and if one sees the geographical and agricultural stats of the
land he was in and went to there was not a sky and land difference
between them. No doubt it was better but not something to die for.

When Jesus came He did not pursue any land, nor people of a land. He
commissioned His disciples to every part of the world and not only the
Jewish territory or the Middle-East.

God is God of the world and not just of the Jews. He created the whole
universe and all the beings within. He is mindful of all the beings He
created. The Angels called the Bible the book of Life and not Book of
the Jews. We all know we will all are one day going to die and will
leave this earth, this world and this body of flesh. Are we going to
dwell on this earth as spirits to possess a land? Why did God promise a
land? Even during the time of David when he ruled over the maximum
territory as an Israelite king yet he did not possess all the land
earmarked by the Lord but made peace deals with the people of some of
the lands.

One would be amazed when one studies Bible scriptures with its true
understanding God really and truly did not promise a land but something
else and Abraham being aware of it in Christ was satisfied to receive it.

Today's message talks of the south possessing the mount of Esau, the
plains of the Philistines, the fields of Ephraim and the fields of
Samaria. This prophecy is yet not fulfilled and where are the south
(Jews) to fulfil this prophecy. Some people think the Jews will come
back is power to fulfil it. They should realize if that was so, then
neither the Holy Spirit nor Jesus would lead His disciples to come out
from among the Jews and be called Christians. We Christians would have
still being Jews possibly another sect like the many sects that exist
among them.

God is not a liar nor impotent to fulfil His Word. The time for this
prophecy is at hand. The prophecy truly says the righteous will possess
the land and the land that they will possess is the souls of the
Muslims, people who pursue worldly progress (like name, fame, power
etc.), prosperity Gospel seekers and the Catholics.

Like I pointed in my previous message we are in the Church of Sardis,
the period of evangelizing when the Church will spread to the far
corners of the world. We are in the time of harvest. God is preparing
the hearts of the people for us to reach out to and bring them to Him.
We do not have to be afraid of these people or worry if they would come
to the Lord or no. We should imitate the Israelite at war in the Old
Testament, when the Lord told them the enemy was given unto them and the
victory was theirs, they did not bother what was the ratio between them
and the enemy. They did not bother it they were 1 to a 1000 or 10000.
They just went into the battle and the Lord did fulfil His promise.

Today we may live in a country having maximum numbers of unbelievers,
the Lord is telling us He has given these souls unto us and we just need
to reach out to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We just need to
trust the Lord, identify people if the person falls in these 4
categories and if they do then just go for them for the victory is ours.
If one analyses people outside these 4 categories are like living dead
spirits that have no purpose in life and live just to die. The Gospel is
only for people who love life (even if their actions show otherwise).

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we thank You for bringing us into the this world at the time of
harvest. We thank You for all the efforts our brethren before us have
done and the seeds they have sowed among the people so that we can bring
these seeds to life by spreading your Gospel and bring these souls to
You. Help us Lord to discern the people and to identify your people from
among the children of Satan that do not know You and hate You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Genesis 15:18-21

18In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great
river, the river Euphrates:

19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the
Jebusites.

Exodus 3:7-8

7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people
which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their
taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto
a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites,
and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites,
and the Jebusites.

Exodus 13:5 - And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the
land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the
Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give
thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this
service in this month.

Exodus 33:3 - Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go
up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I
consume thee in the way.

Leviticus 20:24 - But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land,
and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk
and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other
people.

Jeremiah 11:5 - That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your
fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this
day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

John 8:56 - Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it,
and was glad.

Psalms 37:29The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for
ever.

Isaiah 60:21Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit
the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that
I may be glorified.

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Can wisdom profit you? Can you profit God?

Job 22:2 - Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be
profitable unto himself?

When I got this scripture it took me aback for a moment, what kind of
question is this 'can a wise profit himself?' We all know wisdom is very
important and it is only through wisdom we can thoroughly be profitable.

But yet we know the Bible does not put anything without reason or
foolishly. It is only when we put along the other question do we
understand the truth the scripture is trying to bring out.

The other question is 'can we as humans profit God? God who has created
us by His breathe and moulded in His image but is now corrupted. Can
such a corrupt being without power and without any ability to live by
himself without God's help be of any profit to God?

We need to first understand wisdom. To understand wisdom we need to be
clear the difference between knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

Knowledge is the data or information that we receive. When we read (i.e.
the Bible) or hear people or see things or even smell or taste or touch
we receive knowledge.

Understanding is what we derive from the knowledge we have. Without
knowledge we cannot have understanding.

Wisdom on the other hand is the ability to derive the right
understanding from knowledge. Wisdom can come in 2 ways, one as a gift
and the other by experience (our experience and from the experiences of
others).

i.e. The raw ingredients used in the food is 'knowledge&# 39;, the cooked
food is 'understanding& #39;, and 'wisdom&# 39; is the processing of the food like
cutting, heating, stirring etc...

So we see without wisdom we cannot get understanding from knowledge, and
to get it only when we use wisdom not just have. Today's message is
telling us without using wisdom how can wisdom profit a wise man. We may
be very wise but unless we use that wisdom how are we to be profitable
as wise people. In the same way man by himself cannot be of any profit
to God unless man is used by God.

Does God who is almighty need the help of man? No.

When we understand wisdom, which when used generates understanding, and
this understanding increases and betters our knowledge and also
increases our wisdom. So we see the more we increase in knowledge and
use wisdom we grow in understanding and wisdom.

The same way when man is used by God, it actually helps man himself, and
helps him to grow. God does not need us to be used by Him. We need to
understand it is for our own reason and profit that we be used by God
and for God, since by this we ourselves are benefited.

Many people do God's work thinking they are doing a favour to God. They
do not understand they are doing not God a favour but God is doing a
favour using them, for this only helps themselves and no one else. That
is why Jesus said when we become His disciples and when we know the
Truth, then the Truth will set us free. People skip the discipleship,
they think by studying the Bible they will be set free which means overcome.

People actually become spiritually worse when they study the Bible and
do not follow it. Bible study is just knowledge and without experiencing
it they do not get wisdom and thus no understanding. Then this knowledge
without becoming understanding starts to do things like puffing up the
person or hardening his conscience.

Thus coming to God and not being used by Him will also make us worse
people than what we were before coming to God. Jesus rebuked the
Pharisees and not the other people for the Pharisees knew God, studied
scriptures but never understood them nor did they want to be used by
God, they hid behind a wall called traditions, this led them to be
hardened inside and caused them to be dead in conscience, in guilt; they
could kill or stone people and not feel anything.

Today's message is very clearly telling us, we need to understand God
has called us to Him for a mission and unless we submit to that mission
we are going to be destroyed, we will be worse than when we came to Him.
And by taking up the mission we are not going to do God a favour but
ourselves a favour. We should thank God to find us worthy to be used by Him.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, many do your mission thinking they are doing You a favour and thus
think they put You in debt and expect things or worldly blessings from
You. They do not realize that being called to the mission itself is an
blessing and how much they need to thank You for it. Lord, we pray sense
into those people and also we pray for mercy for those people who are
meaningless 'Christians&# 39; sans mission...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

1 Corinthians 7:22 - For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant,
is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is
Christ's servant.

Ephesians 6:5-9

5Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the
flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ,
doing the will of God from the heart;

7With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

8Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he
receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening:
knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of
persons with him.

Luke 17:7-10

7But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep,
that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come
straightway and sit down to meat;

8and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and
gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward
thou shalt eat and drink?

9Doth he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded?

10Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are
commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that
which it was our duty to do.

John 8:31-32

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Mark 7:8-9, 13-15

8For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,
as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that
ye may keep your own tradition.

13Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye
have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

14And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them,
Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

15There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile
him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile
the man.
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Drought in the land

Jeremiah 14:9 - Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man
that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are
called by thy name; leave us not.

We know there is a great drought in Maharashtra India and places are not
getting water for days and weeks. This was the same situation for the
people of Judah during the time of Jeremiah and when we read chapter 14
we see the people preaching another God and another message of Him. The
land was full of prophets who preached pleasing messages which the Lord
had not said. And we see the Lord got angry with them and caused drought
in the land. This drought was so terrible that people were on the verge
of death.

All most all the preachers you meet today are become like the prophets
during the time of Jeremiah. They all want to preach a 'blessed&# 39;
message. They want to tell everybody how good God is and how merciful He
is, everything else of the Lord they stack away to be hidden or ignored
by the people. That is why the lives of the people do not change only
they get into religious rituals. Even their prayers become a ritual,
they can pray for hours and hours and it comes natural, out of habit for
them.

God is telling the people stop prophesying water or solutions to the
drought. The Lord is telling the leaders preach the Lord in the Bible
and not a lord of their dreams.

Just a day or two back someone posted a message about the disciples of
Jesus which was false so I commented with the truth and I had people
commenting back saying why I was making weak the testimony of Jesus.

People have made the Bible like a Hindi film story they add mirch-masala
into it to make it look dramatic, simple to understand and pleasing to
the human mind.

Please, God does not need our editorial skills. It is God's Word for the
salvation of man and not for the entertainment of man. What it is, it is
and should be that way; it should not be added to or subtracted from.

We see in Jeremiah chapter 14 at the end when the people prayed for
peace with the Lord they were saved. Let us too correct ourselves and
pray for peace with God so that this drought ceases to exist.

One may think will it rain or how will the water come? How or how much,
is not what we need to worry, when the Lord gives even the ground will
open and gush out water that meets our need.

Today I encourage my brethren living in Maharashtra and other places
experiencing drought or natural calamities to walk the path of the Lord
as the Lord has set it, that they do not create an easy side path, that
they repent from their ways and ask for peace with the Lord.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You are our Creator and Provider, You alone are Father. Lord, we
pray for the people who are experiencing drought in Maharashtra and
other places. We pray your peace into their lives, we pray your
forgiveness and mercy. Lord, we pray the souls not be crushed in your
wrath. We pray that they receive their provision of water...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Jeremiah 14

Key scriptures

Jeremiah 14:2-3, 11-16, 19-22

2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the
ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

3And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came
to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty;
they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.

11Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.

12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt
offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume
them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

13Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye
shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give
you assured peace in this place.

14Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I
sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them:
they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of
nought, and the deceit of their heart.

15Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in
my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not
be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.

16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets
of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have
none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their
daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.

19Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast
thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace,
and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!

20We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our
fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

21Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of
thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

22Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain?
or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God?
therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things

Revelation 22:19 - And if any man shall take away from the words of the
book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of
life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in
this book.
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Prince of Tyre will come to ruin

Ezekiel 28:8 - They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die
the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.

In the Bible the Hebrew word Tyre is translated as rock just as the
Greek word Petros is also translated as rock. Both these words if
checked correctly do not mean rock but mean stone like the Aramaic word
'Cephas&# 39;. The Hebrew word that is used for rock and which symbolizes the
Lord is the word 'tsuwr&# 39; (pronounced tsoor). Similarly the Greek word
for rock is Petra. In Hebrew even the word 'cela' used for cliff is also
translated as rock.

God is not an object to be called a rock yet we see in Paul's letter to
the Corinthians he calls Christ as the rock that followed them. In the
Old Testament we do not read of any rock following the Israelites.
Muhammad did not read the Bible fully or understand it thus in the Quran
came up with a concept of walking / running rock like his flying carpet
(of Solomon).

Rock (huge rock) is used symbolically for the Lord / Truth since they
are unmoveable and forever (according to the understanding of the people
living at that time). Both the Son and the Spirit (Christ - since the
word means Spirit on the man Jesus) were symbolized as rock, the Son
being the first rock which was allowed to be bruised for water but the
second rock (Holy Spirit) when bruised, Moses was punished and not
forgiven (this was done for us to understand if we grieve the Holy
Spirit we would not be forgiven and would not enter Heaven even if we
are saved from Hell).

A stone as we see here is used for Satan not because he is smaller than
the Lord. Here too it is used symbolic to its physical characteristics.
A stone is small part of the rock and symbolizes little truth; it easily
moves around and is not fixed like a huge rock.

Satan is a master liar, he is too smart to not fully lie; he never tells
a full lie for he knows he would get exposed therefore tells half or
little truths. Simon was nick named Peter / Cephas because he had the
habit to speak out even though he had little knowledge or little
understanding on a matter.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus was telling Simon even though you have little
understanding yet the Truth you spoke is on which His Church
(congregation) will be build. And we see that we all who do not have the
full understanding of scriptures even after 2000 years of Jesus yet the
Truth that Jesus is Christ, Son of God holds us together in the Lord.

In Ezekiel chapter 28 the Lord exposes the deceiver which even today
people have not registered into their understanding. They all think
Satan means a single being, they do not realize the word is plural. From
Moses to Revelation the Bible talks of 2, the young lion (acts like a
lion) and the serpent, the beast and the dragon, the prince of Tyre and
the king of Tyre. People also have the misunderstanding that Satan
wanted to be like God in Heaven. Satan (plural) was a Cherub, a being
thousands of times greater and mightier than an Angel and each are in
charge of an army of Angels. Satan the dragon was not man to think of
being God. If we read Ezekiel 28 correctly it was the prince of Tyre who
wants to be god and not the king. And that too he does not want to be
god in Heaven but god among the people (sea).

Lucifer (meaning light bearer) (king of Tyre) let greed fill him by his
amassing for himself the precious things of Heaven even when he did not
have use of it. When he had much, pride came into him and then came
deceit. He led the other Cherub and the Angels under them to go against
the plan of God (cause darkness). This is when God made man to deal with
them. There were 6 Cherubs, 2 fell and thus 4 are shown in the Bible
near the Mercy Seat (Throne of the Son) that is why Revelation talks of
on a third fell by the tail of the dragon.

The king of Tyre (the dragon or serpent) was put in Hell in the start to
be released at the end and amongst us is the prince of Tyre (the beast
or young lion) and the fallen angels (whose powers were taken away
during Noah's flood). The beast rules on behalf of the dragon and we see
in Revelation 17 it is written one who was there and was not and only
those who have wisdom will know.

We are also given the place where this beast rules from (not physically)
and that is given as the place where Antipas was martyred, which is
Pergamos which is the name of third Church in the line of seven churches
in Revelation 2 and 3.

These are the seven churches are the seven stages of the Church. When we
go through the history of the Churches we see the first stage of the
Church was the Church of the Apostles (Church of Ephesus meaning
permitted) (33AD to 300AD), then came the Catholic Church (Church of
Smyrna meaning myrrh a poison) (300AD to 1500AD) which was called the
dark age of the Church. The Roman Catholic Church we know of today took
root after 1500AD when the Catholicism doctrine was fully defined at the
Council of Trent (1545AD to 1565AD). Then came the Protestant Church
(Church of Thyatira meaning odour of affliction) (1520AD to 1700AD)
which later evolved to the existing Believer Church (Church of Sardis
meaning red one / symbolising evangelistic Church) (1700AD onwards till
date). Still two Churches are to come before the coming of Jesus Christ
- Church of Philadelphia meaning brotherly love / the Church when the
world sees God's glory and the Church of Laodiceans meaning justice /
when justice will come on the people / when Jesus comes to judge.

So we see the place Pergamos from which Satan the beast rules is the RC
Church we know. If we study history it was the Catholic Church which
gave birth to Islam directly / indirectly and these religions together
rule the world as the beast wanted. It was the Catholic Church which
persecuted Christians more than any other religion including Jews and
Muslims. America was formed due to Christians fleeing the atrocities of
the Catholic Church.

The Lord in today's message is telling the beast / prince of Tyre that
time has come when He will bring people against it and against it
beauty. They will expose it by the sword (Word). They will bring it to
ruin as written in Revelation 17 & 18. The cause of its ruin will be the
image (Mother Mary who apparently has nothing to do with the mother of
Jesus) which it has caused people to worship like the image caused King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to be bought to ruin. Sadly the repentance of
this church too will be too late like the repentance of King
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon who later died in the wilderness
eating grass.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, the maximum numbers of anointed one were murdered by the church
which came by your name. All of these souls of martyrs cry for justice.
Lord we know the Day is at hand when You will deal with this Babylon.
Lord, we pray these warnings cause your people who are still under the
deceit of this lady be set free and come to You and be saved from being
party to her punishment.. .

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures

Ezekiel 28

Isaiah 14:12-17

12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how
art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God [the other Cherub]: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High.

15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee,
saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms;

17That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof;
that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Revelation 17:8-9

8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is.

9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

Revelation 2 & 3

Revelation 2:13I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where
Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my
faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who
was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Revelation 17 & 18

Revelation 18:4 - And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come
out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues.

Revelation 2:20-25

20Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou
sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to
teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things
sacrificed unto idols.

21And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

22Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with
her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall
know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give
unto every one of you according to your works.

24But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not
this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they
speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

25But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Revelation 12:4And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,
and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman
which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it
was born.

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Handling a misled anointed one

I Samuel 24:7 - So David stayed his servants with these words, and
suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the
cave, and went on his way.

Being anointed does not necessary mean a person is totally led by the
Lord (Holy Spirit). We need to understand the word anointed means
commissioned or enabled to a mission or task.

In the books of Moses and Prophets things are clearer but when it comes
to the New Testament it get a little confusing. Since people do not have
understanding what anointing means they anoint (apply or massage) people
with oil.

In the New Testament there are 3 Greek words translated as anoint, 1
refer to ointment, one to lifestyle and one to massage. Also in James
the oil specified for anointing the sick is olive oil. That does not
mean we need to use olive oil and not any other oil for anointing. We
need to understand what olive tree represents in scriptures and what its
oil represents.

The only tree that represents God's people in the Bible is the olive
tree (the fig is misunderstood to be God's people). Oil of the olive
represents the testimony of its people. When we anoint a sick person we
are called to share our testimonies to enable or encourage a person.
Applying oil becomes a ritual if the encouraging is not done, and if
encouraging is done applying oil is not a necessity. Like laying of
hands is not necessary to heal, but the contact encourages the person
weak in faith to be encouraged in faith and be healed.

David was a Man of God and he knew that the Spirit of God was no longer
on Saul and that is the reason he was selected to be king. Yet we see
David calling Saul an anointed of the Lord.

We know from scriptures King Saul had a mission in the Lord and the
testimony of Saul is one of the great testimonies I share with people of
how God can save anyone even at the last minute. That is why Paul says
never to judge anyone. He did not say not to discern the good and bad
people do, but never to judge the destiny of any person. Meaning never
think a person will not be saved or will go to Heaven unless the Spirit
of God tells us. We cannot ever know a person will turn to the Lord or
turn away from the Lord. That is why Paul said work for our salvation
with fear and trembling. It does not mean doing good works but means
working on keeping our faith in the Lord.

We read David goes to the extent to call Saul his father in verse 11. It
did not mean father as we know or even a spiritual father but the Hebrew
word means family.

As I have put before we who are of the Lord are one big family. There is
no earthly relationship between us in Heaven but we all will be brethren
and everything of ours will be the Lord God. In the Old Testament not
all were anointed with a mission but in the New Testament every Believer
and Disciple of Jesus Christ is a person with a mission therefore all of
the Lord's are anointed.

We are called to respect everyone who is anointed, that does not mean we
do not correct them when they go astray. David did pursue Saul but did
not lay his hands on him. We see David tried to wake up Saul therefore
cut the hem of his robe.

For a Jew the hem of the robe was of great importance. We read in the
book of Numbers the Lord had instructed His people to make fringes in
the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that
they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue. This was not
to cause a ritual or fashion but had an understanding and that is why
the woman with the issue of blood or the other people having knowledge
of it tried to touch the hem of Jesus's robe. This does not mean we need
to follow this tradition or ritual of wearing clothes with hems of blue
band, but we need to know what we as Christian are called to be.

We all need to deal with mislead Christians like David dealt with Saul.
Whatever we do should not be directed to harm them in anyway but should
be only to warn them, wake up their spirit and bring them to senses.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You have warned we will be questioned for the blood of every soul
we cause to fall. Lord, help us when we handle your anointed ones that
we do not do anything in the flesh but be led by your Spirit to bring
them that are astray to your path...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

I Samuel 24:7-12

7So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to
rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.

8David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after
Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David
stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.

9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying,
Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?

10Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered
thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but
mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against
my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed.

11Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand:
for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know
thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand,
and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.

12The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee:
but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

Numbers 15:38 - Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that
they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their
generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband
of blue:

Matthew 9:20 - And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of
blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

Matthew 14:36 - And besought him that they might only touch the hem of
his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

James 5:14 - Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord:

1 John 2:27 - But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in
you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing
teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Jeremiah 22:17 - But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy
covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and
for violence, to do it.

Jeremiah 26:15 - But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye
shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city,
and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me
unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

Joel 3:19 - Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate
wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they
have shed innocent blood in their land.

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What is worship?

Daniel 2:46 - Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and
worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and
sweet odours unto him.

We read in Daniel 2:46 the king worshipped Daniel but we see the king in
the next line was acknowledging the God of Daniel as God. So was the
king worshipping Daniel or the God of God? Surely the king was not
worshipping Daniel but the God of Daniel yet it is written in verse 46
the king worshipped Daniel.

The Aramaic word used there is 'cegid&# 39;- which means 'to prostrate
oneself, do homage, worship' . It simply means the king humbled himself
and lay prostrate before Daniel acknowledging Daniel's God and not
Daniel. We also see the king offered oblations and sweet odours to
Daniel. So the king was physically and mentally worshipping Daniel while
spiritually worshipping Daniel's God.

When you speak to a Catholic about their worship of Mary, saints or the
pope they would flatly say they do not worship then. Yet one would see
they do lots of things before their idols or pictures. Do they not do
what the king did to Daniel?

When I ask Catholics what difference is there between their worship
towards God and their worship towards Mary, dead saints, people or
relics? And none have been able to convince me or themselves about the
difference, for their words and actions do not match.

They lay prostrate, bow, offer oblation (candles, flowers, prayers etc.)
and sweet odour (incense) unto the statues, pictures and objects, the
very same that King Nebuchadnezzar did to Daniel and we see the very
next chapter the king makes an image of himself to be worshipped.

People do not understand worshipping idols is just the external show or
the decoy and the real thing is these people are trying to play god.
They are challenging God therefore do not fear to play with or ignore
His Word.

They know it is wrong therefore intentionally edited the Ten
Commandments and removed the second Commandment which restricts man from
making an idol of any being in Heaven, on earth (alive) or under the
earth (dead) and worshipping it. Worship means not to bow before it,
offer candles, sweets, flowers, prayers, incense or any kind of
physical, vocal, or spiritual offering. We may not be acknowledging the
object but yet we are worshipping the object by our actions and that is
forbidden. The Greek word goes to greater extending in defining worship.
It includes things like kissing the hand which Catholics do to their
priests, bishops, cardinals and to the pope(s).

Catholics need to open their eyes to what their actions mean and not try
to fool themselves or God.

Leviticus 26:1 does not even take the word worship the scripture tells
us not to make any idol and bow before it. It talks of just physical
action or mental reaction.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, people have been deceived in your name. They are made to hate You
by doing idol worship. They make idols for worship in your name and in
name of people from the Word and they bring You to anger with their
idolatry. Lord, we pray that their hearts not be hardened and they open
their eyes and come to senses. That they repent and come to You and
worship You in spirit and truth...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Daniel 2:46-48

46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped
Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet
odours unto him.

47The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your
God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

48Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts,
and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the
governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Exodus 20:4-5

4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any
thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth:

5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD
thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Leviticus 26:1 - Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither
rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone
in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

John 4:23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh
such to worship him.

John 4:24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth.
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Cry from the pit (the sign of Jonah)
Lamentation 3:55, 56 - I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low
dungeon [pit]. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my
breathing, at my cry.

Some days back some people were discussing with me about Jonah, did he
die? Did he go to hell as the Jews believe and was bought out from hell
on the third day? Was the sign of Jonah the proof of Jesus' resurrection
from hell?

First thing we need to know that man was cursed to hell by God when man
sinned. Hell is not what the Catholic Church projects and what many
Believers continue to believe. Hell is an endless pit that does not mean
someone tried to measure it. Hell is just a place of complete solitude,
it is a prison where even though many are and one can experience their
presence yet one will not see or contact another. It is not a place of
fire that burns people. Hell is a spirit place, the Hell fire is not
outside but within. The (unforgiven) sins that one has committed while
alive (naturally) is what burns in that soul when in hell. It is not a
place where Satan and his goons rule but a place where the Angels of God
are in control. Man was condemned to this place are he sinned to spend
the rest of his spirit life there (which is about 3 thousand years). Man
who does not believe in the Lord (and His Christ) goes there to until
his spirit dies. You may ask how I knew a human spirit lives for 3
thousand years; simple firstly man is not God to have life eternally.
Only God the Father and Son have the ability to live eternally. To live
eternally man needs access to the Tree of Life which is in Heaven.
Coming to the 3 thousand years there many proofs in the Bible for this,
I will take up a few here.

Firstly if Jonah had gone to hell then how did he come back?

Jesus knew some of the Jews believed that Jonah had died and gone to
hell and had returned back. That is why Jesus was very clear when He
said like Jonah was for 3 days in the fish's belly (not hell) so would
the evil and adulterous man who does not repent would be. When He said 3
days and 3 nights He meant 3 complete days. This did not mean 24 hours
day but was symbolic since the word means period of time like Genesis 1
days. Remember Moses and the Prophets wrote the books before and the
Jews fashioned their thinking and not the other way around.

Jesus was clear the sign of Jonah was for the evil and adulterous people
and not to the ones who repent. He adds there that the people of Nineveh
would rise and condemn these people on Judgement Day because they
repented when the Word was given unto them.

We need to understand Jesus came in to the world at the right time. He
came within 3000years from the Covenant made with Noah to fulfil it, and
came before 3000years when the world ends so that all the souls who
believe in Him are asleep are saved.

Jesus did not need 3 earth days to come back from hell for hell does not
go by time factor as we do. Jesus' resurrection on the 3rd day was
symbolic (not after 3 days but on the 3rd day, before it ended). It was
a promise that He would come before the world ends to judge and save His
people. That is why He said to those hearing and believing Him at that
time that they would see His coming again and not see death (spirit death).

In the book of Daniel it is clearly written all prophecies would be
fulfilled time, time and half. Jesus also said the end would not come
until all prophecies were fulfilled.

If we read Jonah's prayer accurately he speaks about parts of his body.
And that in the fish's belly the water (liquid) was over his head. That
meant there was an air gap in the belly above the water (liquid).

By the sign of Jonah Jesus was telling them (the evil and spiritually
adulterous people), that He would not save them. We also see in
Revelation that hell (those souls who still are in hell at that time
meaning all those after Jesus came as man and rejected Him) and those
judged meaning those who believed in Jesus and not abided by God's Word,
would be put in the Lake of Sulphur which is actually worse than Hell.

In today's message we see Jeremiah had an experience like Jonah and said
he was suffering like he was in the lowest pit meaning hell when he was
put in a dungeon all chained up. People try to picture Jeremiah put in a
gutter like place. One should remember the place where Jeremiah was put
and the time when he lived the place did not have any gutter system.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, this evil and adulterous world does not know the suffering they
will go through when they leave this world. If only they knew like You
put in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man they all would repent.
But Lord, You have sent your messengers and they do not abide by the
words of your messengers. You gave us your Word and they reject it or
have manipulated with it to fool themselves only. Lord we pray your
people receive your Word and repent. That they see Christ and realize
what is expected of them...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Jonah 2:1-9

1Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

2And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he
heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

3For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the
floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

4Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward
thy holy temple.

5The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me
round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

6I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars
was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption,
O LORD my God.

7When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer
came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

8They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

9But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will
pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

Matthew 12:38-41

38Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying,
Master, we would see a sign from thee.

39But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the
sign of the prophet Jonas:

40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so
shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth.

41The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and
shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and,
behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Matthew 16:28 - Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here,
which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in
his kingdom.

John 8:51 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he
shall never see death.

1 Peter 3:18-22

18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit:

19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few,
that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

22Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and
authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
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Taking on the wise and faithless of the world

John 9:11 - He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay,
and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and
wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

The initial times when I really started trying to understand scriptures
while reading them, this particular scripture did intrigue me. My
question was why did Jesus take spit and dust from the ground to make a
paste to apply on the eyes of the blind man to make him see. Also this
was not the only weird healing that Jesus did in this way in this town.
In Mark 8:23 in this same town Jesus heals another blind man by taking
him out of town far from the crowd Jesus applies His spit on to his eyes
and then asks him if he could see. He says he could see somewhat and
then again Jesus touches his eyes and then this man's sight is fully
restored. Here Jesus looked like a struggling healer. Did not Jesus have
authority to heal him instantly and did He need to apply spit? Also
Jesus knew when He would tell him not to let anyone He would go out and
tell even more.

There are 3 healings recording in the Bible where Jesus used spit to
heal, 2 in the town of Bethsaida and 1 in Decapolis (which was a town
mostly full of Greeks). In both these places Jesus performed great
miracles yet these people failed to believe in Jesus. They did get
fascinated for a while when the miracles were performed but soon they
went back to square one state of unbelief.

We can understand the miracle in today's message by the traditions of
the people who dwelled in that region. There were 2 liquids out of man
which according to traditions when put on another person was like
condemning or damning that soul, one was spit and other urine.

We can see this tradition also in Islam about 600 years later; spitting
on a person or urinating on a person according to their belief would
cause that soul to go to hell. Even if one's own urine by mistake fell
on one's self it was considered a serious matter that is why Mohammad
while urinating would scout down like a woman and urinate in a bowl,
just to avoid his own urine from making him impure by mistake [recorded
in the Hadiths and other religious books of the Muslims]. It was another
fact that for the others he did tell them that his urine if consumed
would heal them from diseases, but for himself he was scared of it!

We need to understand Islam is a concoction of mainly (pro and anti)
Judaism, Christianity (mainly Catholicism) and Sabian teachings and
beliefs. It is also infused a lot with the traditions that existed at
that time.

Jesus did such miracles in these places where people thought themselves
to be very wise, where their wisdom and traditions prevented them from
accepting God and Him.

This place Bethsaida and its people were named by Jesus as condemned
worse than the people of Tyre and Sidon (they too did change when the
disciples preached there). All these condemned cities are today just ruins.

One thing I have learned through my experience that at times God play
jokes on the wise in their own wisdom and smartness and that time they
are very disastrous ones.

God is telling us our worldly wisdom and traditions are laughed at by
God and those who live by it will be made fools when the time comes.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray You mould our hearts that we seek You and the knowledge of
your Kingdom more than the knowledge of this world. Lord let not our
hearts be hardened or puffed by the knowledge and traditions of this
world...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

John 9:6-14

6When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the
spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

7And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam [pool near
Bethsaida], (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way
therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

8The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he
was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

9Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.

10Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

11He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and
anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and
wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

12Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

13They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

14And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

Mark 8:22-25

22And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and
besought him to touch him.

23And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town;
and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked
him if he saw ought.

24And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

25After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up:
and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

Luke 10:13-16

13Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they
had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

14But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment,
than for you.

15And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down
to hell.

16He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth
me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Matthew 11:20-26

20Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works
were done, because they repented not:

21Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty
works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at
the day of judgment, than for you.

23And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought
down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had
been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

24But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of
Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

25At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

26Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Matthew 23:13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in
yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Matthew 23:14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye
shall receive the greater damnation.

Matthew 23:15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make
him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Matthew 23:16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall
swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the
gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

Matthew 23:23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay
tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier
matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone.

Matthew 23:25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they
are full of extortion and excess.

Matthew 23:27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are
like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but
are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Matthew 23:29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye
build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the
righteous,

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Repentance
Jonah 3:5 - So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a
fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least
of them.

A few days back someone bought my attention to differences in various
Bible translations. I was aware of the variation in translation due to
lack of understanding of scripture. Also I was aware of a handful
scriptures differences between 2 root manuscripts where some words /
sentences are added or missing for example the scripture Matthew 17:21
is there in some early manuscripts and not there in the others. These
few 'questionable&# 39; scripture actually do little difference to the
Christian belief, if fact they help us understand things better.

But there was one interesting variation between the standard Bibles and
the RSV, which is the topic of our today's message. In Matthew 9:13 we
see the RSV Bible choses to omit the word 'repentance&# 39;. We may think
this is not a very important factor, but in today's message we see
repentance saved a whole city.

The Lord did come to call sinners but unless the sinner repents the
sinner cannot come to the Lord. The Hebrew word translated as sackcloth
in today's message comes from the root word which means 'to run through
and fro'. Putting on sackcloth in other words meant a person reassessing
one's life and bringing it to a proper course.

People have a wrong idea of repentance and think repentance means being
sorry. Being sorry does not require one to run through and fro one's
life. Being sorry is the first, half part of repentance; repentance
requires one to correct the areas one is sorry for.

Repentance is the most important part of being Christian and without
repentance no one can become a Christian. Unless we do not accept we are
sinners we cannot come to Christ. We need to run through and fro our
lives and be aware of the areas where we need to change and then only we
can call it true repentance.

John the Baptist was very famous for bringing people to repentance. The
baptism of water (John the Baptist promoted) is symbolic to the baptism
of repentance (historically it started during the times of Maccabees but
was done with those select few who pursued higher scriptural study /
discipleship, John got the common man to do it; there were also other
types of baptism the Jews did like in sand, which were more dangerous).
John also confessed that Jesus (the one who came after him) would
baptise them in the Holy Spirit.

Unless we take the baptism of repentance we cannot receive the baptism
of the Holy Spirit. Symbolic immersing in water encourages us and
reminds us of our baptism, but if we do not have repentance inside us
the immersing become a ritual and does the opposite of what it was meant
for.

The Baptism of Water is also called the Baptism in Jesus Christ because
unless we do not see the perfect image of God in Christ it is difficult
to know all the areas where we need to repent. To change we all need a
benchmark and our benchmark is Christ.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when we surrender to the Holy Spirit
asking Him to do the changes in those areas where we need change. In
Baptism of Water we may have the natural immersing in water but in
Baptism of the Holy Spirit it is purely spiritual. But the interesting
part is there is an immediate confirmation when a person is baptised in
the Holy Spirit unlike in Baptism of Water there is not external
confirmation if the person was truly baptised or not. Bible says the
Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit were seen in all those who were
baptised in the Holy Spirit.

When we repent there will be no external, immediate effects seen. It
will take a long time to know if and how much one is immersed in
repentance. Jesus said even if we are as hard as stone, but if we repent
God can bring life in us. Jesus also said very clearly unless we are not
baptized in water (repentance / in Christ) and in the Holy Spirit we
will not enter Heaven.

We may be called Christians and may do all the rituals as Christians, we
may even do the work of God, of evangelising, of healing people in the
name of Jesus yet we will not go to Heaven. For that we need to be
baptised in Water and Spirit.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we are sinners and when we see You manifested perfectly in Christ
we know how much we deep in sins. Lord, we are filled with malaise,
deceit, stubbornness, stiff-necked, full of lust and formication. Lord,
we know how much we are in darkness when we see the light in You. Lord,
we ask You come in all the areas of darkness in us. We ask your light to
repel the darkness in us and let your Spirit dwell in us so that
darkness never comes again in us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Matthew 17:21 - Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Matthew 9:13 [NKJV-AV] - But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will
have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 9:13 [RSV] - go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and
not sacrifice.&# 39; for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Mark 2:17 - When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole
have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Mark 1:4John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins.

Matthew 3:11 - I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he
that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to
bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Luke 7:29And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified
God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

Luke 3:8 - Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin
not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say
unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham.

Mark 11:29-33

29And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one
question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do
these things.

30The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

31And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From
heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

32But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men
counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

33And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus
answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do
these things.

John 4:1-2

1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus
made and baptized more disciples than John,

2(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

John 3:5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 4:4-6

4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of
your calling;

5One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in
you all.
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We are a family when...

Mark 3:34,35 - And he looked round about on them which sat about him,
and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the
will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Death is a decider of life. It is at the death of a person people wake
up and give a thought to their own lives. When a person dies he or she
is no longer the person we knew but is a spirit being. When we die we
too become a spirit being. The relationship we shared as earthly beings
is no longer the relationship we share as spirit beings.

In today's message we see Jesus was upset with His earthly family when
His mother and His brothers came searching for Him to know of His
wellbeing because they had heard that He was attacked by an unclean
spirit. It is at these upset times Jesus gave hard truths. Like here He
wakes us up to know our real family.

Notice Jesus uses the words brother, sister and mother only and not
father. The disciples used the word brethren for all believers. Brother
and sister is the male and female gender of the same word which means
offspring of the same parent.

But I was curious since long to know why Jesus used the word 'mother&# 39;
here. Can any person become His spiritual mother?

Jesus said 'call no one (human) your Father for there is just one Father
in Heaven'. It was not to do with earthly relationships for that would
go against the Commandment to 'honour your father and mother' and Jesus
did not change any Commandment. Jesus used the Greek word in the meaning
of creator or provider. Jesus said do not claim any person to be our
creator nor our provider. Our parents do not create us God did, our
parents are just a vessel through whom the Lord has bought us into this
earthly world and our earthly life is just a mission through which we
can go back to our Creator to dwell permanently. While we dwell here we
are also called bring others to Him.

The Greek word translated as mother is a metaphor for the word
motherland or the land which brings fourth. We know a land does not give
birth to seeds but is just an instrument to sustain the life of the
seed. We do not give birth to people naturally or spiritually, we just
are instruments to help sustain the life of people. We can be
instruments to make them healthy or corrupt them or choke them naturally
and spiritually. We can be fertile land that helps life or a desert or
destroys life.

We Christians by our faith will be saved. Christians are called just not
to be saved but also to save others, and if we fail in that task we will
still be saved but our reward in Heaven would be affected by the results
of our work here.

We Christians are a family when we are in Christ for Christ is the
manifestation of the Will of God and as a family we are to reach out to
each other.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we pray your people be not lost in their earthly live which is a
very small part of their life but think and give importance to their
spirit life which is Heavenly. Lord we pray people give as much
importance to the Heavenly family as they give to their earthly family.
That they reach out and comfort their spiritual brothers and sisters.
That they mother those who are small in spirit and yet not come to You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Mark 3:28-35

28Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of
men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without,
sent unto him, calling him.

32And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy
mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

33And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

34And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said,
Behold my mother and my brethren!

35For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my
sister, and mother.

Matthew 23:9 - And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is
your Father, which is in heaven.

Ephesians 3:14-15

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

1 Corinthians 3:12-15

12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's
work of what sort it is.

14If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward.

15If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he
himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

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The world worships the golden image

Daniel 3:7 - Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound
of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick,
all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

One needs to give attention to the silent features of the Bible to
understand things in a better perspective. For example the languages
used to write the scriptures and their properties are very important to
get the correct rendering and understanding of scriptures. Daniel shows
this in his book. As he was meditating on the scriptures of Jeremiah and
other Prophets of his time, the Lord was opening them up and giving him
an understanding of them through visions. This he documented in 2
languages, half in Aramaic (chapters 1-7) and other half in Hebrew
(8-12); the understanding of the prophecies also are classified
according the 2 languages.

The kingdoms and prophecies given in Aramaic are more worldly, and those
given in Hebrew are more spiritual. For example the little horn in
chapter 7 speaks of the kingdom that still exist but under a religious
cover. As given in Daniel all the historical facts of this kingdom match
perfectly showing the prophecy fulfilling to the T.

After the Roman Empire fell, 10 kingdoms (horns) came up in Europe.

The little horn is 'little&# 39; kingdom.

We see this little horn did uproot 3 kingdoms of Ostrogoths, Vandals,
and Heruli.

The head of this kingdom was a man unlike others and spoke unlike others
for the head was religious figure and he spoke unlike others.

He speaks great words, in other words he speaks blasphemy like being god
on earth, having authority over Heavenly beings.

He wears out the saints (people of God).

This kingdom lasts for more than 2000 years (until a time and time(s)
and the dividing of time).

You may say why are we talking about this kingdom in today's message?

You will be surprised that the image promoted by this kingdom has been
in existence since history. If one studies the different religions
recorded one will find many clues and common elements which are
prominent or silent among all these religions.

For example the element of 'All Seeing Eye' is there in most religions
right from ancient religions to the current religions like Hinduism.
Even in Islam if one turns the stone at the Kaaba by 90 degrees and you
get an 'eye' . This same symbol is also in the monuments of the little
horn within paints or as prominent design in religious objects.
Similarly are many other common factors like 'mother&# 39; / 'devi maa'
(either man or object) or the star (sun) and crescent moon / god in a
womb, between all other religions which show there is not much different
between each other.

People mistake that Satan who was a cherub wanted to be God. He was
having wisdom more than humans and not that foolish like man to think
such a thing. Scriptures specify what king of god he wanted to be and it
says he wanted to be god over the people (Ezekiel 28:2 'midst of the
seas'). Bible also says Satan fears God and trembles, but due to his
hardened heart he still does not change his ways. So we see even though
we see many religions yet he rule over them all.

What we see in the Bible as the story of King Nebuchadnezzar is the
shadow of the Babylon the Great (out of anger God selected him, blessed
him and when he lifted himself above God, God bought him down). It is
when this Babylon will manifest with great glory the image (a woman, as
we see it happening) that will cause the fall of this kingdom (as noted
in Revelation). The kingdom will go bankrupt and will flee Europe and
will take refuge in a former communist country.

Today's message talks of the times we are in, where people bow down to
the golden image not only among the so called Christians but across most
religions. We Christians are called to be like Daniel and his friends
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who refuged even unto the point of death.
The Lord was with them and by the power of God they were safe.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You are a Jealous God and You will not share your glory with
anyone or thing. Satan knowing his destiny want to destroy us also there
wants us to worship him as god so that we come under your wrath and be
destroyed. Lord, we pray people's eyes be opened and they be saved from
being destroyed...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Daniel 7:23-27

23Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,
which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:
and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the
first, and he shall subdue three kings.

25And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear
out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and
they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
dividing of time.

26But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to
consume and to destroy it unto the end.

27And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under
the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall
serve and obey him.

Ezekiel 28:1-3

1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit
in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and
not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

3Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can
hide from thee:

2 Corinthians 11:14-15

14And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light.

15It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion
themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according
to their works.

Revelation 12:9 - And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent,
he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world;
he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.

Leviticus 26: 1 - Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither
rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone
in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

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Be sober by controlling your desires
Jeremiah 35:4-7

4And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the
sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the
chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son
of Shallum, the keeper of the door:

5And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of
wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

6But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our
father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor
your sons for ever:

7Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor
have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live
many days in the land where ye be strangers.

Last Monday I was teaching at a House Church about wine and I started by
telling them there is no scripture in the Bible which forbids man from
drinking wine. This statement took them aback for these people lived in
the poorest bracket of society and alcohol was the second factor after
poverty that destroys their families.

But then I showed them scriptures like Habakkuk 2:5 which tell us the
destructions wine (alcohol) causes to one's being. I also explained them
the different types of wine (states or types of wines) which are
consumable according to scriptures, in what quantities and for what reasons.

Two days back when I posted about controlling the desires of food, many
did not like it and I got lots of negative response from people.
Yesterday the Lord did not give me any message to send, but today He
gave us a beautiful example in the Bible connected to the last message,
which we can meditate on.

The example of the Rechabites is one of the most beautiful examples of
being sober in life. These people were told by their fathers they are
not citizens of the land and were just passing through so did not build
permanent houses and thus lived in tents. They also told about the
dangers of giving into the desires of the flesh so were commanded to
totally refrain from consuming wine.

The Hebrew word used here for wine is Yayin which specified a mild to
medium fermented wine. It is the same wine which Noah drank and which
Lots was given by his daughters. In Noah case even though he was drunk
he was conscience and in case of Lots he was not, and we know what
happened thereafter. It was also the same wine [Yayin] which Melchizedek
bought along with bread. The wine is not the problem but its alcoholic
concentration is.

God does not say we should not enjoy life but warns us not to allow
enjoyment blind us and thus destroy us. We should be aware of our
spiritual strength and weakness and thus discern what we consume. We
should avoid that which will harm us specially those which we have
little control over.

Paul states even before we put on the spiritual armour of faith, hope
and love we need to first live a sober life. A Christian cannot be a
Christian if he or she has given unto to the desires of the flesh. Even
the desire of the palate which looks harmless is the start cause of
destruction for the spiritual lives of many. For loss of discernment in
just one area will soon spread to the other areas of our spiritual lives
and soon we will be slaves to our carnal nature, our old man.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, we prayer your people realize that they are just passing through
this world and that they do not overweight themselves with the desires
of the things of this world, such that they refuse the Kingdom or lose
the Kingdom of God and desire this world. Lord, we pray for a release
from the bondages of gluttony and of the desires to please the palate.
Help us Lord to live a sober live like how Daniel did, even though he
lived in a palace surrounded by best foods of the world he chose to
consumer the food consumed by the poorest of his people so that his
heart does not keep away from his people. Lord, we know You have greater
thing in Heaven for us which eyes cannot see and mind imagine, let us
not lose them for these worthless things...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Genesis 14:18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine:
and he was the priest of the most high God.

Habakkuk 2:5 - Yea also, because he transgresseth [deceived] by wine, he
is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as
hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him
all nations [ungodly people], and heapeth unto him all people [people
like himself]:

1 Thessalonians 5:8 - But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting
on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of
salvation.

Titus 2:2That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith,
in charity, in patience.

Titus 2:4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their
husbands, to love their children,

Titus 2:6Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

1 Peter 4:7But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober,
and watch unto prayer.

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

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Obesity has no place in God's Kingdom

Isaiah 10:16 - Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among
his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning
like the burning of a fire.

During the time of Ezekiel when the Lord had to take names of certain
people as examples of being righteous He did not take the names of
people like Moses, David nor Abraham, not even Elijah or Jeremiah. It
may surprise people that God chose to take names like Noah, Job and
Daniel (not once but twice).

We may think we become great in God's Kingdom by doing great miracles,
healings, or works among the people.

We need to wake up; we need to realize these things happen not by our
power or ability but by the Power of God through us. So how is God going
to be impressed with things that we do by His Power?

If we look at Noah for 100 years he worked tirelessly on a ship (Ark) in
a desert kind of surrounding. People must have laughed at him day in and
out yet he did not stop. What we see is his persistent dedication to God
earned him great respect.

Job even though was greatly blessed with things of the world feared God
greatly. When we went through a test that nearly took his life he did
not give up on God. Even after losing everything, when his own wife and
closest friend the last of what remained, became his worst critics yet
he did not give up on God. His trust and willingness to be corrected
earned him respect from God.

Daniel was captured and taken to Babylon as a slave and then given the
highest status in the Kingdom after the King himself. Yet we see Daniel
refused the pleasures of the palace. He lived a sober life because he
feared these things would take him away from God. Another person like
him was Joseph and we see Joseph refused to return to his people at the
end and stayed back in Egypt, thus he was replace by his son in the 12
tribes. Daniel learning from this great mistake of Joseph did not want
to forget his roots, his people and his God. God was pleased with him
and thus respected him.

All three showed an unwavering commitment to God. God is pleased more
with what we do with our efforts not whit what we do with His Power.

We can choose to be people's heroes or be heroes of God. To be heroes of
God one needs to work inside.

In today's message the Lord is talking of making fat people lean.
Obesity is a weakness of the flesh or problem of the spirit. The second
one can be serious but the first if not controlled will lead to the second.

Someone told me a few days back the best food is see (not sea) food. We
people are so weak in the flesh and slaves to the craving of the desires
of our tongues. If we can control our tongues (not only what we speak
but also its desire of taste) then we will preserve our life.

Some doctors put obesity can be caused by the dysfunction of the thyroid
(TSH concentration) while some put the dysfunction as not the cause but
the consequence of obesity. Obesity is not about eating more but about
eating senselessly. It is about not looking at what we eat and how much
our body requires. If our body usage (metabolism) is less than we should
eat less food that do not digest and are converted to fat (storage).
Like we are called to discern what we accept spiritually we also are
called to discern the natural intake. A weak body can affect our
spiritual balance. A strong (healthy) body will help us have a healthy
mind and thus a healthy spirit.

Paul advices us to live a sober life, not giving unto the pleasures of
the flesh, or be drunk in desires of the flesh. Let us control the input
and not struggle later to get it out.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You have called us to be soldiers always on battle, protecting
things that are precious in your eyes. Lord, You have said our body is
your Temple wherein You dwell. Lord we prayer we know how to respect our
bodies and not abuse it by our lack of control of our desires. Lord,
help us to discern what we eat and consume what is necessary. Help us
keep a healthy body along with a healthy mind and spirit...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Ezekiel 14:14 - Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in
it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness,
saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 14:20 - Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live,
saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they
shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

1 Peter 3:10 - For he that will love life, and see good days, let him
refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
(Psalms 34:13)

Proverbs 15:4 - A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness
therein is a breach in the spirit.

Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they
that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

1 Thessalonians 5:5-8

5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are
not of the night, nor of darkness.

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

7For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night.

8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of
faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
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It is all about fullness of the Spirit in the body

Ezekiel 41:12 - Now the building that was before the separate place
[division] at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the
wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length
thereof ninety cubits.

Yesterday in the evening I was attending a Resurrection Day celebration
(it was more of an outreach of a Church of a slum area) in south Mumbai.
I was in conversation there with an Evangelist and a Pastor and there
was one point we believed strongly that people do not give importance to
build relation with the Holy Spirit and do not surrender to be moulded
by Him, this factor alone has caused great problems to the Body of Christ.

I do not say we do not have anointed people leading the Church, we do
have. But the problem lies is even these people have restricted the Holy
Spirit to certain parts of their life or their Ministry. Most people
have put 'No Entry' boards for the Holy Spirit in areas like
understanding of scriptures.

But of late I do see some hope like it happened yesterday. I was so
happy to see in my Church (where I fellowship) not one person wishing
another 'Happy Easter', each and every person from the kids to the
adults were wishing each other Happy Resurrection Day, just 3 years back
this was not the case. I saw our Church was coming together in one
according at least on some grounds. This coming together in one accord
will surely see the glory of God.

We need to understand when a writer sits to write a novel he or she does
have the whole book in his or her mind, with every detail word scripted
mentally. What the writer has mentally is the basics, the story line
summarized. They include mainly the main characters, the starting and
the ending parts of story and also the important part which is the
climax portion of the story.

If we see our knowledge and understanding of the Bible starts also in
the same manner. All we need to know in the beginning is the who is the
Bible about, who are the main characters, what happened in the start,
what will happen at the end and how the change happened. If we have
these points clear and correct, then we are on the right tract, all
other stages are just the secondary processes of our growing in
knowledge and understanding of the Bible.

Although Jesus the man showed us how to understand the Bible yet He is
not the one who takes us through the stages of knowing the Word of God,
but it is the Holy Spirit. We need to understand it is the Holy Spirit
who is the Author of the Word of God and it is only by Him that we can
understand the Word of God.

When Jesus resurrected He said He would not leave us alone and gave us
His Spirit. He did not give us a spirit of a man (ghost) but the Spirit
of God for in spirit He was not man but God. His Spirit is also the
Father's Sprit since their Spirit is still same even though the Son was
declared from within the Father as an individual being their Spirit did
not divide. That is the reason the Son cannot be separated from the Father.

The difference between us and Jesus the man is not much but just 2 points.

1) Jesus was born without sin while we may have been born with sin but
are without (forgiven) when we are bornagain.

2) Jesus had the fullness of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him (all 7
Spirits of the Holy Spirit), while we are start with the Spirit of Truth
when we believe and surrender to the Holy Spirit on receiving the
promise of the Holy Spirit after believing in the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ and forgiveness of sin through His sacrifice. Once we
are bornagain and grow in the Holy Spirit receiving more of Him we
become more and more like Jesus and thus become more and more into Sons
of God.

Today's message like I said before is part of the 3 chapters which tell
us details of the inner-man, the Temple within us.

Without going into the details (Bible Numerics and Bible Image Study)
the message tells us after the crossing over from the divide at the end
of living a life of unrighteousness we will find ourselves becoming Sons
of God having the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The main part and clue or
key the scripture gives us towards fulfilling this process is
discernment. Paul also says we remain babies in the Lord because we do
not discern. Discernment is like biting into what we receive, it is only
when a child starts to bite, he or she starts developing teeth which
help further to bite better. In the start he or she have milk teeth
which not very strong but latter they too fall and then comes the real
strong teeth. The same happens to us spiritually in our walk with the Lord.

Most of the Church is filled with people without teeth or with just milk
teeth. They do not allow the Holy Spirit to renew their minds and mostly
root themselves with human teachings.

Let us start to look at everything and discern everything, soon we will
have teeth that will make it easier to discern and thus we will less get
deceived. To do this we need to let the Holy Spirit take charge of us,
so let us fully surrender to Him and His Word.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You came as man and paid the price for our sins so that we could
receive the Holy Spirit. You forgive us of our sins even though You knew
we would sin later. But You knew by your Spirit we will overcome the
nature of sin and thus be freed from sin. Lord, help us know the
importance of surrendering to your Spirit and letting your Spirit work
in us. Holy Spirit we surrender to You. Lord, take charge of us and
renew us in very area that needs your healing touch...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

John 20:21-22

21Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father
hath sent me, even so send I you.

22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them,
Receive ye the Holy Spirit:

John 14:11-20

11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else
believe me for the very works' sake.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works
that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father.

13And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son.

14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever;

17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me:
because I live, ye shall live also.

20At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I
in you.

Acts 2:17 - And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I
will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your
old men shall dream dreams:

John 15:26-27

26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me:

27And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the
beginning.

John 16:7-11

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if
I depart, I will send him unto you.

8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment:

9Of sin, because they believe not on me;

10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Colossians 1:12-20

12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of
sins:

15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to
reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things
in earth, or things in heaven.

Colossians 2:9 - For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Ephesians 3:19 - And to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Hebrews 5:13-14

13For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe.

14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who
by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

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Let not this great day go futile

Zephaniah 1:7,8 - Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for
the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice,
he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the
LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's
children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

In the Bible we read in many places the term Day of the Lord, they do
not specify to a particular 24 hour day. The term day also means a
period of time. The Day of Lord specifies to a period and that too not
just one period but in fact 2 periods. There is the Day of the Lord
which specifies to the Day of the Lord's wrath, when He pours His anger
and then there is the other Day of the Lord which refers to the Day of
Judgement when all from Noah to the end days who have believed in the
Lord will stand before Him to be judged.

In today's message the Day of the Lord refers to the Day of Judgement
when we all will stand before the Judgement Seat (does not refer to a
worldly seat) from which the son of man Jesus Christ will judge us.
Today's message talks of us being quiet before the Judgement Seat for we
will not have the opportunity to speak a word because all we do and say
in life will be like an open book, for all is recorded not only in
Heaven but also in our hearts. Thus we will not have any say since we
will be holding a copy of what is written in the Lord's book by which we
are judged.

The message says it is by the sacrifice that all the guests stand before
Him. Today we celebrate Resurrection Day and today is one of the most
important day for us Christians, for it is this day by which we are
saved from Hell. It is because of this day that all who believe in Jesus
Christ are spared from Hell as He broken the curse of Hell by His
resurrection. Just when He died He took all the sins of those who
believe in Him on Himself and due to that He was forsaken by the Father,
thus on His death He went to Hell. But since there was no sin in Him
Hell could not keep Him, therefore He came back from Hell (rose again).
Now all those who believed in Him are also free from Hell and thus all
the guests which today's message speaks of are Christians.

But in today's message the Lord speaks of two types of guests, one who
wear the bridegroom&# 39;s given robes and those who wear strange robes.

We as Christians who believe in Christ do not get a ticket to Heaven but
only those among us who are wearing the robe of the Bridegroom do. Jesus
explained this same message in His parable of the wedding of the King's son.

Many Christian have an understanding that is contrary to the
understanding of Word of God. Just because people quote scriptures it
does not means people speak God's Word. We need to understand the
scripture and confirm that understanding, meaning look up for other
scripture that confirm the same understanding. Confirming does not only
mean to see for another YES but also means to see in any say a NO. If
even one scripture says a NO we need to forsake that understanding.

Today is one of the most important day for us Christians. It is by this
day we are saved from Hell. It is by this day we stand before the Lord
to be judged by Him. The Lord is telling us let us not let this great
day go futile just because we are careless, stubborn or lazy.These 3
factors are the ones kill Christians all other factors are taken care
of. Even inability in body and mind are taken care of but these 3
factors are the ones take kill us.

Let us not be lazy, suborn or careless let us make it a point to confirm
all our understanding with the Word of God so that we are not caught
with a strange understanding on Judgement Day. God will not judge us so
much for the sins we have done out of weakness of our flesh but more by
the understanding of His Word we hold. The Greek word translated as
'doeth&# 39; in Matthew 7:21 also means 'to bear'. To get the right
understanding it does not mean only to learn scriptures but also live
them through the Power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also said when we are
His disciple we will know the Truth and the Truth shall set us free.

I pray that we do not make futile this great sacrifice of the Lord and
we rise to the Truth and right understanding of the Lord.

[Prayer Starter]

Lord, You did make available a great sacrifice and by your sacrifice we
are saved from Hell. Lord, we pray we do not make this sacrifice futile
in our lives by our laziness, our stubbornness and carelessness for the
Kingdom of God and its Truth...

We make this prayer in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]

Isaiah 2:12 - For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one
that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he
shall be brought low:

Isaiah 34:8 - For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of
recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Joel 2:1 - Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy
mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of
the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

Joel 2:11 - And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his
camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the
day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Joel 2:31 - The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Amos 5:18 - Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is
it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

Matthew 7:21 - Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven.

John 8:31-32

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Matthew 22:11-14

11And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which
had not on a wedding garment:

12And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a
wedding garment? And he was speechless.

13Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take
him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.

14For many are called, but few are chosen.

Happy Resurrection Day to you and all your family members
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