To MountZion

Exhort, do not just give sugar pills

Acts 20:2 - And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them
much exhortation, he came into Greece,

We find preachers, ministers of the Word and Church leaders give great
importance to encouragement. They encourage people to be positive, to
have faith and not to let go of their hope in the Lord. We find a
large majority of the leaders doing this and yet we find there is not
much effect of their words to the Church on the long run. Their words
have a temporary or a short term effect on the people and after some
time they tend to go back to the very state.

We read after the uproar in Ephesians on a matter of a goddess which
almost comes to a riot situation, Paul moves out to Macedonia and
other places to exhort the people. This action of his has great effect
in reviving the Church so we need to understand what Paul did.

The word in Greek translated as exhort is the word 'parakaleo' it has
two meanings to it, one which means to encourage and the other to
summon.

Speaking words of encouragement is like the sugar coating on medicine
pills. It is necessary sugar coating to give to people when they are
weak spiritually or disturbed in faith since they cannot take the
Truth directly. But imagine a doctor giving you just sugar pills when
you are ill.

We see Paul not only gave words of encouragement but also summoned
people to the purpose of the Kingdom of God and among them were Asia
Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus;
and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and
Trophimus. Along with them was Luke who wrote the book of Acts. All
these had great part in the building of the Church of the early years.

We who minister to others need to remember when we exhort people
during times of trouble we should not give just sugar pills by words
like 'all will be well, trust in God' or 'God will not let Satan crush
you, He gave the sacrifice of His only Son for you' etc.. These words
are important but with them we should summon them unto to Lord for
long lasting and real healing.

Words without action or faith without work is meaningless. When we
stand in the Lord we are safe and standing in the Lord does not mean
just vocal confession of words. It means to be part of what the words
spoken. If we speak love it needs to be demonstrated in actions, if we
speak light it needs to be seen in us, if we speak faith our actions
need to show faith, if we speak salvation we need to go out and give
it unto others for salvation is to the whole Body of Christ - the
Church. Everything we speak needs to backed up with action.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, your Word is complete and every instruction is complete in
itself. It is because your people do not follow your Word completely
they do not bear good fruit. Lord, we pray those whom You have chosen
to lead your sheep do not just give sugar pills to your people who are
suffering and weak. We pray that they along with encouraging also
summon them unto your Truth...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Acts 20:1-4
1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the
disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.
2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much
exhortation, he came into Greece,
3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him,
as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through
Macedonia.
4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the
Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and
Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Also read Acts 19:24-41

James 2:18-20
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy
faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils
also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?


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Israel is not Israel, but you are

Romans 9:8 - That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these
are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are
counted for the seed.

One of the greatest obsessions of many Christians especially those
from USA and Europe is the country Israel. More than keeping their
eyes on the Kingdom of God they are day in and out focused on what is
happening in Israel and with the people of Israel. They have been
deceived big time.

When one speaks in a worldly way of an Israelite there are three
aspects to that person, one he dwells in the country named Israel, he
follows the religion Judaism and lastly he is a descendant of Abraham.
A person may have one, two or all the three aspects listed above.

The Bible does not refer to people staying in the land as Israelites
but those who are chosen by the Lord, those who worship Him and keep
Him commandment. There are scriptures where God refers to people
dwelling among God's people as not Israelite but 'stranger that
sojourneth among you'. God had laws concerning Israel's relationship
with them. Thus any person living in the land marked as Israel, may be
a citizen of the country Israel but is not an Israelite whom God has
chosen.

Coming to Judaism; though these people follow Moses and worship Yahweh
yet they are not heirs to the promises of God. One needs to understand
all the promised are connected to the Seed of Abraham and Paul clearly
define this 'Seed' as Jesus Christ. That means all the promises of
Abraham are only to those who believe in Jesus Christ. We need to
remember that the Jews reject Jesus Christ. They may call Him a
Prophet but they believe Him to be a false prophet and one who is
burning in Hell. So Jews are actually unbelievers. They are as much
Christians or far from the Kingdom of God as is a Muslim.

Now regarding their blood connection to Abraham, in the verse prior to
today's message Paul clearly put all those who descend from Israel
(Jacob) are not Israel. The word 'Israel' is made of 2 words 'Isra'
and 'El'. The first means 'prince' or 'one having power' and the other
is used for 'God', so together they mean 'Prince of God' or 'one have
authority of the Lord'.

If one looks at scriptures you will find the Israelites were sometimes
referred as children of Israel and in the same scripture also called
children of Jacob. It was God who said to Jacob 'no more will you be
called Jacob but Israel', so did God break His own commandment?

When God said this He did not refer to Jacob as He did with Abraham
when He changed his name from Abram. Jacob was a deceiver and when
chosen of God was renewed to a new being. The new being was referred
to by the Lord as Israel and that is the reason the decedents of Jacob
kept shuffling between being children of Jacob and being children of
Israel depending of them keeping the commandments of God.

The Jews today may have a lot of mixed blood but the Jews during the
time of Jesus were told by Him that they were not children of Abraham.
If those of pure Abrahamic blood were not considered Israelite then
how can those of mixed blood be?

Paul also says a Jew is not one who is follows the traditions of the
Jews like being circumcised but a real Jew is the one who is
circumcised in the heart.

In short being an Israelite has to do more with the inner-man more
than to do with the physical man or the man of flesh. Being an
Israelite is a very high stage of spiritual growth and also referred
as Sons of Zion.

Therefore being an Israelite is a promise to the children of God, who
are chosen of God, people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Saviour and spiritually blessed with the promises of Abraham
because of becoming the spiritual children of Abraham, people who have
received authority from Jesus Christ and by the working of the Holy
Spirit in them becoming truly Princes of God.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord God You are spirit and your Kingdom is not of this world. This
world will perish and nothing of this world will remain. The people of
this world have their eyes of the land of this world which they have
not received and will never receive by your true children have their
eyes on the true Promised Land which is Heaven. It is only after
crossing the river Jordan (means descendant) the Israelites reached
the promise land. They being of flesh did not really get the land but
we being true spiritual descendants of Abraham by our faith in Jesus
Christ will surely enter the Promised Land. Lord, open the eyes of
those who are deceived by Satan and are distracted from the Truth. Let
them not lose the riches of your Kingdom...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Exodus 19:3 - And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him
out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of
Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

Numbers 24:5 - How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

Psalms 149:2 - Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the
children of Zion be joyful in their King.

Isaiah 46:13 - I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off,
and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion
for Israel my glory.

Micah 1:13 - O thou inhabitant of Lachish [means invincible - people
who have self-confidence] , bind the chariot to the swift beast: she
is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the
transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

John8:39-44
39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus
saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works
of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth,
which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not
born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me:
for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but
he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Romans 2:26-29
26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law,
shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the
law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress
the law?
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that
circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that
of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is
not of men, but of God.

Romans 9:6-11
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are
not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all
children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not
the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for
the seed.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara
shall have a son.
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one,
even by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand,
not of works, but of him that calleth;)

Romans 11:5-8
5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according
to the election of grace.
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no
more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise
work is no more work.
7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but
the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of
slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not
hear;) unto this day.

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.

Romans 4:9-13
9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon
the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham
for righteousness.
10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in
uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that
he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not
circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the
circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our
father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not
to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the
righteousness of faith.

Luke 9:1 - Then he called his twelve disciples [whom He had chosen]
together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to
cure diseases.

Matthew 22:14 - For many are called, but few are chosen.

John 15:16 - Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my
name, he may give it you.

Uploading a teaching on this topic on SavedByFaith (written long back)
please download the pdf and read it.
http://www.savedbyfaith.info/Am_I_an_Israelite.pdf



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Are we Jehu?

Hosea 1:4 - And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet
a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house
of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

In today's message the Lord spoke through the mouth of His Prophet
Hosea against the King of northern Israel - King Jehu.

Let us understand who King Jehu was to understand the anger of God against him?

Jehu was a general of the army of Joram, he slew his master, and
usurped the throne of Israel. He fulfilled the divine purpose in
extirpating the family of the impious Ahab, and zealously destroyed
the priests of Baal and many other friends of Ahab. He was also cause
for the death of Jezebel the high priestess of Baal.

All the people whom Jehu killed directly or indirectly were people who
went against God. We see by the achievements of Jehu, he should have
been a hero for God like David was, but yet God was very angry against
him. Even David had not killed so many high profile villains like
Jehu, yet God was angry against Jehu. The difference between Jehu and
David was their hearts.

Although Jehu did many good things yet the scriptures say that his
heart was not right. God loved David primarily not because of what he
did but because his heart was good. Jehu was also anointed by the Lord
to do all that the Lord spoke those His servants, but since his heart
was not right he himself turned against God.

The Lord is tell us whatever achievements we may do for His Kingdom
and all the good we may do, but these will not please Him unless our
hearts are right. For soon or later our hearts if not good will lead
us away from Him and against Him, then in His anger He will consume
us.

What is the purpose we go out and preach God's message of salvation?
What is the purpose behind which we heal people in the Name of Jesus?
Do we really go to services to worship God along with His people or do
we have other reasons for doing it?

God is unlike man; man sees the content of what a vessel holds, but
God looks at the vessel more that than its contents. We may hold more
or little but the quality of vessel we make ourselves is what will
please God. If the vessel is poisoned it will soon poison its
contents.

Our hearts are defined by our attitude towards the things precious to
God, do we keep ourselves holy, do we walk in righteousness, do we do
God's work because we love and care for His people, do we worship Him
because of our love for Him and for Who He is, such things defines how
God looks at us.

[Prayer Starter]
Father God, lead us Father to You by the change of our hearts. Lord,
work in our hearts and make it to want pleases You. Help us overcome
the obstacles like greed, pride, selfishness, lust, rebelliousness,
etc. Help us sanctify ourselves and fill us with love for your Kingdom
and for your people...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
1 Kings 19:16-17
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over
Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint
to be prophet in thy room.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of
Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu
shall Elisha slay.

2 Kings 9:1-4
1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets,
and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in
thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:
2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of
Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from
among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;
3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus
saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the
door, and flee, and tarry not.
4 So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead.

2 Kings 9:14-37
14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against
Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of
Hazael king of Syria.
15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of
Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor
escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.
16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay
there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied
the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram
said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it
peace?
18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith
the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace?
turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came
to them, but he cometh not again.
19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and
said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast
thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh
not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of
Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.
21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And
Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his
chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of
Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it
peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of
thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?
23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There
is treachery, O Ahaziah.
24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram
between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk
down in his chariot.
25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the
portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that,
when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid
this burden upon him;
26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of
his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith
the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground,
according to the word of the LORD.
27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of
the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him
also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is
by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried
him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.
29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to
reign over Judah.
30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she
painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who
slew his master?
32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my
side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of
her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode
her under foot.
34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see
now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.
35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the
skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the
word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite,
saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the
field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is
Jezebel.

2 Kings 10:10-23
10 Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word
of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for
the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.
11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel,
and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he
left him none remaining.
12 And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at
the shearing house in the way,
13 Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who
are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go
down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.
14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew
them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither
left he any of them.
15 And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son
of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is
thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab
answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his
hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16 And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they
made him ride in his chariot.
17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab
in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the
LORD, which he spake to Elijah.
18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them,
Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
19 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his
servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great
sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not
live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy
the worshippers of Baal.
20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal
came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came
into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to
another.
22 And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth
vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth
vestments.
23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of
Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that
there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the
worshippers of Baal only.


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http://www.ToMountZion.com

Sift as wheat

Luke 22:31,32 - And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed
for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren.

Firstly like to apologize for not sending mails for these few days, I
was on a trip out of Mumbai in a remote town in Maharashtra and had an
awesome time with many Men and Women of God ministering to the people
there. Even after coming back I took 2 days to settle down.

In today's message Jesus tells Simon Peter about the plans of Satan to
destroy him, but also informs us of how Jesus intervened to stop this
plan. Jesus warns Simon Peter that the plan is not completely stopped
but the results of the plan are; so Simon Peter would go through it a
distance but would be saved.

What was Satan trying to do to Simon Peter and how did Jesus stop
Satan in his plan?

The scripture tells us that Satan was trying to sift Simon Peter like
wheat. Sifting like wheat did not mean to shake him. One needs to
understand why wheat is sifted.

Wheat is sifted to remove the covering of it. It is the covering that
protects the wheat within. Satan desired to sift Simon Peter to remove
the covering around him which protected him and that covering was his
faith.

Satan could not touch Simon Peter because his faith protected him.
Satan put a request to get Simon Peter but Jesus countered that
request with a request not to completely loose the covering.

When we have faith even Satan cannot touch us, for him to harm us he
first tries to temp us / test us so as to fall by losing faith. Faith
is a shield that does not let the plans of Satan to affect us, that is
reason Satan first tries to shake our faith so as to bring our defence
down.

Coming to the most important factor of how Jesus stopped this plan.

Faith is a Fruit as well as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith the Fruit
is to be grown and nurtured by studying the Word and practising it.
Jesus' prayer could not affect this but His prayer could the other
kind of faith which is a gift. Jesus prayed for the gift of faith for
Simon Peter so that he would be strong and come out of this sifting in
one piece. That is why we see even though Simon Peter abandoned Jesus
and denied Him trice yet all of a sudden he turned back and came out
strong, strong enough to lead the others colleagues and face the
people with boldness.

Let us remember this message always and let us pray for each other for
the gift of faith so that none of us get sifted by Satan completely.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, we pray for the gift of faith for our brothers and sisters and
for ourselves so that we do not get sifted by Satan when he tempts us
or tests us unto destruction. Lord, we especially pray for those who
are leading your sheep, working in your Vineyard. We pray for abundant
faith that protects them and shields them from every plan of the
deceiver. Let your Truth protect all their 5 senses and fill tem with
discernment to lead them and not let them fall...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints;

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Crying in the wilderness

Mark 1:3 - The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Just these days back I have been so down spiritually but fighting at
all fronts. The grace of God and His Hand is always there behind me in
the areas which are impossible for me. But there is one area which
really put me down and in fact just before I picked up today's message
I was getting depressed with the same thought and the Lord gave this
message.

I share the same feeling as John the Baptist did when he was
proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ. Understand John was speaking to the
Jews, for whom scriptures were a part of their lives. Reading the
Torah was a must along with the books of the Prophets. Even though
they knew scriptures but yet they did not understand nor did they live
them even though they thought they did know and were following them.

Although times have changed the situation has not changed. It may come
as a surprise that even though today we have so many preachers and so
many so called experts on the Bible yet there are very few who really
hold the right understanding of the Bible.

It really depresses me when the basic foundational elements are not
clear with believers and the feeling is like John who cried in the
wilderness. Man has mastered control of the door from their ears to
their hearts. They know how to control what they want to hear and what
they do not want to, even though all the words fall on their ears.
Some may go to extend to complement and yet do not receive a pinch of
what the words reveal.

Sometimes the thought comes to take a break, but then if we do not
carry our CROSS then we will not have any chance to be true Disciples
of Christ and to be with Him eternally.

A farmer does not check every grain that he throws on the ground if it
will grow for sure. He throws them by the hundreds with whatever
visual discernment he possesses. He spoke to the people knowing for
sure that most of them will hear but not understand.

John came as a Man of God in the limelight after a long gap of four
hundred years. His style and way of life was unlike any other. He was
not living in the desert as a repentance of his personal life, for He
knew Jesus Christ from the time he was in his mother's womb. It was
the people's way of life that caused him to live the life he did. More
than his words it was the things he did that caught their attention
first.

Let us pray we do not be like the Jews confident that we know but give
due consideration to every scripture and every word that the Lord
speaks to us through His Word.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, work in our hearts Lord and heal our ears that we receive every
Word that comes from You. You gave us a mind to reason and understand.
It is attitude of not giving importance to every Word that causes us
not to understand and behind it is the fear that it will completely
change our way of life. Lord let us not be a stiff-neck people,
stubborn in our ways like the Israelite in the desert. You showed them
your glory knowing that they would not enter the promised land but
their children would. It was for the sake of their children You did
great miracles for them. Let us be the ones along with our children to
enter the true Promised Land...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Exodus 20:19 - And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we
will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Deuteronomy 29:2-6, 14-20
2 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen
all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto
Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
3 The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and
those great miracles:
4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to
see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are
not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.
6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong
drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.
14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;
15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD
our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:
16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we
came through the nations which ye passed by;
17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and
stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)
18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe,
whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and
serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root
that beareth gall and wormwood;
19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that
he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I
walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and
his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are
written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out
his name from under heaven.

Isaiah 6:9-13
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but
understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and
shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be
wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be
utterly desolate,
12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great
forsaking in the midst of the land.
13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be
eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when
they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance
thereof.

Luke 1:41-45
41 And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary,
the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit;
42 and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed art
thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me?
44 For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment
of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.


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Out of Egypt - the Spirit leads us

Haggai 2:5 - the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of
Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.

(This is yesterday's message)
In the books of Moses the Lord did great and mighty things to get His
people out of Egypt. Was He really so against the Egyptians that He
wanted to separate His people from them?

There are scriptures, in which the Lord calls the Egyptians His
people; so then why did God orchestrated such an event in the story of
the deliverance of His people?

The Egypt which the Lord wants to deliver His people is not the land
Egypt but the spiritual state Egypt. The word Egypt means 'double way'
- the land of Egypt which the Lord delivers His people from is the
double life they live. All God's people know God, and deep within them
is a desire to know Him and to be with Him just like a child desire
its mother. But their compromise with the world and weakness to their
lust has caused them to live a life which keeps them far from God.
Scriptures say the Israelites knew God and were worshippers of Yahweh
but still they also worshipped the gods of the Egyptian people. It was
for this reason the Lord sent the plagues which were actually against
the gods of the Egyptians. Their gods did not exist but the plague
bought down the understandings and regards the people had for these
man made gods.

Even before the people crossed the Red Sea which symbolized their
baptism in water we see the Pillar of cloud and fire was with them. It
was the Pillar that led them and protected them not only to cross the
Red Sea but throughout their journey till they reached the river
Jordan to cross onto the Promised Land.

The story of the Israelites is a shadow of a believer's life. He
brings His people out of the double way of life; He guides them and
protects them by His Spirit. Since He has shown this in the shadow,
would He not do it in real?

Let us not doubt the Lord but always keep our eyes focused on our
Pillar of cloud and fire, the Holy Spirit of God. He will guide us and
protect us through our journey until we come to our Promised Land -
Heaven.

The Israelites did not receive what they were given for they never
understood the Lord and had their eyes on earthly things. We the true
Israelite, children chosen by God by Faith will surely receive our
Promised Land, for our Passover Lamb was not an animal but an
unblemished eternal sacrifice - the only Son of God.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, we thank You for being our eternal sacrifice. Lord by your
sacrifice You made it possible to receive your Spirit. Your Spirit
guides us and protects us. Holy Spirit, it was by You that all
creation was made. You are omnipotent and omnipresent. You are our
Father and our Mother, we know You will not forsake us or leave us but
we prayer You Lord, be close to us always that we feel the warmth of
your love and comfort...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Isaiah 19:25 - Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be
Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my
inheritance.

Deuteronomy 4:31 - (For the LORD your God is a merciful God;) he will
not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your
fathers which he swore to them.

Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be
afraid of them: for the LORD your God, he it is that does go with you;
he will not fail you, nor forsake you.

Joshua 1:5 - There shall not any man be able to stand before you all
the days of your life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I
will not fail you, nor forsake you.

Exodus 13:21-22
21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to
lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them
light; to go by day and night:
22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of
fire by night, from before the people.

1 Corinthians 9:1-11
1 Moreover, brothers, I would not that you should be ignorant, how
that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the
sea;
2 And were all baptized to Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that
spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were
overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not
lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be you idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written,
The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and
fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were
destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur you, as some of them also murmured, and were
destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened to them for ensamples: and they are
written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the world are come.


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The Church of Priscilla and Aquila

Romans 16:3,4 - Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I
give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

(Yesterday’s message)
The couple Priscilla and Aquila are among the few people who have been
praised again and again for their work in the Lord. They were a Jewish
couple who came to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. They worked
in the Lord together and also did their family business together. It
was because of their common business of tent making with Paul, they
met and grew in relationship with him when they along with the other
Jews were driven out of Rome.

Among Believers they are not spoken of like Paul or the 12 Apostles or
the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, but in the Kingdom of God they
were not less than any other. They did great work for the Kingdom of
God that time and again Paul and others gave credit to them.

They were rooted into the Kingdom of God not only by their steadfast
work but also by their own spiritual growth in the Lord which was not
less than their work. There is an incident recorded where a Jew named
Apollos who came into the Lord, was mighty in the scriptures and was
boldly proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord Jesus even in the Jewish
synagogues. These couple on hearing of him take him into their
congregation and polish him in the ways of the Lord to make him
better. They may have not been having knowledge in scriptures like
Apollos but they knew the application of scripture very well and thus
helped Apollos grow in the Kingdom of God. This shows the need of
having each other in the Body of Christ.

These couple showed a perfect meaning of a family being a Church of
God; their love for the Lord, for each other and for the people. They
worked independently as well as together with the Body of Christ. They
may have had no special ministerial calling but that did not mean they
became an audience. They may not have been the gold vessels of the
Temple but they became among the best silver vessels of the Temple.
They were as holy and sacred to the Lord if not less than any other
vessel.

Let us learn from these couple and make our families a true Church of
God like them.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, we thank You for given us an inspiration in our brother and
sister Aquila and Priscilla. Lord, help us to be selflessly dedicated
to your Kingdom as Priscilla and Aquila. Help us make our families
into the true purpose You intended this institution. ..

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Acts 18:1-3
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come
from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had
commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and
wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

Romans 16:3-4
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only
I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

1 Corinthians 16:19 - The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and
Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in
their house.

2 Timothy 4:19 - Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

Acts 18:24-28
24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent
man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent
in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord,
knowing only the baptism of John.
26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila
and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto
him the way of God more perfectly.
27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote,
exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped
them much which had believed through grace:
28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by
the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.



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Fleeing from the Lord unto Tarshish

Jonah 1:3 - But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence
of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to
Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go
with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

We all know that the Lord is everywhere and David says in his Psalms
that anywhere he goes the Lord is there. He goes to the extent to
state even in Hell he cannot run away from the Lord, for the Lord is
omnipresent.

In today's message we read Jonah a man of faith, close to the Lord
tries to flee from the presence of the Lord. The scripture says he
'rose up to flee unto Tarshish' to flee from the presence of the Lord.
Later we read when he reached Joppa he found a ship going to Tarshish.
We need to ask, is Tarshish more than Hell that Jonah would flee from
the Lord, by going there?

We can to understand this scripture by understanding Tarshish. This
Hebrew word means 'yellow jasper'. All names of all important places
in the Bible have relation to scriptures and their understanding. So
also the gems in the Bible in the spiritual world have an
understanding like the 12 stones on the breast plate of the High
Priest represented the 12 tribes and the same stones are of which
Heaven is made of, as stated in the book of Revelation.

I stated in one of my posts long back that these 12 stones represent
the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit. Like the stone sapphire symbolizes
mercy and therefore the Throne of God is symbolized as made by
sapphire. Coming to the stone Jasper, which is on the last row
represents the Spiritual Fruit temperance or self-control. The stone
jasper is found in many colours, but here the colour yellow is
specifically specified. If one looks at the way the Lord defines the
identification of leprosy there too He specifies the colour yellow.
Leprosy was given great importance not because it was the most
dangerous disease but because of its spiritual understanding. Jesus
bought dead to life but for the lepers after He healed them He gave
them instructions to see the High Priest.

Yellow jasper represents the worldly way of self-control or the self
confidence that one has in one's works or in one's ability. We need to
remember however much of worldly assets we may have or even of
spiritual gifts; at no point should we be self-confident. We should
always remember if the Lord is not with us it would not take a
micro-second for our world to come crashing down.

The Lord is telling us greater than Hell is the self-confidence of man
which can keep the Lord away from him and this Truth we need to always
remember.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, we thank You for this message of warning which we really did not
understand the grave danger of. Lord, keep us always meek and humble
before You. You bless us with gifts and abilities which are from You
and for a purpose and that purpose is the glory of your Kingdom. Lord,
help us remember without You we are nothing and therefore help us live
for You and You alone...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Psalms 139:8 - If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make
my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

Psalms 118:8-9
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

Exodus 28:17-21
17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of
stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle:
this shall be the first row.
18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall
be set in gold in their inclosings.
21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel,
twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet;
every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

Revelation 21:19-21
19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all
manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the
second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite;
the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the
eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several
gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as
it were transparent glass.

Exodus 24:9-10
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the
elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it
were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of
heaven in his clearness.

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Leviticus 13:30 - Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold,
if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow
thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry
scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.

Job 28:12-21
12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land
of the living.
14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for
the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious
onyx, or the sapphire.
17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it
shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of
wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be
valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from
the fowls of the air.

Ezekiel 10:1 - Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was
above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a
sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

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The Bible is all about Him

Luke 24:27 - And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded
unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Ivan Panin was a Russian who left Russia and settled in United States
as a young man. He graduated from Harvard University as a brilliant
mathematician; he was offered a splendid post in the United States
which he refused because he wanted to dedicate his life to
demonstrating the Truth and inspiration of the Bible. He did a
mathematician verification of the New Testament demonstrating that the
scriptures had an inbuilt security system like a currency note. Every
scripture had signature of God which no man could copy or even dream
of copying, if any person changed even a word it could easily be
caught. He used a system of substituting numbers to characters and
found the base of the total of every scripture, chapter and book was
the number 8. In Bible codes the number 8 symbolizes Christ, the First
Born, and the new or last Adam. He was instrument in bring many
worldly wise or highly educated men to the Lord.

It is not only the New Testament is about Christ even the Old
Testament is all about Him. In today's message the Lord Jesus Christ
confirms that. When He explained scriptures starting with Moses and
all the Prophets, it is written He showed them how all scriptures were
concerning Him. It is written ALL SCRIPTURES and ALL PROPHETS
including MOSES.

How many preachers do we find today who are preaching Jesus from the
Old Testament? It shows the lack of understanding of scriptures among
us. Some do take a few scriptures from the Old Testament to explain
the birth prophesies of Jesus or Jesus being the Lamb of God, the
Passover Lamb. Few quote the Old Testament to give details of the
suffering of Jesus as our eternal sacrifice for not much is in the New
Testament on this matter. On the other hand we have many who reject or
ignore many scriptures of the Old Testament as being violent, not
pertaining to us now, being part of the Law for the Israelites etc.
They do not understand every scripture is about Jesus and they may
seem that way not because the scripture is like that but only because
man does not have the understanding of those scriptures.

When I used to debate with people of another religion on the internet
they would point to some of the scriptures of great violence in the
Old Testament and when I sat with the Lord on them I was shocked to
find how the Lord tried to explain spiritual matters through these
scriptures. Per say these scriptures were to explain things we today
need to do even though we are in Christ and we do not do any violence
against man. They give an understanding of the Kingdom of God and how
we relate with the war that is happening in the spirit world.

Lord Jesus Christ is the Only Way to our Father in Heaven and the
Bible is called the Book of Instructions which takes us to God our
Father. We also know Jesus Christ is the Word manifested in the flesh
so the Word is Him and He is the Word of God. Rejecting any part of
the Word irrespective it being in the Old or New Testament is like
rejecting the Way to the Father or rejecting Jesus Christ.

When Jesus said baptize in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, it was not the order between them but who reveals who. God the
Father revealed God the Son Who was in Him and let the Heavens know
Him. It was the Son Who gave us His Spirit. It was by the Holy Spirit
that Jesus was born as man so being the Father we come to know Him,
and it is from the words of Jesus we know the Spirit of God, They
being one it one who reveals the other. We find man out of ignorance
of scriptures makes the sign of the crucifix in the Name of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit without understand it. The Apostles having
the right understanding of this baptized in the Name of Jesus for they
know it is only through Jesus the manifested Word that we know the
Father and the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray to the Spirit of God Who reveals the scriptures and
through the scriptures reveals the Son to us.

[Prayer Starter]
Holy Spirit, You are the author of the Word of God. It is by You that
man was inspired to write the Bible. Even though they really did not
understand what they wrote yet having faith in You the Word came unto
man. Even the people with Jesus including His own earthly mother did
not really know Him fully, it was only when they were baptized in You
that they came to know Him. Holy Spirit fall in abundance on your
people and open their minds to know our Saviour and King, our Lord
Jesus Christ, our only way to the Father...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 2:23 - And he came and dwelled in a city called Nazareth: that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be
called a Nazarene.

Matthew 5:17-18
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass, one stroke or
one pronunciation mark shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled.

Matthew 23:32-35
32 Fill you up then the measure of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the
damnation of hell?
34 Why, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:
and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall
you whip in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35 That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth,
from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of
Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar.

Matthew 26:52-56
52 Then said Jesus to him, Put up again your sword into his place:
for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
53 Think you that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall
presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are you come out
as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily
with you teaching in the temple, and you laid no hold on me.
56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might
be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

Mark 1:2 - As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my
messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you.

John 1:45 - Philip finds Nathanael, and said to him, We have found
him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

John 6:44-46
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw
him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of
God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the
Father, comes to me.
46 Not that any man has seen the Father, save he which is of God, he
has seen the Father.

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The Bride comes to the Lord from Lebanon

Songs of Solomon 4:8 - Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me
from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and
Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

Like I told you in my previous post to understand the book Songs of
Solomon one needs to do deep word study, image study, Bible codes and
have a good understanding of the characters noted in this book. It is
like a Shakespeare play with the names of the person saying the
dialogues removed.

Not going into too much explanation I would like to put down the
message the Lord gives us today.

I will list the meanings of the words and what they symbolize.

Lebanon means whiteness, stands for purity. This purity is not exactly
the purity which the Lord desires but a purity which a worldly man
sees as good. Scriptures tell us even though we may not know
everything, we may not know what is good or bad fully yet we should do
whatever good we can towards others.

Amana means support or faith.

Shenir the name given to the snow-mountains of Hermon. I quote below a
person describing the view of these mountains.

For a view of Hermon, Professor Hackett thus describes its appearance
as seen from a hill north of Nazareth: "The mountain was concealed one
moment, and the next, on ascending a few steps higher, stood arrayed
before me with an imposing effect which I cannot easily describe. It
rose immensely above every surrounding object. The purity of the
atmosphere caused it to appear near, though it was in reality many
miles distant. The snow on its head and sides sparkled under the rays
of the sun, as if it had been robed in a vesture of silver. In my
mind's eye at that moment it had none of the appearance of an inert
mass of earth and rock, but glowed with life and animation. It stood
there athwart my path, like a mighty giant rearing his head towards
heaven and swelling with the proud consciousness of strength and
majesty."

Hermon means sanctuary. It means a safe place.

Lion is an animal which symbolizes righteousness. Jesus is called the
Righteousness of Judah. Satan the Beast is called a young lion for he
imitates Christ and comes as an angel of light.

Leopard means to filtrate or to be pure or holy, separated from things unholy.

The Lord is telling us His Bride - His Church will come from the good
that she does for mankind. She would be one who stands on faith. Her
spiritual beauty would be majestic to the eyes everyone and none would
be able to compare to her. She would have a safe place. Even though
there would be turmoil and disasters around her, she would be safe and
protected by the Lord. She would be one who pursues righteousness and
holiness.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You alone are good and man is far from being anything like You.
Yet You are working on man and making him worthy so that he can be
part of You and have glory in You. In You alone is everlasting life
and life in abundance. Lord, work on us, and as the message given
today to us make your Church holy and righteous. Show your people that
beautiful buildings or great structures do not count for churches but
spiritually beautiful people do...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Songs of Solomon 4:7-15
7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look
from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the
lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast
ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy
love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are
under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
Lebanon.
12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a
fountain sealed.
13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits;
camphire, with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of
frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

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The flesh of man

1 Corinthians 15:39 - All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is
one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes,
and another of birds.

One of the greatest manifestations of God's greatness is to watch a
birth. It is beautiful when one studies how from a cell a being is
born. We see man is so different from one another yet all are born in
the same way from a single cell. One should study the stages of a
child in the womb of its mother, it is just awesome. When my wife was
conceived with my daughter I had registered on an internet site named
http://www.baby. com, the site would regularly update on every stage of
the child in the womb, I just loved it.

It is amazing how accurate God is that every process is perfect and
results just excellent. But we see sometimes in odd cases we have
deformed children or children with 2 heads or abnormal body growth. Is
it that God also does make mistakes? Also how do children inherit
sicknesses or skills from parents?

To understand this we need to understand today's message. If we really
understand and master today's message we can overcome all sickness,
health problems, and have life like which man did not experience since
thousand s of years.

It is from just a since human cell that the different organs and parts
of the human body is formed. It is amazing to know that we do not need
the human egg, for every cell in our body knows every information
needed to grow into a full human being.

Yes, from the cell of or hair to our blood cell, to cells in our
saliva has all the information required to form our whole body. Even
though all this information is in every cell yet they take their own
roles and form the various parts of the body when a child grows from a
single cell.

The details of every part of a human body, its functioning, design,
relations with other parts all is in our DNA. Not only man but all
living beings have a DNA and it is due to the DNA one is different
from another.

Man did not come from monkey or ape for the DNA does not mutilate or
majorly change permanently. Since thousands of years there is no great
permanent change in human or any other creation. Mix breeds are formed
when 2 DNA are fused to form another DNA, but there is a limitation of
mix breeding for DNA with high differences cannot fuse, thus for man
to evolve from apes would require apes to have relation with another
animal by which the fusion of both their DNAs would cause the DNA of
man. Science shows such DNA mutilations has never happened and is not
possible in a natural environment and continue naturally.

DNA of all living beings when seen from a bird's eye view is just
simply instructions having sentences, chapters and books. The books
are call chromosomes. Each animal or being has varying number of
chromosomes and it is this design that differentiates each from
another.

Having more or less chromosomes does not make a being superior or
inferior but having the exact chromosomes. A donkey has 62 chromosomes
and a lion has 38 chromosomes so we see it has nothing to do with the
numbers, what matters is the design. Man has 22pairs of chromosomes
and 2 sex chromosomes.

The Lord taught me how human DNA is a copy of the Bible in man. A
Bible is a collection of books and also has chapters and verses like
our DNA. There were many questions on the Bible like the number of
books and the relationships of books between each other and all these
questions the Lord answered me by explaining this with our DNA.

Word of God shows us God, therefore the image of God is in His Word
and when God created man the image of His Word was in man in
perfection. Sin caused the corruption of this perfect Instruction from
God and therefore sickness started to come into man. Adam was called
reddish for he was full of life but after he sinned, this sin started
manifesting physically in his grandson and he was called Enoch which
means pale or mortal. It was then man started realizing he needed God
and started worshiping Him.

We humans are different from other beings in whole of creation only
because we have God's image in us. Even though it has got corrupted,
the love and mercy of God has made way for us to get back this image
by the understanding of His Word and its application into our lives.
It is from the spirit that things manifest into the flesh so when we
speak the Word with its full understanding and authority we heal the
flesh and thus see miracles happen in man. The Hebrew word used for
flesh means message and when God's message is in us life is in us.
Thus we see Jesus kept emphasizing on us eating (consuming and making
a part of us) His flesh (message) to have life in us.

Let us realize we humans are different and how we are made in God. Let
us bring to fullness this image of God in us by getting the Truth in
us and thus free ourselves from the curse of sin and death. Jesus was
without blemish for the Word was perfect in Him and therefore God did
not allow even His flesh to see corruption when He died. In the end
when we get the full understanding of the Word in its perfection, it
is written corrupt man would put on and inherit incorruption.

So let us know the importance of believing in Jesus Christ, studying
and applying the Word of God in our lives and becoming a Holy flesh.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, all things are created by your Word, but the perfection of your
Word was only in man whom You loved the most. When sin came man saw
corruption when sin came into man like what happened when some of the
angels revolted against the Light and the Body of the Son lost His
glory. Lord, You made man so that the Light will shine in man and when
He becomes part of your Body the glory of the Son will be restored.
Open the minds of your people so that the Word gets rooted in them and
they be healed in the flesh...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
1 Corinthians 15:35-43
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what
body do they come?
36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall
be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed
his own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of
men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the
glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and
another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star
in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption;
it is raised in incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in
weakness; it is raised in power:

John 1:11-14
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
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:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth.

Acts 2:25-27,35-39
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always
before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be
moved:
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover
also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of
God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39a And by him all that believe are justified from all things,

1 Corinthians 15:50-58
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord.



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The Storms

Jonah 1:4 - But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there
was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be
broken.

(This is yesterday's message which I am sending today)
Some days back I was discussing with a friend with regards the
crossing of the Red Sea in the book of Moses. He was very sad to point
to the fact that the Lord killed all those of the Egyptian army when
He drowned them in the Red Sea by bringing the walls of water on them.
Had He not taken that step the Egyptians would have killed the
Israelites and would God allow that to happen to His people. Will a
mother allow her child be harmed by anyone?

Our discussion went on to another point; isn't God the one who created
the Egyptians?

Firstly we need to understand everything in all creation is created by
God that includes all mankind, animals, Angels and even Satan and his
fallen angels and it is He who give life unto all. It is only when we
study the Bible we understand the purpose God created all this, that
we realize why He calls Himself a Possessive God, a God who is
possessive of His people, who would do anything to save and protect
them.

When any person takes the step to harm God's people, he or she becomes
an enemy of God and does not qualify for God's mercy. God being the
giver of life also has the right to take it away.

My friend saw only that one incident, what about all the calamities
which happen throughout the world? The natural disasters like the
tsunami, the cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, storms, sickness,
accidents etc. do these just happen?

Today's message tells us God sent the storm when Jonah was running
away from a task given to him, so are all the natural disasters sent
by God?

Bible tells us when God created man and natural, man was in command of
nature and they lived in harmony. But when sin came into man he lost
his authority and nature turn against man and became his enemy. Bible
states before sin Adam was able to farm even without rain for nature
provided water in abundance for him, but after sin he had to sweat
hard to farm and even after that the yield was not very good. So we
see sin causes disasters to come into man's life.

Now coming to cases where God directly sends disasters in the way of man.

In today's message we need to understand the reason why Jonah was
running away, that God needed to intervene is such a drastic way and
bring him back to do the job.

Most people think Jonah was running away due to fear and they are
wrong. Jonah was a man of faith and being told to tell the Nineveh to
repent he knew that they would repent and that was something he did
not want. History confirms the people of Nineveh were one of the most
barbaric people who skinned live people and offered live babies as
sacrifices to their gods among other things. They were a strong,
prosperous and highly advanced in military and the world feared them.
Jonah hated them and wanted them to be punished and destroyed but God
did not share his views.

God knew even in these barbaric people was a heart which could repent
and turn to Him. Our God always desires to save for He is a God Who
sits on a Throne of mercy, but He is not a foolish God to keep pouring
mercy on one whom He knows would never repent or change.

The possibility of the people of Nineveh to repent and turn to God was
not even 1percent, but yet God was happy with that less than 1percent
and made that percentage successful. Our God is love and sits on a
throne of mercy, He desires to save and bring all unto Him for in Him
alone can one have eternal life, true peace and true prosperity.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You created this world and us, so as to prosper us in You. You
have great plans for man and want to bless him with things
unimaginable. Lord, we pray that man open his eyes and see nothing
just happens and realizes all things have a purpose and reason behind
it. May we discern all things and changing our way of life so as to
avoid being an enemy of You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

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

Jonah 3:1-10
1 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the
preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the
LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he
cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
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.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his
throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth,
and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by
the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor
beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink
water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily
unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the
violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his
fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and
God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them;
and he did it not.

Jonah 4:1-4
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not
this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before
unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for
it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

--
[email=T@MZ]T@MZ[/email]

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The Messenger

Mark 1:2 - As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my
messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The role of 'The Messenger' is across many religions but plays an
important role primarily in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. This
title is a special title given to a very specific person with a
special mission.

In Christianity it is John the Baptist who is given that title and in
Islam the title is been given to Mohammed, but in Judaism due to their
inability to understand scriptures (even though we share mostly the
same scriptures) they do not have any specific Messenger and consider
all Prophets with that title. Therefore I will discuss this topic
between Islam and Christianity only.

People mistakenly compare differences with Mohammed with Jesus which
they compare Islam with Christianity. If anyone studies the Quran one
will realize even Mohammed could not put down the Name of Jesus.

Stated below are some 7 reasons:
1) In the Quran Jesus is said to be born without sin while Mohammed is
born in sin.
2) Quran states when a child is born Satan comes and touches it,
therefore the child cries. But Jesus was the only one who did not cry
when born.
3) It also states Jesus as a just born child opened his mouth and
spoke which no other man did.
4) Jesus in the Quran is given the titles as 'Word of God' and
'Creator' which no other Prophet is given, including Mohamed.
5) Jesus did miracles in the Quran like giving life which no other Prophet did.
6) Jesus' death and resurrection is stated even in the Quran. While in
the case of Mohammed, he failed the test of a Prophet put to him by a
Jewish woman when he ate a poisoned chicken leg piece.
7) On the Day of Judgment it is written in the Quran that every human
in all creation, including all Prophets will stand before the Lord and
confess their sins but Jesus will be silent, since there will be no
sin in him even at that time.

What we see even in the Quran, Jesus is given the image of man in
perfection, above all mankind, having power with God and having
victory over sin.

Coming to the real comparison between John the Baptist and Mohammed as
being 'The Messenger'.

We see John came to give the message of repentance and the message of
hope. He came to warn the people about continuing their sinful ways.
He asked them to repent and take refuge in God and have hope in the
Lamb of God Jesus Christ Who will be the cause of our forgiveness of
sins. John came to point out to Jesus Christ who is perfect in nature
and has one having victory over sin and death. He pointed to us
receiving the Holy Spirit and becoming sons of God.

The Quran on contrary, although showing Jesus as the perfect being,
yet their Messenger does not point towards Him. Mohammed does warn
people of their sinful ways but does not give a way out of their
sinful lives. He gets people confused between getting victory over sin
by repentance and doing good works but at the same time points out to
the failure of man against temptation. He includes himself as being
unable to have victory and being a failure.

So we see the difference between these two Messengers John the Baptist
and Mohammed is their message, one takes us towards Light and other to
darkness and confusion.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, there are many who come in your Name and You have warned us in
your Word. You stated some come as angels of light but You have not
sent them. Lord, You expose the evil in their words and bring the
darkness to light. Lord, we pray the people open their eyes and by
using the basic sense of understanding stop continuing in the deceit
they are in. Help them repent and come to You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Mark 1:2-5
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger
before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of
Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan,
confessing their sins.

John 1:6-15, 19-37
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all
men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world
knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
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:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I
spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was
before me.
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am
not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer
to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make
straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if
thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there
standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's
latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is
preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel,
therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the
same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

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Get rid of your strange clothes or bear the punishment

Zephaniah 1:8 - 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.

We read in the books of Moses about the life of Joseph, how he was
nearly killed by his own brothers, sold to a slave master, imprisoned
and how he suffered, but later he becomes one of the greatest persons
in that Kingdom. If you notice his story starts with him wearing vivid
coloured clothes and ends with him wearing royal white linen robes.
His story is all about his clothes; it has nothing to do with his
physical garments but what they represent.

In today's message the Lord is telling us He may not be as gracious as
He was with Joseph if we wear strange garments. Strange garments, does
not mean weird designs or vivid colours nor unfashionable garments,
our God is not fashion conscious. The Lord is talking of the weird
understandings we carry and the weird traditions which we practice. He
has been patient with us since long, but now that His grace is
abundant and He has many of His elect among us who educate us and warn
us, we need to adhere to these warnings and turn back from our strange
practices and beliefs.

It is already written in the Bible as to what He would be doing to
these people and today's warning is come at the right time. Do not
take this as the casual warnings which were given from the days of
Isaiah or the times of Jesus as man on earth. When Jesus warned the
Jews about the destruction of Jerusalem, there was 70 years between
the warning and its consequences; today's warning will not have that
much time but may come to pass in a few years.

Also understand one cannot put it back for a later date because most
know change takes time and many struggle in that period, so let today
be our day of start of change. All that the Lord has shown us as not
according to His Word put them in our garbage can. Let us have nothing
to do with them. Let us cover our minds with the pure white true
understandings of the scriptures, practicing them in Spirit and Truth.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You are a Holy God and You ask your children to be holy. Lord,
You know we cannot be holy nor righteous but when we walk according to
the little things your Spirit reveals we are called righteous and a
holy nation. Lord, help your people to put away all the pagan
practises and the idols they worship in the name of Christian
traditions. They have no knowledge of your Word and are deceived by
spiritually blind men who dress is self-righteous robes. When Jesus
Himself as man did not allow any person to worship Him, we have people
worshiping other characters of the Bible. Lord, help them know who
really is coming in the form of these characters and whom they are
worshipping. ..

We make this prayer in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Genesis 37:3-5,9-11, 18-20
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was
the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all
his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they
hated him yet the more.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and
said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and
the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father
rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast
dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow
down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto
them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some
pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall
see what will become of his dreams.

Genesis 41:41-43
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the
land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon
Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a
gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and
they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all
the land of Egypt.


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Truth which is after Holiness

Titus 1:1 - Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the
truth which is after godliness (holiness);

Paul was one of the foundational members of the early Church. Even
though he was not one of the 12 Apostles yet his contribution to the
Church growth at that time was far greater than any of the 12.

His knowledge of the Truth can be assessed by the fact he has the
largest contribution to the New Testament. Let us look at the
interesting way he introduces himself in his letter.

The first words he uses are 'servant of God' which means a bondman or
one who gives himself up to another's will. So we see Paul was very
focused on who is in control of himself. He knew he did not live for
himself but lived for his Creator and that is the most primary fact we
need to have in us, if we too want to be as dynamic as Paul in the
Kingdom of God. Unless we do not die to ourselves we cannot live for
Christ or allow the Lord to work through us.

The second point he makes is calling himself an apostle of Jesus
Christ. The word apostle has two meanings one as a noun and the other
as a verb. As a noun it represents the calling of a person and as a
verb it means 'being sent'. Paul used this word in both its
presentations. He knew who he was in the Body of Christ and also knew
whom he represents. He knew the authority he carried and the authority
of the one who sent him. It is very important we know who we are and
what authority we carry to work efficiently in the Kingdom of God, but
more than that we should know the authority of Whom we represent. Even
though each calling is different yet we are part of the same Body.

The third point which Paul uses to introduce himself is, being one who
is 'according to the faith of God's elect'. Paul knew he was part of a
body and not a lone ranger. Most workers of the vineyard work like
lone rangers and therefore are not successful as Paul was. After
knowing our authority it is more important we need to know we are part
of a team. It is not what I or you desire or our plans but the Lord's
plans for His people.

The last and the most important point which Paul makes is
'acknowledging of the truth which is after holiness'. This point is
the most, most important point not only for Paul but for the whole
Church and in fact for all creation. We need to realize we are all
corrupt bodies which are seeking perfection in the Lord. Due to sin we
lost the image of God in us and the sacrifice of Jesus was necessary
firstly to clean us of our sins and secondary and more important was
to make it possible for us to receive the Spirit of God.

We need to realize first what corruption is and secondary how we are
going to get it undone. Corruption is the loss of the 3 Fruits of the
Holy Spirit which are Truth, Righteousness and Holiness. In Galatians
5:22-23 Paul listed the 9 Fruits of which we have the seeds off and
can grow Fruit. But the 3 Fruits are not there in the list and are
noted by Paul separately in Ephesians 5:9 for it is impossible for
corrupt man to get them by himself.

Bible tells us none were found holy and the righteousness of man is
like rags before the Lord. It also says man suffers because of the
lack of knowledge since the Truth is not in him.

Jesus by His sacrifice and victory made it possible for us to receive
the Spirit of Truth; it is by the working of the Holy Spirit in us,
that we come to know the Truth. It is only when the Truth comes into
man that Jesus comes again to finish the job. On the Judgement Day
only those who have pursued the Truth and found worthy will receive
the gift of Righteousness from the Son and then after entering Heaven
they will receive the gift of Holiness from the Father so that we can
dwell with God the Father Who is Holy and before Whom nothing unholy
can stand.

So ultimately it is all about getting the Truth so that we can receive Holiness.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, we pray that all your workers in the vineyard may be not only as
dynamic as Paul, but even more than him. Let them be people of Light
walking in the knowledge and understanding of the Kingdom of God, of
who they are and the role You have for them. Lord, let them understand
it is all team work with Jesus Christ as our head and guided by the
Holy Spirit...

We make this prayer in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 20:25-28
25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes
of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great
exercise authority upon them.
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great
among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Mark 10:29-30
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no
man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or
mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with
persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three are gathered together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them.

Romans 12:4-8
4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not
the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members
one of another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to
us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of
faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth,
on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it
with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth
mercy, with cheerfulness.

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Ephesians 5:9 - (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness
[holiness] and righteousness and truth;)

Psalms 33:12 - Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the
people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.

John 1:18 - No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.



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Cast away the abominations and the idols of Egypt

Ezekiel 20:7 - Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the
abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of
Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Does man every correct his mistake and turn to goodness?

If we ask the Lord this question He will have a very disappointing
answer. In the Bible He proves even after doing so many great things
for man time and time again man has been doing the very same things,
many a times worshipping those very same gods with a new name or
sometimes with the very same name. He used a very appropriate name
'stiff-neck' for His people. This message is not about the
non-Christians but people who call themselves Christians. Even today
the Lord is saying the same words to His people 'get rid of the idols
of Egypt and stop the abominations' .

Some months back BBC showed a documentary on people who call
themselves Christians and worshipped a saint (female) called Santa
Muerte. It is a human skeleton dressed in women's robs with rosaries
and chains around its neck while holding a reaper's staff in its hand.
This figure is very famous in Mexico among the drug mafia and is
venerated like Mother Mary is among the Catholics. They burn candles
and make offerings to it. They crawl on their knees or role on grounds
for long distances to its shrines. Their offerings may be anything
from a doll to even a joint (drugs) or liquor. They have their own set
of prayers for this saint and are said on the beads. They believe this
saint has powers to protect them from death and most important they
believe this saint kills the enemies of those who take refuge in it.
If one goes on the net you will even find testimonies of its patrons,
how they are blessed with children, healed or saved from death. This
figure has caught the imagination of many so much that they have made
a movie to glorify the powers of this saint. Historians have found
that this figure is not new but a goddess worshiped by the Egyptians
and people many eras before. Like this there are many others including
one called Black Mary, which has its patrons performing black magic
and witchcraft even though being Christians?

What we see is the same old rubbish keeps coming back again and again
in different forms and names. Satan knows his tricks are successful,
and they work with man, so keeps using them the very same trick in new
forms like he used the same 3 temptations he used successfully against
Adam and Eve, against Jesus. But Jesus being rooted in the Word did
not give Satan the pleasure of a success even in His weakest moments.

You will get shock to the extent the gods (idols) of Egypt have
penetrated into many sections of the Christian faith in the name of
characters close to Jesus or events connected to Him. Many festivals
celebrated by Christians have less to do with the Lord Jesus Christ
and more to do with the gods of the heathens.

It is time Christians open the Bible, opening their eyes, read the
scriptures and stop believing man more than God.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You warned us that the evil one will come as an Angel of light,
yet your people do not adhere to your warning. People are worshiping
devils and at the same time calling themselves Christians. They make
idols of you and keep them along with idols of devils come deceived in
the form of humans. Lord, we pray they open their eyes and see the
extent of spiritual blindness they are in and they cast these idols
into garbage cans, where they belong...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Exodus 20:3-6
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou 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:
5 Thou 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;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.

1 Kings 11:31-33
31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the
LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the
hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for
Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes
of Israel:)
33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth
the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and
Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my
ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes
and my judgments, as did David his father.

Jeremiah 7:17-19
17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem?
18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the
women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to
pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to
anger.
19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke
themselves to the confusion of their own faces?

Jeremiah 44:15-19
15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense
unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude,
even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros,
answered Jeremiah, saying,
16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the
LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our
own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out
drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our
kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of
Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw
no evil.
18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and
to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and
have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out
drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and
pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

Acts 19:30-35
30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples
suffered him not.
31 And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent
unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the
theatre.
32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly
was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come
together.
33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him
forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his
defence unto the people.
34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the
space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of
Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the
Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image
which fell down from Jupiter?

2 Kings 23:1-14, 20-25
1 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of
Judah and of Jerusalem.
2 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of
Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests,
and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he
read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was
found in the house of the LORD.
3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the
LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his
testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul,
to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book.
And all the people stood to the covenant.
4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of
the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of
the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and
for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them
without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of
them unto Bethel.
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had
ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah,
and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense
unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all
the host of heaven.
6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without
Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron,
and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the
graves of the children of the people.
7 And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the
house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and
defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from
Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that
were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the
city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.
9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the
altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened
bread among their brethren.
10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of
Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through
the fire to Molech.
11 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to
the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber
of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned
the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz,
which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had
made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat
down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into
the brook Kidron.
13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the
right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of
Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and
for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the
abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
14 And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and
filled their places with the bones of men.
20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there
upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to
Jerusalem.
21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover
unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.
22 Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the
judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel,
nor of the kings of Judah;
23 But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover
was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.
24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and
the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in
the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might
perform the words of the law which were written in the book that
Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the
LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his
might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose
there any like him.

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O fools, slow of heart!

Luke 24:25-27
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

"O fools, slow of heart!"
These are among the last words Jesus Christ spoke before He left us as
man to ascend to the Father; even today if He personally meets us I am
sure He will speak these same words to us.

The biggest problem for me when it comes to teaching people the Bible
is to explain the Old Testament is not Old but all about Jesus Christ
and the Holy Spirit, what all that They spoke and did as written in
the New Testament or will do.

People think the Old Testament is about violence and things not
associated with Jesus so should not be considered.

What the Jews and the Israelite did and what the Lord commanded of
them was never in line, for they never understood it. If you see when
the Jews accused Jesus of breaking the Law of Moses, Jesus answered
them that even though they did all those practises, they still did not
keep the Law of Moses. The Jews had a book much fatter than the Torah
on just the topic Sabbath, yet they did not understand the ABC of the
Sabbath.

When I came to the Lord and when the Lord started teaching me, I
actually understood more of Him from the Old Testament than the New
Testament. It surprises people when I share with them that the words
Jesus spoke in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke were the same
which the Lord spoke to Moses and the Prophets. It is people without
wisdom who do not understand them. This wisdom is not something which
any person can take credit for, but is the wisdom which the Lord
gives.

We people are fools without doubt for we think we know and therefore
do not ask of the Lord for wisdom to understand His instructions.
Before I used to be eager to hear the famous preachers on God Channel
and other Christian TV channels but as I started to understand the
scriptures more and more, I realized I could hardly find people who
really gave the Word on them. They all preach a popularity Gospel
which pleased people, many a times it was either just baby food or
another Gospel and not what Jesus or the Apostles preached. When they
started they did preach the Word but when they got tuned to the
people, they got more into controlling and pleasing people than
letting the Holy Spirit do the work. They try to help God in His work
and not let the Lord help them to do His work.

Yesterday I was happy to hear a preacher from a well-known
international ministry was preaching in Mumbai on the harmony of
scriptures between the Old and New Testament. Someone who attended it
was testifying how zapped he was when the preacher linked scriptures
from the Old and the New Testament.

Among the first things that Satan the Beast did was to get the early
church to break the Word into the Old and New Testament. And now it is
time we need to bring it back to one Word for our God is not one a God
Who speaks in two tongues.

When I started learning from the Lord I knew the only way to learn is
to first empty out all that I knew so that I could be filled with His
Knowledge and His understanding. So let us all remove all the human
teaching we are filled with and sit with the Lord to learn from Him.

We did need people to teach us to a stage so as to bring us unto Him,
now that we know Him let us learn from Him. Even Jesus who was perfect
in His understanding still did not try to continue teaching His
disciples but handed His disciples unto the Holy Spirit to be taught
and be led by Him. It was the Holy Spirit Who really opened their
minds to know Jesus and the scriptures.

[Prayer Starter]
Holy Spirit, You alone are the Rock on which we are founded and on
which we will not be shaken. Father, You are the giver of wisdom and
knowledge and have always desire to give them unto those who asked for
them. You have hidden these from those who are wise in worldly things.
People do not know You not because they cannot but because they are
lost in this world of vanity and their hearts are harden with lust and
sins. Lord, we pray You work in the hearts of your people and bring
them into your light, it is time You bring them out of this vanity
like You delivered Israel from Egypt...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Luke 24:44-47
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you,
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which
were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the
psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ
to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in
his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

John 1:45 - Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have
found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Mark 12:24 - And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore
err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

John 7:19a - Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you
keepeth the law?...

John 5:39 - Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have
eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Acts 28:23 - And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to
him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom
of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of
Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

Acts 17:2,10-13
2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night
unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which
were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of
God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred
up the people.

1 Corinthians 9:9 - For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt
not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God
take care for oxen?


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The choice to go north or south is ours

Ezekiel 41:11 - And the doors of the side chambers [were] toward [the
place that was] left, one door toward the north, and another door
toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left [was]
five cubits round about.

Before I came into the Lord I was into astrology and palmistry and
also in superstitions. I would believe the right hand or right foot
was good or lucky so I would enter most places putting my right foot
first. This understanding was the influence of living with heathens
(unbelievers) in India especially the Hindus. It was also because of
the lack of understanding of scriptures.

Scriptures talk about The Son sitting at the right hand of the Father
but we should realize God is not a man to have a right or left hand
and He being God every part of Him is Holy and Good.

The Right Hand of God means the Righteous Hand of God, it does not
really mean an hand of God. In spirit world the west or right means
towards righteousness and east or left means towards unrighteousness.

When Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden or Paradise,
Cherubs and a flaming Sword were placed towards the east to prevent
anyone from enter the Garden. That did not mean the direction but from
the unrighteous side for the Garden of Eden or Paradise was in Heaven
and Adam and Eve when without sin had access to Heaven but after sin
were deprived access. Eden is in the top 3 levels of Heaven which we
refer as Heaven and alone with man even the fallen angels were
deprived access for God did not need such a great deterrence of two
great Cherubs (who are thousands or time stronger than an Angel) and a
flaming sword for mere mortal man for man lost his powers and became
mortal. Jesus showed us this immortal power of man over human body
when He transfigured. God the Son who humbled Himself and came as man
Jesus entered from the east gate and closed it forever; He removes the
unrighteousness from man by giving us His righteousness and making us
Sons of God forever.

Coming to today's message, like I put in my previous mails that
Ezekiel chapter 41 where the Angel measured the temple was part of
really showing the inner man or heart of man. Today's message the Lord
talks about the decision which unrighteous man is put to.

If man is told to decide between north and south directions most men
will think north is towards God and south is towards hell, but man's
wisdom is foolishness for God. North is not west and south east.
According to the spirit world north means towards hidden treasure or
secret treasure and south means right or righteousness. Our God does
not hide anything, everything of Him is available to know but it is
our corruption and our mortal inability which keeps us from knowing
Him. God always wants us to know Him and be more like Him but the
state of our heart keeps us from knowing Him.

In today's scripture God states, to us all a choice is given to choose
between believe is some hidden treasures and fantasies or to choose
the ways of the Lord, the ways of Righteousness, the way to humble
oneself for the glory of God.

It always titillates man to fantasize in hidden things and wild dark
secrets. Just get on the internet and put up a conspiracy theory and
you will have thousands of hits but if you put the Truth not many will
come. All religions are founded on this fundament of believe in hidden
things or secrets and therefore make gods for themselves. All even the
atheist know God but choose to not believe in Him. Christianity in the
Bible is never used with the word religion but used with the word
devoting or simple worshipping of God. In the Bible God has revealed
everything that man can possibly know about Him. It is our sin, our
sinful nature and the teachings of this world that is within us which
keeps from knowing Him. It is only when we repent and are born again
and when we start walking in the little we know about Him that we come
to know more and more of Him.

It is our choice to take the north gate or to take the south gate; to
choose in believing in hidden things or to be born again and know God.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You always desire man to know You but ever since man has be
filled with corruption, he has gone far from You. Your ways are not
man's ways and therefore man has been lost. Lord, help us repent from
our ways and we pray Lord for your wisdom and knowledge which You
desire to give to those who ask of You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Genesis 3:21-24
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of
skins, and clothed them.
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to
know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also
of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to
till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden
of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life.

Psalms 118:15 - The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the
tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth
valiantly.

2 Corinthians 12:2 - I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago,
(whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I
cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

Deuteronomy 33:23 - And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied
with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the
west and the south.

Ezekiel 43:1-9
1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward
sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.
2 Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not
be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God
of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread
before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate,
and shall go out by the way of the same.
4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and
I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the
LORD: and I fell upon my face.
5 And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with
thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee
concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the
laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every
going forth of the sanctuary.
6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel,
Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of
all your abominations,
7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised
in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to
pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the
blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your
abominations.
8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have
set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor
uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger
that is among the children of Israel.



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No good dwells in our flesh

Romans 7:18 - For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth
no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that
which is good I find not.

We see people of other religions as an act of penance punish their
bodies beating it, whipping it; even in the early church it was a
known fact that priests would punish themselves with whips behind
closed doors. If by punishing the body man could have had the hope of
change then Churches would have been torture houses.

We need to understand when Adam and Eve were made into human flesh
there was no problem with them. Adam was referred to as a son of God,
but it was only after they sinned and ate of the fruit of good and bad
that corruption came into man. It was not that the flesh changed any
form but it was the corruption of the inner-man that took place. The
image of God in man got corrupted and man was no longer called son of
God.

Paul used the right word 'corruption' for it does not mean complete
deformation but part deformation. That means in us, something of God
still exists.

The Biblical word 'flesh' comes from the root meaning which means
'message'. If we get into the DNA which is the basic element of our
flesh it is made of elements A, B, C, D etc. and they are linked
together into sentences, chapters and further structured into books
called Chromosomes. This does not stop here but the number of
Chromosomes in man and the way the elements work between each other
and others has the working of the Word of God in us.

When God made us this DNA was perfect for the Word was perfect in us,
but when man sinned the word in us got corrupted, like changes in the
DNA brings sicknesses. Even in Adam who when made was full of life and
was made to live for many more years than he did, started showing
effects of sin in his body so much so that his grandson was named
'Enos' which means 'mortal' and comes from the root word which means
'sick'.

Each one of us carries a message which is a corrupt message and we
struggle with whatever good is in us. The evil or corruption in us
does not let the good to bear good fruit.

Jesus being without blemish, free of corruption was the perfect Word
of God in the flesh. His Word and His Spirit brings a change in us and
helps us remove the corruption in us. That is why it is written when
we know the Truth and allow this Truth to be written in us by walking
in the Truth we are set free from the corruption and once again become
sons of God.

The message of this world being not the Message of God causes more
corruption in us and therefore is against God. So fighting this world
does not mean we physically take arms against people of this world but
means to bring down the teachings of this world and like Paul says
this can only happen when we get the message in us according to the
Word of God.

The Jews kept the Law in the flesh and therefore even though they did
everything they could, according to the Law, yet Jesus told them they
did not keep the law.

Thus right fasting is not to deprive the body of food but to overcome
the desires of the body; therefore we see that Daniel's fast was very
effective even though he did eat. Confessing of scriptures heals us
because it brings change of the message in us right from our DNA. So
when confessing scriptures we are not telling them to God but to our
minds and to our body so that it comes in line with the Word and gets
healed.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord Jesus, You came as man and gave us your flesh to eat so that the
perfect Message from You will bring change in us and make us again
sons of God and part of You. Lord, let your people know that battle
does not lie in the physical but in the carnal mind of man which is
against your Kingdom...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Romans 7:17-25
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good
thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which
is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would
not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin
that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I
myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Galatians 6:8 - For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the
flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap eternal life.

John 6:49-56
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a man may
eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man
eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: yea and the bread which I
will give is my flesh [message], for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove one with another, saying, How can this
man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh [message] of the Son of man and drink his
blood [sacrifice], ye have not life in yourselves.
54 He that eateth my flesh [message] and drinketh my blood
[sacrifice] hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last
day.
55 For my flesh [message] is meat indeed, and my blood [sacrifice] is
drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh [message] and drinketh my blood
[sacrifice] abideth in me, and I in him.

John 7:19a - Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you doeth the law?

John 4:23 - But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father
seek to be his worshippers.

Romans 8:12-14
12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after
the flesh:
13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit
ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

2 Corinthians 10:6 - And having in a readiness to revenge all
disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

1 Corinthians 15:48-54
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is
the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.


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Disagreements between Believers

Acts 15:39 - And the contention was so sharp between them, that they
departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and
sailed unto Cyprus;

Among Christians there are two categories, one which follow the Word
of God above all and then there is the other category which follow man
irrespective of it is according to the Word or contrary to the Word.

Among the later you will find not much disagreement about what they
follow, but among the prior category if you put five of them in a room
chances are not even two will have an agreement on all matters. They
may agree more or less with each other on many matters but they will
disagree on some or other matters.

The second category will nod their head even if their leader says the
world is flat and we are the center of the universe. In science they
will learn of the solar system and how man landed on the moon but when
it came to their leader they will not question the belief of their
leader. The good part of the first category is that they question,
they reason and do not follow blindly whatever is thrown at them. Now
the question comes about the disagreement. Is it a spirit of error
that is working among them and causing them to disagree? In fact it is
the deaf and dumb spirit which keeps the second category from knowing
God but about the first the Lord wants us to understand what the
problem is.

We see in today's scripture there is a strong disagreement between
Paul and Barnabas which caused them to separate their ministry. The
cause of this disagreement was Mark; whose real name was John and the
issue here was the Gospel of Mark and this caused Paul to get Luke to
write the Gospel.

Paul was very upset with Mark because he was chosen by the Apostles to
write the Gospel and he had left the Gospel incomplete. But Mark being
a man of few words and a man to the point did not find it necessary to
explain everything, and with this attitude he missed emphasizing the
resurrection of Jesus Christ which Paul would not compromise on. He
had stopped the Gospel at Mark 16:6 and it was later others had to
complete the Gospel. Barnabas (whose real name was Joseph and known as
Barsabas in Acts 1) who was one among those who was with Jesus right
form the time of baptism and had worked a lot with Paul, in fact was
instrument in building Paul's spiritual life in his initial stages. He
was firstly blinded to the important point which Paul raised because
of his blood relationship with Mark and the other point which could be
the fact he was earlier in the Lord than Paul.

People should realize one cannot be a permanent leader here in the
Kingdom of God. It is like the medical industry where people are
specialized in different fields and according to the knowledge and
skillset of a person one is given position in the industry. One cannot
be on a higher position forever if one does not continually keep
building oneself in knowledge and experience every day.

Many believers do not understand the most primary fact that we are
part of the Body of Christ; we are all different parts of that Body.
So many of us have different callings and therefore have different
viewpoints and understanding on the same matter. And the second and
most important fact is that the Lord is always teaching people and
building them, if we are not listening to Him we miss and do not grow
in Him. Like Barnabas we may be pulled back by our fleshly connections
or thinking.

If I do not spend quality time with the Lord and do His work every day
I realize the amount of knowledge and understanding I miss on from the
Lord and that one day I will be left way behind in the Kingdom of God.
The other factor I realize I always need others to get a full
dimension of the same matter which I am knowledgeable of, for I know
one thing as to why the Lord symbolized Truth as a pomegranate fruit.

Like the fable of the race between the hare and the tortoise the
Kingdom of God is not about speed or being slow but of being
consistent. Many like the hare go crazy about God and have a great
hunger for Him but after some time this hunger dies or they become
confident in themselves and then spiritually go to sleep. We should
not laugh at those who are slow for one day they being consistent will
surpass us and move far ahead spiritually. All of us need to look at
our spiritual life every day and see are we moving ahead or are we at
the same place?

It is very important to remember that a spiritually blind or lame
person will never grow in the Kingdom of God, all other disabilities
the Lord may tolerate but especially not blindness or lameness.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, we rebuke the spirits of dumbness, deafness, blindness, lameness
and the spirit of laziness which has engulfed all your people and is
preventing them from growing in You. May their blindness and their
lameness be healed and may the Kingdom of God grow and your glory fill
this earth...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Mark 16:5-6
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on
the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were
affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of
Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the
place where they laid him.

Exodus 39:22-26
22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue;
23 and the hole of the robe in the midst thereof, as the hole of a
coat of mail, with a binding round about the hole of it, that it
should not be rent.
24 And they made upon the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue,
and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.
25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the
pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe round about, between the
pomegranates;
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, upon the
skirts of the robe round about, to minister in; as Jehovah commanded
Moses.

Haggai 2:19 - Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the
fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought
forth; from this day will I bless you.

Leviticus 21:18 - For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he
shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat
nose, or anything superfluous,

Deuteronomy 15:21 - And if it have any blemish, as if it be lame or
blind, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto
Jehovah thy God.

2 Samuel 5:6-8
5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in
Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites,
the inhabitants of the land, who spake unto David, saying, Except thou
take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither;
thinking, David cannot come in hither.
7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the
city of David.
8 And David said on that day, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, let
him get up to the watercourse, and smite the lame and the blind, that
are hated of David's soul. Wherefore they say, There are the blind and
the lame; he cannot come into the house.

Acts 1:21-23
21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time
that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was
taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his
resurrection.
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed
Justus, and Matthias.

Acts 4:36-37
36 And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is,
being interpreted, Son of exhortation) , a Levite, a man of Cyprus by
race,
37 having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the
apostles' feet.

Colossians 4:10 - Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and
Mark, the cousin [kin] of Barnabas (touching whom ye received
commandments; if he come unto you, receive him),

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Marriage and Chastity among Priest

Mark 14:66 - And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one
of the maids of the high priest:

The Greek word ‘paidiske’ translated as maid here also means damsel
and comes from the word ‘pais’ which also means child.

In one of the translations this young woman has referred to as
daughter of the High Priest. This woman may or may not be a daughter
but marriage in priesthood was a common thing during the Jewish Church
and also in the Christian church.

The concept of chastity in the Bible is only twice and both places
they are not connected with priesthood. In the early Church there was
no restriction about getting married. Peter was married and had
children; even the early Popes of the Catholic church were married and
had children. It was only during the dark ages of the Catholic church
(around 1400AD) after one of the Popes did the most shameful act that
the concept of chastity was introduced into the church.

The teachings of Paul’s preference of chastity for servants of God
existed even before but became an excuse to hide the unthinkable
shameful acts which almost destroyed the church at that time. These
restrictions have of late resulted in another type of shameful
incidents, with the people who vowed to chastity indulging in child
molestation. Though they were happening since long it was only of late
people have come to the knowledge of it. In western countries this has
caused many to leave the church and some to even leave Christianity.

The cause of this is lack of understanding of marriage and the term
chastity. Not going into the understanding of marriage I will touch on
the understanding of chastity. People think chastity causes a person
to be pure, and that is a very wrong notion.

God made man to reproduce and be fruitful. God created every part of
the body of man and no part of our body or its functions are dirty.
The purpose what we use it for may be bad but by itself our body is
made by God and He said all is good. He created a relationship of
husband and wife between man and woman. Sex is solely for reproduction
and it is good and commanded by God in the relationship of husband and
wife. Sex for the sake of pleasure is not what God made man and wife
for but has allowed it in marriage but at the same time instructed us
to overcome come it.

Paul too suggests if one is not called for marriage and has the grace
to control the desires of the flesh they should not marry so that they
can concentrate on their service by staying away from the
responsibility of supporting a family.

Being married or staying chastity should be done according to the
purpose that God has in the person’s life and the grace that is on
that person. Like Paul said it is better to be married then to
struggle with one’s flesh and sin. With people who called to lead the
people of God it is a great responsibility for them to uplift the Name
of the Lord. So married or unmarried their representation is more
important.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You have made man and woman with purpose to understand your
relationship with man. You made all things good and with reason. It is
only when the purpose changes that the things turn away from being
good. Lord, we pray specially that people follow You with
understanding and not blindly follow men who mislead them by taking
your name. Lord, let them know your purpose and their purpose in
You...

This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Genesis 1:26-31
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which
is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and
to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I
have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

1 Corinthians 7:32-38
32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried
careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the
Lord:
33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the
world, how he may please his wife.
34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The
unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be
holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for
the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare
upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon
the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his
virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let
him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
37 Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no
necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in
his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.
38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that
giveth her not in marriage doeth better.

Luke 1: 5 - There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a
certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife
was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.


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He is the Lord of the Harvest

Acts 11:21 - And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great
number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

If a farmer sows seasonal seeds in the wrong season can he expect a
good harvest? If man can discern these things why can they not discern
the things of the spirit?

We all know it is the Lord who is the giver of the harvest then if we
are making a lot of efforts and not reaping good results then we
should realize that there is something wrong in what we are doing.
Either we are sowing in the wrong place, or at the wrong season, or
with wrong intentions, or our process of sowing is wrong. On the other
hand some people see something growing like seeing halls fill of
people they think they are blessed with a harvest and the favour of
the Lord is on them. But it is later they realize these were just
weeds, thorn and thistles but not a harvest. These very people become
trouble and pain for them. To get a real good harvest we need to
understand we need the Lord's hand to be over us. That means we need
to follow the Lord's instructions according to the heart of God.

We read in today's scripture that some of them did not follow the
normal process of preaching to the Jews which the others were doing
but they being led by the heart of the Lord went and preached the
Gospel to the Greeks and the Hand (Spirit) of God was great on them
and they reaped a great harvest. They were among the first (along with
Peter and John) to reach out to people other than the Jews for they
knew that the Lord was not Lord of just the Jews and they knew what
the term Israel meant; this work later Paul championed. They were not
told like Paul was but in their heart they knew. Their work was so
blessed that later their harvest was the first to be called ‘little
Christs' - Christians.

If we do our work in the Lord led by the Spirit of God then we will
see results like Joshua saw when he being full of faith did not let
the Sun or the Moon to move for a long time. The Lord's Hand was great
on him and there was large hailstones falling from the sky on his
enemies. Archaeology and astronomy prove this event and things
concerning this event.

Let us not be foolish workers putting efforts in trying to push a
wall. Without the Spirit of God, without following His instructions
and without tuning our hearts according to His Heart we will not reap
any good harvest.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You are the Lord of the Harvest. When people celebrated
Pentecost their eyes were on the earthly harvest but only those led by
the Spirit knew which harvest You were referring to. You prefer using
unqualified people, rejects of this world to do your great work, for
without surrendering to You no one can reap any good harvest. Lord
help us realize without You we can do nothing good and it is only when
we with a clear heart lift our hands (works) unto You that we are
blessed...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Acts 11:19-26
19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that
arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and
Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they
were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord
Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number
believed, and turned unto the Lord.
22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church
which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should
go as far as Antioch.
23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and
exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto
the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith:
and much people was added unto the Lord.
25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it
came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the
church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called
Christians first in Antioch.

Acts 3:1-12
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of
prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom
they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful,
to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have
give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and
immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the
temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful
gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at
that which had happened unto him.
11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the
people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's,
greatly wondering.
12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of
Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as
though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

Acts 4:1-4
1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of
the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through
Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next
day: for it was now eventide.
4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number
of the men was about five thousand.



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Not the time to rest or enjoy life

Luke 17:7,8 - But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding
cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field,
Go and sit down to meat? And 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?

The Bible talks of having rest and having peace in the Lord so most
people come thinking they will have rest from the worries of this
world and they will have peace from the troubles of this world. But
after the initial period of coming in the Lord, when the Lord starts
to work on those whom He has called to mature them in spirit they find
life difficult and they need to nearly give up on life and the
pleasure of this world. Most among these find they run a very high
risk of fear of life from people of this world.

When Jesus said case your burden unto me, so that He can take care of
them, He meant it. When we come to the Lord we find even though there
are problems they do not harm us. Our enemies may conceive great plans
to harm us or destroy us but none of them will be fruitful and these
in turn land themselves into problems.

When Jesus said cast your burden unto me, He also said take my burden.
It is this factor most people prefer to ignore and thus find the first
part of the scripture failing. When we take the Lord's burden we carry
our Cross. No doubt the Lord's burden is far bigger and just
impossible for us but yet Jesus says it is light like a feather and
this is because He gives us His Spirit Who helps us in carrying our
burden. When our Helper helps us carry our Cross it becomes very
light.

In today's message the Lord says He has planned great things for us
but this is not the time to enjoy. He has freed us from the bondages
of evil and destruction of this world so we should willingly become
bondmen unto Him. He asks us for a small sacrifice for a far greater
prize in Heaven, it is like giving just one day for a lifetime of
pleasure and that is not much which the Lord asks for.

We all know one day when our evening comes we will sleep in the Lord
so let us give this day (this earthly life) to the Lord to receive
great rewards in Heaven. We also should not worry of being burden for
if no sane man breaks the neck of his ox which runs his mill; then
will our perfect God do that?

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You freed us from the bondages of sin and death and all You ask
of us is small sacrifice of our fleshly desires on earth. For this
sacrifice too You reward us greatly in Heaven, like Paul says with
spiritual crowns like royals. Even for this sacrifice it is You Who
helps us fulfil it. Lord, help us realize the great bargain we have in
You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Hebrews 13:6 - So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my
helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?

1 Corinthians 9:9-10
9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox
when he treadeth out the corn. Is it for the oxen that God careth,
10 or saith he it assuredly for our sake? Yea, for our sake it was
written: because he that ploweth ought to plow in hope, and he that
thresheth, to thresh in hope of partaking.


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Our Spiritual State

Daniel 1:2 - And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,
with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into
the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels
into the treasure house of his god.

Last night I was given a vision connected to today's message, in which
the Lord showed me how He sees the state of His Church.

In the vision I saw sick people out on the road, some sitting and some
sleeping. First when I saw them I thought a hospital had some problem
and had removed their patients on to the road. But later as I kept
moving ahead I saw more and more of them all on the road. They were
with bandages and most of them had wounds wide open which were getting
infected. All along the way I did not see any nurse or any doctor
attending to them.

The worst sight for me was when I saw between these people small
infants some just born also having wounds all over them and they too
were lying in middle of the road. Some had cushions kept around them
to warn off the cars that are passing on the road. It did not take
much to realize that these people could be easily crushed under any of
the passing vehicles; it was just God's grace that they were alive.

You may think I am giving an over dramatized picture to you. If I
really put the details I may not be able to send this post to all the
people who receive it.

We really do not have an idea of how God sees things. Let me give you
another incident which happened a few days back, where the Lord warned
me about an event that was about to happen and what I should do. This
event did happen immediately after I got up and having pre-empt known
it I confidently breezed though it without any slight worry. But what
amazed me was the person who was involved in the event, how the Lord
saw that person. That person daily went to church and is a very
religious person who says her prayers daily without fail. This person
for the world seems like a godly person but the Lord showed as someone
whom He does not know, or has any relationship with. He showed the
spiritual health of that person as having rash all over the skin, some
deep wounds and eyes infected and bulging out.

Like we look in the mirror and see our body, if we could look at our
spirit most of us may not be able to sustain ourselves.

In today's message when the people sinned against the Lord, the Lord
had delivered the people to Babylon. Along with the people even the
vessels were taken away by the Babylonians.

In the early years when the Church went away from the Word of God and
into traditions of man, this Church too was given by the Lord into
confusion. Along with the Church even the workers of the Church were
also taken over by confusion. It has been many, many years and many
think they are doing the right things but the Lord's heart cries when
He sees the spiritual state of His people.

People proudly calling themselves Christians but on another hand are
made to do demon worship by their leaders. The people are so
spiritually blind that they do not see what they are doing. The people
are spiritually hurt and having serious problems and there is none
among us who can attend to them.

Some days back at our group discussion someone told us Paul a lone man
whose ministry was hardly for 40years and he managed to plant more
than a thousand Churches that too across continents even at a time
when transport and communication was unspeakably bad.

Today we have means by which a person can fly across the globe in less
than a day. It takes just milliseconds for a person to talk to another
person in another continent we can print thousands of books very
quickly, we do not need to hand write them or use manual blocks to
print them, yet we see a pathetic state at which the Church is
growing.

What all of us have achieved through these two thousand years, Paul
could have done it in a few hundred years that too alone, had he
lived.

I do not have words to say to ourselves and yet we proudly call
ourselves Christians and do not feel guilty when we come before our
God not one among us can lift our heads before Him.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, we cannot do nothing other than cry and weep in shame when we
look at what we have achieved even though your grace was abundant on
us. You gave us all things and your Hand protects us but we fear man
more than You. We are more afraid to die this physical death but do
not fear the real terrible spiritual dead which awaits us if we fail.
Lord, forgive us and fill us with your Spirit that we may have the
boldness to proclaim your Message of Life - our Lord Jesus Christ unto
the whole world. Implant in us courage that we do not fear persecution
and hide in caves, which should be happening to our spiritual enemies.
Open our spiritual eyes that we may see ourselves and receive your
healing...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

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Which Jesus do we receive?

Luke 24:29-31
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward
evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread,
and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out
of their sight.

It is said all that is yellow and shines is not gold, so also every
person with the name Jesus is not Lord Jesus Christ. Like the eyes of
the people in today's message open when Jesus broke bread so also
sometime back my eyes too opened when I went to receive bread (Body of
Christ) at a service. I hope today's message opens people's eyes like
mine did to the deceit we are in.

To know Jesus more than a man as to who He is we learn more from the
Old Testament and less from the New Testament. So also when we take
bread which represents Christ, to learn more on bread too we need to
go to the Old Testament.

One day I was discussing this matter with a representative of a Church
and it was very difficult for me to explain him this without hurting
his sentiments. So I told him, if I took a plum cake and said this is
the Body of Christ what will your reaction be? Surely he got offended
at it. I told him, even though cake is made of flour like bread is but
because he could see the colour difference and distinguish the taste
he got offended.

When I went to a service I to receive Bread I saw they were using a
bun (sweet bread) with tutti-frutti in them and I was spiritually
shaken. I asked the Lord what was this I was receiving and then He
opened my mind to this deceit.

In the Old Testament even though it is written that Jesus took bread
we come to know what bread He took only by learning about the
traditions followed by the Jews according to the book of Moses. In the
book of Moses, God went to great lengths to explain bread and to
distinguish the different kinds of bread and we smart alecs try to
correct God about what bread is.

If we read the following scriptures

Exodus 29:23 - And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and
one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the
LORD:

Leviticus 8:26 - And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was
before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled
bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right
shoulder:

Numbers 6:19 - And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the
ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened
wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the
hair of his separation is shaven:

We all know how the Lord was very specific about yeast not being a
part of the Passover which in reality was a shadow of the Sacrificial
Lamb - Lord Jesus Christ, like all the other festivals celebrated were
also shadows of what Christ did and will do.

When it came to normal bread, unleavened bread, cake and wafer the
Bible differentiates each from the other very clearly. Yet we being
smarter than God correct Him by telling Him there is no difference
between them.

Some may argue it is only symbolic and what they mean is what matters.

I like to tell them, why not they start using plum cake tomorrow or
even cream cake. What is the harm? Something extra should not matter;
bread is there in them too. Who decides how much compromise is okay?

Was God foolish to proclaim a punishment given for murder and rape,
for a small thing like keeping yeast during the Passover?

Out of convenience some to increase shelf life we use wafer instead of
unleavened bread. Seem God did not realize the inconvenience we would
have following His instructions.

Every tradition in the Bible had reason and purpose to get the message
to those who do not know. When we are changing the basics then surely
the message would also change and we would be preaching another Gospel
another Jesus.

I like to ask everyone, next time you go to church or service ask
yourself what Jesus you are receiving.

(This is yesterday's message; I had written this message yesterday
partly and had a tough time toning it down so as not to shake anyone
spiritually very much)

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, your people are deceived since ages from receiving the Daily
Sacrifice. Open their eyes and let them know the Truth. Let them
experience the power of Breaking of Bread and how lives change when
they do with understanding. We praying they receive forgiveness this
Daily Sacrifice offers...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Luke 22:19 - And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and
gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this
do in remembrance of me.

Exodus 12:7-8,15
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side
posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat
it.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and
unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye
shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth
leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul
shall be cut off from Israel.

Leviticus 24:5-8
5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two
tenth deals shall be in one cake.
6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure
table before the LORD.
7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be
on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the
LORD.
8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually,
being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

Daniel 8:9-12
9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed
exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the
pleasant land.
10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down
some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon
them.
11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by
him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary
was cast down.
12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of
transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it
practised, and prospered.

Daniel 12:8-11
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what
shall be the end of these things?
9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and
sealed till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked
shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the
wise shall understand.
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a
thousand two hundred and ninety days.


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Son of God

Matthew 14:33 - Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped
him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

In this scripture given to us today we see the disciples were amazed
with the authority Jesus had even over the waves of the sea and they
called Him "Son of God".

To understand this scripture let us look at the exact words of the
scripture so I will note the interlinear (word to word) translation.

Matthew 14:33 - And the (ones) in the ship worshipped Him saying:
Truly of God Son thou art.

In the Bible the term Son of God was used for Adam and also for the
Angels other than for Jesus. What we see during the Noah floods after
the fallen angels came into daughters of man they were no longer
called Sons of God and were called devils (demons, hairy goats). Even
with Adam after he sinned, he too lost the title Son of God.

Christians even today do not have a proper understanding of the term
Son of God and thus do not know Jesus nor know themselves.

Jesus is Son of God but He alone is not Son of God, all the Angels
also are Sons of God. This term is used for those who have the image
of God in them. When Adam was made he had the image of God in him but
when sin came into him, he lost the image and thus the Son-ship. Being
‘born again’ means (start the process) to gain back the image of the
Son in us.

Scriptures tell us Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. What makes
Him different from other Sons of God?

It is written God humbled Himself and became man. There are scriptures
which state that God does not change, so what does this humbling mean?

What does not change is the Nature of God. God the Son humbled Himself
but yet there was no change in His Nature and this image being in
Jesus is the reason He is referred to as Son of God. There is one
scripture which clearly defines the difference between God the Son and
Sons of God which is John 1:18. The word translated as 'bosom', in
Greek literately means 'creek'. God the Father is not a mountain to
have a creek. It means the Son existed in the Father and it was the
Father Who declared Him to all as a separate entity. Even before being
declared He existed, therefore it is written He was from the
beginning. Being a part of the Father He is identical to the Father
and although be a part of the Father He still is infinite for a
proportional part of infinite is not finite but infinite. Also being
part of the Father they share the same Spirit. The Spirit of the
Father Who is a being in Himself is also the Spirit of the Son.
Therefore they cannot be separated even though they are individual
beings.

Jesus came so that we can gain back the image of God which we lost and
become Sons of God again. Being in the flesh we can still become Sons
of God by having the nature of God in us. Since man did not know the
image of God Jesus became the manifested image of God for man to know
and imitate (Corner Stone). It is the Son who has authority over all
(earthly) creation including spirit beings dwelling in this level of
creation like the fallen angels.

To become Sons we need to overcome the flesh that does not mean the
body, but the restrictions which this body holds (this is why Adam
felt naked when he lost his Son-ship). It is only when we are led by
the Spirit, and we walk in spirit we can overcome this flesh and
become Sons. Believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God means Jesus who
came as man has gained victory and gained back the image which man
lost and being in Him we will also gain that image therefore are saved
for no one can enter Heaven other than Sons. When we enter Heaven we
will become part of the glorious body of God the Son which is our
marriage in Him.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord Jesus, the world does not know You because they do not know your
Nature - your Name. Your Name is about every Name and nothing unholy
can stand before thy Holy Name. You are redeeming us and making us
Sons so that we may know your Name and have power in You. Your plans
are always to prosper us, in this world by believing in You and
following your instructions we become little Christs, but by having
relationship with You in Heaven You have plans to make man into little
gods having power in You. You are working in us to make us perfect
like You. Lord we pray for your inheritance by becoming Sons...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Luke 3:38 - Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth,
which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

John 3:18 - He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 1:18 - No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Genesis 6:2-4
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;
and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for
that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty
years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare
children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of
renown.

Job 1:6 - Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

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:

Romans 8:14 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God.

John 3:1-3
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as
he is pure.

Psalms 82:6 - I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of
the most High.

John 10:34-36
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the
scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the
world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?



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Men who live on loan

Habakkuk 2:5-7
5 Yea also, because he transgresseth 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,
and heapeth unto him all people:
6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting
proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is
not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake
that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?

I just love today's message. It gives such an insight to yesterday's
message. I would share on this for hours but I will be brief in my
message.

The word given as 'wine' does not really mean alcohol but here means
to sparkle or bubble. This message speaks of people put in charge of
His people and the evil that they do against their own house.

Persons set to be shepherds for the flock or preachers sent to give
the message of Christ but instead promote themselves the Lord compared
them to Hell. Hell is a place which imprisons souls and being an
endless pit it is never full.

A person who promotes himself or herself will never be satisfied and
will go to any cost and extend to have more glory. They will
spiritually kill people and not even blink an eyelid.

The glory they hold the Lord says is like borrowed money for all glory
belongs to the Lord and those who promote themselves as actually
taking or stealing the Lord's glory and this glory the Lord says will
one day be taken back from them like a creditor does, with interest.

The Lord says the very people whose glory they seek will one day be
the people who will curse, abuse them and mock them.

People who call themselves shepherds of the Lord should understand the
seriousness of their work. I sometimes feel very sad, looking at the
way they destroy their flock. In the stubbornness of their hearts they
are least concern of the murders they do of their flock. They become
blind in their greed for fame or power, their pride and their lust for
things of this world. They should understand when Jesus said it was
better for them to tie a large rock around their neck and jump in the
sea than harm His (spiritual) little ones.

These messages should not be taken lightly for surely there is going
to be a change in the Church and all changes start with cleaning. All
filth will be thrown out and so let us not be the filth of the Church
but let us repent from our ways and walk according to the ways of the
Lord. We may be in debt with the Lord for His love, for His mercy, for
the washing of our sins but let us not be in debt of Him of His glory.
His glory He does not share, and those who use His glory will be
accounted for very seriously.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, your sheep call out to You but those whom You have put in charge
of leading your sheep are keeping your sheep far from You. The
shepherds are not taking your sheep to green pastures provided by You
instead making them eat the filth of man. Your sheep are sick and
dying, hear their call and deliver them. All glory belongs to You and
may you alone be glorified...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Habakkuk 2:9-10
9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he
may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of
evil!
10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people,
and hast sinned against thy soul.

Mark 9:42 - And whosoever shall offend one of little ones that believe
in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and he were cast into the sea.

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Basking for glory?

Matthew 14:22 - Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat
and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes
away.

Self-glory a disease as contagious as common cold and as dangerous as
AIDS which has spread across the workers of the vineyard and has
caused the fall of many like a plaque. It is so heart breaking to see
people led by the Lord at one stage of their spirit walk, then come in
touch with showmen of the religious industry and being influenced by
them try to imitate them therefore becoming self-promoters, putting
the Lord on the back seat.

In today's message Jesus shows us an example after doing the great
miracle along with the people to feed five thousand men and numerous
other women and children with five loaves and two fishes, He did not
pause there to hear praises of the people. Everything that Jesus did
in His life was for the glory of His Father. Even that one time He was
forced to do a miracle which glorified Himself that was turning water
to wine by His mother; there too He pulled her up before giving in. He
did this to record these words and the miracle, and this too had a
purpose in the plan of God. Some people without reading it carefully
give this miracle more importance than the bringing of dead people
like Lazarus to life or the healing of the lepers and even Jesus'
resurrection.

There are some preachers whom I love, after they have delivered their
message they make sure to move out from the stage quickly and they get
their team to handle the crowd. They will not stay back to collect the
praises of the people for the great anointing which was manifested
there or the great understanding their message gave.

No industry does brand endorsing of people like the religion industry
and Christians do not lack in this brand endorsing business. Go to
websites of Christian evangelists and ministries and you will see
their photos everywhere, not only of them alone but every member of
their family. The organization would be registered in their name and
the names of their family members. These ministries have become a
family business.

Take example of the Apostles and see if anyone of them promoted their
family members? Jesus did not choose His own brother James as one of
His twelve special disciples although he was part of the group which
followed Him around; it was His disciples who chose James to head the
Church at Jerusalem in the early Apostolic Church.

Jesus knew He would be glorified only when all things He has set forth
are completed in Him. He completed His task but did not ask the Father
to glorify Him until the work is completely done. We on the other hand
want to immediately cash even the little drops we put in the ocean of
mankind.

Realize this, if Lord Jesus Christ would glorify Himself today it
would not take an hour for all the people of the world to believe in
Him. But He preferred to glorify the Father so that only those who
believe in Him come to the Father and be part of being glorified in
Him.

Let us remember we will receive glory and abundant glory only when the
Son comes in glory like before creation.

[Prayer Starter]
Lord, help us to be humble and meek in spirit. Help us know our
purpose is in serving and not being served. You showed us even though
being King You were the greatest Servant. Help us Lord to learn from
You Who are our Corner Stone. You made sure to keep from getting the
spotlight on Yourself but preferred people see your work and glorify
the Father and not You...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 14:20-23
20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets
full of the fragments that remained.
21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides
women and children.
22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go
before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the
mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone
there.

Matthew 6:2 - Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a
trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They
have their reward.

Matthew 4:8-10
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and
sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt
fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve.

Matthew 25:31 - When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory:

John 17:5 - And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

John 2:2-11
2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They
have no wine.
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour
is not yet come.
5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner
of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they
filled them up to the brim.
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of
the feast. And they bare it.
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made
wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the
water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good
wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou
hast kept the good wine until now.
11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and
manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

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