January 16, 2005

Bro. John:

When I read the TFE, "For, Not Against", it touched my heart and reminded me of something I heard in passing the other day, particularly when I read the last paragraph:

"Do you have something from God that others do not have? Understand that whatever you have from God is for people, not against them. Otherwise, you will use what you have in a destructive manner instead of using it as God uses it, to reconcile, to save, and to heal." What I heard was: "With knowledge comes responsibility" When I heard that, I thought of how we must be discerners, always following the Spirit, in order not to hurt someone with what God has given us. We are responsible in knowing when to speak, what to speak, and to whom to speak it. We are responsible to love and not to hurt, to comfort and not to cause pain. Hebrews 4 says "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." I want to be responsible with the knowledge of God. Jesus was sent in love and hope to us from his Father. I don't want to forget that message. Fifteen years ago, at the lowest time in my life, when I did not even know there was a way of escape from this hurtful world, Jesus spoke a message of love and hope to me. With Romans 6:12-14, he showed me who I was - a servant of sin. Then, in Romans 6:15-22, he showed me who I could be in Him! Yes, there is love and hope. All that I needed was God, obedience, and a repentant heart. "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you."

I want to be able to deliver that same message to others the way it came to me - bold, but with God's mercy and love. This is who you are. This is who you can be. For the first time in my life, I saw there was someone who was "for" me and "not against" me. I saw a love that would heal the hurts, and at the same time, seal the hope of salvation through the holy Ghost. It was a two-edged sword, and I was being offered the side that cut off sin and led to eternal life and love with Jesus! God has been impressing upon me lately the seriousness of what he has given to me. That the road we are on is short. Every minute and every word counts for something and they are too soon gone to be wasted. I am thankful to God for Jesus and for the truth. And it doesn't take but a moment to look around and realize the responsibility that comes with the knowledge that God has given us. God's people are dying. That is real. And so is God. Thank you for your TFEs, Bro. John. They stir up the Gift of God and leave me feeling very blessed to have a pastor and teacher in this very confused and hurting world.

Sister Sandy

God, make us bold and courageous, loving and discerning of your will every day so that we may stand before you blameless!

January 15, 2005

Pastor John,

As I was reading the thought for the evening "When You Are Ready", and I had a question when I came to this part in the message....

"Each of us has an appointment with Jesus and death, and none of us can avoid it. But if someone causes you to die before God's appointed time, that person has sinned, and the name given to that particular sin is "murder".

If God appoints our time to die, then how can someone 'cause you to die before God's appointed time'? If God appoints your time, then how can someone else take your life without God letting them do it? God is in control of everything, good or bad. So my thinking is that God has allowed the murderer to take a life; therefore, it would be that person's appointed time to die. I know that if you commit suicide, that is by one's own will and selfishness. But I just had a second thought about that part.

Thanks for your help,

JULIE A.

And also written on January 15, 2005...

Hey Pastor John,

I had a quick question regarding this TFE. You said:

"Each of us has an appointment with Jesus and death, and none of us can avoid it. But if someone causes you to die before God's appointed time, that person has sinned, and the name given to that particular sin is "murder".

I am a bit confused. I thought that when we die...no matter how or when...that is God's will for us. If someone does murder us...God is allowing the murder to happen, ya know? So, I was wondering if you could clarify things for me.

Stacy

Hello ladies!

Your responses were so similar that I decided to respond to them both at the same time. I expected this question to come up from more than two people, and others probably did have the same question in their hearts. If so, this answer hopefully will help them, too.

First, let me say that we know from our study of the Old Testament that God does change His course sometimes when dealing with us humans. In one place, He even mentioned his "breach of promise" concerning taking that generation of Israelites into Canaan's land (Num 14). He promised Phinehas an everlasting priesthood (Num. 25:10-13) because of his zeal for the Lord, but a few generations later, He revoked that promised blessing because of Eli's disobedience (1Sam. 2:27-30).

So, God may have a day ordained for your death that he will change (possibly for your good) because of particular situations that arise in your life. Paul mentioned some saints in Corinth whom God took home early in order to keep them from being lost with the world (1Cor. 11:28-32). When He caused them to grow sick, weak, or even to die, God was not a murderer, even though their appointed day to die had not yet come. But your question asks about men who take it upon themselves to end the life of another before they should die.

How can anyone be condemned as a murderer when God is in charge of when we all die? Wouldn't the murderer really be doing God's work, since God determines when everyone dies? And if so, isn't it wrong to call anyone a murderer, since God is the one who decides such things, and He is always doing what is right? That is a philosophical question that can only be answered by saying that the murderer is to be condemned for unjustly ending another's life because . . . because . . . well, because God said so.

Paul dealt with the same sort of philosophical question from some children of God in his day. They wanted to know how anyone could be condemned as sinful if God was the One who decided who would come to Him and repent, and who would not. After all, Jesus did say that no one could come to him unless the Father drew him. Based on this, some of those children of God started teaching a doctrine that condemned God for condemning sinners. Paul quotes some of what they taught in Romans 9. According to him, they reasoned with people, "Why does God still find fault [with us sinners]? For who has resisted His will?" In other words, if God has made some people to be destroyed and some to be saved, how can anyone be condemned for doing what God has determined they would do?

There simply is no response to such philosophical questions except what I said to you earlier: "because God said so." Or, we could quote Paul's hot reaction to such philosophical bickering: "Nay, but who are you, O man, to talk back to God?" (Rom. 9:20). And then, Paul gets to the righteous heart of the matter: "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does the potter have no authority over the clay, to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"

This issue, my dear friends, touches on the famous predestination/free will quarrel that has gone on among religionists for thousands of years. How can Jesus claim that no one can come to him unless the Father calls him, and yet later extend an invitation to eternal life to "whosoever will"? In the Old Testament, did God harden Pharaoh's heart, or did Pharaoh harden his own heart against Moses and the Israelite slaves? The Bible says both, repeatedly. So, I believe both. Why? Because . . . well, because God said so. It isn't wise to take a stand for either side of that issue when God has told us that both sides are correct. So, I do just as I see my Father do, and say Amen to both sides.

To the man who says, "Salvation is by God's choice. It is by predestination!" I say, "Amen!"

To the man who says, "Salvation is by man's choice. It is by free will!" I say, "Amen!"

We could debate this theological/philosophical issue for hours, and even days, and end up exactly where we began because the final answer has never been revealed and is hidden deep in the heart of God. And it ruins the faith of the saints to become immersed in the philosophical wrangling of doubters and skeptics (Col. 2:8).

Some have been sarcastic at Paul's kind of answer to that type of philosophical question, but his answer is perfect. There is only a certain amount of knowledge that we have been given by God. After all, there were things about the Father's work that even Jesus didn't know. Wouldn't it be unreasonable, then, to think that we could comprehend all that God has done? Isn't it an indication of His greatness, as well as an indication of our need of His mercy, that we cannot explain with stair-step precision every work of God? This was Paul's point. If God tells us something, then the best that we can do, the wisest we can be, is simply to trust what He says and obey it. The truly wise heart not only understand that God is always right but that heart is also deeply humbled by the fact that God would humble Himself to speak to us humans at all!

Wise saints acknowledge the limitations of logic because God is both in it and beyond it. Humans are impressed with logic, and logic has its God-given place, but when it comes to the things of God, logic can only go part of the way with us down the road to eternal life. It is good to be reasonable and to use logic when it can be used to express truth, but the way home is the way of faith in a God who, when all is said and done, makes the most precise human logic look like sheer foolishness.

So, my dear sisters in Christ, to answer your very good question(s): Yes, God does have a day appointed for each one of us to die, and yes, if someone murders us before that day, that person has sinned, even if God is the one who decided that was what was best for us. That is the truth because . . . well, because God said so.

Pastor John

And in response on January 16, 2005...

Hey Pastor John,

Well, I wanted to talk to you about the email. I want to say that I wasn't questioning God. I do not think God is a murderer in any sense. He can do anything that pleases him and it is right. In your original email, you said "Each of us has an appointment with Jesus and death, and none of us can avoid it. But if someone causes you to die before God's appointed time, that person has sinned, and the name given to that particular sin is "murder".

My question was directed more toward the second sentence. Honestly, when I first read the sentence 'But if someone causes you to die before God's appointed time', I thought it was a contradiction. It came across to me that the murderer had done something against the will of God. I didn't know if I am missing something. I don't understand how someone can cause you to die before God wills it. For instance, Cain and Abel...wouldn't the day Abel died be the appointed time by God because he allowed Cain to act on his desire to murder his brother?

I hope I am not coming across the wrong way.

Stacy

Oh, no, dear Sister Stacy, you're not coming across in any wrong way at all. I understand your question, and it is a good one. Please know that with my last answer, I did not intend a comparison between you (or Julie A.) with the ungodly people against whom Paul so indignantly spoke. But the basic issue, it seems to me, is the same, and every one of us, at one time or another, has asked that question, in some form.

No, I don't believe that Abel's originally appointed day to die was the day Cain murdered him. If that doesn't "make sense", to you, well, welcome to the club. It doesn't make logical sense to me, either. It is beyond me, and it is beyond everybody else on earth. And that was my whole point in my last email. The best that we can do, because God invites us to do it, is to know that He determines every circumstance we face and to trust Him to be using every circumstance for our good because we love Him and have been called by Him into His kingdom (Rom. 8:28).

Think about it like this: Adam and Eve didn't even have an appointed day of death in the beginning; there was no curse of death. But then sin entered into the picture, and God altered their course and created a day for them to give up their earthly lives. The philosophical issue can certainly be raised that, "God knows all things, and He must have known they would sin", and I will have to agree. The scriptures say that, too. But that is not the story of Adam and Eve as God tells it to us. He knows how simple we need things to be, and He told us the story as simply as He could, so that we might grasp a little understanding of His unknowable ways. The way He tells Adam and Eve's story to us is this: they were cursed to die only because they sinned, not simply because they were created. So, what can we do with that? I am saying that the best we can do is to believe the story as God told it to us, because it is true, and then also believe that God knew everything from the beginning, because that is true as well. And if there seems to be a big contradiction in that, there is no need to be afraid or ashamed to admit it. Let's just confess that there is no contradiction in God's mind and that the wisdom involved in such matters is just beyond us.

When you really think about it, we wouldn't want it to be any other way. We humans would not even respect a god whom we could completely understand and explain because if that were the case, he wouldn't be much of a god at all. We are not naturally wise.

I am sorry if I have failed to explain adequately what I am trying to say. It is, as I said before, an impossibly complex and hidden matter, an enigma known only to God and knowable only by God. I had a student in the Community College years ago who insisted in our first OT class on discussing this issue. I explained to her what I have written to you, and I told her at the start that there was no answer except for us to confess that it is one of the "secret things that belong to God" and to learn to deal with the apparent contradiction involved. I also told her that we could discuss it for hours, and still, we would end up at exactly the spot where we began; we would know no more at the end than we did at the beginning. But she insisted, and then pursued the question. Hours later, most of our time for the OT class spent, she was still talking about it, and we were still in the same spot we were standing at the beginning. Forgive me if this does not seem to be a good enough answer. It really is the best that I can do. And I sincerely believe that no one else, at any time in human history, has been able to do much better. It really is one of the mysteries of God that we may never understand, even in the world to come. Actually, I cannot see how we can even have a Creator without this eternal mystery existing with Him. That is one reason we both fear and love Him.

Pastor John

January 14, 2005

Good evening Pastor John.

The recent e-mails on "fear" encouraged me to look some things up on this. On a few occasions I have had experiences encountering the "fear of God." I think that I was somewhat "ashamed" of these experiences... not understanding that to have that dreadful kind of fear can be a good thing really, that is, if it makes us change course and live holy and upright.

Christianity does not want us to think that God will "scare" us, or that we should doubt where we stand with God. I am thankful that one or two of these experiences "shook me up" to the point of changing direction in my life. I do believe that having an encounter with the mighty FEAR of God was something that was effective for me. Frightening - but effective. In looking up some of these bible verses on FEAR, one thing that stood out to me was the very good "side effects", and the things that followed where the real fear of God was present:

The Good Effects, and Good Things That Follow or Accompany the Fear of God

Act 5:11-12 "And great fear came upon all [the body], and upon as many as heard these things. And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch."

Miracles, signs, and wonder followed where the fear of God was present.

Act 9:31 "Then had the [believers] rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied."

The believers were edified where the fear of the Lord was.

Act 19:17 "And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."

Jesus was magnified when people experienced the fear of God.

2Cor 7:1 "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

Believers are perfected in holiness in the fear of God.

Eph 5:21 "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

We can properly submit ourselves to one another in the fear of God.

Philippians 2:12 "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

We can rightly "work our our salvation" when it is accompanied by the fear of God.

1Tim 5:20 "Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear."

The fear of God will be encouraged by good government in the body.

Heb 4:1 "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left [us] of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."

The fear of God will keep us from falling short of entering into God's rest.

Heb 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

The fear of God will cause us to do things that will save us from being condemned with the world.

Heb 12:28 "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."

Godly fear is part of serving God acceptably.

1Pet 1:17 "And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear."

Having the fear of God is the best way to live on this earth, and will cause us to make our work count.

1Pet 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

The fear of God makes our testimony to others of great effect.

Jude 1:23 "And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."

Having the fear of God helps us to save souls.

As we talked about earlier today - I have had thoughts about the generation following us. I pray that they have experiences with the fear and the power of God so that His blessings keep being poured out beyond our lifetime. There HAVE been generations that God has bypassed in the bible. We can't hand the truth down "genetically." We have been fortunate to see two generations of God speaking to men --- may the next generation have experiences that keep them hearing from Him too.

We need God. Gary

January 11, 2005

Pastor John:

I found this article online. "......Muslims in Banda Aceh performed Friday prayers at the main mosque for the first time since it was used as a morgue in the aftermath of the tsunami, sitting cross-logged on its marble floor as the preacher said the disaster may have been punishment from Allah for "forgetting him and his teachings.''

The smell of rotting corpses, thousands of which lie uncollected, wafted through the five-domed Baituraman mosque, which was originally built in 1614. Thousands of troops and volunteers from around Indonesia have been working the past week to clear the rubbish from the grounds." Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. ===

That article caught my eye. I was thinking that maybe the tsunami was punishment from God for Muslims NOT forgetting Allah and his teachings.

But on the other hand, I wonder if God's own people could consider such a concept --- that forgetting the holy Ghost that guides them into all truth would bring such correction from God?

Gary

Hi Gary:

The Bible shows clearly that those men to whom God's people usually look for guidance have, in the main, failed to understand very well the incontrovertible truth that sin brings retribution from God. A righteous man in the Bible once said, "The Lord is known by the judgments that He executes." If that is true, then those who fail to see God's hand in the tragedies of life, as well as in the blessings He bestows, cannot know God.

Pastor John

January 11, 2005

Dear Pastor John,

I looked up the word "fear" in The American Heritage Dictionary.

#4.a Awe; Reverence: Fear of God.

Awe is good, but I liked the word reverence. The Heritage says reverence means profound honor or respect. Some other scriptures:

Lev. 26:2 - "Ye shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD your God."

Esther 3:2 - ". . . But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence."

Matt. 21:37 - "But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, ‘They will reverence my son.' "

Showing reverence (honor, respect, being in awe of ) all seem to lean toward another word -- obedience. Being obedient to God and doing his will each day is showing your fear of God. By being obedient and listening for God's word hopefully gives one understanding and wisdom. Gaining wisdom from God gives us power and also makes us realize more and more that he is real. Thank you God for your gift of the holy Ghost which will enable us to remain fearful of you.

Just some of my thoughts, John. Hope I didn't ramble.

Bro Jim K.

Hi Brother Jim:

The controversy concerning the true definition of the phrase "the fear of God " is an old one that rages at times among religious people like some political debate between liberal and conservatives. On the one hand (mostly on the liberal end), the verse "love casts out fear" is often quoted as part of an argument that the phrase "fear of God" does not include a sense of fright. On the other hand (usually among conservatives), room is made for frightfulness, even if it is not the main ingredient of "the fear of God". By the grace of God, we are set free from the controversy altogether.

The fear of God includes everything that you have written concerning "awe" or "reverence" as well as everything that Sister Donna recently wrote, and even much more than either of you, or I, have said. I should emphasize one element as an addition to your comments and to hers; to wit, terror. The genuine, mature fear of God includes the sense of sheer terror at His mighty power.

Paul told the saints at Corinth that he knew "the terror of the Lord". The reason that this same "terror of the Lord" is not much mentioned nowadays is that the power of God is not often experienced in our time. This is a real tragedy, and we must seek God for His cure for this spiritual handicap. Every man of God in the Bible who ever came in contact with God's power learned how to tremble in sheer terror. Some became physically ill as a result of God's visitation (Daniel); several others literally passed out (Ezekiel, John); and number of others did likewise. "A horror of great darkness" attended God's visitation to Abraham (Gen. 15), and when God shook Mount Sinai, Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." As descriptions of the emotions experienced by the human participants in such scenes, words such as "reverence", "respect", and "awe" fall far short of the truth. I know by my own experience that when God's holy presence comes upon a man in strength, the words "awe" or "reverence" are completely inadequate to describe the feeling that is created in the heart. Nothing but the word "terror" suffices.

My sincere hope is that God will create His fear in the hearts of all His children, including us, by giving us experiences with His power. Few, it seems, among those who believe really understand what is meant by the term, "the fear of God", and the only cure for that serious problem is a visitation from God. May God grant that mercy to us, so that we can at last be delivered from all the spirits of Christianity, spirits that debate in the dark about definitions of the light and about experiences they do not have from God. When I began my journey in Christ, I remember praying often and earnestly, "Lord, deliver me from my own opinions!" I'm not sure that I understood at that time just how deeply our opinions are embedded into our nature, but I knew that I needed help to get rid of mine. Only God's power can change the foolish nature of man.

Many people have a preference, because of some predisposition, for one part of the gospel as opposed to another. For example, it may seem more comfortable for some to speak of the blessings that Jesus bestowed on suffering people rather than his angry cursing of the fig tree or his calling certain men sons of Satan. The scripture, "God is love" is far better known than is the scripture, "God is a consuming fire". But to lean too far either one way or the other in preference is "in the flesh". Paul exhorted us to "behold both the goodness and the severity of God" (Rom. 11), and unless we take heed to that exhortation, we run the risk of fashioning from our own imaginations a god to worship that we prefer rather than to submit to the one true God that is. Such contrived gods are notorious for allowing sin to infect the soul. They have never done well in the area of protecting God's people, or anyone else, from sickness, sin, or death. Brother Jim, please help me to pray that Jesus will come to us and upon our children in his mighty power as well as with his loving kindness. If he does not, none of us will ever truly come to know God.

Pastor John

January 7, 2005

Pastor John:

A few nights ago, I read the following verses in Matthew 16:

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee."

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, "Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

When I finished reading the words "Get thee behind me Satan", the words literally seemed to jump a half-inch off the page. I immediately felt like the Lord started showing me the following things:

When Jesus heard Peter say, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee", a very familiar feeling rose up in Jesus’ bosom. Jesus had felt this feeling (or something very close to it) when he had heard words very similar to these come out of Satan’s mouth on at least one other occasion. Jesus immediately discerned that Satan had inspired Peter’s words. Peter was speaking under the influence of a spirit that Peter was not discerning. Peter had no idea what he was saying, nor did he have any idea what kind of damage these words could have caused if they had "taken root" in Jesus. Peter was no match for Satan, and Jesus knew it. When Jesus shot back, "Get thee behind me Satan", Jesus was not talking to Peter. He was talking to Satan. I feel like the story could have just as well read like this:

"But he [Jesus] turned and said unto Peter, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’" After Jesus said these things, Jesus gave Peter a big hug and said, "Oh, c’mon Peter; you’re doing alright. Let’s go grab a hamburger."

This was the gist of what I felt like the Lord was telling me. As I started to write these things down, I felt as that Lord suggested something else to me (paraphrased), "Some of the conversation that Jesus had with Satan in the wilderness is recorded. Why don’t you go and see what they say?" I hurriedly paged to Matthew 4 and was stunned to find the following:

8 Again, the devil taketh him [Jesus] 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."

What I suspected the Lord was telling me became all the more clear when I read these verses. The voice that Jesus so quickly discerned through Peter was that same super-cunning, super-evil voice that Jesus heard in the wilderness. It was that very wicked voice that was trying to keep Jesus from accomplishing the will of his Father. The voice was saying, in essence, "You don’t really have to go through all that suffering (see A2 below). If you just put down that cross I’ll give you the whole world (see A1 below)." This evil was way beyond Peter.

Here’s a chart that compares the two conversations, one with Peter and the other with Satan in the wilderness.

Glory to God!	Wilderness Scene Matthew 4	Peter Scene Matthew 16
Satan's Attack	Attack #1 (v.9) "All these things [the kingdoms of the world and their glory] will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."	Attack #2 (v.22) "Be it far from thee, Lord: this [suffering and death at Jerusalem] shall not be unto thee."
Jesus' Reply	Reply #1 (v.10) "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."	Reply #2 (vs.23-26) "Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Try to imagine Jesus responding to Satan’s first attack (A1) with Jesus’ reply to Peter (R2). It fits perfectly. Alternatively, try to imagine Jesus responding to Satan’s second attack through Peter (A2) with Jesus’ reply to Satan in the wilderness (R1). It also fits perfectly. After I laid these things out, I could see that Satan was trying to accomplish the same thing in both situations; he was trying to keep Jesus from serving his Father. And in both situations, Jesus reply was the same: his Father alone is to be served.

I also read the following in Luke 4:13, "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." This also lent support to what I felt like the Lord was telling me; namely, Jesus still had to deal with Satan even after Jesus "finished him off" in the wilderness. The Father probably gave Satan a fair number of roles to play while He was in the process of perfecting His Son Jesus. The "Peter Scene" was just one of them.

When the Lord first started showing me this, I felt that I was being taught a completely new thing concerning Jesus’ life (new to me). As silly as it may sound, I think I’ve always thought that Jesus was just "cruising through" this life, for the most part, and things just got rather rough for him at the end of it. I couldn’t help but notice that right before Satan showed up to speak through Peter, Jesus was telling his disciples about the suffering he would soon have to endure. Jesus knew he was about to be dragged off, tortured, and killed. It occurred to me the other night that Jesus was feeling the way any other human would have been feeling at that moment, a little "shaken" about what was coming. He was about to be put through an awful lot and he knew it. Then Satan shows up, just at the moment when Jesus has his mind on the suffering he was about to endure, to suggest to him that he really didn’t have to go through with it.

I realized the other night that Jesus was not exempt from spiritual warfare, as I thought he was. Jesus was a real "one of us". He had to deal with the same types of pressures that all of us do, pressures that are intent on derailing us from doing the will of our Father. For Jesus to say and think, albeit briefly, that his Father had forsaken him is saying something. Jesus was not just "cruising through", as I have always thought (without even knowing that’s what I thought). He knows even better than we do what it’s like to be "one of us".

I’m glad that the Lord opened my eyes so I could better understand the life that Jesus lived. But I’m more glad for the effect I feel like it’s had on me; Jesus feels like more of a brother than ever to me. I feel like I can pray to him better than ever. He knows exactly what we’re going through and is wanting very badly to help us if we will look up and ask.

Taylor

December 31, 2004

Pastor John,

There is something that I have been thinking about on and off for some time now. It is something you've said many times but I didn't understand it completely. I was riding in the car Wednesday thinking about it again. You've said: "Watch out for the buildings with crosses on top. It is a Roman tool of torture and it shows what the people inside the buildings would do to Jesus if he were alive on earth again."

I have thought about that and just couldn't take it in. Would people inside Christain places really KILL JESUS if he lived here again? I know that they would definitely say not, but I was being told that they don't know themselves. That Satan was in control of that religion and that he had killed Jesus once using people and would do it again. Wow.

I couldn't completely make the connection between the sweet, normal people I have known at school, in my jobs, in mall, etc. and the angry, insane crowd of Jews who cried, "Crucify him, crucify him!" So I was praying about it again in the car on Wednesday, and I said to God, "I just don't really see that." But I really wanted to understand it right.

Then the best feeling came in the car, and I had the thought (but not from me), "Everytime they quench the Spirit, Christians are showing what they would do to Jesus."

The whole thing opened up...Jesus did all he did on earth so that we could have his Spirit. His Spirit is Jesus! So to kill his spirit is to kill Jesus. Some, if not all, buildings with crosses on top hold services several times a week that quench the holy Ghost, i.e. kill Jesus! Wow. If possible, it now seemed that the people today are worse off than the Jews because of the fact that the holy Ghost is here now.

I really treasure that experience. I don't know that I can really describe how Jesus helped my thoughts flip-flop so suddenly to see it as he (and you) see it. It is valuable to me. Let me know if what I am thinking it isn't exactly right.

te.

Dear te:

The only way any of us can know how a person (or ourselves) would treat Jesus if he was here among us is how they react to the holy Ghost. It was, after all, the light of the holy Ghost in Jesus that people hated when he was here the first time. John said, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (Jn. 1) And Paul said, "The Spirit is life" (Rom. 8). It was the Spirit of God shining through Jesus that wicked men hated.

How a person reacts to the power, wisdom, and goodness of God that comes through the holy Ghost is exactly how he would react to Jesus if he were here. In many, many Christian churches, the holy Ghost is not welcome. That means that Jesus would not be.

Don't be fooled by the talk of men. The wicked rulers of the Jews who killed Jesus claimed to love God. Judge all things by the Spirit. That is "righteous judgment", and Jesus warned us to judge all things that way.

Pastor John

December 8, 2004

Hey Everyone!

This from Taylor was one of the best things I have ever read. It is so true.

jdc

Bearing His Reproach

Taylor Caldwell

"It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us" (2 Tim. 2:11-12).

A few nights ago, I had a very long and "open" conversation with one of my natural sisters. During the conversation, she expressed her regret that our natural family has never been a very close family "unit". Ultimately, she was calling me because she wanted to do something to change that.

Near the end of a rather exhausting 1.5 hours on the telephone, I felt like the Lord gave me a question to ask her next time we spoke; What gives your life meaning? or, What makes your life meaningful? More than anything, I felt like the Lord wanted me to answer that question for her.

For me to completely and sincerely answer that question, I would have to tell my sister A LOT of truth. I would have to tell her who my real family is, and what makes them my real family. To explain these things to her, I would have to tell her about the new birth, about speaking in tongues and about salvation. I would have to tell her many other things. At the end of it, she would have a very good idea as to "what I stood for" and why I was doing what I was doing. If she still wanted to be closer to me after she heard these things, I would whole-heartedly welcome the opportunity to do whatever I could to help that along.

I did not tell my sister about my "plan" to ask her this question (or my plan to answer the question myself). I merely told her that I relished the opportunity to do whatever we could to get to know each other better.

As I was getting ready for work the following morning, I was thinking about how my sister might react to what I was going to tell her. Would she continue to have a desire to get close to me, or, would she rather have little to do with me? As I pondered these things, I felt like the Lord began unfolding something very, very wonderful in front of me. I started getting a very good "taste" (in Spirit) of what it is like to be a man of reproach. To be someone who is hated and despised by virtually everyone. There was a feeling of people being disgusted with you. A very lonely feeling. Living a life where you are constantly surrounded by people who are embarrassed by you. People would rather that you not even be here. They would prefer that you were dead. I had to think that these were the types of feelings that Jesus lived with every day.

After I came home from work that night, I wanted to search through the scriptures to see what they had to say about reproach. In sum, I found out that Jesus felt many, if not all, of these things.

"But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people" (Ps. 22:6).

"Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none" (Ps. 69:20).

"He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach" (Lam. 3:30).

"I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me" (Ps. 31:11).

"I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads" (Ps. 109:25).

I know it may sound strange, but I was feeling a feeling of THIS is it. Here it is. I'm showing it to you now. THIS is what you want (though I didn't completely understand what it was, I knew the feeling was what I wanted). The feelings were very much tied to being such a despised and forsaken man. There was a richness in it that is difficult for me to put into words.

I read in 2 Corinthians 12:10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." When I read this, it encouraged me to know that Paul actually took pleasure in reproach. That let me know, as I suspected from the feelings I was having, that there was some real spiritual value to enduring reproaches.

Then I read from Hebrews 11:25-26, "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward" . This also encouraged me because it let me know that the reproach of Christ truly was "great riches", also as I suspected from the feelings I was having.

In short, I felt like the Lord let me see and feel "the life of reproach" (and unless I have misunderstood some of this, it is very different from the life I am currently living). As if this weren’t enough, I also felt like the Lord clearly showed me what I needed to do to attain it . . . Speak the truth, plainly. In a way, it felt a bit as if the Lord was putting a "friendly" challenge in front of me; Speak the truth plainly and see how long it takes before you are "reproached". I felt like the Lord was not only showing me this incredible and almost indescribable treasure, he was showing me how to attain it, and, how to attain it rather quickly.

I went to Pastorjohnshouse.com then to see if Pastor John or his father had written anything about reproach. I found the following excerpts from Pastor John's tract "Crucified with Christ":

"This complete death to sin, this being crucified with Christ, is not accomplished merely by being born again. We are crucified with Christ only as we patiently endure reproach for righteousness' sake, as Jesus endured it. Even Jesus' complete death to self was accomplished only by the sufferings which he endured . . .

Nevertheless, in order for me and others like me to please God and be crucified with Christ, I must bear their scorn and slander with meekness and mercy. To be crucified with Christ I must be able to say with him in all sincerity, 'Father, forgive them. They know not what they do' . . .

Yes, crucifixion with Christ entails much more than experiencing rejection and scorn at the hands of the brothers; it also requires that we respond to such rejection with meekness and good will. Peter reminds the persecuted child of God of Jesus' example, 'Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously' (1Pet. 2:22-23) . . .

The day of deliverance is coming for the children of God, the day when the call of the Spirit will be heard throughout the kingdom, and the humble will gladly follow the Voice. 'And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. And the heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.' And they shall 'discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not'" (Is. 32:3-4; Mal. 3:18).

After I read these excerpts and these scriptures, I felt like I had gotten most, if not all, of what I was supposed to get out of this. I am fairly confident that I have not attained to the life described in the excerpts above (this life of complete death to self and to sin). Nonetheless, I felt like the Lord was giving me a very wonderful and very merciful invitation to it. He was inviting me to speak the truth plainly to all men, and to patiently endure the reproach, the scorn, the persecution, and the many other things that are sure to follow. Knowing what great riches lie on the other side, I feel like the Lord has given me the courage I know I need to "step out in faith". Please, please pray for me (for all of us, really) that I will have enough of the love of God in my heart to obey His spirit, no matter what.

"If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified" (1Pet. 4:14).

"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake" (Lk. 6:22).

A comment on the above article from December 9, 2004...

Taylor,

Song and I REALLY enjoyed this article on "Bearing His Reproach". We read it in the car together yesterday, and sure related to the situation you described with your sister.

It brought back memories of a Christmas or two ago when we were in San Francisco, and had the opportunity to describe why we moved to Louisville, and what our family in God means to us, and the disgust my mother had towards us for answering the sincere questions my niece and nephew had for us.... it's just the way it is. We can rarely tell the truth without people's true feelings of contempt coming out - that is, when we speak it plainly, in love, and without ill will.

You did a wonderful job describing it, and a wonderful job looking up all the bible verses on "reproach". Thanks for this article. It blessed us.

Bro. Gary & sister Song

November 1, 2004

John:

I just finished reading the email, "a Bible-Believing Christian", where the emailer said: "I believe the Bible with all my heart." I am very humbly thankful that I don't have to say that anymore because now I can say that I believe Jesus with all my heart. There was a time when I would have said the very same thing that emailer did. But Jesus has mercifully shown me otherwise. He is showing each of us that we know nothing without hearing from him. Nothing is as it seems on this earth, and Jesus is urging us not to take in through the eye nor the ear, but through His Spirit.

I have never felt more like I was "in school" with Jesus as my Teacher. Over the past week, the Lord has sent two dreams. Both could be classified: "Judging 101 - Not with the Eye nor Ear".

I would like to share this first dream: One of our dear, sweet, innocent sisters in the Lord had been persuaded to join a Xn church. She was telling me so sweetly what they had been teaching her (basically the "come get saved" doctrine). I looked at her and with real concern and love said, "No, Sister, that is wrong. What they are telling you is over here (motioning with my hands) and what is the Truth is over here (again motioning with my hands and indicating an enormous difference between the Truth and Xty's lie)." This sweet sister represented the innocent children of God that are being taken in by Xty. In the next scene of this same dream, some of us had gone to a Xn church (not clear if this was the same church this sister had just joined) to hear you preach. It appeared you had been invited to do so and eagerly, and with great confidence, awaited the time to begin your message. You were starting to hand out Bibles to everyone. As you came up the steps towards us (we were in pews that were elevated on risers) you handed each of us a Bible and whispered so only we could hear, "It's a false door." We felt no fear in this statement because we knew you knew the way out.

When I awoke, as I was getting dressed, Jesus began to open up that dream. The Bible is being used as "a false door" in Xty. Without the Spirit of God there is no truth - - there is "no way out", no door, without the holy Ghost. The way the Bible is being taught in Xty deceives men into believing that they have a door to eternal life if they have a Bible--without the holy Ghost baptism with evidence of speaking in tongues, without the Truth, and it is giving them false hope - - a false door - - that when opened, will not lead to eternal life but to eternal damnation. It takes God's Spirit to uncover the truth in the Bible as we have been learning from the Greek translation readings. I had rather be the "Taught of God" than the "taught of the Bible". I had rather feel the absolute joy of His Spirit flooding my soul with His wisdom and knowledge than men filling my ears with their long prayers and grandiose words.

God is teaching us not to go by appearance, by what we see or what we hear, no matter what it is called or what it looks like, but by what He teaches us with His Spirit. I know He is preparing us for that day when being led by His Spirit is ALL that we trust to save us - - it is all that is saving us now! But it feels as if a higher urgency is being placed upon us to learn this. To be still, quiet, and listen, and not to go by what things seem to appear. I want to pay close attention to my Teacher NOW, so when the "crunch" times come, I will not go by my eyes nor my ears, but by the Spirit of God flooding my soul with His wisdom and knowledge. HE is the only door - - the only way out. If every Bible that exists today were to be destroyed, the sweet Spirit of God would still go on teaching us. Praise God!

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

Jesus said: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."

I love what God is showing us.

Sister Sandy

Hi Sandy:

Some years back, the Church of Christ cult ran an add in the Henderson Daily Dispatch that said, "Yes! The Bible is all you need for salvation." My thoughts were, "What about Jesus?" Do we not need him? "What about God?" What about obeying the will of God? Must we not keep His commandments?

To men who felt as the leaders of that sect, and many other Xn sects do, Jesus said, "You search the scriptiures, for in them you think that you have eternal life. But they [the scriptures] are they which testify of me, and you will not come to me that you might have life."

The Bible will save no one, and if we trust it to save us, then in the end, we will learn by experience the awful lesson that Paul warned us now to embrace, "The letter kills, but the the Spirit gives life." May God help us to be moved by the truth of the Scriptures to seek the Spirit of truth from the one who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." If we cling to the Bible instead of clinging to Jesus, we will show ourselves to be very, very foolish.

jdc

November 1, 2004

John, when I came upon your website, it was the first time I have ever seen anyone who believes in Christ call themselves a non-christian. It reminds me of a scripture: (2 Timothy 3) "having a form of godliness but denying its power."

Verdad! How can you say that? To reject Christianity is not to reject the power of God. What are you saying?

When I said you are misleading with your teachings, it is because you will be held responsible as a Pastor for your flock. Believe what you may, but when you are leading others you must use the word.

When you said I was misleading people, you were judging me. Have you nothing to say about my comments to you about that? I am disappointed that you did not thank me for showing you a very important truth about the ways of Jesus, one that should have taken a burden off your back.

Revelations 22:18-19

A Warning 18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

This is true, Verdad. Then, let us never again use the word "Christianity" in reference to God's people. "Christianity" is not in the Bible.

That is a big problem for many today, Christ never changes, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Many churches I have been too, preach on Grace and Love. And believe the Old Testament is something of Old. The Bride of Christ must become the word, without Spot or Wrinkle. We can't reject one word of it. Eve believed the lie of the Devil when all he did was add one word. "Ye shall NOT surely die." And what happened to Eve............

No Christian church is of God, Verdad. That is what I am telling you. If we will come out of them all, as Jesus wants us to, we can then be molded into one body, If we do not come out, we will never be made one in him.

Now here is a scripture that has one word in it. John, it is Eternity or Death for you and those who follow your lead.

Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Please note that neither the disciples nor God called the saints Christians. They were called Christians by others, by the unbelievers of the world. For a right understanding of the word "Christian", please do some reading at these places:

Near the conclusion of my book "The Apostate Fathers", there is an explanation of the term "Christian" that will interest you. http://www.isaiah58.com/APOSTATEFATHERS.HTM (The Apostate Fathers of Christianity - book on line)

These will also help:

http://www.isaiah58.com/clark/clark01_08_98.html (What is a Non-Christian?)

http://www.isaiah58.com/testimonies/john.htm (Why I am Not a Christian - by John Clark Sr.)

http://www.isaiah58.com/clark/clark08_28_99.html (Martin Luther, the Midwife - for protestants thinking Christianity is only Catholicism)

Jesus is the true church. That church in the bible, is what churches today must become.

Verdad, the Greek word for "church" does not exists in the original text of the Bible. What do we do with that knowledge?

I don't follow Denominations/Doctrines/Creeds.... The bible is the only Truth. It is the only Absolute!

You are, my dear friend, following "Denominations/Doctrines/Creeds" when you say the things you are saying to me. But because you are sincere and open, you can be blessed with help from Jesus in finding the right way. And I sincerely hope that I am humble enough before God to receive whatever good thing you have for me from the Lord. And I thank you for trying to help me, even if to this point what you have told me is contrary to the things that I have received from God.

I am not sure if when you say Christianity you are referring to the Catholic Church? What is Religion to Jesus Christ? He doesn't look at us as Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Presbyterian. He is the Bridegroom. When a woman gets married she takes on her Husbands name. Jesus will identify with those who have taken on his name.

When I say "Christianity", I am referring to both Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as non-denominational Christian groups.

Acts 2:38 38Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

John 3 18"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Have you ever read about the Nicolatians? Jesus said he hated the Nicolatians, Why? Because of their man made doctrines and creeds. Just sharing, and wondering if what you are renouncing is Denominationalism/Man Made doctrines and Creeds?

Yes, that is what I am denouncing. The short name for it is "Christianity".

I look forward to your response, and believe that I did not come upon your website by accident. May the Lord Bless you.

Verdad

No, it was not by accident that Jesus brought us together. Thank you for writing again, and I pray that the Lord will very much bless you, too.

Your non-Christian Servant in Christ Jesus,

Pastor John

October 30, 2004

As I read this website, I began to feel very sad. I know there are many perverted truths in the world today. I believe the Bible with all my heart. From A to Z. I want to become the word! If I live my life as a sacrifice just to see His face. Than it is worth giving up all the world and its desires. People are focusing on doctrines, when there is ONE BIBLE. The word is loud and clear. There are enticing spirits that will steer you off track, if you have not discernment, if you have not Revelation. Repentance, Obdience, Prayer, Fasting, a THIRST. I do not judge, for there is ONE Judge. I am a BIBLE BELIEVING CHRISTIAN. For Christ was the Lamb that was slain to set me free. It is Sad that there is false representation of Christ, that the term Christianity has lost its TRUTH. That is because man fails, Christ never failed. Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. There is a famous painting of Christ standing at a door knocking, and many critics loved it, but one finally said, it could've been a masterpiece, but one detail was missing. It was a Door knob, and the artist said he made it that way on purpose because Man has pushed Christ out the church. Christ is a gentleman, he stands at the door and knocks. The door of your heart! If you feel turned off with Christianity make a difference. Don't mislead with your teachings, you will have to answer for many.

Dear Anonymous:

Thanks for writing, Here are a few points I will make in response:

1. If you never judge, as you claim, how is it that you say that I am misleading people? Isn't that judging? The truth is that Christians judge all the time, as well as the rest of us. Have you never noticed that you judge people and situations every day? That is normal and right; don't deny doing it. Just pray that your judgment will be guided by the Spirit.

2. No man has pushed Christ out of "the Church" because he was never in it.

3. We are very much "turned off" from Christianity, and we are making a difference by being out of it. It is not of God. Come out with us and be truly set free!

4. Christianity has not "lost its truth" because Christianity never had it. It was never holy, never pure, never good, and never will be. "Come out of her" and come to know the Lord!

Let me encourage you, dear friend, to continue to believe the Bible and to strive always to present yourself as a sacrifice to God. Jesus loves you, and we do, too. I hope someday to meet you with joy in the presence of the Lord.

Pastor John

October 20, 2004

Good Day Pastor John,

It has been wonderful all through the TFT and listening to the CD's.

Pastor John, i have a question to ask; I have been wondering why Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus before raising him up. He rose others from death without tears, then why is Lazarus case different?

Thanks.

Bro Frank

Brother Frank:

Jesus wept because he sympathized with the heartbreak of Mary, Lazarus' sister, and of the Jews who were there with her at his feet. If you read the verses before the one that says "Jesus wept" (Jn. 11:35), and the verses after that one, you will notice that he was "groaning" in his spirit before he broke down and wept and that he was still groaning afterward. Jesus loves people.

Of course, Jesus may have had something else in mind at that time of which we know nothing. But that he was moved with compassion when he saw people suffering is certain. And just because we are not told that Jesus wept on other occasions does not mean that he did not weep. He was, after all, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief".

Pastor John

October 13, 2004

Hi Mary!

We love you in the Lord.

I am sorry you are being required to attend that wedding, but then, there may be something in it that God has planned for your good. So, be happy and go ahead. It may not be pleasant to deal with all of it, but then, it is not unusual for anyone to go through a lot of angst when Christian ceremonies are involved. They are tools of oppression and most people who have to go through those ceremonies feel the burden but just don't know what to do about it. They don't take it to Jesus and ask him about it because they are told that he is the one who ordained those ceremony to begin with.

God's simple solution, which is just never have anything to do with any Christian ceremony, doesn't appeal to the men because of their pride. How could people survive with no ceremonies? Why, that would mean that they would have no way to appear to belong to God when they do not, and no way to claim to be doing something in His name when He did not send them to do it! I am certain that the minister who will perform the wedding ceremony will pronounce before everyone in attendance that what he is doing, he is doing "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost." And I am fairly certain that he does not know the Father, nor the Son, and that he does not have the holy Ghost abiding within him. It will all be a ceremonial form that has nothing whatsoever to do with the either Father, the Son, or the holy Ghost.

The saints in Louisville had a wedding-type experience in the Spirit this past weekend. You might be interested in writing Sarah and/or Joey to learn how oppressed they felt by the glorious, joy-filled way Jesus does things. I have never seen any greater joy in my life as Sarah obviously felt, and of course, Joey and the rest of us felt it with her. You will enjoy see the video of it. It was very, very touching, and it didn't cost a nickel. Joey and Sarah will not begin living together until they are prepared for it, and that will take a little time, but the deal is done and everyone is settled about it and pleased with it, so far as I can tell. One thing I can say with no fear of contradiction: not a person there wished he was somewhere else.

If your mom says you have to go to the wedding, then you have to go, but it is a shame that you will also have to go into debt in order to do so. But then, that is a not unusual either. "Christianity" is synonymous with "oppression" and always has been. It takes a lot of money to be a good Christian. That is why poor people in Christianity always feel inadequate and have never been able to measure up to the style that Christianity demands of us humans.

We look forward to seeing you whenever we can. Be at peace with your mother and do what she wants you to do, but know that your Father loves you more wisely than that.

Take Care,

Pastor John

September 13, 2004

Comments:

Your site on the Thought for the Day Page 2 show you don't understand the difference between nature and essence. The bible clearly teaches the Pharisees wanted to stone Jesus for teaching he was God, and the bible clearly teaches they understood that part right, Jesus confirms that that is what he was teaching. Jesus was not equal to God IN ROLE, ROLEEEEEE, ROLE, Jesus chose to lower himself to the position of Son under God's authority. Jesus CHOSE US, WE DID NOT CHOOSE HIM, notice Jesus said "I CHOSE YOU", not "GOD CHOSE YOU" in other words Jesus was showing he was God. Learn the difference between essence and nature, and think about how choosing to lower yourself IN ROLE, doesn't negate a person from being God. Unless you can find a statement in the bible that teaches lowering yourself in role of your own choice makes you LESS EQUAL WITH GOD, or UNGODS YOU, or means you are not God, then you have no just reason to teach Jesus is not God.

Hello. Your comments make me feel that I am being lectured by a Trinitarian; those comments make about as much sense as does the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

The portion of Scripture that you mentioned in your email shows clearly that the Pharisees tragically misunderstood Jesus' words. They thought, wrongly, that he was claiming to be equal with God. Virtually everything Jesus ever said shows us that he did not, like Lucifer, grasp after such an equality. It is astonishing to what theological lengths you have gone to try to prove that Jesus is on an equal footing with his Father. How in the world can anyone read equality with God into Jesus' words to his disciples, "I have chosen you"? Wow.

The "nature" vs."essence" thing is philosophical garbage. No thanks.

Pastor John

PS BTW, I have never said that Jesus is not God. He is everybody's God, both in heaven and on earth, with one exception: God the Father (1Cor. 15:27-28). He is Jesus' God, and Jesus both loved and feared Him.

September 13, 2004

Hello there.

Today while editing the revised edition of the "All Things" book for Pastor John, I ran across this section on the faithfulness of God. It encouraged my faith, and I wanted to share it with someone else!

Have a wonderful day!

Bro. Gary

(From All Things 1, page 36)

"God is Faithful"

Say it to yourself when you are hurting. God is faithful! Say it to the spirits of depression and fear! God is faithful! Say it to those who would have you to surrender your faith and hold a grudge against someone who has wronged you! God is faithful! Concerning the miseries, distresses, and persecutions which confront us, the Apostle Paul asks, "what shall we say to these things?" And then to answer his own question he writes that to all these things we should say, "If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:35, 37-39).

Say it to the spirits which would have you to fear a nuclear holocaust. "God is faithful!" Confess the truth and overcome the world! Look for God's good purposes in the trials of your faith. See them as from His hand and be encouraged, rather than be embittered as though an enemy had broken through His defenses.

Sometimes I think God has more confidence in our faith than we do. He certainly places us in situations where we wonder if we will ever be healed, or ever be happy again, or ever again be free in spirit. But having already measured that hurt or loss, the Father knows that we will be even healthier, happier, and freer than ever, if we will but trust him and be faithful. If we trust Him through the hard times, we will discover that our greater blessing was His purpose all along. But according to His own will, God has determined that those blessings will be received only by faith.

September 13, 2004

John:

I had to write this out - it is almost 2:00 a.m. but when Jesus touches you as he did me tonight, you just want to hold on and hold on to him and the feeling. I am so thankful for my part. I pray that one day your sister will be right here beside me in the truth.

Sandy

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

I have never had a spirit of prayer fall on me for anyone as it did tonight in the meeting for a sister in the Lord who is backslidden. To hear the Lord’s voice is always humbling. But to hear what I heard from him tonight brought not only a humbling feeling, but also thankfulness and weeping for a sister in the Lord whom I have yet to worship with in this family of God.

Tonight, as we were praying, Sister Betty came up to stand in for her brother. She was telling Bro. John how her brother had been deeply hurt and was becoming somewhat bitter with a situation in his life. Bro. John was listening to Sister Betty and replied how he had found a letter concerning his own sister, who has the holy Ghost but is backslidden into Xty. I was standing right behind Bro. John listening. When Brother John said her name, immediately the Lord was right beside me and whispered so softly to me these words: “You know I gave you her part.” I could not hold back my tears. I knew it was the truth, but it was the first time I had heard it directly from the Lord. In my heart, the rest of what Jesus was saying was gently moving me forward: “Your part now is to pray for her.”

I knew the Lord was ushering me up to stand in prayer for my sister. It is hard to express the deep thankfulness and humility that I felt in my heart at that moment. How else can one feel, but humble, knowing that the Lord is telling you that he has placed you where someone else could have been? As I was praying, the Spirit felt grieved for John's sister. But lovingly, the Lord began to show me how she and I were similar to the branches of the olive tree. Some were broken off and some were grafted in. Jesus was telling me to stay very humble and thankful for my part. As for that sister, he let me know that “they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.”

Jesus also reminded me of the story of Judas:

[15] And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
[16] Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
[17] For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

[20] For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
[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.
[24] And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
[25] That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
[26] And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

John's sister should be here with us, loving Jesus, loving us, and letting us love her.

For she was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. But by transgression fell.

Life in the truth is more than good - - it is precious. So very precious. God help us to stay humble and thankful. And obedient to the will of God. If we don't, our lot will fall to someone else.

Sandy

Dear Sandy:

Would to God there was something I could do to help not only my relatives who have cast off the faith of Jesus, but also the loved ones of others who are not prepared to meet Jesus with a clear conscience. It is a very painful thing to watch people we love go a wrong way. May God help us to do our part to be true and faithful, and to shine as lights in this very, very dark world.

I am glad you are taking advantage of the part you have been given. Stay thankful and humble; keep enjoying it, and stay happy!

Pastor John