Monthly Archives: June 2020

Seeking the REAL JESUS

Today in Acts 8:14-40 we see something about how a Christian walk begins and continues…


First, we see Peter and John traveling to Samaria because some had received the Word of God. Today, we might think great they are saved so they are good with God. Today’s text shows two examples of why that is just the beginning, not the end.

v16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)


So what were they missing? In some church circles just being baptized relationship with Jesus or not is the be-all and end-all. But we see the “non of them” the Holy Spirit was not in them.
Remember the Jesus told us that He would leave and send the Holy Spirit to teach us everything and dwell inside us. Jesus said it so it must be an important thing to being in the “way” of everlasting life and destination Heaven.
Has the Holy Spirit fallen on you? Not you fall on the ground, but do you feel
Side note: We see Simon here as he sees all this and he wants to buy some of this action, this power. We see this is the church today, people claim to have the power to do to heal and give the life-altering gift of Jesus Christ – If you just pay them some money. We will see Peter in this text rebuke Simon:
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
And Peter prays for Simon:
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
And Simon accepts the prayer, but doesn’t pray for forgivness himself… which kind of shows the Peter was right that his heart is not right….
24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
That was the last of Simon. If Simon would have done great things God probably would have shown us but was silent and that silence is a teaching for us to know that our hearts have to be right… right where? In my sighte? no. In the sight of God – who is the just judge of everything.
Also, this text testifies about Philip and his ear that was tuned into the listening and obeying God. And about a eunich who was much like the people of Samaria that had received the Word and believed but were still missing the Holy Spirits presence in their lives.
This man had access and was in charge of all the Queens “treasure” which obviously included some scrolls of Esaias the prophet. This man was reading them. Imagine that. Reading the Word of God!
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Philip listened not just to God but to the man and heard him reading and asked him if he understood it. Do we ask people if they understand it? Have questions?

31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
The man needed to know who was this many that Esaias was writing about? Doesn’t everyone????


34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

And Philip “opened his mouth” Do you open your mouth? Is your mouth prepared in season and out of season to exhort with longsuffering and correct Biblical doctrine or just your feelings?


35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

Philip “preached unto him, Jesus”. Jesus is Truth.


Then Philip baptized the man at his urgent request.

We need to be ready to tell others that need to go the next step in relationship with God, not just in doing ministry work or duties at church. We’ve gotten things a little backward nowadays where it matters more what ministry you do than if you actually read your Bible. Is it urgent that you read Truth each day? How else can you answer the questions from people that God sends you each day? If Gods sending nobody, perhaps He’s still waiting for you to get ready.


Sure perhaps you know where the food pantry is and the hours but what about where the bread of life is contained? You know where the face masks are so they won’t get covid19 but what difference does it make if either way mask or no mask they don’t know Jesus and are going to Hell?


Maybe your answer is to tell them to call pastor? God sent them to You. You are to be prepared not to stuff their dead bodies with food but to feed their souls with the Word of God.

God tells us we are in a spiritual battle for our souls and the answer is being armored in the FULL armor of God not just in your favorite books of the Bible – sometimes.


If God has told you read the WHOLE BIBLE and you refuse because you got other things to do, then you are rebelling against God, and against what God has written (which is truth probably the only truth you and I read all day is going to be the Bible) He wrote this to save us. Don’t ignore what God says, it’s the wrong heart.
Are you ready? 2 Timothy 4
It is written:
I CHARGE THEE! This is an order. Sounds important. It is. Why? Because Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (quickened by God, whom is the Word) (alive), and the dead (dead people walking towards hell) at his appearing (after your last breath) shall appear before God to be judged. Not if you said a prayer… but if you followed in The Way, HIS Way, not devily’s way. God will judge if you have the heart that He tried to put in you or not.
The devil can convince us that we have a heart for God because we did this or that, but devily is a liar and murderer. God will know the truth about our hearts. And each day we need to search them to see if contained therein is anything that is wicked and repent and be changed.


Why is that? v 3
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… “
Sounds like god is talking to the CHURCH – He is. He’s talking about the guy or gal that says they are “good with God”, that has been beguiled by the devil into a lie.

What is the opposite of sound doctrine? God tells us “.. but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears…”
I don’t know how many times I hear someone tell me they don’t like the Jesus of the KJV bible they like another version that has a nicer Jesus, a non-judgemental Jesus.

They choose a fake Jesus…why? because the fake Jesus makes them feel better about their sin, their hard hearts, their death they are walking in because of the lies of other Jesus’ in the church. The jesus frauds.
The Bible says Ye shall be Judged… that’s the way it is.


v4 “…And they shall turn AWAY their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables…”

You can’t go to heaven folks if you’ve turned from the Truth because the Truth is the REAL JESUS. And if you have you’ve turned to the Jesus of Fantasy Land.


And despite what the world taught us Fantasies are selfish lies which put us as the boss when Jesus says we are the servant.


Some people like fantasy land and which to spend eternity there… Well, it didn’t turn out too well for Pinnochio.

For those who love truth, we need to look to the race and Pauls words:
v7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished course, I have kept The Faith.”


Notice the word course? It’s not just running like wild men and women our own paths, through darkness and light and chasing our tails around with works, it’s God’s course, the one that He has for you not the one you made up today because it felt better to your wicked heart. Seek daily Gods course and beware of devily’s detours to hell.


Keep keeping the Faith in the real Jesus and turn from the fake Jesus that we see in the Hollywood movies of people who wear a cross and do ungodly things and music that they preach and sing about a Jesus that is reckless and holy water which does not exist anywhere in Gods Word.
Keep the Faith!

Proverbs 12:25 It’s not about depression but our unbelief.

Proverbs 12:25 King James Version (KJV)25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.


Some call this the depression Scripture…Because they read another Bible version

Proverbs 12:25 New King James Version (NKJV)25 Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression,But a good word makes it glad.


But is God really talking about “depression”? Not really God is telling us about our hearts that don’t believe Him, don’t follow Him, don’t trust Him, don’t go to Him and don’t enter into the Word fellowship him to give us gladness and to worship ONLY Him.


In the Hebrew:
anxietyin·heart-ofmanhe-shall-bow-down·herוand·word
good
he-shall-make-rejoice·her glad


What is this good Word that makes her glad? Since none of us are good and Jesus is perfect and Jesus is the Word the Words contained in the Bible is the “good word” to make us glad. In fact, the Gospel of Jesus Christ should make us rejoice! Even when our sin has made us sad for we can rejoice in grace and that He made a place for eternity with us but the devil told us to look at this (temporary as they all are temporary as the earth is temporary and our lives are temporary) condition and situation, devily’s got us in a headlock putting us in heaviness and putting us in a sleeper hold!

But let us look back at verse 25:
25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.


What is Heaviness? Heaviness is when we are carrying our own YOKE. When we forgot that Jesus said: Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden for I shall give you rest for your soul and you shall honor Me.
The world tries to take that promise that was given by GOD to us so that we would not feel heavy in worry that leads to heavy in doubt that Gods promise is not true… “Did God really say…?”


Heaviness is anxiety and the word says it makes us “bow down” to it. In the King James it stays “stoop” which means “submit to”; “bend by compulsion”; made us “yield” to it.


These words should be alarming as if we “bow down” to Heaviness/anxiety we are in essence worshipping not God. We actually are not believing in the Word of God may be because we forgot to read it today.


The word steps up to answer our heaviness, anxiety, depression that IT CAUSED because the world is in rebellion against God.


The world offers 1,000s of books on the subject touting that they know the answer! Dumpsters full!


The world offers Anti-Depressants. Just that word is a sin!
Anything that offers something else other than what the Bible says is the answer is the anti-biblical response.

The authors want you to buy their book, if they loved you it would be free. The drug makers want you to buy their drugs, if they loved you it would be free.


There is one book that was written 1000s of years ago BY GOD, OUR CREATOR which is ALIVE and ACTIVE and told you what to do. The Bible told you who to go to. The Bible told you “the good Word will make you glad” (cheerful; joyous)


The church will offer you prayer… but without your faith, you can’t be healed. The Bible says that.

Where is your faith? Is it in God’s promises? Or are they not good enough and you need the promises of dead men?


This proverb is much deeper than “depression” as that is just a symptom for which man wants to make you a slave to his (demonic) wisdom vs God’s answer, to go to Him, Read about Him, put All your faith, all your hope and all your heart focussed on Him.

Where is your focus today? If your heavy it’s not on Gods promises and what was done FOR YOU BY AN INNOCENT MAN NAMED JESUS.
Rejoice for this is the day the He has made you! And be glad in it!

Telling the Truth (Acts 7:51)

When the Truth is told back then and today:


Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.


57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord


People hate the truth because if they read the truth in the Bible, it would change their hearts and they wouldn’t be able to continue living their “best lives now”.


For believers of the Truth (Jesus Christ), our best life isn’t on this battlefield taking souls POW to the lake of fire. It’s spreading the Gospel to give people the alternative eternal destination called: Heaven.

1 Kings 8 Time to pray

In 1 Kings 8 – Just as relevant today as it was then…
The Temple has been built and King Solomon gives a prayer….
22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
Yes, God will forgive us. However, now Jesus has come and we do not need to pray “towards” the Temple as Christ is with us.
Solomon speaks of the troubles we may face that we will need to Pray:
31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:
We’ve got a lot of trespass going on today…Time to pray
32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
We’ve got a lot of wickedness going on today…Time to pray
33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:
Our country is being attacked by an enemy that is sinning against God…Time to pray
34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
Our country is has sinned… Time to pray
35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
Our land is a mess because people have sinned…Time to pray and confess thy name, turn from our sin as we have been afflicted.
36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
Our country does not teach Gods way and knows not the way they should walk… Time to pray
37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
We are seeing a famine in our land of abandonment of Gods Word which has lead to a deficit of Truth, now we believe lies as truth…Time to pray
38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
Every man has a plague of his own heart in rebellion against God…Time to pray
39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)
Every man shall be judged according to his ways… Time to pray
40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
We lack the fear of the Lord which we have lost… Time to pray
53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance…
We have been separated from the other people as ONE BODY in Christ. Not by race, Not by earthly position, Not be education, but by FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. Heading for our inheritance that is waiting in Heaven, there will be no inheritance on earth that can be taken into eternity.
Time to pray:
57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.
61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
AMEN