Words of Encouragement from Pastor Glenn

OUR GOD IS A GOD OF GLORY

He is all glorious in every aspect of His being. The word for Glory in the Bible is Doxia. It means his presence and power that leaves a lasting impression. God’s Glory is always revealed in the supernatural realm.

 I believe God wants to visit you with His Glory. He has promised to pour out his spirit in these days in which we are living with signs and wonders. The supernatural miraculous signs and wonders of God’s Glory are different from generation to generation, as God sees fit to move. If you have a preconceived idea of how God is going to demonstrate and release His Glory, you had better get rid of it. God’s Glory is brand new, so don’t expect him to make it in the same way he did 50 years ago. His signs and wonders always bring just what is needed for that particular people. If you have God in a little box and that he only operates according to your ideas, you might miss His Glory. There will be some folk who will reject His Glory just like many in Israel rejected God’s Glory when Jesus came the first time.

The requirement to receive His Glorious manifestations never changes. Repentance and Holiness always precedes God’s Glorious visitations. Before Jesus came, who was and is the Glory of God, John the Baptist prepared the way by preaching Repentance and Holiness. Every revival in the past has started the same way, with people like you and I, who are willing to lay everything on the altar and be Holy. Let us lay on the altar of God our bitterness, unforgiveness, Luke warmness and our sinful habits. Let us become hungry and passionate for His glory to be Revealed.

Get ready- the Glory of God -through signs and wonders is coming!                      

OUR GOD IS A GOD OF GLORY (part 2)

Our God is moving across the world today displaying His Glory and Power. Revivals are springing up in various areas in response to the Praying and the Repentant hearts of God’s people.

Whenever you see revival in any place, if you inquire among the members of the church or churches, you will find an unknown Jacob praying for the blessing or an Elijah praying for a spiritual downpour and keeping a close outlook for the gathering clouds. The need of our day and hour is for a specific, prevailing prayer for God to split the heavens and visit his people with His Glory!

Prayer is our secret weapon. The church in the Book of Acts knows the secret of overcoming through this glorious weapon called Prayer. As satanic opposition constantly broke out over them, they were aggressive in prayer. They lived on their knees, they conquered, went forward, and lived at the throne of grace. This is the kind of Prayer that Prevails with God and brings forth a response that amazes even those who are praying.

Let us be persistent in our pursuit of Revival. True Prayer is an aggressive, prevailing ministry uniting with the Holy Spirit to dismantle the Powers of darkness. II Corinthians 10: 4 says that the weapons of our warfare are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. The demons of Hell are real and Satan, our arch enemy, is seeking to wear out the Saints.

In Colossians 4:12 we read of a man named Epaphras: “who is always laboring fervently for you in Prayers.” This is the kind of Praying that is necessary to turn back the spiritual attack of the enemy.

So let us go to the throne of grace, fervently and without ceasing, Praying for God’s Storehouse of Blessings to come upon His People.

THE BLOOD OF JESUS

God is constantly challenging and calling us as individuals and as a church to go to another level in our relationship with Him. As we raise the level of our spirituality, we will experience more of God’s Glory and Revival. Perhaps you’ve recently renewed your commitment to pray with all diligence. Or maybe you’ve expressed a hunger to walk before with the Lord in Holiness. Perhaps you’ve consecrated your mind to be renewed with the Word of God.

These kinds of commitments stir up the Devil’s Wrath as nothing else does. He knows anyone whose life is wholly given to The Lord is a great threat to his kingdom. So, as you step out of your lethargy and complacency, be prepared to face a trial because Satan will come at you with all his might.

However, God has not left us defenseless. We have at our disposal Spiritual Weapons that will stop Satan and his attacks. One of our greatest weapons is The Blood of Jesus. Revelations 12:11 says that the believers overcame the devil by The Blood of The Lamb and by the Word of their testimony. The weapon, The Blood of Jesus. The launching vehicle is the Word of your testimony. You must take what The Word of God says about the blood and testify and confess it over your life.

In Exodus 12, the Israelites were to take the blood of a lamb and apply it to the doorposts of their home. He instructed them to take a plant called hyssop and dip it in the blood and sprinkle it onto the doorposts. The blood was a sign to the Destroyer-STOP!! You cannot enter here! The blood stopped him!

We need to apply The Blood of Jesus to our address every day. Our faith and testimony are like the hyssop that daily applies The Blood to our lives. I have learned the power of confessing what The Word says about The Blood. I would suggest a few to get you started – Ephesians 1:7, I John 1:7, Romans 5:9, Hebrews 13:12.

I would encourage you to make a devotional habit of using these verses in your life.

Go ahead!! Make that commitment to go to another level in your relationship with God. The Weapon of The Blood of Jesus has you covered. Love, Pastor Glenn

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

If you hurt someone by your words, should you feel as though they should “just get over it?” or as a Christian should you apologize?   

So, the same way that I have been forgiven now I can forgive someone else. I didn’t deserve Christ’s love or forgiveness. My sin separated me from God, but Christ loved me enough, went to the cross to forgive me and now I experienced His forgiveness. Now, I can share that same forgiveness with other people. THAT’S AMAZING ISN’T?

Mathew 21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, ITHE ANSWER IS YES, of course. Let me point out that the emphasis of forgiveness is not on that person, the emphasis of forgiveness is on you. Forgiveness is for you not the other person because some people will never come and apologize. What happens then is you play the video over and over and over. And over and over. As a result, it destroys you. So, forgiveness is always for you even though you have forgiven the other person.

There are times when people say things that will offend us, and that person did not mean to hurt you. Most times you take it wrong and so I think we have to be careful about judging other people. Does that make sense? Forgiveness is for you. So, when I say, “Get over it”, I’m going to say it again, “Get over it.”

How do I get over it?  Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.  Over and over again you will find it in scripture, that’s just one verse, there are multiple verses.  Let me read it again Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

  So how do I get over it? By forgiving that person. If I don’t forgive them, the devil will play the video over and over and over and it will eat you up. Ok?

So, how do we forgive? The same way as 4:32 says “As Christ has forgiven you”

Does that person deserve it? No, but you didn’t deserve it either, but Christ forgave you anyway. Amen? Amen. Isn’t that incredible?

How do I forgive someone that has hurt me? The same way that I was forgiven.  

YOU CAN’T DO IT IN THE FLESH. 

It takes CHRIST IN ME.  

It takes CHRIST IN ME to forgive someone else. 

That would be GRACE. 

Hallelujah!

say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.  What did Jesus teach you when he said that? He was teaching this, by the time you have forgiven someone 490 times, you would have forgotten about it!  It won’t even offend you anymore. 

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. This is where you heard me say you can’t hurt a dead man, right? So, if I am Crucified in Christ that means Glenn Walker is dead, Christ lives in me!  It’s a great day when we can get to the point. Amen? Amen.  You can’t offend me now. You are now unoffendable. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. That’s how I live my life. 

So, this is just a journey that all of us are on. A journey of maturity and growing in faith. Amen. So, I guarantee you the devil will always have someone that will try to offend you. It will never go away. Let me say it again; The devil is real, and he knows he is our enemy. These things are going to come because he is the enemy.  That’s why forgiveness is so important. If we don’t forgive, it will beat us up and we will never live the life of Christ in the flesh as Gal 2:20 says. 

If someone didn’t ask for forgiveness but you offer it anyways, but they throw it back in your face, what do you do? Leave it at the foot of the cross. I am forgiving that person in my heart because I don’t want my heart to harden and unforgiveness will do that.

FORGIVENESS IS THIS

 I look at that person and I remember everything that they said and that they did because you don’t forget. You heard of forgive and forget?  Forget it, you don’t. You are not made that way. You look at that person and remember what they said and what they did but I hold no animosity in my heart towards them. That is forgiveness. I hold no animosity towards them.  This forgiveness deal is a big deal and one of the ways you know you are maturing in the faith is if you forgive.  

I look at that person and I remember what they did. Believe you me, I had to do this, but I hold no animosity toward the person. I had to do that for me, or I wouldn’t be standing here today. How did I do that? 

The same way Christ forgave me, I can forgive other people.   

By the GRACE OF GOD, I can let it go.  

It was one of the hardest things I had to do. God took me on that journey, and I asked Him “Why?” a thousand times but I was asking the wrong question. I should have asked Him “God, what are you trying to show me?” because God is ALWAYS teaching us. So, when I am talking about forgiveness this stuff is real to me and as I stand here tonight, I can remember everything, but I hold no animosity! Hallelujah!  Thank you, Jesus!  

Do you have to forgive the person in person? What if the situation is dangerous to go in to forgive them?

You don’t have to do that because some people you can’t talk to. Some people will not acknowledge that anyways. Remember, forgiveness is for you, so you have to forgive them in my heart.  It’s personal between you and God because the devil is trying to destroy me and trying to destroy you. That’s where forgiveness starts. That doesn’t mean you cannot have a conversation with that person but the ultimate thing is, you cannot guarantee that that person will even acknowledge that or even want to talk to you about it and for weighing everything on that will never come to a forgiveness and will continue to eat you up.

What does the Lord’s prayer say?  Mathew 6:12-13   12 And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. 13 And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.   So, we don’t live in the flesh, we live in the Spirit. God’s Spirit is leading us and directing us. God will open the door and make the way for you.

God takes us all on a journey, all of us, on our faith journey and there will be issues and circumstances that come up and all different ones. But God is dealing with you personally. The question is not “Why God” but the question is “What are you trying to show me, what are you trying to teach me.  How many know He is our Shepherd, and He is leading us?  Amen? Amen. So, He is teaching us through all these different experiences in life, I have learned that.  God what are you trying to teach me, not anyone else, what are you trying to teach Glenn Walker. 

Forgiveness is hard to do, I agree.  But you still have to forgive.   He is trying to teach us to trust Him more. To walk with Him daily and put our faith totally in Him.  How many of you know He is our Shepherd, and He is teaching us through all of these many experiences of life? Remember to ask “God what are you trying to teach me? Not anyone else. What are you trying to teach ME”? 

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  We are all on a faith journey and that is what God is taking us on so, our faith is stronger today than yesterday or last week. If it isn’t then we are not growing.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  So, all these things that are happening there is a reason why God is taking us on that journey; to make us more like Christ. Christ is still working on me! HEY, AREN’T YOU THANKFUL FOR THAT! HE IS STILL WORKING ON ME! Don’t plateau, let’s keep going higher, let’s keep increasing that faith. When people look at you, do they see Jesus?  The devil is around the corner, and he is not going to go away until we go to heaven. Amen? Amen. 

We are in a battle! 

The IMPORTANT THING IS, 

IT’S ALREADY BEEN WON! 

What is your spiritual battle today?  Just remember one thing, God is taking you on a journey. It’s the most exciting part of this thing called Christianity, the journey. The destination will take care of itself. Amen. Praise the Lord. It is already secure. Amen? Amen.  By the blood of Jesus. But every single day we are walking with Jesus on this journey called Faith. And we are trusting Him more and He is pouring out His spirit more and the miraculous power is coming in more because we are growing in faith, growing in love, growing in hope. Amen? Amen.  If your challenges don’t get greater your faith won’t increase. Your challenges will come but the journey is exciting.

I challenge all of you to embrace the journey,

 embrace every day because it’s a journey of faith.

We are not alone in the journey; 

God is with us along with your family in Christ!

Why is being a member of our local church important?

When we are saved, we belong to the church of Jesus Christ, the universal church. So why is it important to belong to a local church? And then you read scripture, especially in the New Testament, there were all these local churches that were prominent during that time.

1. A local church makes you committed. Commitment is a good thing, people don’t want to commit to anything anymore. When I came to Donation Hill Bible church, I unpacked my bags.  Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  Especially as you see the day that Jesus is returning approaching. How many of you know that we are seeing more of that every day? Amen.  
2. A local church is a place to use your spiritual gifts. And all of you are different and we need everyone to bring something to the local church. So, it gives you a place to use your spiritual gifts. 
3. It gives you satisfaction that you are a part of something that is eternal, God’s Kingdom. I am fulfilled because I belong to something that is going outlast me. 

So why is being a member of a local church important? It gives you commitment and that is good for you. It gives you a place to exercise your spiritual gifts. And that’s important and that will give you fulfillment and satisfaction in God’s Kingdom.

4. The 4th thing is, we need members because of the business part.  Because of the legal aspect, the local church today is different than in the New Testament. Now we have buildings and land and things that are a part of our worship. We need members for the business part of it.  One of the reasons is that another group can’t come and take it over.  I know of a church where a group of people went into the church and took it over by majority vote.  That’s why in the business part of it we need to have members that vote. I’m talking about the business part of it, not the spiritual part of it.  

***You need to come and vote and stand for what we believe in so that another group outside can’t take us over and force some other doctrine. *** 

I’M EXCITED TO BE A PART OF A LOCAL CHURCH! A LOCAL CHURCH THAT STANDS ON THE AUTHORITY OF GOD’S WORD AND OPERATES ON THE LOVE OF JESUS! AMEN! HALLELUJAH!

If I am divorced, will I make it to Heaven? 

You go to heaven for one reason because you know Jesus. You go to Hell for one reason,  because you reject Jesus. So when we start categorizing sins that keep you from going to heaven,you are going down the wrong road.  And that can happen with anything.  God does not like divorce but he will make provision for it.  You will find that in 1 Cor 7 where they are talking about marriage in this chapter. Apostle Paul had a lot to say about marriage, husbands and wives. 

God has called us to peace.  Now, we live in a world that makes divorce real easy and we have to be very careful about that however God makes provision for it.  If there is any kind of abuse (physically mentally or emotionally) you need to get out before something bad happens. But, let’s just make sure of this, if you are going to go to God’s Kingdom when you die, it’s because you know Jesus.  Amen? Amen.

We aren’t going to categorize sin when it comes to that. Now, we need to live holy and righteous. 

If you are born out of wedlock, will you go to Heaven?

God did not make a mistake when He created you, whether you are in wedlock or out of wedlock. You didn’t have any choice in that anyway and it’s not going to matter.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made, that’s what God says.  So, regardless of your past, everybody has a past, God has not forgotten you.  Do not pick verses out of the Bible and take it out of context. That’s why you read the whole chapter/book.  

I know that people can be mean and they can take scripture and twist it anyway they want.  The truth is God loves everyone, He died for them. God is always leading us to a new day. Tomorrow is a brand new day, never been lived. All the pages of all the tomorrows are clean and lets keep them clean! Amen? Amen.

Forget the past, you can’t go back and redo it. Let’s forget it and let’s move on with God. 

The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. Jesus died for every sin. So in God’s eyes they are all the same because His son had to die for all the sins.  We like to categorize sins because of our humanity.

The reality is that God is holy and we have a hard time wrapping our minds around that. He hates all sin but we like to put them in different categories where one sin might be worse than another.   

It took the blood of Jesus to clean that all up regardless of what we have done or where we have been.  Hallelujah!   Thank God for the blood of Jesus! Glory to God! Amen!

So will people judge us? Yes they will.   Let’s make sure we drive closer to Jesus everyday!   I have been walking with Jesus for more than 50 years and I am going to walk with him for the rest. He has been faithful for that many years and He is going to be faithful for tomorrow!  

 PRAISE THE LORD!  

LET’S JUST BE THANKFUL FOR THE BLOOD OF JESUS AND THE POWER IN THAT BLOOD that will take care of whatever we mess up!  Hallelujah! 

PREVIOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Is Israel a nation or a people? 

The answer to that is both. Let me explain this. Israel is a nation of Jewish people. Very different from the United States of America. The United States of America is a combination of many nationalities, many countries as they came across to settle in our country, immigrants. Israel is a Jewish nation of Jews. Israel became a nation in 1948.  Recognized by the United Nations as a nation of the world. Before 1948 they were still a nation of Jewish people even though they weren’t recognized by the world.

Mathew 24:32-35  32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

In that chapter he’s talking about the second coming. He’s talking about the end times. And it is Jesus prophesying there that Israel will be a nation, that’s what He means when He says that the parable of the fig tree when its branch is yet tender put it forth its leaves, when it first starts, when it first became a nation it put forth it’s tender leaves and Jesus is saying that is one of the end time prophecies. When you see that taking place know that the end is coming. It’s getting close. So Jesus prophesied here that Israel would become a nation of the world. And they did.

 Let’s go back to the law of the first mentioned and we find that in Genesis 32:24-28  24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.  25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. (That was what Jacob was saying) 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince (Prince of God) hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed

So Jacob’s name was changed from Jacob to Israel and remember he had 12 sons which is the 12 tribes of Israel.  Those 12 tribes are still alive and well on the planet today, scattered all over the world, but God knows who belongs to each tribe.  In the book of Revelations it says that He will have 12,000 Evangelists from every tribe preaching the gospel during the end times. That’s 144,000 evangelists that are all coming out of those 12 tribes of Israel. 

So, the law of the first mention takes us back to Genesis that helps us to unlock it all. And here is where it first started. So God put his hand upon Jacob back then and changed his name to Israel, blessed him with 12 sons and said those people are my chosen people  Put His hand upon them and said those people are my chosen people and all through the Old Testament he worked with the nation Israel with all the different prophets, that’s what the Old Testament is all about. God used the prophets of the Old Testament and their story throughout the Old Testament is all focused on Israel. OK? It’s all focused there. That’s the spotlight.  Israel is God’s chosen people, the Jews, we use them both interchangeably. They are interchangeable. Israel is a nation and it’s a people.  That’s why it’s so hard for us to understand that because you can’t compare it to the United States. We are totally different. Israel is the Jews, the nation of the Jews. The United States is a melting pot. 

So, is Israel a nation or a people? It’s both and God hasn’t forgotten them by the way even though the spotlight today is on the church, that’s you and I, that spotlight will be shined upon Israel during the seven year tribulation. God is going to put it back on them and they are going to be the ones that are going to be responsible to preach the gospel for that period of time, the 144,000 jewish evangelists.  God is going to use them and bring them to Himself. Right now, the Jewish people as a whole have rejected the Messiah.  That will change then, they will accept them. 

Should we use the original language when understanding God’s Word to get the true meaning of certain words?

So, the original language of the Old Testament was Hebrew And the New Testament was Greek. That is the original language. We don’t all speak that, so our Bibles have been translated in a lot of different translations. For my studies, I use different versions. I use the King James, I use the International Version, the New American Standard, the New Living Translation, and the New King James Version.  You can compare them when we study the Bible. Now, Doing word studies is really exciting though. you pick a word and then study it. That’s kinda mentioned here in the question, to get the true meaning in certain words. When you look at different words in the different translations it will help you. There again, I always use the law of the first mentioned Because it always unlocks the secret to the word’s interpretation. So, I will see where it is first mentioned in the Scriptures by using a good concordance and go there and that will be the key to unlocking the meaning of that word. Let me stop and say this now, That God has written the Bible so That we can understand it. 

So, I’m not going to make a big debate over certain languages because I believe that God will reveal His truth to us. So I don’t want to scare anybody by saying we have to use the original language. Going back to understanding certain words of scripture, we always read what comes before it and after it or the whole chapter.  You don’t want to take it out of context, you will be all messed up. Now, there are verses that stand alone and we all know that but it’s still in good principle to just read prior and after so that you will know the context that God has given for that particular verse or word. Make sense?

So, should we use the original language when understanding God’s word?  You can. Different word studies are exciting to do but I don’t not want you to get bogged down with that.

How does the bible explain the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit during his ministry on earth?

I will start by saying that the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism. That’s the first time and that actually started His ministry.  That’s when His ministry started, when He was baptized in the River of Jordan. If you remember that story, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, rested upon Him and that was the beginning of His ministry. So, what that tells us is simply that Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to do ministry just like you and I do. When Jesus ministered on earth, He ministered as a man anointed by God’s spirit. Some people think Jesus operated as the Son of God, He did not. He operated as the son of man while he was on the earth. He was the son of God, yes, But when he did ministry he was the son of man relying on His heavenly father and God’s Spirit. So, His ministry started when The Holy Spirit came and rested on HIm like a dove and that’s what promoted Him or started Him into His ministry.

Let’s look In Matthew 4:1  Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil.  How many know that the spirit led him? He was led by the spirit, he was guided by the spirit.  This is a good example for all of us as we likewise have to be guided by the spirit not our flesh, Not our human intellect, not our human wisdom But we need to be guided by God’s spirit every day. Amen? Amen. 

So Jesus was led by the spirit. The Holy Spirit led him. Ok? Amen. Luke 4:16-19  16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,  because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus said the spirit of The Lord is upon me, He’s anointed me to do these things. So what is the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit? It was a close relationship. He needed the Holy Spirit and he depended on the Holy Spirit to do ministry. He didn’t do ministry as God, he did it as a man relying on God. Make sense?  He needed the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit anointed him. That’s a word I use a lot, is anointed. God’s anointing will come upon all of you to do the ministry that God has called you to do. Every anointing is different. So you can’t compare my anointing with your anointing And I can’t compare my anointing with yours because God called You to do a different service than me or ministry But he’s anointed you to do what he’s called you to do. That’s exciting!  

So, Jesus needed the Holy Spirit and so do you. Whenever we look at Jesus, we can pull those truths out And we can relate them to us. I need, you need, the Holy Spirit to do ministry just like Jesus did. So when Jesus was touched the power went out of Him from the Holy Spirit. And so the anointing is always given,  to be given away, to do Ministry for God. 

God’s anointing comes on me to preach, you know that. Sometimes it’s stronger than others but nevertheless it comes every Sunday, It always comes. So just like Jesus, I ask for it,and Look for it, and expect it. That’s faith. I ask God’s anointing to be upon me to preach the gospel, To preach his word and so I’m relying on that. Just as Jesus did that, so do we. So God’s anointing will come upon me to preach the gospel and sometimes it comes on really, really strong.  What you need to know is this; if I don’t transfer that then I would blow up. I don’t live like that every day, I couldn’t. Because it would kill me. The anointing is strong and powerful. I couldn’t live with it. But it comes for that moment and I have to get rid of that and I do that by speaking and preaching. 

So your anointing for your ministry will come differently for what you do. Your anointing is just as wonderful and exciting as mine even though it may not be administered the same way. 

When you evangelize, you must speak on who Jesus is. How would you word that? What does Lord mean? Jesus is God ? As God incarnated?

When evangelizing, keep it simple. Keep it simple. I often use John 3:16  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 So I am not going to go into a theological discussion. Does that make sense to you? I’m not going to use the word incarnation because most people do not know what that means.  I’m not going to use any of those theological terms. So, I’m going to keep it real simple: Jesus is God’s Son who left heaven, came to this world to die on a cross so we might have forgiveness for our sins.  Whenever you are evangelizing, keep it simple. Most people will not understand a theological discussion but most people will understand this: For God so loved the world. God loves you!  So keep it simple. Amen

According to 1 Peter 2:21-25 and Isaiah 53:3-5 Where it says by His stripes we are healed. Is Isaiah and Peter talking about spiritual or physical healing? Should we use that phrase for physical healing? Why or Why not?

Here is the ground work to answer this question:

This question is regarding scripture: Isaiah 53:3-5. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

First of all, let me say this, that whenever you are interpreting scripture you always read the verse ahead or behind it. You just can’t pull something out. OK? You have to make sure you take it in context.  

Now let’s go to 1 Peter 2:21-24  21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

How many of you know that it is the same as Isaiah 53:5? 

In this particular scripture here, 1 Peter 2:vs 21-24, it is talking about spiritual healing. OK?  And that is something everybody needs. Amen? Amen.  Everyone needs to be saved. Born again. So we need a spiritual healing. 

Now when Jesus died on the cross, salvation included more than just a forgiveness of sins. Amen? Amen. It included everything that Adam lost in the garden. So when we talk about salvation, we’re talking about the whole package. And so, oftentimes when we talk about salvation, the only thing we talk about is spiritual things. But salvation also included, being healed, being delivered. It also included everything that Adam lost. It included us getting authority on the Earth. 

So when Jesus died on the cross, how many of you know that He only died once. He only shed his blood once. It covered all of that. Amen? Amen.

Now Mark 2:1-12   And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.  4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

It intrigued me when Jesus said is it easier to say be forgiven or be healed?  WOW!  He says it is easier for me to say that?  Why did he say that?  It goes back to what I said earlier.  When He died on the cross it was a one time deal for everything. It dealt with physical healing and it also dealt with spiritual healing. AMEN? AMEN.

How many of you know we interpret scripture with scripture?  So 1st Peter chapter 2 interpretes that as spiritual healing. Amen? Amen.

The verse I built on is in Matthew 8:14-17   14 And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. 15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

That’s a direct quote from Isaiah 53:3-5. Make sense?  So I interpret scripture not with what I think or feel but with scripture. So I interpret Isaiah with Peter as spiritual healing, here as physical healing.  Does that make sense to you?  That it might be fulfilled by which was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, and he directly quoted by Isaiah 53:3-5. And so based on that I pray that by His stripes you are healed.   So I interpret scripture with scripture.  Amen?

It says in Matthew 8 He healed mother-in-law as fever and all that is sick. So we are talking about physical healing in this passage of scripture. Make sense? And then He says so that it might be fulfilled by Isaiah the prophet. 

So 1Peter is talking about Spiritual healing. Talking about Him dying on the cross.

Isaiah talks about both, physical and spiritual. If I didn’t have that verse in Matthew then I wouldn’t be able to stand on it. 

One thing I like about this question is that it solidifies everything I stand for and everything that I am trying to teach you.  I believe that you just can’t pull something out of scripture and make you believe what YOU want it to say, it has to say what God says. So I can’t pull it out of context. So God, in HIs divine Glory, makes sure that we did not pull it out of context. Are you with me? 

So He interpreted it in 1 Peter and Mathew 8. And it gives us the authority to call on HIm when we are sick and need healing. So I have authority to pray Isaiah 53 where it says by His stripes we are healed. I am going to pray that. I believe in praying God’s word.  And we are physically and spiritually healing. Total healing. It’s a complete package. When He says be “made whole” it means everything.  

Do you remember when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, one came back and 9 didn’t. He said to the one “you are made whole” and he got something the others didn’t. He got total healing. They only got healed of their leprosy, physically. But that guy got everything, made whole! Hallelujah.

He got it because he was thankful. He got it because He came back and thanked God. The others didn’t because they didn’t come back, they got their blessing and ran with it. A lot of people do that today, they get it and run with it.  NO. We need to COME BACK to the cross and say thank you Jesus.  Thank you Jesus for what you did. 

We need both Praise and Worship along with the sermon. We need both.  And so I believe that when we come on Sunday mornings and we praise God, it gets me ready!  As we enter into praise and worship, as we lift up all together, then God’s anointing will come. We have to be careful that we don’t get too carried away with complaining. We just need to be positive of what God has done and what He is doing. And Praise Him and Worship HIm. Amen? Amen.  That’s what I have been talking about in the last several weeks in the sermons It has been worship. Giving God the praise and worshiping Him. And when we do that God’s anointing will come. . 

Let’s build on that. Let’s be thankful like that one leopard that came back. Let’s be one of the ten. Be that one. Because he got everything. A Lot of people only get a little bit. They only get partial when they could have the whole thing. Thanksgiving and Praise is HUGE and God will bring the whole package as He did it for them.   

So going back to where we started, I am going to pray that by His stripes we are healed for someone that is physically sick AND someone that needs spiritual healing. It’s both ways. Not just one. The lost of a loved one is a wound.  By his stripes we are healed of that broken heart, when we lose a loved one and the healing of a broken heart. That’s an emptiness that can be healed. How many of you know that God can heal that. It covers both. I pray by “His stripes ye are healed” and I just let it go. I’ve done what God has asked me to do. I’m not God and neither are you. Let God take care of that. 

When someone comes up for healing and they continue to come up week after week? Why is that?

There could be a couple of reasons for that. One is maybe their faith is a little weak. And at the same time, I believe in bombarding the heavenlies. I am not going to quit until the answer comes. So if I pray every single week, I am going to do that, if the answer hasn’t come. Because I do know that when I pray, there is an interference in the heavenlies and the Devil is going to interfere.  Dan 10 Daniel prayed for 21 days with no answer, most people would have quit. There is a reason why it didn’t come. The demonic spirits intercepted. See there is a tremendous war going on in the heavenlies.  We can’t see it. It’s bigger than this world. It’s bigger than what we can see.  So when we pray, our prayers go right thru the devil’s bedroom and the devil doesn’t like it and he is a spirit so he can intercept that because our prayers are going to the spiritual world.  Then in chapter 10, God told Daniel your prayers were heard the very first day and I sent the answer the first day but there was an interception on the way back with the answer. The answer came. You know what that tells me is, I am going to keep bombarding the heavenlies! I’ll keep praying. Sending more angels to help Michael or Gabriel, whoever is bringing the answer. I am going to keep praying!  See I believe in persevering in prayer.  If the answer doesn’t come some people will say ‘Well, that’s just my luck in life. I guess I am not supposed to have the answer.” NO.  If it’s in here, in The Word, we are going to keep praying.  I am going to keep bombarding the heavenlies and sending more angels and more help because there’s a War going on out there.  Dan chapter 10 is a very good example of that. 

If we could open up our eyes spiritually and God could show us, WE would be amazed of the activity that is going on in the spiritual world. It is real and big and bigger than this world. There are more angels and demons than we have any idea that are doing battles in the heavens.   WE are going to run the Devil out of town.  And I believe God is looking for people just like you. 

DON’T FORGET THIS:

Remember God doesn’t have another plan, his plan is you. There is no other plan. God could have chosen any way he wanted to but He chose in His sovereignty to use you and me. And it’s through our prayers, that’s why we must men and women of prayers. If you don’t pray the prayer, the answer is not going to come because God has given you and I authority on the Earth.  So it is our responsibility to pray to make sure that God’s will is done on the Earth.  How many know that is the Lord’s prayer: “Thy will be done.” 

Sometimes I get a little frustrated with Christian because they think that God is sovereign so His will is being done. I want to tell you something, God’s will is not being done. He will let mankind do and go. He will do that. We saw that in the Old Testament and the New Testament and today. 

So let’s be men and women of prayer because that’s the only way God’s will is being done on Earth. The Lord’s prayer says “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”    Why did Jesus teach us to pray like that if God’s will is done? He teaches us that we have authority to release God’s will on the Earth. WOW!

God is not the author of confusion. We are seeing so much confusion in our world right now. People are so confused. How many know that the devil wants us confused?  Because if we are confused, we won’t be settled, won’t be solvent, won’t be able to sustain the faith and we will be like a yoyo up and down and blow around with the wind and everything else. So God is not the author of confusion and the devil is. Who is the Prince and Power of the Air? The devil can control all that and bombard you with all of that. And as a result he will keep us from being men and women of victory. Men and women of Joy because all that bombards us all the time thru your cell phones.

Pray over everything

Jesus will guide you, direct you, and take control.

What is the Lord’s day? Is it the Sabbath day? Is it different from the Old Testament to the New Testament? 

We, in the New Testament, consider Sunday as the Lord’s Day. We gather to worship the Lord on the first day of the week which is Sunday. And that’s because Jesus arose from the dead on Sunday, the first day of the week. For us the Lord’s Day, the day of worship, is Sunday, the first day of the week. 

Now 1Cor 16:2 states that the early church meant on the first day of the week, the early church did, which is Sunday. Is it the Sabbath? NO. NO. Saturday is the Sabbath. Always has been and always will be. God established the Sabbath in the old testament and in that it was the 7th day of the week and that was the day He rested when He created the World. 

So He told the Isrealites and one of the 10 commandments is “remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy.”  So that was the Old Testament teaching.

THIS IS INTERESTING NOW:  The only commandment of the 10 commandments that is not repeated in the new testament is that one. All the other 9 commandments are repeated in the new testament. The only one that isn’t is “remember the Sabbath day, keep it Holy”.  WHY?

It changed when Jesus arose from the dead. Everything we believe is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What is the Lord’s day? Sunday. Why? Jesus arose from the Dead. Is it different from the Old Testament Sabbath? Yes, it is. Has it changed? No, the Sabbath is still the 7th day, it’s Saturday, it’s the 7th day. The only difference is we worship on Sunday in the New Testament because of the resurrection.

**DON’T FORGET**

Before Jesus comes again, the 7 year Tribulation Period is all about the people of Israel, the Jewish nation. The focus is on Israel: it goes back to them and they are going to accept Christ then.  He owes them 7 years. 483 years are tipped off of the 490 years. 7 years left and it belongs to Israel, it belongs to them. During the tribulation period, the focus/Spotlight is going back on them.

The antichrist is going to make a peace treaty with them and break it 3 ½ years into it. The antichrist is going to go to Jerusalem, set himself up to be God. That is the abomination of desolation, God says no more of that.  The 7 years period belongs to Israel and THEY WILL come back to Him. And During the 1000 year reign then, Jesus will reign from Jerusalem and all the Jews will be there with Him and we will be there too! Amen. 

 We all go to heaven the same way, putting our faith in Jesus. There are no different ways to go to heaven or to be saved. WE are saved the same, by accepting Jesus as your savior. Amen. PRAISE THE LORD!

What do you say to someone when they say about Christ “how can I believe when all I hear is He’s coming and the speaker states He will be here in my lifetime but Christ has yet to come”. How do you speak to others on this subject? Are these false teachers?

They are not false teachers because every generation that lived expected Jesus to come in their generation. The reason is this, because no one knows when He is going to come and everybody has faith in that. We have faith in it here. I believe Jesus is going to come in my lifetime. If he doesn’t, if he doesn’t, that’s ok. But we believe that Jesus is coming, the signs are all there as fulfillment of scripture.  But I do understand that if we are talking about Jesus coming and every generation has said that He is coming and He hasn’t come. Some began to feel, ok, is this a false teacher.  So, I will say this no one knows when He is going to be coming. But we all believe that He is going  to come. And I believe that Paul believed He was going to come in his lifetime. As I read the scripture, Paul expected Him to come and he wrote over half of the  new testament and that’s been over 2000 years ago. So in likewise today we believe He is coming back.  

     Christ told us to be ready, to be looking up to a “redemption draweth nine” Luke 21:28.   And so everyday we can say this might be the day. Amen? Hallelujah.  We don’t get discouraged because He hasn’t come, we just know that we aren’t in charge of that, God is. And God never makes a mistake and He will send Jesus at the right time. Amen? Amen. 

     I do believe that we ought to be busy witnessing, inviting other people to come to the gospel because this thing is going to end and you know I would hate to have anybody to not make it to heaven. That just would tear us up.  So let’s be busy about that and invite folks in because they need to be saved. 

   It behooves all of us and this question here ought to stimulate all of us that we are living in the last days. I believe that. I believe Jesus is coming. And what does that mean? That means we need to be ready. We don’t know when He is coming but we need to be ready when He does come. One of those ways is to just invite more people to come. Let’s fill this place up!!

People need Jesus more than ever!    INVITE A FRIEND!  

Why did people live longer before the flood? 

If you go into the scripture you will notice before the flood people lived hundreds of years. After the flood, there was a very quick decline in the lifespan of people.  It is true that people lived much longer before the flood and immediately as the flood was over the lifespans went down very quickly. Why? This is what I believe.

I believe that reason for that is that before the flood, there was an expanse of water over the whole earth. It never rained before, only dew had watered the earth and so that expansive water was all over the earth. What it did was it filtered the ultraviolet sun rays, it filtered the bacteria that takes away life. And so, immediately after the flood there was a rapid decline in the age of people. And it has to do with that. 

So I believe, before the flood, the expansive water was all over the earth and it filtered the air and it filtered the ultraviolet sun rays which causes bacteria and disease.  And after that was gone, that’s why we see the rapid decline in the age of people. The idea was that the expansion of water was over the earth. You will find that in Genesis.  When the floods came, that expansive water came down. It was gone.

Who lives my Christian life? Me or God?

The answer is both. Both. You’re responsible to live a life of discipline. Amen? At the same time The Holy Spirit lives inside of you and He empowers you. Amen? In Col 1:27 “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  So when you accept Christ as your savior, He lives inside of you through the person of the Holy Spirit. Amen? Amen. And so, the Holy Spirit empowers you to live the Christian life. You can’t live it on your own. You need the Holy Spirit. At the same time you and I are required to be disciplined to walk in the discipline of God’s Word. Amen? 

So who lives my Christian life, me or God? Both. God lives in you and He empowers you to make the daily decisions. Which you do, you are not a robot. Amen. You also are required to make those decisions to be like Christ. That does make sense?  

When it comes to changing your lifestyle, we are responsible to address some of those habits that may not be becoming as a Christian. And let me say this as well, we have to be careful that we don’t judge people that they aren’t on the track as fast as you think they should be. Because not everybody is going to grow or be disciplined at the same rate you might or somebody else. So we have to be gracious to give them the opportunity and the time to grow in faith. Amen? Amen.  

Phil 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” So God’s involved and you are involved. Both of us. Amen? Amen. PRAISE THE LORD

How do I find hope in this corrupt world?

So I will answer that by saying this, that there is no hope in the world and you will not find it in the world but in the midst of the world you can have hope. Where I go is Lamentations chapter 3. Which is Jeremiah and he is lamenting about how bad everything is and in the midst of that in Lamentations Chapter 3 he says “Hope thou in God”. Amen.

So, how do I find hope in a corrupt world? Read Lamentations chapter 3 AND take to heart what Jeremiah wrote in the midst of all that, I am going to focus on Him and my hope is there. Amen? Amen.

Why does God allow bad things to happen to His chosen?

Now that question has been asked for generations. And I will say, one reason that things happen to us and that is to build faith. God wants us to be men and women of faith and sometimes it’s the trials that we face that point us to the only solution and that is to increase our faith in God. To know that when things don’t go right, that God hasn’t forgotten you, He is still there. And so God wants you to know that FAITH is the highest quality that He looks for in Christians.

Hebrew 11:6 says “Without Faith it is impossible to please God.” So God is going to increase your faith. Also, another reason is, we live in a fallen world. This is not the thousand year reign in Christ, it’s coming. This is not heaven. We live in a world where sin has right of way, the Devil has right of way. We live in a world where bad things happen. So, we want God to come alongside us in every situation and we want everything to go smoothly every time. And I think all of us have lived long enough to know that things are not always going to go smoothly and they never will until we go to Heaven. In the midst of those trials, God will draw closer to you.

Can you say God loves you to believers and nonbelievers alike? 

Absolutely. So, the problem is this, we have a hard time separating the sin from the sinner. True? True. God does not like the sin but He loves the sinner. Amen? What a God! Amen!. It’s really difficult sometimes for people to separate that. God can do that…And we need to be able to do that too because we need to be able to show love to the unlovely.

We need to show love to those who are living in a lifestyle that is contrary to God’s Word. It doesn’t mean that we accept or we promote their lifestyle. Amen? Amen. But the sinner needs to know that they are loved. Amen? Amen. So can you say that? Absolutely, God loves you.

In the midst of that, we have to be real careful that we don’t become judgmental. Amen? And so that has happened, believe me that’s happened and that’s turned a lot of people off. Because in some churches, we become too judgmental over their lifestyle rather than loving them because they’re made in the image of God. So we have a hard time sometimes separating the two, Amen? Amen. But when we separate the two, now we can say God loves you. Amen? Amen. PRAISE THE LORD!

What does it mean to have the true baptism of the Spirit and do you feel something different?

That’s a very good question because that’s a topic that’s been debated.

I will answer that by having you turn to 1Corthinthians12:13 “For by one Spirit we are all baptized” How many of you know that is the Spirit baptism? That is what it says “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

So there are some circles that believe that the baptism of the Spirit takes place after you are saved and it’s an experience that you have. I believe that the true baptism of the Spirit takes place when you are saved. When you are placed into the body, which is the church. Amen? Placed into the body of Christ. And so 1Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we are baptized into one body.” So I believe the true baptism of the Spirit takes place when you are saved.

So where do these other folks come from then when they ask this question “Have you been baptized in the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.” They relate those two things together. Baptism of the Spirit and speaking of tongues. I do not believe that they are connected in any way. I believe that we are baptized by the Spirit when you are saved. When you are saved the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and you are baptized into the body of Christ. That started in Acts 2 when the church got started and it’s alive today because the church is still being built today and you and I are a part of it. Amen? Amen.

So what does it mean to have the true baptism of the Spirit? The true baptism of the Spirit means that you are saved. It happens when you are born again. Do you feel something different? You can but you may not because we don’t base it on feelings, we base it on facts.

Now, God has given me different emotions at different times and you as well. Sometimes we are joyful and sometimes excited, sometimes other emotions. However, we base everything on fact first and foremost and not emotions. Okay?

If God gives you a feeling, praise the Lord. If God gives a special experience, praise the Lord. Not necessary for everyone else but it is for you. Hallelujah! Amen. Embrace that. But don’t look for a feeling. If you are looking for a feeling, the Devil will have a hay day with you! Because the Devil can play with your emotions.

And so, I am very strong when I say this, that is, we base our belief on truth, first and foremost. This Word is Truth and so what happens is that people have different experiences and what they want to do is to make a doctrine out of those experiences. DANGEROUS.

YOU CAN NOT MAKE A DOCTRINE OUT OF THOSE EXPERIENCES.

If you have a certain experience, Praise the Lord for that. That is for you. Not necessarily for everyone else. So experiences are wonderful if God gives that to you BUT don’t make a doctrine out of it required by everyone else, now you are going down a dangerous path.

At the same time, I believe that you shouldn’t judge someone that has that gift of tongues. But PLEASE do not make a doctrine out of your experience. So, if you have a feeling don’t make a doctrine out of your experience.

Remember, if you are LOOKING for a feeling, the Devil is going to have a lot of fun with you because he plays with feelings.

How do you see God?

God is a spirit and no one can look upon God and live in the flesh because His awesome glory would annihilate flesh. God is a God of Awesome Glory! Hallelujah! So for human beings to actually look upon Him, that is an impossibility until we get to Heaven and we have our Glorified bodies but in the flesh we can’t see God. Amen? Amen. I can see the footprint of God, The handiwork of God. I can see the sunrise, the sunset. All evidence of a powerful God. I believe that as we see those things, it ought to cause us to worship Him.  Anything in creation that we see is evidence that I can see God in it.  A new born baby, other Christians, I can see God in you. We are made in His image. Because Jesus lives in your heart, I can see God in that manner. I can see God in Jesus because He was on this earth and He was God in the Flesh. Amen. So if I want to actually see God then I would look unto Jesus I will see God.  Jesus stated it “If you see me, you see the father.”  As Jesus walked the Earth; that was God walking.  How He responded in certain circumstances, I knew that was God.  

 So I am answering that question from that point of view. God’s anointing and spirit is real. So when it comes to God’s anointing I can feel Him, I can sense Him.  The quickest way to experience God’s anointing is WORSHIP. Don’t forget that. If you want to experience God’s anointing, be a worshiper and God’s glory will come and you will feel it and you will sense it and it will lift your spirits and you can only say “WOW, I experienced God in a personal way.”  That way I can see God. To answer this question is a complex thing so I tried to touch on all the basis.

What is faith and do I get faith?

Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1.  You want to know what faith is, look at Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Amen. So if you are going to have faith, you must have hope. You have to have them both. There is no faith without hope. So what is faith? Hebrews 11:1.  I can’t define it better than God can. That’s it. Amen. Do we get faith? We all have a measure of faith – Romans 12:3 God has given man a measure of faith. What you do with that faith is up to you. Amen. You can use it in ways that do not honor God. An atheist has faith, not in God, but he has faith that there is no God.

     So we must direct our faith to that object that is real, which is God. Romans 10:17 “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the word of God.”  There is no shortcut to faith. We all have a measure of faith but if you want your faith to increase, you’re responsible. Romans 10:17 tells us how to do it. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the word of God.” That’s why we come to Wednesday night bible study, we come to Sunday morning, and that’s why you do your devotions, etc… Amen.  That’s where it’s at. 

How do I trust a God that I cannot see?

You must fill your life with faith filled words or you will never experience God. Romans 10:17 fits into this question as well. Fill your mind with the things of God. With His word. I can’t see God but faith will be increased as I feed my faith.  So all of you are either feeding your faith or you are feeding your doubts. Amen. One or the other. So if I feed my faith then I can trust a God I cannot see. Amen. But I am responsible for that. So the more you study and read the bible the more it comes real to you. HIs word is a history book. The more you study and read it, the more it becomes real to you. That is the journey God has for us all. 

Faith without action is dead. We are being challenged to live by faith and act out in faith. It’s really easy to be in our little bible studies and our little groups where we are all safe but we believe that faith will sustain us, will hold us up. Faith isn’t stepping out on fleecy clouds, It is stepping out on truth. That’s the key, Amen? Amen. FAITH IS STEPPING OUT ON TRUTH AND HIS WORD IS TRUTH. 

What is your favorite passage or sermon you preach that is uplifting to your soul?

I love the Word of God and I love different passages. My favorite is Philippians 3:13-14. My life verse. Paul says this “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do”.  I never could get over that, that Paul would say that. The greatest preacher that ever lived, who wrote over half of the new testament, said “this one thing I do”.  I want to know what that is. He whittled life down to one thing. “This one thing I do”.

Here it is: “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  That is the verse that transformed me. We all have issues in our past that will haunt you if you don’t learn to deal with them. This one thing I do, I forget those things that are behind and I reach for those things that are before, the prize, the high calling of God in Jesus. I love that verse. It has transformed me. I quote it often. Paul said I whittled life down to one thing. This one thing I do, I forget that stuff that is in the past.  Now, you can’t just forget something, your mind won’t let you, that’s why you have to replace it with something else. Amen? Amen. so I am replacing it with the prize. I am thinking about the future. I am thinking about the high calling in Jesus. That’s how I forget the past. Make sense? So you combine the past and the future together, you can’t allow the past to dominate you therefore I am going to reach for the future, the prize.  That’s true in every area of life by the way. 

Paul had to forget the past of persecuting the church so he had something to forget. And most of us have things we would like to forget too. Some people have a lot more baggage than others and that past will haunt you and the Devil will make sure of it. Amen? Amen.

This one thing I do, I forget it, and I reach for the prize. I tell it to my ball players when I play ball; forget about that loss last week, let’s win this game tonight. Let’s get the prize tonight. Last week is over. Todays a brand new day.   Amen.

So that’s the passage that has changed me:  Philippians 3:13-14. 

Is capital punishment wrong and is it a sin? 

That topic has been greatly debated today.  I will answer that by saying this Genesis Chapter 9:5 and 6: God is talking to Noah. Noah just came off the ark. He is establishing the world. God is giving Noah the laws of the earth. He says a man will demand an accounting of the life of his fellow man. “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.”

That law was established before the law of Moses that God gave to the Israelites which dominated the old testament.  This was given before that, it was given when Noah came off the ark.  God was telling Noah these were the laws of the planet.

Homicide demands a punishment that matches the crime.  The justification for capital punishment is the nobility for human life.  So murder or homicide shows contempt for God as well has your fellow man. 

READ in the New Testament in Romans 13 where God is establishing Government authority. God has authorized the governments of our land and given authority over us. We don’t all agree with it but nonetheless God has placed that over us and we need to respect that unless it goes against God’s law: Romans 13:4 “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

So, I do not believe it is wrong and I don’t believe it is a sin for the government to carry out capital punishment with a watchful eye to not execute innocent people.  God established it with Noah.  We have to be careful with it. It is final and we can’t take it back. It has to be proven without a shadow of a doubt. We have new technology today that we have never had before, especially DNA testing. 

When Cain slew Abel why did God just mark Cain and tell him to go on his way? 

God hadn’t laid down that law until Noah came off the ark. He marked him but didn’t bless that act and God did take it up with Cain. I believe God marked him because there was no one else to populate the earth. See Hebrews: the blood of Abel still speaks from the ground but the blood of Jesus speaks greater things. 

God is fair and just and He will make sure that fairness prevails, I will guarantee that. Amen!

Is our heart still wicked after we are born again?

Before we are born again, we have the old nature. Before we are born again your spirit is not awakened to the things of God. That’s what happens when you are born again, you get another nature or a new heart. Amen. However the old heart didn’t go away. The old nature didn’t go away. You got a new heart or new nature, one that can relate to spiritual things or the things of God. However your old nature is still there so that proposes a challenge. How do you handle that? Very simply this way, what you feed is what is going to grow. If you feed your spiritual man it will override your old nature but your old nature is still in there. So that means we have to be careful. It is easy to slip back into sin; it’s easy to slip into the old ways again. So some people think that once they are saved everything is fine but that’s not true. It’s very important to come on Sundays and come together so we are feeding that new nature,the spirit of God, to help override the old nature. Our hearts are wicked unless you feed it but you have another alternative, Amen. Before you didn’t, before you were saved you did not. But once you are saved you have another alternative. So that’s why we have to be careful and we are feeding our spiritual man and that makes our hearts righteous before God. 

Once saved, always saved, Right?  

I don’t like that terminology because people use that saying to justify living in sin. That term is not in the Bible and so you will have nothing to stand on. I will never use it.  A dangerous terminology to support sinful behavior.  Do I believe in eternal security, absolutely, if I die tonight, my soul is eternally secure. Amen. There is a difference: Once saved, always saved, NO. Eternal security YES. We need to live holy, we need to live lives that please Jesus. There are blessings that arise from that, untold blessings. And I don’t want anyone so close to the edge of the bed without rolling out. Let’s stay in the middle of the bed and let’s go with Jesus.  I will be an encourager, not a condemner. I believe in encouragement. Others are watching you, so let’s make it a positive encouragement. 

Because we are saved doesn’t make us above temptation. You go to heaven for one reason because you are saved, you are born again. Now if we slip up and we do, there will be loss of rewards at the judgement seat of Christ.  Our sins have been judged at the cross, even sins we are going to create next week.   So there will be sins that we haven’t asked for forgiveness. There will be a tremendous loss of rewards and it’s important to God so it should be important to us. Some of the rewards will be given to us to minister during the 1000 yr reign. I want Donation Hill Bible Church to get all the rewards there are. I don’t want the devil to get anything, I am a competitive person anyways and I want to beat the snot out of him. So let’s get all the rewards we can get! Amen? AMEN!  

You can know about Jesus but you don’t trust in Jesus. So there’s a lot of folks that know about Jesus and they think they might be saved but they have never trusted HIM in their heart.  In James: the devil believes but doesn’t place Jesus in his heart.  It’s more than just believing, it’s a trusting belief. Please be careful you don’t judge someone’s eternal security, their eternal home.  I can look at you and inspect what you are doing so we can encourage a life in Jesus. 

It’s very very important we make it very clear that we must be born again, we must trust in Jesus.  It’s more than just going to church, saying some words, shaking the Pastor’s hands. So we constantly want to make sure we are promoting trust in Jesus. 

  In this world we work to be rewarded and so we think we come to church and do good works for God and God will reward us with heaven. God will reward us with rewards but eternal life is a FREE gift, by grace are you saved thru faith.  

If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father and if we mess up and we all are going to mess up for no one has a halo over their heads.  But If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. That’s where all of us need to be. If we say or do something we shouldn’t do, we can say “God, clean me up”. READ Psalm 51, it is a great prayer. David prayed it when he messed up.  Psalm 51 vs 7“…Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;  wash me, and I will be whiter than snow”. It’s a great prayer.

I believe in eternal security but I don’t believe in this new terminology “Once saved, always saved”.  

Don’t worry about how close to the edge we can get without falling out, let’s go with God with everything we got! Amen!

How many years ago did God make man?

From the days of Adam and Eve to the present day, I believe is approximately 6000 years. We noticed by the genealogical records given in the Bible.
There are archaeologists and scientists that believe humans have been in existence for millions of years based on fossils and other data.
The Bible does not address that viewpoint in particular. So from a biblical perspective, based on Genesis chapter 1, I believe God created man approximately 6000 years ago.

If someone says or does something you think is wrong according to God‘s word, is that judging them?

We need to be careful with this one because Jesus directly addresses this issue in Matthew 7:1 he says –“Judge not, so that you will not be judged.”
In verse 7:3 Jesus says why do you try to cast the speck out of your brothers eye but do not consider the log that is in your eye.
So here he is addressing a condemning spirit. It is easy to be condemning rather than loving. It is very important we conduct ourselves in a loving way and know all the facts.

If we believe in Jesus, will we enter eternity with God?

To enter into heaven one must be born again. That simply means we have repented of our sins and have trusted in Jesus as our personal savior.
1John 1:7 says “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. Romans 10:9 – That if you shall confess with your mouth The Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you shall be saved.
So it is more than just believing intellectually. The Bible says the devil believes, in James 2:19 and he sure is not going into Heaven.
So we will enter eternity with God into His Haven if we are born again.

We are forgiven through the Blood of Jesus, when we go to the throne of God’s judgment, will God remember our sins?

Psalm 103:12 says God has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.
As Christians we will appear at the judgment seat of Christ and there are works are judged and we will be given rewards accordingly.
Our sins have already been judged at the cross where Jesus shed his blood. God will not remember our sins. He remembers they have been forgiven.