Sunday, January 31, 2021
Knowing Them by their Fruit
God said; "you shall know them by their fruit."
He never said; "you shall know them by what they say."
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Matthew 7:17-19 "…17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.…"
Do not be so quick to accept a person as a believer just because they say they are one, or because they attend a church. Remember that decievers are divisive, they ingore the Bible and teach their own doctrines based on the tenor of the prevailing culture. The devil loves to send ungodly people into gatherings to cause strife and division.
This is why we see so much error and angst in the church today, many people who are not born again come in pretending to be saved while fighting against the truths of God's Word. These people are in every gathering. They recoil in contempt when they are corrected with the Word of God. They even malign and gossip about believers who speak the truth.
When you observe a pretender who is sewing discord among the brethren God commands us to avoid them.
Proverbs 16:28
"28 A perverse person spreads strife,
And a slanderer separates close friends."
These people will interpret things about others based on what they wish to believe about them and win over gossip minded people to their side against a brother or sister in Christ.
When we discover a person is one who spreads strife we must avoid them and all those who listen to them. Once someone listens with great interest in the lies of the gossiper, they will not be convinced by our explanations to clear things up. These people, the liar, and those who listen to them enjoy the lies and are not likely to listen to the truth.
A good explanation of the gossiper and the effects of what they do is below.
From an article entitled: "Holy Hatred: One Who Sows Discord Among Brothers"
"Third, gossip is a significant destroyer of harmony. Solomon speaks of a “dishonest man” spreading strife and a “whisperer” separating close friends (16:28). The “whisperer” goes about muttering unhelpful and destructive things to those whom he thinks will hear him. He will not honestly speak what is in his heart before all, but only to those whose ears he thinks he has. He will seek out those whom he thinks are likely to hear him without rebuking him, and will bare his divisive heart to them. And he will likely attract to himself those who are likewise whisperers seeking to separate close friends."
When the gossiper and his friends are removed from you life the peace returns.
What is gossip? Gossip is speaking the affairs of others to one who does not need to know, matters that you never saw yourself and might not be true.
Speaking to a close friend about a concern you have that you have personally encountered with another is not gossip. A gossiper seeks to ruin reputations merely because they are jealous or angry with someone. Most of what they say is speculation without proof and second-hand information they never saw or experienced but heard from others.
Never speak about something that has happened to you personally to one who cannot be trusted. Those who cannot be trusted will use information against you as well as pass it to others with great embellishment. The one who is not trustworthy will develop a following of those who are bent on making you look like the bad one.
There are times when we must warn someone about a pretender who is causing strife. When we do this we must stick to the facts of what we see and what the Holy Spirit tells us. Using the scriptures we are able to discern pretense that is fostered by the devil to cause discord in the body.
Sadly we live in a time when people will not openly and honestly call someone out for the evils they promote. This culture is more likely to silence the one who exposes the problem and allow the pretender to go unchallenged.
Secrecy and lies are the favored tactics of the devil amongst the brethren. Avoid those who keep secrets to protect someone who walks disobediently. Avoid those who walk disobediently, they are not interested in God's word or in loving the brethren. Their goal is to dominate, malign and discourage those who wish to walk with God closely.
Romans 16:17
"17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and [a]hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them."
Titus 3:9-11 "9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless. 10 Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.…"
We live in a world full of those who are being controlled by the devil, those who believe what the devil tells them and cannot wait to pass it to others. The devil likes nothing better than to attempt to ruin someone's witness, either by lying about them or by causing them to believe lies others tell.
May the Lord give us all discernment to be able to avoid those who divide families as well as the body of Christ.
Saturday, January 30, 2021
The Holy Spirit in Every Believer
The Holy Spirit in every believer is the One Who trains us.
John 16:13 "However when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak from Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come."
We study the Bible, but if all we do is read the Bible without the training of the Holy Spirit we can come up with the wrong doctrine.
Many people are doing this, they are reading but they do not think like born-again believers because they do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them, even though they would claim to be Christian.
Spiritual matters in man must be trained by the Holy Spirit. Many men go to seminary to be trained by men how to think. Some are not born again so they preach a false gospel mixed with psychology because they do not have the Holy Spirit to give them wisdom.
These people even know the word of God well, but they do not process the Bible the way they should because they are attempting to do it based on their own thinking and the thinking of the culture around them.
I have witnessed many "Pastors" who violate much of scripture because they have been trained by men rather than the Holy Spirit. They think no one but those coming out of the human institutions can understand the Bible.
I dealt with this while in the Catholic church. The priests considered me arrogant because I thought I could read the Bible and understand it. They attempted to intimidate me into thinking I needed to be instructed by them in order to be able to follow the churches teachings.
Sadly they were right, in that church system the people will not think for themselves. Those who do as I did, question what the priests were saying were considered rebellious against the church. I became born again because I didn't just believe the priests, I wanted to see for myself. When I began reading the Bible for myself I saw the way of salvation and it turned me against the Catholic church but put me in right standing with Christ through His salvation.
This was the reason the devil used the priests in attempting to discourage me from reading God's word for myself. Because of my desire to know God and the attitude of the priests I left the Catholic church.
The very reason the priests attempted to intimidate me into ignoring the bible so I would follow them.
Because of this I came out, trusted in Christ and reject any man telling me I must believe whatever they say.
Sadly we have many in the Protestant church who act the same way, the people follow men rather than Christ. They defend men no matter their flaws because they do not believe the Holy Spirit speaks to them. When someone has an idol, that idol can never be questioned, therefore those who follow them cannot grow and progress past infanthood.
This is also why when someone tells me they have a message from God for me I tell them they do not. If God wants me to know something He will tell me himself. If someone is sharing something they found in the word that blessed them, I can accept it will probably bless me too. However, there is only one mediator between God and me, that is Christ Jesus.
In many cases the priests and the seminary trained men in the protestant church want us to believe they are the authority over us instead of Christ. They love their prominent position.
John 12:42-44 "42 Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God. 44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One who sent Me."
Luke 11:42-44 "…42Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. 43Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”…"
Matthew 23:6
"They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,"
Matthew 23:7
the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of 'Rabbi' by which they are addressed.
Matthew 23:8-10 "…8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.…"
God does not want us to "title" men with titles of prominence. "Pastor" is a gift, not a title or special position, many men in one gathering should have this gift. And yet, our culture loves to elevate to prominence those who should be quietly serving and preaching.
When we are led by the Holy Spirit to work the gifts God has given us they are done without fanfare and without titles. Notice in the following passage we do not see any of the gifts used as titles in front of someone's name.
Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
Everyone has a job to do but no job is above another. Some jobs carry more weight in terms of accountability because a teacher has the ability to influence more people in a greater way.
James 3:1-2 "1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.…"
The teachers are accountable to the people hearing them. If they are in error the people hearing must correct them according to the Bible.
Romans 16:17
"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them."
2 Timothy 4:2
"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."
Hebrews 5:12-14
"12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the actual words of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil."
Breaking: Pastor Aaron Thompson says Ravi Zacharias is roasting in hell ...
I have known many people who loved their "intellectualism", boasting about this man as a man of great knowledge. The people I have known who followed Zacharias have been very prideful people vicariously living their life as a follower of him. They were deceived for many years, but only because they loved the sense that they were more high minded than others. This is why we should never follow any man.
One of the things many years ago that made me suspicious of him and those who follow him was his attempt to sound "intellectual." He loved his high mindedness. Another red flag was his boasting about his education, this is always suspect, a humble man never needs to boast about anything having to do with himself.
Friday, January 29, 2021
Suffering Loss
YES!!!! A born-again believer will never lose their salvation but they will suffer a loss of rewards if they do not obey God. And, continual disobedience may be a sign they were never born again to begin with.
1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…14If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Matthew 13:28-30 "…28‘ An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 ‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First, collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”…"
In these last days it is difficult to tell the difference between the wheat and the tares because the wheat have allowed too much of the world into their hearts. They have been decided by false preaching and devilish tactics.
Matthew 24:24 "For there shall arise false christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
Those who live a lifestyle of sin and have no conscience about it are likely not born again. Those who have been fooled by false teaching might be saved.
In the case of those who have no conscience over sin, they must repent becoming born again if they are to see Christ and heaven. For those who have been deceived, they must confess their sin and begin seeking Christ once again as they did in the beginning.
Revelation 2:4-6 "…4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5 Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."
When God removes the lampstand from a church or a person, He is not removing their salvation but it is a disgrace to them that He is removing their witness. They are useless for the Kingdom and have lost rewards in heaven.
This has been the case in the United States, God has removed our lampstand, we are in disgrace as a nation. Even though our nation has never been fully Christian there have been many Christians here who carried the word of God to the world.
In these last days, the last two generations have perverted the gospel of Christ replacing it with a social gospel placing Christ second to their human agendas of living a cushy happy life. They have turned worship services into laugh fests to entertain the patrons.
Also remember that God disciplines those He loves.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
It was God Who shut down the churches because their lamp was extinguished. Those who ran the apostate churches would silence and run off anyone who would bring the truth of correction from the Word of God.
We have a mess in our country that cannot be fixed except when individuals confess their sinfulness and desire to be cleansed by Christ. Only He can cleanse a wicked heart. All they have to do is confess and trust in Him.
John 14:5-7 "5 “Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”…"
Hebrews 12:7-9 "…7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?…"
Gaslighting is Increasing
As the world grows darker and more wicked we will see gaslighting increase, many people use it regularly.
It is emotional abuse and those who do it should be avoided. These people are beyond disrespectful without love and honor.
Some of the tactics of those who gaslight others are as follows:
Lying
Discrediting you through gossip
Blaming you and others for their own behavior
Trivialize your feelings, thoughts, actions, and successes
Accusing others of what the gaslighter is doing and the others are not.
Changing the recollections of conversations, very different from what was actually said.
When shown proof the gaslighter was wrong they continue to deny it anyway even with proof.
Gaslighters remain silent when confronted with their own behavior when they cannot come up with a good lie to refute it.
The purpose of the gaslighting is to cause the target to become insecure and insignificant. Why? Because the gaslighter is very insecure and must feel superior at all times. They do this only to those they are jealous of and they believe is beneath them, or more accurately they want their target to feel less than them.
These gaslighters attempt to make you look crazy through our reactions to their foolishness. The best thing to do is not to react, but even when you are calm they will accuse you anyway because they are liars.
I once had a very angry man accuse me of being angry when he was clearly the angry one. I calmly told him I disagreed with him. He sat in a chair, legs crossed, leg swinging, arms cross, and face turning red when out of his mouth came the words; "you seem angry."
When you encounter this more than once with the same person you can be sure this is a character flaw that is not going to go away. We cannot change their behavior by telling them or exposing them, because they deny everything they do.
However we can love them from afar and pray for God to work in them. However, we must also pray for ourselves to be strong enough not to react or retaliate toward those who act badly.
Telling the truth may be useful for others in the room who may observe what is going on, but often if you are alone you can choose not to respond when you are attacked verbally.
When we see these things happening, hopefully early on in the relationships, so that we can avoid contact with the gaslighter.
Kind loving people do not gaslight, they are truthful and honest as a lifestyle. Those who gaslight do it also as a lifestyle.
Romans 16:17-18 "17 Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive.…"
There are many ways for someone to be divisive, gaslighting is only one of them.
Listen to the Holy Spirit not to Men
So many restrictions are being placed on church gatherings and on speech these days, one has to wonder what is next.
I wonder if the authorities will bother with outlawing the Bible, after all, most churches are not actually following it anyway. OR, perhaps God will take it away because it is being misused constantly.
I am convinced God removed the ten commandments from the schools because they were being ignored, not bringing anyone to Christ. Perhaps all they were doing was making people feel self-righteous about how good they think they have become.
God has shut everything down to show us the futility of our foolish activities. Our parties, our ball games, our gambling, and bars which promote every form of immorality. Its all been shut down, yes and it was God Who did it using wicked people to close their own wicked ways, thinking it was for their health.
Even the schools that promote rebellion against parents while teaching children to enjoy sin have been closed.
God has done this using wicked people. Do not think for one minute it was merely a plan of a government, it was God using the rebellion of a government to destroy their own economy because of the widespread rebellion against Him.
When we tell God "we don't want you anymore", He simply He will withdraw and let us have our own way.
that will destroy us as a nation.
Many of the demonstrators who say they are conservative have no desire to obey God in their own lives, they only want to "appear" as though they are righteous but they defy more of God's Word than they obey.
Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8‘ These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ”…"
This country is so perverted in its thinking now it depends on psychology rather than the Bible, it elevates preachers to a special status above others in the church while paying them a salary to make sure they stay. WHY? Because the men of the church will not take turns teaching, preaching, and praying for wisdom to lead in plurality. It is laziness on the part of the men to want to sit in the pew, half-asleep while the hireling does all the work.
These ways are against God's ways, the system is seriously broken leading many people astray into false doctrine by men who see their position in the church as a job rather than a serious calling to guide the sheep while being accountable to God first and then to the rest of the gathering.
The preachers now see themselves as above others, rather than servants of them. They are arrogant, self-absorbed and pleasure-seeking in their comic delivery acts on that stage.
Flippantly using the Word as a prop to entertain the people while twisting what's in it to fit with the culture. This my friend is the state of the modern church, apostate and foolish.
1 Timothy 4:1
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,"
Galatians 1:8-9
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."
Beware that you walk with Christ and not with man, especially in these last days of apostasy and deception. Do not allow anyone to intimidate you to question your decision to follow the Holy Spirit instead of men. The days are evil and there will be very few men who are preaching and teaching led by the Holy Spirit.
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