Approaching God's Word

My approach to writing my book by considering what God expects.

As I started writing my book, I had some very strong convictions about the meaning of the scriptures which were almost all based upon what I had been taught throughout the years. But, as I began the work of writing my book, it was revealed to me, that some of the understanding that I had was not based upon God’s Word, but was instead based upon man’s interpretation of the scrip­tures, which, in fact, did not agree with those scriptures.

I can truthfully say, just as Paul said to the Galatians; I did not receive this understanding of God’s Word from man, neither was I taught it, except by the revelation that I received from the Holy Spirit.  I conferred with no man, nor used any man’s teaching to come to the understanding of the scriptures that I have received. I separated myself from man’s teaching to be certain that what I received was only from God.

The first man Adam, who received instructions directly from the mouth of God, chose not to believe God’s Word as being the truth, and by listening to the reasoning of another person, he made a choice that condemned the entire human race. Even from that day until now, God has labored to persuade man to believe Him, and time and time again, man has chosen to make his own decisions and seal his own destiny. Throughout the centuries, from the beginning of time until this day, great men who were called of God to lead His people and teach the people of the way of God, failed in the task set before them, because of the vanity of their own personal lives, which caused them to accept something other than the truth of God’s Word.

For example, Moses who after hearing the voice of God, performed many great works in Egypt and on the wilderness journey, then failed to believe God’s Word and struck the rock to provide water for the people instead of just speaking to it as God had commanded. Moses, a great prophet, was called and used by God for many years. But he failed to believe that God’s Word was enough to get the job done and because of deviating from it only one time, was prevented from completing the journey with his people.

Consider also the prophet Balaam, the son of Beor. After being established and confirmed as a prophet by God, he chose to disobey God’s Word and followed his own will because of the influ­ences of others. Not only did he suffer because of it, but also caused those who followed him to be led astray because of not obeying God’s Word, and many were destroyed because of it.

The important point I am attempting to make by these examples is that no man is infallible, be he a prophet, an apostle, a king, or a common man. Only those who stay with the Word of God should be believed, for only God’s Word, as He spoke it in the beginning, remains until this day, the truth.

There are some ministers that say, no matter what church you attend, even though there are some differences in doctrine, they all lead to an acceptance by God and all who follow those beliefs will end up at the same place—Heaven. Then there are those who teach, that only those who believe as they do, will go to Heaven. So, how can we be certain that we are on the right path, following the correct doctrine, adhering to the Word of God?

            We must not be deceived by those who try to convince us that we should be concerned with the major doctrines of God’s Word and not the minor points that are not agreed upon by all Churches. There are no majors or minors when it comes to God’s Word. Everything God says is just as important as everything else that He says. All of God’s Words carry the same weight and should be treated accordingly.

Since we cannot go back and personally hear what God had to say in the beginning, nor can we be personal witnesses to the words Jesus spoke when He was on earth; we must depend upon the written Word as it was given to select men whom God chose to pass it on to us. Down through the ages there were certain scribes assigned to make copies of the various books of the Bible. These men were very meticulous and precise with the copies they made, insuring that the integrity and correctness of the copies was identical to the original. And without a doubt, I am sure we can depend on the copies they produced to be God’s original Word.

Then the time came to transfer these original writings into other languages, so other Nations and people could read God’s Word for themselves. But for the most part, most of the men that produced these new translations had a very poor understanding of the original languages that the Bible was written in, consequently the translations contained many errors.

In the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, King James of England commissioned a large group of men to undertake making a new translation of the Bible into English for him. He assembled some of the most learned men of his time, who were experts in the original languages of the Bible and men who were very knowledgeable about the scriptures.

These men after working on the translation for several years produced an English version of the Bible that was the most accurate translation of the original writings as has ever been developed to this day.     

But unfortunately, because of the religious background of some of these men, some of their own theology was introduced into the new translation and consequently these men either changed the meaning of some of the passages, or presented the passages in such a way, that a different meaning other than that which was intended in the original writings could be assumed. These deviations from the meaning of the original scriptures have been instrumental in causing most of the divisions of the various churches. So, we see that even in the beginning, when man put his hand to do something good for future mankind, even as unintentional as it was, some of God’s Word was misrepresented. Fortunately for us, the integrity of most of the original scriptures was maintained. This was the first opportunity satan had to pollute God’s written Word as it made its way to us and he took advantage of it.

The Apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Spirit and anointing of God, said: “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” Also, John quoted Jesus as having said, about the Holy Spirit, “He shall teach you all things.” Those who are in the body of Christ today should rely upon the Holy Spirit to reveal to them the true meaning of the Word of God, especially those who have been placed in a position of teaching His Word. Unless the true understanding of the Word has been revealed to any person, and it is confirmed by the words of scripture, no man, whoever he may be, has the right to put his own interpretation on it and teach others as if it were the truth. For this is the means by which satan distorts the truth of God’s Word for us today and in doing so, biases us towards this false teaching and could prevent us from ever seeing the real truth.

Jesus made this very important statement, which is recorded in John 8:31-32; “If you continue in my word, ye shall know the truth.” To continue in His Word means to stay with His Word and not take any man’s interpretation of it, or make any assumptions from it, other than what it says. Jesus said we must do this in order to know the truth.

If we deviate from exactly what His Word says, because some man has convinced us of his own interpretation, or because we impatiently reached for, or accepted, some kind of an understanding without waiting for the Holy Spirit to teach us; then we have willingly left ourselves open to believing a lie, and have probably closed our eyes to ever seeing the truth.

This is just exactly what is causing a tremendous problem in our church community today. This is why there are so many different beliefs, doctrines, denominations, and religions in this world today. This is just exactly why there are so many unchurched and unsaved and disbelieving people in the world today. Unbelievers stand back and see all of the confusion in the churches, and bickering between the churches, and say to themselves, “Something is wrong,” and they do not want to take part in it. All of this exists because we are not obeying the commandment that Jesus gave to us: “CONTINUE IN MY WORD, AND YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH.” (John 8:31-32)

God has historically called certain men to do a certain work, but after being successfully vindicated in that work, man has many times made the mistake of thinking that God has given them all knowledge about all things. Then they proceed on their own to advance their ministry beyond where God intended for them to go.

Remember back when we discussed the prophets; Moses and Balaam? There were many more, but these are only being used for an example just to make the point. These two men were, without a doubt, called, anointed and vindicated prophets of God and were great men in their times. I would not attempt to take anything away from them; because great works of God were wrought by their hands and I am sure God has a special reward for them. But, in the end of their respective ministries, they got out of the will of God because of not staying with God’s Word.

The same thing has happened to many other great men of God down through the centuries. After performing great works for the ministry of Christ and having their respective ministries proven and vindicated as being God’s will, satan deceived or misled them in a subtle way, to proceed on where God did not intend for them to go.

Each person has the responsibility for keeping God’s Word. You will not be able to blame someone else in the Day of Judgment for deviating from His Word. Your fate is in your own hands. Remember, Adam tried to blame Eve, and Eve tried to blame the serpent, but they all paid a price for what they did.

While keeping all of these things in mind, I set out to write and have published my book, “The Revelation of the Truth of God’s Word”. I started to title it to be “The Revelation of the Truth of the Bible”, which would have been more accurate, but I didn’t.

This book and many other articles that I have written has been reviewed by thousands of Ministers, Preachers and Evangelists throughout the World. Many have called me a false teacher, the antichrist, a false prophet by members of every denomination that exists, including those who follow William Branham’s ministry, because my teaching doesn’t agree with their’s.

But I can truthfully say that I have not compromised with the truth that has been revealed to me by the Holy Spirit. I knew while I was writing these things that what I have written would never be accepted on its own merits. Just proving to the people that my writings agreed with the original written scriptures before they were translated into English wouldn’t be enough to convince them.

 Too many so called men of God have developed such large egos that would prevent them from accepting anything other than what they have been taught. Then there are those who followed William Branham, who continue to hang on to the signs that God vindicated his healing ministry with, not able to realize that those signs were not intended to vindicate the teaching ministry that he ventured into.

So, I am resolved to stand alone with what God has given me and just leave it in His hands to profit from in the future. I am nothing but His messenger who is grateful to be used by Him in this small way.

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A Message to all Preachers

1 Cor 3:10-15

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Paul is not just talking about any man here, he is talking about a Preacher or Bible Teacher. Paul is giving a caution here for any Bible Preacher or Teacher to be very careful about what they teach, that it follows the revelation he received from God.

12 Now if any man builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

Paul says that there are two types of building that can be built upon the foundation he has laid. One type can survive a test of fire and another type that will be consumed by fire. The gold, silver and precious stones can survive a test by fire and remain standing, but that which is made of wood or hay or stubble will be consumed by the fire.

The gold, silver and precious stones represent the truth of God’s Word, but the wood, hay and stubble represent false teaching about God’s Word, which is not according to scripture. The fire which tests what is built upon Paul’s foundation is God himself, for our God is a consuming fire as the scripture states. (re: Deut 4:24)

13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

Paul says that every preacher’s work shall be made manifest or made known as to what they have taught the people. He says that the day shall declare it. What day? The day of Judgment of course. The fire that will try or prove ever preachers work is the consuming fire of God.

14 If any man's work abides which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

Paul states that if a preacher’s work abides or survives the test by fire, he will receive a reward from God.

15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by  fire.

Now here is where a poor translation into English makes this verse say just the opposite of what it really means. It says that if a Preacher’s work does not survive the test by fire, he shall suffer a loss. Now here is where the problem exists as nit continues to say “but he himself shall be saved”. First it states that “he will suffer a loss”, then it says he will be saved.

If a preachers work does not survive the test then why would he? It did say that he would suffer a loss didn’t it? That is exactly right. If his work failed the test then he failed also. You see, the words saying “but he himself will be saved” are translated incorrectly. It should have been translated as “the other people will be saved”.

God will hold a preacher accountable for what he teaches his people and if his teaching is in error, he will be punished for it, but those people that he has taught in error will be saved.

Now here is the way the whole passage should have been translated:

12 Now if any preacher builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13  Every preacher’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every preacher’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any preacher’s work abides which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any preacher’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but the other people shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Do you understand now?

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The Restoration of the Faith

In the beginning of the church in the first century when the Apostles set out to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, they were all in the unity of the faith. This means that all were bound in the same beliefs and there was one set of church doctrines that were adhered to.

Because Jesus had the foreknowledge to know that as time passed, men would begin to stray away from this one set of beliefs and develop man made doctrines in the churches, there would have to be a way for the churches to be restored to the original faith of the Apostolic Fathers.

It is recorded in Matthew 17:11 that Jesus made the statement: “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.” Then Jesus continued to state that Elias had already come but the people didn’t recognize him, so they put him to death. Now it’s obvious that Elijah and John were two different men, so Jesus had to have meant that John came in the spirit of Elijah and not bodily. The people then realized that He was speaking of John the Baptist. But the first part of what Jesus said about Elias restoring all things had nothing to do with what John the Baptist did. So Jesus was talking about Elias coming sometime in the future.

In the book of Malachi, chapter 4 verses 5 and 6, Malachi prophesied that God said: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,

It is important to note here that the coming of this Elijah was to accomplish two things. First it was to “turn the heart of the Fathers to the children” and to “turn the heart of the children to their Fathers”.

As we read about the beginning of John the Baptist, the Angel told John’s Father that John would  go before him (the Lord)  in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. This John did, but to perform the second part of the prophecy of “turning the hearts of the children to their Fathers”, was not accomplished by John the Baptist.

I want to explain something here that might not be real clear because of the word that was translated into “hearts”. To turn the hearts of the children to their Fathers means to turn the understanding of the children to their Fathers. In other words, to turn the understanding that the children have back to the understanding that the Apostolic Fathers had. The children here means all who were born after the time of the Lord’s Apostles. We are the children and spiritually speaking, the Apostles are our Fathers. This Elias who is to come, is to restore the beliefs of the Apostolic Fathers to we who are living now, because we have lost track of what they believed back in the first century.

This statement that Jesus made that “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things” is a very small statement that has an enormous meaning and should not be taken as insignificant. In this time of the church there are great differences in our beliefs that have produced enormous divisions between the people. We have hundreds of different churches throughout the World with such differences in their beliefs that keep us from being unified in the Faith of our Apostolic Fathers. It is very important for all of us to realize that the only truth of the meanings of scripture is based upon what was taught by the early church in the first century.

Throughout the years since the first century, bible translations by many different people has led to a distortion of what God intended for us to know and apply in our study of the scriptures. These errors introduced by man have been responsible for misinterpretations of scripture that have developed into man made doctrines in our churches which must be exposed in order for everyone to recognize the truth that should be taught in our churches.

The message of the hour in these days before the Lord returns to gather His bride together and carry them away, is to return to the faith (beliefs) of our Apostolic Fathers and make ready a virgin bride worthy to be joined with the bridegroom when He returns.

Jesus was recorded in Luke 18:8 to have asked a question. The question asked was: “when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” When Jesus returns will He find any who are devoted to believe in the truth of God’s Word.

Will you believe and will you be ready?

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Catholic Church Teachings

I would like to question some of the teachings of the Catholic Church to see if the Bible scripture has any basis for what is taught. The only problem that I can foresee is that the Catholic Church believes that no matter what is written in the Bible, the Church has the authority to interpret it as they wish. This position they take is based upon the authority that Jesus gave to the Apostle Peter. Jesus told Peter that whatever he bound on Earth had the approval of Heaven. Then comes the Catholic Church and says that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome and the first Pope and whatever authority that Peter was given is passed along to the Popes that followed him.


Now how can you possibly fight that without disproving their claim that Peter was the first Pope? There exists absolutely no hard evidence at all that anyone can prove or disprove that Peter was the first Pope. So, if the Catholic Church chooses to use that as a basis for their right and authority to develop their interpretations of scripture and set forth the Churches teaching from it, who in the World can oppose that premise without any proof.


There is though one thing that must be considered concerning the Apostle Peter’s Ministry. Jesus gave Peter the authority to open the access of the Gospel to the Gentile Nations, but it was not he that was commissioned to preach the gospel to the Gentile Nations, it was the Apostle Paul. When we look at the scripture of Galatians 2:7-8 we see that the Lord commissioned Peter to be an apostle to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles.

Gal 2:7-8  But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me (Paul), as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;  (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me (Paul) toward the Gentiles:)

Considering this fact spelled out in scripture, it becomes more obvious that Paul was over the Gentile Church in Rome since the Bible tells us that Paul did journey to Rome, but there is no real evidence that Peter ever journeyed to Rome.

Those of us who accept the Bible as the guidelines for our lives and our salvation as being what God revealed to mankind has the choice to interpret the scriptures as we see fit or to accept the scriptures as being the only truth that exists. Somewhere there is only one truth and every man has to decide for himself what he is going to accept as that truth. If a man is persuaded to be a Catholic in his belief, he must accept what the Catholic Church teaches. If anyone does this then they must realize that their soul has been put in the hands of the Catholic Church. Every person has the choice to make to insure that salvation is in their future. If you want the Church to be responsible, then by all means accept all that they teach. If you have any doubt in what you are being taught by the Church, then by all means search for the absolute truth elsewhere.

Take for instance the doctrine of the Trinity. The Catholic Church as well as some other Churches teach that the Godhead consists of three persons. They teach that the Father is one person, the Son is one person and the Holy Spirit is one person. God is in three persons and these three persons make up one God.


The only problem that I have is recognizing the difference between the Father and the Holy Spirit. When I look at the conception of Jesus, I see that the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin Mary and caused the conception of Jesus. Then the Angel said that the child she was to conceive would be the Son of God. Why wasn’t the child called the Son of the Holy Spirit instead of the Son of God since it was the Holy Spirit that caused Mary to conceive? The answer is quite obvious. The Holy Spirit and God the Father are one in the same person. If this is correct then there is no Trinity associated with the Godhead.


To look at this dilemma from another perspective, let us examine a couple of other scriptures that might shed some light on this. Matthew 3:16 says that when Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit came upon Him from Heaven and according to John the Baptist Jesus received the Spirit without measure. In other words, Jesus was completely filled with the Holy Spirit. In another place in the scripture Jesus made the statement that the miracles that occurred in His ministry were not done by Him, but were done by the Father who was in Him. In Jesus’ words recorded in John 14:10 Jesus said: “it is the Father in me that does the works”. So if the Holy Spirit is in Jesus and the Father is also, Then, both the Father and the Holy Spirit are one and the same person, not two persons. So what happened to the Trinity? There is no trinity!


Now I just want to make a comment about what is said in a certain chant or reading that is done in the Catholic Church. The one saying: “Holy Mary mother of God”. The Bible tells us that God is a Spirit. Spirits do not have mothers. This is probably a result of the Trinity belief again saying that God is in the Son and so, Mary must be the mother of God. Jesus made it clear throughout the New Testament that He was the Son of God and not God. Throughout the Bible God makes it clear that there is only one God and His name is Jehovah. Jehovah shares that position with no other person, not even His Son. So even though Mary gave birth to the Son of God, she is not the Mother of God.


The Catholic Church is not by itself by teaching these non biblical beliefs; many other Churches do the same thing. This is what happens when the Church leaders make their own interpretations of Biblical scriptures instead of staying with what the scriptures actually say. Every Church that I know teaches something that is contrary to Bible scripture. For the most part it is one or two doctrines that do not agree with the original scriptures. But, as with the Catholic Church there are many teachings that do not fully agree with scripture. Some of these teachings are; the intercessory prayer to certain saints, confession to priests who have no authority from Heaven to forgive sins, the existence of Purgatory not mentioned anywhere in scripture and penance.


My friends who are in the Catholic Church, it’s your choice whether to believe the teachings of the Church or to believe what the Bible says. If you look close enough, you’ll see that they are not the same. As for me, I’ll put my trust in what the Bible says without accepting any man’s interpretation.


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What Price Service?

                                        What is the Price

                                            For Service

Jesus made a statement that is recorded in the fourteenth chapter of John that all believers need to understand. Not just understand what it means, for the statement is very straight forward and easy to understand, but the believer needs to understand what to expect of it in their Christian walk. First let's look and see what Jesus said:

John 14:12-14 (KJV) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."

This verse is understood to mean that whoever believes on Jesus, will do the same works that Jesus did, even greater works. Then goes on to say that whatever we ask for in prayer, in Jesus' name, we will receive.

Now just exactly what were the works that Jesus did? For in order to know what we should expect to do, we must have an understanding of what He did. In the eleventh chapter of Matthew, it says that John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus, in order to determine if He was the expected Messiah or not. And what Jesus told these disciples to do, was to go and tell John about the works they saw Jesus doing, for as He said in John 5:36, "the works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me". So Jesus said to these disciples of John, go tell him what you have seen and heard:

1. The blind receive their sight

2. The lame walk

3. The lepers are cleansed

4. The deaf hear

5. The dead are raised up

6. The poor have the Gospel preached to them

Mat 11:4-5 (KJV)  Jesus answered and said unto them, "Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them".

These are the works that Jesus did, and the works that He was speaking of in John 14:12-14, when He said that "He that believes on me will do these same works".

 

Now I'm going to ask you something. Are you a Christian, have you repented and believe on Jesus Christ, have you been baptized in His name? I'm going to believe that your answer to all of this is "yes". Then let me ask you one more question. Are these works being performed in your Christian walk? I believe the answer to that question will be "no". You have to be asking yourself, or even God, if I am a believer, and I know that I am, then why am I not doing these same works that Jesus did?

I'm going to show you exactly why these works are not being manifested in your life, and you will begin to see how Satan has used this statement of Jesus, for hundreds of years, to deceive believers throughout the World and cause them to doubt their very faith, and in turn their position with God.

            First of all, we need to be sure that we understand what John 14:12-14 is saying, in context with the rest of this fourteenth chapter. This statement that Jesus made was following His last meal before they crucified Him, and was made to His disciples who were at the table with Him. In fact, when this statement was made there were only eleven of them present, as Judas had already left the room.

Jesus was telling His eleven disciples, who were to be His Apostles, that if they believed in Him, they would in turn do those very same works that He did. Jesus did not say anything about all believers doing these things, and if you think that He did, then why are not all believers doing these works today?

Again in Matthew chapter seventeen, Jesus said "if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, nothing shall be impossible for you if you say to a mountain, move to another place, it will happen". Again He was speaking to His disciples, and not saying that all believers would have this kind of power.

Mat 17:19-20 (KJV) Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you".

Jesus said that His disciples would be able to do these things because He knew they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit after He departed, and would receive the supernatural power from Heaven to do these things. Remember that Jesus said to His disciples, in Acts 1:8, "you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you".

So in summary, what Jesus was saying, that when you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will do the same works that I did. You see, Jesus said Himself that it was not He that did the works, but the Father that dwelt in Him. The Spirit of God who was in Jesus did the works, just as that same Spirit who would be in the Apostles, after they had received the baptism, would also do the works.

So now do you want to tell me that the World is full of believers who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but these works are not manifested in their lives? Then is what Jesus said a lie, when He said that you would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you?

I think not! If these works are not being manifested in the lives of those who say they have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they then have been deceived into believing they have received something that they have not received. If you have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, supernatural signs will be evident in your life, but if you have not received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, these signs and this power will not be evident.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to those who are ordained by God to be Ministers of His Word in the offices of a Pastor, a Teacher, a Prophet, an Apostle or an Evangelist. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for everyone and teaching everyone that they have received it is in error.

Now I don't want to give you the impression that only the Apostles were to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the power that came with it, for I don't believe that and the Bible doesn't say that. There is a difference between receiving the Holy Spirit when you are converted, and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, about three thousand persons were added to the Church, believing and being baptized, but they did not receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Neither were there one hundred and twenty persons in the upper room that received the baptism, only the twelve Apostles were there, and I have a doubt whether Matthias, who was not ordained by Jesus as the others were, received the baptism. As Jesus said in John 15:16: "I have chosen you, and ordained you". Acts 2:43 says that many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles, not by every believer that was converted.

Let’s remember just what Jesus said about those who became believers. Look at

Mark 16:16-18:

Mark 16:16-18 (KJV) "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Jesus said that those who believer the Gospel would be saved, and they would:

1. Cast out devils

2. Speak with new tongues

3. Take up serpents

4. Not be hurt by drinking deadly things

5. Lay hands on the sick, and they would be healed.

He didn't say anywhere that all believers would perform supernatural miracles, such as healing the blind, the lame, the deaf and raising the dead. These kinds of miracles are reserved for those who are specifically chosen to do a certain work, as confirmation of them being sent by God.  But it is possible for any one of you to be selected by God to be ordained for this kind of special service, if you are willing to pay the price to prepare yourself for the Master's use. What is the price of service? You will find out as we read on.

There have been a few men down through the years, since the time of the Apostles that have dedicated themselves to the work and the will of God, and have been anointed of God to perform a great work for Him. These men and their ministries have been confirmed by God with signs and wonders that followed their work. But here in these last days, as the time grows short before the Lord returns, God is looking for even more dedicated persons that He can use.

But before God can use a person in the Ministry and Baptize them with the Holy Spirit, they must be willing to forsake everything on this Earth, and in their life, and dedicate themselves to doing the will of God. It takes a person who is willing to dedicate one hundred percent of their lives, leaving all else aside, for service to God. Man must learn to get himself out of the way, so God can use him to accomplish His work. Jesus said many times: (Luke 9:23) "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me". And He said also: (Luke 14:27) "And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple". Paul the Apostle said: (2 Cor 4:10) That the life of Jesus should be made manifest in our own bodies.

This is the price of service, to forsake our own will and turn ourselves over to Him, being a vessel fit for the Master's use.

Now that we have seen what the price of service is, since I don’t want to just let everyone else hang out there wondering where they stand with God, Let me explain a little more about God’s working in our lives.

Our Ministers have not  been teaching us a lie about being Baptized with the Holy Spirit, but they are in error because they don’t know what they should know about the workings of God. If everyone in the World that has been taught they have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit really have received it, there would be such a move of God in the World with signs and wonders that would turn the World upside down. Even the Apostles of the Lord taught in error that the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit was the speaking in tongues, which occurred even after Peter on the day of Pentecost gave the people the instructions of how to be converted.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the people: “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. Let’s just examine this statement a little bit. First of all Peter said to repent. Repent of what? Some teach that we must repent of all our sins, which is not what this means. When Jesus spoke of repenting, He said to “repent and believe the Gospel”. This word repent in this context means to turn from your unbelief to believing the Gospel. That’s what Peter also meant was to repent from your unbelief. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we must repent of all our sins. That is a doctrine developed by man and has no biblical basis. Jesus shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of all of our sins, past, present and future sins and because of this those sins are not recognized by God.

Then Peter said to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. What! Didn’t Jesus say to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? That’s true, but let’s just go a step further to what else Jesus said. Jesus told Peter that he has the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and whatever Peter bound on Earth, would be bound in Heaven. So this gave Peter the authority to set forth the baptism formula to be done in the name of Jesus Christ.

Now if you have repented, turned from unbelief to believing the gospel and have been baptized in Jesus name, you have received the Holy Spirit. How do you know? The answer is that according to what Peter said with the authority given to him by Jesus, you have received it. There are no outward signs like speaking in tongues or anything else, you have received it and should just accept in faith of what Peter said.

Some people say that a certain person can’t possibly have the Holy Spirit because he does things and says things that a person with the Holy Spirit wouldn’t say or do. You see, that’s exactly what people look at, but God doesn’t. Once you have received the Holy Spirit you are destined to inherit eternal life and nothing can prevent that unless you revert back to not believing the gospel of Christ.
 

First John 3:9 says: “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

When you receive the Holy Spirit, you receive God into your vessel, your body. You are born of God and cannot sin. If you do anything that man calls sin, God does not recognize it as sin because of what Jesus has done for us. The sin that John is speaking of in this verse is the sin of unbelief, which a person cannot do if they have been born of God and received His Spirit.

So, just to summarize here what we have covered, there is a difference between having received the Holy Spirit when you are converted and receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit when God has ordained you into service for Him.

What price service? What is the price you must pay for serving God when He calls you into the Ministry? The price is to give your all, forsaking everything in this World and keep your eyes on Heaven which is your true home. Remembering the old song, “this World is not my home, I’m just passing through”.

I’ll see you on the other side.

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The Wilderness Journey

                 THE EXODUS OF ISRAEL FROM EGYPT

                             THE WILDERNESS JOURNEY

The following narrative is a recapitulation of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, under the leadership of Moses. This has been taken out of the Authorized King James version of the Bible, and covers the events from Genesis chapter 46 to the start of the book of Joshua.

After 215 years of living in Egypt, God using his servant Moses led the people of Israel out of their bondage, just as God had promised Abraham, and would give unto them a land flowing with milk and honey.

When Jacob first came into Egypt because of the famine in the land, there were only 70 of them and after the 215 years, the 70 grew into a great nation of more than 600,000 men not counting the women and children. This exodus from Egypt happened about 1491 BC.

After traveling for almost two months, the people started to murmur against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry and had nothing to eat. When they first left Egypt, they brought with them many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle but now after only a little more than one month they had nothing to eat and said it would have been better for them to have stayed in Egypt, at least there they did eat well and would not have starved like they were doing in the wilderness.

Then the Lord told the people that He would rain bread from heaven for them to eat. Every day they were to prepare only that bread they needed for the day for it would not keep overnight but on the sixth day they were to prepare enough bread for two days for the seventh day being the Sabbath, no new bread would be provided. But the people did not obey God and some of them tried to keep bread over for the second day and some of them searched for new bread on the seventh day and this displeased the Lord.

After journeying on for a distance, the people started complaining because they had no water to drink. They said to Moses, Agive us some water, for we thirst, is this why you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children.

And Moses cried to the Lord and said, “What shall I do”? The people are about to stone me. God told Moses to go to the rock in Horeb and smite the rock and water shall come from it. Then Moses did as the Lord commanded and water was provided for the people. They called the name of the place where the rock was, Meribah.

Amalek and his armies then came against Israel to fight with them; this was the first battle the people were to fight. Moses told Joshua to lead the people to battle while he stood on top of a hill with the rod of God in his hand. As long as Moses held the rod up Israel prevailed but when Moses let the rod fall, Amalek prevailed, so Aaron and Hur held the hand of Moses up which held the rod and the people prevailed in the battle.

In the third month after leaving Egypt, Jethro, a priest of Midian, who was the father-in-law to Moses, along with the wife of Moses, Zipporah and her two sons, then came to where the people were at the mountain of Sinai.

Jethro convinced Moses that it was too much for him alone to daily judge the people for all their problems and he should appoint leaders over the people to help with the minor problems, and this Moses did.

Moses then went up into the mountain to talk with God and God said that he would speak to Moses so the people could hear him from the mountain and they would have no doubt that Moses was sent by God to be their leader. So God did speak to Moses and Aaron on the mountain and the people heard.

After God had spoken to Moses and given him the ten commandments, and certain judgments and laws for the people, the people told Moses that they were afraid to hear the voice of God and wanted Moses only to hear God, then come and tell them what God said. Moses then told the people all that God had commanded and the people all said they would obey God's words.

Then the Lord called for Moses to come up into the mountain and said he would give him tables of stone with his commandments written on them. So Moses did as the Lord commanded and went up and was in the mount for seven days before the Lord spoke to him.

After Moses had been in the mountain for 40 days and God had given him many laws and commandments and two tablets of stone which were written on with the finger of God, God told Moses to get down to the people for they had corrupted themselves and started worshiping an idol. For Aaron had given in to the desires of the people and had made them a molten calf out of gold for the people to worship.

And God said to Moses that he would completely destroy the people for their transgressions and make a new nation of the seed of Moses. But Moses pleaded for the people and God repented of the evil he thought to do to the people.

And when Moses returned from the mountain, he saw the golden calf and the people dancing and he was so very angry with the people that he threw the tablets of stones down and broke them. Then Moses took the golden calf and melted it in the fire and had about three thousand of the people executed for the sins they did before God.

The next day Moses returned unto the mount to plead with God to forgive the people for their sins. And Moses said to God, if you won't forgive them, then blot my name out of your book which you have written. But God told Moses that the only names that would be blotted out would be those that have sinned against him.

Then the next day Moses returned to the mountain of God with two new tablets of stone that he had made and God again wrote his commandments on them. Again Moses was in the mount for another 40 days and 40 nights and when he returned to the camp his face shined because he had talked to God face to face. Then Moses repeated all the laws and commandments again to the people that God had given him.

The people of Israel spent the next year building the tabernacle, the altar, the arc of the testimony and making the clothes for the priests to wear when they performed their duty as God had commanded them.

In the second month of the second year after they had left Egypt, the Lord told Moses to count the number of men there were in the camp from 20 years old and upward, able to go to war, except for the tribe of Levi. And Moses did as the Lord commanded and counted 603550 men.

After a period of time the people started complaining to Moses because they were tired of eating nothing but manna, the bread that God sent them from heaven. They said while they were in Egypt they ate fish, cucumbers, melons, onions and garlic in abundance but now they eat nothing but bread and they were tired of it and wanted some meat for a change. This displeased Moses and made the Lord very angry.

Moses said to the Lord, "what am I to do, the people want meat to eat and I have none to give them. And the Lord said to Moses that he would give the people meat to eat for a whole month until it comes out of their nostrils and becomes loathsome to them. Moses said to the Lord, where will you get that much meat? Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them or will you take all the fish out of the sea?

And the Lord said to Moses, is there anything I can't do? Then the Lord caused quails from the sea to come in and fall near the camp, for several miles on each side of the camp and they were three to four feet deep and the people gathered quails for two days. And because the people displeased the Lord, he caused a great plague to come on them and many died.

Some time after this, Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron her brother, spoke against Moses because he had taken an Ethiopian woman for his wife. And the Lord was angry toward them for speaking against Moses for he was a prophet and the Lord chastised them for doing that.

The people then traveled to the wilderness of Paran and set up their camp there. Then the Lord told Moses to send out twelve men, one man from each tribe to spy on the land of Canaan and see what they could find. To find out something about the people in the land, how they lived and if the land was fruitful or not.

This was the land they were to take possession of according to the promise that God gave to Abraham. And the men returned after forty days and ten of them said that the people were very strong and the walls of the cities were very great and there were giants in the country.

But two of the men, Caleb of the tribe of Judah and Joshua the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim, rebuked the other men and said to Moses, let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome them. But the other ten men said these people are stronger than us, and we cannot defeat them.

After hearing this report, the people cried all night and again murmured against Moses and Aaron and said it would have been better to have died in the land of Egypt rather than in this wilderness. They wanted to make themselves another leader and return to Egypt.

Joshua and Caleb tried to convince the people that with the Lord's help they could conquer the land and possess it, for it truly was a land flowing with milk and honey. But the people wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb for what they were saying.

And the Lord was very angry with the people for this and said to Moses, How long will these people provoke me? How long will it be before they believe me after all the signs which I have showed them? The Lord said to Moses that he would smite the people and make a greater people out of Moses' seed. But Moses pleaded with the Lord and said the people of the lands would say that the Lord was not able to bring his people into the land and make fun of him.

So the Lord repented once again for the sake of Moses but said because the people have tempted him ten times thus far and have not obeyed his voice, they will not see the land which he promised for his people. And the Lord said that he would cause the people to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, one year for every day they spied out the land, until every person that left Egypt from 20 years old and upward, except Caleb and Joshua, died in the wilderness.

On one occasion while the people were in the wilderness, a man was found to be gathering sticks on the Sabbath day and they brought him to Moses to be judged. The Lord said he was to be stoned to death for doing that on the Sabbath day.

On another occasion, Korah a son of Levi, caused a rebellion against Moses and Aaron because they said that God was not only with them but with the whole congregation. Because of this, the Lord was going to consume the whole people but again Moses pleaded with him not to punish all the people because a few had sinned. So again the Lord repented and punished only those that rebelled by causing an earthquake and the ground opened up and covered Korah and his followers.

Then the children of Israel came into the desert of Zin and while they were there near Kadesh, Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, died and was buried.

And once again there was no water for the people and they went to Moses and Aaron complaining about it and saying it would have been better for them to have stayed in Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron prayed to God for his help.

The Lord told Moses to take his rod, gather the people together and speak to the rock that it might give forth water once again for the people. And Moses said to the people, "Must we fetch you water out of this rock?".

And Moses took the rod and hit the rock twice and the water came out. And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, "Because you didn't believe me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the people, you shall not take this people into the land I have given them.

Since the people were afraid to enter the land of Canaan, Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom asking permission for them to travel through their land and the king refused them and threatened to go to war if they entered his land.

As the people traveled on bypassing Edom, they arrived at Mount Hor, near the coast of the sea by Edom. The Lord here said to Moses and Aaron that Aaron could not enter the promised land because he rebelled against the Lord at the waters of Meribah. So Aaron turned over his office of a priest to his son Eleazar and died in Mount Hor being one hundred twenty-three years old.

At that time, Arad, the king of the Canaanites, heard that the people of Israel were on his land, knowing that they had sent spies into his land, he went to war against them but the Israelites defeated his army.

As the people traveled on they began to complain against Moses once again because of the amount of rough traveling they had endured. They complained about not having any bread or water and said they were tired of the manna that God was providing. And this angered the Lord so he sent fiery serpents against them which caused many of the people to be bitten and die.

Then the people repented for what they had done and asked Moses to pray the Lord to take away the serpents. The Lord told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole and if the people were bitten they could look at the serpent and live. Moses did as the Lord commanded and the brazen serpent saved the people.

Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, asking if they could pass through their land. But Sihon was very wrought with them and went out to war against them. The Amorites were defeated by Israel and the people took over all the cities of the Amorites. Then the people turned against the country of Bashan and the Lord delivered that country into their hands also.

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of the Moabites, sent a message to Balaam the son of Beor and said he was joining the people of Midian to go against the Israelites and defeat them. But God spoke to Balaam and told him not to go to war with the Israelites for they were people blessed of God. But Balak persisted to get Balaam to assist him by cursing the Israelites and Balaam sought the Lord the second time about it. This time the Lord told him to go ahead with the Moabites.

So Balaam saddled his Donkey and went with the Moabites and God's anger was kindled against him because he went. As he was riding an angel of the Lord stood in his way, which he saw not but his Donkey saw the angel with a sword in his hand and the Donkey turned aside out of the way. But Balaam struck the Donkey to turn her back to the direction he wanted to go. The same thing happened two more times and Balaam continued to whip the Donkey.

When Balaam struck the Donkey the third time, the Lord caused the Donkey to speak to Balaam and ask him why he was hitting her, then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and he saw the angel standing in his way. Then Balaam fell down and asked forgiveness. The angel told Balaam if it not had been for the Donkey turning aside, he would be dead now.

Balaam continued on with the Moabites and Balak persisted several times to get Balaam to curse the Israelites but Balaam continued to tell him that he could not curse what the Lord had blessed. So Balak gave up and decided not to go to war against the people of Israel.

Then the people of Israel began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab and began to worship their idols. Then the Lord commanded Moses to execute all those who were guilty and that day twenty four thousand of them died.

Then the Lord told Moses to count the number of the people again, those from twenty years old and above and the number came to 601730 men, none of which were numbered the first time in the wilderness of Sinai, for all of those except Caleb and Joshua died in the wilderness.

Then the Lord took Moses up into Mount Abarim and let him see the land he was giving to the people but he told Moses because he rebelled against him at the waters of Meribah, he could not enter the land.

Then Moses asked the Lord to choose a man to take his place, leading the people into the promise land and the Lord chose Joshua the son of Nun. Then Moses took Joshua and laid his hands on him before the people and the priest and gave him charge over them.

Then after Moses rehearsed some of the laws and offerings before the people, the Lord told him to avenge the children of Israel against the Midianites for the sins they caused the people to commit. Then Moses sent out twelve thousand men and defeated the Midianites and took all their possessions.

Then by the river Jordan near Jericho, in the plains of Moab, Moses rehearsed all the divisions of the lands for inheritances for the people when they would enter the land.

The Israelites have wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, their clothes and shoes lasted the whole time, and they did not eat bread or drink any wine or strong drink.

Then the Lord commanded Moses to go up on mount Nebo in the land of Moab and die there. And Moses, being one hundred and twenty years old did as the Lord commanded.

Then Joshua, the son of Nun, being about 78 years old, proceeded to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land, about the year 1451BC.

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