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  • The Azusa Street Outpouring

    https://youtu.be/p1in1bzV3ug?si=R5o_08mJ20azQo_C
     
    Pastor John,
     
    I just finished watching this video. It begins with a 1970s interview with eye–witnesses who were there at the outpouring of the Spirit on folks at Azusa street. Their account of God’s power then, and their understanding of how “doctrine” and the prideful men who clung to it divided what God had done for them there.
    The old man at the beginning refers to how it was back then, and how it is now.The freedom in the Spirit he describes is the standard you hold now.I heard part of the preacher Clark story in here (https://www.pioneertract.com/ )    , and doctrines you have described that I’ve not heard from God’s people first-hand. It made me, among other things, realize how important it is to let the Spirit live in you, speak through you, in front of this sinful world. It convicts people!I’m going to watch it again with sister Willie and Beth.  They’ll enjoy it.
    Jerry
     
    ==========
    Thank you for sharing this, Jerry.  I watched it all.  I had seen parts of it before.  My hope is that God will do the same again for His people, and that the people who receive it will grow in His knowledge and keep the fire of the holy Ghost burning their whole lives.
    Pastor John
     
    Tell us what you think:

     

  • Arius

    Would Arius of Alexandria be someone who accurately represents your views on divinity accurately?

    MP

    ==========

    Hi MP,

    It is impossible to say with certainty what Arius taught because Christian rulers destroyed everything he wrote.  The few statements that Christians attributed to him seem to have been consistent with what the Scriptures teach.

    Pastor John

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/tommyjoe1109/status/1797641777618588138

  • “The Moral Revolution Of The Roman Empire”

    Pastor John,

    https://youtu.be/nMoyUlHDKso?si=pA9doD42YFlyQa_A

    If Christianity is wrong, how could it do this?

    Manny

    ===========

    Hi Manny.

    I am not sure what you mean by “Christianity is wrong”.  That is not the way I talk.  I do say that whatever Christianity may be right about, it is not the body of Christ.  Christianity can save no one.  And that is the whole point.

    The video begins by declaring the myth that Christianity emerged in the first century AD.  It did not.  The gospel of Christ is what emerged in the first century, and its influence is what changed people’s perspective on life, or at least, many of them.  Much of what men of God like Paul and the other apostles taught about morals was just an affirmation of the moral standard contained in Moses’ law.  The positive influence of the gospel in moral matters continued to spread even after believers turned away from Paul’s gospel, primarily because what those backslidden saints turned to was Moses’ law, which condemned such immorality as was common among the Greeks and the Romans.  So, even the apostate believers of the second and third centuries who called themselves Christians held forth that good standard.

    It was an interesting point made in the video, that slaves and women were attracted to the gospel because of its moral standard, but the truth is more likely that it was the power of God that attracted them most.

    Thank you for asking.  It was a good question.  God bless you as you continue to seek for what is truly of Him.

    jdc

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/tommyjoe1109/status/1795457318538146223

     

  • Paradise and the Grave

    Hi Pastor John,

    I have a question about the verses concerning Jesus appearing in the clouds in Thessalonians. 

    1Thess. 4:16–17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.   Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them among the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so, we shall ever be with the Lord.”

    When Jesus ascended, I understand that he took Paradise (and the righteous who were in it) out of the heart of the earth and transferred it to heaven.  And since then, the righteous who die still go into Paradise, but now Paradise is in heaven with Jesus.  My question is, who are the dead that Jesus raises when he appears in the clouds if the righteous who have died are with him in heaven.

    Thank you,

    Randell

    ===========

    Hi Randell.

    The Bible makes nothing about that clear, Randell.  My father described the righteous dead as being alive, but in a dream-like state, which makes sense because they no longer have a body, even though they are still alive.  A new body is what Jesus will give them when he appears in the clouds and raises them from the dead, according to 1Corinthians 15.

    I have wondered about what you are asking many times, and as I said, the Bible provides no clear answer.  We know that the dead saints will be raised from their graves, and we know that they are now “present with the Lord” in heaven.  How they will be raised up when they are already “up” in heaven, I cannot tell.

    I suppose that we’ll just have to wait and see –– and I do hope that we will see it and experience it for ourselves.

    Sorry, but that’s the best I can do with that one.

    Pastor John

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/tommyjoe1109/status/1792922225718223012

     

     

  • The Hidden Son

    Brother John,

    The reading of the Father and Son is revealing things I have never heard said before. Some of the things are so intimate – and make it so apparent that Jesus and His Father are in charge of every single aspect of life and creation.

    Something that has struck me most is the continued revealing of the hidden Son of God.

    It isn’t a one-time event but a continued unmasking of the One who has done – and is over – it all.  He is “it all.”  He is in everything and everywhere.

    I read the book of Genesis a couple of weeks ago and the story of Joseph, where he was given over to death by his brothers, but who was instead raised to the pinnacle of power and glory by his God.  And Joseph later revealing himself as alive to those guilty brothren, and having nothing in his heart toward them but goodness and love.  I thought of Jesus one day revealing himself to his brethren the Jews who had offered him up to be killed, and Jesus having nothing in his heart for them but the same love.

    The scene just moves you to tears.

    Last night, in the song you sang that Gary wrote: “Ask of me,” the lyrics speaking for Jesus said, “I didn’t ask for gold, or silver too….I only asked my Father…for you.”

    The song reminded me of king Solomon, who God had offered anything his heart desired.  But Solomon, didn’t ask for gold or silver, but just to love God’s precious people.  Just like Jesus.

    Everything in creation is preaching the Son who was with the Father in the beginning.

    Jesus the most blessed of his Father.  And we are invited to be joint heirs with Him.

    It is too much to take in.

    Jerry

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/WitnessofSpirit/status/1791468575623942482

     

  • Father & Son – Prophecies

    Hey Pastor John,

    I really enjoyed the reading last night!  There were many incredible facts pointed out that I had never considered before.  The reference to Judas and the setting of the price, wow!  And to love us before the foundations were created… what is time to God?

    While reading through the prophecies last night, I noticed that ‘time’ seemed to be of no issue.  The prophecies were recorded in past, present, and future tense, and in different narratives/perspectives.  Some were as if the Son were giving a live commentary while watching the events unfold.  It reminds me of Rev. 4:8b, “who was, and is, and is to come”  

    Is there any rhyme or reason behind the tenses and perspectives used in the prophecies?

    Thank you for your hard work!

    -Johnny

    =========

    Hi, Johnny,

    We have never been able to find a consistent applicable rule for translating the verb tenses in the prophets.  Hebrew verbs in general are difficult to deal with.  Sometimes, to make a sentence make sense, you have to translate the verb according to the obvious sense of the sentence instead of the grammatical tense of the verb.

    The short answer for that, then, is no.  As far as we have been able to tell, there is no significance to the verb tenses in Old Testament prophecies.  No rule can be applied across the board.

    The perspective issue you mentioned is a different matter.  I think it is always important to note from whose perspective the prophecy comes.  In fact, that is often the key to understanding prophecies.  That issue is more important than the verb tense, in my judgment.

    Hope that clears things up.  Thank you for the question.

    Pastor John

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/WitnessofSpirit/status/1791465381556637910

     

  • Who does the baptizing of the Spirit?

    Pastor John,

    I have a question about who baptizes with the holy Spirit.  In the scriptures below it sounds like Jesus baptizes people.

    Luke 3:16.John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you with holy Spirit and fire!”

    Acts 2:32.   This Jesus has God raised up, of which we all are witnesses!

    Acts 2:33.Moreover, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the holy Spirit, he has shed forth this which you now see and hear.

    In what we read tonight, you wrote “Every time the Father baptizes a repentant soul”, and that makes it sounds like the Father baptizes. 

    I have always wondered if it was the Father or the Son who was baptizing.

    Thank you,

    Randell

    =========

    Thank you, Randell, for noticing that.

    God anointed the John the Baptizer to baptize with water, and He anointed Jesus to baptize with the Spirit.  That much is clear.

    Having said that, though, in both cases, God was in charge of who was baptized.  That is why John refused to baptize certain people; God would not allow it.  And that is also why Jesus refuses some who ask for his baptism.  Jesus is (as John was) God’s agent for baptism, yet God gets the credit, and it isn’t wrong to acknowledge that.  

    It is the same way with creation.  The Son was God’s agent in creation, but every time Jesus mentioned creation, he said God did it

    So, yes, Jesus is the one who baptizes, but he does so only according to the will of God.  It is impossible to draw a firm line between them; they work together, as one.

    Thank you again.  I hope that clears it up for you.

    Pastor John

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/tommyjoe1109/status/1791457229008220299

     

  • Montanus Reading: Deliberate Evil

    Pastor John,

    Tonight, for the first time, I saw that the founders of the religious system of Christianity did not arbitrarily choose (or make up) the rules for Christian worship.  Seeing that their rituals have no biblical basis, we can see their real motives. Those founders designed Christian worship procedure to quieten, block, quench, and otherwise terminate the real spirit of God from functioning within their heretical institution.

    My Jesus in heaven!  What evil is it that men would knowingly devise a religious system with the purpose of keeping God’s presence (his Spirit) out of their worship.

    What then on earth (or elsewhere) were/are they worshiping?

    May God help everyone with a heart that wants OUT of that dreadful institution and desires to serve Jesus in spirit and in truth.

    Jerry

    ============

    Hi Jerry.

    I don’t believe the founders of Christianity knew what they were doing, but they were certainly following an evil spirit instead of Christ, and that resulted in the expulsion of the Spirit of God as the leader of God’s people in worship and doctrine.

    Yes, may God help everyone inside Christianity but who has a sincere desire to serve Him to escape it and be made free.

    Pastor John 

     

  • Montanus Reading

    I had to stop and get this out before I sanded my next board!  If I don’t, who knows how it will turn out! 

    I feel like Jesus dog-eared a page of the Montanus reading in my heart!  Last night when you were talking about God knowing our hearts, and that is why we received His spirit and that is why we are here, I felt like Jesus opened up my rib cage so my heart could fit inside of my chest!  I had the best thoughts come!  And then, they were echoed by page 15.  It was almost more than I could take in.  Look how wonderful this is….even when we don’t know our own hearts are His, God knows.  We do not have to know anything!  God knows. 

    Page 15:

    “Still, in spite of the centuries-long effort of Christian leaders to snuff out the life of the Spirit –  even after Rome’s power was placed in their hands – the Spirit was never completely quenched. God is too faithful for that, for hungry souls may always find His grace, even if they do not fully understand Paul’s gospel.  We are saved by grace through faith, not by knowledge.”

    I will never look at that the same way again.  We are saved not by knowledge, but by the faithfulness of God.  That is what my heart heard.  And not in a weird Christian way of the “get saved” doctrine, but in His way in His Truth! 

    And today when we were reading again, all I could think about was how much I love that God has set it up the way He did.  I love that if we are full of Him, we do not fit in the lie of Christianity.  Not in any sect of it!  What a loving safeguard is in place for us, and for any heart God has out there!  I thought, what a mercy and a blessing that the disease of Christianity can’t stand us when we are full of the Spirit.

    I thought about how as a child in the Catholic Church, I was taught to not even move unless it was to kneel, sit, or recite at their command, and how beautiful it is that God made sure His holy Ghost will not fit there.  That makes yielding to Him when He moves in us even more beautiful to me.

    “Even a fool not err” because God is faithful!

    Beth D.

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/WitnessofSpirit/status/1787868575820087441

     

  • Short Dream This Morning

    Hi Pastor John, 

    In my dream, I was writing and singing a part of a song to the Lord. The only line that I remember is, “I want to fall in love with you all over again, Jesus.” Suddenly, I felt such tremendous feelings of love from and to Jesus and those feelings pulled me into the page of the song that I was writing. 

    I woke up feeling so loved and so very thankful if what we have been given and have with one another. 

    Love always,

    Billy

    ========

    That is wonderful, Billy!

    Solomon said, “A dream comes by a multitude of busyness” (Eccl. 5:3).  You must have been busy lately thinking about the wonderful things of God.

    Pastor John

    Tell us what you think:

    https://x.com/WitnessofSpirit/status/1787865147983192542

     

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