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  • Tonight’s Excerpt

    Pastor John,

    When reading tonight’s excerpt from the Father and Son book (below), specifically this sentence: “When the Beast of John’s Revelation does away with the Great Whore, Christianity (Rev 17:16)”,   it allowed me to consider a couple of things. One, a spiritual warfare is already underway against the Great Whore, Christianity.  Christianity is eroding on all sides; it is attacked by those from without, who think to dishonor God with the enforcement of secularism, while collapsing within from moral and spiritual failure.  When the “Beast” makes the lethal blow, it will just be the final cut, that finishes it off….to God’s glory!

    But, while Christianity is collapsing, the Gospel remains hidden and untouched by that warfare. It flourishes to, and for, all of those who give themselves wholly to it. It reminds me of the story of Jehoshaphat, who was dressed as the king and consequently drew all of the enemies attention on the battlefield. Christianity’s claim of being the Bride of Christ has drawn all of the enemy’s arrows, while the real Bride, the Spirit filled body of Christ, is at rest.  Thank God for the diversion.

    The second thing that struck me is this, all of the folk within that religious system (Christianity), reading about this future figure in the book of Revelation, called the Beast, have no idea that they are sitting within the Great Whore that he is coming to slaughter.  What a mystery, without revelation from God!  Who can know it.  God is using the evil figure of the Beast, to destroy the wicked institution of Christianity. And no one can know the part that anyone or anything plays, without God revealing it!

    Even when, (or perhaps if) a time comes in the future when men will understand that the Beast is destroying Christianity, who on the Earth will know that it is God’s will?  Who will know then that it is God’s victory and not God’s defeat?  Who will know that God despised that powerless institution, other than the elect of Christ?

    The righteous will rejoice in that day, while others morn her loss.  My, what a hidden thing we have been allowed to see!

    Jerry D.

    fs-9_22_16

  • The First Testator

    Pastor John,

    I would like to get your thoughts on who constituted the Old Testament. Who was the 1st testator?

    Thanks so much!

    Steven R

    ==========

    Hi Steven.

    I assume you are referring to these verses from Hebrews 9:

     

    1. Now, where a testament is, the death of the testator must be confirmed.
    2. For a testament is in force after men are dead; it has no force at all while the testator is alive.

    Of course, Jesus is the Testator of this New Testament.  As to the first testament, there was no human testator; animals were used instead.  The next few verses in Hebrews 9 refer to the ratification of the Old Testament (which took place in Exodus 24):

     

    1. Therefore, not even the first testament was instituted without blood.
    2. For when every commandment of the law had been spoken by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of bullocks and goats, along with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
    3. saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you.”

     Here is the event from Exodus as Moses recorded it (Ex. 24:5-8):

     

    1. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, and they offered up young bulls for burnt offerings and slaughtered sacrifices for peace offerings to Jehovah.
    2. And Moses took half of the blood and put it into basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar.
    3. And he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud in the ears of the people, and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will obey.”
    4. And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold!  The blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you. . . .”

    So, there was no “first testator”, since a number of animals were used in order to get all the blood Moses needed for sprinkling all that he had to sprinkle.  No man would have had to die in order to initiate a covenant of death, as Paul might have described the Old Testament (cf. 2Cor. 3:7–11).  One might argue that there were “first testators”, since many animals were slaughtered, but  the Bible never refers to them as such.

    I am very happy you wrote with a question, Steven.  Hopefully, we will meet someday, either here or in the blessed place that God has prepared for those who love him.

    Your Servant in Christ,

    Pastor John

     

  • John 20:22

    Pastor John,

    You state in your book “Spiritual Light” that the disciples did not receive the holy spirit until Pentecost as you state they were not converted or born again while they walked with Jesus prior to the cross. You state that the holy spirit could not come to earth until Jesus was glorified. My question is how is that John 20:22 says that Jesus breathed on his disciples and they received the holy spirit after Jesus’ resurrection before Pentecost and before his glorification as he had not yet ascended to the Father?

    Joe H

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

    Hi Joe.

    Thank you for the question.  I am impressed that you understand what I was saying in my Spiritual Light book.  By that, I know that you have been sincere in your search for the truth.  No one can understand me unless Jesus grants them understanding, and if he grants you understanding, he is inviting you into his counsel.  

    As for John 20:22, you have made a mistake that all of us have made at some point in our Bible reading, the mistake of assuming the Bible says what we are thinking instead of seeing what is actually there.  If you will notice, John 20:22 does not say that the disciples received the Spirit; it only says that Jesus told them to receive it.  Here is what is really there:

    Also notice, please, that in this scene, Jesus said three things to them.  He breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Spirit.  He also told them he was sending them to preach just as the Father had sent him, and that if they forgave a sin, then those sins were forgiven.  None of those things happened at that moment.  They could not happen, because the Spirit was not yet given.  The disciples received the Spirit, and so started preaching and forgiving sins on the day of Pentecost.  In God’s kingdom, Joe, there is no such thing as a non-pentecostal preacher because the true gospel can only be preached through the power of the holy Ghost (1Pet. 1:12).

    1. Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you.  As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you.”
    2. And after he said this, he breathed out and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.
    3. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; whose you retain are retained.”

    There is no questioning the fact that in John 20, Jesus was not yet glorified, for he still had his old, fleshly body.  The glorified body of Jesus, which he received from the Father after his ascension, is described by John in Revelation 1.  Understanding that, one can agree with me (and John) that the disciples could not possibly have received the Spirit in John 20, for John wrote (Jn. 7:37-39) “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

    I love this kind of correspondence Joe.  Please stay in touch.  Thank you again for the question.  I hope this helps bring us closer together in the light of Christ.  Believers’ fellowship in his light glorifies the Father and the Son more than anything else on earth.

    Pastor John

     

     

     

  • “Live Up a Shout!”

    Pastor John,

    I copied this (below) from an old sermon I was listening to today.  The latter part of the sentence in quotations is just gold.  On the CD, you said there was a fellow, years ago, who labored under the idea that “faster” and “louder” equaled Holier.  And on one occasion, he disturbed the sweet Spirit of God being enjoyed by the saints at the beginning of the meeting by trying to “crank it up” with a loud and fast song that was not led by the Spirit which everyone was already enjoying.

    You then told all of us, “We don’t need to ‘crank it up’.  It is either there or it isn’t!   You don’t need to work up a shout, you need to LIVE UP ONE!”

    🙂

    Jerry D.

  • Exodus 15

    Pastor John,

    Last night I was reading Exodus 15 and when I read this verse it stopped me:

     

    26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”

    I closed my eyes just to let that verse sink in and began to hear Gary sing, “You are my God, who healeth me”.  Then this morning when I was on my way to work I turned on a CD and we were praying for several people and Gary started singing this same song.

    It felt sobering.  I felt relief.

     

  • Hebrews

    Hi John,

    Wow! I am so loving the Hebrews readings. I had always found that book to be so difficult to understand, and my former understanding of certain verses
    really tripped me up.  Remember when this distraught girl from California
    called you back in 2013 talking about Hebrews?!  And how you laughed
    and reassured me that indeed I didn’t understand Hebrew 6:4.  What a
    relief that was to hear!  I so cherish what God did for me, bringing me
    to the light.  I love how He has opened me eyes, and how you continue
    to stretch my understanding of our awesome God!  Can’t wait for the rest
    of Hebrews!

    Patty

  • Thankful

    Hey Pastor John,

    Wednesday night (9/14/2016) when Darren sang and you prayed, that touched me so deep.  My head was down on the side of our love seat, and I just cried from deep down from the love that I felt in having a pastor who loves us all like that.  The next morning, I played parts of the meeting again and felt the same way.  Every time I picture you down on your face praying, it touches me and makes me cry.

    Haskell and I had a class in Chapel Hill Friday. A few times while I was sitting there, I got that “excited” feeling inside about the meetings this weekend.  Last night was so encouraging. The tabernacle, testimonies, songs and your dream were all so good.  The spirit felt so strong.  I love that and I’m thankful for the encouragement from Jesus. And I’m thankful for you.

    Love,

    Cris

  • Teaching the Law to the Gentiles

    Pastor John, 

    After last night’s meeting, I was thinking about God revealing the purpose for Moses’ tabernacle to you.  Jerry and I were talking about if Paul would have taught the Gentiles about its heavenly shadows, or would he have stayed away from the law because the Gentiles didn’t need to be taught about the law.  This has my head spinning because if the Spirit leads you into all truth, then it would lead you into understanding the law and why it was there…right?

    Well, here is my thought (new to me) from my conversation with Jerry: 

    There was no Christianity then; it had not yet been formed.  Paul had to be removed from Judaism.  God revealed the truth to him to remove wrong ideas and thoughts he had taken in from his earlier religion.  You had to be removed from Christianity’s wrong thoughts and ideas, and so, God revealed the truth to you about the tabernacle and the law. 

    Do you feel like God taught you this to remove all those wrong ideas or to know God better?

    Paul did not have to remove Jewish traditions and understandings of the law from the Gentiles.  They didn’t have those wrong ideas and thoughts.  They didn’t follow or know the law.  So would they have needed to learn about the law to learn of Gods heart?  Would Paul have taught them the law to show them the heavenly shadows?  Jerry said they had so much more power from the Spirit than we do that they may not have needed to learn of the law.  I love seeing the heavenly shadows.  I love the story.  I love learning of my Father through all of this.  Yet I had to come out of Christianity and God has to remove wrong thoughts and ideas.  So, back to the question.  Do you think God showed you the purpose for the tabernacle and the law to remove wrong ideas,  or to teach you of God’s thoughts and heart?

    Beth

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

    Hi Beth.

    You two questions are one and the same, for whenever God shows us His heart, he removes from our heart the wrong ideas we all have stored up in there.

    Whether or not Gentile believers knew the law before they heard the gospel, Paul would certainly have taught them about the law (and Israel’s history and prophets), from the perspective of the law being fulfilled in Christ, of course.  And if those Gentiles really took in and understood Paul’s teaching, they were then inoculated from the poisonous doctrine of those who wanted them to add the law and its ceremonies to their faith.

    Good questions!  Thanks.

    Pastor John

     

  • Rest

    Hi Pastor John.

    Recently I applied for another job. When I was updating my resume I was having a hard time listing my skills. I am not really happy with where they are. This really bothered me for a few weeks. 

    When we recently read Job I had the best feelings. Here on earth it is about how much you know, how well you know it, how fast you can do this or how long you have done it. But with Jesus We do not have to know ANYTHING. No skills required. In fact Jesus just has to get rid of everything you think you know anyway. I was thinking about when our friends came to the meeting recently.  I wanted to tell them “just come in, get on your face, and let Jesus give you everything you need.”

    How absolutely wonderful and easy this life with Jesus is. I love the rest in Jesus. I love that there is no burden. His yoke really is easy.

    This world has always seemed so hard to me before Jesus. Everyday it was a struggle to get up and do the daily task required just to make it. I am so thankful for the rest Jesus gives because I would not make it here without it.

    Beth

  • God’s Plants by Pastor John

    Hi John, 

    I have a question about this verse from the BLOG (below): “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted” (Mt. 15:13).  Is this people with the holy ghost?  Or is it that God’s people are in such bad shape they don’t know who God has planted?

    Thanks

    Stuart

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

    Hi Stuart.

    When God baptizes someone with the holy ghost, He has planted them in His kingdom. That is why we warn every man that, even though God’s people do not know who God has and has not planted (because they do not know the holy ghost baptism is the new birth), God does know. As Paul said, “The Lord knows who are His.”  And when God cleans house, He will cast out every soul He has not really cleansed with His Spirit, no matter how religious that souls is and no matter what men think of him.

    May God grant us the grace to truly live in His Spirit, and not content ourselves with merely being praised by men who think that we are righteous.

    Pastor John

    God’s Plants

    “Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

    In old age, they shall still bring forth fruit; they shall be fat and flourishing, to show that the LORD is upright.

    He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

    Psalm 92:13–15

    The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek . . . to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified – Isaiah 61:1a, 3.

    Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted – Matthew15:13.

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