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  • God’s Hatred and Cruelty

    I know God hates but I never thought he was cruel for doing so, but rather just.   Maybe I don’t understand the word cruel right. 

    Token E.

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

    The word “cruel” can entail maliciousness and injustice, and most of the time it does.  But not always.  Solomon said, “An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore, a cruel messenger shall be sent against him” (Prov. 17:11).  But who sends cruel messengers (angels) to punish the wicked?  Isaiah answered that question when he said: “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it” (Isa. 13:9).

    Also consider these verses:

    “The Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord, and a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.” (Isa. 19:4).

    “I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased” (Jer. 30:14).

    When people are cruel, they sin; when God is cruel, He is still righteous.  Possessing the knowledge of God’s supreme cruelty, the Lake of Fire, the author of Hebrews warned us that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).  And it is that fear which is the beginning of wisdom.

    God hates certain people and certain things, and God can be very, very cruel.  And when He is, He is still perfect in judgment.  And He is still love.  May He grant us to abide in His love.

    jdc

     

    On Sun, Dec 4, 2016, Pastor John wrote:

    God’s Hatred and Cruelty

    “You have trodden down all them that err from your statutes,

    for their deceit is falsehood.  You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross;

    therefore, I love your testimonies.”

    Psalm 119:118–119

    God is not intimidated by human social fads.  Even when, as in our culture now, men begin to imagine that hatred and cruelty is contrary to God’s nature and ways, God continues to hate certain people (Ps. 11:5) and to be very cruel when justice demands cruelty (Isa. 13:9).

    I love God for hating what He hates, and for being cruel when He is cruel.  His hatred and His cruelty are good; they are perfect.

    David went on in Psalm 119 to say this: “My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments” (Ps. 119:120).  David was wise; he humbled himself to fear God and His righteous judgments rather than pretend there is no need to fear God, since He does not hate and will never be cruel.

     

  • Wonderful life!

    Praise God John!

    God already knows everything that has been done under the sun, and he is looking for the ones who want to be above the sun of this earth – the ones he has called and drawn to his Son to have life and have it more abundantly, the life that is not from this world, the life that this world knows nothing about!!   Not even the angels and other creatures in heaven have been granted to taste of this life.

    Whew!  That is really something to take in!!  What does that say about how the Father and the Son feel about the new creature he has made of us by his sweet holy Ghost!! My, my!  Wow!  How wonderful the testimonies were Sunday morning and the songs that were sung.

    Stuart

  • This Is Living

    Hey John,

    What life in the gatherings this weekend!  I cannot get over it! Sunday morning, you said, “Here is something you need to know: no angels are like God!!”  That was and is a brand new thought!  So Good!  But the SON is like God.  You said that the SON loves to make someone like GOD, that it excites him to make someone like GOD.  He is not interested in your failures, just in making us like his Father!!

    I am thankful to be able to hear such words of Life!!  The testimonies, the  translation of 1John, and Songs!!  This is living.

    Thank YOU.

    Jr.

  • A New Thought about Obedience

    Pastor John,  

    You pointed out something this morning that really stayed with me. You made it clear why Jesus had to come here and die to purchase the holy Ghost for us. The reason was this: Obeying rules perfectly, even rules God gave (such as the law), is not enough.  Satan obeyed to the letter what God told him to do before he was cast out of heaven, and he was a mess, in his soul.   Rather, we must be like God, where our obedience is really nothing more than our nature.

    It makes me think, even the seas obeyed the word of the Lord when He commanded them to be still. The trees and the grass yield themselves to him every time the wind blows. Raindrops fall upon his command.  All things in nature obey God, and yet, none of these things are holy.  None of them will reign with the Son of God because none of them have been made like God by the Spirit.

    One last thought.  It is always so, that after we have done all that we can do, it is what God does that makes the difference.

    Jerry

  • Attitude

    Hi Pastor John!

    I had a sweet touch from Jesus today.

    I have been praying a lot about having a positive attitude, the kind of attitude Jesus expects me to have and the kind of attitude I want to have.  Well, today I went to an inspection and worked with the nicest man.  His name is Anthony.  I have met Anthony before.  Anthony is probably 50 years old.  He is a black gentleman who does all the detailing work on the rental cars.  It was chilly this morning and Anthony was washing cars outside in the parking lot.  As I inspected the vehicles, I noticed how very clean they were.  It really stood out to me what a great job Anthony had done.  When I finished, Anthony nervously asked me if I found anything wrong with the interiors of the cars.  I told him that the cars looked great and what a great job he had done.  Anthony lit up.  He said, “I try to do my very best, cleaning these cars.  I need this job. Every morning, I get  up and thank the Lord for letting me have this job because so many people don’t have one”.  

    After I left the lot, I felt so good.  I asked Jesus to bless Anthony and thanked him for letting me see him today.  I said, “Lord, I love Anthony’s attitude.  That is the attitude I want ALL the time”.

    I love that Jesus will encourage us when we are praying for something good, something Jesus wants us to be or to have.  Jesus giving me that encouragement today was him showing up again!  That really hit me today.  It did something to my heart.

    Beth

     

  • Which Locust?

    John,

    Was the locust that John the Baptist ate a tree?  All this time, I thought he had been eating locust the bug.

    Thanks,

    Wendell

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

    No, Wendell, it was the little critter.   They were clean animals, according to Moses’ law.

    Pastor John

  • Thanksgiving Morning

    Hi, Pastor John.

    While Judy went to work and before the Thanksgiving dinner yesterday morning, I felt such an overwhelming thankfulness for this Life that Jesus gave to me, and this place that Jesus brought me to.  It was about 8:00 a.m. or so, and I got out my guitar and was singing unto the Lord, when I just fell on my face in the middle of the floor and yielded to what I was feeling. I felt so grateful for what I was feeling!  The Spirit took over where I was crying uncontrollably with joy for my life. It lasted a little while and left me with a grateful feeling. I love those times when we are together and the Spirit flows, but I really love these alone times with Jesus and me.

    After the Spirit was finished, I took Sarge for a walk on Bob’s property, just enjoying the feelings left over in my heart from that communion with God. Nothing is like getting alone with Jesus; it’s some of the best times I have ever had.

    Billy M

  • Most Beautiful before Death

    Good morning Pastor John!

    Tokens testimony about the leaves last night is amazing to me. Jesus told me the same thing two weeks ago. 

    I was driving down the road talking to Jesus. I had been feeling a little low and just wanted to be with my friend Jesus.  All of a sudden the color of the trees stood out to me. They were so vibrant and beautiful. I said to Jesus “Lord, the trees were not this beautiful last week. They are getting so much richer in color. Lord, the closer they get to death the more beautiful they get”.  Then the spirit said “The closer you get to death the more beautiful you are”. (I understood it meant us in the body)

    A few days after that, I was driving and the leaves were so pretty. I was thinking I want to stop and get a picture of how pretty they are. Still driving, I noticed that each tree separated was pretty but they really are breathtaking all together. As soon as I had that thought, Jesus said, “That is just like the body. You are most beautiful together”.

    I love hearing from Jesus. When I heard Token tell that testimony last night, my heart stopped. It always does when Jesus shows me how real he is.

    Writing this out I just keep feeling like it does not get any better than this. This life with Jesus is everything I could dare to dream to have. Feeling very filled, full and fulfilled, as sister Willie would say.

    Beth

     

  • When Did the Church Lose Military Power?

    Hey there,

    We read the section on the Iron Kingdom and listened along.  This was really good.  I have heard you talk about the apostate body of Christ for some time now, but it is really something to learn that there had to be an apostasy of Rome from a Republic in order for the blending of the two to even take place.  Even though you are just beginning to touch on the details of Rome’s Third transformation, you can just feel how much of a complex, and yet subtle transformation it was – beyond any human kind of genius.  It is really incredible that Jesus has put it in our hearts to believe it, even if it is, right now anyway, far too much for our brains to really grasp.

    A question I had as I read and listened to everyone’s comments was, when did the “holy Roman empire” lose its military might?  It almost seems like there was a mini-transformation even after the 3rd transformation.  The Church still seems to have dominion over Western society and culture, but it’s almost like it’s a dominion that’s so much part of everyone’s lives (whether they admit it or not) that it doesn’t even have to actively exercise any military or political might over anyone.  I can’t really put my finger on what I’m trying to ask, but like you talk about later in this section in your notes – it’s more than just a mere influence.  It seems like a complete infiltration of Christianity into the culture that most people don’t even realize that they are influenced by it – and that is much more powerful that physically forcing people to think or believe a certain way.

    Anyway, just some thoughts I was having this morning – disconnected as they are.  I am really enjoying what you are doing with this work, even though I’m a long way from understanding it in my mind – it just feels good in my spirit to think about these things.

    Vince

    ===========

    Hi, Vince.

    The Third Transformation of Rome took time to be perfected after it began in AD 325.  The Church maintained much of its military power, with ebbs and flows, until fairly recently, just a few centuries ago.  I suspect that the Church would love to have it back, even though its control over men’s minds is enormous without it.  God help those who love the truth in Christ if the Church ever does regain it!  Only time will tell if the Church will again possess great political/military power, or if the Beast will arise and destroy Christianity without it achieving that goal.

    Pastor John

     

  • Strife

    Michelle’s email and Token’s testimony last Wednesday, (both about strife) makes me consider something that the Lord showed me.  That is, strife doesn’t exist in the Spirit – because the Spirit cannot be offended!  Any kind of offense that we experience, any hurt or injury that we feel is just to our flesh.  The Spirit in us is not offended, nor hurt, nor any other thing that is not producing the will of God. And it is not striving with others to be right. 

    To flee from strife, to flee from the effect of someone’s poor treatment of us, or from the desire to defend ourselves from it,  is just to be spiritually minded. Strife and other carnal things just can’t get a foothold into God’s Spirit in us.

    Jesus was never offended.  Even during his crucifixion, he pitied and prayed for the lost souls trying to hurt him.  God has that same Spirit.  And with a heart free from strife, and free from offense for all of the hate He has endured, He will execute perfect judgement on the souls that He damns for eternity. 

    We are to be like-minded.  Full of His Spirit that is praying and hoping and working for the souls that despitefully use us while executing the same perfect judgment to be free from strife and avoiding all of those who pursue it.

    Jerry

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