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  • John’s Water Baptism

    Pastor John,

    Was Johns Baptism simply the sign of the New Covenant forthcoming that would be fulfilled in Christ through his Spirit?? Much like the Old Covenant sign of Circumcision, this pointed to the Real Cutting off of the Flesh for the Jews but Pentecost brought forth the fulfillment of that promise!! With the real sign given that the New Covenant had been established!! 

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

    Hi John,

    Yes.  It was also God’s testimony, ministered by John, that proved a person had repented, just like Jesus’ baptism does.  It is just like circumcision.  

    Romans 4:11:

    And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also…”

    pjh 

  • Raising or Burying the Dead

    Pastor John,

    I don’t quite understand the Pearl of the Day.  “You’re never going to raise the dead as long as you’re burying them?
    Can you please explain?

    Thanks,

    Margaret

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

    Hi Margaret,

    Preacher Clark meant that ministers either bury the dead because they have no power with God or they raise them because they do.  It was a comment that pointed out the difference between the mindset of ceremony versus the mindset of living power.

    We can’t make too much out of that comment.  There are always exceptions to such statements.  Still, there is a point, and a good one, in what he said.

    Pastor John

  • Eating God’s Food!

    Hi Pastor John!

    I was thinking about the email Michelle wrote about God caring about what we watch on TV. Jesus let me know how much He cares about what we expose ourselves to.  At one time I would sit down in the evenings and watch TV with Jerry. After a few months I realized how this was making me feel.  I listened to my CDs throughout the day and studied OT material after work but in the evenings I left to sit through worldly junk. Then I went to sleep with that being the last thoughts for the day.  Jesus very gently began to prick my heart about what I was exposing myself to.  Even the ” clean ” shows are nothing but noise and distraction.

    When I made the choice to curl up with the Bible verses the TV, everything changed.  Those good feelings came back.  I felt connected to Jesus again.  I was thinking about this tonight, and Jesus gave me a thought.

    Exposing yourself to what this world has to offer is like going to a place to eat that serves food laced with poison.  You may be able to eat a little here and a little there, and just feel a little sick from it, but if you eat that poison everyday, you are going to die. Eating God’s food is so important. 

    I remember when I was seeking the holy Ghost, searching through different sites on the internet.  I saw the cult article.  Jesus put it in my heart not to read that article.  I am so thankful for that. Jesus cares what we eat and what we expose ourselves to.  I love these lessons from Jesus.

    Beth

  • Spiritual Warfare

    Pastor John,

    It’s kind of frightening to observe a person’s face and mannerisms when they are overcome with anger and incredulity as the truth exposes their darkness.  Christians really expose their hypocrisy when they fly off the handle and reject the truth—any truth—whether it be about the Trinity, the New Birth, Salvation, the sacrifice of Christ, speaking in tongues, etc.  Their demeanor changes completely.  Their “Christian” appearance of “kindness” and “fellowship” vanish when their sacred cows are challenged, and it turns their faces sour—even bitter.  They kick you out of their homes & their churches, giving you the left foot of fellowship, so-to-speak.  They really, truly would kill us if they could.  And I believe they will, in the future.  I can see that now.   

    They cannot bring themselves to converse with a child of God with an open mind. The LORD’s exhortation through Isaiah to “come, let us reason together” flies out the window with Christians who can only cling to their Bibles with. . . all. . . their
    . . . might. It’s more comfortable, I have found, to discuss the things of God with an atheist than with a Christian, especially those who claim to see the Trinity throughout all of the scriptures, when all I can see is a loving Father and a Son who share a holy spirit. “BUT THAT SPIRIT IS A PERSON!!!” a man might proclaim. I am sorry. I am not moved by hysterical Christian tempers, nor their inhospitable treatment of me when I gently try to clarify the truth of the gospel.

    Well, I thank the Lord. . . for giving us a lesson in persecution, which we endured well.  ​My friend ​P​— is relieved and refreshed, after reading some tracts, poor thing.  She was really crestfallen last night.  Bummed out. 

    It’s a lonely path, I told her.  But with God. . . . !  It isn’t all that lonely.   Lose a friend or relative here and there, but gain a place in Jesus’ mansion.  It’s worth it.  It’s worth it.

    I have you to thank, Pastor John, for the foundation that the Lord gave me, in your teaching; in your example—— of obedience and “singleness of eye”; and the small measure of articulation He gave me to explain it.  Replicating your calm demeanor (and the power of the holy ghost within) helped me to survive what would otherwise have intimidated another child of God.  The POWER of GOD is what makes all the difference. . .  the demonstration of the SPIRIT; rather than argument. . . or polite Christian scripture discussion.  Yeeccch!  GIVE ME JESUS!!  NIGHT AND DAY!!  GIVE ME JESUS!  ALL THE WAY!!!   HE is ENOUGH!!

    I look forward to the refreshment of today’s meeting.  I’m sorry so many are sick among you, currently.  But at least they’re rejoicing in the truth!

    Brother Brad

  • Haman in the Father and Son Book

    Hey John,

    The section about Haman in the Father and Son book is so good!!  I love seeing the Son hidden in the shadows of these Old Testament stories, but I also know that seeing Jesus hidden in these Old Testament stories didn’t just happen.  I think about the times when you studied your Bible through the years and sought God on your face for understanding, and he gave it to you!  You then not only passed that gold on to us, but you put it out there for others through books and tracts and radio broadcasts, and teaching community college classes, and the internet!

    When someone asked you one time how you knew the Bible so well, you thought about it, and then realized it was simply because you believed it!  I love that!  It takes humility to believe what Jesus is teaching us!  I just have to shake my head when I think about all he has taught us, through you.  What Lou says is so true, “I can’t believe I believe this, y’all!”   I feel so thankful!

    I can’t help but feel that God Had a Son before Mary Did, ​a book ​full of one revelation after another, is a result of years of humble seeking​,​ and then believing when the answers came.  It’s amazing that every time you have thought the book was finished, Jesus would give you something else so good that it just had to be added to the book!  So, eight years and almost 500 pages later, here we are!​ ​ (I have a lump in my throat, just writing that!)  What a gift!  I believe if we will stay humble and thankful, he has much more to teach us.

    I do have a question after our discussion on Sunday night about whether or not Jesus knew Satan was evil at the time of the
    T​emptation, and the section you sent us tonight, “The Act of Bowing”.  I agree that it doesn’t seem as much like a temptation if Jesus already knew that Satan was evil.  But reading tonight about the parallels between Jesus not bowing to Satan because he knew how God felt about Satan, just like Mordecai had refused to bow to wicked Haman because he knew how God felt about Haman, leaves me wondering what Jesus knew about Satan at the time of the ​T​emptation.  If Jesus knew how his Father felt about Satan, would that mean that he knew Satan was evil?

    Thanks!

    Lee Ann

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

    ​What a perceptive question, Lee Ann!  Thank you for that!​  I can’t publish the book until that important issue is resolved. . . .  But then again, maybe there is no answer, kind of like the predestination/free will debate.  Hmmm.

    Stay tuned.

    Pastor John

  • The Holy Ghost and FIRE!

    Pastor John,

    In dealing with the False Religion of Baal, Elijah said, “Let the God that answers by Fire be God” – and so it is today!!

    J. Cumby
    ==========

    Amen, John!  May we always be consumed by THAT fire!

    Pastor John

  • “The Weaker Vessel”

    Pastor John

    Is it easier for a woman to be deceived than the man? Also is that the reason she is called “the weaker vessel”?

    Gloria
    ===============

    Thank you for the question, Gloria. It is one that many people ask.

    As far as humans are concerned, it is generally as you stated. However, “in Christ, there is neither male nor female,” and so, it all depends on how much an individual seeks God and how full of the Spirit he or she stays. A person who is filled with “the Spirit of truth” cannot be deceived at all, regardless of what kind of human body that child of God has.

    Pastor John

  • Ugh!!!!

    Pastor John

    You just changed my whole day​!​

    I ​am going through the Old Testament history class.  I ​can’t believe that is all there is about Jeremiah​!  I have been so involved and connected to this story​,​​ ​I can’t take not knowing what happened to him.

    On top of that​, on the test, I picked Zedekiah as ​my “​least liked​ person”! ​ ​I picked him because I got mad at Zedekiah for letting them put Jeremiah down in that mud pit.​ ​ Now I feel really bad​,​ after hearing you describe Zedekiah.​ ​ I never felt any sympathy for him…I really hated his wishy​-​washiness (doubt that is a word).​ ​ It is good to see that there is pride and hypocrisy there so I can ask Jesus to help me with that….but it does not feel very good.

    Whew…this last ​Old Testament ​CD changed my whole day.​ ​ I remember hearing Lou testify about Moses dying and crying about it. ​ ​It​’​s awful to feel so connected to these men of God​,​ and then hear they died ​– ​or worse​ yet, we​ ​​find out we know nothing about what happened to them!

    Beth

  • God Cares

    Pastor John,

    This morning I had to take some papers to R—, a sales person here, before I left he asked me if I ever watched this TV show called “Big Bang Theory”.  I said I had before but I don’t care for it. He said, “Oh yeah, I guess since you have been ‘improved’ (I think that was the word he used) I’m sure you don’t watch it.”  I was walking out the door and turned around and said, “Yes, thank God.”

    He said, “Come on, Michelle, do you really think God cares about what you watch on TV?”  I said, “Of course, I think God cares about everything I do.”  Then he said I was vain to think that God cared that much about me.  I couldn’t believe it!  It floored me for a few seconds.  But this sweet wave of compassion flooded my soul and I said, “God cares R—.  How sad it would be to think that he doesn’t.”

    I feel very blessed to know God cares for me, for us, His creation.

    Michelle H

    ===========

    Yes, Michelle.  And God cares about R—, too, even though he doesn’t know it. I hope that someday he, too, will realize how much his Creator cares about him.

    Pastor John

  • The Right Word

    Hey Pastor John,

    How are ya doing. We are good. Just a quick question?  Reading in acts where it reads “and the lord added to the church”. What would be the right word for “church”?

    Thanks,

    Greg

    ==========

    Hi Greg.

    What the author of Acts originally wrote is “the Lord added to the congregation (or assembly)”.  Neither that man nor any other New Testament writer ever used the Greek noun for a religious building, “church”.

    Thank you for the question.

    Pastor John

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