Dear Gary and Darren, and John . . .

I am basking in that prayer song this morning, “Put Us In Order, Lord.”

I don’t quite know how to express this, but I’ll try. . .

I’ve been thinking about the songs the Lord has given—and continues to give—and it’s almost inexplicable to me. . . they are SO beautiful. . . and I’ve been wondering. . . how they seem to be only for those hearts and souls that are yielding to this truth, as if the songs are already in God’s repertoire and He delivers them to Darren, or to Gray, or Donna, etc., one by one, to each according to their particular talents and styles, in order for His particular message or teaching or healing to be administered to those individuals who love Jesus, and love the truth. For example, brother Troy was significantly touched by “The Father Dwelt in Thick Black Darkness”, which has drawn him closer to the Truth and to the Body. Michelle has fallen more in love with Jesus lately, partly because of the influence of some wonderful songs. Others have their own individual favorites that stir their souls. These songs go deep, in different ones, for different reasons. They speak to the heart, through the holy Spirit, in ways that are so remarkably different than any other music.

Christian music doesn’t even come close. In most cases, Christian songs don’t come from God to the musician. They come from the musician, oftentimes from a heart that still hasn’t been truly cleansed by God. There’s a peculiar quality in Christian music that seems to be trying too hard to praise God; I’ve heard some that sound as if they’re straining to worship God, or trying to deliver a message or a feeling that isn’t there, so they struggle to express it in a forced, worldly way, like a “lament” or a “blues” kind of style. Poor souls: that’s all they know. Christian songs talk ABOUT God, but our songs are FROM GOD, and express His truths, and His ways, and His feelings—in a personal, intimate way!!!! And God’s people who’ve been caught up in the snare of Christianity for so long are usually numb to the feelings that are raining down on us in these songs. I’ve given many gifts of CDs to people, only to find out later that they listened once or twice and that was it. Instead, they prefer the familiar profane music of Christianity (of the world) to this pure music that has true healing ability. Even dear holy-Ghost-filled brothers and sisters cannot hear our music in the same way that we do, because they’ve been polluted and deadened by the styles of other religious music. They might sense a glimmer of radiance in some of our songs, but they fail to pursue it; they don’t hunger for more. Some have even returned the CDs to me, and thanked me, politely, with no explanation. Their condition is all too obvious, and sad.

Well, to each his own, I suppose. But give me Jesus, night and Day; give me Jesus all the way.

Gary, this new song is a perfect blend of your lyrics—your personal testimony; and Darren’s nimble guitar embellishments, and John and Donna’s holy voices…

It will remain in my heart all day long, because I need to stay under the “order” that is expressed in this song. It is truly a prayer that ought to stay on our hearts all the time.

Love,
Brad

Hey John

I just finished reading chapter 5 of the GCC stories. All I could do is cry. The part about little Jimmy Clark was new to me. God crushes the heart to make it able to rejoice in truth; He ruins dreams to awaken us to His righteousness; He takes those we love that we may learn to love Him first.

John, thanks for the GCC book. That is a story of God.

Junior

Hi Pastor John,

I’ve been thinking lately about how it would be a good idea while I’m not in school to spend this time to get established in knowledge, specifically the Bible. The other day, I had the day off so I started by going to Starbucks and sitting while I drank my coffee. I decided to choose a reading plan from that Bible app. on my phone that Bekah had talked about in one of the last meetings.

The plan started off in Genesis, so I began to read. Actually, I began to read very quickly. I figured I had read Genesis Chapter 1 several times and it was pretty straight-forward.
A few verses down, I stopped. I decided to start over, read slowly, and pay close attention to the detail, keeping in mind the knowledge about the Father and Son that we have been shown. So, here I sat on the couch, people coming and going, the environment quite bustling…and as I began to read again from the top, it was as if everything around me became quiet and I was sucked into this warp where all I noticed was what I was reading. It was as if I was reading Genesis for the very first time. The God that created the earth, paying close attention to every detail, is the same one attending to all the details to my own insignificant life, and who was at that moment, allowing me to experience a morsel of Creation. As I read about the birth of the earth, I could literally feel the crispness, the newness, the pureness of the new day. When I read about the whales being created, I could hear the mighty “whoosh” of the water spewing from their backs. When have I ever read Genesis before and have tears well up in my eyes? It was so interactive.

I know God did that for me because I have been praying for more knowledge and to enjoy it. He opened that book right up for me.

Anna
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That is beautiful, Anna. Thank you for letting us in on that testimony!

I remember the Lord, some years ago, putting it on my heart to read the first chapter of Genesis. At first, I questioned why. I thought to myself, “I have taught Genesis in the community college system for years. What else could there be for me to learn about it?” But then, I knew that Jesus always has a good reason for putting things in our hearts to do, and besides, I also knew that he is well able to teach us new things from the things we think we already know. So, I sat down and read it.

I made it to verse 9, where the waters were commanded to be gathered into one place. Then Jesus asked me, “If the waters were gathered in one place, then how many places could the land be in?” I understood immediately what he meant. All land on this earth used to be in one place, just like the waters. I was already aware of what geologists call “Pangaea”, the super-continent that broke apart to form the seven continents we have today. I loved that! The Bible tells of Pangaea, too!

That was a good conversation piece for me and Brother Bob, as you might imagine.

Pastor John

 

Good morning, Pastor John:

I typed in your name on the Internet to see what is out there on you. Our web sites came up, which is very nice, but I saw how many other sites that are not good about you (us). It hurt my heart for Jesus, because they are actually talking against the truths about Jesus that you have learned and taught us with. There was hatred, animosity, and envy for example. I felt nothing but pity for them, but I can’t help but feeling so very grateful for what is doing and revealing to us; it’s very exciting. The music, the testimonies, the teaching, wow; I just wonder if anyone has taking the time to read the many kinds of testimonies, that we know will help God’s people. It’s a precious thing, what God is doing at Pastor John’s House. One of these days I feel all of the titles, beliefs, and especially all the many doctrines out there will just be a puff of wind; it’ll only be what you are in your heart towards Jesus.

The man from Haiti said it best, “Satan hates you!” And, he hates anything about the truths concerning Jesus.

“We Are Blessed”, (humbly speaking)

billy m.
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Hi Billy.

It can be frustrating to know such falsehoods are out there, but then, Jesus forewarned us that if we were his, we will suffer such hatred and slander as we have suffered. On the other hand, there is a blessing which comes with the abuse! As Jesus told his disciples, “Blessed are you, when men revile you, and persecute you, and speak all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.” I love what one sister said several years ago when some people were speaking evil of her. She said, “They can dig up that old girl, but they can’t make her live!”

In one proverb, Solomon said, “An evil man digs up evil with his lips.” Billy, let’s pray that Jesus never finds us “digging up evil” against anyone with what we say. We would much rather be the ones who are being slandered than the ones doing the slander.

Pastor John

Hey –

I really enjoyed reading your notes on chapter 6. I have read it twice already and the thoughts are good and sobering. The new birth is a very precious experience, and to even know and understand these things is amazing. I really enjoyed the part you wrote explaining that it was God’s plan from the beginning that Jesus be killed and that it was no secret in heaven even while Jesus was alive. And also the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, and God refusing to allow anyone to see His pain. These are good and clear thoughts and really explain the feelings of that time. And Jesus crying out and getting no answer from his Father when he said “Why have you forsaken me?” Makes sense, now that we see it. It’s really something how if we think we know something, it is automatically inserted into our brains as the gospel. It takes God to help us “un-think” what we thought.

Thanks John. This book is really an eye-opener, and I hope it can help God’s people everywhere to come out from the burdens of christianity. I am thankful that I have been a part of it, and that I can see and understand what is being said. That alone is a blessing. I think it is neat that the Father and the Son are letting us in on what was and is really happening.

Amy

I read the excerpts from Chapter 6 of your Father and Son book.

Wow, wonderful thoughts of life!

When you were telling about Eve, and comparing her experience with that of Jesus in the wilderness, it made me remember the very first desire I felt when I knew I needed the holy ghost because those people who had it had a power to overcome sin every day, a power I knew I did not have in my own!

I LOVE these thoughts from Jesus that you wrote!

Donna
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Hey

There sure are some things to chew on in Chapter 6. While reading these things, I had thoughts about two of the consistent lines of attack against Jesus while he was on the earth.
The issue of him being the/a son of God, which was called blasphemy etc.
The issue of keeping the Law and lawfulness in general.
The second issue continued after Pentecost with the accusations brought against Steven and Paul and the trouble involved in Acts 15, Galatians and Asia in general. I can see Satan the lawyer being used and at work in this. Just wondering if there is a place to consider these things in the text of the book. If nothing else it opens up the consideration of what was going on while Jesus walked among men. And when you consider things like the Trinity doctrine and the whole issue of ceremonies, these lines of attack are still present to this day.

I also looked up all occurrences of the exact phrase “the Son of God” in the KJV to see whether the article [“the”] appears in the Byzantine Greek text. Here are the places where the article appears with huios along with the speaker/writer. Don’t know if this shows anything. If Romans 1:4 is accepted as having the article, then every occurrence [of “Son of God”] after Pentecost has the article.

Matt 26:63 high priest speaking
Mark 3:11 unclean spirits speaking
Luke 4:41 demons speaking
22:70 the council of elders speaking
John 1:34 John the Baptist speaking
1:49 Nathanael speaking
5:25; 9:35; 11:4 Jesus speaking
11:27 Martha speaking
20:31 John speaking

Acts 8:37 (??? This verse is not in the Byzantine mss. The UBS Greek text also omits this verse, but in footnotes, some Greek versions cited for v37 do have the article.)
9:20 Paul speaking

Rom 1:4 Could be. Whole phrase in genitive – του ορισθεντος υιου θεου
2Cor. 1:19 Paul (interposed words between article and huios)
Gal 2:20 Paul
Eph 4:13 Paul
Heb 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29 author of Hebrews speaking

1John 3:8; 4:15; 5:5,10,12,13,20 John
Rev 2:18 Jesus

Damien
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Thanks, Damien.

It is interesting that every time “Son of God” appears after Pentecost, “the” is attached. The Son really was revealed when the Spirit came, wasn’t he?

“The issue of keeping the Law and lawfulness in general” was not that much of an issue while Jesus was still here on earth. But it certainly became a huge issue among God’s people in the years following God’s call to the Gentiles (Acts 10), and especially after God’s anointing of Paul with a gospel for them.

 

Hi, Pastor John:

The reading Sunday really did something for me; it was very joyful. You were reading about Jesus and the temptation in the wilderness. Satan came to Jesus, not knowing who he was, but thought he was on another mission from God. But, unlike any prior mission, this man (Jesus) confronted Satan with the righteousness of God. It wasn’t that Jesus knew more scriptures than Satan, but Jesus confronted Satan with what God is, because it was inside him (Jesus). It just made me wonder what kinds of thoughts Satan must have had when this man spoke to him like he did. It just thrilled my soul. My heart said, “That’s how it’s done!” Praise God! It’s like, you know it, but the reading made it clearer. The truth takes the flesh out of overcoming anything; everything the flesh does is from it’s own will. Men don’t know how to overcome anything without God. Everything of the world is of the flesh, and that is Satan’s only weapon against us – our flesh. I love Romans 8:9: “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” And, “If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ (God’s life) he is none of his.”

This gave me more appreciation for what Jesus did for us, like Cliff’s testimony of Jesus’ crucifixion. I do hope we will read the rest of chapter 6 together. I felt such a great hope! It was so wonderful. The feelings from the reading are still here with me this morning. Amen!

billy m.
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And the thoughts we have been having this morning are just breath-taking, Billy. Pray that we can get it all written down.

jdc

Pastor John,

I loved the sweet feelings that flowed at the end of the reading Sunday. That is what reading and talking about Jesus does. Truly, there is something about that name. You could feel the Life when you were praying for our family, while Brother Gary was playing in the background. You could barely hear Gary, but the feelings of the song were “loud and clear”. It’s about Jesus and his Father.

I felt such a deep appreciation for Bob, John David, and Stuart “livestreaming” for us who could not be there. I know our hearts were there, and the fellowship and love of the Spirit was there. It is not a small thing to witness and or feel the Spirit when it moves. We are blessed.

Just about every book has some kind of intro or preface. I feel that this book about the Father and the Son is the preface of love for your upcoming book, The Iron Kingdom. It reminds me of how John the baptist was the “preface” to Jesus’ ministry to Israel. Then Jesus came and taught Israel, with words and with power, about the Kingdom of God. This book will introduce (again), the truth about Jesus and his Father to His children, and then open those feelings (to all who want it) to see the truth about the evil that has been done to Jesus by the Iron Kingdom of Christianity.

I was glad to hear that you are going to have a hard cover for this book. It would be something to tie (in some way) the hard cover of the F and S book, to the cover of The Iron Kingdom book. To me, it just feels these two books would go hand-in hand.

bro. billy

Hey Pastor John,

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the reading last night. I had forgotten this was the section about Job, and as we read on, I could feel my excitement as we got closer to the parts where God explains what he was doing with Satan. As we were sitting there reading and enjoying what we had been shown, I could feel, for a very long time, a sensation of chills running over me. I had the thought, ‘Oh, I’m getting a little chilly’. But as we sat there and read and enjoyed it, I realized that it was the spirit of God running very faintly all over my body, and for quite a long time. It felt soo good. Even still after I got home, I kept replaying what we had read and heard and felt last night. It was a very good thought to me, when you said that as long as we think we have any bit of control of a situation, then we are not fully trusting in the Lord, and that we have not fully given it to Him. (I think that is how you said it) It is the human nature to “keep things under control” in our own realm of life, and where we have control of daily, even hourly and minutely, situations. But truly letting Jesus guide our life is always seeking His will. We really don’t know anything without Him. We don’t know how to be a good wife or husband, sister or brother, or anything else without Him.

Last night really was good to my soul!

Julie.

p.s… Cliff and I won’t be there Wednesday night. He is in Hickory all this week for school, and I am going up on Tuesday night and spending the rest of the week with him.
Aww…I hate that. Last night was so good!
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Thanks, Julie. Rob and I were talking today about how the feelings from this weekend followed us home and have continued. So you were not the only one feeling that way!

Concerning the point I was making, as long as we think we have something to add to God, any advice or wisdom concerning any particular situation, we really haven’t fully realized that we know nothing without His help. He really is our only hope – BUT He is enough! He loves us, and He is enough.

Hope you and Cliff have a wonderful week together. Thanks for writing.

Pastor John