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  •  “To You He Is the Only One”

    Hi, Pastor John (and Darren).

    After Darren sang the above-referenced song in today’s meeting, I shared with him that the song holds a special place in my heart as it truly convicted me early in my walk with Christ. I realized this morning that it played an integral part in my baptism with the Holy Ghost! 

    I knew Darren wouldn’t remember the email I sent to him in early 2018. Even I didn’t remember the specifics. So I went to my old email and pulled it up. The email is copied below. 

    When I looked at the date of the email it was Feb 15, 2018 – only four days before I was baptized with the Holy Ghost with the sound of the spirit!! Praise God!!! I love my life in Him and am so grateful to be part of the body of Christ!!!

    Hi, Darren.

    Brad Crooker introduced me to your music and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to your CDs repeatedly as I commute to and from work.

    Saturday’s meeting at Pastor John’s (Brad and I were streaming the meeting) was the first time I saw you minister in song and it brought immense joy to my heart as soon as I heard your beautiful guitar playing and deep voice. I am quite the fan :)!

    Then the lyrics of your first song took me to a place I needed to go in order to be closer to Jesus! Your lyric “What you’re living for is what you’re giving into. This will be your end” touched my heart. I wasn’t sure why at first but I knew I had to sit with those words and let Jesus speak to my heart as to what they meant to me.

    It was on Sunday that the message became clear… I have been living for my worldly identity and I continually give into it and giving into it doesn’t give me anything but pain and heartache. What I want to be living for and giving into is Jesus – His words, His thoughts, His joy! What I need to surrender to him is this worldly identity I have been so wrapped up in for the last 55 years!

    “The world has nothing that you want. The world has nothing that you need. I will give you everything if everything you give to me.” Clearly what I was feeling and clearly my challenge is to heed your words and truly give Him my everything – the only thing I have known, the only way I have lived in this world my worldly identity – to Him.

    So… I then went to your lyric “I don’t ask that much of you. You don’t ask enough of me” and I got down on my knees and prayed to God to take away all the meaning I have derived from who I identify as in this world and let me be who I am… a child of Christ! I will continue to pray this prayer and listen to this song!

    Thank you a million times over for your songs and the one you sang on Saturday in particular. I am truly changed because of your ministry!

    Much love and respect,

    Allison

  • Going through Trials

    What a wonderful paragraph! I have been reading in the Suffering and the Saints book.*  And I have been thinking about the hearts of Daniel and other young men in the Bible who were captured by Nebuchadnezzar and made eunuchs.  I was telling Jesus how amazing I think it is that they were not full of bitterness.  It must have been so hard to go through all of that.  Those were real hearts and real young men who went through that.

    Then I read this paragraph (below), and I feel like Jesus is reading this story to me!  

    It really is wonderful that this is available for some heart that needs it.  Who knows who God will give it to one day.  This world is going to go through some very hard times.

    Beth D.

    book (1)

    * Going to Jesus.com – Suffering and the Saints

  • John 9:34

    John,

    I don’t understand why the priests made this statement (Jn. 9:34): “They answered and said to him [the healed blind man], “You were altogether born in sin, and you are teaching us?” 

    Wendell

    =========

    Hi Wendell,

    Those priests felt that the healed blind man was a lower creature and, therefore, unworthy and unable to teach them anything, especially about God.

    It was commonly held by the Gentiles of the time that the rich and/or powerful were what amounts to a different species, superior to those of the lower classes.  The Greeks and Romans even invented fantastic myths about their great men, such as The Aeneid, to show that those people were descendent from the gods, with divine blood running in their veins.

    The priests would not have gone that far, but they were clearly influenced by the spirit of their age to consider lower classes as inferior to them.  I recall that in John 12, the leaders of Israel even considered those in Israel who were not skilled in the law to be cursed by God.  That would mean, of course, that they were the blessed ones, God’s favorites, if you will.

    Pride is a sneaky thing.  It will even use knowledge of the Scriptures to puff men up if they do not stay low at the Master’s feet. 

    Thank you for the question.

    Pastor John

  • My Real Identity

    John,

    I want to share a dream I had a few nights ago.

    In my dream, I was at some sort of business standing at a counter about chest high. Opposite of me was a woman that I assume was an employee.  I do not know what type of business it was, or what I was doing there.

    The woman asked me for identification.  I immediately pulled my wallet from my back pocket, took out my drivers license and set it on the counter.  The woman looked down at it, then looked at me and shook her head, “no”.

    I then started to take other documents from my wallet, spreading them out on the counter, one by one, which included my insurance card, my hunting and fishing license, credit cards, and even my library card.  Every time I set a document on the counter in an attempt to identify myself, the woman shook her head, “no”. 

    I emptied my wallet of every possible document that could possibly identify who I was. Afterwards, I thought to myself, I have given her everything but my birth certificate and passport. 

    Then I awoke.

    I had various thoughts about the dream throughout the day.  Here are a few:

    – My real identity cannot be found with any document that I carry in my wallet.

    – The woman would not be satisfied with anything tangible.

    – The spirit is the witness.  The spirit in me testifies to who I am.

    – Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit. 

    – I believe this dream was an invitation for me (and perhaps others) to step up and allow the spirit to manifest itself through me by my testimony, and by living in that place beyond my own righteousness, as you have been pointing out from our Job readings.

    Two nicely dressed Christian men came to my door today to talk about how necessary it is to read “the word of God”, the Bible. When they asked me if I believe that the Bible is the word of God, I told them no, but I do believe that it is the recorded word of God. I think that through them off.

    That simple comment opened the door for me to talk about the holy Ghost, the new birth and the living word of God. One of them told me more than once that what I was saying was worth consideration, and even asked if they could come back another day.

    I also gave them my testimony which is my true identification.

    When they left, I felt grateful for the opportunity to talk to these two, well intended men about the living word of God. 

    Tom 

    =========

    Sounds like my message last night.

    That is a good dream, Tom!  Our real identity is hidden from the world, as of now, because God has His children hidden in Jesus.  As Paul said, “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

    Pastor John

  • “The Response of the Tongue”

    Pastor John,

    In my “journey” through Proverbs,⁷ I’ve gotten to chapter 16 this morning, and after reading verse 1, I had to stop right away.  It says:

    “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the response of the tongue is from the Lord.”

    It seems obvious to me that Solomon here was talking about “the tongue” figuratively, but I just can’t get away from the thought that, without him being aware of it, he was also prophesying about the sound of the Spirit coming off of the tongues of men from the day of Pentecost on; confirming, ahead of time, that the “response of the tongue” (or “the answer of a good conscience”, in Peter’s words) is “from the Lord”. 

    The Hungarian translation I’m reading says, “The thoughts of the MIND belong to man, but the response of the tongue is from the Lord”. And reading that, I was reminded of another scripture in 1Cor 14:14-15, where Paul discusses praying “in the Spirit” vs praying “with the understanding”, explaining that “if I pray in a tongue, my spirit is praying”.  That, I feel like, echoes Solomon’s statement: “The response of the tongue is from the Lord”, because, as we know, “the Lord is that Spirit”. 

    It is possible that I am projecting something into Proverbs 16:1 that is not there, but (using an image from one of Darren’s songs) these are the thoughts I was feeling while reading it.

    Zoli

    =========

    Hi Zoli.

    Ancient men of God often spoke beyond themselves, being moved by the Spirit to do so.  And it was all about the hidden Son of God and his future work.  That verse from Proverbs could well be an example of it.

    Paul said that when he prayed in the Spirit, his mind was not involved, which goes along with what you are saying.  There is a praying with the mind, which is good, even though from us, and there is a praying in the Spirit, which is better because, as Solomon said, it is given to us from the Lord.

    Thank you for sending that.  Thought provoking.  Keep feeling your thoughts!

    Pastor John

  • Elihu to Job and Job’s friends video

    Pastor John,

    I just watched your YouTube video lesson on Elihu reprimanding Job (and Job’s friends) for misunderstanding God.

    (Below is the video link, copy/paste in a browser.)

    In addition to making the book of Job clear, where it was not for me before, I felt like the video also answered the question as to why Christianity, or any other earthly religious thing offered by men to God, is not acceptable to God.

    It goes beyond something being just good or bad—that becomes irrelevant. It is about whether it is of and from men. Men have nothing to offer God (good or bad) except for what He has given them—and for that purpose.

    The first 47 minutes of this video answers that question in a way I have not experienced before. It is just wonderful.

    Thank you.

    Jerry

    * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhJFfcvxHes

  • Jesus Hears Your Prayers

    Morning!

    I’m sitting here this morning thanking Jesus that I got the point of what Jesus was showing me in my journey to him. In the entertainment world right now, there is a man who became popular worldwide for his role on a sitcom.  He became “famous” and that was his dream. In this clip, he tells how he prayed about being famous and God answered his prayer, and then how he prayed later to just remain alive.  God answered his prayer and six months into it, he was on drugs and a spiral downfall the rest of his life. His second prayer, which he states God answered, God let him live. He stated in another video how he didn’t want to be remembered for the sitcom, because to him, they were painful memories of every time he was strung out so bad he couldn’t even remember doing the scenes.  The influence on the people he touched was not what he had hoped for in the end. Sadly, though, I’m not sure that he got the point. I hope he did, but he died suddenly about two weeks ago.

    He knew God answered his prayer but where did it lead him.  Hearing this last night brought back memories of a specific time in my life when I prayed for something that I wanted…. when I was a sinner.  That prayer was answered and it was some of the roughest times in my life, when it didn’t have to be. I could have left it and gone on with God but I didn’t.  It took me a little while longer to get the point. It was hard but at the end, when I prayed for relief, Jesus gave it and brought me to him…. And I got the point! And Jesus gave me relief and blessed me with a wonderful life instead. Jesus made me happy.  I was completely finished with that world. I cannot thank him enough for that. Where I was, I could have very easily not been here today, just like the young man in the video. Jesus saved my life!

    Prayers matter to God, and He hears them. Some prayers may not be the best route for you, so it matters what you are asking for. Since that experience in my life, my prayers have been more like “God whatever your will is for me, let me do it.”  Even if I had things in my heart that I wanted, the bottom line is, “what do you want God?”.  And then, pray I cooperate!

    Life lessons bring about life living….. for sure!

    I attached the short video in case anyone would like to hear it. God does hear your prayer, but what are you praying for and where is it taking you? Whew!

    ==========

    Song and I were just talking about this very thing at the grocery store today.  She saw a magazine on the checkout area that said this guy died, and I told her the same things you said here. When God gives us a chance, any chance, it’s important that we stay true to our answered prayer.  It’s no joke.
    Gary

  • “The Sound of the Spirit”

    Dear Pastor John,

    Some months ago, Brother Wendell mentioned to me in one of his letters the “revelation” that not all who receive the holy Ghost baptism speak in tongues. This is something you had already talked about earlier, briefly, during one of the meetings, saying that you prefer calling it the “sound of the spirit” instead of “speaking in tongues”.  As I was reading the tracts and other materials on goingtojesus.com, I saw that some of them have already been rewritten, in a way that the text would not suggest that the sound of the Spirit must be “speaking in tongues” every time someone receives the holy Ghost.

    I remember that your booklet “Speaking In Tongues At Spirit Baptism” (which is now called “The Sound Of The Spirit At Spirit Baptism”)* used to start with a paragraph in which you made it clear that your stance (that you had back then) on the significance of speaking in tongues was NOT a revelation from the Lord, but rather something “you think you have the Spirit on” (using Paul’s phraseology from 1 Corinthians 7).

    I wanted to ask you, Pastor John, if you could share a bit more extensively about how the Lord has shown this new revelation to you.  Is there some written or audio material with you expounding on it?  Also, I assume that you weighed the possibility that along with rewriting the tracts and booklets, you might also mention in these redone writings what you used to believe and teach about speaking in tongues, and how God has led you to change your doctrine.  If you did think about this, how have you come to the conclusion that you wouldn’t make any reference (at least as far as I can tell) to this change.

    One of the reasons I’m asking you about this is because I have already translated a number of tracts into Hungarian, some of which have been changed now, and I’ve been thinking and praying about what is the right way to go about this.  Should I just rewrite the text, or maybe leave a note about the changes? Should I have the new “New Birth”** tract printed and redistributed to every home in my town?  I’m not expecting you to tell me what to do, I’m just letting you know what I’ve been thinking and praying about. Maybe if you shared about your experience, I could gain some wisdom from it.

    Thank you.

    Zoli

    ==========

    Hello, Zoli.

    I have always known that the sound which the Spirit makes when it enters a heart is not always a clear, discernible language.  The sound made by the Spirit other than a language, I felt, was covered in the scripture that says, “He will speak to this people with stammering lips and another tongue” (Isa. 28:11).  It never seemed quite adequate to say only that speaking in tongues was the sign of the new birth and not to mention the “stammering lips” part of that verse.  But at the same time, to mention stammering lips every time I said speaking in tongues seemed too wordy.  It was a minor problem for me, in the big scheme of things, but still, it never felt perfect.

    Recently, it struck me that what Jesus said was not that speaking in tongues was the sign that the Spirit had entered, but just a “sound”:  “The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear its sound. . . .  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:8).  That “sound” may certainly be a distinct language, as at Pentecost, but it might also be some other sound.  Jesus’ point was only what he said, that there is always a sound.  He meant nothing more.  That was a new thought to me.

    For the brothers and sisters who did not speak in a clear language when they received the Spirit, it is comforting to know that whatever sound the Spirit made through them is sufficient.  Some have been told that they do not have the Spirit because they have not spoken in a clear language!  I do not want to leave the impression with anyone that I agree with that!  So, it feels more perfect for me to say only what Jesus said, namely, that we would hear a sound.  I rewrote my tracts and my book on receiving Spirit baptism because I do not want to discourage any child of God who has not spoken in tongues, though the Spirit did make a sound when they received it.

    To say in tracts or books that speaking in tongues is the sign of the new birth may not be so far off the right track that they must be rewritten or that an explanation for the change is required.  The Lord would have to lead you on that.  I felt the need to rewrite my tracts and my book because I want to make my work perfect, as Jesus commanded me to do many years ago.  To please the Master is our goal.

    I hope that helps.

    Pastor John

    ==========

    It does help, thank you for your answer, Pastor John. What I assumed or felt was pretty much what you’ve just explained: that you felt it was necessary to clarify what you had always meant when you spoke about speaking in tongues as the “initial evidence” of the new birth. 

    May God help you and help all of us to be perfect reflections of His heart and His thoughts towards our brothers and sisters, and towards the world. In our deeds, in our words, in all our ways. 

    Zoli

    *  Going to Jesus.com – The Sound of the Spirit at Spirit Baptism

    **  Going to Jesus.com Tracts – The New Birth

  • Perfection Has to Die

    Pastor John,

    I feel like you taught us the foundation of the gospel this evening, or part of it.  That is: Perfection (on earth) has to die! 

    That truth is a line in the sand.  A line between this world and the place where God lives.

    God is on the other side of human perfection!

    Jesus, of his own will, carried the same perfection Job was laboring to defend, to the cross. Jesus took a spotless, blameless, perfect lamb (himself) and destroyed it “without cause” (without sin) to teach us!  Jesus was teaching us the gospel – that the way to his Father was beyond human perfection, and he killed it openly for the whole world to see.

    No wonder the Pharisees hated Jesus so; they loved being perfect, and Jesus was showing the world it was worthless!  Glory to God!

    If we love being right, if we love being good, if we love being perfect, we are going to hate the gospel because the message of the holy gospel is that our perfection has to die, so that in us, He can live!

    Hahaha!  That is so good!

    I felt like I was floating when I left there this evening, like I had left this world for a while. Whew!

    Jerry

  • God Did It!

    Pastor John,

    I have been listening to an Old Testament* cd today in which you were telling about God giving you the message: “It tickles the devil for God’s people to blame their troubles on him.” You described the reaction that some folks had to the message, and what it was you were really saying about your mother, which is, “She is a child of God. God had not handed her over to the devil when she got sick.  He was the one who decided if she lived or died!”  You said that you were so full of the holy Ghost delivering that message, that you didn’t even feel people’s hatred of that message as you told what God had shown you.

    Whew! That is so good!

    Jerry always says that is the answer to everything – stay full of the holy ghost!  We won’t even feel anything wrong in that condition!  I love it!

    Whew, and the second cd is even better!

    The only reason we can take in what Jesus is giving you about the book of Job right now is because you took the message in first!  Because Jesus could give your heart the message that God did all of it to Job, we can now follow you right into that truth, and everything else. We are able to hear more from Jesus!

    Wow! I love it PJ.  I love that you had a heart to take in that message, and I love that we do too.  Look what it has led to!

    Ha! I was gonna include Isaiah 28:10 from our translation, but it says, “For da-da will be upon da-da, da-da upon da-da, blah-blah upon blah-blah, blah-blah upon blah-blah, here a little, there a little.”

    I’m not sure I should include that without some additional context 🙂

    Jesus is always adding to us and giving us what we need to hear from him.

    Beth D.

    *  Old Testament Course (Pt. 1) – Going to Jesus.com

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