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  • Job Last Night: Betty

    Job was so good last night, John!

    The comforters talking to Job, and Job talking to them, telling his heart.  They didn’t know his heart, but when you said that Satan agreed with God about Job being righteous, well, that was a new thought for me.  Satan knew Job was a righteous man; therefore, he agreed with God.  I never thought about Satan agreeing with God about anything until now.

    Thank you for teaching us how to feel about Job and his comforters.  Getting the right understanding in a matter is very important.

    Betty

  • Last Night: Michelle

    Pastor John,

    Last night was wonderful!  It just keeps getting better and better!

    I have been reading through Psalms. Last night I read Psalm 22; however, this time, there was a different feeling when I read.  Reading the Son speaking through the Psalmist made me think about what we had just heard about Job and his sufferings.  I felt so much love in what God was doing for Job through his sufferings and his persecution.  The excitement of knowing that God was taking Job to a different place in Him!  A different kind of righteousness, a different kind of life!   It was breathtaking to feel that same love of God for us through the suffering and persecution of his precious Son!  He gave us His life!  My heart was overwhelmed as I fell asleep last night.

    Michelle

  • Job Reading: Gary

    Good morning, John,

    I wanted to thank you for the Job reading again last night.  There were so many things brought out last night that left me feeling thankful to have been there for “the confusion”. Haha.  I say confusion, but you explain it understandably.  A teacher has to bring all that out.  I’m thankful that you are willing and able.

    Well, one thing you said that I wrote down to hold on to, was: “hearing from God is more important than (physical) life”. 

    But the thoughts of Jobs friends, and even Job. – What a whirlwind.  There were some right thoughts, some wrong.  Who could know, without having the mind of God?  But we have been given the mind Christ.  We can know.  Not by intellect, but by the feelings of it.  And then, the end where Job is holding on to his righteousness, and you were saying  “No, let go, Job!”  Oh man, I could really feel that.  Who could know where God was taking Job? Who could know that it was the love of God for him, and not something else?  I think only someone who has the Holy Ghost could have an inkling where Job was being taken.  To a place that’s only possible BY God through the Holy Ghost doing something beyond us.  And knowing that Job was a type of Jesus as you brought out helps solidify the fact that the whole Bible is about Him (the Son).  Anyway these were some of the things that were said last night that I was thinking on this morning.  Thank you for investing the time in this and sharing it all with us.

    I have never understood the book of Job.  But you’ve been able to bring these things out.  It’s not possible to understand Job without the Holy Ghost, and a teacher.

    Thanks again.
    Eliphaz (Gary)

  • Tonight’s Book of Job Reading: Jerry

    Pastor John,

    On the way home this evening from the book of Job study, Beth and I considered the other-worldly call of God that was on Job to move beyond what Job knew to be perfection. God was calling Job out of what existed into a place that did not exist—for men.

    While the book of Job does not tell us that explicitly, we understand that God was calling Job’s heart to Himself when He apparently “punished” Job for being perfect in the earthly sense.  By God not accepting the best that Job had to offer (what God Himself had ordained to be acceptable), Job was being told in his heart that God’s approval lay further down the road with Him.  God was calling Job, but to what?  To where was God calling him?  Nothing existed on the other side of that call as far as Job knew.  Nothing beyond the experience of being perfectly obedient had ever been revealed to men!

    Whew!  What a leap of faith for Job then to say, after receiving a pummeling from God for no reason that he could see, that God would ultimately find him faultless and be pleased with him.  That response from Job (that faith in more than Job could see) was Job answering in the affirmative God’s call upon him to “come on,” though Job could not possibly perceive where he was going!

    Brother John, that unearthly situation makes me think of your testimony about the Spirit of the Lord calling on you many times when you were younger to “come on” when you were down praying, only for you to respond, “Come to where, Lord?  I’m here!”  Now we know that the call from Jesus was a call to Him—and out of the religious system of Christianity.  But at the time, you described it much like Job must have been experiencing in his heart all those years ago— a call to a place that seemingly did not exist!

    Wow! What an opportunity (and invitation) that may lie on the other side of God’s dissatisfaction, should we ever feel it in response to our best efforts.

    Jerry

    ========

    I like Jerry’s comments here.  I believe that happened to me when I asked God for truth (before I got your tracts).  I believed there was something right out there, and I presently did not have it, but had no clue what I was asking for at the time. The truth lay far beyond my understanding. — Gary

  • Risk of Being Profane

    Pastor John,

    I listened to you weeks ago (online) describe what it means to be “profane” in the sight of the Lord.  You said it is to esteem carnal (earthly) things on a par with holy things of God.

    I was also listening to your Old Testament Genesis teaching* and saw how Esau was profane before the Lord to say, “What good is my God-given birthright if I have no food and then ultimately starve?”  Esau counted his life and survival on earth equally important with what God in heaven had done.  Esau was profane.

    Since then, I have considered how the coming generations of saints may be called to suffer being ostracized for having the witness and testimony of the spirit of God inside.  They may be asked to deny the Spirit that bought them, just to carry on daily business such as working, or buying food, or traveling, or escaping death.  It will be a test from God to not succumb to being profane. For one may say during such times, “What good is my life in the Spirit if I die here in the street from starvation?”

    Today, I realized there is another risk of being profane before the Lord.  It is to hear from God and have clear instruction from Him, but to say in our heart, “How can I obey God if it disrupts an earthly peace, or it damages earthly connections with friends or relatives?”

    When we have heard from God, life for us freezes.  There is no going forward without obeying.  And there is no going around His word to us.  Life for us stops until we obey.

    It is a privilege and a terrible and fearful thing to be forever in the hand of God.  I am so thankful He has been so patient and so loving.  And He has!

    Jerry

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

  • Lamentation 3:33

    Good morning John, 

    I enjoyed reading Lamentations this morning (our translation is so good!)  Some verses in Chapter 3 stood out to me for their encouragement.  Some reminded me of Job and also made me thankful to understand that, as Paul said, “All things work together for the good of them who love God and are the called according to His purpose.”  Here are a few highlights that I wrote down from Chapter 3:

    21–23.  This will I bring to mind; in this, I will have hope: The loving kindness of Jehovah, for it never ceases; His compassions, for they never end; they are new every morning.  O great is your faithfulness!

    (Amen!  We know this from our own experiences!)

    1. Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; therefore, I will hope in Him. 

    (I love that my soul, through the holy Ghost, tells me that Jesus is my portion,.  And because he is my only portion, I have put all of my hope in Him!)

    1. It is good both to hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah.

    (We are not saved yet, but it’s good to have hope.)

    1. For though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the abundance of His lovingkindness

    (This is so encouraging.  He won’t give us more than our faith can handle.  And it’s comforting to know that God is the One causing our grief, and not the devil.  Grief from God comes from a heart full of love and mercy with a purpose for our good!)

    37-38.  Who says “this”, and it comes to pass if my Lord has not commanded it?  Out of the mouth of the Most High comes evil and good.

    (The message on “All things” again!)

    1. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to God in the heavens!

    (I love the thought of our hearts being lifted up to the heavens every time our hands go up to praise Him!!)

    I had a question about verse 33: “For He does not willfully afflict and grieve the children of men.”

    Does this mean God doesn’t afflict a man without purpose?

    Sending you all a hug this morning!

    Lee Ann

    ==========

    Hi Lee Ann,

    I am glad you have gotten so much out of Lamentations.  There is so much good there!

    As for verse 33, “He does not willfully afflict and grieve the children of men,” that means that God would rather not afflict, but He is determined to do what is best for us, and often, that means to put us through a trial.  As Sister Tracey said some years ago, “God puts us through things to get us past things.”  That statement could be in the Bible!

    Pastor John

  • Psalm 19:13

    I wonder if there will come a day when God commands us (should we be found worthy), not to pray for Gods children in Christianity any more.

    That makes me tremble.  I pray our hands are completely clean.

    Gary

    ==========

    Hey Pastor John,

    What is “the great transgression” in Psalms 19?

    Julie P.

    ==========

    Hi Julie,

    The “great transgression” could be any sin that God refuses to forgive.  Jesus mentioned blasphemy against the holy Ghost as the only unforgivable sin, but he must have meant that was the only sin that would under no circumstance be forgiven.  There are sins other than blasphemy with which men can provoke God to such wrath that He will not forgive them.  One example is found in Isaiah, where some of God’s people laughed off His call for repentance:

    Isaiah 22

    1. And in that day, my Lord, the LORD of Hosts, called for weeping, and for mourning, and for baldness, and for the girding on of sackcloth.
    2. But behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen, and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine, saying, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die!”
    3. And in my hearing, it was revealed by the LORD of Hosts, “I will damn myself if atonement for this iniquity will be made for you until you die, says my Lord, the LORD of Hosts.”

    Another example is found in Jeremiah, where God is so determined to destroy His people because of their rebellion against Him that He commanded Jeremiah to pray no more for the nation:

    Jeremiah 7

    1. “And as for you, don’t you intercede for this people, and don’t you lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, nor make entreaty to me, for I will not hear you!
    2. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
    3. This is a nation that does not obey the voice of Jehovah their God, nor receive correction.  Truth has perished, and it is cut off from their mouth.”

    But that commandment was so hard for Jeremiah himself to believe, for he knew how dearly God loved His people, that God had to repeat that commandment a couple of more times:

    Jeremiah 11

    1. As for you, pray no more for this people!  Yea, lift up no entreaty or prayer for them!  For I will not hear when they cry out to me because of their trouble.

    Jeremiah 14

    1. And Jehovah said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good!
    2. For they fast without me listening to their cry, and they offer up burnt offering and meal offering without me accepting them.  But with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence will I consume them.”

    So, the “great transgression” can be any transgression that provokes God to the extent that no number of prayers, no amount of tears, and no works of repentance will be accepted by Him.  God is love, as John said, but in that case, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

    Thank you for the question.  It is an important one to understand.

    Pastor John

  • Alpha and Omega Study

    Hi John.

    I was able to read through your Alpha and Omega paper* yesterday and this morning.  I don’t know that I had ever noticed before that the Father was the Alpha and Omega. The Isaiah 44 reference especially.  Well it makes sense that if Jesus was created the image of the Father that they BOTH would be.  But I found all those verses revealing and it takes slowing down to even consider.  On the other hand, I could see how oneness people could use these verses to prove that the Father and Son are one person (to support their doctrine).  It takes Jesus to understand anything.  Thank God for His mercy and ANY under standing of anything right.

    Reading through Job has really helped me to understand that understanding (of Him) is not from intellect.  And I spent time going through the Old Meeting notes you sent, and am now reading through the Iron Kingdom papers on “addicts”, and the other on “holy days and times”.  And I’m telling Jesus, “Jesus let me understand these things”.

    Thanks for all these things you are sending.  I’m swimming in papers, but what a way to go!  I’m thankful for everyone you send.  They are important to me.
    Gary S.

    *   Alpha and Omega PDF

  • The Dead Do Not Know

    Pastor John,

    Last night you spoke about our dead relatives not looking down on us and not knowing what we are doing.  I had an experience with Jesus in 2011 and he put that in my heart.  It was an amazing experience and it changed me.

    I had an unnatural fear of death set in on me as a child.  I remember the day it happened.  I can still see exactly where I was sitting that day, when an understanding came on me that we are all going to die at some point.  With it came a heavy fear and I sobbed for hours that day.  I carried that fear with me into adulthood.  When I had my children, just the thought of leaving them here alone would bring tears and that heavy fear.  I couldn’t bring myself to begin to really seek Jesus because the fear of death was so consuming.

    One afternoon, after Jesus really started dealing with my heart and at the very beginning of asking him for the holy ghost, Jesus took me flying with him.  I was sitting quietly talking to Jesus about things, and in a moment, I was with Jesus.

    Jesus was on my right-hand side, and I could see the brightness of him, but I could not see his face.  We were holding hands and flying over a large rock cliff that went over a sea.  There was no color except the brightness coming off of Jesus.  I would call it white, but it really was just a brightness.

    As I held his hand and flew next to him, I was one with him.  I understand being in him more because of this experience.  We were next to each other, but we were one.  I felt the most wonderful warmth coming from him.

    As I flew with him, I understood that when we are with him, we do not have one thought of this world.  Not one.  I understood I would not be with Jesus mourning my children.  They wouldn’t even be a thought.  As I realized that in the air with Jesus, it brought such a peace.  I still have that peace.  Jesus changed my heart that day.

    At the very end of that experience, Jesus showed me a large painter’s pail and inside of it were so many beautiful colors.  They were all swirled next to the other, but none of them bled into each other, and I was fascinated by that.  I knew that when we reached that pail, we would tip it over and all the colors would spill out and fill the earth, instead of that gray color.  I looked at Jesus, and he said, “Let’s go pour some sunshine on my world!” ….  Then Jerry,  who had dozed off next to me, moved and Jesus dropped me.  I fell straight down to where I was sitting before he took me flying.

    I can still feel what it felt like to fall.  It took me days to get over not being with him.  Just ask my husband!!  I mourned having to come back here and leave him.

    Actually, I don’t think I am over it yet!
    Beth D.   

  • Ephesians 5:31-33

    Hi, Pastor John.

    I was reading in Ephesians this morning and was touched by these verses in chapter 5, verses 31-33, which talk about the love of a man concerning his wife as loving himself (and her) as being one body. 

    Pastor John’s Version:

    1. “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one body.”
    2. This is a great mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the Assembly of God.
    3. In any case, let each man among you love his wife as he loves himself.  And let the wife reverence her husband.

    I read vs. 32 and had to stop.  Paul was speaking about what Jesus did for the Assembly (or body).  So, I read vs 31 again, substituting Jesus instead of the man.

    “For this reason, Jesus left his Father and will cleave to His bride, and they two shall be one body (with the Father because Jesus said he and his Father will take up his abode in us).”  After doing this, I felt so much love from Jesus that I fell to my knees in tears.  Just to think that Jesus left everything and his daddy just so we can be one body together with him (and his Father).  It is a “great mystery”, as Paul said in vs. 32. 

    Jesus is doing nothing more than loving himself (and his Father) by loving us.  My . . . now we can love the Father as Jesus loves Him, too. 

    The wonderful thing is, you don’t have to have an earthly husband or wife for this to happen as long as you are Jesus’ bride. 

    Love always,

    Billy

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