Manna – No Preservatives Added

God gave them Manna from heaven to eat but God condemned “Left-Overs.”

Exo 16:16] “This is what the LORD has commanded, `Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” [17] And the sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. [18] When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. [19] And Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.” [20] But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. [21] And they gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.

EX 16:31 And the house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. [32] Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded, `Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” [33] And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations.” [34] As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept. [35] And the sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan

John 6: 31] “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’” [32] Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. [33] “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” [34] They said therefore to Him, “Lord, evermore give us this bread.” [35] Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

The Manna which fell out of heaven into the wilderness fed Israel for forty years and none lacked anything to eat. Jesus said that Moses didn’t supply that bread but His Father who is in Heaven. This natural bread ,manna, was just a type or foreshadowing of the True Bread, Christ, that came down out of heaven to give Life to the world. This natural bread, manna, no longer fed Israel AFTER they entered into the Land of Canaan. Canaan is a type of the Kingdom. After we enter into the Kingdom dimension natural manna must stop and we must experience the reality of the True Bread From Heaven.

This food for the natural man supplied the need of the natural man but for the Spiritual Man there was a new provision that was designed to feed the spiritual man. This inner hunger can only be met by the reality of the True Manna which comes down out of heaven and gives life NOT just to Israel but to the whole world. That True Manna / Bread is The Living Word of God. Jesus said “I am that bread that came down out of heaven.”

John 6: 35] Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

The True Bread is not a natural manna OR is it His natural flesh as they supposed but the reality of “bread” is now “Spirit and Life.” As the Bread of Life He came to give “LIFE” to the world. Those that eat HIM shall never hunger. However, this “eating” is not an outward act of eating something naturally substantive outwardly. This Bread of Life is Inward and must be eaten inwardly by the new inner man. We saw that the new inner man has eyes, to see, ears, to hear, and now a mouth, to eat AND a new heart, to understand!

The response of the natural man either then or now is always; “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” Eating a wafer, or bread or a roll during the Lord’s Table by the natural man will hardly fulfill John 6, as is popularly taught.

John 6: 53] Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.

The natural man will immediately conceptualize this statement and begin to think in natural terms. The natural man will reason, the Son of Man was Jesus who was born of Mary, therefore, somehow we must eat Him. Why don’t we get some natural bread and call this His flesh. Then how will we drink His Blood? Well, didn’t Jesus refer to the cup of wine as His blood of the Covenant? Oc course! Then all He was talking about was the Lord’s Table!
This natural man is certainly active today under the New Covenant. The natural man is always looking for something natural to eat because that is ALL that he can digest. The Spiritual man also has a big problem because he cannot digest natural things. This is why, in many meetings, the natural man goes away full and encouraged but the Spiritual man is still starving when he leaves. The spiritual man is crying out “Is this all there is?” ONLY Christ, Himself, the Living and Abiding Word of God, can feed the Spiritual man and satisfy his hunger.

The natural man is primarily concerned with doctrine and order and structure. All scripture is conceptualized as doctrine to be rationalized and put into order. If a doctrine is preached that the natural man can agree with he goes away full and satisfied. At the same time the new spiritual man is receiving nothing except nice words that are true but just not edible.

1PE 2:1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, [2] like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, [3] if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Some preachers take this scripture as a commandment to always give milk every Sunday. This is good for the new born babies but it is not good for those who have been taken from the breast.

 ISA 28:9 “To whom would He teach knowledge? And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? [10] “For He says, `Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’” [11] Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, [12] He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose [or rest ],” but they would not listen HE, The Word Himself, will teach knowledge and interpret and explain the message BUT NOT to those who are still only able to receive milk.

We were in a meeting several years ago when a woman was still nursing her child when he was 3 1⁄2 years old and it created a scandal. Many thought this amounted to child abuse and preventing to child from living a normal life. In the natural there was some wisdom expressed . However, we see this same scandal every Sunday in the church and the congregation discerns nothing amiss. Why? Because the natural man just checks for accuracy and not for spiritual content or food for the spiritual man.

The Manna would only stay eatable for one day except on Saturday but the maximum the Manna could be eaten was on the second day but this was not the normal Day because this was ONLY on Sabbath. Regularly on the second day the Manna turned to worms, got rancid, it became uneatable and had to be thrown out.

Today we see some “ministers” just repeating what someone else has said in their assembly. We purchase a book like “The Purpose Driven Life” and thousands repeat the message around the world. Since this is only milk, it seems to work OK and everyone gets excited because they think it is fresh manna. No! This Manna was gathered by Rick Warren and distributed to the church by the milk man { minister} several days later. Some of it had been frozen for months but it was thawed out and appeared to be fresh milk.

From these scriptures in Exodus we learn that God puts NO Preservatives in the Manna and that He hates left-overs. The ONLY MEAT that is available to the more mature person is THE LIVING AND ABIDING WORD OF GOD, HIMSELF. This is The True Manna that has come down out of heaven from God to give LIFE. Each responsible person is challenged to gather the fresh manna for himself and his household each morning.[ Not a natural morning but a spiritual morning.]

Why this arrangement? Israel had to trust God and obey each day. If they were in unbelief they would horde the manna one day just in case God didn’t provide the next day. God proved His faithfulness by never missing sending the Manna each morning. Israel’s faith was supposed to grow every morning when they went out and found Manna. They also found God to be completely faithful to provide. Now, this is an example for us!

I used to carry the Tabernacle of Moses and the Map of Israel coming out of Egypt to every meeting, just in case God didn’t show up, because I could always bring a message from the Tabernacle or the Map. I would panic if I didn’t have a good message beforehand. Why? I was in unbelief because I didn’t know if God would provide food for every meeting. Most of the time I
didn’t just share the Manna God had given to me that day and sit down but gathered up all the left-overs I could find to fill in an hour message. Then I learned that if we trust God He will supply True Manna during the meeting, as we gather fresh Manna with the congregation. As with Israel, so also with the church! Some in the congregation are always complaining about this terrible Manna. I have been in many meetings when I was generally leading that group of complainers! I soon realized that this Manna that was being served was just left-overs and was full of worms. There was nothing wrong with the manna when it originally fell from heaven. However, the next time the old manna was served it had bred worms, was rancid and was no longer food for the spiritual man. However, the natural man in the pew checked the message for accuracy and rationalized that this was a good message full of truth.
Psalms 78:19 Then they spoke against God; They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? 22 Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. 23 Yet He commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven; 24 And He rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven. 25 Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.

The Food of “Kings and the Priests” is different from the food of the average person in the pew. Still, God has called us all to make the transition to the “King’s Table” and not be limited by the food prepared for babies.

We should all know by now that participation in the Kingdom is not by some intellectual concept based upon a doctrine about the Kingdom. The Kingdom CAN BE conceptualized and preached by the natural man like any other doctrine. This presents a great danger because the natural man in the pew will think he has heard the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is not about believing an intellectual concept about Kingdom truth or having an accurate doctrine about the Kingdom. The Kingdom is a matter of living by His Life, obedience to His Laws and living within the New Covenant provision.

We all know that real salvation is not just a matter of accepting accurate doctrine or agreeing with a certain truth about Jesus Christ but about being born from above and learning obedience within the inner life. In too many places proper doctrine becomes a war of concepts against other concepts and the accurate use of certain words like faith and works. All the time we may know accurate doctrines but have none of His Life at all. Like the manna, many of these doctrines began in life but soon turned into dogmas and then demanded acceptance and an outward obedience to a concept to be accepted into a certain group.

Dictionary} [dogma >noun an inflexible principle or set of principles laid down by an authority.]

We “conceptualize” today what was Life yesterday. Both “Spirit and Life” metamorphose into dead doctrines [ old Manna] that are without any of His Life. While the doctrine may be true it soon becomes “old manna” that is not food for the spiritual man. Many of our doctrines began in the spirit and very soon we begin to walk in the flesh and soon lose the Life of the doctrine but have no idea that this is NOT Christianity.

We may believe in Jesus by revelation and respond to an inner drawing by God and experience the primary salvation by faith. Then we read a verse about “works” and begin to attack any work as if that was our extreme enemy which jeopardizes our salvation. If we try to convince the natural man that works which follow AFTER a primary faith does not causes us to risk our salvation, the natural man can not receive this as truth because he has read a verse about works and grace. To the natural man any “works” that we do is a sure indication that we are not yet “saved!” The natural man CANNOT receive spiritual truth, not because he is stupid but simply because this Truth is of another realm that he CANNOT understand conceptually.

This is probably what has happened to the Lord’s Table and John 6. We can also trace natural understanding to other doctrines like the Baptism in Water and the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. The Messianic Movement is famous for taking natural things AS spiritual truth. The Book of Revelation is also a glaring example of interpreting the natural disasters by the natural mind and establishing a final “spiritual truth” for the natural man.

Just because a person is baptized with the Holy Spirit and speaks in tongues does not mean that the person is walking in the spirit or has any spiritual understanding at all. I was reading the testimony last week of a person that I once knew who was probably Charismatic. He had to move every two months because he couldn’t pay the rent because he felt God told him to quit his job. He was moving into a new rental property and saw the number 2440 on the mail box. He knew a verse about the 24 elders and God’s testing for 40 days so he put it all together and came up with an interpretation of what God was going to do while they were in this house. He saw the air conditioner with the name Payne in small letters and reasoned that the pain would be less than before. This kind of nonsense is common with the natural person AFTER they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t mean that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is wrong but that the inner man is still a baby.

The Book of Acts recorded the Acts or works of the Apostles. We know they sold property and held things in common and none lacked anything. This was a move of the Spirit of God manifesting His Life. Many have read that over these 2000 years and decided this was a Law to live by and made a doctrine out of it but it lacked His Life. Is it wrong for everybody to live together and hold everything in common so no one calls anything his own? Not then and maybe not today IF it is done by the Spirit so that it produces Life.

Organizing something like that in the flesh is always a disaster very quickly. Just doing in the flesh what someone was successful doing in the Spirit is a common practice today. Rick Warren’s book proves the point. The “faith movement” is another example. The prophetic movement is another example along with the shepherding and discipleship movements. G 12 is a current example. What was successful in Columbia may be a disaster in Miami. Why? What began in the Spirit cannot be duplicated in the flesh or by natural ability.

If we get a revelation of Manna and how God fed Israel with the food of Angels we could then organize a campaign called “Gathering in the Manna from Heaven Harvest!” Then we could book the most popular speakers, send out hotel rates and registration fees and host an extravaganza with no life and no spirit. Still the natural man will come away totally blest and the spirit man will have received nothing. The natural man will return to his church group and want the pastor to book one of these “cutting edge truth conferences” about gathering manna. WHEN THE PASTOR CHECKS THIS OUT WITH OTHERS THAT ATTENDED HE GETS A MIXED TESTIMONY. Some will say it was a tremendous revelation and others will say it was as dead as last weeks roses. We think they must have been in different meetings. One person’s Manna is another person’s worms. The confusion is tremendous.

We were involved in the Shepherding and Discipleship Movements. We listened to the preaching, the teaching and the doctrines from scripture and determined that this is truly the Word of God. We visited Discipleship communities in Annarbor, Michigan and saw how it worked there in the Catholic Community. Then we taught discipleship and submission as a doctrine and we conceptualized this Bible truth but there was no Life just the mechanics or letter. Discipleship became natural people, doing natural things [ like picking up paper in the parking lot and cleaning toilets] to prove their submission to natural ministries. A rouge authority was created by the natural man FOR authority over other natural men and the system collapsed.

This was repeated in many places my many people of different denominations because the natural man is the same in any denomination. Someone feels the Holy Spirit say “No music today, just have the people share.” The announcement is made God is shutting down the music. A doctrine is formed and no music is allowed in the church until this day. But what if the Holy Spirit spoke the following week and said “ No preaching today, just have music.” We cannot obey because we have created a doctrine against music. Then we create a denomination known as “No Music Church.”

God speaks today what is for today and He speaks tomorrow what is for tomorrow! This is the difference with the Kingdom Of God. God insists upon having the preeminence in the church every day and to exercise His dominion and government daily. We have music or no music as He wills and then we don’t need a doctrine about music. Eunuch life, marriage of ministers, etc are similar examples that have become irrevocable doctrines in some fellowships. Why? Because it has become a fixed doctrine, having been ordained once by God for a certain time and a certain people. Now it is dead letter because the Life has gone from it.

Bob Mumford said he set out to build a New Testament church but couldn’t find any New Testament people. He had formed a concept of what a New Testament Church was supposed to be. The problem was he had to build with regular immature people.
 

One of the primary problems facing the ministries today is the extreme immaturity of the church people. The early church must have developed spiritual people very quickly. For example; Jesus developed 11 apostles in 3 1⁄2 years but they still weren’t allowed to go out into the world and preach the Kingdom until after the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them. Like John the Baptist, they could go out and announce the Kingdom . Why? Because the apostles must become New Covenant People [walking in the spiritual realms] in order to be prepared to preach the Kingdom of God with Life and Power.

That which is born of the flesh preaching is still flesh but that which is born of Spirit preaching is Spirit. The people that get “converted” by argument and carnal persuasion are still flesh people that will demand proof of everything to satisfy the natural man. If we begin in the Spirit dimension, the growth into the Spirit realm and maturity is much quicker. Spiritual teaching of spiritual things to carnal people is still ineffective because they cannot understand spiritual truth. So what IS the point? Until the ministries begin to serve fresh manna the situation cannot change very much. Fresh manna means the Holy Spirit speaks today that which is FOR today. He will speak and reveal Jesus tomorrow in the truth that is FOR tomorrow. Every day has its own Manna.

The Bible doctrines were written by men moved by the Holy Spirit but the natural man is just not equipped to interpret the truth contained in the doctrine. Just reading a verse is not sufficient to gain the truth that ONLY comes by the Holy Spirit teaching us within.

Isa 28:9 “To whom would He teach knowledge? And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? ( obviously not!)

This maturity is not a matter of how long we have been “saved” but is defined by the growth and development of the inner man. If we still require milk it defines our maturity!

In the next restoration just living by established doctrines and our interpretation of those truths will not be sufficient to live, worship and minister in that dimension. The Holy Spirit [ In the Fulness of the Seven fold manifestations] must have preeminence and the dominion each day and accomplish His will in each life, each day, regardless of our doctrines.

Act 10:13 And a voice came to him, “Arise, Peter, kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”

Did God change His mind about eating unclean food? Not at all. However, the Holy Spirit must have the freedom to interpret the verses as He wills. Not only that but He may interpret the same verses differently later. This is now the New Covenant times and the Holy Spirit can interpret the Old Covenant as He pleases without our approval.

The doctrines generally establish what we accept as truth from what we know at the moment. The problem comes when we establish the doctrine as irrevocable because it was a word given us at one time in the history of the denomination. The doctrines become error when we can no longer hear what the Holy Spirit is saying today and how He is interpreting these verses today.

In the Kingdom Government of God, He will have the freedom to build His church any way He determines in that moment and according to what the Church needs to know and Live at that time.
In the next restoration the doctrines of the Outer Life must submit to the teaching of the Holy Spirit in the Inner Life. These things are far beyond anything that man can teach and will probably be in conflict with what the natural man is teaching at the moment. 1Jo 2:27 And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has
taught you, you abide in Him.

It is my opinion that moving into this realm of the Holy Spirit teaching us in the Inner Man is not an option IF we are going to participate in the next restoration. Will this understanding be popular with the average minister? Not likely! Why? Because he has already decided what concepts he will accept and the doctrines he will live by and preach. Many will be regulated by the denomination they belong to and cannot change or they will lose their pension.

Mark/Doc

IS JESUS FORMED IN YOU?

WHY ARE WE NOT TOLD PLAINLY?

He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead." Mark 9:9
Say nothing until the Son of man is risen in you - until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you understand what the historic Christ taught. When you get to the right state on the inside, the word which Jesus has spoken is so plain that you are amazed you did not see it before. You could not understand it before, you were not in the place in disposition where it could be borne.
Our Lord does not hide these things; they are unbearable until we get into a fit condition of spiritual life. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." There must be communion with His risen life before a particular word can be borne by us. Do we know anything about the impartation of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His word is becoming interpretable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we have not His Spirit. An obstinate outlook will effectually hinder God from revealing anything to us. If we have made up our minds about a doctrine, the light of God will come no more to us on that line, we cannot get it. This obtuse stage will end immediately [when] His resurrection life has its way with us.
"Tell no man . . " - so many do tell what they saw on the mount of transfiguration. They have had the vision and they testify to it, but the life does not tally with it, the Son of man is not yet risen in them. I wonder when He is going to be formed in you and in me?
  ( April 7; My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chambers)


There are some people who do not like me, who think I am arrogant, prideful, place myself above others etc.  The trouble with this is, I have never said anything like that.  They see the words I write and think they mean one thing and cannot understand them.  The reason is because of what Oswald Chambers says at the end of the first and second paragraphs.

“. . . You could not understand it before, you were not in the place in disposition where it could be borne.”
And,
 “. . . An obstinate outlook will effectually hinder God from revealing anything to us. If we have made up our minds about a doctrine, the light of God will come no more to us on that line, we cannot get it. This obtuse stage will end immediately [when] His resurrection life has its way with us.”
You see brothers and sisters these understandings ONLY come about by the Holy Spirit.  They are SPIRITUALLY revealed.  Have we not read what Paul says?>>>

1Co 2:12  Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God.
1Co 2:13  And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit].
1Co 2:14  But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
1Co 2:15  But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].

AND

Gal 1:11  For I want you to know, brethren, that the Gospel which was proclaimed and made known by me is not man's gospel [a human invention, according to or patterned after any human standard].
Gal 1:12  For indeed I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but [it came to me] through a [direct] revelation [given] by Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

If we have been taught by our own understanding, if we have been taught by man’s methods, by seminary, Bible school, etc, we have NOT been taught by the HOLY SPIRIT!  These TRUTHS only come by revelation from the Holy Spirit.  He will ONLY teach a vessel that is empty and willing to be molded into whatever HE desires.

As long as we are the ones who are directing our teaching, as long as we are listening to men, gathering data, learning as we learned in “secular” school, WE WILL NOT CLEARLY SEE HIS TRUTH!  We are relying on our own understanding, NOT the Holy Spirit.  We tear apart verses, use Greek and Hebrews dictionaries, lexicons to find out all the words used, use commentaries to tell us what God intended when He had this writer say thus and so, we deduce, use logic, use man’s ways of doing things, and let others tell us what the Lord is saying.  Then even though the Bible says different, when we read whole chapters and books, we choose instead to believe what others have taught us and what our minds have been trained to understand.

We rely on ourselves and man’s ways to figure out God’s ways.

Friends, is that ANY DIFFERENT from what the Pharisees did?  Please, do not say, “But we have the Holy Spirit!”  Do we?  Really?  Who are we listening to?  Have we done what Jesus said when He told us to DENY OURSELVES, Take up our cross DAILY (put everything we know and have of our own self to death and do not rely on it) and FOLLOW HIM?  Do we obey the principle of the scriptures that says almost everywhere the same as it does in Proverbs?

Pro 3:5  Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. [Prov. 8:13.]

Do we live in this manner or do we rely on our understanding, being wise in our own eyes, relying on our own insight?  Which is it?  What about what I have described above about Bible school and seminary, is that relying on GOD or on our own insight and understanding?  Have we listened to MEN or to the Holy Spirit?  Who has taught us?  DO not think that just because we are Christians we cannot be deceived or that the HOLY SPIRIT MUST teach us.  That would mean we cannot make a mistake.  That would mean, all of those warnings about deception in the Bible are worthless.

If what we believe does NOT agree with the SCRIPTURES AS THEY ARE WRITTEN, then what we believe is a LIE!  If our doctrine of salvation says, all we must do is believe and pray, does that doctrine include the commands from the Bible for repentance, submission, denial of ourselves, consecration (that means we are ONLY to be used by God, NOT OURSELVES) holiness and obedience?  If our doctrine of salvation does NOT include these things, then our doctrine is FALSE!

The other trouble with all of this is how many of us wait to proclaim the truth until JESUS is formed in us?  We will not understand His truths until we are truly beginning to walk JUST LIKE JESUS.  I do not mean on purpose attempting to imitate His life.  Rather, because we have spent time with Him in the scriptures and personally (if we cannot hear His voice we are NOT THERE yet) we naturally do and say the same types of things as He did.  I will not argue with those who say we cannot walk like Jesus.  The Bible says this is possible in several places and it is only man’s teaching/doctrines that say differently.

1Jn 2:6 Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

My wife and I spent some time at a full gospel Bible school.  We attended classes with all the kids, developed some very good friendships, and had our eyes opened by the Lord.  I remember talking to my wife about a weekend conference we had with many full time ministers attending. The vast majority (at least 90%) had graduated from that school.  We knew that at that time we were not ready to be full time ministers; yet what we saw in the lives of these ministers showed us that they were no different from us; they were just as unready to be ministers as we!

Christ Jesus had NOT been formed in their lives.  They were mostly living lives of desperation, having the same troubles the world has in their personal lives. WE ARE NOT TO BE MERE MEN as CHRISTIANS, let alone as ministers.  This was a grieving that the Lord laid on our hearts as we saw all of these things taking place.  We finally realized what the major problem was>>>>

The school taught information but did not build maturity or Christians.  On the basis of their diploma, they had been granted authority in the Church, yet their lives did not agree with what the scriptures say a minister is supposed to be.  It is this, along with several other items that has brought the Modern Church to the terrible place it is in today!  Divorce is more common in Christianity than OUTSIDE OF IT! (in America) We have all seen some of the major investigative reports and subsequent failures in the leadership of the Church in America.  It will only get worse.

Part of the solution is returning to the biblical requirements for those in authority.  People who live lives above reproach, who walk like Jesus because they abide in Christ Jesus (I John 2:6)  This does not necessarily mean they perform all sorts of miracles, but that their lives are lived in a manner that is like the one Jesus lived.

Php 2:5 Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]
Php 2:6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
Php 2:7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
Php 2:8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
Php 2:9 Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10 That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11 And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Php 2:12 Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).
Php 2:13 [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
Php 2:14 Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves],
Php 2:15 That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world,

This is how we are to live, and THIS is just a normal Christian, not anybody special!  I wonder how many people who claim to be Christian can say in humility (because they KNOW that God made this happen in their lives) “This is my life in Christ Jesus”?

We are to be BRIGHT STARS on this earth.  Did we forget about this in seminary and our Bible schools?  Do we honestly think that data is all we need to have?  As Paul writes in I Cor 13, no matter how many works you do, if you have no love, it is useless.  But then, we mostly don’t know what love is anyway.

Forgive me for rambling.

We are to be JUST LIKE JESUS.  If we are not, how can we even begin to think we can lead His people anywhere or be their teachers and guides?

If John the Baptist were preaching here, most of us would either leave or rant against him.  If Jesus were preaching, it would be just as bad if not worse.  I know, people will say, “OH NO, I would never do that!”  But as soon as someone begins to proclaim the Sermon on the Mount as NORMAL CHRISTIANITY and Jesus’ admonition in Chapter 7 as a warning to all who do not do as HE says, there will be fireworks.  If that was preached in the average congregation, there would be many frowns and they would most likely not ask you back to even complete the series you started.

It is NOT about how much we know, what we have learned, it is how much of HIS TRUTH DO WE LIVE!  If we have a young adult who is walking like Christ, we would be far better to follow him/her than someone who has been a pastor for 30yrs with a BA, MA, & PhD who lives basically no different from his/her neighbor who is unsaved.

We do not need Eli’s, we need Samuels!  Seminary does not make one prepared for the ministry.  Bible school does not do it either.  In today’s climate in America, we would do far better with one who had little or no Bible school but had been taught TRULY by the HOLY SPIRIT!

Jesus is formed in people like that.  It is more than being moral.  It is more than being nice.  Love is not necessarily warm, fuzzy, comfortable, kind.  Love gives us what we need when we need it.  Love gives us our medicine, our correction, our discipline, and the scriptures tell us that is NOT pleasant.  But if someone stands up and brings forth correction and discipline, so many today cry, “You are not loving, you are not walking like Christ, Jesus didn’t treat people like that,” and on and on, crying and whining because they have been whipped by the WORD of God who is Jesus Christ Himself living, breathing, and speaking through a person on the earth today.

Jesus and God do not give us what we want they give us what we need.  If we have a rod up our back and refuse to back down, then He will be VERY HARD, even MEAN! (at least in our eyes)  Tell me friends, how does the rebellious child look on discipline?  How many have been rebellious as a child or teen and can remember what it feels like to be corrected, to be disciplined?  Does it feel good?

We are wimps; we are undisciplined brats that need a good thrashing.  We need someone to take us by the ear back to the wood shed and wale the daylights out of us; for NOTHING will get through that tough, hardheaded rebellion that is the NORM today in the Church!

We go to church, we like what the pastor says, we tell him on the way out and that is what we call meeting the Lord.  There is NO CHANGE, there is no crying out for our sins, there is no repentance.  Even salvation has been made sterile by the way we “bring people to the Lord.”  How can anyone experience the depth of despair necessary to make a decision that will take one from death into life with a REAL TRANSFORMATION unless there is a real dealing with that rebellion?  Rebellion is rampant even here.  We want what we want.  We have our nice houses, our cars, our lives.  We have our hobbies, our recreations, we take our kids to soccer practice, ball games and potluck dinners, yum!

But where is God in our lives?  How is our life different from our unsaved neighbor down the street?  Don’t they do exactly the same things?  The only difference between them and us is we go to Church a few times a week; other than that, we do exactly the same things.  And we call this REAL Christianity!  Who are we kidding?

Unless Christ be formed in us, our faith is worthless.  If we are NOT living it DAILY, then we are living for ourselves.  We have become complacent, uncaring, etc.  Let me post the passage the specifically speaks of us.

2Ti 3:1  BUT UNDERSTAND this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].
2Ti 3:2  For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.
2Ti 3:3  [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.
2Ti 3:4  [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.
2Ti 3:5  For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].
2Ti 3:6  For among them are those who worm their way into homes and captivate silly and weak-natured and spiritually dwarfed women, loaded down with [the burden of their] sins [and easily] swayed and led away by various evil desires and seductive impulses.
2Ti 3:7  [These weak women will listen to anybody who will teach them]; they are forever inquiring and getting information, but are never able to arrive at a recognition and knowledge of the Truth.
2Ti 3:8  Now just as Jannes and Jambres were hostile to and resisted Moses, so these men also are hostile to and oppose the Truth. They have depraved and distorted minds, and are reprobate and counterfeit and to be rejected as far as the faith is concerned. [Exod. 7:11.]

Do you not believe these verses speak even of the Church today?  If you cannot see this, then you are blind, and you may be involved in the same lifestyle.  At the very least, if you cannot see this, then you are deceived already and it is only a matter of time before this fruit will show itself.

Why do I preach to “Christians?”  Because we are NOT living the way the Bible says.  How do I know this?  All you have to do is ask an unsaved person how a real Christian is supposed to live, and you will know.  They can see the truth and those in the Church cannot!  What does THAT say?  Who is more deceived?  At least those heading to perdition generally know that is where they are going.

We have almost no one who lives like Jesus.  So few who are preaching and teaching live JUST LIKE JESUS.  He is NOT formed in them.  He does NOT live His life through them; AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE PREACHING AND TEACHING UNLESS HE CAN BE SEEN!

But those in rebellion will not see Him. All they recognize is the discipline, the chastisement and they HATE it.  They rebel even against this as they did when they were young.  They refuse to listen, they refuse to be taught, they are headed for perdition and don’t even have a clue.  They think they are doing God’s work, caring for the unfortunate, walking in soft, soupy, peace at any cost “love.”  But that love is not true love.  It is the same morality that the Mormons and Buddhists have.  Christians think they have a corner on niceness and forget about people like this.  In fact, most of the time the followers of these false religions are not only nicer but MORE MORAL than the vast majority of Christians.  Jesus REBUKED the Churches of Sardis and Laodicea; that was NOT NICE and kind.  He told them they were going to be rejected and cast out.  So, to those who do not like that kind of message, Jesus did the same thing and if HE was here today in person, HE WOULD REBUKE US IN THE SAME MANNER!
We do not want to face these things.  We do not want them to be true.  We claim we believe the Bible, but when our doctrines are HONESTLY put beside it, they just do not match up.  We preach this “gospel” where all you have to do is say a prayer and you are saved. In a few places they actually put forth a little effort into confessing their sins; not repenting of them, mind you, but only confessing them.  You see, they preach that we will get better and better the more we hang around Church people.  That is actually controlled behavior, no different than how we train a dog.  We show them what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is NOT acceptable.  They are then told to only do the acceptable behavior.  Most people can do quite a bit of this, thereby conforming their behavior with everyone else’s where they gather.  But the INSIDE has NOT been changed.  They still have all of those lusts, impulses, desires, etc.  But they do not give in to them because they know there will be consequences.  It is like driving.  We have learned that it is fun to drive fast, but we also know that if we do, the police will give us a ticket and it will cost us money.  The faster we go, the more it will cost and it will also cause our insurance to go up, costing more money.  So even though we like going fast, we control our behavior and more or less, obey the speed limits.  (just enough so we don’t get a ticket)

That is NOT Christianity!  That is the same way natural people live.

REAL Christianity changes EVERYTHING, TRANSFORMS the person from the inside.  The old desires ARE GONE, not suppressed. We have put the old way of living to DEATH; it has been buried; it no longer lives! We NOW have a NEW life that is inside of us hid in Christ Jesus.  We now have HIS desires, His wants, His way of doing things.  But we are children in this and must learn how to crawl, toddle, walk, and eventually run in Him.  This is not preached.  We preach, “Oh slowly, as you go on through your life, you will get better. The Word will do its work in you and you will be fine.  When you sin, and you WILL SIN, just say your sorry and go on, God understands.”

Sorry, that is not in the Bible.  The TRUE and LIVING Word is Jesus Christ and if HE lives in you, do you honestly think He will sin?  It is NOT some book inside of you it is the VERY SON OF GOD!  The Holy Spirit, God Himself teaches us and lives inside of us IF WE WILL ONLY CEASE RELYING ON OURSELVES AND RELY EXCLUSIVELY ON HIM!

But people want to be in control of their lives.  They do not want to submit to God in that manner, for then they could NO LONGER run their life, do what they want to do.  They would truly be transformed, and the world might begin to see some REAL LIGHT.  But though they do not think these things consciously, they still love the dark and want to keep all of those hidden things still hidden.  Christ is NOT formed in them; Christ does NOT KNOW them.  Though they go to Church and everyone thinks they may even be spiritual giants, in reality, they are just controlling their behavior just like the world does and presenting a false face to those around them.

That, my friends, is a picture of the Church today.  That is what the VAST MAJORITY of those who claim to be Christians actually live. They do not do this on purpose to deceive anyone.  They have been taught these things and if one attempts to show them the truth they would deny it.  They believe they have a real relationship with the Lord.  But the inside has not been changed and it is these people for the most part who are in leadership positions in the Modern Church.  It is this kind of person who is “teaching” those who go to Bible school and seminary, producing (what was it Jesus said),

Mat 23:15  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one [a proselyte], you make him doubly as much a child of hell (Gehenna) as you are.

So it gets worse and worse.  The lives of professing Christians are continually growing more and more like the world.  In many places, there is absolutely no difference at all, they do not even pretend to control how they live.

And we have grown more and more intolerant of those who proclaim the Truth.  We do not want to hear them for whenever they preach, the words convict our hearts.  We invent lies about them and twist their words, just so we do not have to listen; so we do not have to believe.  And in doing this, we become more and more like II Tim 3, more like the world, and will welcome the man of perdition when he comes.

Does this message touch you?  Has it made you angry?  Do you think me daft or deceived?  That is your affair and your choice.  I have not condemned anyone with my words.  I have spoken in generalities and have included myself as one who needs to hear this message.  If this message infuriates you, have you considered that it is the Holy Spirit speaking to you?  Maybe you should!

All of the Love of the Lord is here in this writing.  I pray you will receive it.

A bondslave in Christ Jesus, Dirk

Is Jesus Enough?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The question must be asked, IS JESUS ENOUGH?  Does He truly have the power He claims?  Is He strong over all things?  Are the promises He has made to us real and powerful or is there something in our lives that is MORE powerful than He?

Do we really believe the Bible?  Do we agree that it is true?  Or do we only give lip service to its truthfulness and in reality trust and rely on the things man has taught us?  What do we really believe?

Most Christians SAY they believe the Bible, but when it comes to reality, it is their experiences that have sway over their lives rather than what the scriptures actually state.  Do you doubt what I am saying?  Are you going to write back and say that I am lying?

We shall see. Look at the following>>>


2Pe 1:3 For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).
2Pe 1:4 By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.

So the Lord has given us everything we need to live a life of godliness and also be a partaker of the divine nature.  In other words, we will walk, talk, act, feel, and even think as HE does!

How many of us believe that?

2Pe 1:5 For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),
2Pe 1:6 And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),
2Pe 1:7 And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
2Pe 1:8 For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
2Pe 1:9 For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10 Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) your calling and election; for if you do this, you will never stumble or fall.

Now we are told that IF we do the above things WE WILL NEVER STUMBLE OR FALL!!!!  Hmmm, what happened to the doctrine of sinning on a daily basis?  According to this (and several other verses) we are NOT to be living in this manner. In fact, we are being told that it is expected that we will NOT stumble or fall AT ALL!   EVER!

That is completely different than what the vast majority of Christians says, of what Churches teach, and the doctrines that have been handed down to us that are considered orthodox!

Friends, I did NOT say these things, the BIBLE does!  Shall I copy a few more verses that say similar things?  We could go through I John and include several passages.  John 8:31-36 is another place.

Joh 8:31  So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.
Joh 8:32  And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered Him, We are Abraham's offspring (descendants) and have never been in bondage to anybody. What do You mean by saying, You will be set free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin.
Joh 8:35  Now a slave does not remain in a household permanently (forever); the son [of the house] does remain forever.
Joh 8:36  So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.

Jesus tells us right here that He came to cause us to cease from committing sin!  Do NOT allow what man has taught you to change what the scriptures say.  This is INDEED what Jesus is telling us.

Here is another passage that tells us similar things.

1Co 10:12  Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he fall [into sin].
1Co 10:13  For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.
1Co 10:14  Therefore, my dearly beloved, shun (keep clear away from, avoid by flight if need be) any sort of idolatry (of loving or venerating anything more than God).

Brothers and Sisters can you read these words and believe them?  Are we so controlled by man’s doctrines and teachings that we cannot believe what the scriptures actually tell us?  Will we change the very meaning of the Bible?

These verses above tell us that God will NOT ALLOW us to be tempted in such a way that we CANNOT withstand that temptation; He will ALWAYS make a way for us to OVERCOME!  Do we REALLY believe this?  Do we believe what the scripture says about temptation?

Jas 1:12  Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
Jas 1:13  Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.
Jas 1:14  But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).
Jas 1:15  Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.
Jas 1:16  Do not be misled, my beloved brethren.

This passage tells us that IF we give IN to temptation, WE WILL SIN!  The converse is also true, IF we do NOT give in to temptation, we will NOT sin.  Friends, we MUST believe ALL the Bible, NOT our pet verses and teachings. We cannot take those comfortable verses that PROVE our doctrines and ignore passages as those above that directly contradict what we believe.  If we do, then we are preaching a FALSE DOCTRINE!

On another board, someone had their beliefs challenged and responded by saying that at least we have the witness of the Holy Spirit in our lives which proves our salvation.  Please forgive me for saying this but how do we know that kind of witness is from the Holy Spirit if our lives do not conform to the scriptures; if the way we live contradicts the teaching of the scriptures?

We DO NOT KNOW that it IS the Holy Spirit at all!  We are only assuming some “feeling” we have inside of us is the witness of the Holy Spirit.  WE MUST REMEMBER that satan is well able to mimic many of the miracles, signs, wonders, and many other things of God in order to deceive us. In fact, satan does not even need to work there very hard if at all.  We are quite capable of deceiving ourselves into thinking we are saved. If the way we live is NOT in agreement with what ALL the scriptures say, then HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE SAVED?

Tell me, HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE SAVED?  What is the sign?  What is the difference between an unsaved and saved person?  What does the Bible say?  Let us NOT rely on the doctrines and teachings of man to determine this MOST IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE!

We say we believe the Bible, but do we?  Let us look once more at this passage>>>>

1Co 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,
1Co 6:10 Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

How about this?>>>>>

Gal 5:18  But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.
Gal 5:19  Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),
Gal 5:21  Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,
Gal 5:23  Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].
Gal 5:24  And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.
Gal 5:25  If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]

Brothers and Sisters, DO WE BELIEVE THESE VERSES?  They are written by Paul and he tells us that whoever practices immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery (that is using drugs to get high), enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, divisions, a party spirit, heresies, envy, drunkenness, carousing and all sorts of other things JUST LIKE THAT WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Is this what we preach?  Is this what we believe?  Do our lives show this?  Are we completely different from those who live in the world?  This IS what the Bible says.  This is NOT my interpretation.  Should I bring our attention to I John?

1Jn 3:5 You know that He appeared in visible form and became Man to take away [upon Himself] sins, and in Him there is no sin [essentially and forever].
1Jn 3:6 No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains in communion with and in obedience to Him--deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].
1Jn 3:7 Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous.
1Jn 3:8 [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].
1Jn 3:9 No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.
1Jn 3:10 By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God's will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow believer in Christ).

Do we believe these verses OR do we only give them lip service?  Do we actually live by them or do we twist them to suit the way we live our lives?

Once more, my friends, I am NOT twisting anything, this is NOT my interpretation.  It is exactly what the scriptures say.  These are not my words.  They are direct quotes from the Bible. Many of these passages were written by Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles and (if I may be so bold) the Apostle of Grace. Do we REALLY BELIEVE THEM or do we change them to suit our own doctrines, teachings, and purposes?  Do we explain them away or do we truly believe and live by them?  Is this what we teach and preach or do we preach a watered down so called gospel that is pleasant to the ears of our hearers? Look what Paul said once more>>>>

Rom 6:1 WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?
Rom 6:2 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?
Rom 6:3 Are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, ] live and behave in newness of life. so we too might [
Rom 6:5 For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, ]. ] His resurrection [we shall also be [
Rom 6:6 ] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.] body [We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [
Rom 6:7 For when a man dies, he is freed (loosed, delivered) ] sinfrom [ [among men].
Rom 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
Rom 6:9 Because we know that Christ (the Anointed One), being once raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him.
Rom 6:10 For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].
Rom 6:11 ] in Christ Jesus. Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.

REMEMBER, these words are written by Paul and it is he who said we shall live by grace through faith NOT by a list of rules. Yet this same Paul has stated CLEARLY that WHOEVER practices those sins that he lists and anything else like them SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD! Look at these verses once more all together>>>> A TRULY SAVED, SPIRIT-FILLED PERSON WILL LIVE IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER>>>

Rom 6:2 How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?      They do not sin.
Rom 6:4 ] live and behave in newness of lifeso we too might [.     They behave in their everyday life without sin.
] His resurrection [Rom 6:5 we shall also be []. They are just like Jesus.
Rom 6:6 ] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.] body [We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [     The sin nature has been put to death and no longer has any effect in their lives.
Rom 6:7 ] sin from [          The Sin Nature has no power in their lives PERIOD!
Rom 6:11 ] in Christ Jesus.Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [      Sin is as effective in their lives as it is in a dead man’s, which is why they now have unbroken fellowship with God for God can not have fellowship with anyone who walks in sin.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.     They have a choice whether or not as Christians they allow sin in their lives.

I will say one more thing about all of this.  There will be those who attack these words and/or me.  They will attempt to divert our attention from what the scriptures actually say to something else.  They may try to bring my own walk into this in order to redirect the conversation away from the REQUIREMENTS of God!  I ask you all right now>>>Where are the verses of scripture that DISAGREE with what is stated here?  Make sure you do not take them out of context if you can find any.  Whether or not I live my life in this manner HAS NO EFFECT UPON WHETHER OR NOT THESE VERSES OF SCRIPTURE ARE TRUE!  So, let us deal with the scripture alone!

I have NOT said there is NOT grace.  I have not said I am better than anyone else.  I have NOT said I do not need to hear this message.  I have NOT said this life does NOT come by faith NOR have I said that it comes by adherence to some list of rules or commandments.  In fact, I have NOT said how it comes at all. That is another article altogether.

I draw your attention to the message, WHAT HAPPENED by Art Katz..  IT HAPPENED BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE and NOT by following a list of rules or commandments. Please do not say I am promoting legalism.  Please do not say I am saying I am better than anyone here.  PLEASE DO NOT SAY I am saying we can be perfect without Jesus and that there was NO REASON for Him to come.  I am saying NONE of those things.

If it was NOT for Jesus, we all would be like those in Sodom.  If Jesus were to leave us, then we would IMMEDIATELY revert back to the sinners we were, for it is ONLY by His Blood, Spirit, and Power that we are enabled to live lives Just Like His!

Do we really believe the scriptures?  Do we agree that they are true?  Some may not like what I have said here.  I do not ask for your forgiveness.  I am only agreeing with what the scriptures state; I am only bringing our attention to the requirements of God that are written in them.

If we violate the scriptures and live lives that are in contradiction to what they actually say, then we will NOT enter the Kingdom of God.  This is stated again and again.  We can either agree with them, and allow the Lord to TRULY Change us, or we can explain them away and eventually reap the results that lead to eternal death.

It is our choice. Just because we think we are saved does NOT mean we are.  We MUST follow what the scriptures actually state and live in that manner.  Otherwise we make God out to be a liar.

A bondslave in Christ Jesus, Dirk