On this Memorial Day we remember with thanksgiving all the heroes that have given their life in current and past wars to protect and preserve our freedom, but why were they willing to die for this freedom? The reason they were willing to die for this freedom – is because they had experienced this freedom for their selves and knew that it was worth giving their life to preserve it, so all their loved ones and their children and their children’s children could keep on enjoying this freedom we all hold so dear. So a big thank you to all that have given so greatly to the cause of freedom.
When it comes to spiritual freedom, God says His truth will set you free. So just like all that have been willing to die because they had experienced and enjoyed our physical freedom in this country – God has made a way for us to experience some of His spiritual freedom, which is through a relationship with Him by the blood of Christ. The big question is – after you have experienced a sample of God’s freedom, are you willing to die for this spiritual freedom or have you already died for it?
God has opened up His Spirit to everyone to have a relationship with Him so that they can see that His Word is truth and that His love and freedom are a reality for believers. After we have experienced a sampling of God’s love we then can grow in our faith so that we can know that all of His Word is true.
Eph 3:17-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge
If anyone grasps the scripture above, he/she will be willing to die to themselves to have the full measure of God which is the rest of these verses.
— that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
God calls us to die, die to our sinful nature, so that He might live in us and fellowship with us forever, but God also knows that before we can treasure something we must experience it first and after we treasure it, then we will be willing die for it. God builds His treasure up in our hearts. Again the big question is – are we going to treasure Him? Are we going to be willing to die to selfishness and all our sins so we can have His treasure and His freedom for eternity?
The great commission is to “Go and make disciples” – not go and make believers. We can be believers in a proportional amount to our faith, but a disciple is a believer that has died to them selves to follow Christ whole heartedly.
Matt 28:19 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations
John 8:31-32 - "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Luke 14:26-27 - "If anyone comes to me and does not hate (in comparison to God) his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple . And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
What happens when a person experiences God’s love through a relationship with Him and then refuses to fully die to his own sinful nature and become a true disciple of Christ?
Matt 10:37-38 – “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
So if we are unwilling to forsake ourselves and love God more than anybody or anything (this includes our sins), we are then not worthy of Jesus Christ and will not receive Him and when we physically die He in turn will not receive us.
But what does “not worthy of Christ” or “not receive Him” mean? It means we will not receive His Holy Spirit – which is Jesus' Spirit that comes to live with us. It is when we receive Jesus' Spirit (His Holy Spirit) that we are born again. Unless a person is born again (received His Holy Spirit) – they will not see God.
John 14:15-17 - "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.
John 3:3 - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
John 3:5 - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
In the above verse (John 3:5), notice that a person must be born of water and of Spirit to enter into the kingdom of God. When we first come to God to start a relationship with God, we are then covered by Christ’s righteousness which represents an outer washing of our soul and we put a robe of righteousness on – which was provided by Christ’s blood on the cross – this is being born of water and is called imputed righteousness. This imputed righteousness allows Christ to be our high priest while we are still living in the flesh. It is through this imputed righteousness of Christ that we can have a relationship with God. It is then through this relationship with God that we can grow in faith and come to treasure God’s love and eventually be willing to die to all of our sinful nature to preserve this treasure for ourselves for eternity. When we actually do come to the point of dying to our sinful nature by putting to death all our sinful acts – we then and only then are worthy to receive Christ’s Holy Spirit to live with us forever and ever. This is what is meant by being born of the Spirit. It is only when we receive Christ’s Holy Spirit that we are imparted with Christ’s righteousness and are entirely washed and cleansed of all unrighteousness - on the inside as well. It is only after this total cleansing (inside and outside) that we are made ready to enter an eternal heaven with God.
Is God’s love and freedom worth dying for? Have you asked yourself – have I put to death all my sinful ways? Most of the professing Christians today can say they have some sort of relationship with God, but most professing Christians haven’t yet been born of Christ’s Spirit. If you have been covered by His water (born of water) but not yet born of the Spirit, I urge you very strongly to put to death any sinful way in you before He comes like a thief in the night for your soul. God is a treasure and worth dying for!
Your servant in Christ,
Michael Reid
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
God Will Not Be Mocked – Message 4
Gal 6:7 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
God wants His creation to see and know the full depth of His love for us, but since most people (including most believers) are so emerged in loving themselves, they have been blinded to God’s truth and are no longer searching for God. We as a nation, of so called believers have come to the point of not needing God - for we have become our own gods, which has been the devil’s intention from the beginning of time.
Most people in the United States have believed that God has blessed us because of our richness of money, things, and abundance. We have been deceived and have fallen into the trap of self sufficiency by being given what we want and all our physical needs provided for by the work of our hands and/or our minds. God promises to supply for our daily needs and for us to look to Him for all our daily needs, but what God intended for good – the devil has provided to us in abundance – so what was meant for good, now is used for evil when the devil takes us out into his world of selfishness and provides to us an out of balance abundance. We now store up money and things in abundance for ourselves so we can feel secure and don’t have to worry about our future. We work our bodies away in worry about our future and try to make sure we have enough for retirement – so we will not have to depend on anybody – including God. Look what God has said to these ideas – remember God is never changing.
God providing manna in the desert to the people of Israel
Ex 16:15-16 - Moses said to them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer (a certain measured amount) for each person you have in your tent.'"
Ex 16:19-20 - Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
The manna was intended for one day and only one day – since God provided for each day.
Matt 6:19-21 - Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Almost all of our heart’s treasure is in our money and self dependence. As a nation, we are no longer storing up treasure in heaven, but storing up destruction of our souls.
Matt 6:24-25 - No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Matt 6:30-34 - O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear ?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Luke 12:16-21 - And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
God wants us to rely on Him daily for our every need, but we have taken our dependence off from God and are now depending on ourselves with some prayers mixed in here and there. United States – WAKE UP. The nation of the United States is coming to its destruction. As for the faithful, we must call out to the lost to wake up and see that we have been deceived – at least for who ever is still searching for the truth.
But who is still searching for the real truth anymore. Most are so self sufficient or dependent on the government that they no longer come to the point of really searching out God and His Son (Jesus Christ). We have become a nation dead in the Spirit – yet we think we are alive. We, as a nation, are fools and have been totally taken in by the devil’s many deceptions. We have already been like the church of Laodicea in the book of Revelation.
Rev 3:15-17 - I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
As a nation, we have already gone past this point; we have been spit out of the mouth of God. We have rejected His full truth and have turned away from Him – so God has turned away from us. For the very small percentage of true Christians left in this country, we must realize that our country is dead and going to its destruction, but at the same time keep an eye out for anyone that still might be lead by the Spirit and be searching for truth so that we can help them come to a true salvation. For the others – the self righteous – the ones that are self sufficient and prideful, we must let them go to their destruction in their sins – in the hopes that they will turn from themselves and come to life in the true God or they will be lost to eternal damnation.
It is very sad that we have become a Godless country, or you could say a nation of many gods, but God’s wrath is coming upon this country and we must rejoice in His justice finally being done. Our country has been totally sidetracked by Satan’s lies, but just like all lies, they eventually are uncovered and then the consequences come. It is upon this judgment time that some might see the errors of their ways and come to a true saving relationship with our Lord Christ Jesus. These times will be hard on all of us, but this time will also be a joy filled time to see our Lord’s glory in action and to see some come to salvation which wouldn’t have come to it otherwise.
In the past God has been patient with us as a nation, but we have repeatedly rejected His mercy and grace for to long, so now His wrath is coming. Are you ready?
Your servant in Christ – Michael Reid
God wants His creation to see and know the full depth of His love for us, but since most people (including most believers) are so emerged in loving themselves, they have been blinded to God’s truth and are no longer searching for God. We as a nation, of so called believers have come to the point of not needing God - for we have become our own gods, which has been the devil’s intention from the beginning of time.
Most people in the United States have believed that God has blessed us because of our richness of money, things, and abundance. We have been deceived and have fallen into the trap of self sufficiency by being given what we want and all our physical needs provided for by the work of our hands and/or our minds. God promises to supply for our daily needs and for us to look to Him for all our daily needs, but what God intended for good – the devil has provided to us in abundance – so what was meant for good, now is used for evil when the devil takes us out into his world of selfishness and provides to us an out of balance abundance. We now store up money and things in abundance for ourselves so we can feel secure and don’t have to worry about our future. We work our bodies away in worry about our future and try to make sure we have enough for retirement – so we will not have to depend on anybody – including God. Look what God has said to these ideas – remember God is never changing.
God providing manna in the desert to the people of Israel
Ex 16:15-16 - Moses said to them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer (a certain measured amount) for each person you have in your tent.'"
Ex 16:19-20 - Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
The manna was intended for one day and only one day – since God provided for each day.
Matt 6:19-21 - Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Almost all of our heart’s treasure is in our money and self dependence. As a nation, we are no longer storing up treasure in heaven, but storing up destruction of our souls.
Matt 6:24-25 - No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Matt 6:30-34 - O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear ?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Luke 12:16-21 - And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
God wants us to rely on Him daily for our every need, but we have taken our dependence off from God and are now depending on ourselves with some prayers mixed in here and there. United States – WAKE UP. The nation of the United States is coming to its destruction. As for the faithful, we must call out to the lost to wake up and see that we have been deceived – at least for who ever is still searching for the truth.
But who is still searching for the real truth anymore. Most are so self sufficient or dependent on the government that they no longer come to the point of really searching out God and His Son (Jesus Christ). We have become a nation dead in the Spirit – yet we think we are alive. We, as a nation, are fools and have been totally taken in by the devil’s many deceptions. We have already been like the church of Laodicea in the book of Revelation.
Rev 3:15-17 - I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
As a nation, we have already gone past this point; we have been spit out of the mouth of God. We have rejected His full truth and have turned away from Him – so God has turned away from us. For the very small percentage of true Christians left in this country, we must realize that our country is dead and going to its destruction, but at the same time keep an eye out for anyone that still might be lead by the Spirit and be searching for truth so that we can help them come to a true salvation. For the others – the self righteous – the ones that are self sufficient and prideful, we must let them go to their destruction in their sins – in the hopes that they will turn from themselves and come to life in the true God or they will be lost to eternal damnation.
It is very sad that we have become a Godless country, or you could say a nation of many gods, but God’s wrath is coming upon this country and we must rejoice in His justice finally being done. Our country has been totally sidetracked by Satan’s lies, but just like all lies, they eventually are uncovered and then the consequences come. It is upon this judgment time that some might see the errors of their ways and come to a true saving relationship with our Lord Christ Jesus. These times will be hard on all of us, but this time will also be a joy filled time to see our Lord’s glory in action and to see some come to salvation which wouldn’t have come to it otherwise.
In the past God has been patient with us as a nation, but we have repeatedly rejected His mercy and grace for to long, so now His wrath is coming. Are you ready?
Your servant in Christ – Michael Reid
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
God Will Not Be Mocked - Message 3
Gal 6:7 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
The mark of the beast revealed
As always I want to start out emphasizing how God wants His creation to see the full depth of His love for us, but since most people (including most believers) are so emerged in loving themselves, they can’t see or even understand God’s agape love that He has for us. These people are still filled and consumed by their own selfishness and that is the subject of this message.
God’s Word teaches us that there will be a time when most people will be deceived and will receive the mark of the beast, which is “666” on their hand and/or forehead. I want to inform you that we are and have been living in that time already. Most people have already received this mark of the beast and don’t even realize it.
In order to understand this mark of the beast and what it actually is, we must first come to a basic understanding of the “Things of God” and the “things of the devil”. These “Things of God” are in a specific order (ordered by God) and are numbered and always have to be used when we try to figure out all of the numbers in the symbolic scriptures of God’s Word. I would like to share more about the fuller meanings of God’s number system (the Things of God), but for now we are only going to concentrate on one “Thing of God” which is SELFLESSNESS and “one thing of the devil” which is SELFISHNESS. Below are the “Things of God” and the devils corresponding opposites which are the “things of the devil”.
Things of God
#1 – Longsuffering (patient)
#2 – Mercy (leniency or compassion)
#3 – Contentment (satisfied)
#4 – Humility (willing to be humbled)
#5 – Gentleness (kindness to others)
#6 - Selflessness (thinking of others first)
#7 – Peace (state of harmony)
#8 – Goodness (moral excellence)
#9 – Joy (great delight and rejoicing)
#10 – Forbearance (self control thru faith)
#11 – Hope (hope of winning thru grace)
#12 – Love (Perfection of all Things)
Things of the devil
#1 – Instant gratification
#2 – No leniency or compassion
#3 – Never satisfied
#4 – Prideful (unwilling to be humbled)
#5 – No kindness shown to others
#6 – Selfishness (thinking of self only)
#7 – No harmony with self or others
#8 – Totally unmoral values
#9 – Draining of any delight or rejoice
#10 – No faith or control over one’s self
#11 – No hope of winning or finishing
#12 – Hate of all good things
Notice above that #6 in the “Things of God” represents “Selflessness” and #6 in the “things of the devil” represents “Selfishness”. So when we talk about the beast’s mark, we are then talking in the realm of the “things of the devil”, since the beast represents the evil or the devils spiritual realm. We can now understand from this that the number “666” represents the forms (or realms) of selfishness since all the numbers in the number of the beast contain all 6’s. But how do these numbers go together or add up?
To understand how these three 6’s combine or go together we must now look at the makeup of the spiritual realm of God and the corresponding opposite spiritual realm of the devil. Below are the two spiritual realms.
God’s spiritual realm
Blood – Physical flesh realm
Water – Loving heart of man
Spirit - Heavenly spirit in man
Glory – Kingdom of God
The mark of the beast revealed
As always I want to start out emphasizing how God wants His creation to see the full depth of His love for us, but since most people (including most believers) are so emerged in loving themselves, they can’t see or even understand God’s agape love that He has for us. These people are still filled and consumed by their own selfishness and that is the subject of this message.
God’s Word teaches us that there will be a time when most people will be deceived and will receive the mark of the beast, which is “666” on their hand and/or forehead. I want to inform you that we are and have been living in that time already. Most people have already received this mark of the beast and don’t even realize it.
In order to understand this mark of the beast and what it actually is, we must first come to a basic understanding of the “Things of God” and the “things of the devil”. These “Things of God” are in a specific order (ordered by God) and are numbered and always have to be used when we try to figure out all of the numbers in the symbolic scriptures of God’s Word. I would like to share more about the fuller meanings of God’s number system (the Things of God), but for now we are only going to concentrate on one “Thing of God” which is SELFLESSNESS and “one thing of the devil” which is SELFISHNESS. Below are the “Things of God” and the devils corresponding opposites which are the “things of the devil”.
Things of God
#1 – Longsuffering (patient)
#2 – Mercy (leniency or compassion)
#3 – Contentment (satisfied)
#4 – Humility (willing to be humbled)
#5 – Gentleness (kindness to others)
#6 - Selflessness (thinking of others first)
#7 – Peace (state of harmony)
#8 – Goodness (moral excellence)
#9 – Joy (great delight and rejoicing)
#10 – Forbearance (self control thru faith)
#11 – Hope (hope of winning thru grace)
#12 – Love (Perfection of all Things)
Things of the devil
#1 – Instant gratification
#2 – No leniency or compassion
#3 – Never satisfied
#4 – Prideful (unwilling to be humbled)
#5 – No kindness shown to others
#6 – Selfishness (thinking of self only)
#7 – No harmony with self or others
#8 – Totally unmoral values
#9 – Draining of any delight or rejoice
#10 – No faith or control over one’s self
#11 – No hope of winning or finishing
#12 – Hate of all good things
Notice above that #6 in the “Things of God” represents “Selflessness” and #6 in the “things of the devil” represents “Selfishness”. So when we talk about the beast’s mark, we are then talking in the realm of the “things of the devil”, since the beast represents the evil or the devils spiritual realm. We can now understand from this that the number “666” represents the forms (or realms) of selfishness since all the numbers in the number of the beast contain all 6’s. But how do these numbers go together or add up?
To understand how these three 6’s combine or go together we must now look at the makeup of the spiritual realm of God and the corresponding opposite spiritual realm of the devil. Below are the two spiritual realms.
God’s spiritual realm
Blood – Physical flesh realm
Water – Loving heart of man
Spirit - Heavenly spirit in man
Glory – Kingdom of God
devil's spiritual realm
Blood – Physical flesh realm
Water – Evil heart of man
Spirit – Evil spirit in man
Babylon – devil’s kingdom
You will notice from the above listings that God’s spiritual kingdom and the devil’s spiritual kingdom both contain the “Blood – Physical flesh realm”. This is where these two spiritual realms meet. These two spiritual realms meet in the fleshly realm which is why the spiritual warfare is fought out beginning within the flesh realm. After or underneath the “Blood – Physical flesh realm”, you will notice that these other spiritual realms are opposites of each other when you compare God’s spiritual realms with the devil’s spiritual realms.
Number place holder
Blood – x1 (ones place)
Water – x10 (tens place)
Spirit – x100 (hundreds place)
Glory/Babylon – x1000 (thousands place)
Now I want you to take a close look at the number place holder column. Each one of these opposing spiritual realms has a corresponding number place holder for God’s spiritual numbering system. For example: the “Water” realm of both opposing spiritual realms share the number place holder of “x10 (the tens place holder)” and this number place holder represents a spiritual realm of either a spiritual realm of God or a spiritual realm of the devil. The spiritual realm to be used (God’s or the devil’s) is determined by the context of God’s Word from where the scripture is being taken from.
Anyone that understands what I have stated above can now interpret what the number “666” really means and in turn understand what the mark of the beast really is.
6 = x1 (ones place holder) = A selfish fleshly body
+60 = x10 (tens place holder) = A heart filled with selfishness
+600 = x100 (hundreds place holder) = A spirit filled with selfishness
------
666 = A person filled with selfishness in their body, heart, and spirit
The mark of the beast is a spiritual mark and not a physical mark. The mark of the beast represents any person controlled by total selfishness (sinful nature). These selfish souls belong to the devil. God’s Word says the mark of the beast “666” will be on the hand or forehead. Again this mark represents a person filled with total selfishness and isn’t a visible mark on the hand or forehead. God’s Word says it is on the forehead because this represents our brain and what we think. God’s Word also says it can be on our hand because this represents our works that we do with our hands. A person that has the mark of the beast will think selfishly and all his/her works with also be selfish.
I want to inform everybody that has ears to hear, that the devil’s evil beast has been given authority to deceive the nations, even the believers.
Rev 13:14 - Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.
In the past and for many hundreds of years, the devil’s deceptions had been restricted by God to let His church grow without undo influence by the devil, but now the devil has been allowed to deceive all the people of all the nations. These deceptions of the devil have been going on already for many, many years. God is not surprised by the world being taken over by the devil and his evil forces. God is allowing it to happen. God has authorized all of this evil for the testing of souls and to bring His plan to completion. God is allowing the devil to deceive who ever will be deceived in order to weed the weeds out of His harvest.
Rev 22:11-13 - Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy." "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Gal 6:7-9 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
God’s judgment is coming soon to everyone. God is allowing this evil to go on for a time, but this time of evil will come to an end. But before this time of trial and testing ends, it will get much worse. Get ready and then stay ready until Christ’s return. Evaluate yourself and let God search your soul. Are you sealed with His mark of Love (#12 – Love – God’s perfection) or are you marked by the devil with his mark of “666”. Selfishness can be overcome, but only by God’s grace through His Son (Christ Jesus) by the power of God’s love.
Your servant in Christ – Michael Reid
Friday, May 2, 2008
God Will Not Be Mocked – Message 2
Gal 6:7 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
Like in all the messages in this series, I will start out emphasizing how God wants His creation to see the full depth of His love for us, but since most people (including most believers) are so emerged in loving themselves, they can’t see or even understand God’s agape love that He has for us. So what does God have left to work with when it comes to reaching these lost souls – only FEAR. We must all come to the knowledge that God is God and we are not.
Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
I am calling to all people who are not already living by the Holy Spirit and by God’s precepts of love to come to a realization of who God really is and fear Him. For out of that fear of the true God and the realization of the damnation that He will cast you into - that you might come to Jesus Christ and be saved. But the fools that think they are wise and don’t need to be corrected by God will be cast into eternal suffering. It is not too late as long as you’re still breathing and you have come to the knowledge that you are spiritually bankrupt without God’s Holy Spirit in you. We have to realize that we don’t have anything in us that God would want in heaven, unless we have His Holy Spirit living already inside us. The only value we have, when it comes to being worthy of inheriting His eternal life with Him, is God Himself, living within us. His Spirit inside us is what is worth eternally keeping. We are not born with anything that would please God eternally. It is only His Spirit that is within us that pleases Him.
We must also come to an understanding that the filling of the Holy Spirit is not just for the asking. We can start down salvation’s path by confession and repentance, but the receiving of the Holy Spirit is reserved for the ones that have proven themselves faithful by dying to every sinful/selfish thing in them. The Holy Spirit cannot come in and fill a person until that heart and soul has previously been emptied. Before we receive the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit is the one that comes along side our heart and soul to help us be cleansed of our selfish ways, but His Holy Spirit doesn’t fill us and give us a new heart until the previous process has been completed. This gets us to the next subject of this message and that is - what is this life all about.
This life is not about God blessing us so we can live a happy life. God is not our sugar daddy that just gives us everything we want – the devil does that for us. It is not about seeing how successful we can become in the world’s eye or how much money we make or have - this is what the devil helps us believe so that we never come to the knowledge that we need God. It is not even about seeing how good of a person we can be – God is the only one that is good and if we have any true goodness, it is only a byproduct of God’s Spirit living inside us. So what is this life really all about then?
Life on this earth is all about God testing and purifying us and then glorifying Him – not glorifying ourselves. God needs to test our heart and souls before He will let us inherit His eternal life. But some of you might say - how can this be? This sounds like God looks at our works. If you are thinking this, you are half way right. God does look at works, but is not our works He looks at. It is His works He is doing through us or trying to do through us. If we have belief and faith in God, than there will be works that come out of that faith, but if we don’t have real faith, there will be no works. This is why God says:
James 2:26 - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Every good thing we do or will do comes from God. When we first believe in God, that belief is given to us by God’s Spirit if we are open to it. When we put our faith in God’s Son Jesus Christ, that faith is given to us by God’s Spirit if we are open to it. When we repent from selfishness and turn to God, that power to repent is given to us by God’s Spirit if we are open to it. When we have hope for what God has promised, that hope is given to us through faith that God’s Spirit gives to us if we are open to it. When we are found faithful and worthy by all of God’s grace working in us, God’s Spirit then sends His Holy Spirit into us to live with us as one.
John 14:15-17 - If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (the Holy Spirit), that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 14:23-24 - Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Before being filled with His Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit works at bringing us to salvation, but it is only upon this filling of the Holy Spirit that we can say that we have become one with God.
Phil 2:1-2 - If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
John 14:20 - On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you are saved onto heaven just because God’s Spirit is drawing you or working in your life. God must first work in you in order for you to be brought to salvation. When you have received the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will attest to you that you are saved because you will know God intimately. You will know the nature of God and you will also notice that the Holy Spirit has taken control of your nature. You will be a slave to God’s will and you will love every minute with the Father in heaven because you will be sharing in His love, holiness, and righteousness. You will know that Christ is in you and you are in Christ and you are in the Father, because He is in you. Just like Jesus Christ is in the Father, you will know you are also in Christ which is in the Father. You will know that you have become one in Spirit with the Father and the Son. You will not hesitate to be called a brother with Jesus Christ, because Christ’s Spirit is in you and you are a son of the Father just like Christ is the Son of the Father.
I say all this to let people know that most people, including most believers are being fooled by the devil out of their salvation. God has called me to prophesy the truth to who ever will listen. Through the Holy Spirit that lives inside me and is now part of me, God has made known the very nature of Him self to me and I need to let everybody know that even though most people are being deceived – God is not being fooled. God wants to have His creation open their eyes, read His Word, and be lead by His Spirit to true salvation. Don’t go to other Christian books. None of these other Christian books have the full truth – they are partial truths. Everybody is set free by the truth, the whole truth. A partial truth is always deceiving. Read only the Bible for the full truth. Every Christian writer must have the whole Bible to back up what he/she is writing. So get to know the Word of God first before studying anyone else’s books.
God wants to let everybody in the United States know that – God has left us no excuse to not be saved, other than our choice of unwillingness. God has already given the Way, Truth, and Life to make this possible for anyone who believes. There will be a few (small percentage) that are saved. Are you willing to be one of the few?
Like in all the messages in this series, I will start out emphasizing how God wants His creation to see the full depth of His love for us, but since most people (including most believers) are so emerged in loving themselves, they can’t see or even understand God’s agape love that He has for us. So what does God have left to work with when it comes to reaching these lost souls – only FEAR. We must all come to the knowledge that God is God and we are not.
Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
I am calling to all people who are not already living by the Holy Spirit and by God’s precepts of love to come to a realization of who God really is and fear Him. For out of that fear of the true God and the realization of the damnation that He will cast you into - that you might come to Jesus Christ and be saved. But the fools that think they are wise and don’t need to be corrected by God will be cast into eternal suffering. It is not too late as long as you’re still breathing and you have come to the knowledge that you are spiritually bankrupt without God’s Holy Spirit in you. We have to realize that we don’t have anything in us that God would want in heaven, unless we have His Holy Spirit living already inside us. The only value we have, when it comes to being worthy of inheriting His eternal life with Him, is God Himself, living within us. His Spirit inside us is what is worth eternally keeping. We are not born with anything that would please God eternally. It is only His Spirit that is within us that pleases Him.
We must also come to an understanding that the filling of the Holy Spirit is not just for the asking. We can start down salvation’s path by confession and repentance, but the receiving of the Holy Spirit is reserved for the ones that have proven themselves faithful by dying to every sinful/selfish thing in them. The Holy Spirit cannot come in and fill a person until that heart and soul has previously been emptied. Before we receive the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit is the one that comes along side our heart and soul to help us be cleansed of our selfish ways, but His Holy Spirit doesn’t fill us and give us a new heart until the previous process has been completed. This gets us to the next subject of this message and that is - what is this life all about.
This life is not about God blessing us so we can live a happy life. God is not our sugar daddy that just gives us everything we want – the devil does that for us. It is not about seeing how successful we can become in the world’s eye or how much money we make or have - this is what the devil helps us believe so that we never come to the knowledge that we need God. It is not even about seeing how good of a person we can be – God is the only one that is good and if we have any true goodness, it is only a byproduct of God’s Spirit living inside us. So what is this life really all about then?
Life on this earth is all about God testing and purifying us and then glorifying Him – not glorifying ourselves. God needs to test our heart and souls before He will let us inherit His eternal life. But some of you might say - how can this be? This sounds like God looks at our works. If you are thinking this, you are half way right. God does look at works, but is not our works He looks at. It is His works He is doing through us or trying to do through us. If we have belief and faith in God, than there will be works that come out of that faith, but if we don’t have real faith, there will be no works. This is why God says:
James 2:26 - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Every good thing we do or will do comes from God. When we first believe in God, that belief is given to us by God’s Spirit if we are open to it. When we put our faith in God’s Son Jesus Christ, that faith is given to us by God’s Spirit if we are open to it. When we repent from selfishness and turn to God, that power to repent is given to us by God’s Spirit if we are open to it. When we have hope for what God has promised, that hope is given to us through faith that God’s Spirit gives to us if we are open to it. When we are found faithful and worthy by all of God’s grace working in us, God’s Spirit then sends His Holy Spirit into us to live with us as one.
John 14:15-17 - If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (the Holy Spirit), that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 14:23-24 - Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Before being filled with His Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit works at bringing us to salvation, but it is only upon this filling of the Holy Spirit that we can say that we have become one with God.
Phil 2:1-2 - If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
John 14:20 - On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you are saved onto heaven just because God’s Spirit is drawing you or working in your life. God must first work in you in order for you to be brought to salvation. When you have received the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will attest to you that you are saved because you will know God intimately. You will know the nature of God and you will also notice that the Holy Spirit has taken control of your nature. You will be a slave to God’s will and you will love every minute with the Father in heaven because you will be sharing in His love, holiness, and righteousness. You will know that Christ is in you and you are in Christ and you are in the Father, because He is in you. Just like Jesus Christ is in the Father, you will know you are also in Christ which is in the Father. You will know that you have become one in Spirit with the Father and the Son. You will not hesitate to be called a brother with Jesus Christ, because Christ’s Spirit is in you and you are a son of the Father just like Christ is the Son of the Father.
I say all this to let people know that most people, including most believers are being fooled by the devil out of their salvation. God has called me to prophesy the truth to who ever will listen. Through the Holy Spirit that lives inside me and is now part of me, God has made known the very nature of Him self to me and I need to let everybody know that even though most people are being deceived – God is not being fooled. God wants to have His creation open their eyes, read His Word, and be lead by His Spirit to true salvation. Don’t go to other Christian books. None of these other Christian books have the full truth – they are partial truths. Everybody is set free by the truth, the whole truth. A partial truth is always deceiving. Read only the Bible for the full truth. Every Christian writer must have the whole Bible to back up what he/she is writing. So get to know the Word of God first before studying anyone else’s books.
God wants to let everybody in the United States know that – God has left us no excuse to not be saved, other than our choice of unwillingness. God has already given the Way, Truth, and Life to make this possible for anyone who believes. There will be a few (small percentage) that are saved. Are you willing to be one of the few?
Your servant in Christ – Michael Reid
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