Pattern of the Old and New Testament

Exodus 25:8-9
(8) And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
(9) According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Hebrews 8:5
(5) Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

A pattern is an original design concept that is used by others to duplicate the original. In the case of God, He has created patterns in dealing with mankind and is the ORIGIN of these patterns. When man does not follow the pattern of God, he fails to live up to the original purpose that God intended for man to have. The mercy of God has revealed the pattern of Salvation to mankind, beginning with Noah, Abraham, and then unto Moses and the nation of Israel. The Bible instructs us that we have been giving ensamples through the pattern of God dealing with Israel. (1 Corinthians 10:1) Paul tells us that he does not want us to be ignorant, and then explains that Israel was born of the water and of the Spirit

"how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;"

This indeed is a pattern that requires study, because absolutely was written to us through the Apostles, but was also taught to them and us in the Gospel when Jesus taught Nicodemus about being born again:

John 3:5 "... Unless a man is born of the water and of the Spirit HE CANNOT ENTER into the kingdom of God..."

I believe that the pattern of Blood, Water, and Spirit (1 John 5:8) are throughout the Old and New Testament.

In Creation
Genesis 1:2-3
(2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
(3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

The first chapter of the Bible speaks of water and Spirit, notice this is the same pattern of John 3, in verse 5 Jesus speaks of the birth of water and Spirit, and then later in the chapter speaks of the light (v 19,20,21)

Jesus taught that condemnation comes from someone who rejects the light because they love their evil deeds. v19

That means that coming to the light IS ONLY POSSIBLE through the pattern of Blood, Water, Spirit. Without this, there will be no coming of the light.

The Testimony of Noah

BLOOD

Genesis 6:12

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto
Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with
violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14 Make thee an ark
of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it
within and without with pitch.

The Hebrew word for pitch is defined as “atonement” which means he used animal blood in between each piece of gopher (cypress) wood to construct the ark.

WATER

1 Peter 3:20

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight
souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Not only does Peter tell us that Noah was saved by water, but the Apostle himself
compares that water to baptism of the New Testament.

SPIRIT

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (The Spirit spake to Noah)

BLOOD

Exodus 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be
upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

WATER

Exodus 13:18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

SPIRIT

Exodus 21

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead
them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to
go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire
by night, from before the people.

1 Corinthians 10:1

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our
fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

The Gospel of Jesus Christ (Blood, Water,
and Spirit)

1 Corinthians 15:1
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

BLOOD

3 ForI delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;

WATER

4 And that he was buried …

SPIRIT

…and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:

The Acts of the Apostles (Obedience to the
Gospel)

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Peter is given the keys to the kingdom

(Matthew 16:19) for His declaration of His God given revelation of the One God
in Jesus Christ. In obedience to John 3:5, Peter preaches water and Spirit
and unlocks the entrance to the kingdom of God to (Acts 1:8) in Jerusalem and
in all Judea (Acts 2), Samaria (Acts 8), and to the uttermost parts of the
world (Acts 10).

Peter preached this message:

Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Progressive Revelation of Salvation in the Bible:

Example 1 John 5:8	BLOOD	WATER	SPIRIT
Noah	Pitch	Flood	God spoke to Him
Exodus of Israel	Doorpost	Red Sea	Pillar of Fire/Cloud
Tabernacle	Brazen Altar	Brazen Laver	Holy of Hollies
The Gospel	Death	Burial	Resurrection
Acts 2:38 (Obeying)	Repentance	Baptism In Jesus Name	Holy Ghost

The 4 Withouts of Hebrews

WITHOUT BLOOD there is no remission of sins.
Hebrews 9:22

WITHOUT FAITH it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 11:6

WITHOUT CHASTISEMENT we are not partakers.
Hebrews 12:8

WITHOUT HOLINESS no man shall see the LORD.
Hebrews 12:14

Church Steeple Ressurected

We lost our steeple in September 2008 (Hurricane Gustav), and also had many other damages to our building (ceiling tiles, etc). We marked September 2009 by having the steeple repaird and we were able to get the steeple back on the Church this weekend (Labor Day Weekend).

Completed

Respect unto the recompense of reward

The writer of Hebrews (who I think is Paul) discussed Moses in the following verse:

Hebrews 11:26

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

The word recompence is defined as "repayment" or "give what is due for work or accomplishment". Looking at the verses surronding this verse, we can see what motivated and strengthened Moses to choose the afficltion with the people of God and foresake Egypt:

Moses Revelations:

Did not foresake his birthright (11:24) - meant more to him to be called a child of God than a child of Pharaoh's daughter

Sin is only pleasurable for a season. (11:25)

Esteem the reproach of Christ, he counted it a privelege to suffer shame for the name of Jesus (11:26)

He had RESPECT for the recompense of the reward, He saw the blessings of God as a sure thing, and saw them as HIGHER than anything he could ever have in this world without God. (11:26)

Feared God more than the wrath of the King (11:27)

He saw God through the eyes of Faith without seeing Him Physically (11:27 says INVISIBLE)

He was aquainted with the symbols of God (1 John 5:8 - Blood, Water, And Spirit) He sprinked the blood of the Passover, He passed through the Red Sea, followed the pillar of Cloud and Fire.

(Hebrews 11:28-29)

These are examples for the Church, no doubt when we read the book of Acts this is the same drive that got a hold of the Apostles. Peter after being filled with the Holy Ghost, was quoted saying that they should obey God rather than man, they indeed did see Jesus, and as per Acts 2:38, they applied the Blood, Water, and Spirit to their lives through obedience to Jesus' gospel (Romans 6:1-6, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5). When Thomas was able to touch the Lord and put his hand in the Lord's wounds and in His side, Jesus said BLESSED are those who though haven't seen me, but yet still believe. We are blessed to be the folks that the Lord was talking about, if we can learn to RESPECT the RECOMPENSE of reward. Just as the Apostles told us, they were convinced of better things for us (Hebrews 6:9) things WHICH ACCOMPANY Salvation. God is NOT unrighteous to FORGET our LABOR OF LOVE that we do toward His name, in that we have ministered to the saints, AND DO MINISTER.

In other words, don't give up, and don't lose hope, if we faint not in due season WE SHALL REAP THE HARVEST.

"I've been working for Jesus a long time, and I'm not tired yet."

I believe the key to this is to never lose sight (respect) for the recompense of reward, I not only know that God is going to take care of me, I am convinced that it will be better than anything this world has to offer and I want to experience His reward. There is no bitterness in the blessings of God, no regret.

In Jesus Name!

Nehemiah's Adversaries (Tobiah and Sanballat)

Genesis 19:14

(14) And Lot went out, and spoke unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.

When the angel pulled Lot out, they pulled out his DAUGHTERS but not their husbands, but the spirit of Sodom had taken them as well, so when they reached the cave they had seed with their father.

Genesis 19:36-38

(36) Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

(37) And the firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

(38) And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Now in Nehemiah the 2 main characters that fought against the burden of the Lord were Sandballat and Tobiah, I looked up their background and found this out:

Tobiah was an Ammonite official (possibly a governor of Ammon) who incited the Ammonites to hinder Ezra and Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem.

Sanballat is described as "the Horonite" (2:10, 19; 13:28). This likely has reference to the Moabite city of Horonaim (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:5, 34), which suggests that Sanballat, in all probability, was a Moabite. At the time he appears to have been the governor of Samaria (4:2). Tobiah was an Ammonite (2:10, 19; 4:3) and possibly Sanballat's servant.

Both of these men were connected to the Israelites through unlawful marriages (6:18; 13:28)

God hated these people so much he made a proclamation through Nehemiah:

Nehemiah 13:1-3

(1) On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God forever;

(2) Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.

(3) Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

The beauty of this is that Ruth was in fact a Moabite, but because she desired the things of God and cherished the people of God, the call of God, and wanted to be His child, she was able to break through the law that was against her and through the kinsmen she was restored.

The German Convert

I have been studying on different men of our country and this man is completely opposite of the trendy "views" of our president and the "liberal" movement of our country. This man was buried having Psalm 19 (19:1) engraved on his tombstone, he could have used his talents to support tyranny (Hitler), however as Psalm 19 says:

Psalms 19:1-8
(1) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
(2) Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
(3) There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
(4) Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
(5) Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
(6) His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
(7) The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
(8) The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.


This inspires me as a child of God to know that our walk for God is gone out through all the earth, and our words to the end of the world. It is imperative that we realize the great priveledge we have to be able to carry our talents, efforts, and livelihood into the Church of the living God. America may have been weakened by the lack of walking with God and carnality, but just as it was in this man's day so it can be in our day, we can be the people that inspire others to give themselves to the Kingdom. How many von Braun's are out there that need a place that they can trust and believe in so they can plant themselves in the kingdom and make their contribution to God's Church. This man made great accomplishments once he was planted in America:

• Apollo space program director Sam Phillips was quoted as saying that he did not think that America would have reached the moon as quickly as it did without von Braun's help. Later, after discussing it with colleagues, he amended this to say that he did not believe America would have reached the moon at all.
• The crater von Braun on the Moon is named after him.
• Von Braun received a total of 12 honorary doctorates, among them (on January 8, 1963) one from the Technical University of Berlin from which he had graduated.
• Von Braun was responsible for the creation of the Research Institute at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. As a result of his vision, the university is one of the leading universities in the nation for NASA-sponsored research. The building housing the university's Research Institute was named in his honor, Von Braun Research Hall, in 2000.
• Several German cities (Bonn, Neu-Isenburg, Mannheim, Mainz), and dozens of smaller towns have named streets after Wernher von Braun.
• The Von Braun Center (built 1975) in Huntsville, Alabama is named in von Braun's honor.
• Scrutiny of von Braun's use of forced labor at the Mittelwerk intensified again in 1984 when Arthur Rudolph, one of his top affiliates from the A-4/V2 through to the Apollo projects, left the United States and was forced to renounce his citizenship in place of the alternative of being tried for war crimes.^[52]
• A science- and engineering-oriented Gymnasium in Friedberg, Bavaria was named after Wernher von Braun in 1979. In response to rising criticism, a school committee decided in 1995, after lengthy deliberations, to keep the name but "to address von Braun's ambiguity in the advanced history classes."
• An avenue in the Annadale section of Staten Island, NY was named for him in 1977.

In the Prussian Amry (Germany) Wafen SS Officer until 1940



As an American Scientist became a NASA Rocket Scientist

Dr. Wernher von Braun

Dr. Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr[1] von Braun (March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977), a German rocket physicist and astronautics engineer, became one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany and the United States. Wernher von Braun is sometimes said to be the preeminent rocket engineer of the 20th century.[2]

In his 20s and early 30s, von Braun was the central figure in Germany's pre-war rocket development program, responsible for the design and realization of the deadly V-2 combat rocket during World War II. After the war, he and some of his rocket team were taken to the United States as part of the then-secret Operation Paperclip. In 1955, ten years after entering the country, von Braun became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Von Braun worked on the American intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program before joining NASA, where he served as director ofNASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the superbooster that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon.[3] In the words of NASA, he is "without doubt, the greatest rocket scientist in history. His crowning achievement ... was to lead the development of the Saturn V booster rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in July 1969."[4] He received the 1975 National Medal of Science.

On Adolf Hitler: "I began to see the shape of the man – his brilliance, the tremendous force of personality. It gripped you somehow. But also you could see his flaw — he was wholly without scruples, a godless man who thought himself the only god, the only authority he needed."

Upon surrendering with his rocket team to the Americans in 1945: "We knew that we had created a new means of warfare, and the question as to what nation, to what victorious nation we were willing to entrust this brainchild of ours was a moral decision more than anything else. We wanted to see the world spared another conflict such as Germany had just been through, and we felt that only by surrendering such a weapon to people who are guided by the Bible could such an assurance to the world be best secured."


You can click the link to go to the wikipedia page that gives all the details, but I am inspired today, you never know who may be the person's door you are knocking or the person you are next to in line, or the person that you meet on the job, it could be someone who is looking for those "Bible" believing folks, a place where they can plant their lives, a place where they can give their talents to and trust that they will be used for the right reason. And Lord help us not forget and take it for granted that we have that oppuritnity now, Lord help us to be all that we can, In Jesus Name.

What a mission we have to do for God....


Bro Blanchard

Quieted His Spirit (Zechariah 6)

Zechariah 6:1-9

(1) And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains [were] mountains of brass.

(2) In the first chariot [were] red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

(3) And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.

(4) Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What [are] these, my lord?

(5) And the angel answered and said unto me, These [are] the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

(6) The black horses which [are] therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.

(7) And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.

(8) Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

I believe that this goes along with the passage in Revelation 6 that speaks of the "4 horesmen" of the apocalypse in the opening Now prophecy teachers have different understandings of what these horses actually stand for, but undoubtley as Zechariah has stated they are "four spirits". I tend to agree with the understanding that these 4 spirits are:

White - Catholicism

Black - Capitalism

Red - Socialism

Pale - Islam

Even if this is not the correct assignment of these spirits, there is no doubt that the Lord's Spirit has been quieted. There have been times that I have fought the spirit of slumber, I believe it is so prevelant around us that in order for us to keep our torches list, it requires much attention to make sure our lamps are full of oil. (Matthew 25) no matter what those spirits are, they will resist the Spirit of God. There is no doubt as I look at where our country once stood, it is obvious that we have lost ground as a nation that seeks God, and looking at the predominate Charismatic (Carelessmatic) and Non Demoninational (no Stand) Compromising Churches that are pulling in the masses, even those who think they are moving in the right direction are actually being fed lies and a false gospel, while they continue to partake of everything the sinner does. No seperation.

2 Corinthians 6:17-18

(17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,

(18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 7:1

(1) Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

I am inspired this morning not to allow the spirits of the endtime to quiet the Lord's Spirit in my life, and I hope to inspire others to do the same. As it was in the time of the Apostles, they could not be silenced, as they stated "We should obey God rather than man", and they rejoiced when they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. I want to walk full of that passion, my life is not my own, I am bought with a price. My breath is for the Lord, my strength is for His Work, my life has been surrendered and I won't take it back. When Your Spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I'll agree, and my answer will be YES, Lord, YES.

In Jesus Name.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees.

A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me.
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Avoid popularity if you would have peace.

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.

No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is why he makes so many of them.

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.

To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own.

We live in the midst of alarms; anxiety beclouds the future; we expect some new disaster with each newspaper we read.

What is conservativism? Is it not the adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried?

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.

Job Chapter 41 - the king of the children of pride

Job 41:34
(34) He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

This verse explains our culture and the effect of people not seeking nor having a walk with God. I have heard it ministered many times that you cannot be in "neutral" for very long on your Christian walk, as my Pastor would say "On a bicycle you can only coast for so long until it you lose momentum and flop over". This is truly what has happened to our nation, and so much more over the last few years. When we learn to coast, we begin to be led by pride instead of by the Spirit of God, and that causes us to struggle and have NO peace. The devil, being the accuser of the brethren makes sure to point this out and that is when when feel condemnation, desperation, and unrest in our souls. This is what Hebrews 4 speaks about when it says "let us therefore LABOR to enter into the REST." The children of Israel found themselves with this problem, and that is why they murmured and complained against God. The following admonition comes from the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 10:1-13
(1) Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
(2) And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

They were baptized in the water and the Spirit (John 3:5) - Just like the Church is (Acts 2:38).

(3) And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
(4) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
(5) But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

God was not well pleased, because they had UNBELIEF in their heart (which the Bible calls an EVIL HEART) God swore that they would NOT enter into His Rest because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 4).

(6) Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
(7) Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
(8) Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
(9) Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
(10) Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

In other words because they didn't believe the promises of God, they "COASTED" and ended up despising the Word of the LORD and LUSTED (desired) evil things. The devil is a mastermind at setting the children of God up for these types of traps, and when he trips up and child of God, he makes sure to encourage them to have pride in themselves so that they won't repent of the evil heart and enslave them as his subjects. This is what happens to a backslider, they get trapped by the devil, and then because they had unbelief and began to "lust after evil things" the devil condemns them, and then he thrusts a dagger in their spiritual heart to cause them to not have the conviction of their wrong, rise up in their pride and refuse to repent in the presence of God for mercy.


(11) Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

(12) Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

(13) There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

This has got a hold of me right now, I want to be pure in the sight of God, I want to truly please Him. I want every soul that I have the responsibility of working with to have the same spirit, we may be fighting against this spirit all around us, but we will labor to enter into His rest. When you humble yourself to God, you will feel rest, you can tell God that you are sorry and make up your mind that you will no longer walk on the wrong path. You can tell God that you need Him each and every day of the rest of your life and that you cannot make it without Him. The truth is that this is already the case, but when we make this CONFESSION, we are humbling our PRIDE, which is the root cause of all sin.

James 4:4-10
(4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
(5) Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
(6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
(7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
(9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
(10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

This is what I have been praying about, I want to be pure in the sight of God, I don't want to have an evil heart of unbelief, I want to feel the rest of God all around me, in my house, with my family, in my workplace, in our Church, and when I put my head on the pillow every night. Last night I was so burdened that I cried tears into my pillow and I felt like King David before God, Lord create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, take not thine Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me, the JOY of thy Salvation, and renew the right Spirit within me. This is what makes the walk for God what it is, not simply having knowledge of the scriptures, the bottom line is to please our Creator, our Redeemer, whose name is from everlasting. I want to walk with Him, I want to be His people.


2 Corinthians 4:1-6
(1) Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
(2) But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
(3) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

(4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.


The "god of this world" is the king in Job 41... the king of the children of pride. Lord help us not have the spirit of this world, let us not be like Cain, who refused to have the right attitude and seek what pleases you, let us not be like the children of Israel who had an evil heart of unbelief, help us to seek your face and help us to be pleased with your ways, and help us to have a humble heart that desires to please you. That is what our walk is all about.

In Jesus Name.

The Sons of Sceva

I was studying the book of Acts last week, and we had a wonderful Bible Study with one of our new converts (Sis Alvirda). Almost 20 people came to the Bible Study and we talked about (Mattew 16:19-23) the Apostles having the keys to the kingdom and Jesus telling them whatever they bound in earth shall be bound in heaven. It really renewed my passion for the Apostolic Faith, and my conversion from Catholicism heavily hinged on the understanding of this scripture. I have always and still strongly hold to the conviction of the One Holy Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic Church - and I feel that Protestantism is as wrong as Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox are. The fact is all of these "man-made" traditional teachings are founded on the doctrine of the trinity. In the scripture we discussed (Matthew 16) it was Peter's revelation of who Jesus truly was that allowed Peter to have the "keys" to the kingdom. Without the revelation of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation no matter what church you claim to be a part of. This revelation comes from God, Jesus told Peter "FLESH AND BLOOD HATH NOT REVEALED THIS UNTO YOU, BUT MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." I believe that it is imperative that people receive the correct and Biblical revelation of Jesus Christ as taught by the Apostles, which is the uncompromisable stand on the Monotheism of the Godhead (Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29) and the understanding that Jesus is JEHOVAH manifested in flesh.

Colossians 2:9 "... in Him dwelleth ALL of the FULNESS of the Godhead BODILY"

1 Timothy 3:16 "... God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory"

2 Corinithians 5:19 "... God was IN Christ, reconciling the world unto HIMSELF"

To believe the trinitarian Godhead, you cannot agree with 2 Cor 5:19, because no doubt it wasn't the second person of a triune God that came into the flesh, because the ONE that came into flesh was RECONCILING the world BACK TO HIMSELF. That means God BECAME flesh and died at Calvary to reconcile the world that turned away from Him BACK TO HIMSELF.

Now, as I was looking into this, I got a revelation later that evening after the Bible Study was over. I was preparing for a sermon to preach the next evening and found the following verse that completely coorelated to the Apostolic teaching and the result of someone NOT having the true Revelation of Jesus Christ whom the Bible calls the "sons of Sceva".

Acts 19:13-16
(13) Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
(14) And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
(15) And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
(16) And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

I looked up the Greek definition of Sceva and this is what I found:

Σκευᾶς
Skeuas
skyoo-as'
Apparently of Latin origin; left handed; Scevas (that is, Scaevus), an Israelite: - Sceva.

Now if you are still reading this, I am going to put all of this together and hopefully you can enjoy the revelation of the Word of God as much as I am (a week later I am still eating on it).

In Mark 12, Our LORD told the gatherers that the greatest commandment is "HEAR O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE" (Deut 6:4) and then after His statement He asks the crowd a question.

Mark 12:35-37
(35) And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?
(36) For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
(37) David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

This is where the "left handed Israelite" fits in. The fact that Jesus gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom and gave Him authority to bind things on earth and heaven, means Peter (and the Apostles) had great power to preach the Gospel and UNLOCK the Kingdom of God for man. Without the proper understanding of the Godhead, much like the Sons of Sceva saying the "Jesus that Paul preaches", our world is packed full of false prophets that have no Power or Authority to preach the things that they do. God is not pleased with "prosperity" preaching, "charismatic (carelessmatic) movements", or any group that doesn't Baptize their converts in the name of Jesus Christ. The reason the Apostles did this (Acts 2:38, 8:12-16, 10:44-48, 19:1-6, 22:16) is because they understood who Jesus was and they preached this Gospel without compromising. The real thrust of the Apostolic ministry is to "Seek and to Save that which is Lost". I stand strongly today that many preachers in our world are "left-handed" Israelites, they have no power against the world, no power against evil spirits and their congregations are like the "chosen-frozen" no power of deliverance, no seperation from ungodliness, and full of fables, traditions, and false teachings. This is why our country has become weak, the false churches have not stood for God, and people have been fed a lie, they do not understand who Jesus is and they are as corrupt as the sinners and the world around them. That is why our pop culture is so rebellious, that is why our youth are without hope, their religious examples were like the sons of Sceva and have failed their generation. Our only hope is to take the burden and responsibility of carrying the torch of Truth to our troubled time and be an example of what a true Apostolic Christian should be. If we can get a hold of the keys that Peter had, God will empower us with His Spirit to be what we must be. The keys are John 3:5, obeyed in Acts 2:38, repentance of sins, baptism in Jesus Name, and being filled with God's Holy Spirit. When this happens to a person, no matter how wretched or sinful, God empowers that indiviual to become His witnesses (Acts 1:8) and that is not Jehovah Witness - they don't have the keys either. The real witness is a Jesus name Apostolic that knows who their God is and worships Jesus Christ as both LORD and SAVIOR. The answer to the question that Jesus asked, is that Jesus is BOTH the LORD of David and David's Son. (Acts 2:36) and when you get this Revelation, you will understand why you must be baptized in Jesus name for the remission of your sins. You will know the power of the Holy Ghost that will transform you from the inside out. God give us revival in our day, pour out your Spirit upon all flesh. In Jesus Name!