NOTE: (John 14:15-26 esp. V.18, 20 & 23 key: God and Jesus will live within us as the Holy Spirit & Eph. 1:12-14 keyword: sealed) When a person experiences the salvation event the Holy Spirit takes up residence within his soul (John 15:5 keywords: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing & 2Cor. 5:17) and that person “is a new creature (creation, formation) in Christ.”
(Gal. 3:26-29 esp. V.28 keyword: Greek– defined: non-Jew, Gentile) Gentile Christians are the children of God, along with Christian Jews and are also Abraham’s seed (Rom. 2:28-29) because a Christian’s circumcision, Jew or Gentile, is that of the heart (spiritual) at the time of salvation (Eph. 2:4-22 esp. V.12) and Christians are members of the commonwealth (community) of Israel. (Isa. 14:12-14 & Ezek. 28:13-19 then Rev. 20:7-15) The war between God and Satan is fought on two fronts; spiritually through the church and physically through the physical nation of Israel located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle East.
Jesus said; (John 15:1-6 esp. V.5-6) (V.5) “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth (to stay in a given place, continue, endure, remain) in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (V.6) “If a man abide (to stay in a given place, continue, endure, remain) not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Please read these scriptures first: (Heb.6:4-6, Rev. 1:20 keyword: candlestick & 2:5 keyword: remove, THEN 3:5 keyword: blot, THEN 3:15-16 keywords: spue thee out) draw your own conclusion as to what Jesus said and meant in (John 15:1-6 esp. V.5-6)! Obviously, it is eternally critical for you that you draw the correct conclusion that Christians can be rejected!
(2Pet. 2:20-22 & Rom. 1:6-32 esp. V.6-7 keywords: the called of Jesus Christ, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you= the church & V.21 keywords: when they knew God= The only way to know God is to experience salvation then V.18-28 esp. their descent into sin until they simply did not care about God V.28 keywords: reprobate: defined: rejected, castaway and mind: defined: human thought, feelings= soul V.29-32 key: what they were in God’s thoughts and feelings and God removed the Holy Spirit) A Christian can embrace sin to the point of rejection and God will remove His Holy Spirit from them. (Heb.6:4-6) The Holy Spirit will not be given back (Rom. 8:6-9) and you can never belong to God again.
NOTE: Click on the commentary The Holy Spirit & You, scroll the menu to the article Who is the Holy Spirit for complete information concerning the Holy Spirit’s identity. Another great question answered here is how can male and female both be made in God’s image?
(Mark 4:11-20) (V.11) “the mystery of the kingdom of God” (V.12) Some will see and not perceive, they will hear but not understand. (V.13) Satan will blind some people to the word sown in their hearts. (V.16-17) Some will refuse to endure what the word expects and demands. (V.18-19) Some will lust after and value earthly things and become unfruitful. (V.20) BUT some bring forth fruit to the extent of their capabilities.
The information below, is how Christians are to learn how to bear fruit for Jesus. END OF NOTE.
(Gal.5:22-23 keywords: the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness- which we covered in Part 3, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance).
Goodness; is an attitude or activity that works for a good result that is a benefit for another person. Goodness in a Christian brings attention to God and His redemptive purpose and opens the door to testimony (what God has accomplished and changed in the Christian’s soul) and witness (what God can accomplish in the other person’s soul). You must know the salvation process, God’s word and to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Pray, give yourself to God and always be ready. If the other person is a Christian be ready to fellowship and praise God together.
Faith; (Heb. 11:1) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Substance defined is; a setting under, the support which is the underlying reality that composes all things; knuckle knock your table, it is real, you have hit its substance. Substance is also; essence, assurance, confidence. Substance is reality.
Substance; I know I was drawn toward God. I know I followed that drawing and reached a point in the reality of God’s revelation of Himself to me in His drawing process that I had to make a decision one way or the other. I know I repented of my sins and I asked God to save me. I know the exact instant my sin burden was removed and God saved me and I know I was changed because the Holy Spirit lives within me. These five I knows are the substance of what happened to me.
Evidence defined is: proof. Proof establishes a truth in a court of law. My basic proof is in my changed life and my willingness to work to become a better Christian. I was 33 years old when God saved me. When I was saved people up Lick Fork were astonished, my Dad most of all because he contemptuously said through his sneer; “Shhhhuu, you won’t last 6 months!” Proof is approval through testing. My proof through testing is this website. I was 64 years old, retired, very healthy and loved the outdoors, now I could enjoy them. THEN:
God called me to establish this website. All I have is a long ago high school diploma, the only reason I passed was my mother’s foot across my throat, I had no real computer skills, look at each letter before I poke it typing skills, no idea how to really research a subject, I was at the lazy time of my life when God called me to undertake a Christian website. I was afraid, I had no skills and I knew I was a nothing. I now realize I was the perfect candidate; I couldn’t do anything without God.
I resisted. I knew I would make the biggest fool of myself I could ever make. “Me! Make a Christian website! You’ve got to be kidding!” God does not joke around! God increased the burden to do it and called me more strenuously. I realized I would have to try in order to please Him. The whole story is in the article; About the Writer located on this website.
Through His inspiration, guidance, gentleness, endless patience and through His Holy Spirit who dwells within my soul God has used unprofitable, worthless me to construct this website. I spend the vast majority of my time indoors working on this website. It is a good website, people who know me tell me it has changed lives for the better. Faith is reality.
Carl Sagan, by a consensus, is considered one of the top 6 or 8 most intelligent scientists who ever lived. Albert Einstein said Carl Sagan was 1 of the 3 men in the world more intelligent than himself. Carl Sagan’s family claimed to be of the Jewish faith in the Reform branch, the most liberal of the 4 branches of Judaism in America. Carl Sagan has a list of awards, degrees and accomplishments longer than my leg. Carl Sagan said; “Faith is believing in something in the absence of evidence.”
By the evidence of his writings and utterances Carl Sagan believed his own concept of faith in that he had faith; in the absence of evidence he believed man evolved from apes. In the absence of evidence he believed man came from nothing, appeared for a while then disappeared into nothing.
In the absence of evidence he also believed there is no God except the laws of science. His internet biography is a dazzling story of academic and scientific achievement. Please read it. Also please read (1Tim. 6:20-21 keyword: science: defined: the act of knowing).
(Col. 1:15-17) Obviously Carl Sagan ignored the external proof there is a creative, guiding intelligence in the endless variety, breathtaking beauty and startling interwoven complexity of our natural world. (2Cor. 4:16 keywords: inward man, outward man) <This scripture proves God set the knowledge of eternity in men’s knowledge. There are 2 personal internal proofs, backed by scripture, that man is an eternal creation:
When Carl Sagan had those fleeting pictures that flit through every person’s brain of himself dead he obviously refused the internal proof #1) (2Cor. 4:16) the inward, eternal man (soul) was looking at his temporary, mortal, outward man (body). AND: #2) (Luke 16:19-30) In all his imaginative writings he obviously refused to accept the fact he could not truly imagine himself never existing; none of us can ever truly imagine ourselves not existing. You will always be you. (John 5:26-29, Rom. 10:8-13 & Rev. 20:10-15) The only variable is your choice of destination.
(John 6:44 & 12:32 keyword: draw all men) Carl Sagan obviously ignored the spiritual proof when God drew him toward Himself through Jesus. Either God or Carl Sagan lied. You choose who! Carl Sagan died Dec. 20, 1996 at age 62. If he could write a book to us now, he would probably title it; “Too Late the Proof” because he now has his proof of the existence of God.
I do not understand why atheists waste so much of their time and exert so much effort to publish so many articles and say so many words to disprove the existence of a God they don’t believe is there. What’s their point? It compares very well to relaxing on your front porch on a beautiful, perfect summer evening and wasting the goodness of your relaxation by swatting endlessly at the nothing of an imaginary mosquito.
What’s their point? (2Cor. 4:4 and 11:13-15) My point is; if a person does not believe in God he cannot believe in Satan and Satan can freely use him to do Satan’s work. (Rev. 20:10-15 esp. V.10 & 15 keyword in both: cast- defined: to throw or hurl) Imagine standing at the great judgment knowing what is coming, trembling, crying, horrified, begging with screams (V.10 & 2Cor. 4:4) as your god, the devil, is thrown writhing and twisting into the fire (V.15 & John 8:44) then next, knowing what is coming, trembling, crying, horrified and screaming it is your turn to be thrown into the fire. That is God’s word (V.15) to unbelievers.
(V.23) Meekness; Again no satisfactory definition is given by the scholars because they use words like docile, submissive, compliant and spiritless. The scripture is the only way to find what the word means in the activities of Jesus. The only possible definition is sacrifice through strength.
(Matt. 26:53) Jesus had the strength to not destroy mankind or burn down the world but was strong enough to be kind, gentle, tender, merciful and giving to hateful, cruel, resistant, mocking unbelieving mankind.
(Isa. 52:14 & John 19:3) His face was marred (disfigured, battered) more than any man. (Matt. 26:53-54) Can you see them there; platoon, company, battalion, regiment, rank upon rank they stood, more than 12 legions of angels, faces like lightening, glittering swords in their trembling hands, straining as they looked at God writhing upon His throne thinking; “Give the command! Give the command! We will kill them all and we will bring the Darling of heaven home!” (Isa. 53:3-12, John 19:2-5 & Matt. 27:24-26) But the strength of His meekness caused Him to go all the way to the cross. (Luke 23:33-34) Only the strength of meekness can say; “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.“
Temperance; self-control, self-restraint. End of (Gal.5:22-26).
(Col. 3:1-25 esp. V.12 keywords: elect of God: SO: key: written to Christians) (V.6) “For which things’ sake the wrath (punishment, anger, indignation, vengeance) of God cometh on the children of disobedience:” (Rom. 8:10-17 esp. V.15-17 & Eph. 3:26) Christians are the children of God. Remember baptism is (1Pet 3:21) “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:” The only way to have a good conscience toward God is through the salvation event! ALSO:
(V.9) “seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” (Rom. 6:3-7) (V.6-7) At the moment of salvation “our old man” of sin died. (V.3-5) After salvation our burial (baptism starts, going under the water) symbolizes the death of our “old man of sin” (at the moment of salvation) and our rising out of the water (completion of baptism) symbolizes that after salvation we are resurrected in the newness of a new life (2 Cor. 5:17-21) a new creature (creation) in Christ (just like Christ was resurrected from the dead).
(V.10) “And have put on the new man, which is renewed (renovated) in knowledge (recognition, discernment) after the image (likeness) of him that created (fabricated, molded like a potter’s work) him:” The great hidden message here is that at salvation we were returned to a state of purity just like Adam was when he was (Gen. 2:7) formed (squeeze into shape, mould as a potter) in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 1:26) in God’s image (likeness). AND: Just like Adam we still have the power of choice! SO:
(Rev. 21:1-4) Do you choose eternal life in the wonder, beauty and peace in heaven surrounded and bathed in the pure love of Jesus OR (Rev. 20:14-15 esp. V.14 keywords: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.) do you choose eternal dying surrounded by the evil, malicious and tormenting in the sea of fire surrounded and bathed in the pure hatred of Satan, the devil?
(Gen. 2:8-25) Just like Adam had to learn to talk and act like God desired him too; a new Christian must also learn to talk and act like God desires him too. (Gen. 3:1-10) Just like Satan was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve; (2Cor. 11:13-15, Eph. 6:11-12 & James 4:7) Satan is in this world with Christians and we must resist his efforts to destroy us.
(V.12) “Put on (clothe self in, endue) therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels (intestines) of:” <<These words are saying put on these things that are listed below until they are within you, have become part of you and are as important to you as your intestines.
Mercies; to have compassion on, to pity. Have you ever done a deed or said something you were deeply ashamed of and a little compassion from some loving person was like a bright, beautiful ray of the sunshine of mercy cast over the darkness of pain in your soul? Example: “I’ve failed before too and I know how you feel. God forgave me when I asked. Let’s get that done and we’ll go on together my brother or sister.” Do you want to be the bearer of such a Godly gift? Learn how to from your own experience. A command from Jesus; (Luke 6:31) “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise,”.
Kindness; useful in manner and morals, gracious, kind, gentleness.
Humbleness of mind (soul); modesty, of low degree, humility.
Meekness; gentle, humble.
Longsuffering; patience, enduring temperament, fortitude.
(V.13) “Forbearing one another;” to put up with, bear with, endure, suffer.
“Forgiving one another;” ready and willing to forgive in kindness, pardon, or rescue.
“If any man have a Quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.“ Definition of Quarrel: to strive, contend, argue, complain, blame, to find fault with.
(V.14) concerns “Charity“; NOTE: This definition is a repeat what is given about (Gal. 5:22) because agape, charity and God love are all the same thing.
(V.14) “Above all things put on charity (agape, God love), which is the bond (uniting principal) of perfectness (the measure of perfection);” Charity is God love that gives affection, good will, benevolence and self-sacrificial kindness. All other Christian attitudes and Christian characteristics must be rooted and founded in charity, God love.
At salvation the Holy Spirit is given to a Christian in a measure >(before you faint read the next 2 paragraphs) (Eph. 1:13-14) and we are sealed (preserved) with the Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest (pledge, the down payment) of our inheritance. (John 14:26) You know you are saved, the burden of sin is gone, it is an I know so salvation. What confidence could a person have in a maybe or a hope so salvation? God’s word is blunt; (Rom. 8:9) If you don’t have the Holy Spirit you are not saved.
(John 14:18 & 23) The uniting principal is Jesus living in you through the Holy Spirit desiring to teach you how to be like Him. Please read this whole scripture.>>(Luke 11:9-13 esp. V.9 keywords: ask, seek, knock and V.13 keywords: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?) You, a Christian, work by fasting, prayer and study through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:13 & Col. 3:5 mortify the deeds of the body) to eradicate your carnal habits, attitudes and actions and as you work to learn and accept Godly habits, attitudes and actions you become more like Jesus.
(Luke 11:13) As this happens the Holy Spirit has a greater presence (measure) in your life (2Tim. 3:16-17 & James 2:17-26) and that is how you become more and more perfect in your Christian relationship with Jesus, other Christians and people in general. Christians do Christian works in direct proportion to how much they love Jesus. SO: God Love (Charity, Agape) is the measure of each individual Christian’s relationship with Jesus.
(Phil. 2:5-15 esp. V.15) Jesus gave all he had, including His life, because He loved us. This whole article teaches Christians how to work (Phil. 2:5) to be more like Christ. You know to what degree you are like Christ by how much you love and what deeds you do because of that love. (2Cor. 5:17-20 esp. V.20 keyword: ambassadors) Christians, you and me, all of us are ambassadors (a representative) of and for Christ.
(V.15) “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts;” (John 14:23-27 esp. V.27 keyword: peace: defined: a union, become one with) Union with God through the Holy Spirit brings harmony, quiet and tranquility to the Christian soul. (Rom. 8:33-39 esp. V.39) Nothing has the power to separate us from Jesus. To a lost person death is the most terrible event they face. (Rom. 8:35-37 keywords: for thy sake we are killed all the day long and key thought: nothing can separate us from the love of Christ) (1Cor. 15:55) “Oh death, where is thy sting?” (Acts 8:54-60) Stephen doesn’t know the sting of death either!
(Heb. 2:9-11 esp. V.9 keywords: tasted death & V.9 keyword: brethren) Jesus is my big Brother, He knows what death feels like, He has power over death and He won’t let me go through the sting of it! If you don’t believe it please click on the commentary The Holy Spirit and You and scroll the menu to the two articles, I HAVE EXPERIENCED CHRISTIAN PHYSICAL DEATH (scripturally proven) and read them! You will be wonderfully surprised!
To a Christian death is simply the gateway we pass through to get to heaven to be with Jesus forever (Rev. 1:18 keywords: I have the keys to hell and death & John 10:7-11 esp. V.9 keyword: door) and Jesus is the Keeper of the door. That fact should bring great peace.
(V.16) “Let the word (divine utterance, reasoning of God, God’s divine revelation of Himself, Divine Expression- Jesus) of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom (divinely given insight and understanding)”. Through wisdom understanding is developed. (Col. 1:9) “that ye may be filled with the *knowledge* of his will in all *wisdom* and spiritual *understanding*” (James 1:5) “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth (*wisdom*) to all men liberally”.
Read every word of these scriptures and understand them because your reaction to them may very well determine your eternal destination! (John 12:48 keyword: rejecteth) If you refuse to study Jesus’ words you have rejected Jesus and His word will judge you in the last day! (John 1:14) “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” BECAUSE:
(John 1:1-14 esp. V.1 & 14) (V.1)“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (V.14) “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, as the only begotten (born) of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (1John 1:1-4 esp. V.2 keywords: shew unto you that eternal life & V.3 keywords: Jesus Christ) The disciples saw the Word and looked upon, heard and touched with their hands the Word of life, eternal life. (Eph. 6:17-18) The living, written Word is the only thing the Holy Spirit will verify to you and your supplication (petition, request) (V.18) in the Spirit, prayers, are your only personal avenue of personal contact to God. AND:
(2Tim. 2:15) “Study to show thyself approved (acceptable) unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed (humiliated for wrongly identifying or aligning with something), rightly (correctly) dividing (to dissect correctly) the word (divine utterance, the reasoning of God, God’s divine revelation of Himself, the Divine Expression i.e. Jesus) of truth.”
Some will be offended and surely say; “but that was written to Timothy and it doesn’t apply to me!” (2Tim 3:16, 4:2 THEN 2:1-3) Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul was telling Timothy what to preach and teach others and they were to keep on teaching others (passing it on until it came to you and me and on until God ends it) the word of truth. THEN:
“Wellll! I’m doin’ my thing, I’m texting, gaming, face booking, the game’s on, my show is on, I’m goin’ someplace, etc. Maybe I’ll read the Bible and pray later.” REALLY?
(Mark 12:30) “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” What does Jesus think about that “Wellll!“ situation above? (2Pet. 3:9-15 esp. V.9 & 15 keyword: longsuffering- defined: suffer, patiently endure and Eph. 4:30 keyword: grieve- defined: to distress, to be sad, cause grief then 1John 4:8 & 16 keywords: God is love) Sadly, ever so sadly, Jesus, Pure Love, thinks; “They don’t even love me enough to want to know me better or to even talk to me!” (Rev. 3:14-16 esp. V.16 keyword: lukewarm) Are you?
Remember (Luke 11:9-13)? (V.9) “Ask, seek and knock”= prayer and study which results in (V.9) “given, find, opened”= obtaining a closer relationship with God which results in (V.13) “how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask of him?” The result is man receives wisdom, knowledge and understanding in an ever-greater degree by mortifying (deaden, subdue,) his carnal self and giving himself over to be (Luke 11:9-13) more and more inhabited by the Holy Spirit so he can become more and more like Christ.
The rest of (V.16): As each Christian grows, we can work to teach and admonish (warn, counsel, exhort) each other and worship God more fully in Spirit and truth. Each Christian is a work in progress. (Eph. 4:14-15, 1Pet. 2:2 & 2Pet. 3:18 keyword: grow) & (Matt. 13:3-23 esp. V.12 keywords: from him shall be taken away even that he hath) A Christian must spiritually grow or his salvation shall be taken away from him!
Keywords above: wisdom, understanding and knowledge: (Prov.24:3-4) “Through *wisdom* is an house builded; and by *understanding* it is established: And by *knowledge* shall the chambers (rooms) be filled with all precious and pleasant riches (furnished with Christ characteristics).“ THEN: (Prov. 24:5) We see the building the first four verses described, (Prov. 24:3-4), is actually how a wise man is built and becomes strong and knowledge makes him even stronger.
Before Jesus came, there was an unbridgeable, mysterious distance between the remote, boundlessly powerful, frightening, infinite God and hopeless, desolate, errant, finite man. Every Christian understands the blood sacrifice of Jesus through which we are saved, we understand He was a teacher and we understand that Jesus in His Holy Spirit form inspired the writers of the Bible to write. But there was still a mystery and God revealed the mystery this way.
Remember? (1Tim. 3:16 keywords: great is the mystery of godliness) “God was manifest in the flesh,” manifest defined is; to render apparent, show self, to appear, to be seen, to disclose self. Through Jesus, God presented His human face in the perfection of Jesus’ sinless humanity through the power of the Holy Spirit. (John 1:1-2 & 1John 1:1-4 keywords: Word of life manifested) Jesus was the living Word of God manifested in the flesh among men.
Sinless, perfect Jesus was the bridge between infinite (limitless, endless, immeasurable) God and finite (limited, restricted, fixed) man, me, you! (Heb. 4:14-16) Through Jesus with His human body God experienced life as we know it. He experienced every temptation we experience and did not sin. He experienced physical death, was resurrected, passed into the heavens and sits on the throne of grace as our great high priest where we can go to find mercy and grace to help in our time of need.
(V.17) “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Jesus said; (John 15:5) “without me you can do nothing.” (Psa. 29:2, Isa. 42:8, Gal. 1:3-5, Jude 25 & Rev. 7:12) All glory for our accomplishments belongs to Jesus because without Him we are powerless. (Rom. 12:1 keyword: brethren and V.2 keywords: be ye transformed (changed) by the renewing (renovation) of your mind (soul) A Christian’s continuing inward renovation of his soul results in an ever-changing personality and lifestyle that more closely resembles that of Jesus.
NOTE: (Rom. 12:2 again) in the above paragraph; “And be not conformed (to make like) to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove (to test) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The Greek word for transformed is metamorphoo and is the origin of the English word metamorphosis which means to change from one thing to another thing. It is striking that a caterpillar (a worm) goes through a metamorphosis and comes out a beautiful butterfly. IT IS A PROCESS THAT TAKES TIME.
Through God’s grace I have been transformed (changed) from an awful, sinful man to a saved, joint heir with Jesus to God’s eternal kingdom and through the continual renewing of my mind I am becoming a better, closer to Jesus, more profitable servant of God. When God saved me nearly thirty-nine years ago nothing could have ever convinced me that a barely educated (high school barely passed with Mom’s foot across my throat; “Yur a gonna git that diploma or else!”), ignorant, ex-Marine- combat wounded, hard headed, hillbilly coal miner would ever be called to construct a Christian website. All credit goes to God, not me, none! END OF NOTE.
(V.18-21) <Here are listed God’s instructions for the relationship for Christians in marriages, to your children, people in general (V.22-23) <and your boss. “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice (only working hard when the boss is looking), as menpleasers (man courting, fawning- you already know the common slang names); but in singleness (without self-seeking, generosity) of heart (soul), fearing (to be afraid, in awe of, reverence for) God:” WHY? The answer is given the 3rd paragraph below.
Someone might say servitude doesn’t happen anymore. You are a servant to your job and your boss. If you are a boss you are a servant to your company. If you own the company you are a servant to your shareholders if you have them, your bottom line of profit margin, and to your employees. (Prov. 6:16-19) I wonder how many pocket lining, lying, greedy, selfish and proud politicians, CEO’s and etc. claim to be Christians. (Col. 3:5 keywords: covetousness defined: greedy desire to have more, avarice which is idolatry defined: the worship of false gods) (Rev. 21:8) “idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:” Do those two apply to any part of your life?
THINK! (Heb. 4:12-13) (V.12) “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (V.13) “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked (not hidden, soul laid bare) and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” As we have seen by scripture Jesus is the living Word of God, all judgement is His and Jesus knows each individual Christian’s hidden motives, thoughts, ambitions, desires, (Matt. 12:34-36) (V.34) out of the abundance (surplus) of the heart (mind, soul) our mouth speaks, (V.36) and we will give account of every idle (lazy, useless) word we speak in the day of judgment!
As you stand trembling, naked and afraid at the judgment with the truth about your whole life laid right out in the open for all to see what will you say, what will you think and what will you do? It is too late; you cannot go back and change or re-do anything; not one single act, word, or thought can be changed and Jesus is looking directly at only you, waiting! It is too late to ask for mercy, it is too late to repent, it is too late to beg and cry, the shame, sin, neglect and failure of your Christian life is before you, there is no place to run to, there is no place to hide and there is nothing you can say!
(Heb. 4:14-15) SO START NOW! REPENT NOW! RUN, FLY TO JESUS’ THRONE OF GRACE (1JOHN 1:7 THRU 2:1) AND BEG JESUS TO CLEANSE YOU OF YOUR SINS WITH HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD. AND:
(V.23-24) “And whatever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” SO: People know you are a Christian, your lifestyle is your testimony and Jesus will be judged by various acts by various Christians. “That man/woman is a shirker, they don’t carry their weight, you can’t trust them to do their job right and they steal time and money by their sorry job performance. They are vulgar, they curse, they lie and etc. “If that’s a Christian I don’t want any part of it!” is how Jesus is judged by Christian works. It happens every day, all day long, and Jesus is watching!
PERSONAL NOTE: I would like to share with you the God Love and Gentleness in (Gal. 5:22) for a few paragraphs. If God permits this writer to live until Sept. 19, 2015 I will have been a Christian 39 years and I still don’t understand the magnitude of God’s love nor the sweet gentleness with which He extended His nail pierced hands of love to me, a sin drenched, worthless, useless Mr. Nobody in the middle of Nowhere, Kentucky.
(Isa. 53:4-6 & Col. 2:13-14) I am a murderer because my sins killed the beautiful Prince of heaven, Jesus, the Son of the living God. I was an ex-Marine, underground coal miner living in an 85 year old, falling down, wreck of a shack-house that people laughed at, felt sorry for, or looked away from in shame when they went by on the road, yet the resurrected Son of God came down our rutted, rocky driveway in His Holy Spirit form and knocked with tender gentleness on the sin darkened door of my cold heart and offered me salvation.
A few weeks ago my wife was driving us home from another state. I was looking at the bare earth ditch line that paralleled beside the highway. All those billions of grains of sand were like the people of the earth and I was only one grain, indistinguishable from the multitudes. Yet, God had singled me out all those years ago. My tiny, insignificant, useless magnitude of the ability to love is lost among the innumerable people of the world.
There, I turned my gaze out the windshield to look upward at the endless, boundless expanse of the sky and that unfathomable depth could not compare to the richness and depth of the magnitude of God’s love, grace, mercy and His unfathomable gentleness. No, I do not understand the magnitude of God’s love; I can only revel in it, bathe my soul in it, cry about it, appreciate it and wonder about it.
When, as a Christian, I was hurt and battered and it seemed as if every hand was against me and sharp tongues speared me with awful, hurtful words the God of Eden, the Almighty God, (Psa. 145:8) the Lord God of compassion, (James 5:11) the Lord of pity, tender mercy and immeasurable gentleness (Psa. 18:2 & 28:7) stood before and was my shield.
(Eph. 6:11-18) When my helmet of salvation was battered and bent, my reeking armour was torn, cut to pieces, fiery dart scarred and embering, my sword of the Spirit was broken and I staggered wounded and hurt from the assault of hell Jesus came to my rescue, gave me a renewing spiritual transfusion of His blood, gave me a refreshing drink from His cup of blessing, gave me better armour there under His cross and with precious gentleness and His amazing God love He armored me to fight for Him again.
And too, I wonder why God would go to all the trouble to put me back together again when I was torn apart by unutterable tragedy and sorrow? Why would He lift me up out of the wreckage of my spectacular, glaring failures? Why would God put out the flames and extract me from the wreckage when I crashed and burned after flying too high on the wings of pride. Why would God apply His Son’s precious, cleansing blood again and again to my awful sins I committed as a Christian. Why is my beautiful, loving Lord God of Glory so filled with incomprehensible gentleness to me as He patiently chastises me and teaches me to be a better Christian.
Bottom line; God does it because He loves me and I don’t understand it because to me I’m not worth His trouble but His God love and amazing gentleness thinks I am.
No, I have not defined gentleness because, like the scholars, I can’t. In my finite little world there is no finite definition for the infinite impossibility of reason. We can never reason our way to Jesus’ gentleness. We can only live in it, rejoice because of it, glorify God for it and pray that Jesus will bestow some of it within us so we may be more like Him.
To finish John’s vision of the church at Thyatira and its message of judgment and warning concludes with:
It’s the oddest thing how young Christians head for the book of The Revelation to John (The Apocalypse) and eventually to the book of Daniel to solve all the mysteries written there. It was even worse back when I was a young Christian because most people had heard about the Bible even when they were lost. Christians leave learning to be a Christian in the cloud of dust they leave while running to Revelation and that is the worst thing they can do.
It just doesn’t work out. I did it and perhaps that added to my vulnerability and I committed the sin of physically fighting a man as I mentioned earlier. I was too busy unraveling the mysteries of Revelation so I could understand what was surely coming to the world. I finally realized my biggest problem was that I didn’t really know how to be a successful Christian. With that said I will be very brief with the rest of John’s Thyatira vision.
(Rev. 2:27) “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” (Rev. 16:13 thru 20:6) This is obviously the millennial reign of Jesus brought about by the battle of Armageddon.
(Rev. 2:28) “And I will give him the morning star.” (Rev 22:16) Jesus is the bright and morning star. (Isa. 14:12 & Ezek. 28:13-15) A shining, especially anointed cherub (chief angel) was named Lucifer before he sinned in the Garden of Eden and became Satan (adversary) to God. Lucifer translated means morning star, son of the morning, bringer of light. (2Cor 11:13-15) (V.13) False apostles, deceitful workers, transform themselves into the apostles of Christ (working in the church to deceive as many as they can into apostasy) which are the apostate Ahab followers mentioned in the Thyatira church prophesy’s beginning.
(V.14) And that is no marvel because Satan can transform himself into an angel of light (morning star), the counterfeit light. (V.15) “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness (justness, rightness); whose end shall be according to their works.” The church already has Satan’s false apostles working in the church.
Realize this; Satan also has his own personal preachers outside the sphere of the church. These “ministers of righteousness” in the world are the founders and perpetrators of the various false religions worshipping God without Jesus as their Saviour, or idol worshipping religions worshipping visible idols, or occult religions worshipping a god or gods of the imagination. These 3 groups are the Jezebel followers mentioned in the Thyatira church prophesy. Politicians are also preachers when they preach their political platform.
The false prophet will unite them (spiritually Ahab and Jezebel’s marriage) under the antichrist and Jesus will destroy them in the battle of Armageddon. (Rev. 22:16) Jesus, the bright and morning star, (John 8:12) the true light, (Rev. 2:28) will bind the false light, the morning star, Satan, the devil, (Eph. 6:12) the dark light, the rebellious pretender to God’s throne (Rev. 2:27-28) and give Satan (bring before God as a prisoner) to His Father and God will send Satan under an angel escort and shut him up under an unbreakable seal for 1,000 years.
(Rev. 2:29) “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”