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Posts Tagged ‘Repentance’

Dead Man Walking

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , on April 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: 1 Timothy 5:6

We read in 1 Timothy 5:6, “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” I want you to understand that there are some people who are dead and yet they live. Let me tell you a story about this subject that you know very well.

There was a man who was king over Israel named Saul. Remember that man? God called him, anointed him and gave him power to overcome the enemies of God, but the man began to be disobedient. The prophet went to him, but he never submitted.

When David sinned with Bathsheba, the prophet went to him (in 2 Samuel 12) and told him the story about the rich man having a big fold of sheep, and the poor man having just one little sheep, which was taken by the rich man to feed his visiting friends. When David heard this, he was incensed and ready to punish this man right away. Then the prophet said, “Thou art the man!” David fell down before him and said, “Oh God, forgive me!” He did not resist, but confessed his guilt.

Saul, on the other hand (in 1 Samuel 15), when confronted by Samuel the prophet, at first insisted that he had done what God told him to do (to destroy all the Amalekites and their cattle), and then that it was because of the people that he saved the King Agag and the fattest cattle. The prophet said to him, “You are finished! The kingdom is taken away from you and will be given to another. You are no longer King.”

It is amazing, however, that for many years after that Saul still reigned! He was a “DEAD MAN WALKING.” He was dead! HE WAS FINISHED, BUT HE CONTINUED TO GO ON; AND GOD SAID THAT THERE ARE SOME IN OUR MIDST WHO ARE WALKING AMONG THE LIVING, BUT THEY ARE DEAD. We need to get dead serious with God, because there are the seeds of death in the midst of God’s people!

Let us read some more Scriptures. Proverbs 21:16, “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the CONGREGATION OF THE DEAD.”

There is a congregation that is called “the congregation of the dead.” The Word says, “…he shall remain…” That means that he was there before, and that there is both a “congregation of the living” and a “congregation of the dead.” And God said that the congregation of the living should not fellowship with the congregation of the dead.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, December 1997, pg. 5-6)

Thought for today: Let us make sure we walk in obedience to God submitting to His Word and correction so that we would be part of the “congregation of the living.”

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Dealing with an Omniscient God

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , on March 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Revelation 22:13

The Bible says that God created man in His own image, but He made him in His likeness. Listen to this: He created you in His image, and He made you in His likeness. Let me explain what I mean. When God made Adam, what did God see? When God said, “It is good,” what did He see? Can anybody answer that? He saw a perfect man! God knew that Adam was not finished, but He saw a perfect man, because when God sees He sees the past and He sees the present and He sees the future, all at the same time. Now, can you understand that? Can you understand a person talking with you, and seeing your past, and seeing your present, and seeing what you will do tomorrow, and seeing your end—the whole thing! It is like a man high up in an airplane looking down on a river. He sees where the river begins, he sees the continuation, and he sees the end. He sees all this at the same time! God therefore, sees us in a way that we cannot see, and because He sees us in a way that we cannot see, we should trust Him, and whatever He tells us to do, we should do it! If He says, “Jump over the precipice,” you should jump, because God is seeing us in a way that we cannot see and He is knowing us in a way that we cannot know. And it all because God is God! Now, because God is God, and because of what He is going to do, we should be very close to Him: hearing, listening, and moving in what He is doing and what He is saying.

We do not know the end of this matter. He is seeing what our end will be. Every one of you had a beginning, didn’t you? And you have an end. Have you ever thought of it? You have an end, and God is seeing your end right now, not waiting until tomorrow to see your end, or the next day, or the day when your time will come to be with the Lord. He is looking at you right now!

Now, because God is looking at me, I should be very, very careful of what I do and what I say. Everything I do and everything I say should be God. Too many of us, too many times, are saying that God said so and so, and that God said to do this, and God said to do that. We are taking the Name of the Lord in vain, because God did not say so, but we think that God said so. Now what we think God says and what God says are two different things. I think that God is saying to me to do so, and so, and so; but is God saying to me to do so, and so, and so? I have to be able to balance between what I think God says and what God really says.

We are dealing then with an omniscient God. We say He is omniscient, which means that God sees everything, everywhere, at the same time. It is not even possible for us to conceive of someone who can see everything everywhere at the same time. Can you think of that? Can you think of someone who is seeing the outside of this wood, and at the same time seeing the inside and every atom that is in the wood? And as he sees this one piece of wood, at the same time he is seeing the whole universe! To us, as far as our thinking is concerned, He is an impossible God!

Therefore, may God help us not to think, just help us to do what He says to do; to move when He says to move; to walk when He says to walk; to talk when He says to talk. And when we make a mistake, to say, “Oh God, I am sorry. Forgive me for that one. Yes, I goofed.” In other words, we can make mistakes. Some people cannot, but we can make mistakes; and I want you to understand that.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, November 1999, pg. 7-8)

Thought for today: Because God is looking at us, we should be very careful of what we do and what we say. Everything we do and everything we say should be God.

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The Problem Is in the Way We Think

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , on January 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: 1 Kings 11:1-11

Let us look at Ezekiel 8:16, “And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.”

This depicts the Easter morning worship. It says that the men of God had turned their backs upon the altar of God and started worshipping the sun. We are talking about people who are worshipping their church, their religion, their holiness, their goodness before God. (“We are ministers of the Lord…!”)

You should not doubt what I am saying here when you see what is happening around you—that ministers are falling like falling stars. The reason why they are falling is because their perspective has not been right from the very beginning; and God has been calling to them, talking to them, and trying His best to move them, but could not move them. The fall that you see is not when the fall came. The fall came long ago; God is only now allowing it to be shown us. I have been in the church for fifty plus years, and I remember, way down there we had ministers all along who were falling, falling, falling, falling, falling—but the church covered it up. The church said, “You must not talk it out.” The church said, “Don’t let the world know,” and they put them away quietly. The world is now knowing about some of it, but it is only because it has grieved God to His heart. And there is going to be a shower. There is going to be a shower! Many falling! Because, you see, God is displeased with His people.

Now, it needs repentance; but let me show you from history what has happened. Let us turn back to David. You know what happened to David. Remember, the Bible says that God testified that David was “a man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). He said David was a man after His own heart, meaning to say that David’s heart was right with God. So, what was wrong? David went up on his roof, he looked down into another man’s house, and saw his wife taking a bath; His lust was so strong that he had to send and capture her—another man’s wife!

Now, can you explain to me, what was wrong with David? Let me tell you: the same thing that was wrong with David is wrong with a lot of us. Our minds are not consecrated. When the mind is consecrated, it means that it is taken off all the things out there and is put onto Christ. He said, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

You go to the store, buy a steak, and put it in your refrigerator. Then you go to work. All day, doing your work, you do not think about the steak that you are coming home to eat, do you? And this is the problem: men continuously think about the woman and women continuously think about the man. This is a sin before God which is destroying us, because the problem is in the way we think!

Think of Solomon. I want you to read a little bit about him. Let us turn to 1 Kings, Chapter 11. I want a response from you. Maybe the response is that we should just pray and call out, “God have mercy upon us.” But, I do want a response.

1 Kings 11:1-3, “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.”

Somebody says, “Oh, no! I wouldn’t have seven hundred!” But have you ever considered how many hundred you have looked at? Have you ever considered how many hundreds of times your mind strayed after them? When Solomon looked at one, he would say, “Bring her!” and his men would go out and bring her. That is how it went. However, listen to this: Verse 4, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.”

Verse 5, “For Solomon went after Ashtoreth” (Lord help us! You need take your dictionary, and look up “Ashtoreth” and all the sexual gods) “…the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.” Do you know that to serve these gods you had to enter into their temple and perform what they call sacramental fornication? This is what Solomon did. He went into their houses and the house of Isis, the place where men and women had orgies.

It is a terrible thing to think of, because these things flash to my mind. I see the brethren having orgies. Now, that is bad! You could not think of that! You would say, “Oh, no, no, no!” Well, you believe me, brethren, that I am seeing farther than you can see, right at this time. The people of God—many of us—are out of control, and this is what is killing our spiritual life!

Verses 7-8, “Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”

This is what is happening in our hearts. We are being separated from God because we allow this one great powerful demon to exercise his authority over us. We must be delivered from this god, from this worship, in order to serve God in Spirit and in truth. And believe you me, I am in a position to talk to you about this.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, July 2000, pg. 39-41)

Thought for today: Brethren, seek deliverance while there is still time so that your heart would not be turned away from the Almighty God.

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I Hope We Can Repent

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , , on January 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Ezekiel 8:3

I wonder if we understand what is happening to us at this time. Satan has studied the human race. When he looks down and sees a spot of darkness in you, he is going to use it. And he is using sexuality as his greatest weapon to destroy homes! We have never seen so many homes destroyed as now. Brethren, I know I am not telling you anything that most of you do not know for yourselves. Christian men and women who want to serve God with all your heart—you are having struggles to keep your house together, because Satan is bombarding your marriage and your lives!

Many of us will not talk. We hide it. But you do not hide it from me. I look at your face, and I look at your wife’s face, and I see either that she has given up and has resigned herself to living the rest of her life on a low plain, or I see terror! The woman is sick, but she must perform. That is the way some of our Christian men are living. Do you know what that means? Let me tell you what it means. It means that if that woman dies, or is sick, or something is wrong with her, you are going to fall. You have to go somewhere else. Because you have trained yourself in a wrong, awful habit.

And, on top of it, you get a devil to help you. Many of the marriages have devils in them! There is a devil driving the man, driving the woman! It is not one or two women that complain to me that they are in terror. Oh, yes! A woman very close to me came to me and told me of the terror of her husband. She loves him, she wants him to be with her, but there is a terror in living with him because he is taken by a devil; and the devil is driving him just like a cigarette smoker; like a drug user; like a drinker. It is no better.

You see, I would be ashamed and I would not be preaching this to Christian men and women had I not known too much. Unless we stop walking by the law (the law says, “You are my wife! You must obey me, and so and so…”) and unless we start walking on a higher plain, we are lost! One of these days soon, I believe, I expect Jesus Christ to descend suddenly in His temple, in order that the world might be delivered! And some of us will be out of it, because the image of jealousy is standing at the north gate blocking the way for the King to come in (Ezekiel 8:3). Yes sir! The King cannot come in because the door is blocked by the image of jealousy!

I hope we can repent. If we cannot repent, it means that we have passed repentance and we have gone too far.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, July 2000, pg. 38-39)

Thought for today: Let us repent while there is still time and turn our hearts fully to Jesus.

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True Fruit Bearing – Part Two

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , on September 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Galatians 5:22-25

Galatians 5:22 speaks about fruit. “But the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE…” I Corinthians 13 tells us what love is. The word “love” is used so loosely in our society that children hardly know what love means. In some parts of Europe you could not tell someone you love them because they would get some wrong feelings, some wrong ideas. Their language does not carry the right connotation.

“1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (agape love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” That means I could preach like Paul, I could prophesy like any of the great prophets and yet if I do not have love, I am just making noise. “2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity (agape love) envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity (love cannot rejoice when one is hurt or one is fallen), but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

The King James Version uses the word “charity.” I do not have the slightest idea why the Greek word agape was translated as charity. Agape is the love of God, the genuine thing from God. Human love says “I love to eat, or I love to play.” When people have love it is the greatest. “The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE.” It would seem to me that love is a multi-fruited fruit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law,” Galatians 5:22. If you have love, true agape love, it brings JOY. PEACE: you must have peace – peace with God – peace with yourself – then you WILL have peace with the people around you. If you do not have peace with yourself and with God, then you have no peace. LONGSUFFERING: it does not take much for some of us to fly off the handle. A person that has long-suffering has the fruit of the Spirit. GENTLENESS: those who are gentle are kind, not rough, and not out of order. It is a quality of God. Sometimes Jesus Christ is spoken of as gentle Jesus. GOODNESS: the word good comes from the word God. Goodness means like God. FAITH, MEEKNESS, TEMPERANCE: the person who is temperate will not overdo or over express anything. He will have a temperate quality in him.

“Against such there is no law.” No matter how bad the regime, they will not be able to form a law against love, against peace, against joy. No one can stop you from manifesting in the fruit of the Spirit. When you have the Spirit of God in you, His fruits bear out through you like a branch on a tree. The tree bears oranges on the branch. The orange and the power to bear come from the tree. A grapefruit tree closely resembles an orange tree and you could be fooled, but when you see the fruit you know. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,” Matthew 7:20.

The church of Sardis was dead but it had a name that it was alive. At one time it was a prosperous, living church bearing the fruits of the Spirit.

Revelation 3:2 and 3a, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.”

THE ONLY WAY BACK for one who has lost touch with God is through REPENTANCE. God is saying to this church, to this people that they should stop doing wrong, stop disobeying Him, turn away from what they are doing and turn to Him. These are the three basic steps in repentance – stop, turn away, and turn to God. Many people take two steps and then generally fall back into the very sin from which they have repented, because they stop and turn away but instead of turning to God they turn to something else and then fall again into sin.

God is speaking to this church, to a people, now, TODAY. God is saying, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.” There is something that is still alive. There is still hope. The fire can be rekindled.

“For I have not found thy works perfect before God.” I believe this church was going after the world. Sardis was a very luxurious place where people were full of pride and had much of the world’s goods. This church was in the midst of this city and somewhat attracted to it. God is bringing back the memory of what the church used to be.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 55-57)

Thought for today: If you have turned away from God and cannot find your way, begin to remember from whence you were fallen. Remember the first works, remember what you used to do, how God used to work in you. Remember it, long for it, cry to God to bring it back to you, and He will.

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