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Posts Tagged ‘Righteousness’

What Is in the Forefront of Your Mind?

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , on December 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Ezekiel 8:1

Let us look at the following issue: Satan discovered the function of the human body and the human being, and he decided he was going to get us to think a certain way. For if he could get you to think a certain way, then he would get you to do what he wants you to do. So, in the world we began to think a certain way. The thinking of the man of sin is that he becomes a sexual creature and his wife becomes a thing to be used. I am not saying that some women are not like that also, but I am saying that if the men take the lead in anything, they are going to make a difference, for the women cannot overcome this situation alone.

People who get married have certain ideas planted in their minds. “I am marrying so that I can have a picnic; so that I can have a ball; so that I can live morning, noon, and night to satisfy my carnal desires.” Do you know what happens? You find that sometimes you are talking to a person, but something is in his mind apart from what you are saying. He wants to get home. Why does he want to get home quickly? Because he has something in his mind – he wants to have a good time with his wife.

I am talking about Christians! You see, I was very shocked when God revealed to me that Christians are involved in sexual promiscuity just as the world is and that they are committing sin in their lives, as Christians, believing that they have a license to do that which should have been the world’s business! Do you understand me?

I have discovered a certain condition among the brethren – the men are “dull.” They are not leaders in the things of God. They are not coming forth as God leads men into righteousness and into glory and into power. They are not marching upon the hilltop. It is because there is an image in their mind. Let us read about it. Turn with me to Ezekiel 8:1.

“And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.”

What is he saying in this verse? You read this chapter and how it says that this happened in the sixth month of the sixth year, and on the fifth day of the month—you must know that it has a meaning. God is not going to waste words. He is talking about man (six), man (six), and ministry (five)! Yes! He is saying it is the sixth month of the sixth year and the fifth day of the month. Now, six speaks of “man,” and five of “ministry,” so Ahh!—the ministry! He is going to deal in this chapter with the ministry. He said, “…the elders of Judah sat before me,” and “the hand of the Lord fell there upon me.” It is like Jesus talking to His disciples and seeing house business rising up in their minds while he is talking. What a terrible thing it is! What a terrible thing it is to have the flesh in the forefront of one’s mind. The Lord told the Jews to bind the “Word” upon their foreheads. They did it literally; we should do it spiritually.

This is why God has not given us that “clear” vision that we could see through one another. Some of us would not have the strength. We would despise one another for what we are. You see, some of us only love one another because we do not know one another. Some of us are only buddy-buddy, nicey-nicey, because we do not know the thoughts that go through one another’s mind. Thank God, that we do not know it, but one day we will know as we are known. When things are purer, we will be able to take it more.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, July 2000, pg. 31-32)

Thought for today: We are commanded to bind the Word of God upon our foreheads. Therefore, let us fill our mind with His Word so that we would not be found straying from righteousness.

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Get Your House in Order

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , on November 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: II Corinthians 10:3-6

We are now in the time when the devil will have his day; when the “man of sin” must come to his full (666); and the Christ to His fullness in a people who must grow “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ref. Ephesians 4:13). We now pray, “Thank you, Lord, that the Kingdom is now coming within us.”

We know definitely that the deliverance is coming; it is coming WITHIN us. God is bringing to pass His holy Word. We are seeing it manifested through His people, right here in our congregations. God is fulfilling His word to us concerning our children. It may take trials and tribulations, and the travailing of a family, but as the Church travails she shall bring forth:

“For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8).

Get your house in order! Get things straightened in your minds and in your hearts! Make up your mind who you will serve. Make up your mind that you are going to follow God and his righteousness. For the hour is come when the Lord is bringing first cleansing to the church. 

How do you think we are going to rebuke the devils of hell if we ourselves have devils? We must get rid of familiar spirits. One time a brother from Germany preached and as he did, we could see that he was hitting at familiar spirits that have no boundaries. He was talking about the Prussian spirits, but the influence of the principalities and powers in the satanic realm spread their power over the whole world. Each person can speak of his or her own area and we will discover that all the nations (no matter what country we are from) exhibit the same tarnish of soul and demonic bondages. The Holy Ghost, however, is given of God to indwell our spirits so that these strongholds in our soul (our mind, emotions, will, and desires) can be broken and cast out, that Christ may reign within.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, April 1997, pg. 24-25)

Thought for today: Make up your mind that you are going to follow God and His righteousness and by the power of God pull down the strongholds in your soul.

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The Great Tribulation

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , , , on November 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Hebrews 11:8-10

We are now entering into the end of the Great Tribulation, which is the worst part of the tribulation and when many things are going to happen, like losing our houses, our bank accounts, and our present way of life that we know and love so much. In this time, we must still hold fast to the promises of God and carry on His work for the deliverance of men. God is strengthening us at this time in our walk with Him. God is not expecting us to do it by our own will, but He is expecting us to believe Him.

Somebody was sharing about Abraham and depicted him as an ordinary person, which he was. But at the same time God testified of him several times in the Scriptures that “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” Abraham was righteous in his generation, although the requirements in his day were not what God would require of us today. The Blood of Jesus was not yet shed and the Holy Ghost was not yet given. How blessed we are!

In order for us to be found in the same heavenly places where faithful Abraham was, we have to be part of what the Bible calls the Firstfruits company. Some of us might be saying to ourselves, “I do not know if I am in the Firstfruits company. I do not know if I am worthy. I do not know if I will make it. I probably am not because I slipped and fell last week, and nobody knows. The people in church do not suspect that I get mad sometimes, and curse other times, etc., etc.” All these thoughts are designed by the devil to convince us that we are not of God. But the truth is that for us to be worthy, we only have to trust God. God has a different design. God’s design is that by faith we can lay hold of His promises and that by faith we can enter into His everlasting Kingdom. If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ; and with the remission of sins comes purity and holiness.

God is not asking you to do it by your integrity or by your own personal character. God is asking you to put your character, integrity and abilities aside, by faith lay hold of the promises, and like the publican (Ref. Luke 18:13) to drop on your knees and admit your unworthiness. Ask God to help you and to save you from the traps and snares of the devil; and say, “Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief.”

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, April 1997, pg. 14-15)

Thought for today: Remember it is by faith that we can lay hold of His promises and by faith we can enter into His everlasting Kingdom.

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True Fruit Bearing – Part One

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , on September 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: John 15:1-6

Revelation 3:1, “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”

This church was situated in the city of Sardis, the capital city of Lydia. Sardis was a very luxurious place. The church had a name that it was alive, yet it was dead. The church was very well populated. It had many members full of the world and the things of the world, but the fruit of the Spirit was not evident.

Let us look again at the Tabernacle that God instructed Moses to build. The entrance into the Tabernacle was through the gate. The Brazen Altar of sacrifice was the first piece of furniture inside the gate. In type, this is where church begins. Outside of the gate of the Tabernacle there is no church. The SEVEN CHURCHES referred to in Revelation are typed by the SEVEN PIECES OF FURNITURE in the Tabernacle. If this is true, then the church that was outside of the gate of the Tabernacle was a dead church. Sardis was NAMED by God as one of the seven churches. Therefore, this church was supposed to have been alive, but because it had ceased to produce fruit, it was dead. John 15:1-6 tells us that the fruit bearing of a church or an individual must come through the connection to the vine, which is Christ.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” A DEAD CHURCH is a church that is no longer attached to the vine.

In the Tabernacle, the symbol of the church is the Candlestick, or the Lampstand. The oil is poured into the Lampstand and comes up and feeds all the seven lamps. If something should happen and one of the arms is cut off, then no oil would go into that arm and no oil would go to that lamp. Consequently, that lamp would be dead and would have to be removed, according to the Word of God. “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” I want to remind you again that these churches are typical of the WHOLE CHURCH AGE from the time of Christ until now. Some of us are involved in these churches, every one of these seven churches. Today there is a church which seems to have life but yet it is dead.

The fruit of the Spirit and fruit bearing do NOT mean winning souls, having miracles, or doing works. God will do His work in spite of us. The church that is saving souls says that they are doing well because souls are being saved. Souls are being saved because God wants to save people. Wherever the Word of God is preached He will save people. Even in places where they do not believe in salvation (churches that play around with the Word) the Word produces deliverance in the people. The fact that souls are being saved, people are being delivered, and lives are being changed DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN the church is fulfilling its function before God. God said there are “seven Spirits” working with the seven different churches regardless of what their spiritual condition is. God is still working with them because God must bring forth salvation to His people.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 54-55)

Thought for today:  Jesus is the vine. Are you and your church connected to the vine so that you may bear the fruit of righteousness?

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Likened unto Ten Virgins – Part 2

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , on April 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Psalm 119:11

Let us continue talking about the virgins today. God is looking at your lamp as we mentioned yesterday. Five of the virgins were wise and five of them were foolish (Matthew 25:3). They that were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. Now, you have the lamp and you have the vessel. The lamp has oil, and oh boy, when you get saved, the lamp is burning bright. But as time goes on, that lamp is going to need more oil. So now, if the lamp is your spirit, God wants you to have a vessel that has oil also. Remember, the oil that brightens your lamp is the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God in you, the thing that quickens your spirit and makes you bright. If you have no oil in your vessel, what does that mean? We are vessels of righteousness. Do you know why we are vessels? The scripture says that ye are the temple of the living God, and that God dwells in you (1 Corinthians 3:17). So we are vessels of God. We are vessels that contain God. If we are vessels that contain God and the vessel is empty, it means we do not have God in the right place! I wonder if you understand. In other words, the devil knows this. He knows that if he gets you angry, you will be out of the Spirit; there is no oil burning there. While the flame of the body is burning, the flame of the soul is low. So the devil will tempt you to get mad. The devil will tempt you to get upset, disturbed! You cannot serve God while you are disturbed, while you are upset!  Do you follow what I am saying?

So God says that if your vessel doesn’t have the oil in it, then at midnight… Now, let me tell you about the word “midnight.” The word midnight has quite a few meanings. One of the things is that your midnight might not be mine, in one sense, right? When you are having trouble, when you are under distress, when darkness comes down upon you – that is your midnight. That is the time you need oil in your vessel, because oil has to be in the right place. Now, where is the vessel? My mind is the vessel. Brethren, for God’s sake, don’t believe, please, that you can spend six days out of the seven with your mind involved with worldly things, not a thought for God, and that at the moment of trouble your mind is going to shift into high gear for God. No sir! Your mind will only shift in high gear for God if you have been meditating on the Word of God. “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). The Word of God, hidden in the heart; there is a magic potion in the Word of God. I don’t know if I am using the right words, but the Word of God has something in it, that by itself there is energy and a power that works. Amen! When you are in trouble, you don’t have to think, “Let me think, which word should I use?” I know people who get in trouble and say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” (very fast, like a chant). Too late! The spontaneous response to the devil must come from your spirit, from your soul, and it must blast the devil. That is the only time the devil sees light. But if you have to start thinking hard what scripture to quote when the devil is before you, you are in trouble. It says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). The Word of God must be hidden in your heart and it must come forth spontaneously with a power that delivers you when you are under pressure. Jesus says, “My sheep will hear my voice.” And He says, “I know them. And they will follow me” (John 10:4, 14). Did you hear that? God is confident that you will follow His voice when you are in trouble, if your mind is stayed on Him!

You know, all of us have our jobs to do. I remember at one time on my job I got to the place where I could be working and doing the job all day, and not be there at all. I was in the Spirit just talking to God, but doing the job. I never forgot the situation (there was a big joke in the department), when the auditor put up his report. There was a penny missing and nobody could find it. They gave me the books to audit. I was in the Spirit; I didn’t eat lunch because I was just praising God and auditing. Checking and auditing. Before the day was done, I found the penny. When you get in the Spirit, when you walk in the Spirit, you can do your work and it does not disturb your being in the Spirit. Yes. You can do your work, and it does not disturb your being in the Spirit. As a matter of fact, you do your work most efficiently when you are in the Spirit and you will discover things that you never thought of.

(Excerpt from Keeping in Touch, April 28, 2002)

Thought for today: The Word of God must be hidden in your heart and it must come forth spontaneously with a power that delivers you when you are under pressure.

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